**Chapter 188: Why Did You Bring the Ghosts Here?**
Hearing the response from the Proxy Player Sister, Luxianbei was taken aback for a moment, pointing to his own nose and incredulously exclaiming, “Cataclysm? Me? Are you sure?”
Although he was not clear at the moment whether the cataclysm referred to the natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or volcanic eruptions in the usual sense, or a broader concept of large-scale calamities, he was very aware that he likely lacked the necessary abilities.
Creating a cataclysm was not something that could be casually said or done.
Luxianbei believed that with his current capabilities, he could induce a large fire covering several kilometers, or use his enchanting abilities to drive thousands of people to madness. However, strictly speaking, that could not be considered a cataclysm; it could only be classified as a significant accidental event.
At the very least, one must reach the level of the Haze God, capable of enveloping a city in thick fog, to be called a cataclysm, right?
Moreover…
“Why would I want to create a cataclysm? Aren’t we discussing saving people now?”
What Luxianbei longed for was a way to free those who had once been trapped in Yumen Pass, a means of salvation, while creating a cataclysm would only lead to destruction.
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” the Proxy Player Sister waved her hand and raised a finger, “For example, let’s say there’s a person who is seriously ill, suffering from pain every moment. At this point, pulling out their oxygen tube to end their suffering is also a kind of alternative rescue, isn’t it?”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei’s pupils slightly dilated, feeling that the Proxy Player Sister suddenly appeared terrifyingly sinister.
Like a devil tempting one’s mind, leading them toward corruption.
He vaguely guessed what the Proxy Player Sister wanted him to do, but he couldn’t help but ask, “What do you mean? Isn’t that still m*rder?”
“Hey!” The Proxy Player Sister sighed heavily, patting Luxianbei’s shoulder and saying, “I know it’s hard for you to accept, but… some outcomes are unchangeable. All you can do is change the perception of those experiencing the event.”
If some people are destined to d*e, unable to change the outcome, then at least one can find a way to let them d*e more peacefully.
“…” Luxianbei opened his mouth to refute the Proxy Player Sister, but before he could organize his words, he was interrupted by her.
“Let me finish!” The Proxy Player Sister said with a worried expression, “Just like Xia Lianqing… haven’t you tried several times to change her outcome? But what was the result? She still died, even more tragically than she did at first! Do you think that was saving her?”
“…” Thinking of how every time he reached out to Xia Lianqing, it only led her to endure more torment before her passing, Luxianbei was at a loss for words.
“Luxianbei, people are very good at finding excuses to comfort themselves when enduring suffering. Among various excuses, bad luck is one of the easiest to accept and comfort oneself with,” the Proxy Player Sister continued.
Fabricating a false “dream” that allows people to pass away peacefully in the “dream” was something she excelled at; she had done it more than once and guiding Luxianbei on this was like second nature to her.
“Right now, those formless urban legends wandering in Yumen Pass for thousands of years are because they felt betrayal just before their end, deeply trapped in a whirlpool of despair. If you can create a cataclysm, although it won’t change their outcome, it can change their perception.”
“Moreover, if you create a cataclysm in the past and link people’s existence to that cataclysm, even if they all perish, it can lay a solid foundation for your advancement to Cataclysm Grade. Perhaps once it ends, you could leap into Cataclysm Grade; this is a good deal!”
After listening to the Proxy Player Sister’s explanation, Luxianbei lowered his head and looked at his hands. After a long silence, he asked softly, “Is there… no other way?”
For laying the foundation for advancing to Cataclysm Grade, he felt indifferent. He just wanted to find a better, less cruel way to resolve this situation.
“Probably…” The Proxy Player Sister started to say, shaking her head, “No, there’s not.”
Although she hadn’t thought seriously about it, she had vaguely considered some other methods, but the outcomes of those methods were unlikely to be better than what she suggested to Luxianbei.
“A person’s or an urban legend’s power has very limited influence on the past that has already become history, just like a grain of dust falling into a pool of water, it will quickly sink and disappear. Even with Cataclysm Grade, they can only be like a small stone, causing ripples at most.”
Unless that stone is large enough to directly shatter the pool… the Proxy Player Sister added in her heart.
She understood this very clearly and had a deep, personal experience of it.
