Chapter 432: Gods (Part 4) Qi Si

May 1, 2014, the rooftop of Building 12, Riverside Estate, Jiang City.

Qi Si sat opposite Chu Yining, Xiao Fengchao, Fu Jue, and the others, more peaceful than ever before.

The quasi-evil god, wanted by the Eerie Investigation Bureau, had reached a temporary cooperation with the Ark Guild, the predecessor of the Investigation Bureau. Whether it was sincere or a facade remained unknown.

In any case, as fellow unlucky souls trapped in a past space-time, unable to communicate with any human, god, or ghost except for each other, any great grudges had to be temporarily set aside.

Chu Yining and Fu Jue were the first to meet. This Fu Jue was naturally not the ‘God Fu,’ the top-tier player who had been worshipped as a deity and occupied the position of’Savior’ for many years; he was just a chuunibyou youth who had just given his physical shell to Lin Jue through the Fallen Savior Identity Card.

Initially, his conflict with Qi Si mostly stemmed from resentment over Zhou Ke forcing Lin Jue to sacrifice himself. However, under Qi Si’s rhetoric—where nine parts were true and one part was false—he quickly decided they shared a common enemy and let down his hostility and guard.

Then Xiao Fengchao arrived. This guy had somehow unlinked the Doomsday Prophet Identity Card and bound the Forbidden Scholar card instead, allowing him to periodically communicate with all players in the river of time who had ever bound that card.

Before he could bring more information, he was heard whining tearfully, “Are you kidding me? I just sacrificed my interests to switch my Identity Card, and then the Eerie Game permanently shut down over there. This is definitely targeting me, right?”

The whereabouts of the others were still unknown, but four people were enough to do something big.

Chu Yining was scribbling in a notebook, biting her pen cap as she deduced, “We’ve been trapped in this space-time for four months. The Eerie Game said before that as long as someone clears the final instance, the game will permanently close. From the moment Lin Jue activated the Dark Judge effect to the permanent shutdown, the time elapsed should theoretically not exceed one day.”

“But Chairman Xiao didn’t receive the news of the game’s shutdown until yesterday, which means the flow of time in our space-time is over a hundred and twenty times faster than in that one. I guess if we can keep waiting until the time on both sides synchronizes, we might be able to return to the original world.”

Speaking to this point, Chu Yining smiled quite optimistically. “Looking at it this way, being trapped here is actually a good thing. Before, we had to enter an instance every seven days, which was more exhausting than working. Now, it’s like we’ve gained twenty-two years of extra time for free; just treat it like a long vacation.”

“In our current state where we don’t need to eat or sleep and don’t feel tired, maybe we can go on a walking tour and see the whole world.”

“But what if on the day the space-times overlap, what awaits us is disappearance?” Qi Si put on a worried look, shaking his head with a bitter smile. “No one can see us. Theoretically, we are non-existent people. Lin Jue really has a good plan.”

These words were whispered so low it seemed like he was talking to himself, yet the other three could hear them clearly.

A month ago, Fu Jue would have certainly argued with Qi Si out of loyalty to his senior; Chu Yining would have defended Lin Jue, and Xiao Fengchao would have smoothed things over to change the subject.

But now, facts spoke louder than words. Lin Jue was indeed the greatest theoretical beneficiary. The seeds of doubt had been sown. Even if Fu Jue and Chu Yining, as his core followers, were inclined to protect him, their affection was a resource that diminished with every use.

At the very least, Qi Si was confident that within twenty-two years, he could turn these old Ark veterans into his own people. If nothing else, they could serve as hostages, couldn’t they?

His Chips were still too few. Qijia Village, Jiang City, the Colosseum, and the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen had all been handed over to Si Qi. Although he believed his crazed self wouldn’t waste his hand, he would still reserve the greatest trust for his original self.

If he could truly return to the original timeline, he would naturally return to the gambling table. His limited cards had to exert their maximum effect.

He just wondered if that Lin Jue, who had inherited Fu Jue’s identity and eroded all his emotions, would still be moved by these past followers?

Of course, all of that would have to wait until they got back.

“I think everyone has rested enough. Since we’re all in a state where we don’t know if we’re dead or alive, I have a suggestion…” Qi Si paused and said in a consultative tone, “Let’s head west and go back to the snowy mountains. Perhaps all the answers will be found there.”

Xiao Fengchao’s eyes widened. “I say, we barely escaped with our lives from there, and you want to revisit the place and walk right into the trap? Are you afraid of not being scared to death?”

Qi Si countered, “It’s nothing more than disappearing. Could it be any worse than our current situation?”

