HP - Chapter 50

Kingdom of Gods 28

After the recording finished playing once, Zhong Xu started it again.

After several loops like this, the tightly bound leader of the Judgment Eye went from furious struggling to giving up entirely. His expression shifted from shocked disbelief to deep solemnity, and finally to numbness.

Ji Zhou whispered, “It looks like he has something to say.”

Zhong Xu said, “That’s enough. Let him speak.”

Finally able to talk, the leader of the Judgment Eye said, “Turn it off! You’ve played it thirty times already—I’m sick of hearing it!”

His face was completely numb.

Zhong Xu curved her lips slightly and turned off the recording.

“My name is Zheng Zhong,” the leader of the Judgment Eye introduced himself first. Then his meaningful gaze fell on Zhong Xu. “I couldn’t find any trace of you for so long, so I guessed the Pantheon might have hidden you. I never expected you’d actually be inside their base—and that you’d uncover such important information.”

Zhong Xu did not rush to address the truth that had just been revealed. Instead, she asked in return, “Knowing full well the Pantheon hid me away, you were still willing to cooperate with them?”

“It was the best choice for the Judgment Eye.” Zheng Zhong kept a stern face, his gaze heavy. “With wolves ahead and tigers behind, the Judgment Eye had to find a path to survival. Originally, compared with the treacherous Tarot Path, I thought the Pantheon would be a better partner…”

The Judgment Eye’s plan had been to cooperate with the Pantheon to first bring down the deceitful Tarot Path.

Their goals with the Pantheon simply weren’t the same, and the final result might have been that each side went their own way.

But now it seemed the Pantheon was far more sinister than the Tarot Path.

Hearing this, Zhong Xu smiled. “They all say the leader of the Judgment Eye is rigid. I think that’s a misunderstanding.”

Zheng Zhong asked, “You had me brought here today—do you want to cooperate with us?”

“Exactly. Our goals align. We both want to clear the game. Compared with the other two factions, we’re the best partners.”

“But our identities are different… and the final outcome won’t be the same,” Zheng Zhong reminded.

At this moment, Ji Zhou spoke. “Different endings don’t necessarily mean it has to be life or death. For example, Ah Xu and I are teammates. Even if we reach the end, that relationship won’t change. We would never go from teammates to enemies.”

Zheng Zhong knew Ji Zhou and clearly understood his personality.

Hearing Ji Zhou’s words, he shook his head. “It’s not strange for you to think that. But her… does she think the same way? I doubt it.”

As he said the last sentence, Zheng Zhong shifted his gaze toward Zhong Xu.

Ji Zhou said, “Ah Xu isn’t that kind of person.”

Zhong Xu said, “That’s really hard to say.”

“…”

Zhong Xu paused slightly. “Not everyone can be as pure and straightforward as Ji Zhou, giving their heart and soul to their friends.”

Ji Zhou’s ears turned red. “When you say it like that, you make me sound like some naive sweetheart.”

Zheng Zhong’s gaze, however, became serious.

Zhong Xu continued, “Where the ending of this game will lead is unknown—an uncertain answer. But I don’t think it will be a dead end born from a struggle of identities. For now, I’m temporarily treating this assumption as the correct answer, and my teammates and I are working together to explore it. Inviting you to join us as allies now is also completely sincere.”

“If we reach the end and our guess is wrong, and it really comes down to life or death, then fighting at that time won’t matter.”

Zheng Zhong lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

Ji Zhou stepped forward to untie the ropes as he spoke. “No need to rush. Go back and think it over, discuss it with your members.”

But at that moment, Zheng Zhong made up his mind. “We can cooperate, but the goal isn’t to clear the game—it’s to bring down the Pantheon.”

Ji Zhou’s hands paused in the middle of untying the rope, surprise appearing on his face.

Zheng Zhong’s expression was solemn. “Before we reach a formal cooperation, you and us—let’s take down the Tarot Path together first.”

Zhong Xu and Ji Zhou exchanged a glance. “Is this a test before cooperation?”

“Yes. Do you agree?”

“I can understand that. Ah Xu, I agree.” Ji Zhou looked at Zhong Xu. “I’ve been sick of those inhuman, cunning monsters for a long time.”

If it weren’t for the Tarot Path, Zhong Xu’s identity wouldn’t have been exposed, Qiu Heming wouldn’t have risked his life to reverse the card, and this world wouldn’t be so chaotic.

Zhong Xu nodded.

Zheng Zhong let out a sigh of relief and added, “The reason I made this request is because I’ve also realized the Pantheon is far from benevolent.”

“The Pantheon’s strength is unfathomable, yet their attitude toward the Tarot Path has always been ambiguous. They only reluctantly cooperate with the Judgment Eye to clear monsters. Many times, I even suspect they’re encouraging the Tarot Path to reverse cards, allowing monsters to continuously spawn throughout the districts.”

Zheng Zhong’s words undoubtedly made Zhong Xu even more certain that the Pantheon’s true goal was to eliminate all players.

Her gaze swept from Zheng Zhong to Ji Zhou.

“In that case, the plan to eliminate the Tarot Path must be carefully orchestrated. We absolutely cannot let the Pantheon discover that we’re an obstacle to their objective.”

…

“What has Zhong Xu been up to lately?”

In the glass garden, White Butterfly was trimming flowers and plants in high spirits.

Whenever she came across an especially beautiful flower, she would pick it and set it aside, planning to make a flower crown later.

“Library, gym, garden—occasionally she even goes to soak in the hot springs. Life’s pretty comfortable,” Feng Zi said with a laugh. “She knows you’re protecting her, so she’s just lying flat and taking it easy.”