Strictly speaking, she and the other six factors of world destruction represented those “stones” that were disproportionately large enough to destroy the entire pool.
Yet even so, she couldn’t make the pool change in the direction she wanted while ensuring the pool’s integrity.
Moreover, if she allowed the current Luxianbei to become that special “stone,” she might end up being shattered by the pool’s manager, ground to dust, and blown away by the wind.
“I’ll think about it!” Luxianbei pondered for a long time, speaking wearily to the Proxy Player Sister, “I need to think it through.”
“Alright!” The Proxy Player Sister nodded, turning around and pointing at Shen Baiwei, “If you’ve decided what to do, just let her go and torture her severely, venting all your grievances and dissatisfaction on her.”
“You should be good at this, right?”
Luxianbei, “…” Why do I feel like the Proxy Player Sister is saying this with some personal vendetta against Shen Baiwei?
Proxy Player Sister, “…” Yes, it is personal!
Players with time manipulation abilities are always particularly disgusting and dirty, and Nightmares are terrifying existences that nearly devoured Calamity, causing her considerable hardship!
Finally catching the opportunity to encounter a Nightmare that hadn’t yet advanced to Cataclysm Grade, shouldn’t Luxianbei torture her to d*ath?
In the silence, Luxianbei glanced at Shen Baiwei, who was lying on the ground, then withdrew his gaze, pacing back to the window, looking thoughtfully outwards. With the appearance of the Proxy Player Sister, the sky, which seemed paused, seemed to shift.
Should he listen to the Proxy Player Sister after all? Luxianbei wondered.
So far, the Proxy Player Sister had never harmed him, and the things she had him do, in terms of outcome, always seemed positive. If he followed past experience, listening to the Proxy Player Sister this time should also be the best choice.
But…
Was there really no better way?
He hadn’t even tried yet. Luxianbei thought heavily.
If possible, he wanted to test this time whether not listening to the Proxy Player Sister could yield a better outcome.
As he pondered, the stunning scarlet glow in the sky suddenly began to move again.
He was momentarily taken aback, turning around to find the Proxy Player Sister had already vanished, replaced by Nanling Yaohua, who had appeared behind him at some point.
Nanling Yaohua stood there anxiously, holding something in her hands.
Upon closer inspection, Luxianbei saw a familiar figure in her hands.
It was a small, pale, soft worm, radiating a crystalline luster.
Luxianbei, “???!”
Isn’t this the Void? When did it enter Yumen Pass? And why is it with Xiao Hua?
“Luxian… this fellow says it has something important to find you!” Seeing the confusion in Luxianbei’s eyes, Nanling Yaohua explained, “So I brought it here.”
“Thank you, Miss Nanling.” The Void gave a thank you to Nanling Yaohua, then looked at Luxianbei and said, “Calamity, the Wordless Book asked me to bring a message…”
Luxianbei, “…”
Wordless Book? Guardian of the Siye Society? d*mn! Why did you bring the ghosts here?
————
Twenty minutes earlier.
After parting with the Void, the Wordless Book returned to the Siye Association Headquarters, walking down the long corridor on the ninth underground floor. She hadn’t reached the door of Observation Room No. 2 yet when she encountered Zhang Hainan, who had just exited the remote conference room.
Seeing Zhang Hainan’s dark expression approaching her, she furrowed her brow and couldn’t help but ask, “Old friend, are you dissatisfied with the results of your discussion with those people?”
“Hmph!” Zhang Hainan stopped, snorted coldly, and said, “A bunch of idiots! If I weren’t in the wrong, I’d want to rush over to the bl**d-Revival Cathedral and the Spring Day Great Society and beat them up!”
Wordless Book, “…” You’re actually feeling guilty?
In her mind, one of the Black Emperor’s specialties was to play the elder card and bully others with his bigger fists. In the past, Zhang Hainan would likely have already been on his way to the bl**d-Revival Cathedral or the Spring Day Great Society, not just voicing it verbally.
Not going to Tianzhu was probably still out of respect for his recently deceased old friend.
“Then what was the outcome of the discussion…”
“Forty-eight hours…” Zhang Hainan sighed silently, “That’s the time I managed to secure. If Yumen Pass hasn’t escaped the risk of going out of control in forty-eight hours, they will take action.”
