Chapter 24

The system did not say what would happen if the game did not end after the time limit was exceeded, but the punishment for the Red Light District’s holographic game was surely nothing pleasant.

Horne did not want to wait any longer either. He walked up to the mirror, looked at himself in it, and spoke in a cold, clear voice with extremely concise words: “Technician, cowardly, boring, ambitious but afraid to turn hostile, only daring to compromise, full of excuses, reaping what he sowed.”

He pondered how to explain who he was when Gao Qie interrupted him again.

After the third person in this game, there were no more rewards, only tiered punishments, but the earlier one exited, the lighter the punishment, so he could not let anyone else be the third to leave.

“I said, I’ll go first!” he shouted.

“To leave some money for my remaining years and a portion for my younger brother, I—I did not think about my daughter. Everyone says parents love their children, and denying that is utterly unfilial, denying the truth. But I know I do not love her. She is just a tool. I—I, I just wanted her to relieve my pressure. Not loving is not loving, screw that! Every time I said ‘Which parent does not love their children,’ I knew no one would refute it. No, it was not that they would not; they dared not. If she succeeded, of course I would love her. If she was mediocre, how could she satisfy my vanity? But, but on the surface, I still had to say that no matter what, I hoped my children would be safe and happy—that was enough. I wanted them, because of that phrase, even if I hurt them, to convince themselves because of my seed, because of the education I gave them, to make excuses for me. Haha.

“My love for her is conditional. We deceived together, completing the game of filial piety! Hahaha!”

Finally, the mirror showed signs of loosening. As he breathed a sigh of relief, his face was covered in even thicker madness and despair.

He did not look back or speak to anyone as he charged toward the mirror and fled in panic.

Because of Gao Qie’s mad roar of fury, the ripples in the mirror lingered for a long time before finally calming down, and everything returned to normal.

Horne continued the words he had not finished. His voice was not loud and somewhat indistinct: “I do not know… I might be a person who is very afraid of being hurt or betrayed. I feel I should not be like this. I forgot what happened; I only remember that in the past, for the innocence I believed in, I did some wrong things without hesitation. I regretted the things I did, but I do not regret becoming who I am now.” Horne was somewhat unsure of what he was saying. He looked at this city gate, his mind filled with those red-and-white colors, which made him dizzy.

“I should be a very innocent person. Even today, I am still very innocent. Even if betrayed, I would repeat the same mistakes. Even knowing it was an abyss, I would still jump.”

He suddenly felt immense pain, unable to distinguish whether this pain came from facing his true self or the self behind the mask.

“I should not be a cold-blooded person, but I forgot who I am.

“If I could, I just want to find myself again, do what I want to do, become the person I want to be.”

He hated this mask very much. He was just like the technician he played, compromising again and again in the flood of reality, finding one or two righteous excuses for himself.

On his twentieth birthday, at the gray and heavy North City Gate, he had met two people. He did not know where they came from or which world, but he believed they were gods.

The gods said that god was in his heart.

So he had always believed that perhaps a negligible divinity existed in his innocent heart, even if he sometimes wanted to play the villain; at the same time, he knew that even if he severed his emotions and hid in the darkness, he wanted to do as much as possible for all humanity because of that acknowledged divinity.

In the shimmering faint light, the mirror in front of him rippled. He reached out, as if passing through a layer of cool lake water, took a step forward, and his whole body immersed into this lake.

The sensation of the lake was gentle, unlike that thick fog. It was as if after passing through the painful self, there would ultimately be a peaceful nook to soothe all wounds.

He did not know if the people behind him could get out, but this was something only he could accomplish on his own, so Horne paid no more attention.

Loch City had been rainy these past few days. After a thunderstorm, there were several days of continuous drizzling.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in that huge, dark game pod room. The transparent glass cover had risen, and Horne struggled to sit up. He turned his head and saw that Ains’s game pod next to him was empty, while some of the other dozens of game pods were empty and some still in the game.

Horne walked slowly out of the dark game room. The lights outside made his eyes uncomfortable, and the damp, rainy smell stung his lungs.

He had returned to reality three hours before the game ended, and now there were seventeen hours left until the Tower’s kill order. Horne breathed a sigh of relief.

The words he had said to himself in the game still pierced his heart, as if layer by layer peeling open his heart to reveal the most real, most vivid him inside.

The staff member in charge of the holographic game walked toward Horne: “Hello, sir. Based on your game results, I will randomly draw a punishment for you.”

The holographic screen scrolled with blank text. At a certain moment, the staff member pressed casually. When the scrolling ended and the result appeared, he looked up: “Sir, you did not complete… wait.”

A trace of confusion appeared on his face: “Sorry, there was a system calculation error just now. Alright, sir, congratulations. You only need to pay a fine of fifty thousand to the Red Light District.”

Horne: “…”

He did not know what there was to congratulate.

He had to compensate Hels another fifty thousand.

Horne sighed deeply, thinking that he might not make it after all. Otherwise, should he apply to be a bartender? Security guard would work too.

For the first time, Horne showed difficulty on his face as he considered asking if he could owe it. Before he could speak, a familiar white figure walked over.

“Brother.”

Horne was somewhat surprised. He thought Moroz had left long ago, but he had actually waited here for him.

Moroz walked to Horne’s side and said softly to him: “Brother, I have something to tell you.”

Horne told the staff member he would be right back.

