Chapter 664: One Conclusion

Chapter 664 One Conclusion

“Not right?” Both Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao became surprised. “Didn’t we successfully rescue Qiao Qiao out?”

“It is too successful. Thus, I feel that something is not right.” Bluesea shook his head slowly. “Brother Qiao’s daughter… … mm, I’ll just call you Qiao Qiao. When we found you, you were incarcerated alone. Did you see other incarcerated Irregularities?”

“No.” Qiao Qiao quickly shook her head. “I am the only one.”

“Did you never meet others like you, who were unwilling to kill Awakened ones by carrying out clearing operations?” asked Bluesea with furrowed brows.

“Kill Awakened ones? Clearing operations?” Qiao Qiao shook her head in confusion. “You… … what are you talking about? I don’t get it at all.”

“You were not imprisoned because you refused to join the Coalition?” 

“No.” The same look of confusion remained on Qiao Qiao’s face. “I don’t even know why I was caught. I had thought… … you two know why.”

Bluesea and Chen Xiaolian exchanged glances and saw shock in each other’s faces.

Originally, Chen Xiaolian had assumed that Qiao Qiao must have been incarcerated for rejecting the offer to join the Coalition. However, he had never expected that Qiao Qiao was not even aware of the refreshing issue in World’s End and the Irregularities’ clearing operations.

“Qiao Qiao, tell me everything regarding how you were captured to me in detail.” Chen Xiaolian’s face was grim. He stood up, letting the blanket around him drop off as he pulled out the Sword in the Stone. Gripping the sword, he then took out the life signature detector and inspected his surroundings. Next, he gave Bluesea a signal to indicate that it was safe for now. However, he dared not lower his guard.

“All right.” Qiao Qiao had also sensed that there was something amiss. Knitting her brows, she carefully recalled what happened before slowly speaking up, “As it so happens, the place where I woke up was inside the Jerusalem instance dungeon, the underground palace.”

“When I opened my eyes and saw the familiar surroundings, I was shocked. Back then, I did not realize that I had died and had come to World’s End. I simply thought that… … we had won.

“Yet, when I looked up, I was unable to find you, Roddy, Soo Soo, Lun Tai, Xia Xiaolei… … even our opponents had all disappeared without a trace. I was the only one left within the empty underground palace.

“I tried using the guild channel to contact you only to find that I am incapable of accessing it. The storage equipment on me had also disappeared. Thankfully, my skills could still be used.

“Moving along the exit path, I got out and realized that the sky above was… … no longer blue and white. Mm, it is the same as what you can see now. It was then that I realized that I have come to the afterlife.

“After that, I saw several figures flying forward. They began searching around the instance dungeon. Despite noticing me, they did not care about my presence. None of them came to talk to me. They simply minded their own business as they searched around for something. Later on, I realized that they were searching newly sent instance dungeons for usable props.

“Later on, one within a group of two found a spear and the two fellows confronted each other for a moment. In the end, one of them decided to back down and the other one brought his bounty with him as he left.

“After considering it for a moment, I attempted to go forward to ask the remaining fellow about the situation here. From him, I found out the rules of operations of this World’s End.

“Since long ago, all Irregularities who died will be sent into World’s End. Here, they will possess what seems like an infinite amount of lifespan – as long as they do not get killed. Due to the loss of personal system, they can no longer obtain points from instance dungeons. Thus, most of the Irregularities who had entered World’s End, be they strong or weak, will no longer be able to enhance their strength. Only a small number of them who possess self-enhancing skills could slowly grow strong through time.

“Truth be told, most of the Irregularities who ended up in here are not that strong. Most of them failed to rise to an adequate level before dying in instance dungeons and get sent here. The strength of the Irregularities here all vary. With every refresh cycle, which occurs every three months, comes a fresh beginning. Although they would occasionally get into disputes and conflicts in pursuit of props, they generally would not put their lives on the line for the sake of those things. At any rate, they can live a decent life without provoking others.

“After finding out about that, I thanked him. Then, I chose a direction and set forth. I found a city-type instance dungeon and settled there. My thoughts on the matter was simple. Since the Irregularities within World’s End will never be cleared, I can just wait here. Although…”

Having said that, Qiao Qiao looked forward and smiled at Chen Xiaolian. “I don’t even know if I was hoping to meet you or hoping I would never meet you. Although I had been missing you every minute I was here, I knew that the moment I see you would mean… … you have died.

“Regardless, since I am still alive here, I have to live on.

“Not long after I arrived, I experienced my first refresh cycle. Everything around me disappeared in an instant, becoming a stretch of whiteness. The space of World’s End seemingly shrank away and we were all pulled into the mountain peak of Mt Olympus.

“The time when World’s End gets cleared is also the only time that all the Irregularities gather together.

“I was not interested in making contact with them. Thus, after the clearing process was done and new instance dungeons had been sent in, I left Mt Olympus. Finding a new place, I settled down once more. I did not go search for equipment. The only things I looked for were foodstuffs. Eat, sleep, reminisce.

“One day, someone suddenly appeared. It was a man.

