0p0 Chapter 318 What a terrible script!
Chapter 318 What a terrible script!
I got up, washed up, and looked for March 7th, who was spacing out, and found the exact same script.
This is the eighth time.
Starting from the second time, Himeko stopped cooking and instead chased the three of them off the train with a smile, declaring that they were not allowed to return until nightfall—no doubt, she had been subtly manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes.
With a flash of white light, the three of them arrived in Luofu again with the help of the boundary anchor. As expected, it was the central hub of the Star Chariot Sea.
"Let's have a blast today! First, let's go to the Never-Sleeping Palace, and the last one to arrive will treat us to Immortal's Happy Tea!"
"Exactly the same..."
At the command of March 7th, he grabbed Qiong and ran. Qiong looked back to confirm that Danheng's running posture and speed were exactly the same as the previous seven times.
He's stuck.
This low-budget version of the Flower Goddess's Birthday Festival made Qiong feel very uncomfortable: everyone was acting according to the predetermined script, everything was known, there was no unknown or expectation at all, and if nothing unexpected happened, such scenes would continue to appear.
Qiong didn't like this. He didn't want to watch a pre-arranged play over and over again. He had had enough.
Since he was unwilling to accept the "Endless March 7th," he only had two choices: either do nothing and wait for Kiana and the others to wake him up, or complete this boring and flawed first trial and leave.
Honestly, Qiong leans towards Yi, because he doesn't want some con artist selling immortality to succeed. But let's consider a hypothetical scenario: what if this trial is actually a "combination" of shadow power, a Martian specialty...
Given that under natural conditions, breaking free from "binding" would take hundreds of years in the real world, and the half-life of this "binding" is 2,500 years, or a Martian year of more than 600 days...
Putting aside whether Kiana could wake him up, what if it were a case of one day in reality being a year in a dream? If he only slept eight hours, wouldn't he have to spend six months in this cyclical trial (a Martian year has eighteen months)? A six-month cycle, and this is only the eighth day—he'd go crazy…
Let's choose option two then.
With her mind made up, even though she was reluctant, Qiong seriously considered how to fill the cup of "wisdom"—starting by breaking the pre-set script!
Thinking of this, Qiong flung his hand and stopped himself from driving.
"Qiong, why aren't you running off with me anymore? Do you want to treat me?"
Qiong didn't bother to respond to March 7, who was still rushing forward, but waited for Dan Heng to jog over to chat.
"Danheng, do you feel like something's not right?"
Dan Heng looked at Qiong calmly without saying a word.
Seeing that Dan Heng had no reaction, Qiong scratched his head.
It seems that the characters in this predetermined script are not very intelligent, except for March 7th? They couldn't even answer his sudden question.
Never mind, let's get started!
Qiong grabbed Danheng, who was still jogging, and shouted loudly to March 7th.
"In March, let's skip the Nightless City and go somewhere else!"
Upon hearing Qiong's voice, March 7, who was still rushing forward, stopped and turned to look at Qiong and Dan Heng, whom he had pulled back.
"Huh? Not going to the Nightless City? Why? You two aren't trying to outrun me and then refuse to pay the bill, are you? Let's make it clear first, we can go somewhere else, but you two have to pay!"
"I have no objection."
"Ah."
Dan Heng remained silent, but this time he nodded in agreement—as if he were a machine.
"Alright, then where should we go? No, wait, I'm the birthday girl, so I get to choose!"
"it is good."
Qiong agreed without hesitation. All he wanted was to break the pre-set script; he was fine with going anywhere as long as he didn't go to the Nightless Marquis's place.
"Then let's go to the Taibu Si. We can go find Qingque to fight Di Yuan Qiongyu. She definitely has time. Let's go!"
With a flash of white light, the three arrived at the Imperial Apothecary, where they found Qingque working at her desk...
Wait, Qingque, are you working at your desk?
"Qingque, what's going on?"
As soon as Qiong spoke, Qingque looked up, and there were tears in her eyes.
"Sigh, don't even mention it. I was efficient this morning and finished my work quickly, so I slacked off for a bit and played some games. But the fortune teller predicted I was particularly free, and she caught me and dumped a ton of work on me..."
"So... do you still have time to fight Emperor's Jade with us now?"
On March 7th, he tentatively asked, and Qingque excitedly threw down the document and stood up, then sighed and sat back down.
"I'd like to, but if I don't finish this pile of work, the diviner said he won't approve my leave... That's a long vacation to Pinocchio!"
By the standards of Xianzhou people, what they consider a long holiday is definitely long enough. Compared to the holiday, this short-lived card game seems insignificant.
This girl has such a beautiful voice...
Seeing that Qiong had finally taken action, Nahera also intervened in the trial—although she shouldn't say it, her first reaction was that this girl's voice was very pleasant.
She looks at least 80% like her when she was still a baby dragon.
What are you going to do now?
Despite his intention to finish the trial quickly, Qiong was still extremely dissatisfied with the mastermind behind it all—if he had the chance, he would find this guy and "teach him a lesson"!
There's no need to be hostile towards me... By the way, I promised you before that I would perform a divination for you if you participated in the trial.
