He Wuning and Yi Luo didn’t get much peace and quiet in the technical department. Zuo Qianming’s little plate of cookies had barely been set on the table when Xue Xun came rushing in, full of news to share.
—A rather special guest had arrived in Zone A: a certain princess had come to visit.
Although He Wuning felt that in a game like this, the title of “princess” didn’t seem to mean much, most people were still a little curious.
The visitor was a princess from Zone C.
“A princess…” Zuo Qianming rubbed his chin. “If I remember correctly, Zone C is within Country C, right? And the later zones, D and F, haven’t gone beyond Country C either.”
Xue Xun nodded. “Zone C is also the capital region of Country C. But things outside aren’t very peaceful—there’s been an armed conflict domestically recently. That princess is currently in exile and just happened not to be in Zone C.”
“But then her luck ran out. She was in Zone F, and during the second expansion, she got pulled into the game as well.”
As he poured a generous amount of tea leaves into his cup, Xue Xun sighed. “Life in the game hasn’t been easy for her either. Not only does she have to worry about monsters outside, but she also has to worry about armed groups within the safe zones. They seem determined to assassinate the royal family’s only princess.”
“Although she has a loyal guard unit protecting her, without external support, whatever treasures she brought with her are basically useless in the game. So they can only struggle to survive like ordinary players.”
He Wuning listened with little interest. “So she came to ask for help?”
Xue Xun took a sip of strong tea, feeling his life being dragged back from the brink, then shook his head after a long breath. “No. She said she came to offer help.”
He Wuning raised an eyebrow.
Xue Xun took out a remote control and turned on the massive display screen on the laboratory wall.
—Since he’d never seen it used before, He Wuning had always thought it was just decorative.
Noticing his gaze, Xue Xun explained, “This thing consumes too much power. Unless it’s necessary, we don’t let them use it.”
“The research department is already a huge power drain. Wherever we can save electricity, we do.”
Zuo Qianming clicked his tongue in displeasure.
The screen displayed the princess’s image.
She was dressed in exotic clothing adorned with gold and silver ornaments, her expression solemn. From her bearing alone, she indeed looked every bit like a princess. But the first thing He Wuning noticed was the pair of transparent insect wings on her back.
He Wuning frowned and glanced at Xue Xun. “She’s also a ‘believer’?”
Xue Xun nodded, clearly having known this already.
Yi Luo snorted. “And you let her in just like that? Aren’t you afraid she’ll stir something up, incite those people, or even release them all?”
“You know she can’t lie in front of me,” Xue Xun said, shaking his head lightly. “I’ve confirmed her intentions. She has no malice—she plans to help us persuade those ‘believers’ to return to the human camp.”
“After all, no matter how we interrogate them, those believers refuse to say anything. So at this point, we’re treating a dead horse as if it were alive.”
“Who knows, it might work.”
“Wait—players who join the gods’ side and become ‘believers’ can turn back?” Zuo Qianming looked extremely intrigued. “Then can I pretend to believe for a bit? I’m very interested in their bodily changes. Studying my own body isn’t illegal, right?”
“If it’s possible, I’ll go take a nap now and try to convert as soon as possible.”
Xue Xun rubbed his temples, deeply troubled by this man’s research enthusiasm. “I think completely turning back into a normal human might be difficult, but returning to the human camp should be possible.”
“We proposed this method, and to show sincerity, the princess has already tested it together with her guards. It worked.”
He looked at He Wuning. “For this method, we actually have Comrade He Wuning to thank.”
He Wuning frowned in confusion. “Hm?”
“You’ve not only given us tremendous help in combat, but also provided us with many new ideas,” Xue Xun said solemnly. “You made us realize that this game might be something you can exploit through imagination.”
He added, “Written as ‘imagination,’ read as ‘exploiting loopholes in the game.’”
He Wuning: “……”
“In any case,” Xue Xun cleared his throat, “we have many players with strange abilities, and most of them have been quite cooperative in registering their powers.”
“I just went through our roster and found a summoner.”
“As long as a monster is willing, he can make that monster his summon.”
“But unfortunately, so far not a single monster has agreed, so he’s been on his own,” Xue Xun took another sip of tea. “However, the princess and her guards just agreed to become his summons.”
Zuo Qianming took a deep breath. “This kind of anime-like development is honestly making me, a perpetually single otaku, insanely jealous. A princess as a summon!”
Xue Xun poured cold water on him mercilessly. “There’s also a snake-tailed grandpa and a frog-legged guy. Still feeling excited?”
Zuo Qianming: “……”
“Ahem, back on topic.” Xue Xun looked at the surveillance feed on the big screen. “You should all know that Zone C is a religious country. They have a state religion and still retain the idea of ‘divine right of kings’ from thousands of years ago.”
“Although royal authority has been steadily eroded by modern systems, it still carries a certain mystique and religious significance. Their princess is also the saintess of the state religion. In a sense, she might be able to undermine the temptation offered by the so-called ‘gods’ in this dream.”
Zuo Qianming stroked his chin thoughtfully. “So that’s how it can be used.”
“It just might work! Use magic to fight magic—use gods to fight gods!”
On the screen, the princess had already entered the corridor where the assassins were being temporarily detained. The holding rooms had windows, making it easy to see the princess as she walked down the corridor.
