“Destroy…?” I let out a bitter laugh after hearing this. The core tenet of the “Yakuza” has always been to protect this place, yet she wants to destroy it.
“So powerless…” Jiang Ruoxue’s eyes were red as she stared at me. “Before leaving, I said I’d go see the situation there first. If I liked the ‘Seeds’ and the ‘Flowers,’ I’d take them away. If I didn’t, I’d let them sink into despair.”
“Right…” I nodded. “Isn’t that already a clear plan?”
“But I truly feel powerless,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “I really like the ‘Flowers’ and the ‘Seeds,’ but I can’t take them away. My strength alone is too insignificant. I’ve done everything I could… but it’s still futile. That place is like a real hell on earth.”
Jiang Ruoxue described in detail what had happened in “Jade City.”
For a city already completely diseased, neither force nor intellect had any use. After lengthy discussions with Li Siwei, the then-leader of “Jade City,” they finally settled on a plan. To make one disease seem like it had vanished, they had to infect the city with an even worse sickness.
So, they personally crafted a “Goddess”—a being above all previous leaders of “Jade City.” She was shrouded in myth, possessed supernatural abilities, and carried a beautiful spiritual value that could soothe everyone’s soul.
But this was a path doomed to destruction. After all, the “Goddess” couldn’t lead anyone to escape. Everything about her was a lie. And when others discovered she was just an ordinary person, they would drag her down from her pedestal in the most brutal way possible.
Thus, this was only the surface plan. The core plan was to preserve the “Seeds.”
For this plan, the “Goddess” would lead thousands to their deaths.
“I witnessed that farewell with my own eyes…” Jiang Ruoxue said, her eyes red. “The faith of the ‘Flowers’ and the ‘Seeds’ shattered completely, leaving them to move forward by the faintest glimmers of hope. They would never see each other again in this lifetime. But why must kind people suffer so much?”
“Ruoxue…” I slowly placed my hand on her shoulder, unsure how to comfort her.
Ever since she left “Paradise Gate,” her mood had been low. Just as she was recovering, she had to witness the horrors of “Jade City.” I was genuinely worried about her mental state.
“The wicked here live so freely…” Jiang Ruoxue’s voice trembled. “They don’t need to be as meticulous as us, living only for their own interests…”
“Yes,” I nodded. “The more selfish someone is here, the better they thrive. But that’s wrong. If the entire ‘Land of the End’ had no selfish people, if everyone stood united, we would have escaped on the very first day of our arrival.”
“But that’s impossible…” Jiang Ruoxue said. “There will always be the wicked, the selfish, the cowardly, and those who dream of reaping without sowing. And yet, in this cursed place, they all thrive, while those who stay true to themselves suffer.”
I had no rebuttal for that.
After all, I’d recently been indiscriminately killing people in the games—just to hone my skills and “conviction.” But for those people, even if they begged on their knees, I would still kill them.
My ultimate goal was to “liberate this place.” Even if I spared them in the games, they would never be free.
“Only those selfless enough to see the bigger picture can do it,” I said. “Ruoxue, let’s become those people.”
Jiang Ruoxue lowered her head helplessly. I knew all of this was hard for her to accept.
As we spoke, three people suddenly burst through the door. Night was falling, and it seemed they had come to seek shelter.
But these three didn’t look particularly pleasant—one blond, one with green hair, and one bald.
“Hey… two beauties here…” The green-haired leader smirked lewdly. “We’re in luck, boys.”
I ignored them, speaking as gently as I could to Jiang Ruoxue. “Ruoxue, don’t overthink it. At least in my eyes, Brother Sheep isn’t like that… and neither am I. Even if we do many selfish things, our ultimate goal isn’t ‘selfishness.'”
“Zhichun…” Jiang Ruoxue clutched her hair in agony. “My heart is in chaos… You didn’t see it… Thousands of people boiled alive in a massive pot… They died smiling, believing they had ascended… And the mastermind behind it all was just a pyramid scheme leader. With mere words, he led an entire city to ruin…”
“Didn’t he get his retribution?” I said. “Ruoxue… Your mind is in turmoil right now… It’s not good for you.”
“Hey, beauties! What’re you talking about?”
A blond man with no sense of boundaries walked up to me and tugged at my sleeve.
The green-haired guy and the bald one followed, all three now standing behind me.
My gaze turned icy in an instant. These people had no idea what they were playing with. I was comforting Jiang Ruoxue, and seeing her like this had already put me in a foul mood.
Did they really have to cause trouble now? I hadn’t killed anyone in three whole days.
A quick glance revealed daggers at their waists—perhaps intimidating elsewhere, but here, it was just suicidal.
I slowly reached toward my waist, prompting the three behind me to draw their daggers.
Under their horrified stares, I brought my hand to my neck—and they mirrored me, pressing their blades against their own throats.
“Ruoxue, I’ll prove it to you with actions,” I said. “Those who commit evil here won’t escape unscathed.”
“W-what the hell, lady?!” The green-haired man stammered in terror. “We just wanted to chat! What kind of ability is this?!”
“Zhichun, I don’t want to be a good person anymore.” Jiang Ruoxue stood up slowly, her expression eerily calm. “I’m truly tired. I’m not happy.”
Hearing that, my brows furrowed slightly, and my heart ached sharply.
“Hey, handsome,” Jiang Ruoxue flashed them a carefree smile. “Got any booze? Mind taking me for a few drinks?”
My hand froze mid-air. My conviction wavered.
“Zhichun, let them go,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “If you kill them just for hitting on us, how are you any different from the wicked?”
With those words, my conviction shattered completely. The three men broke free from my control and scrambled back in fear.
Jiang Ruoxue walked over and linked arms with one of them, then turned to me with a bitter smile. “Don’t blame me. I just want to be happy.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage