Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

For no apparent reason, Cheng Cheng recalled the very beginning of the story—when downloading *Fate/Immortal Crown*, a game description popped up on the webpage:

"Two worlds intertwined by their tragic fates, a bygone ballad scattered across the universe."

"That song has no beginning and no end, no sound and no trace, it comes from the mouth of no one and goes to the ears of no one; in this story that is written from the end, the starting point is decided by you and me together."

Chapter 136, The Multi-Headed Monster

"The test results are in, and the good news is that, genetically speaking, she is indeed human."

Mu Yuan's home in the suburbs of Dongshui City.

Room.

Serafina has been in a coma ever since she fell out of the Reincarnation Demon's body.

After all, she was an acquaintance, and Cheng Cheng couldn't just abandon her. But there was nowhere to put her at home, and it would be even more difficult if she suddenly woke up while he was still in the game... After much deliberation, Cheng Cheng finally brought her to Mu Yuan's place.

“But I saw her with my own eyes as she emerged from the body of the Reincarnation Demon…” Cheng Cheng frowned.

“Perhaps she was just an ordinary person who was devoured by a demon?” Mu Yuan said, sitting down beside Serafina’s bed with the test report in her hand. “Of course, it’s not quite right to say she was an ordinary person. She was just genetically ordinary. Her bone density, muscle strength, and skin hardness were all higher than those of the seventh-generation fusion warriors… she was practically the same as you.”

Cheng Cheng smiled and said, "You wouldn't dissect and study her while I was away, would you?"

"Of course not. Do I look like a serial killer?" Mu Yuan shrugged. "I'm just a mad scientist. I don't have those worldly hobbies."

Very similar, extremely similar.

“You know, I still have to abide by church rules when I do research. I must get permission from the subjects I'm researching, just like you did.” Mu Yuan gently stroked the hair on Serafina’s forehead. “Besides, such a beautiful girl, I feel sorry for her. How could I bear to hurt her?”

"Now I'm a little worried that you used her QQ space while I was away."

So, do you want to come along?

"...Never mind."

"More than her, I'm curious why you didn't get the Fire Seed after defeating the Reincarnation Demon." Mu Yuan pondered. "You really didn't secretly pocket it? Of course, it's understandable that you took the spoils of war from the demons you killed, but the church requires registration."

Of course not. The spark of the "Wheel of Fate" was already forged into a blasphemous token by Serafina. How could it be found in the remains of a demon?

But Cheng Cheng wouldn't say, and it's impossible for him to say.

He knew that Serafina was a legend of the "Wheel of Fortune," so it was reasonable to suspect that the "Wheel of Fortune" reincarnation demon was her in disguise; but if Mu Yuan found out about this, she would definitely ask him how he knew? Did he know this girl? Where did they meet?

What if, given Mu Yuan's intelligence, she somehow figured out her secret?

Although they had collaborated many times and Cheng Cheng trusted Mu Yuan to some extent, he hadn't yet revealed everything to her.

Therefore, all Mu Yuan knew at this moment was that after Cheng Cheng dealt with the Reincarnation Demon, he picked up this beautiful girl, who was as beautiful as an angel, from the demon's body, but he did not find the Fire Seed... Although this was enough to guess that Serafina was related to the Fire Seed, after all, science could not study such a mysterious thing as the Fire Seed.

"Never mind, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you," Mu Yuan sighed.

After all, he was just a scientist. Although he was the eighth seat, he did not have the power of them and could not tie up and interrogate Cheng Cheng, whose strength was close to that of the top five.

Moreover, the power Cheng Cheng wielded...

"Empress," "Understanding"—this legendary spark and essence are clearly within that one person... But if he is a member of the church, why doesn't he even know it himself?

"How many sparks of fire equivalent to the level of the Reincarnation Demon are there in the Church of the Primordial God?" Cheng Cheng suddenly asked. "Has anyone absorbed a spark of fire of this level into their body and completely transformed it into their own power?"

"No comment."

Mu Yuan blinked: "It's not because you didn't say anything, I'm just getting revenge... After all, it's a church secret, do you think I would tell an outsider?"

"That……"

“Unless you join the Church of the Primal God,” Mu Yuan said seriously. “I can recommend you. With your strength, you can be elected as a Knight of the Round Table very soon, and then you can look through the confidential files… Of course, the selection still needs to be approved by the church’s vote, which I cannot guarantee.”

"...I'll think about it."

Cheng Cheng sighed and got up to leave.

"What are your plans next?" Mu Yuan asked again. "It's getting late, why don't you stay at my place for the night?"