"I didn't ask you to do that."
[A good thing that brings good fortune and avoids misfortune, are you really not going to do it? I know everything without you revealing any information...]
"You doxxed me?"
Qiong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine—wasn't that mean he had been seen naked by the mastermind behind the scenes?
I suppose so... You don't object? Then please wait a moment, it's been a while since I've used this technique...
Qiong nodded subconsciously. After a moment's thought, he accepted the divination that the mastermind insisted on giving him without feeling guilty—consider it a small compensation for being spied on.
The results are in—wait, what a mess…
"chaos?"
Wait a little longer...
……
Nahra had never seen such a chaotic divination, sometimes stable, sometimes very auspicious, sometimes extremely inauspicious, and sometimes in crisis.
She didn't understand why there were so many possibilities when divining a person's future. Even after Qiong and the other two had finished playing cards with Qingque, who was itching to play, she still couldn't see through Qiong's future.
However, among countless possibilities, she found a common point that she didn't quite understand: it was two words, Earth characters that she couldn't read, but through Qiong's memories, she could still pronounce those two words.
[Shang Yang?]
Let's study it further.
----------------
Qingque was refreshed and, having won three consecutive games, ended the game before Fu Xuan could find her, and happily took away the chips from the Pioneer Trio.
"Brothers and sisters, thank you for your acknowledgment! It's a pity that if we keep playing, the Grand Diviner will find out, otherwise I would really like to play a few more rounds with you..."
Watching Qingque take the credits from his wallet, Qiong was filled with regret: Playing cards is still gambling, isn't it? Don't you understand the importance of staying away from gambling? He's not good at gambling!
Fortunately, it was just a dream trial; in the real world, he hadn't lost a single penny of money—but since it was a dream, why couldn't he win?
The thought of not being able to win even in her dreams made Qiong even more depressed.
"Well, we've had our fun, where should we go next?"
March 7th stood up and stretched—she was the only one of the three who didn't suffer a loss, because Qiong and Danheng were responsible for her losses...
Let's go to Lin Yuan Realm.
Danheng, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
"Danheng, are you sure?"
March 7th looked astonished, as if Danheng had said something unbelievable.
"I'm absolutely sure."
--------------
For some reason, the journey to Lin Yuan Realm didn't use the boundary anchoring system, nor did any unknown woman appear to read narration or fast-forward. Until they boarded the star raft, March 7th and Dan Heng didn't exchange a single word.
Qiong sensed something was off. Shouldn't March 7th be chattering away like she had the previous times?
"What's wrong with you two?"
March 7th and Danheng exchanged a glance, and they both looked at Qiong, leaving Qiong completely bewildered.
"Qiong, what if... I mean what if."
March 7th asked in a low voice, looking troubled.
"If someone lived in the same day over and over again, do you think he would be happy?"
Qiong: !
Qiong was taken aback by the question. He recalled his own experience of going through the cycle once, and how he decided to participate in the trial because he hated the repetition and boredom...
Happiness is definitely out of the question, but why would March 7th and Danheng ask this? Do they know something about "Endless March 7th"?
"Of course it wouldn't be happy! Repeating the same day over and over again, without any new experiences or changes, would drive you crazy. Even if you love a movie, you wouldn't watch it every day without getting tired of it, right? Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Qiong's question went unanswered, and silence reigned in the star raft.
The Star Chariot slowly arrived at Lin Yuan Realm. The three of them disembarked and headed towards the Ancient Sea of Wave Moon, following the direction in which the Dragon Lord statue stood.
Logically speaking, although this is the territory of the Ming Clan, Danheng should not like to come here for various reasons. Qiong looked around and there were no Ming Clan members around.
The only sound in the tranquil Lin Yuan Realm was the incessant roar of the tide, which made Qiong, who was leading the way, feel an inexplicable sense of oppression: I hope that no foolish creatures from the Abundant Wilderness will jump out and launch a sneak attack.
Just then, March 7's voice came from behind.
"Danheng, there really is no other way..."
"No."
Danheng interrupted March 7.
"It's time."
Suddenly, huge waves surged up in the calm Boyue Ancient Sea, and a giant water dragon appeared out of thin air.
"This is……"
Qiong stared blankly at the water dragon in front of him.
"Danheng, what's wrong with you all of a sudden—"
"March, now's the time!"
"Huh? What do you mean, 'take advantage of now'?"
"Freeze it!"
Qiong looked back and saw an unbelievable scene: it was clearly a hunting expedition on March 7th, but he was holding a bow and arrow... But that's not the point. The point is that his beloved friend and family member on March 7th actually shot a Six-Phase Ice that could freeze everything at him with tears in his eyes.
"What are you doing on March 7th!"
Just as the ice arrow was about to hit Qiong, he instinctively dodged to the side. The ice arrow grazed his clothes and exploded not far away, scattering a cloud of ice crystals.
But dodging was useless! Without any chanting, Dan Heng seamlessly transformed into Yin Yue Jun. The next second, Ji Yun transformed into a dragon ball, Yin Yue created a large number of lotus flowers, and controlled a water dragon to roar and rush towards him. The huge dragon body brought up waves that slammed him down.
