HP - Chapter 53

Kingdom of Gods 31

Ji Zhou walked through the corridor, holding the communication device in his hand.

His expression was grim, and he grew increasingly irritated—Qiu Heming, that bastard, had gone off the grid again, and had even disappeared together with Ning Zhi!

When that guy came back, he was going to give him a proper beating first.

Please… don’t let anything happen to them.

Just then, Ji Zhou saw the Scorpion King standing at the doorway.

Standing ramrod straight, like a guard.

Ji Zhou walked closer and raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Ah Xu?”

The Scorpion King looked over. The eyes behind his mask seemed somewhat hollow, and his voice drifted faintly. “She’s in the room with my wife.”

“…?”

The Scorpion King glared at Ji Zhou. “You kid, why is your mind so dirty?!”

Ji Zhou looked completely innocent. “I wasn’t thinking anything at all.”

“I mean, they’re both girls—what could they possibly do… They were originally just supposed to chat, and Zhong Xu still has a mission to carry out,” the Scorpion King muttered to himself.

At that moment, Ji Zhou couldn’t help but let his expression twist slightly.

The Scorpion King was clearly just trying to comfort himself.

The communication device in his hand vibrated lightly.

Ji Zhou lowered his eyes and glanced at it. His expression remained normal, but a sharp glint flashed briefly in his gaze.

“You’re leaving?” the Scorpion King asked curiously.

“Mm. Going back to sleep.”

The Scorpion King felt somewhat regretful. He had thought he could chat with Ji Zhou a little longer to soothe the frustration in his heart, but now he could only continue waiting alone.

He was far too distracted to notice that Ji Zhou’s footsteps were quick and heavy, clearly heading off because something important had come up.

Zhong Xu was extremely busy tonight.

Using the Morning Dew that Ran Ran had given her, she first sneaked into the room to conduct an experiment. Then, before officially beginning the role-play with White Butterfly, she sent another mission to Ji Zhou.

Everything was ready.

Inside the corridor filled with mirrors, their figures were reflected from every direction.

White Butterfly stopped in front of her. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she spoke softly, “I knew it. I knew you would come to see me. Look—I haven’t forgotten you. I specially matched my mask with yours.”

Zhong Xu had thought that the young couple had previously agreed to wear matching masks. It turned out that White Butterfly had paired them unilaterally.

How should she put it? Starting from that sentence, things already felt a little strange.

“You’ve been looking for me?”

Changing one’s appearance also altered the voice, but Zhong Xu truly had no way to reproduce the original voice clearly. As a result, her current voice sounded somewhat different, so she could only lower it as much as possible.

Fortunately, White Butterfly didn’t seem to notice—or perhaps, in this world, not using one’s original voice wasn’t considered strange.

“Of course. I’ve been looking for you all along. To find you, I sealed the entrance to the Tree of Faith, delaying for as long as possible the moment when the players would discover the truth of this world. I established two factions, one black and one white, just like your original intention when you designed this game—to toy with people’s hearts. Do you see? I’ve done quite well, haven’t I?”

Zhong Xu remained silent.

“I’ve missed you so much I’m going crazy,” White Butterfly said.

Zhong Xu truly couldn’t understand their relationship.

With a complicated expression, she asked, “Then what about the one outside the door?”

Hearing this, White Butterfly paused in surprise. She smiled beautifully, tidied her long hair, and then stepped closer to Zhong Xu.

“What? Do you still have feelings for me?”

Thinking of the Scorpion King’s worried instructions, Zhong Xu said emotionlessly, “There are no feelings left at all.”

“Indeed, there should be no feelings left.” White Butterfly’s expression changed, and Zhong Xu was surprised to see the surging hatred in her eyes.

But that hatred didn’t seem particularly aggressive; it was mixed with many complicated emotions.

“After all, when I received the news of your death, I laughed too.”

Zhong Xu said nothing, but quietly pricked up her ears for gossip.

News of death—that meant the game producer had once been a human who existed in the real world?

As long as it was a human, that was fine. Humans always had weaknesses.

And at that moment, White Butterfly also began to lose control.

“I chased after you for so many years, only to find out that you were a complete and utter liar. Some ‘chosen one’ you were—my grandfather lived a happier life than you did, yet you dared to deceive me for all those years with that pathetic, mud-like posture!”

Wait a second—what kind of plot was this supposed to be?

Zhong Xu had thought this would be some kind of confession about cheating, but now it looked far more like unrequited love turning into bitter enmity.

White Butterfly continued speaking.

“But I didn’t dare tell anyone that I had actually fallen for a liar as insignificant as a worm. So even after you died, I kept helping you maintain the deception. Even after I fell in love with someone else, I still had to say that you were still in my heart… I’m truly pathetic.”

White Butterfly removed her mask and spat at Zhong Xu.

Zhong Xu: “…”

Behind the mask, White Butterfly had a delicate face, like the girl next door.

Only now, her expression was filled with hatred.

“But what I hate most is that I came to your world, and you had completely forgotten me.”

“…I can’t remember your name anymore. What, are you still as cowardly as ever?”

“Your past is fading more and more, but the feelings I have for you haven’t diminished in the slightest.”

White Butterfly seemed to be venting, saying whatever came to mind, yet she always maintained a certain distance from Zhong Xu. Although her hatred was undisguised, she was still somewhat wary. Deep down, she still had lingering attachments…

She wanted to live.

