"I …"
Gus tasted blood in his mouth.
He licked his lips, and a warm stream flowed out of his throat. Then, he vomited a mouthful of black blood.
All the zealots exclaimed at the same time, fearing that their 'Saint' could not withstand the power of a true god and that the body of a mortal would be obliterated immediately.
Grey hurried to support her brother and asked in a shivering voice, "Gus, are you alright?"
"I — I'm fine."
Gus shook his head and looked around. "There are too many people here. I want to find a quiet place to take a rest — or rather, meditate."
At this moment, Gus had established his absolute authority among the defeated soldiers.
His words were the golden rule that nobody dared to disobey.
Andre immediately helped him clean up the deck. All the zealots were driven to the bottom of the cabin or simply jumped onto other ships.
Grey went down to the cabin and cooked the medicine for Gus in person, too. The pale young man was left sitting cross-legged on the deck with a basket in his arms, staring at the endless night in front of him in a daze.
Lu Qingchen turned into smoke and crawled out of the gap of the basket, condensing into a smiling man in front of the young man.
"Don't shout all the time."
The demon dug his ears, blinked, and said, "My ears are going deaf from all that screaming."
"Tell me."
The young man stared at the demon, gritting his teeth, furrowing his eyebrows, and tensing his muscles. He had never looked so serious before.
"Tell you what? Why were you not allowed to use the storm bolters, the Vulcan Cannons, the Honeycomb Launchers, and the other weapons of higher dimensions in Qianyuan City?"
Lu Qingchen opened his hands and said, "I explained to you a long time ago. It's because A Boxing Champion has been monitoring the data of such a large scale in Qianyuan City. Should there be any data anomaly in Qianyuan City, A Boxing Champion will discover it immediately. Chances are that he will really possess the body of the Grand Priest of Luotian and punch me into a pulp.
"I don't want to fight with A Boxing Champion in Qianyuan City. Instead, I want to find a place where the data is more chaotic and the underlying structure is more unstable. That is, the battlefield where the Southern Steam Army is advancing triumphantly. Only there can I defeat A Boxing Champion.
"By the way, you've already exhausted your second wish. That's why I allowed you to use a weapon from a higher dimension. Now, there's only one last wish left. Your soul will belong to me!"
Lu Qingchen smiled and shook two fingers.
"I know."
The young man was silent for a moment. Summoning his courage, he bit his lips and said, "But that's not what I want to ask. I want the truth, the whole truth. You promised that you would tell me everything once you were out of danger and went south!"
"Did I? Did I make a promise? Uh, then what do you want to know?" Lu Qingchen scratched his head and played dumb with Gus.
"You made a promise!"
Gus shrieked. He was so anxious that he was trembling. "I have to know everything. I don't want to be manipulated by you — the Fist God, the God of Machines and Steam, or a demon like you — anymore. I don't want to be manipulated by you as a chess piece and fight for the groundless dreams or the goddamn scams. If I have to fight, if I have to sacrifice, if I have to offer my soul, I want to know the truth, the reason, and why I'm fighting!"
"Hey, don't be so excited. Relax. I don't mind telling you the whole truth. I'm just worried that you won't be able to take it and have a nervous breakdown before we can complete our journey."
Observing the young man's eyebrows, Lu Qingchen said, "However, it seems that I've chosen the right person. Despite your feeble appearance, your nerves are rather tough, and you seem to have a certain level of tolerance. However, where should I start with all the questions?"
"Let's start with the crack in the sky."
Gus pointed at the frozen lightning in the sky. "What is that exactly?"
They were already very far away from Qianyuan City.
But the lightning in the sky was still raging like a dragon. It looked like a dazzling crack that was about to shatter the whole world.
"About that. It's a sign of the collapse of the world," Lu Qingchen said casually.
"I remember that I told you a few days ago that the world was about to be destroyed. Don't get me wrong. I didn't do it. It wasn't the God of Machines and Steam, either. It was the Fist God who did it."
"The Fist God?"
Gus found it hard to believe. "Does the Fist God really exist? Why is he destroying the world?"
"Because the world's destiny has been fulfilled," Lu Qingchen said.
"It's like a used rubber sleeve. Why don't you throw it away and keep it as a collection?"
"Rubber sleeve?"
Gus was slightly dazed. "What's that?"
"… Next question," Lu Qingchen said vaguely.
"So, the Fist God does exist. Also, the world was really created by him. That's why he has the ability to destroy the world?"
Gus mumbled, "So to speak, the Fist God was right. The Fist God is the real god, and the God of Machines and Steam is just a fake god. They are out-and-out 'machine demon' and 'steam devil'?"
"Well, the answer to that question depends on your perspective."
Holding his cheek, Lu Qingchen said, "Tell me, little guy. If the world was really created by A Boxing Champion, and your life was given by A Boxing Champion, would you worship, worship, and worship him as an omniscient and omnipotent god, and would you be willing to sacrifice everything for A Boxing Champion's will and cause without any hesitation, even including your sister's life?"
Gus was silent.
There was a long silence.
The deep brilliance beaming out of the young man's eyes was even darker than the night.
"No …"
He finally said softly but firmly, "I don't want to. Even if the world was really created by the Fist God, and even if our lives were given by the Fist God, I — I will never be at his mercy, nor will I sacrifice my sister's life and mine for him.
"I don't care. I don't care what the Fist God's' destiny 'was when he created this world and all the lives in this world, but right now, we all have our own will. My life is mine, and I will not give my fate to anyone or any god.
"Very good. I'm more and more convinced that choosing you instead of your sister is the most correct choice."
Lu Qingchen's eyes were glittering, and he was smiling like a weasel who had just stolen a chicken. "Now, I can tell you the truth about the world. It's a very, very long story. Thankfully, we have a very, very long journey ahead of us, and we can tell it slowly in the darkness.
"First of all, a long, long time ago, in a higher dimension that you cannot understand, a war between gods and devils took place."
Gus raised his hand.
The young man asked solemnly, "Was it the war between you and the Fist God?"
"Not just me and A Boxing Champion. Many gods and devils, as well as the gods and devils who created them, were involved."
Deep in his memories, Lu Qingchen said with mixed feelings, "It was a magnificent, soul-stirring war. The fury of the gods and devils almost set all the stars in the universe ablaze. We once woke up the forces that had been sleeping for billions of years and considered the future billions of years later as a battlefield for us to strategize on."
[…] […]
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