Chapter 278: The Beginning of the Story is Like This
After a long silence, Luxianbei looked up at the Proxy Player Sister and said weakly, “But, as time goes by…”
Right now, God Realm Yumen had just suppressed the Shaman Queen and the countless urban legends that came with her, and they could still extract spirit energy from them to sustain life in the city.
However, the sealed Shaman Queen is not a livestock to be slaughtered at will; the spirit energy that God Realm Yumen can extract from her is limited, and those urban legends “captured” along with the Shaman Queen will eventually be exhausted.
From a certain perspective, God Realm Yumen is like a camel carrying heavy loads across the Gobi Desert, gradually running out of fodder and water as time passes. If it wants to survive, it can only continuously lessen its burden.
But with tens of thousands of citizens in the city, how many would be willing to be the one discarded like a bag?
And those who are inevitably left behind, harboring resentment as they d*e, will eventually turn into urban legends, posing new crises for God Realm Yumen.
“Luxianbei…” The Proxy Player Sister crossed her arms, glancing sideways at Luxianbei, her ruby-like eyes seemingly capable of piercing through bodies and staring into souls, “Do you think that, with time, God Realm Yumen will surely face a new calamity due to the gradual depletion of resources?”
“Isn’t that the case?” Luxianbei countered, “Maybe I should stay behind? It’s much better for someone to control God Realm Yumen than to let it operate for a thousand years on its own, right?”
The Proxy Player Sister, “…”
d*mn! Has she been brainwashed by Hong Bian Monk’s self-sacrifice?
She truly hated those XX cults and certain sects for leading others’ children astray! thought the Proxy Player Sister.
All along, she had believed that individuals like Hong Bian and Zhang Hainan, who dared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others’ salvation, were worthy of respect, but she thought their actions weren’t worth promoting.
Because, what they did would unconsciously impose their unfulfilled wishes onto others.
This, the Proxy Player Sister understood deeply.
In her memory, after Zhang Hainan sacrificed himself to blow up Zixiao Terrace, turning the area around Dachunyang Palace into a thunder domain that never ceased, those disciples of Dachunyang Palace who barely escaped, after a period of depression, found that Yangyi had not been completely sealed, and quietly took up Zhang Hainan’s unfinished wishes, organizing a secret group called “Cutting Calamities.”
Since then, that group lost themselves, their lives vanished, and they completely became ghosts of vengeance.
But what was the result?
The Proxy Player Sister clearly remembered that when the Void and Yangyi fought to a standstill and she took advantage of the situation to dispose of Yangyi, more than half of the “Cutting Calamities” members, upon receiving the news that “Yangyi’s powers had disappeared,” chose to commit s*icide on the very day, while the remaining few shifted their hatred onto her.
It was absurd, utterly unjust!
Couldn’t they see that she was trying to help them seek revenge, that she was a genuine good person?
What? Good people have always deserved to be pointed at with guns? Well, that’s fine!
In silence, the Proxy Player Sister sized up Luxianbei as if she were a fool.
“You can’t possibly think that by staying behind as the Lord of the God Realm and wielding authority to monitor the actions of all living beings within the God Realm and guide them, everything you worry about will not happen, right?”
“I tell you, do not underestimate the ugliness of human nature; even if you stay here, what is meant to happen will still happen, and in the end, some people will even count all the sins on your head as the Lord of the God Realm and take vengeance on you as their only spiritual support to live…”
“…”
Luxianbei opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn’t find the words to refute the Proxy Player Sister, then she heard “but.”
“But…” The Proxy Player Sister patted Luxianbei’s shoulder, sincerely saying, “Do not underestimate the beautiful side of human nature. Humans are like wild grass seeds scattered across the Gobi Desert; there will always be ways for them to miraculously grow into a patch of green.”
“Is there really no other way?” Luxianbei asked heavily, “Are we really just to let them fend for themselves?”
“There is no other way.” The Proxy Player Sister answered resolutely.
Though this reply carried a slight element of deception…
Even with the Lord of the God Realm maintaining its operation, there was a minuscule chance for a better outcome…
But if that Lord of the God Realm were calamity, even that tiny chance would vanish.
Over a thousand years, the time Luxianbei spent here for a hundred days is a completely different concept.
An element capable of destroying the world, traveling back over a thousand years to leave behind a hundred days of influence and some changes, could still be negligible. But if she were to stay here “continuously contributing” for over a thousand years, what would happen? The Proxy Player Sister was somewhat scared to think about it.
A brat like that could create a massive disaster if left unattended for just a few minutes, and she dared to leave her alone at home all day? She should prepare to come back and find the house burnt down!
“Them and their descendants never should have existed in this world. To be able to keep a sliver of hope alive is already a miracle,” said the Proxy Player Sister earnestly.
“Them and their descendants, from a certain perspective, are like stowaways; if they all stay, even God Realm Yumen cannot cover up their traces, they would surely be repatriated.”
This statement was one that the Proxy Player Sister did not deceive about at all.
It was just like using a mod to modify illegal data offline; once connected to the server, it’s strange if it wasn’t censored!
Even God Realm Yumen, to “hide” dozens, at most hundreds of beings that shouldn’t exist, ensuring they wouldn’t be forcefully erased by the correction of time was already the limit.
This world has always been so cruel.
After a pause, as if anticipating what Luxianbei wanted to say, the Proxy Player Sister suddenly added, “Don’t even mention the stowaways in M Country! It’s an issue that’s already affecting the entire society; the few beings in God Realm Yumen are not yet to that extent!”
Luxianbei, “…” That feeling of having someone read her thoughts was quite uncomfortable.
“Don’t worry, Luxianbei; under specific conditions, life is very resilient. When you return, you will see that the fire of hope has been burning in God Realm Yumen all along; that’s where the significance lies.”
Moreover, you might not believe this, but not just in places like the sealed God Realm Yumen, even in the post-apocalyptic world, there have been some people who managed to survive for quite some time… thought the Proxy Player Sister.
For some reason, she recalled how, like a ghost, she had lingered alone in a ravaged world for years, and then, on a certain tundra in Antarctica, discovered traces of human activity, and felt an overwhelming joy.
Though in the end, it was all just a false hope; those people had long since passed away, but from the sporadic records they left behind, it appeared that they had struggled to survive for nearly three years in the dark crevices before she arrived.
It’s worth noting that such conditions could be far worse than God Realm Yumen, with almost no chance for life to continue, making it hard to imagine how they survived for so long.
It was like throwing a group of people into a nuclear reactor, yet a few managed to survive for over half a year, shocking the Proxy Player Sister for a century.
“However, if you really can’t get past this hurdle psychologically, I do have a somewhat middle-ground suggestion,” said the Proxy Player Sister.
“When you return, you can collect the lingering souls of the deceased and incorporate them into the God Realm Prototype; this would allow some people to be reborn in an alternative way. The principle is similar to how Mrs. Wang Meili uses the projection of Huacheng to create so many beings in the God Realm Prototype.”
Right now, the God Realm Prototype is like a piece of intelligent machinery that needs a lot of data to function; the projection of Huacheng is the data it requires, and large quantities of lingering souls can also serve as the necessary data.
However, whether those existing in the God Realm Prototype would still be considered alive becomes hard to clarify.
“In this way, from their perspective, it would just be a long, long dream about Yumen Pass, and when they wake up, it will be a new day… It would also slightly strengthen the God Realm Prototype; two birds with one stone.”
Absorbing large amounts of lingering souls to enhance the God Realm was something the Proxy Player Sister had seen too often, but what she had observed was that the urban legends doing so to enhance the God Realm mostly manufactured those souls themselves.
k*ll first, use later!
Just like the antagonist in those cultivation novels who slaughter cities to forge evil artifacts, emphasizing cruelty.
Oh right, it seems like the Void operated that way?
Like someone under a spell, continuously surfing the internet until d*ath, and when they woke up, they had already become a part of the Void God Realm.
A genuine “two-dimensional” express train, you know? thought the Proxy Player Sister.
Luxianbei mulled over the Proxy Player Sister’s words repeatedly, letting out a sigh of resignation. “Alright! In that case, the troubles brought by the first two questions have been resolved, so… shall we move on to the next question?”
Though she said this, she had not given up in her heart.
She had personally experienced what it felt like to live with the identity arranged by the God Realm Prototype; for someone who once had a real life, that might not count as truly living…
It’s possible that the memories of a resident in the God Realm Prototype were pieced together from several lingering souls.
So, she would come back.