But this contradicted her actions too much…

Why was this happening?

Zhong Xu slowly furrowed her brows. The mirror in front of her reflected her figure.

The person inside remained perfectly still.

At that moment, Zhong Xu suddenly realized something.

She abruptly reached out and yanked White Butterfly over.

White Butterfly staggered and fell into Zhong Xu’s arms, her face still startled. She seemed dazed, with the lingering smell of alcohol not yet dissipated.

At the same time, a person stepped out from the mirror behind White Butterfly.

Still dressed in a suit, with a slender figure, he wore a black butterfly mask that covered half his face.

Zhong Xu’s pupils instantly constricted. White Butterfly, however, was lying in her arms with her back turned and didn’t see this scene.

White Butterfly was so drunk she could barely stand, seemingly still thinking she was in a drunken dream.

With tears in her eyes, she said in confusion, “It seems… I still can’t let you go.”

Zhong Xu stared coldly ahead.

Beneath the black butterfly mask, the half of his face that showed curled into a malicious smile.

“Go to sleep, White Butterfly. This is just a nightmare,” she said, patting White Butterfly’s back in comfort.

After White Butterfly had completely passed out, Zhong Xu slowly laid her down.

“The real person has already come in person—why are you still hiding and not letting her meet?” His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

“Originally, I didn’t care,” Zhong Xu replied with the same malicious smile. “But guess what I discovered?”

“I don’t know what happened between you and White Butterfly in the past. Maybe she once liked you unilaterally. But she had already let it go long ago, and she even fell in love with someone else. Yet you used some kind of method to make her continue to hold onto thoughts of you…”

“Just as you anticipated, White Butterfly—being the only player who knows the design plan of this game—because she still held onto thoughts of you and wanted to see you, did things like hiding the entrance, establishing factions, and even attempting to kill all the players.”

“I wondered about it before—how deep of an obsession would it take to do something like this for you like a madman? Turns out you were the one directing it all. White Butterfly was right. You really are a filthy insect.”

After hearing Zhong Xu’s words, he shook his head and smiled.

“Wrong. I forgot who she was long ago. But I really did need someone to do these things, because I want you to wish you were dead.”

“Do you feel honored, Zhong Xu—” the curve of his lips widened, “lit-tle but-ter-fly.”

“Very honored.” Zhong Xu stared at him, her tone calm.

He raised an eyebrow.

Something was wrong. Logically speaking, she should have already rushed forward to kill him. Why was she so calm today?

“Are you still in your player identity right now?” Zhong Xu suddenly asked.

He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. “Of course.”

“Then if you came out from behind the mirror, does that count as cheating?”

“…No. A reputable player like me—how could I cheat?” he said with a laugh. “This is just my Tarot card ability.”

“So that means I could kill you right now and remove your mask to see your real face?”

“…”

Zhong Xu bared her teeth in a grin. “Don’t be afraid. It’s not like I’m some shameless scoundrel. How could I possibly do something that would make every player hunt you down?”

He sneered. “Aren’t you? Wherever I go, I run into people chasing after ‘Xu Mu.’”

Hearing this, Zhong Xu rubbed her chin in surprise. “So my influence is this big… Then I’ll have to make good use of it.”

“I advise you not to do anything unnecessary. Otherwise, that hard-won normal life of yours—I’ll destroy it.” He turned and walked toward the mirror. Just before leaving, he paused, tilting his head slightly to the side. “When that time comes, your teammates won’t be safe either.”

Zhong Xu’s gaze turned icy in an instant.

He continued, “The you from before really did give me a headache. But now… you know, once people have had companionship, they begin to fear loneliness. Zhong Xu, you’ve finally developed a weakness.”

The invasion alarm suddenly blared.

At the same moment, both Zhong Xu and he looked toward the direction of the room. With the volume this loud, it had to be the highest-level danger alarm of the Pantheon.

“Heh, how interesting.” He stepped into the mirror, leaving only his final words behind. “Can you really protect your teammates? I’m looking forward to it.”

Zhong Xu had no time to consider the implication behind his words.

Ji Zhou had already initiated the plan according to her instructions.

By now, the time limit on her altered appearance had also expired. She removed her mask and walked out of the corridor, running straight into the anxious Scorpion King.

Zhong Xu said, “White Butterfly is inside. She said she loves you very much.”

The Scorpion King immediately forgot what he had been about to say, his face turning bright red.

“Ah—thank you, thank you… I love White Butterfly very much too.”

Zhong Xu: “….” She had been force-fed a mouthful of dog food.

“No, wait, wait.” Just as Zhong Xu was about to seize the chance to slip away, the Scorpion King suddenly reacted. He glared at her and demanded, “You heard it too, right? The alarm is blaring. A group of enemies has broken into the Pantheon—they’re your people.”

“They’re not enemies. They’re from the Judgment Eye.”

“Isn’t that still enemies?! They attack any Pantheon member they see, like they’ve gone crazy.”

Zhong Xu smiled warmly. “Scorpion King, it’s just fighting. No one’s been killed, right?”

“…It doesn’t seem like anyone’s heard of any yet.”

“Exactly. That’s because we’re allies—we’re good friends. Between good friends, fighting is affection and scolding is love. It’s completely different from how we treat enemies.”

“…What a fine example of ‘fighting is affection and scolding is love.’”

The Scorpion King was so exasperated that he laughed.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!