I'm in Genshin Impact, and I started by teaming up with Luna.

Wu Qiu was about to agree, but then he suddenly thought of Ying, whom he had just beaten up, and the words he was about to say turned into a sigh.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Klee, I have something very important to do, so I'm afraid I can't stay with you."

"Ah~" Klee's face showed disappointment, but she quickly cheered up again, "Then Klee will help too!"

Without waiting for Wu Qiu's reply, she grabbed him and ran outside. Outside, the sky was still gloomy; it should have been noon, but it felt like dusk.

Walking on the streets of Mondstadt, everything was peaceful, but for some reason, Wu Qiu felt a chill enveloping the entire city.

Keli's smile remained lovely and sunny, completely different from the current atmosphere. Only when looking at Keli could Wu Qiu shake off that uneasy feeling.

"Hey, have you heard? Something big happened in Mondstadt recently."

Suddenly, Wu Qiu overheard two people whispering nearby. He didn't pay them any mind, assuming it was just some useless gossip or something about the Wind Demon Dragon.

However, before Wu Qiu could get far, another person's voice came over, especially the last three words, which seemed to resonate in Wu Qiu's ears word by word.

"Of course I know, that perverted freak who recently appeared in Mondstadt, the Corpse, the Madman..."

Chapter 176: Are you angry?

"Dismemberment maniac?"

For some reason, Wu Qiu was stunned when he heard this word, and then a surge of anger rushed into his brain.

Wu Qiu simply attributed it to his own sense of justice erupting. After all, most people would still be extremely sensitive to the word "dismemberment."

Looking back, Wu Qiu wanted to shake off the matter. At the same time, he also wanted to leave with Ke Li as soon as possible; he didn't want anything tainted in Ke Li's pure and beautiful world.

But when Wu Qiu came to his senses, he found that everything around him had changed. The sky had disappeared, Mondstadt had disappeared, the whole world had disappeared, as if it had been swallowed up by endless darkness.

"This, this is..."

Wu Qiu didn't know what had happened, but he quickly realized it and turned around to say, "But..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Wu Qiu was stunned. Because Ke Li had vanished from his sight; more accurately, a painting had appeared there instead.

The pale face, the crimson blood, and the exposed white bones were like a knife piercing Wu Qiu's heart. (Wait, wait a minute, don't kill me yet, please finish reading.)

Wu Qiu stood there, completely stunned. He didn't know if it was a painting or what, but he just couldn't accept it, couldn't accept Ke Li's current state.

"No, how could this be..."

Wu Qiu shook his head; he dared not look again, but he had no choice but to raise his head once more. Whether it was good or bad, the painting vanished.

Wu Qiu's mind was in turmoil. He didn't know if it was an illusion or what, but he couldn't suppress his anger, nor could he accept that someone would really treat Ke Li, such a lovely child, like that.

Just then, a huge object suddenly landed in front of Wu Qiu. It was like a mountain, or a giant pillar supporting the sky, sweeping across him.

The earth began to tremble, leaving a huge mark where the boulder had passed. Wu Qiu didn't know what it was, nor what was happening. He only knew that he had to find Ke Li, and he had to protect her, even if it might seem presumptuous. But Wu Qiu thought he would never allow anyone to hurt Ke Li, never.

The massive stone pillar continued its sweeping motion, failing to harm Wu Qiu but constantly passing by him. Wu Qiu tried to approach the pillar, but to no avail.

Just as Wu Qiu was wondering what to do, he suddenly felt his body float up, and then his whole body floated up.

As his body rose higher and higher, Wu Qiu slowly saw scenes he couldn't see from the ground. It turned out he was on a huge platform, or rather, a dark gray canvas.

The enormous, constantly moving stone pillars are like a paintbrush, constantly moving across the canvas, slowly revealing a painting.

As his body grew taller, Wu Qiu could see more and more clearly, and he even saw a huge stone platform in the sky.

When Wu Qiu landed on the stone platform, he saw Ke Li. Fortunately, she was unharmed, but standing next to Ke Li was a humanoid creature wearing a demon mask and exuding a black aura.

