Love, Gun, Cupid

Chapter 105 The Final (6)

Lin Jiade's choice to mingle with the townspeople provided entertainment for the audience, but many also booed him, believing that he should have killed all those who attacked him to provide a more vivid and bloody sensory stimulation.

Aside from him, the serious contestants held a certain indifference to the lives of ordinary people: Mu Mian's submachine gun spat out flames, and facing the dense crowd, she could bring death without even aiming.

Qi Yanli occupied the high ground, using her bow to call out the names of the few organizers among the townspeople one by one, making the scene even more chaotic. Behind her, splattered blood smeared the walls. Before the townspeople could attack, she had already taken the initiative and cleared a safe area for herself to fight.

Di Tao's shrill laughter was the most deafening among the cacophony; her steel wings were like a meat grinder, devouring people's greed, anger, fear, and life.

She fought her way from one end of the street to the other, blood and debris clogging the drains, and the pungent, fishy smell in the air seemed to emanate from the screen.

The way Yi Lu Ting Feng "eats" is relatively pleasant. She plays the violin, and the plaintive violin music drags people into a peaceful dream. Unless Yi Lu Ting Feng releases control, they will remain asleep until their bodies fail and they die in reality.

Given their killing efficiency, they could probably clear out the area in another hour or two, but two factors slowed them down: First, they were worried that the Virgin of Diana had already entered the city, so they needed to reduce their losses and be wary of the enemy and unreliable allies.

Secondly, the number of residents they killed did not match the amount of blood in the town, as if some of the blood that should have decorated this hellish scene had mysteriously disappeared.

They noticed this almost simultaneously, their pace slowing down until finally, doubt forced them to stop, and they began playing hide-and-seek with the red-eyed townspeople.

The reed warbler watching the battle said, "This is a sacrifice. I learned in my history textbook that when the heavens and humans formed an alliance, humans were born to fight on behalf of tribal leaders. Initially, the human side was not strong enough. After defeating the alien races, their backward management system was not enough to absorb this population."

If there are insufficient troops guarding these alien races, they will rebel in the rear; if there are enough troops left in the rear, then there will be insufficient troops at the front.

So, someone, whose identity is unknown, used a morally reprehensible method to transform a burden into a one-time benefit—sacrifice.

"You are energy beings, so what benefits do you gain from this ritual?" Jianlan asked.

"Have you ever seen cats and dogs fight? That's how we watch the carbon-based life forms on this planet fight. The bloody rituals are unbearable for some of the celestial inhabitants, but many of them get a thrill from it and wish the sacrifices would be even more intense."

Moreover, we learned the technology to extract energy from carbon-based life forms from our greatest enemy—sorry, skipping this part. At the moment a carbon-based life form dies, its stored energy is released in a burst, the intense emotions of death and terror making the energy delicious.

Gladiolus nodded: "When you energy beings communicate with the Empire, you often say that energy has a taste."

"What does our energy taste like in your eyes?" Jasmine asked.

Reed Warbler replied, “Your words are like salmon with wasabi, gladiolus is like sugar-free cola that’s been in the fridge overnight, kapok’s energy is like an energy bar, mimosa is a bit like undercooked braised pork, my sister’s energy is like cotton candy, and Lin Jiade’s is like white beer—thick and rich, with white foam, a little sour and bitter, but still refreshing.”

Jasmine's imagination couldn't keep up with the warbler's description, but she was very concerned about Lin Jiade's taste: "Doesn't he have even a hint of wasabi salmon flavor?"

Reed Warbler replied bluntly, "Yes, it appears twice a week, and then quickly disappears from his fingers and mouth. I don't know what kind of code you're using."

A blush crept onto Jasmine's face, but she still answered in a calm voice, "We're just doing what boyfriend and girlfriend should do, and we haven't crossed any moral lines."

Actually, he probably couldn't break through it even if he wanted to. Wei Ying thought that with Lin Jiade's current strength, although he could barely break through the defense, like the knights of ancient times, the spearhead would easily break off inside after he charged, so he wouldn't easily start a fight.

Moreover, I have already done it with him—by celestial standards.

This thought made the reed warbler feel both dirty and filled with forbidden pleasure. She suddenly understood why her parents transformed into various animals to mate. After that night, the reed warbler grew up.

"Well, in short, it's true that the whole town is in the midst of a sacrificial ceremony. If a more conscientious celestial observer were to preside over the ceremony, they would probably leave a divine message for the humans who offered the sacrifices."

If they are heartless, they might offer verbal encouragement and then trick people into continuing to offer sacrifices for things like raisins or heaven, which they can never deliver on.

There are many other strange rituals like this. For example, in Assyria, every year a human king would select a man from his territory to play the role of the king and enjoy a harem of wives and concubines and wealth for five days.

When the time is up, the chosen man will be skinned and killed along with a wild boar as a sacrifice to the gods—that is, us—to appease the people and atone for the mistakes he has made in the past year.