“Without giving me any explanation, he attacked and defeated me. However, he did not kill me. Instead, he brought me back to Mt Olympus and had me imprisoned. I had no ability to fight back against him at all. I was like a baby before him.

“I do not understand what it was he wanted. I had asked him several times but he never answered. He would simply bring in food and water when the time came, but he never allowed me to leave.

“In the beginning, I was furious. Gradually, however, I grew indifferent. For me, where I live makes no difference.

“Then, you came.” Qiao Qiao looked at Chen Xiaolian and smiled. “I had considered the best possible scenario. Maybe, after many, many years, after you’ve reached the end of your lifespan, you end up here in World’s End. Then, you would find me and we would live here forever. I never thought that you would… … commit suicide for me.”

She bit her lower lip and her eyes teared up slightly. “Regardless if we can smoothly return, for me to be able to see you again, I am satisfied.”

Chen Xiaolian smiled gently and pressed Qiao Qiao’s hands. “Don’t worry, we will definitely return.”

Then, he turned to Bluesea. There was a slightly twisted expression on his face. “Mr Bluesea, there is really something wrong here.”

“Yes.” Bluesea stood up. Then, he moved toward the stump in the middle of the cabin and sat. “Qiao Qiao, do you understand my current state?”

“I understand.” Qiao Qiao nodded her head. “After you died during Zero City’s fall, you were refreshed into an ordinary human, losing your memories as an Awakened. After that, you died a second time and was sent into this World’s End.”

“Correct,” Bluesea replied coolly. “You should also know that an Awakened like me will be cleared off regularly. Do you still remember how long it has been since the last refresh?”

Qiao Qiao was stunned. She knitted her brows as she considered the question. In the end, however, she shook her head. “I cannot remember anymore. There is no day or night here. We can only depend on time measuring devices to gauge the time. Since I was imprisoned, I had no time measuring devices on me.” 

“True. Besides, you have not arrived here long. Thus, you do know roughly how long the period of time between two refresh cycles would be.” Bluesea nodded his head. “Truth be told, the clearing function of World’s End has temporarily come to a halt. Almost all of the Irregularities have come together to form a Coalition. In order to restart the clearing function, they have begun killing off Awakened ones.”

Qiao Qiao’s face revealed shock and she was at a loss at what to say.

Bluesea continued. “The reason World’s End refresh function stopped was due to Zhao Yun, our companion. She had utilized a certain prop to protect an Awakened, making it so the clearing function cannot clear him. You can consider it as… … a stuck gearwheel. Since the Coalition is unable to figure out who that special person is, they could only resort to a simple and rough method – kill off all the Awakened ones.”

“Why?” asked Qiao Qiao with a frown.

“Because, if the cycle is not restored, it is just a matter of time before the Development Team finds out about the irregular situation here.” Chen Xiaolian continued for Bluesea. “If those from the Upper Plane decides to switch to manual clearing, it is possible that all the Irregularities here will be found out as well and cleared out.”

“I… never knew. No one told me!” Qiao Qiao took a deep breath.

“Therein lies the problem!” Chen Xiaolian slapped the surface of the stump before him. “Before, I had assumed that you were imprisoned because you refused to cooperate with the Coalition. However, after thinking about it in detail, there is something amiss. Mr Bluesea…”

Chen Xiaolian turned to face Bluesea. There was an embarrassed smile on his face. “At risk of you laughing, I must say that if I had not met you here first and if I did not possess the means to leave World’s End, I really do not know whether or not I could say no to Wu Ya’s offer to join the Coalition.”

Bluesea replied coolly, “This is human nature. We Awakened ones are meant to be cleared off on a regular basis. Thus, joining this clearing work is not something you can call vicious. It is either our deaths or everyone’s death. If I were also an Irregularity, I too, would have chosen to participate in the clearing operations.”

Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly and turned to face Qiao Qiao once more. “You said that you do not know what had happened to World’s End. If so… … that Coalition leader, why did he imprison you?”

The expression on Qiao Qiao’s face, too, turned serious. “I do not know. I really do not know at all. If I had known that was happening, I…”

She pondered for a moment before replying frankly, “I would have joined the Coalition. I still have the chance to meet you again in World’s End. There is no way I would let some feminine aspect of benevolence overrule me. So, what you are trying to say is, my imprisonment… … has nothing to do with the situation with World’s End?”

“Yes.” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes slowly swept past Qiao Qiao and Bluesea. “You were imprisoned for a different reason. Weirdly, though, regardless of what that Coalition leader wanted from you, whatever agreement he wanted you to agree to, he should have asked.”

“I am certain he did not.” Qiao Qiao recalled back carefully and said firmly. “From the very beginning till the end, the words he had spoken total to no more than 10 words. He only told me to obediently stay there, that he would provide me with food and water and that I should not think about running away. Other than that, he had said nothing else.”

“So… … as impossible as it may seem, there is only one conclusion.”

Chen Xiaolian sighed before exchanging glances with Bluesea.

“That person had deliberately incarcerated you so that I would go save you.”

…