The Proxy Player Sister had also said that when she became powerful enough to turn the God Realm Prototype into the God Realm, she would be able to bring true salvation to the beings within God Realm Yumen.
Seeing Luxianbei finally not entangled in that troublesome question, the Proxy Player Sister breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed her lead.
“The next question? You want to know if when you return, you will go back to a hundred days later or to the moment you left, right?”
Luxianbei looked at the Proxy Player Sister and nodded.
“Don’t worry about it; in this matter, time is very forgiving. Unless something unexpected happens…”
“Unexpected?” Luxianbei shot a sideways glance at the Proxy Player Sister.
That look seemed to say, “I advise you to be more specific! Do I look like someone who doesn’t deal with unexpected events?”
“Uh…” The Proxy Player Sister’s mouth twitched slightly, “Of course, you should definitely be able to return to the moment you came, right? However, there might be some deviations, extending a little time forward.”
“How much is a little?”
“Maybe a few hours, maybe a few days, or even a few months; it won’t differ too much, and…” The Proxy Player Sister suddenly seemed to think of something, her mouth curling into a meaningful smile, “Your new love, Miss Shen Baiwei, will have a way to correct that deviation.”
She remembered the portrait Shen Baiwei had let Long Bang take away; that thing was not just to help Luxianbei find herself, but might also have some effect when crossing back.
“She’s not a new love!” Luxianbei shot a glare at the Proxy Player Sister and shouted, “I will always only like Miaomiao Sauce!”
“Only?” The Proxy Player Sister squinted her eyes, her gaze through the slit in her eyelids reminiscent of Jiang Li’s deadly stare; she didn’t know how she managed to imitate it so well.
Don’t think that I haven’t seen anything, alright!
Under the Proxy Player Sister’s scrutiny, Luxianbei felt as if she had become something dirty, shrinking her neck nervously and mumbling, “And, Stinky Sister…”
“That’s it?” The Proxy Player Sister pressed.
That strange and mysterious expression was like holding an emotional honesty session between close friends.
“This… that’s it, right?” Being asked like that, Luxianbei felt even more guilty. For a moment, her mind raced, and in the end, she chose to change topics to escape from this dangerous and awkward situation, “Next! Next question, about the Yumen Sands Sea Branch!”
“I don’t know!”
“Huh?” Luxianbei frowned and examined the Proxy Player Sister, “When did you become so gossipy? Are you even willing to lie just to snoop into my love life? How shameless!”
“Crazy!” The Proxy Player Sister rolled her eyes, “My love life is way more colorful and touching than yours, and I wouldn’t lie over something so trivial!”
To help certain people break free from heavy emotions, I went to great lengths, but I ended up being considered a gossip? How ungrateful! the Proxy Player Sister grumbled internally.
“I truly don’t know about the origins of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch, but I do have some guesses…”
“I suspect they only left God Realm Yumen later in search of a glimmer of hope? Just like the hope of an entire village, if that’s the case, you must not let the beings within God Realm Yumen leave right now, otherwise, the Yumen Sands Sea Branch is very likely to disappear or undergo tremendous changes.”
“As for what the truth is, you can only seek it elsewhere if you want to know.”
“Is that so?” Luxianbei nodded thoughtfully, pondering for a few seconds before looking at the Proxy Player Sister with suddenly serious eyes, “Then there’s only one last question left…”
Upon hearing this, the Proxy Player Sister’s eyes trembled slightly, and she turned her face away.
Though Luxianbei did not specify what the last question was, she knew it was about that twin-tailed girl.
She had promised Luxianbei that after the Yumen Pass matter was settled, she would tell her everything she knew.
“…”
But where to begin?
That person had already been banished from this world, and she could not even remember her appearance or name.
The experiences they shared… The Proxy Player Sister thought of this and couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat.
She had done her utmost to remember everything about that twin-tailed girl.
Initially, she could clearly recall the little bits and pieces they had experienced together, but over the long loneliness, many details had been forgotten, and now, she could only remember a rough outline.
If it weren’t for Luxianbei insisting on asking, in a few more years, she might have completely forgotten!
The Proxy Player Sister didn’t want Luxianbei to see her subtle expression.
In silence, she turned around, walking away step by step, until she reached the edge of the rooftop, gazing at the distant ruins of the city, and began to narrate.
“Time has passed too long; I can’t remember many details clearly, I only remember that the story began like this…”