The rituals of that time were mostly bloody, sometimes even containing elements of eroticism. The Celestials themselves condemned this dark history and forbade such rituals. Humanity's fervent emotions intoxicated the Celestials, making us the party being led by the nose in bilateral relations.

After a moment's thought, Jianlan said, "Because it's a virtual space, the sacrificial ritual can be openly displayed. But will a sacrifice in a virtual space be effective?"

The reed warbler shook its head: "No, human technology cannot virtualize energy organisms, so the person who presides over the sacrifice—who may be the king of the forest—will not receive any direct benefit from it."

Gladiolus thought for a moment and tried to say, "Is the King of the Forest meant to make the contestants realize that this is a sacrifice, thus making them hesitant to deal with the townspeople?"

Wei Ying took a cucumber from the refrigerator, dipped it in sesame sauce, and started eating it: "After realizing that this was a sacrifice, Lin Jiade and the others could no longer kill people indiscriminately. They either had to play hide-and-seek or control the townspeople in a gentler way, which took much more effort than killing people directly and also increased their mental fatigue."

Then the King of the Forest will come out.

Chapter 106 The Final (7) (18→17)

Just as the reed warbler had predicted, the contestants soon realized they were being part of a sacrificial ritual, and they all stopped killing. Kapok sent an inquiry to Lin Jiade, and shortly after, Lin Jiade transformed into a sword, descending with a tuna.

"you……"

Looking at the glaring red and brown colors around him, Lin Jiade felt nauseous. He had killed people, but all his direct kills were done while piloting the mecha in the Mirror Realm.

Killing someone with a beam that disintegrates human flesh through a mecha is just a game with a filter applied, while witnessing death in reality has a completely different impact.

Di Tao looked at him with a half-smile. Amidst the pile of things that could hardly be called corpses, her face became even more beautiful, her red lips like fire, her eyes full of affection, as if Di Tao should be irrigated with blood and nourished with flesh.

This ignited Lin Jiade's anger. He felt that life should be taken seriously... and he had never forgotten that Di Tao was a part of his painful memories, but now was not the time.

His anger somewhat offset the nausea, and he said to Kapok, "I'm fine, how about you?"

"We used up some bullets, but it's nothing serious." Mu Mian looked at the tuna behind Lin Jiade. "Is this how you blend in with the masses?"

Lin Jiade tossed the tuna twice: "I did intend to use it as a weapon before it went bad."

Qi Yanli, who was very clean, took a few steps back. It was well known that diamond elves were fastidious about cleanliness, which meant that most of the stories about this race were about humiliation. The more holy they were, the more they wanted to humiliate them.

She had a dulled sense of smell and didn't think much of it until she squinted and looked around, then exclaimed in surprise, "You didn't kill a single person."

"I killed one..." Lin Jiade answered subconsciously, then realized, "Wait, are you sure?"

Yi Lu Ting Feng nodded affirmatively: "Yes, you didn't kill a single one. My eyes can see the number of kills in the most recent natural day."

"But this is a virtual space."

"There are algorithms for virtual space within virtual space."

"The first person I killed called himself Oretorius..."

Lin Jiade shared the information conveyed by Orestes. Unfortunately, the information Orestes gave allowed Lin Jiade to roughly grasp the spread of Diana's faith in this land, the expansion of her power, the rise and fall of her faith, and the origin of the King of the Forest's series of murder rituals. However, the King of the Forest's abilities remained unknown, just like the ancient banyan tree's weakness.

“The King of the Forest instigated this riot by bribing or controlling the townspeople,” Lin Jiade said. “Did you find anything before the attack?”

Yi Lu Ting Feng nodded: "The information I was given is: the most famous of the forest kings in Diana, namely her oracle Aeneas."

"Who is that?" Lin Jiade asked.

"The prince of Troy, after the fall of Troy, crossed the sea to this place. Guided by Diana, he broke off a golden branch, killed the king of the forest, and took his place. Legend has it that the founder of Rome was a descendant of Aeneas."

August 13th is the holy day of Diana. In the ancient Roman Empire, on this night, Diana would light torches on the arms of all the bronze statues, allowing the moon to move across the earth in cycles.

Qi Yanli said, "I was told about history and folklore along the way, but I was told about faith and duty."

Diana is the goddess of the forest, the moon, fertility, and the hunt. In this place, she is also regarded as Vesta (the hearth goddess).

Your information says that Diana was originally just a forest goddess. Here's the interesting part: I was told that when the Temple of Diana was first built, Diana shared a temple with Egilia, whose function was procreation, and Vilbius, whose function was hunting.

But in an era when Diana had already disappeared into the shadows, who still remembered Igelia, who still remembered Verbius?

Hearing this, Lin Jiade's throat went dry. He unscrewed the bottle cap and gulped down a large mouthful of water to quench his thirst. Du Juan once had a very popular theory: that Diana had usurped her companion's power and taken her place.

Today, this conjecture has been verified to some extent: the functions of reproduction and hunting, which were originally in the hands of others, have gradually become Diana's functions.

So, before Diana became the goddess of the moon, who symbolized the moon?

Lin Jiade cautiously dismissed the thought; even if it was Diana's fault, he shouldn't meddle.

Kapok continued, "There was some friction between her (Garden Peach), so we arrived quite late, but were the first to commit murder."

I just learned that women who have lost their virginity are sent to the Temple of Diana for punishment, which involves deprivation of water—the virgins and priests of the Temple of Diana will not give them a single morsel of food or water until they believe the woman has atoned for her sins.

Lin Jiade sighed in disappointment. They knew a lot about Diana, but very little about the King of the Forest, so he asked, "What are your plans next?"

"Let's look for useful clues and subdue the townspeople who are still alive while we're at it?" Qi Yanli suggested.

Her method was mediocre, but in the chaos, no one could think of a better one, since the night was considered the domain of the King of the Forest, so their actions had to be carried out during the day as much as possible.

Lin Jiade's mission this time is to find supplies. The King of the Forest's weakness is hard to find, so this may be a protracted battle. Therefore, it is necessary to stockpile living supplies first.

This mission couldn't be better for Lin Jiade, who hated fighting anyway, but with Di Tao following behind with a grin, the mission became somewhat creepy.

"Why are you here?" Lin Jiade asked, frowning.

Di Tao held up three fingers: "There are three reasons: First, Mu Mian didn't want me to ruin things, so she sent me away; second, you are the weakest, so I'm here to protect you; third, you are a hostage, and Mu Mian used you to make me believe that she won't betray me."

“A very pragmatic idea,” Lin Jiade replied calmly.

Di Tao was somewhat frustrated; Lin Jiade's reaction left her with no amusement. She skipped and hopped, walking backwards in front of Lin Jiade with her hands behind her back, complaining, "How boring! You were much more interesting when you were 14, much more tempting to violate."

I masturbate at night, fantasizing about your innocent and foolish appearance. Kapok has no sexual desire, but I do, and it's very strong. Want to hear the details of those nights?

"You're disgusting."

"No, you're the one who's disgusting." Di Tao's smile vanished. "Your tragedy is partly your own doing. If you hadn't been attracted to Mu Mian's appearance and barged into her life, none of this trouble would have happened."

Chapter 107 The Final Round (8)

Lin Jiade didn't want to talk about the victim guilt argument in the Taomingdian case. He coldly went to find food, water and fuel, ransacking shops and houses, and his methods became more and more sophisticated.

While disgusted by him, Di Tao still fulfilled her duty, her steel wings hovering around her body, maintaining a state of alert.

A few residents spotted them, only to be instantly knocked unconscious. Lin Jiade then used the ropes he had looted to tie them up.

After reaching his limit, he used a handcart to deliver the supplies to the hotel—the best, most modern, and most defensive place in town.

Di Tao wreaked havoc on the hotel, leaving only a heavily monitored path for potential enemies. To prepare for the possibility of power and water outages, they went out again, collecting batteries, oil lamps, and even cooking utensils.

"Haha, this makes me feel like we're not here to compete for a place in the qualifying rounds, but rather to camp and play some kind of pretend game," Di Tao said.

Lin Jiade retorted, "If you're impatient, you can go and duel the King of the Forest. No one with a brain would choose to fight before understanding his behavior."

"You know, when a tiger comes running and people scatter, you don't need to run faster than the tiger, you just need to run faster than everyone else."

“That’s a great suggestion. I’ll inform the other three contestants.”

In the evening, the other three returned, looking exhausted. They told Lin Jiade that most of the surviving townspeople had been subdued, but this was only a temporary measure.

Aside from that, the only valuable intelligence was that the Diana Vestals had not been mobilized; they were sending out small teams to rotate shifts at the Y-shaped intersection outpost with the Diana Temple, following a fixed pattern.

Lin Jiade breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that when Mu Mian obtained the information that there were many widows in the Diana Virgins, she even had a plan to use him as a human sacrifice. At that time, he had not yet learned the cruel truth, and he viewed Mu Mian's use of him as a tool with a mixture of shock and relief.

He glanced at Mu Mian with a complicated expression, then led her back to the new room that he and Di Tao had cleared out. The original design of this room was unknown. When Lin Jiade found it, it was empty, but it was in an excellent location with a wide view and theoretically maximized the intruder's movement route.

Five beds, four cabinets, a table, and three chairs were dragged in. The gaps were filled with supplies that Lin Jiade had found. He tasted the local food and found it flavorful and could provide energy, which was enough.

The wall of the new stronghold was broken open, and the adjacent room was temporarily used as a kitchen. Lin Jiade cooked, and the others assisted him to prevent him from secretly poisoning the food.

“I don’t have a love-binding spell,” Lin Jiade muttered.

Around eight o'clock in the evening, the last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, and the town was swallowed by darkness. The sparse light added a touch of eeriness. Lin Jia pulled up the curtains, turned around and asked, "Oh right, what's the date now?"

“August 11th,” Qi Yanli replied. “I meant the date in this small town.”

“August 13th is Diana’s holy day. On this day, her influence in this place will become exceptionally strong. Could it also strengthen her Oracle Protectors?” he asked.