White Butterfly chuckled.

Feng Zi added, “Oh right, that girl Ran Ran has come to see her a few times recently. But since you said not to monitor too closely, no one heard clearly what they talked about.”

“It doesn’t matter. That Ran Ran has a sister in solitary confinement—she’s definitely here to beg Zhong Xu for help. Zhong Xu won’t agree.”

“How do you know?”

“Zhong Xu… is very cold.” White Butterfly seemed to think of someone, and her gaze turned cold as well.

She continued, “Ran Ran’s Tarot card has good explosive power—it’s somewhat useful. Since Zhong Xu isn’t willing to help, you go instead. Have her use her own ability in exchange for her sister leaving solitary confinement.”

Feng Zi quickly agreed, but then showed a hesitant expression.

“…Zhong Xu said her eyes aren’t working very well. Next time we go out to clear Tarot Path monsters, could we leave a few alive for her to kill?”

Although he had no idea what bad eyesight had to do with killing people.

White Butterfly’s heart sank, and she murmured, “So she has already experienced a rebirth after being pushed to the brink of death.”

“In that case, give them to her… but control the number. Even if you don’t, Ji Zhou will find a way to give them.”

“Speaking of Ji Zhou…” Feng Zi felt a headache coming on. “He’s been shouting every day about avenging Zhong Xu—about killing Luo Shen.”

“Why tell me about that?” White Butterfly grew impatient. “If he wants to kill, let him kill. Luo Shen is nothing more than a puppet now anyway.”

Hearing this, Feng Zi didn’t dare say another word and quickly withdrew.

Slowly, White Butterfly clenched the flower branch in her hand. The thorns pierced her skin, and before she realized it, her hand was already covered in blood.

“Why bother…”

A voice suddenly sounded beside her.

White Butterfly looked ahead in astonishment at the person standing up from among the flowers.

“When did you get here?”

Zhong Xu walked closer. “Didn’t Feng Zi say? When I have nothing to do, I wander around the garden. I was lying there taking a nap just now. Don’t worry—I didn’t hear anything.”

Tell that to the ghosts.

White Butterfly cursed inwardly, but saw that Zhong Xu had already come to her side and pulled out a tissue to wipe her hand.

After wiping a few times, she seemed a bit tired and simply handed the tissue to her. “Wipe it yourself.”

White Butterfly: “…”

Hesitating as she looked at her, White Butterfly still asked what was on her mind. “Do you know him?”

“Him?”

White Butterfly shrank back again. “Forget it.”

“You mean a man wearing a black butterfly mask?”

Zhong Xu’s gaze was calm as still water.

In an instant, White Butterfly’s pupils contracted.

Looking at her expression, Zhong Xu knew she had guessed correctly. They really did know each other.

“That lie all players heard after entering the game—it wasn’t part of the game’s settings.” After a long moment, White Butterfly calmed down, but excitement was still visible in her eyes. “At the time, I wondered why there was a lie—why make things harder for the players who drew the god identity? Later I thought it was more likely that the two of you had a grudge.”

Zhong Xu smiled. “You’re right. So what’s your relationship with him?”

White Butterfly replied flatly, “Boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Zhong Xu fell silent for a moment, then probed, “And the Scorpion King?”

White Butterfly said, “The one I’m cheating with.”

Zhong Xu said, “Not bad.”

She changed the subject. “And this game?”

“I’m a new player entering the game for the first time,” White Butterfly replied. “If you mean Kingdom of God, then it’s a game he designed. I’ve seen his planning documents, so I know more than the other players. Any other questions?”

“No.”

“Then it’s my turn.”

White Butterfly grabbed Zhong Xu’s hand and stared at her intently. “Has he appeared? How do I find him?”

“He has appeared. I’m looking for him too—I want to kill him.” Zhong Xu asked, “What’s his name?”

“His name is…” White Butterfly froze, slowly releasing Zhong Xu’s hand, and said with difficulty, “I can’t remember what his name is.”

“…”

“God Zhou, Luo Shen is in the airship ahead,” Feng Zi repeated. “Actually, you really don’t need to argue with a dead person. The dead can’t truly come back to life. It’s just that Xi He, the leader of the Tarot Path, holds a card with revival abilities. Calling it revival, it’s really just a walking corpse…”

Ji Zhou interrupted the chattering Feng Zi. “Alright, alright. Even if she’s just a lump of rotten mud, I still want to beat her up to vent my anger.”

Feng Zi sighed helplessly. “Fine then. Be careful when you’re done… Behind Luo Shen is Xi He—she’s controlling Luo Shen right now. Don’t let her notice you…”

“Got it, got it.”

Casually tossing out those words, Ji Zhou had already stepped onto a simple flying device and shot toward the airship where Luo Shen was at the fastest speed.

Feng Zi could only shut his buzzing mouth and silently pray that nothing would happen to Ji Zhou… no, he should pray that Ji Zhou wouldn’t cause more trouble.

The next moment, his silent prayer came to an abrupt halt as his eyes slowly widened—

In the torrential rain, blazing flames burned fiercely. The rain extinguished the fire, yet even stronger flames immediately rose again. Water and fire clashed without yielding.

The airship was engulfed in flames, and clear screams of agony rang out.

People nearby were all drawn by the commotion in midair. Their instinct for spectacle pulled more and more of them closer.

Suddenly, a figure leaped up from the blazing flames, as if stepping on empty air, rising straight toward the clouds.

But Feng Zi sharply noticed that it wasn’t stepping on empty air—it was swinging through the air along an illusory thread.

The source of that thread was Xi He, the master of the Tarot Path.

And the person now tracking toward that source… was Ji Zhou.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!