From the end of the world

Chapter 143 Return to reality
Following the introduction of the Lord of Divine Seal, except for small bowl No. 2, all the "chosen ones" looked at me in very strange ways.

There were the curiosity of No. 4, the confusion of No. 6, the vigilance of No. 1, the shock of No. 5... I didn't expect that I could distinguish so many emotions without being able to see other people's expressions clearly.

Even Number 7 expressed her emotions. She was somewhat similar to Number 1 and was very wary of me. However, I don’t know if it was my illusion, but I felt that there was a hint of hostility in her wariness.

Did she regard me as an enemy because I could invade the virtual world? I was a little unsure. Maybe she didn't show any hostility, but I just misunderstood her. Or maybe she just regarded me, an unknown existence, as an imaginary enemy, which might be another way of warning her.

And, to be honest, I didn't feel like an intruder in the virtual world at all.

To be precise, I lack the practical sense of invasion. Even No. 2 Xiaowan said that my experience of entering the virtual world was similar to theirs. How come they were all chosen ones, and I became an invader?
To be frank, it's not bad to be scrutinized by everyone. After all, everyone else was kidnapped, and I was the only one who illegally entered here in some way (can anyone tell me what the method was). But one thing is for another, the current situation is really bad. Maybe I will really be punished by the Lord of the Divine Seal.

Now my only partner seems to be the powerless No. 2 Xiaowan, and I don't know if I can win over No. 4 Xuanming and No. 6 to form a united front in a critical moment. However, although these two people are not on good terms with the Lord of the Divine Seal, it is not certain - or I can't imagine that they can use a trump card that can reverse the desperate situation in the Lord of the Divine Seal's home court.

Just then, Number Seven spoke.

This was the first sentence she uttered after entering the misty dreamland - the "virtual world".

"Since you have confirmed that No. 3 is the invader, why haven't you eliminated him yet?" she asked the Lord of the Divine Seal.

Some eyes also shifted to her.

"That's not necessary." The Lord of the Divine Seal said, "Being able to invade the Void Realm on your own is Number Three's ability. Even if you are an uninvited guest, as long as you are willing to accept my mission and become my apostle, you can get the same treatment as others."

He actually wanted to recruit me.

After getting the answer, No. 7 returned to silence.

And No. 4 Xuanming said: "Then, if No. 3... no, if all of us do not listen to you and refuse to collect the fragments of the divine seal for you, what will you do?"

“You will go and collect them.” The Lord of the Divine Seal seemed to have a grasp of everything. “People without a related destiny cannot touch the fragments of the Divine Seal. Since you have obtained the fragments of the Divine Seal and even formed a bond with them, it means that whether you are willing or not, you are destined to embark on the path of collecting the fragments of the Divine Seal - embark on the path of destiny that I have chosen for you.”

"Destiny?" Number Six smiled disdainfully.

"However, if you all spend all your energy on resisting me, it will indeed cause some irrelevant problems. This place does not need incompetent people. Within a year, I want to see corresponding results." The Lord of the Divine Seal said coldly, "If you who are bound to the fragments of the Divine Seal do not obey, this will be the outcome."

As his words echoed around the field, everyone seemed to have witnessed an extremely terrifying hallucination. I was still an exception, and I didn't know exactly what happened. I saw that No. 1's body suddenly trembled, and No. 2 Xiaowan and No. 5 screamed in pain. Even No. 4 Xuanming and No. 6 froze, and No. 7 was indifferent.

I don't think I didn't get hit because I'm strong. You know, even the soul attack of the monster maker can make me feel strange, but what the Lord of the Seal did at this moment didn't make me feel strange at all. It seems that something is fundamentally wrong.

Is it because I was not supposed to be here, so the Lord of the Divine Seal could not interfere with me deeply? According to his words, the reason why other people had abnormal reactions was because of the binding relationship with the fragments of the Divine Seal? Logically speaking, I was also bound to the fragments of the Divine Seal. Could it be that my binding was different from that of others?
Seeing the painful look on Little Bowl No. 2's face, I immediately wanted to leave the rock seat and go to her side, but the gray mist still firmly pinned me down.