"I have something to take care of when I get back."

Now, fourteen cycles have passed since he left the game world to solve the Witch's Night. He finally found the reincarnation demon and successfully ended the Witch's Night, but Cheng Cheng didn't feel much joy.

After all, there's still a lot to do—meet Serafina in the game world, figure out their relationship, and find a way to deal with the Death Demon in the game world.

But he was too tired.

All he wanted to do was get home immediately, load the game, and then snuggle into Freya's arms for a good night's sleep, without thinking about anything else.

But thinking never stops—

Since Seraphine appears in both worlds simultaneously, it proves that the timelines of the two worlds may not be the same—it is known that there are traces of Seraphine's past in the game world, and there are no rumors of her disappearing after becoming a demon...

Perhaps we can guess that the game world is from the distant past?

Serafina's fate in the game world is to become a demon and descend upon Earth.

Cheng Cheng had already suspected this.

After defeating the Chicken, Tiger, Bear, Wolf, and Dog in the Kingdom's dungeon, he and Sylvia came into contact with Zhang Yu and the others' past memories, learning that the Chicken, Tiger, Bear, Wolf, and Dog were once heroes of a certain world. After that world was destroyed by demons, they were mutated into monsters over infinite time and eventually wandered in the dungeon.

Perhaps this is the underlying mechanism of the Abyss. If the game world is defeated by the Abyss, it will also face a similar ending—the proud legends will turn into demons, descend upon another world, and then destroy that world, in an endless cycle.

"Two worlds intertwined by their tragic fates, a bygone ballad scattered across the universe."

Earth and the game world must be related. If Seraphine will become a demon and descend upon Earth, what about the others?

Will Vilette, Karen, Peng Longteng, Hime Mikami, Bugu... even Sylvia and Freya, become like this too?

Thinking about all this, Cheng Cheng felt his mind was in turmoil. Many things were about to come to mind, just one step away from being revealed, but he couldn't figure out the reason, nor did he dare to think about it in detail.

He simply couldn't imagine how heartbroken and pained he would be if the game world was already a predetermined past, and Sylvia and the others would descend upon Earth in ways he couldn't accept—if that were the case.

But these things can only be buried in my heart, and I can't tell anyone about them.

He really wanted to find someone who understood the current situation well and was smart enough to help him share the burden of this pressure—Mu Yuan might be able to, but Cheng Cheng was still hesitant about whether he should really tell her his secret.

Ultimately, it's a matter of insufficient trust. Perhaps agreeing to join the Genshin Impact cult would be a good choice.

"Sister, I've made you some coffee."

Just then, the door to the guest room was pushed open, and a girl wearing cucumber pajamas walked into the room carrying a tray. Her light green hair was draped over her shoulders, as if she had just woken up and hadn't tidied herself up yet. Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, and her features were as delicate as a doll's.

Cheng Cheng was stunned by the face for a moment, then subconsciously moved his chair towards the window.

He still remembered what Mu Yuan had told him back then—this girl was her younger sister, named Mu Zimi, a victim of a magical disaster.

After the disaster, she gained a strange ability to automatically absorb the souls of everyone within a five-meter radius into her body, transforming them into her own personality and coexisting with her. Mu Yuan joined the Primal God Cult and embarked on the path of saving the world in order to find a way to cure her sister.

"Even the largest tree originates from a tiny seed. The reason why I, and many others in the Genshin Impact cult, embarked on the path of 'saving the world' was initially just 'for self-salvation,' which forced us into the raging tide of fate."

"Important friends and family, undiscovered truths of the world, great undertakings yet to be completed... I don't want to see all of these destroyed."

The earnest look in Mu Yuan's eyes when she spoke these words, and the will that burst forth from the bottom of her heart, were arguably the most charming moment of her appearance so far, and Cheng Cheng remembered it vividly.

"Why did you run so far? Isn't my little sister pretty? Why are you so scared?" Mu Yuan glanced at him. "Aren't you going to come over and get your coffee, then say thank you?"

Mu Zimi also showed a somewhat sad expression.

Cheng Cheng: "..."

After tentatively approaching Mu Zimi and finding that nothing had happened, Cheng Cheng almost laughed out of anger.

Damn it, in the very first cycle of reincarnation, all those things Mu Yuan said about Mu Zimi were made up on the spot, because she was afraid that he would do something to her cute little sister, right?

Taking the coffee from Mu Zimi's tray, Cheng Cheng drank it all in one gulp and returned to the window: "I'm getting ready to leave."

"Then you'll take the stairs?"