Various spirit energy organizations intended to intervene immediately regarding Yumen Pass. The fact that Zhang Hainan could secure forty-eight hours indicated his deterrence.
Wordless Book felt that if another guardian had conducted this remote meeting, the results would not have been so favorable.
This situation was like hiding a dangerous item capable of blowing up the entire building at home. If the neighbors found out, their first instinct would be to break in and eliminate the threat.
Under normal circumstances, they would not give you forty-eight hours to handle it yourself.
Yet this old b*stard, the Black Emperor, actually accepted such a humiliating deal? And is forty-eight hours really enough? Wordless Book wondered.
As someone who had been monitoring the data of Yumen Pass, she felt that forty-eight hours was likely not enough to eliminate the danger, unless the Void could find the key factor that could reduce the night erosion of Yumen Pass in a short time.
If after forty-eight hours the threat of Yumen Pass couldn’t be lifted and the foreign spirit energy organizations entered Z Country, it may not be a good thing; although everyone was united against the urban legends, in other aspects, it wasn’t necessarily so.
Just as the Wordless Book was pondering, Zhang Hainan suddenly leaned toward her with a sly grin, lowering his voice, “Old friend, hurry up and find your little follower! It should be able to contact people inside!”
“Once it connects with the people inside, quickly bring a message to Calamity and the Solar Eclipse Society members around Calamity, saying that if they can’t resolve the issues in Yumen Pass within forty-eight hours, they’re all doomed! Of course, this is just to scare them. Oh right, your little follower can’t convey this to them!”
“Hehe, I secretly divined during the meeting just now, and the key to breaking the situation lies with them. While forty-eight hours is a bit tight, it’s not impossible; otherwise, I wouldn’t have humored those fools!”
Wordless Book, “…”
Looking at the smile that appeared on Zhang Hainan’s face, she suddenly recalled a line from the Analects—”To grow old and not d*e is to be a thief.”
This time, Zhang Hainan compromised with various spirit energy organizations and managed to secure only forty-eight hours. Although it seemed like a significant loss, next time the other side would surely find a way to compensate the Siye Society.
These various spirit energy organizations had never engaged in a transaction without reciprocity; even if reluctant, they had to maintain appearances.
When they eventually compensated the Siye Society, they would realize that this forty-eight-hour time frame was also part of the Black Emperor’s calculations; calling him an “old thief” would not be considered excessive, and not having punched him would be a light treatment.
Wait! How did he know that I still had contact with the Void?
I shouldn’t have told anyone about this…
The Wordless Book suddenly realized that something was off, turning her head to look at Zhang Hainan, only to see him walking away, his back turned to her, holding up the compass and gently swaying it.
It seemed to say, “Sorry, being adept at divination means I can do as I please!”
————
Moments later, in a small apartment far from the Siye Association Headquarters.
This was the home of the Wordless Book.
Although she spent most of her time in the archives of the Siye Society, from a certain perspective, she didn’t need a home, but having a home, resting occasionally while cooking, or curling up on the sofa reading books all day, made her feel more like a flesh-and-bl**d person.
At this moment, all the curtains of the small apartment were pulled up. In the dimly lit living room, the Wordless Book was nestled on the sofa, holding a phone that emitted a bright light, seemingly on the verge of exploding, with her eyes tightly closed.
In the darkness, a voice resonated in her mind.
“Current intrusion progress: 89.2%. System operation status is good, everything is normal.”
Hearing the Void’s report, the Wordless Book inquired, “What about the target coordinates?”
“Huaiyuan Jun’s location is unknown; Nanling Yaohua has been locked on and is currently not moving.”
“Very good, maintain that.”
“Understood.”
After a pause, the Wordless Book added, “Report once every minute. I will monitor your status at all times. Remember, absolutely do not interact with anything outside the three targets. Understand?”
“Understood.” The Void replied before entering a loop of reporting every minute.
“…”
“Intrusion progress: 94.7%. About to enter Yumen Pass, a signal interruption may occur next; reconnection time is unknown.”
“Hmm.” The Wordless Book responded lightly.
One minute later, the Void’s voice sounded for the last time.
“Intrusion progress: 99%. I’m going in now; sister, remember to think of me!”
Wordless Book, “…”