Not only that, the gray fog around me became thicker and thicker, and soon completely concealed the Lord of the Divine Seal in the distance. Then, I could no longer see No. 7 and No. 6, No. 1 and No. 5 in the distance, and even No. 2 Xiaowan and No. 4 Xuanming, who were the closest, could not be seen clearly.

Finally, the grey mist completely obscured my vision, immersing me in the darkness of unconsciousness.

I suddenly opened my eyes and climbed out of the bed.

The surrounding scene has become my bedroom, with the morning sun and faint sounds of the city coming in from outside the curtains. The noise of me getting up startled Ma Zao who was sleeping beside me. She hugged my arm at some point, and when I stood up, she also woke up suddenly. Then she rubbed her eyes and stood up, looking at me in confusion.

"Zhuang Cheng." She called me.

It took me a few seconds to regain my composure, then I turned to look at her. She looked at me patiently.

"I'm back," I said.
-
Although there were many twists and turns, but in the end, my biggest goal of entering the virtual realm this time can be considered to have been successfully achieved.

I successfully met Xiaowan No. 2 and gave her her name. Although "Xiaowan" cannot be said to be her real name, but a temporary code name designed by her and Ma Zao, it does carry many common memories between her and Ma Zao, enough to save her from the life-and-death crisis of her career transformation. I perfectly achieved Ma Zao's expectations of me.

The awakening of the Lord of the Divine Seal and the competition for fragments he proposed are certainly very important things, and I do have a great interest in them. However, in my heart, these things are still not as important as my status in Ma Zao's heart. Once Ma Zao is completely disappointed in me and no longer has any contact with me, it would be no exaggeration to say that the sky and the earth are breaking apart for me - it sounds like I have become a pervert with little girls in my mind, but it is really not the case.

When I told her the news of my triumphant return, she was so happy that she hugged me tightly.

Besides, since No.2 Xiaowan has escaped the crisis of becoming a demon, and it has been verified that holding hands while sleeping cannot bring Ma Zao into the realm of emptiness, I have no reason to sleep with Ma Zao anymore. Sleeping with a beautiful person of the opposite sex is a very common desire, and I am no exception to this, so I can't help but feel deeply sorry for it.

I also told Ma Zao about the existence of the competition between the Lord of the Divine Seal and the fragments, and she fell into deep trouble and sorrow.

"Zhuang Cheng, are you planning to participate in this fragment competition?" she asked.

“I can’t quit even if I want to,” I said.

Although the Lord of the Divine Seal said that I invaded the Void Realm on my own initiative, from my perspective, I actually had no choice but to refuse to enter the Void Realm. The fragments of the Divine Seal would automatically return to me no matter what, and as long as I slept, I would be pulled into the Void Realm again sooner or later. The Void Realm was the home turf of the Lord of the Divine Seal, and I couldn't think of a way to resist him yet.

Of course, I can also choose not to sleep from now on. But this level of things, let alone me, others - at least No. 4 Xuanming and No. 6, the two big impermanence, should be able to do it easily. I don't think this level of tricks can make the Lord of the Divine Seal surrender.

What's more, No. 2 Little Bowl was also selected as a participant in this fragment competition. Given the relationship with Ma Zao, I couldn't ignore No. 2 Little Bowl's situation. I had to keep my identity as a participant. Apart from the above negative reasons, I also had active reasons to participate in the fragment competition.

"The Lord of the Divine Seal said that we can exchange the fragments of the Divine Seal for 'answers'." I took out my own fragment of the Divine Seal. "Although I can't use the fragment of the Divine Seal that is bound to me to exchange, as long as I get another one, according to the rules, I can ask him to answer a question for me. For example, 'Why will the end of the world come', or 'What is the solution to the end of the world'."

Considering that the Lord of the Divine Seal might be the culprit causing the end of the world, he might not be willing to answer questions like these from me.

In the same way, even if I collected the most fragments of the divine seal and became the so-called winner, and then made a wish to "save the world" to him, he might not be willing to fulfill it.

That kind of behavior is undoubtedly cheating and very ugly, but the initiative is ultimately on the other party's side, and we cannot expect him to absolutely do things according to our expectations.

But since he has already made such a boast, I think it is necessary to test him.