The two walked a bit further outside and stopped.

The shrieks and screams of the Red Light District rose and fell outside, and on top of that, there was an oppressive mood. Many people were discussing the Tower’s kill order—this was the first time in their lives they had received such information.

“Anyone want to team up to find this Horne guy? Reward split evenly!”

“Come on!”

The conversation the two were about to start was interrupted by the bustle outside. Horne looked up at the clock; it was just past one in the afternoon.

Moroz withdrew his gaze: “Brother, do not mind it. You just have the same name.”

Seeing this youth in the game and in reality, Horne felt somewhat different. He was still the same youth, but his temperament seemed more mature.

Horne did not explain that it was actually him; Moroz did not need to know. He nodded and asked: “What is it?”

Moroz was silent for a moment, head lowered, his voice suddenly low: “After I came out, I kept thinking about what you said to me. I think you are right. If I really love him, there is no need to make a wish. I think… if you are willing, I will give you my wish opportunity, okay?”

For a moment, the surrounding clamor flooded his ears and occupied Horne’s mind.

“Five people now! Anyone else joining the kill squad!”

“Reward split evenly!”

Horne had not expected Moroz to make such a decision and suddenly did not know whether to accept or refuse. Just as he was about to speak, Moroz’s words blocked him again.

“If you do not accept, then forget it. If you do not want it, I will not either.” He looked at Horne, his eyes still serious.

Horne felt that this youth was someone very reliable.

After a moment, Horne said softly: “Thank you.”

Moroz smiled. He suddenly became very relaxed, his serious expression hiding away. He raised his hands over his head to stretch and yawned, returning to that indifferent look from when he entered the game: “No problem. Then I will go first. I am going to accompany him. Wish you a pleasant life. See you if fate allows.”

Moroz walked outward, his back to Horne, and waved at him.

See you if fate allows, Horne said in his heart.

When Horne returned, he saw Ains sitting in the waiting area. Ains greeted him happily.

She had put her mask back on, becoming that face trying hard to keep smiling again. Horne nodded slightly and walked to the staff member’s side.

Although this was Moroz’s kindness, his original purpose in joining the game was to help Ains, so he would ultimately yield this opportunity to her.

He explained to the staff member, but unexpectedly faced immediate refusal. The other replied mechanically: “Sir, there is no precedent for yielding opportunities. If everyone could yield, what would the game rules become?”

Hearing this, Ains’s expression began to turn aggrieved. Her mouth pursed, looking like she was about to cry.

If they could not make a wish, this game had been completely pointless.

Horne clenched his fist and bit his teeth lightly without making a sound.

It was he who had not discovered those patterns early enough and lacked the courage to face himself in the final stage, but he did not want to waste it like this, so he explained to the staff member again: “You can consider Moroz’s opportunity as letting her make the wish.”

The staff member was rigidly almost inhuman. He answered directly: “Please do not challenge Mr. Hels’s rules.”

“What rules of Hels?” Horne’s tone had turned somewhat cold.

The staff member was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he took a deep breath, did not answer Horne’s question, and instead informed him: “Sir, I reminded you last time. Please do not be so ungrateful. I am just telling you that you cannot do this. If you still do not respect Mr. Hels, you might not leave alive.”

Just as the staff member finished speaking, Ains burst into loud wails, her cries echoing in the waiting area. Some players sitting there looked over.

Horne was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

“Yo? What is this?” Not long after, a familiar voice came from around the corner outside.

Ye Shu swayed in her usual gait and walked slowly to the middle of the group. The moment she saw Horne, countless possibilities flashed through her mind.

The staff member explained the situation to Ye Shu.

Ye Shu nodded, arms crossed over her chest, turned to face Horne with a inexplicable smile: “Oh dear, this is indeed the rule. If you have any questions, you can go find Hels yourself.” After saying that, she winked at him.

The staff member thought this was to dissuade Horne.

Horne actually considered the feasibility of it for a moment, then became a bit annoyed. He just did not want to find Hels because facing this man left him somewhat at a loss.

Ains’s cries grew louder, breaking down in sobs over the medical fees they could not raise. Her cries drew people from outside who came specifically to the game area to see what was happening, and for a moment, more and more people gathered.

Horne was in an awkward spot. He patted Ains’s back and said softly: “Do not cry!”

It had no effect.

Finally, Horne closed his eyes, steeled his heart, bent down, and whispered: “Do not cry, do not cry. You go home first. Leave it to me. I will figure something out. I will definitely help you, okay?”

After consoling her for a long time, Ains finally wiped her reddened eyes and nodded to Horne.

Watching Ains’s departing figure, Horne stood quietly at the entrance of the Red Light District building. Ahead was the gray, heavy sky. Pedestrians stepped through puddles, splashing rainwater everywhere.

Several recon drones circled overhead, and the bloodshot clamor behind surged, reaching a peak.

“Nine people now. Who else wants to join?”

“We can split into a few teams!”

“I—I do not want to die because of someone I do not know.”

“Find him!!”

Horne turned his head to look into the Red Light District. Several men stood high on the platform, loudly recruiting. The red walls reflected their faces bright red, indistinguishable whether it was a bloody omen or excitement.

Horne stood there for a good while, his heart wavering unsteadily, and finally gave up struggling. In self-abandonment, he contacted Hels.

Horne: [Are you there?]