As soon as Mu Yuan finished speaking, Cheng Cheng smashed the French window with a single palm strike, then leaped down from the second floor, transforming into a shooting star and flying away into the distance.

"...Damn it, so what if you can fly?!" Mu Yuan gritted her teeth. "Give me back my window, you bastard!"

…………

back home.

After telling his parents that he was going into seclusion to prepare for the college entrance examination and that they were not allowed to knock on the door for 24 hours a day, Cheng Cheng sat in front of the computer and opened "Fate/stay night: Immortal Crown".

Just as I was about to plug in the brain-computer interface and return to the game world, I suddenly discovered that the game interface had changed.

The game loading screen, which was originally a pure black and white vortex, was suddenly torn apart by a sky full of golden light. A thousand feet of Buddhist light poured down from the void, and layers of golden halo covered the entire screen.

With a light tap of the fingertip, a pop-up window appears, instantly filling the ears with clear and melodious Buddhist chants. The chanting is deep and resonant, its lingering sound enveloping the eardrums through the headphones, making one feel as if they have stepped into the ancient Leiyin Temple in the Western Paradise.

In the center of the image sits a Buddha with a gentle face and kind eyes, surrounded by jeweled ornaments and radiant light. Countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Vajra protectors are arranged in all directions, some sitting cross-legged on lotus pedestals, others holding vajras. Blue, white, and golden lotuses unfold in succession on the ground, and a rich halo rises gently.

Amidst the clusters of lotus petals, a line of light gold text slowly emerges on the screen:

"Fate/Grand Order reminds you that the limited-time gacha pool 'The Incarnation of the World Honored One - Mu Zimi' and the exclusive weapon 'Six Blades of the Overlord' are now open. Come and draw for them!"

Cheng Cheng: "???"

After realizing the connection between reality and the game, this stupid game turned Mu Zimi, whom I had just met, into a character, and stopped acting altogether?

No, does that mean that in reality I can control Mu Zimi and do whatever I want to her?

That's good.

But what about the game's rewind settings? Reality can't always be rewound... Well, with Serafina around, that should be possible.

Although he was very dissatisfied with the game's spying behavior, it was like a godsend – he was just hesitating whether to trust Mu Yuan, and suddenly he was able to use her sister to investigate the Genshin Impact cult!

However, what if the third character from the gacha pool appears in reality...? What will happen when I switch characters?

Filled with questions, Cheng Cheng put on the virtual reality headset and loaded the game.

The familiar darkness faded, and an advertisement for the game's gacha pool appeared before my eyes:

Limited-time gacha pool: The Incarnation of the World Honored One - Mu Zimi

Character Introduction: At that time, after the World-Honored One had spoken this verse, he addressed the assembly, saying: "My disciple, Mahakasyapa, will, in a future life, be able to serve and pay homage to three hundred million trillion Buddhas, offering them respect, reverence, praise, and widely proclaim the immeasurable Dharma of the Buddhas. In his final life, he will become a Buddha, named Radiant Tathagata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly Enlightened, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed One, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Gods and Men, Buddha, World-Honored One. His country will be named Radiant Virtue, and his kalpa will be named Great Adornment. The Buddha's lifespan will be twelve small kalpas, the True Dharma will abide in the world for twenty small kalpas, and the Dharma of Semblance will also abide for twenty small kalpas. The borders of his country will be adorned, free from all filth, rubble, thorns, and uncleanliness. The land will be level, without high or low points, pits or mounds. The ground will be made of lapis lazuli, with rows of jeweled trees, and golden ropes will be used to demarcate the roadsides, scattering precious flowers, making the entire place pure and clean." In that country, there are countless billions of Bodhisattvas and countless Arhats. There are no demonic disturbances. Even if there are demons and their followers, they all protect the Buddha's teachings.

Cheng Cheng: "I don't understand, skip it."

Keeping up these riddle-like introductions every day won't generate any revenue. What if I attend a second-hand game player gathering and ask about my game revenue, only to be ridiculed by Yuanpi and Kugou?

It's obvious that the second-generation gamer gathering is a very lewd thing, a group of strangers getting together to compare who has more turnover. Cheng Cheng can't produce any turnover at all, so he will definitely be expelled from the second generation and can never participate in the second generation again!

After muttering a few words, Cheng Cheng still carefully read Mu Zimi's character introduction over and over again.

After all, the previous game introductions had already hinted at some of the truth about the world view, so it can be seen that this game is just like "Gen Shen" with its subtle foreshadowing and clues. It was made with an outline in mind—maybe there's a hidden trick here that will be used later?

After looking at it for a long time, I still didn't understand it.