HP - Chapter 56

Kingdom of Gods 34

“Hah.” Before Zhong Xu could speak, a sarcastic, mocking voice sounded first. “To actually break free from the restraints and crawl out—truly the power of love.”

“You’re quite skilled at using leverage. This world’s ‘filthy insect’’ setting—is it modeled after you?” Zhong Xu withdrew her gaze from the Scorpion King and walked toward the Tree of Faith.

“How can that be called coercion? It’s just strategy. She did it willingly.”

The Tree of Faith stood there, completely withered and bare.

Beneath it, a table and chair had been set up. The man wearing the black butterfly mask had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves, leisurely lifting a cup of afternoon tea to drink.

“Want some?” He looked up at Zhong Xu and asked, but immediately added, “Too bad there’s only one cup. You’ll just have to watch me drink.”

“Tell me—if I kill you here, what are my chances?” Zhong Xu stopped at a measured distance from him.

“Zero,” he replied. “Even if you don’t die, you can’t kill me.”

“I can’t kill you in my current state. But when the Tree of Faith returns to full bloom, that will be your end, won’t it?”

He nodded calmly, setting the teacup down. “So am I not here guarding this place? After all, now that you know the truth of the world, it’s not surprising you’ve also figured out using morning dew to purify the Tree of Faith.”

He smiled as he exposed Zhong Xu’s plan.

Before tonight’s operation, Zhong Xu had Ji Zhou arrange for people to break into the Pantheon’s ‘Morning Dew Collection Room,’ intending to use the dew to water the Tree of Faith—

This had actually been something Ning Zhi pointed out. The game had its own closed-loop system of rules; its core resources should apply to all players.

The death of players equating to the awakening of her power—this wasn’t wrong in itself. But if she chose that path, she would have to become an enemy to all players, and she wouldn’t be able to have any teammates.

Most likely, she would reach an ending akin to becoming a god-slayer.

So there had to be a path that allowed as many players as possible to survive.

Zhong Xu was gambling that this path lay in the transformation of the Tree of Faith—from withered to flourishing.

At first, she hadn’t been certain. But after testing the morning dew Ran Ran had given her, her certainty rose to eighty percent.

And now, seeing this detestable black butterfly producer sitting here, her certainty jumped straight to one hundred percent.

“I’m not foolish enough to fight you head-on in my current state,” Zhong Xu said slowly.

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow and advised, “Then you’d better leave and choose another path. After all, very soon, your teammates will either die from being contaminated and turned into bugs, or be killed by other players.”

His tone sounded like advice, but the malice in his eyes was undisguised.

Zhong Xu suddenly asked, “Why are you so determined to make me choose that path?”

“For fun.”

Zhong Xu shook her head and smiled—a mocking smile. “When you designed this game, you cast yourself in the role of the sinner. But you despise yourself, so you wanted ‘God’ not to judge or forgive you, but to kill you.”

“I despise myself?” He dropped his smile and stared at Zhong Xu coldly.

She continued, “That’s why you hide your name and appearance—because you’re too ashamed to face anyone.”

She returned his malice in kind. “Understandable. Someone like you really isn’t worth liking.”

“……” He said nothing, but the chill in his eyes beneath the mask deepened.

And Zhong Xu wasn’t afraid at all.

“You’re alone and unloved, so you want to drag me down and make me just like you. Do you really think that when that happens, I’ll kneel at your feet and beg you for mercy?”

Swish—

Three crystal pillars shot out, piercing Zhong Xu’s body and pinning her in midair.

Zhong Xu’s face turned pale, but she let out a light laugh. “Hit a nerve? Lashing out in embarrassment?”

“Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll make sure you kneel at my feet and beg for mercy.” He pressed the projection device. A drone flew over the city, and the holographic image appeared once more.

Figures of Ji Zhou, Qiu Heming, Ning Zhi, and the others flashed past. They were her teammates. Because they believed in her, they gritted their teeth and bled, persisting in the fight until the very end.

If this brutal battle wasn’t stopped, it would end with total annihilation.

Zhong Xu fixed her gaze on him and suddenly asked, “Do you know what hope is?”

He was momentarily taken aback, his expression turning strange. “What kind of melodramatic question is this? Are you going to say that as long as there’s hope, there will be light?”

“Hope is…” She forcibly tore the crystal pillar out of her body. Blood immediately stained her clothes, and her face turned even paler.

“Wanting you dead gives me the hope to keep living.”

What kind of answer was that?

He stared at her. “If you want to struggle, then struggle all you want. But I’m guarding this place—no matter how many people you have, don’t even think about getting the morning dew in here. Unless… you gather all the players against me. But no one would be willing to oppose me.”

“Gather all the players?” Zhong Xu forced herself to stand upright. “There’s no need.”

“You were careless. You can’t defend this place, because the morning dew will form rain right here, directly watering the Tree of Faith.”

He looked at her as if she were insane. “Have you lost your mind? How could it possibly rain here—”

Drip.

A drop of rain fell onto his face.

His pupils contracted instantly.

Morning dew?

How was that possible?

Rustle—

Cool rain poured down, and the air filled with the faint fragrance of morning dew.

At that moment, the withered giant tree sprouted green buds, grew leaves, and in the blink of an eye became lush and flourishing.

There was no time to stop it.

“Senior Zhong Xu, I did it!” A bright, excited voice rang out.

