"What did you say?"
Thangka felt that every hair on her body was about to explode, and every cell in her body was frozen.
The rain was cold, but the blood was even colder.
"Get out of my way!"
Before he realized what was going on, Shao Jie had already roared in desperation.
Shao Jie immediately turned from a poor stray dog into a ferocious wolf. He held the dagger next to his thigh hard with his right hand. "Thangka, get out of my way!"
His wrist crystal processor was squeaking and emitting dangerous redness, but nobody noticed it in the storm. Even if they did, they wouldn't have cared at all.
After all, the Spiritual Nexus had been seriously disrupted by the storm. Nobody could lock onto them through their portable crystal processors.
"No, the Spiritual Nexus is not disconnected. I can sense it."
Li Yao sighed. "However, somebody has misled you into thinking that nobody can monitor and lock onto you because the Spiritual Nexus has been disrupted. Therefore, it is useless. Even if you let him pass, he will still be captured by the purge troops that are lurking in the darkness. You will also be accused of being corrupted by extraterrestrial devils. Chances are that you will be sent to the temple together with him to be purged. Then, it will be completely hopeless.
"Stop him before he causes too much trouble. Maybe you'll be fine … for now."
Thangka's head went blank, and she was unable to react at all.
Li Yao could only take over part of Thangka's brain cells and central nerves. He said to Shao Jie, "Go back. Don't make things worse. Many students can prove that it was Liao Meng who hit you first before you counterattacked. Protecting one's body from harm is also the third law of the Path of Ultimate Benevolence. Therefore, the whole thing is not as serious as it seems.
"However, if you do run away, you will be unpardonable no matter who is right or wrong during the day!"
"I … I … I …"
Shao Jie breathed heavily, and his arm that was holding the dagger trembled violently. The black raindrops left interconnected black stripes on his face, and the lightning was exploding above his head, making him more and more confused. "I'm hopeless. I'm hopeless. I'm completely hopeless …"
"You can be saved. I will save you. The Ultimate Benevolence Masters will save you. The gods will save you as long as you turn back in time."
Li Yao continued controlling Thangka's throat and said ambiguously, "Relax. Relax. Throw away the bag. It's fine. Let's go back. We will all become Purgers. You still have a chance. Trust me. Trust the gods' blessings for you. The gods will not forget every child."
Shao Jie's power was draining away bit by bit.
It was as if the black rainwater had flowed into the manhole in the depths of the city.
The noisy noises and messy lights coming from afar were the last straw that broke his will.
He let out a whimper that was either sorrowful or desperate. He took off the backpack full of high-energy food and threw it into the deepest part of the ruins. Then, as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out, he stood there in a daze, waiting for Thangka to deal with him.
"Thangka, Shao Jie!"
Chu Zhiyun's voice came over in the black rain. His classmates came from afar. "What happened?"
"Nothing."
Li Yao said, "I just fell and got separated from everybody. I ran into Shao Jie on the way. He fell into a pit and broke his leg, so he was very slow. I was going to take him to you so that we can chase the defector together!"
"There's no need to chase them!"
Chu Zhiyun's voice was mixed with frustration and another, more subtle emotion. "The defector has been caught by the purge troop. The emergency mission is over. Let's go back to the camp!"
The emergency mission that lasted until midnight was like a thunder that was loud but not much rain. It had an ending that nobody enjoyed enough, but it was also a matter of course.
Shao Jie stared at Thangka thoughtfully, as if he were wondering why Thangka did not point out his backpack to everybody.
However, Thangka held back all her feelings and looked at Shao Jie calmly and indifferently.
When the team returned to the camp, it was already late at night.
They did a very sloppy Blessing of the Holy Light, but all the students were still excited. The air seemed to be filled with the fragrance of stimulants that corroded people's hearts.
It was not until the execution rack was erected again that they saw the real faces of the two defectors — a boy and a girl who were as ordinary as they were.
As usual, these two sinners who violated the law of Heaven would be sent to the Holy Temple for purification after being whipped.
However, their screams when they were being whipped were much louder and sharper than the screams of the student who stole the toy yesterday.
The people of the Holy League had always rejected pain, believing that pain was also a test given to them by the gods. Only those who were indifferent to extreme pain were truly pious.
But these two students knew that their time was up, so they gave up on themselves and unrestrainedly vented the pain of their bodies and the fear in their hearts. They turned the groans of the whipping into the cries of demons.