She slowly swept her gaze around, looking at her compatriots confined inside. Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with sorrow.
Perhaps to ensure that those watching through the monitors could hear clearly—and to show that she was hiding nothing—she deliberately spoke in Chinese.
“I never imagined I would meet you under such circumstances, my people.”
A small stir arose in the room. Some showed surprise and reverence, while others displayed clear hostility. It seemed that even among these Zone E players who had become believers, their stances were far from uniform.
She lowered her gaze and slightly spread the wings on her back, revealing her identity. “I see children here, elders, supporters of the royal family, and rebels—but it seems we all made the same choice.”
“We chose to submit to that god.”
“I think we may all have had the same dream: endless karmic flames staining our land red, the wrath of the god about to burn everything to ash. We begged Him to quell His anger, and He questioned why we did not convert, why we believed in foolish heretics.”
“The god told us that the heretics would use us as sacrifices—that we newcomers to the game, still without power, could never withstand the coming catastrophe. All sins would be borne by us, unless we sought the god’s help.”
Xue Xun propped his chin on his hand. “As expected of a princess. On the surface, she’s persuading her people, but she’s also explaining to us the reasons behind their rebellion.”
Zuo Qianming tilted his head. “This kind of scheming isn’t really our concern as simple tech folks. We’ll just sit back and watch the show.”
He Wuning observed their expressions. “Most of them look shaken. Seems they all saw roughly the same dream.”
“Those monsters are really crafty,” Yi Luo chuckled softly. “Players who’ve just entered the game have no power yet, and haven’t lost companions to monsters, so they don’t have strong resistance or hatred. That’s exactly the kind of players they target.”
“And they already had faith to begin with,” He Wuning said flatly. “People living in war zones are more inclined to seek this kind of spiritual support.”
Xue Xun let out a heavy sigh. “Exactly.”
On the monitor, an elderly man began to cry quietly. He knelt toward the princess and pleaded in a low voice, “We… we don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want to live.”
“I know,” the princess looked at him gently. “Aside from a small number of extreme fanatics, most ordinary people who became ‘believers’ did so with exactly that thought.”
“We just want to live. We simply don’t want to die.”
She closed her eyes tightly. “But my people—can such lies truly deceive our hearts?”
She placed a hand lightly over her chest, her beautiful eyes shimmering with tears. “The zone that entered the game at the same time as us—Zone E—suffered in our stead. Their people were displaced, countless lives fell under the so-called divine punishment…”
“That was punishment for heretics!”
Someone suddenly shouted. The operative maintaining order quickly covered his mouth, and the small disturbance settled again.
The princess gracefully lifted her skirts—and then, to everyone’s surprise, knelt down on one knee before them all.
She performed a rather complex kneeling rite. Xue Xun studied it for a moment. “It seems to be a worship ritual of their state religion?”
After a brief stir, the players from Zone E followed suit, kneeling and performing the same ritual.
The princess did not rise. Her forehead pressed to the floor. “At the beginning, I thought the same.”
“I only wanted to live. I didn’t harm anyone.”
“But… we all understand this.” Her voice trembled with sobs. “Someone bore the harm in our place. They attack people in other zones, and when we fall and become their believers, we help them complete the so-called ‘faith missions,’ extending the rumored Day of Divine Punishment.”
“If—if He truly were a god who wished to save us…”
“Then when people convert and become His believers, shouldn’t He show mercy? Why does His wrath never subside!”
“I beg you all—wake up, my people. We are children protected by the true god. We must not abandon Him and become believers of such an evil god!”
She slammed her head hard against the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Even when the operatives beside her tried to help her up, she refused to lift her noble head.
Her gold and silver ornaments clattered loudly with her movements. One last time, she cried out hoarsely toward the room, “Wake up, my people. Please—don’t let that false evil god succeed! Let us once again live on with dignity, as human beings!”
“The children of the true god may fall beneath enemy blades and guns, but we will never willingly become demons of the abyss!”
At that point, the spectacle came to an end. The players in the holding rooms wore varied expressions. Before long, the operatives brought them food.
Xue Xun rubbed his nose. “That princess… she must be quite an extraordinary person, huh?”
Zuo Qianming, already wiping his eyes with tissues, looked shocked. “Wait—was she lying? Was that all acting? I almost converted on the spot! Is this the legendary power of a beautiful woman who can lie?!”
“N-no, no, I never said she was lying!” Xue Xun waved his hands helplessly. “I just mean she’s very capable—able to present every truth in a way that benefits her.”
“You should know, saying the same things in different tones can lead to completely different outcomes.”
“But,” He Wuning said indifferently, “I’m not interested in faith or anything like that.”
“In my view, if it aligns with my thinking, then it’s a good faith for me. If it doesn’t, I’m not going to listen to any god.”
He Wuning spoke with utter confidence. Yi Luo laughed. “Then you’re not suited for religion.”
“You’re suited to founding one.”
Q-chan chimed in enthusiastically, “The Sweetie God Cult!”
He Wuning: “……No, thank you.”
-----
The author has something to say:
Yi Luo: Follower of the Ningning’s religion. Taken—by me and me alone.
He Wuning: ……
----------
No comments:
Post a Comment