Wu Qiu didn't know what that guy was, but he knew he wasn't a good person. Ke Li, upon seeing Wu Qiu, looked at him with pleading eyes.

Wu Qiu saw the terror in Ke Li's eyes. But now, she had no way to resist, because she was trapped in a turbulent flow of data, like a string of data, stuck in place, unable to even move or change her expression.

"Who are you! Let go of Klee!"

As Wu Qiu's angry voice rang out, he raised his foot and charged forward. He didn't know if he could beat the other person, but Wu Qiu knew that he had to protect Ke Li now; she needed him.

But Wu Qiu had only taken a few steps forward when he suddenly felt himself bump into something. The next second, Wu Qiu was thrown back and landed heavily on the ground.

Wu Qiu was a little confused, but in his anger, he didn't think too much about it and rushed forward again. But, the result was the same; Wu Qiu was bounced back once more.

This time, Wu Qiu sensed it. In the center of the platform, there was a barrier, a transparent barrier, that divided the entire platform in two.

"Oh shit!"

With a curse, Wu Qiu raised his foot and kicked the barrier. But it was no use. Undeterred, Wu Qiu kicked several more times, using all the strength he could muster, but still to no avail.

"Shh-"

Suddenly, the mysterious figure in front of them spoke. He raised his hand to signal Wu Qiu to be quiet, then looked down and said, "This is a masterpiece, a perfect masterpiece."

He then looked at Wu Qiu and said, "You are very lucky, because you are about to witness the birth of a perfect work of art."

After saying that, Wu Qiu picked up a pen and made a stroke on the canvas in front of him. He felt the stone pillar below move. At the same time, a sharp knife appeared in front of Ke Li and slashed down without hesitation.

"stop!"

Wu Qiu roared and slammed his fist into the barrier in front of him. The entire platform shook, and Wu Qiu's eyes turned bloodshot, his gaze filled with murderous intent as he looked at the person opposite him.

The dagger stopped, the stone pillar stopped, and the mysterious man's pen stopped too. Raising his head, the mysterious man looked at Wu Qiu, whose eyes were bloodshot, and chuckled.

Instead of raging in vain, why not look at what's below?

Wu Qiu turned his head and looked down, discovering that the painting was already quite finished. Wu Qiu had seen this painting before; it was the dismemberment scene.

And now, the painting has stopped at the stage of dismemberment. Moreover, the position of the huge stone pillar is exactly where the sharp knife is located.

Wu Qiu understood, and looking at the mysterious man, he said in a low voice, "You beast!"

The mysterious man laughed, a somewhat manic laugh, looking at Wu Qiu with a frenzied expression that was easy to see.

“That’s right, everything is under my control. If I want, I can have a real work of art, not just a painting.”

"Are you angry? I'm right in front of you, so close yet so far. Poor you, you can't do anything, you can only watch all this happen from outside the screen, and you can't do anything about it."

As he spoke, the pen moved slightly, and the dagger moved even closer to Keli.

"Come at me if you have a problem!"

Wu Qiu kicked him again. He knew it was useless, but he had no choice. All he could do now was rage and roar, because just as the mysterious man had said, there was really no way to do anything.

They were separated by only a screen, yet they were worlds apart. On this side of the screen, one could only watch, witness the atrocities committed on the other side.

"Come at me, fine."

The mysterious man looked at Wu Qiu, and then a stone appeared in front of Wu Qiu. The stone was connected to Ke Li by a thin red thread.

"Grab this rock, and every cut from now on will pierce your heart. So, do you dare to protect your Klee? I've given you a chance, so cherish it."

Chapter 177: The Poor Clown

Without any hesitation, Wu Qiu grabbed the stone in front of him.

"Oh! That's very courageous."

The mysterious man spoke, but he was clearly displeased. Seeing Wu Qiu grasp the stone, he drew without hesitation.

The next second, Wu Qiu felt as if his heart had been stabbed. The pain was like suffocation, and Wu Qiu lost his balance and knelt on the ground, spitting out blood.

"Can't you even handle this?"