Including Thangka, all the "Children of the Holy Light" were deeply hurt by their cries and howls. Their heartbeat quickened, their breathing quickened, and the corners of their eyes twitched unconsciously. Their pupils contracted to the size of a needle tip, and this needle tip pierced their own brains again and again.
Perhaps, when all the children were chasing after the defectors, they had the same idea as Thangka — to take advantage of the torrential rain and when there was no one around to escape from their current lives.
Thangka did not know what he would have done if Li Yao did not give him pointers.
Would he have let Shao Jie go?
Would he have even escaped with Shao Jie?
What if he had discovered his monitor instead of Shao Jie? What if his commander, Chu Zhiyun, had ordered him to escape with her? Would he have obeyed the order as usual?
Thangka did not know the answer to that question. Therefore, the thorny whip that was stained with venom seemed to be slapping his back again and again, making his heart palpitate in pain.
It was not until the two heavily wounded, bloody defectors were dragged away by the mentors, and the rest of the students were driven back to their tents by hasty whistles to wash themselves and take a rest. It was not until they crawled into the deepest part of their beds that Thangka finally dared to take a long breath under the cover of her hands. It was a breath of cold, gloomy air.
"Grandpa Yao, tell me. Are you alone, or have a lot of 'extraterrestrial devils' like you arrived at all the students?"
Thangka's brain was in a mess, and her indestructible faith was gradually collapsing. "What is the truth exactly? What is the so-called 'ultimate test'? Why do I feel that everybody has gradually lost control and become deformed after only two days? Have we been possessed by the extraterrestrial devils on a large scale, and we can't control ourselves anymore?"
"First of all, I am not an extraterrestrial devil. Secondly, even if you regard me as an extraterrestrial devil in a certain form, I am still unique. You can't find a second being like me in the entire universe."
Li Yao pondered for a long time and said, "However, your speculations do have a point. Perhaps somebody is raising extraterrestrial devils with the Children of Holy Light. Those extraterrestrial devils are not from the outside but have been implanted into your body since you were very young. It's just that they all burst out in the 'ultimate test'."
"I-Raising extraterrestrial devils?"
Thangka found it hard to believe. "Who could've done that in the Holy League? Did the mentors, the director, and the Ultimate Benevolence Masters not notice it?"
"On the contrary."
Li Yao said, "Only they — your mentors, the director, and the Ultimate Benevolence Masters — could've done that."
"Why?"
Thangka's brain became extremely sharp and messy. "We are the 'Children of Holy Light'. We are the purest, most loyal people of the Holy League. We are the future Purgers! Why are our bodies used to raise extraterrestrial devils for such cruel experiments? "
"I don't know. There are many reasons."
Li Yao really did not want to say it, but he had to make up his mind. "In medicine, in order to study a certain germ, doctors will try to grow a lot of germs in a petri dish and provide all kinds of stimuli to promote the spread and mutation of the germs. Only by understanding a certain germ deeply can it be completely controlled and annihilated, right?
"So, perhaps the 'Children of Holy Light' are just the culture medium in the petri dish … Of course, there are other possibilities. Who can say for sure?"
Thangka was silent for a long time.
Li Yao felt that the boy's head was turning into a bottomless abyss.
"So, we were not selected to be 'Purgers' in the first place, right?"
Thangka said sadly, "We are destined to be … 'culture medium'. We can never be 'Purgers'!"
"Yes, and no."
Li Yao said, "If my senses and speculations are correct, you are indeed not the chosen 'Purgers', but there is no such thing as' destiny '. Nobody is qualified to decide your fate. Never say' never '. Your fate is up to you. You can be whatever you want to be!"
"… Why didn't you ask me to reveal Shao Jie's backpack just now?"
After a brief silence, Thangka took a deep breath and said, "If somebody was really monitoring us in the dark, wouldn't they have seen the whole thing? What would they think if I kept it a secret?"
"Because it was unnecessary. Compared to what happened in the supermarket with the monitor during the day, hiding Shao Jie's backpack was just a trivial matter. Also, it was more in line with your personality and mental state."
Li Yao said, "Don't be scared of making mistakes. Those people sent you here on purpose to see you make mistakes. In the end, most people will make mistakes, just like Shao Jie, Liao Meng, Chu Zhiyun, and the two defectors. Perhaps one or two determined and pious students will resist all the temptations and not make any mistakes, but do you think they will be you?
"If a child who should've made mistakes because of the temptation of extraterrestrial devils does not make any mistakes at all, it will be very strange, won't it?"
"Wait …"
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