"March, Danheng, have you all gone mad?!"
Qiong couldn't understand why his two best friends would attack him—even during the trial, it shouldn't be like this!
Enraged by what he had just witnessed, he roared and struggled to his feet. But before he could even stand, March 7th, tears streaming down his face, drew his bow and fired another arrow, freezing him in two with Danheng and Yinyue.
"Sora, I'm sorry... but this is the only way."
"sorry."
March 7th's voice trembled, and Dan Heng's expression was also solemn.
"What exactly do you want?!"
Qiong was filled with doubt and anger. Just then, his perspective lowered further and lower...
He became very, very small, and was picked up by March 7th.
"I'm sorry, Qiong. Actually, you're already dead. You died on the very first day we set foot on Onpharos."
“You died in the train crash. You were bleeding from all seven orifices that day. March and I tried everything to stop the bleeding, and we even called the train crew and locals for help… but we were still too late… I’m so sorry…”
Qiong stared in shock—though all he could see at that moment was March 7's tear-streaked face.
He couldn't understand it.
"Impossible! I'm clearly still alive, I can still think, and I can feel everything around me!"
"This is the power of Memory Court. Miss Black Swan and Sunday forcibly maintained your memories with memory matter, trapping you in this false cycle... In reality, your body is in the true Scale Abyss Realm; you are now merely a soul whose cognitive impairment is gradually dissipating..."
Just as Qiong was processing this information, the surrounding scenery began to distort, as if being pulled by an invisible force.
"Don't blame Danheng. Danheng told you before that he would use the Dragon Transformation Technique to save you, but you said General Jingyuan and the others wouldn't agree, and we can't force your soul—"
"So what you were doing just now..."
Before Qiong could finish speaking, he felt a sudden dizziness. When he regained consciousness, he found himself placed in front of the horribly mangled, frozen Qiong.
"Yinyue, are you confident you can turn him into a master? That Jingyuan guy..."
"Uncle Dian Dao?"
Qiong tried to turn his head, but he could only hear sounds; he couldn't do anything or make a sound.
"This is the only way to save him."
Qiong listened to their conversation in a daze, then the scene changed, and he saw Dan Heng Yin Yue—his eyes were full of pain, determination, and a hint of madness.
How could this be? This kind of emotion shouldn't be present in Dan Heng...
Beside Dan Heng was Blade, arms crossed, and next to him were three other Star Core Hunters, all of whom had solemn expressions... Wait, where is March 7th?
"Qiong, you have to come back... Danheng, we will succeed, right?"
March 7's voice came from behind me. It seems that I've been captured by March 7?
"We will definitely succeed in March. After all, I am not him."
"Enough talk, let's get started. Jing Yuan might come at any time."
The last words Qiong heard were those in Ren's deep voice. Then, the world went dark, and that was it.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Who wrote this script?!"
In the pitch black, a ray of golden light appeared—was it a golden cup?
Along with the golden cup came that voice.
Humanity transforms its wisdom into mead, pouring it into golden goblets, and its emotions into olive leaves, adorning them...
"No, don't you think this script is full of flaws and bugs? Isn't it too hasty to use something that doesn't even qualify as a game demo as a trial?"
However, Qiong's complaints went unanswered.
[—Thus proving that the golden cup is just overflowing, and that I have seen your wisdom, sufficient to demand eternal gifts, I place the first proof here, on the scales of immortality… Thus, the first trial concludes.]
"What kind of garbage is this?! Where is even a trace of wisdom shown in this?!"
Looking at the road illuminated by the golden cup, Qiong felt both angry and amused. How could a script that could only be written with nine road rollers missing one (eight road rollers) be used as a trial?
Qiong grumbled as she walked along the only path illuminated by the golden cup. She hadn't gone far when a car door appeared before her.
The train doors slowly opened, and all the train crew members except him were there.
"Star Train? I've already completed a trial, and you still won't let me wake up?"
To express my apology, I want to help you see those long-forgotten memories...
Nahera felt a little guilty. As a well-traveled and knowledgeable traveler, she couldn't understand the divination. Based on the principle that she should do what she promised and apologize and make amends if she couldn't, she could only help Qiong look at the sealed memories—and incidentally, to gather some material for the next trial.
I said I'd help you with divination, but I don't quite understand the hexagrams...
"That's it? Are you impotent?"
Since the other party is no good, then don't blame Qiong for seizing the opportunity to vent her dissatisfaction.
Perhaps... but I can tell you what the hexagram represents: two words, Shang Yang.
"Shang Yang? Are you serious?"
Qiong frowned. He did remember this name... Who was it again?
Oh, Shang Yang, the one who implemented the Shang Yang reforms... wait, Shang Yang?
"Um, are your fortune telling predictions accurate?"
Qiong's mind suddenly buzzed: As everyone knows, in modern times, apart from his successful reforms, all that remains of Shang Yang is that infamous and horrific torture: being torn apart by chariots.
To put it another way, it's called being torn apart by five horses.
--------------
I was so engrossed in playing KX that I forgot all about time while in jail...