The mysterious man spoke with a mocking tone, then drew another stroke. Similarly, Wu Qiu felt another pang of pain in his heart, his entire body instantly drenched in sweat and trembling.

However, Wu Qiu didn't utter a sound or loosen his grip on the stone. He gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the person in front of him.

"This is just the beginning."

Then, one cut, then another, a third cut, a fourth cut, a fifth cut.

Every pain was excruciating, yet Wu Qiu persevered. He knew that if he couldn't hold on, Ke Li would be in real danger.

But at the same time, Wu Qiu felt powerless, a profound sense of helplessness. Wu Qiu didn't know what he could do; he was too weak and had absolutely no way to deal with his opponent.

With each wave of pain, Wu Qiu's consciousness began to wane. Wu Qiu didn't know if he was going to die or what, but he was filled with resentment, resentment, and resentment that it was all over like this.

"Despair? Powerlessness? If that's all you're capable of, how are you going to fight me?"

Suddenly, Wu Qiu heard a voice. It was very familiar, like his own voice, but compared to his own, this voice was full of disdain and indifference.

"who is it?"

On his deathbed, Wu Qiu asked a question. But no one answered him, as if the voices he had just heard were an illusion.

"Help me, you can do it, right? Help me. Maybe if we could find Sister Ying, she would definitely solve all this and wouldn't be in such a sorry state as I am."

Another call went unanswered. An unknown amount of time passed, and just as Wu Qiu felt he was about to die, the voice finally returned.

"If you will always rely on Sister Ying, if you will always hide behind her, then do you think you are still worthy of being by her side?"

"Look at yourself now. Without Sister Ying, you are nothing. Without Sister Ying protecting you, what will you use to protect the people you want to protect? How will you accompany Sister Ying to the end of the journey?"

As the words fell, Wu Qiu's dying heart skipped a beat, and then, little by little, regained consciousness. Yes, on the verge of death, that voice pulled Wu Qiu back from the brink.

Meanwhile, the mysterious man who thought Wu Qiu was dead saw Wu Qiu move again and never let go of the stone.

Although he was so unsteady on his feet that he needed to lean on the barrier to stand, Wu Qiu had indeed come back to life. Moreover, his eyes, which had been filled with anger, were now calm.

"I remember now, all of this is an illusion, it's fake, it doesn't exist, it's a maze created by the True Lord of Moon-Shaving and Sun-Building."

Gasping for breath, Wu Qiu spoke slowly. The mysterious man wasn't surprised, looking at Wu Qiu, "Have you realized it? So, are you going to give up?"

"Heh." Wu Qiu gripped the stone in his hand, raised his head, and with sweat glistening in his sharp eyes, he revealed a wicked smile: "So what if she doesn't exist? So what if she's fake? So what if she's fabricated! None of these are reasons for you to hurt her."

As he spoke, Wu Qiu suddenly tightened his grip on the barrier. Then, with a crack, a thin crack appeared on the void barrier.

"what!"

The mysterious man's pupils contracted, and he took a step back, staring at Wu Qiu in disbelief. But he quickly recovered, picked up a pen, and scribbled a few lines on the paper.

Wu Qiu's body trembled slightly, but that was all. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but the smile on Wu Qiu's face remained unchanged.

"I told you I would protect her, so don't even think about hurting her!"

He exerted force again, and this time, the cracks in the barrier widened. The mysterious man panicked this time, raising his pen to strike again, but suddenly found that his hand was no longer moving.

Not only that, he couldn't move his entire body. He just stood there, unable to move at all, just like Klee, unable to even change his expression.

"Do you really think that nothingness means no meaning, hiding in the virtual world? Does non-existence allow you to defile something? Does non-existence allow you to do whatever you want?!"

"No, you're wrong. You're just a ridiculous clown. Nothing you do, nothing you do, will affect Klee."

"No matter what you do, every knife you throw will only end up on us, and it won't affect our love for Klee in the slightest. Even if I fall today, someone else will stand here and protect Klee for us."

With each word Wu Qiu spoke, the strength in his hand increased until finally, when the last word was uttered, the barrier shattered with a clear sound.