Ma Zao thought about it and shook his head: "...No, Zhuang Cheng, it's okay to collect the fragments of the Divine Seal, but you'd better not make a deal with the Lord of the Divine Seal."

"Why?" I was curious.

"Nothing good will happen when you make deals with unknown strange things. Especially when they claim to be able to fulfill any wish, they are the most suspicious." She looked at me with a worried expression. "Even if you just ask them questions, the deal itself may be extremely dangerous. If it was an ordinary strange thing, it would be fine. With your strength, you don't have to worry about the threat. However, this time the target has the power to control the divine seal, you must not take this risk."

"Even if we can get the truth about the end of the world by doing business with him?" I asked.

Ma Zao hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "...Yes, even so."

I was a bit out of my element when I was afraid of the risk and stopped when I had the option to get the answer right in front of me. But this was especially true for Ma Zao, who had made it her mission to prevent the end of the world and persuaded me not to take the dangerous shortcut. I was touched by her genuine concern for me.

"I understand. I won't do business with him until I have a way to confirm whether the transaction itself is risky," I compromised.

She breathed a small sigh of relief.

Perhaps she was not only worried that I would ask the Lord of Divine Seal for a way to stop the doomsday, but also worried that I would propose a deal for my own wish. Although she didn't know what my wish was, everyone has a wish. The bait thrown by the Lord of Divine Seal was so effective.

However, even if I will not do anything, others may not. For example, number one, he obviously has a strong obsession with making a wish, and he may immediately initiate a transaction with the Lord of the Divine Seal after obtaining the new fragment of the Divine Seal. Number five also seems to have this intention. I can observe from the side at that time.

Several more days passed.

There were no new waves during this period. He was not pulled into the virtual world again, and no new strange events occurred. Considering Ma Zao's inherent jinx physique, I speculated that these peaceful days might be a sign before the storm.

But just like some fantasy story protagonists with extremely tight schedules may have some breathing time in daily life, even Ma Zao would not be in the vortex of dangerous events 365 days a year. She herself did not make a fuss about it, but continued to maintain her vigilance silently, guarding against the disaster that might come again at any time.

I took her out for two shopping trips and bought her some new seasonal clothes. Not only was it for the sake of buying necessities, but her habit of facing danger and hardship often made me want to love her and take her to eat more delicious food, see more beautiful things, and let her enjoy the things she couldn't enjoy in the doomsday era of scarce resources.

Sometimes she would frown in dissatisfaction, criticizing these enjoyments for corroding her will to endure hardships. I also have to admit that this will is indeed indispensable in her life that is destined to be full of hardships. However, I also really like the happy smile that she unconsciously reveals after her cold expression melts.

And looking at her embarrassed yet cute expression, I couldn't help but want to make her even more embarrassed.

She seemed to be completely oblivious to my "malicious" intentions. Probably because she had a filter for me that I was too nice, so everything I did was interpreted by her as pure kindness.

"Zhuang Cheng, you have done so much for me, how can I repay you?" she sighed.

"Don't you want to save the world? Compared to what you are going to do, my level of support is not even enough to be considered a reward. Just accept it with a clear conscience," I said.

"But, Zhuang Cheng, aren't you also going to work with me to stop the end of the world?" she said, "Since you want to repay me, then I should repay you as well."

Trying to stop the end of the world—me?
I kept the truth hidden in my heart.

Occasionally, Ma Zao would look at the food in his hand with a very complicated expression, perhaps thinking of Little Bowl No. 2 who was still living a hard life in the doomsday era.

When I bought new clothes for her, I also invited Zhu Shi as my guide. Zhu Shi saw everything I did and seemed to see through my motives, casting speechless glances at me from time to time.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, you have a bit of a bad taste." Zhu Shi said to me secretly.

I asked back: "Don't you want to make her happy?"

"Of course I want to do that, but Ma Zao never accepts anything I buy her... Uh, let's not talk about that for now."

She quickly changed the subject as if she had let something slip, and then looked at Ma Zao who was not far away. To be more precise, she looked at the red GPS bracelet that Ma Zao was still wearing on his left wrist.

"Brother Zhuang, when are you going to tell Ma Zao the truth?" she asked.

(End of this chapter)