“No,” Fu Jue said succinctly. “I agree with returning to the snowy mountains.”

Chu Yining also smiled and winked. “Setting the Eerie Game aside, I’ve always wanted to travel to the snowy mountains. I even made a lot of plans during university. Since we can’t die now, let’s just treat it as visiting a tourist spot.”

Three votes to one, Xiao Fengchao was dragged onto the road west, fuming but unable to speak out.

He sized Qi Si up suspiciously and muttered, “Judging by your face, you don’t look like someone who likes to hang out in groups… Give me the truth, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Qi Si narrowed his eyes and spat out two words with a warm smile: “You guess.”

…Liu City.

Zhang Yiyu and Zhang Hongbin floated above the apartment, watching a woman with red, swollen eyes holding her two-year-old daughter, sobbing in front of a man’s funeral portrait.

In this space-time, Zhang Hongbin had died in the Eerie Game, which was presented to the outside world as a car accident; Zhang Yiyu had not yet entered the Eerie Game and was still a child who knew nothing.

The two people from the future could not be seen or perceived. Even though they wanted to enter her dreams to comfort their relative who was drowning in pain, they didn’t know how to start.

For the hundred and twentieth time, Zhang Hongbin tried to reach out and stroke the woman’s back, only to watch his palm pass through her figure once again.

He sighed and said to Zhang Yiyu, who also had red eyes beside him, “Your mother is really stubborn. Back then, the men at the factory chasing her lined up from the workshop to the guardroom. Now she’s crying herself into this state for a useless guy like me. It’s really not necessary, not necessary…”

The man’s voice unconsciously carried a sob. Zhang Yiyu thought for a moment, hugged the shoulder of this unfamiliar father, and said softly, “Dad, it’s okay. We’ll just stay here and watch Mom. She has me to accompany her, and I have you. It’s just right.”

These days, Zhang Yiyu hadn’t been without news from Qi Si. The young man’s smiling voice suggested she go to Jiang City to meet up, but she acted as if she hadn’t heard and ignored him.

Having fallen to this state, she didn’t want to be at anyone’s beck and call anymore. Even if Qi Si killed her in a fit of rage, it wouldn’t matter. Living one day at a time and spending her final moments as she pleased wouldn’t be a wasted life.

A faint smile spread across Zhang Yiyu’s lips. She wiped her face and said in a light tone, “Dad, I heard Mom say that you wrote a whole notebook after I was born, recording things you wanted to do as a family.”

“Our time is still very long. We can complete those things one by one next.”

…Xiang City.

Dong Xiwen stared with dead-fish eyes at the Calamity High Priest, Alexei—also known as ‘Yuan,’ another leader of the Balance Church—feeling like life was no longer worth living.

“So, you’re a real man who knows when to yield. You didn’t lose your memory at all. You relied on items and played dumb to fool the Eerie Game, hitching a ride with Lin Jue and the others to this timeline just to avoid White Crow’s edge?”

Realizing that in this space-time, they intruders couldn’t attack each other, Dong Xiwen was not polite at all, venting his complaints on the spot.

Yuan sighed. “Young man, I can understand your prejudice against me. After all, no one likes being a pawn in a grand scheme, kept in the dark. But for the future of humanity, I have reasons for having to do this.”

Dong Xiwen had a face that said, “Keep making it up, see if I believe you.”

Yuan wasn’t angry either and continued on his own. “The path to godhood requires enough sacrifices. Other competitors either sacrifice believers or innocent civilians. Compared to those real, flesh-and-blood people, I choose to sacrifice the non-existent people in this fake space-time. The rules are on the verge of collapse. If I can deceive Him once, I can naturally deceive Him a second time.”

Dong Xiwen said with squinted eyes, “Isn’t it just because you couldn’t compete with them in that space-time? Besides, haven’t we already tried? We can’t touch anyone in this space-time at all.”

Yuan smiled and said, “But Identity Cards can still function.”

A pitch-black, lightless card condensed between the man’s fingers. On the card’s face, one could only see a pile of elements like black crows, broken crosses, and skulls symbolizing plague, unlike other Identity Cards that had specific forms.

Identity Card: Calamity High Priest

Effect: Script reasonable disasters for a limited area and lead their descent.

Yuan withdrew the card and switched to a commanding tone. “Dong Zixi, both your brother and I hope you can come with us for a trip back to the snowy mountains.”

Dong Xiwen’s expression turned serious. “And if I refuse?”

Yuan’s smile was broad and kind. “That means you’ve given up the qualification to decide the future direction.”

The next day, Dong Xiwen and Yuan set out for the snowy mountains.