Chapter Thirty-Nine: What You Cannot Understand
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“I do know who you are. I also know what you came here to do. In fact, I even know things that you yourself don’t.”
Chen Lai’s voice remained gentle. Even though Amon possessed the form of a mythical creature and was a demigod, Chen Lai showed not the slightest fear.
“Is that so? You seem rather confident. Is it because you’re visitors from another world?”
“Why shouldn’t I be? You passed through the barrier to get here. I refuse to believe you have much strength left.” Chen Lai sounded certain.
“Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. I descended here through your companion’s summons. Without him, I probably truly would have been unable to do anything.”
“But thanks to your ‘Deep Sea Game,’ I’m no longer lacking in anything.”
Amon adjusted the monocle over his right eye, looking rather intrigued.
At that moment, a large crowd flooded into Fierce Tiger’s livestream. They all knew that Fierce Tiger was close to Almighty Heavenly Dragon, and that finding him meant finding Chen Lai as well. Yet the moment they entered the stream, they were bewildered by the riddle-like conversation before them.
“What the hell are these two talking about? I can’t understand a single word.”
“Drag all these riddle-speakers out and execute them. I hate people who talk in riddles more than anything.”
“Don’t rush me. Let me listen a little longer. I still haven’t figured out this world’s setting. Why would an ordinary world without any power charge me a hundred and fifty thousand war supplies just to enter?”
Fierce Tiger paid no attention to the comments. To be honest, he was just as confused. He had been in this instance world for quite some time, yet aside from that cup of Almond Dew, he had gained nothing. The conversation unfolding before him was even more incomprehensible.
“I’ve already returned what you wanted to its owner. What a pity—you came all this way for nothing.” Chen Lai grinned.
Amon was unconcerned. “Fate is a very long road. Sooner or later, it will make another omission. An omission is the beginning of an error.”
Chen Lai did not respond to that. He was more concerned with another question.
“The gods of this world—are they strong or weak by your standards?”
“Ah!” Faced with the question, Amon clapped softly. “I understand now. Like those believers in the churches, you’re very concerned about ordinary people… No wonder you came to see me.”
Then Amon revealed a malicious smile.
“You should know about the law of convergence among Beyonder characteristics, shouldn’t you?”
Chen Lai nodded expressionlessly. The three laws of Beyonder characteristics were convergence, indestructibility, and conservation.
Convergence meant that Beyonders tended to gather together, drawn by “fate.” Indestructibility meant that conflict and ambition would never truly disappear. Conservation meant that the number of Beyonders occupying the same sequence was always limited, making advancement extraordinarily difficult.
Why was Amon bringing this up?
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“You do know. How interesting. The extraordinary beings of this world are so weak that, thanks to the mercy of their gods, they can’t even be bothered to summarize the most basic laws. Yet you know the laws of our world.”
Amon smiled, then continued, “From the moment I arrived here, my world had already begun to ‘converge’ with this one.”
Chen Lai listened intently, trying to understand. Then a chill ran through him.
“It’s exactly as you’re thinking. Many years from now, perhaps a new continent will appear over there. Two planets will collide—bang!”
Amon made a gesture like fireworks exploding, eagerly awaiting the anger or astonishment on Chen Lai’s face.
But Chen Lai showed neither. He merely nodded.
“That will be a very long process, and you may not live to see that day.”
Amon was somewhat disappointed that he had not gotten the reaction he wanted. He searched through Zhang Long’s mind for a usable “weapon,” and soon found one.
“You’re a very interesting person. We’ll meet again soon. I hope that when we do, you’ll still be able to maintain this gentleness.”
After saying this with a smile, Amon vanished into thin air, as though he had never been standing there at all.
“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Teleportation! Just this ability alone makes entering the instance worthwhile!”
After a moment of silence, the viewers began flooding the chat with comments.
“Don’t go, bro. The ticket price has inflated to two hundred thousand war supplies. This guy obviously isn’t a good person, and you can’t beat him.”
“I think I understand what they were saying. The instance world we entered seems to be an extremely peripheral part of this entire power system. The closer a planet is to the center of power, the more violently the vortex expands, and the more expensive the entry fee becomes… No wonder.”
“It already costs two hundred thousand war supplies for a peripheral world. I don’t even dare imagine what the main world costs.”
…
The armchair players in the chat debated excitedly, while Chen Lai once again fell into thought. He was considering Amon’s words.
“We’ll meet again soon.”
What did that mean? Could it be that Chen Lai’s own world would also converge with the world of the Lord of Mysteries? Their world had no Beyonder characteristics.
No!
Chen Lai looked at the sealed artifact 0-13 at his waist, then at the Beyonder characteristics he had prepared to take away in his bag. If he brought these things back, wouldn’t his world possess Beyonder characteristics as well?
Didn’t the collision of the deep sea count as another form of “convergence”?
The moment this thought occurred to him, Chen Lai turned directly toward Fierce Tiger.
“Tiger, are you streaming?”
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“Huh? Yeah. There are over a thousand viewers now—more than there are people in this damn instance.” Fierce Tiger had no idea what Chen Lai meant.
Chen Lai ignored him. He rushed straight over, displayed Old Artist and the Sequence Six Artist Beyonder Characteristic to the players, and said with utmost solemnity:
“These things contain what are known as ‘Beyonder characteristics.’ They will destroy our world.”
“The person who just left will certainly try every possible method to lure you into bringing back things that contain Beyonder characteristics. Please do not accept them. The candy he offers is poison at its core—sweet at first taste, but deadly once the sweetness is gone.”
“If you suffer losses because of this, you can come to me for reimbursement. You should all know who I am. My game ID is Almighty Heavenly Dragon. In the previous instance, the Shibuya Incident, I evacuated with nearly eighty million items.”
“I’m begging you, everyone. I don’t know whether this will work. Amon is best at manipulating the human heart. The one thing he probably cannot understand is human sacrifice and courage.”
“I’m nowhere near enough to oppose him alone. I need everyone’s strength. Without you, I am nothing.”
Chen Lai spoke with complete candor, saying everything he could. The moment he mentioned Amon, Amon reappeared behind him, his expression calm.
“You know my name. In your game and mine, you have violated the rules.”
“This concerns three worlds. This isn’t a game. Games ruined my life, but I don’t want them to ruin anyone else’s.”
Chen Lai made a small joke. His body gradually stiffened as Amon attempted to parasitize him. Chen Lai immediately dropped all pretense.
“You know me. I always like to keep something in reserve.”
Before his body became completely rigid, Chen Lai smiled at Amon. Then he shouted toward the sleeping Toji Fushiguro within him:
“Toji, fire!”
The next second, Chen Lai—who had been standing motionless before Amon—suddenly moved freely. He drew the five-thousand-yuan Firearm he had purchased upon entering the instance, aimed it at his own forehead, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Blood sprayed everywhere. The viewers watched Chen Lai kill himself before their eyes. Even Amon froze. Chen Lai had already been under his control; he should not have been able to move.
“Evacuation failed. You have been permanently lost within the Pretty Friend instance.”
“This settlement…”
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