Ran Ran ran out from the passage, her eyes shining as she looked at Zhong Xu.

From the heavy toll and effort  it had taken on her, her face was somewhat pale, but her eyes were full of excitement—when Senior Zhong Xu had asked whether she was willing to unleash the greatest power of hope, she had agreed without hesitation.

She wanted to escape this place with her sister!

So hope was important—she needed this power.

Zhong Xu reached out and pinched her cheek. “Well done.”

“Hope…”

The rain quickly passed, and a rainbow arched across the sky.

Only then did the Black Butterfly masked producer realize the meaning of those two words. “So this is the hope you were talking about.”

He spoke through gritted teeth.

As long as one held hope in their heart, anything could be achieved. How had he ever come up with such a skill setting back then?!

Ran Ran was still chattering excitedly. “Senior Zhong Xu, did you know? I didn’t even know I could do something like this—I could be this amazing! That game designer was really amazing—he told me that as long as you have hope, you won’t lose!”

Zhong Xu patted her head and cast a faint, mocking glance at that “game designer.”

“……”

“Yes, you did great. The game is cleared. Go find your sister. On the road ahead, just keep doing this.”

Zhong Xu raised her hand, her fingertip touching the center of Ran Ran’s forehead.

The flourishing Tree of Faith restored the divine power of the gods.

Blessings and judgment fell upon the sinners—escape calamity, and be reborn without sin.

The man stood there. Just as he thought Zhong Xu would rush over to kill him, she instead ran outside without even looking back.

She was going to save her teammates…

Ah. Before, she would definitely have chosen to kill him first.

Now, she chose her teammates.

Qiu Heming couldn’t hold on much longer.

The memories in his mind were gradually being covered by a blinding white light. He fought enemies on instinct, but his consciousness continued to sink. If not for his barely sufficient willpower, he would have already completely turned into a bug long ago.

Holding on until now— was so tiring.

Maybe he should just give up? He believed his teammates would definitely survive; if that was the case, he could rest easy and turn into a bug.

He just didn’t know, after the game ended, where he, as this bug, would go.

Could he go to other instances to visit his teammates?

“Ah He, stay clear-headed!” The voices of Ji Zhou and Ning Zhi rang in his ears—so noisy.

Clang—

A brilliant golden light deflected the slashing blade.

He looked up and saw Zhong Xu.

The torrential rain ceased because of her arrival, and dawn light brightened the sky. Backlit, her bold and striking features were dazzlingly beautiful, with a faint smile seeming to linger on her lips.

She reached out, her fingertips brushing across his forehead and leaving a burning trace.

“Qiu Heming, do you still want to continue being teammates?” she asked.

“Of course.” Subconsciously, in the moment before disappearing, he grabbed her hand, the corner of his lips lifting. “Captain.”

Ning Zhi waved her hand. “Remember to call me for the next level.”

Ji Zhou tried to stop her. “I’ll wait for you—let’s go out together.”

“No need.” Zhong Xu brushed away his outstretched hand. “I’m afraid the blood might splash too much  and get on you.”

Ji Zhou: “...?”

With the opening of the ‘God’s Judgment’ ending, the surviving players left one after another.

The rain brought by the morning dew purified the calamity. The torrential downpour ceased, the monsters retracted their fangs, the city built by the power of Tarot cards vanished, and the true outline of the Kingdom of God gradually came into view.

The Scorpion King stumbled out and picked up White Butterfly, who was lying on the ground.

White Butterfly reached out and touched his face. “That’s good—you’re okay.”

“That’s good—you’re okay too.” The Scorpion King didn’t know what to say for a moment and could only repeat the words in a trembling voice.

“You coming back means Zhong Xu must have won. It wasn’t in vain that I took the risk to let her in.” White Butterfly coughed a few times, then reassured him, “It’s okay—we’re leaving ‘Kingdom of Gods.’ It’s just that we don’t know where we’ll end up once we leave here.”

“No matter where we go, I’ll be with you.”

…

The dark clouds covering the sky were dispersed; this was the true Kingdom of Gods.

A gentle breeze brushed through the green leaves of the Tree of Faith, making a soft rustling sound, while in the distance a divine bell could be faintly heard ringing.

“Congratulations on your victory.” He had put his suit back on, raising a hand to adjust his mask. “Keeping me until the end—you want to kill me?”

“You’re quite self-aware.”

“You’re letting all the players reach the judgment ending, but you specifically want to kill me?”

“This ending suits you better.”

Before her words even faded, she was already in motion—

She vanished from her spot, then suddenly reappeared in midair, one meter in front of him.

Holding a crystal pillar, her pitch-black eyes were as deep as an abyss as she drove it into his chest without the slightest hesitation.

The wind stirred, lifting her long hair.

A few strands of black hair brushed across his eyes, and in that fleeting moment of daze, he saw:

Zhong Xu’s left eye was dim.

“You still cheated—this still won’t be enough to kill you, will it?” she said, even as she pushed the crystal pillar deeper.

Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, yet he smiled calmly.

“So, you can’t get rid of me.”

Zhong Xu kicked him away, but before that, she leaned in and said something in his ear first.

“Your game really sucks.”

He fell into the boundless darkness, laughing soundlessly.

Goodbye, Zhong Xu.

See you soon.

【Congratulations to the player for achieving the ending: God’s Judgment.】

Sevyn here ~~~

Extra chapter to wrap up this arc 😮‍💨