CH 14.2

Chapter 14.2 – The Martyr

Cheng Youwen made a medical miracle in the corridor, he ran so fast it was like he had the wind at his feet, and Shi Yuan was chasing after him: “Mr. Cheng, listen! Listen to this!”

“No!” Cheng Youwen shouted. “Don’t come over!”

However, Cheng Youwen hadn’t exercised for a long time, his crutches knocked and clattered, and his endurance was poor, so he was still caught up by Shi Yuan.

Cheng Youwen leaned against the wall of the corridor, his eyes ashen.

Shi Yuan said, “I changed my lines a little bit.”

Cheng Youwen: “…” Judging from his face, he really wanted to die immediately.

Shi Yuan recalled last night, imagining that Lu Tinghan was standing in front of him, and approached and said, “Let me infect you.”

Cheng Youwen’s eyes moved a little and looked at Shi Yuan.

Shi Yuan continued: “The world is cruel and human life is too short. It would be great if you could become a monster. I like you. Let’s live forever together in the mud and bones.”

Cheng Youwen: “……”

“Is it still not okay?” Shi Yuan asked anxiously, “I, I will go back to practice again.”

He was about to turn around when he was grabbed by a pliers-like hand on his shoulder.

Cheng Youwen grabbed him, his eyes blazing: “Shi Yuan!!”

“Ah.” Shi Yuan shivered with fright.

“That’s great!” Cheng Youwen’s hands were shaking. “This feels very good, you just act like this. I’ll replace your original lines immediately! Immediately!”

Only then did Shi Yuan relax: “That’s good.”

“Thank you.” Cheng Youwen patted him on the shoulder. “My mother is alive.”

Shi Yuan: ?

Cheng Youwen was overjoyed, his whole body was rejuvenated, and he happily went back to the office to change the script.

Shi Yuan continued to clean up the backstage, and Xia Fang gave him the task of counting the props. He took a small book to register while sorting out the stage props.

The problem with his lines was finally resolved, and he was very happy.

By coincidence, the role he got was also a monster. If he didn’t play well all the time, it would be too embarrassing.

Shi Yuan touched the wolf tooth pendant and remembered Xie Qianming again.

He finally kept his promise and really became a member of the troupe. He hoped that Xie Qianming would be happier because of this, even if he knew that someone was dead and would not feel anything.

Shi Yuan counted like this until a sound of rapid footsteps came from upstairs.

Cheng Youwen came stumbling down on crutches: “Shi Yuan!!!”

Shi Yuan was startled again and shivered: “Huh?”

“I’ve thought it over!”  Cheng Youwen grabbed his shoulders again, with blazing enthusiasm in his eyes.

Shi Yuan: “Huh?”

“You will play the God of Salvation!” Cheng Youwen shook him hard. “Just use that feeling you just had, it’s perfect! Never mind the kids, you are the rightful God of Salvation!”

Shi Yuan: “……”

Shi Yuan: ?!

The Wild Rose Theater Company was very poor, and there were only 6 core members plus Shi Yuan. It was common for one person to play multiple roles. For example, Xia Fang, who focused on playing roadies and cannon fodder, made four or five appearances in different roles in “The Martyr”. Another example is Cheng Youwen, who also had to play the role himself. For the rest of the supporting roles, they found part-time actors to make cameos casually.

But Shi Yuan never expected that he would play a monster and the God of Salvation at the same time.

Playing a monster, he can barely be considered a role in his own right. But what is playing the God of Salvation? That’s putting the cart before the horse, right? If Cheng Youwen knew his true identity, he would probably vomit blood three times.

Shi Yuan kept persuading Cheng Youwen, trying to tell him that he was really not suitable to be a savior.

Shi Yuan said, “Look at me, I have a tail, I also have horns, and scales. How can I play this kind of role?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Cheng Youwen waved his hand. “I will use the script to solve it!”

Shi Yuan said again: “But I’m not very smart, I can’t play someone that powerful.”

“You have already performed, and you have performed better than everyone else.” Cheng Youwen patted him on the shoulder. “You are the smartest person in the world, from now on, whoever says you are stupid, I will fight with them.”

Shi Yuan was confused. Cheng Youwen looked at him as if he had discovered that a rotten vase dug out of his mansion turned out to be a rare treasure after washing it. His eyes were bright. He didn’t listen to his suggestion at all. He was so happy that he gave him an hourly wage increase.

Now Shi Yuan can get 6 yuan an hour, getting rid of the minimum wage.

Xia Fang commented on this: “It would be great if I could also increase my salary.”

Shi Yuan asked, “You said that drinking makes a lot of money, so why don’t you drink all day long?”

Xia Fang looked at him incredulously: “Do you want me to be a broken field? Who can stand it for a day?” He suddenly reacted. “You don’t think what I said about ‘drinking’ is really just drinking, right?”

“Isn’t it?” Shi Yuan asked. “What else do you do besides drinking?”

Xia Fang was stunned for a few seconds and said, “Sigh, I won’t tell you about this anymore.” He seemed to have suddenly lost interest, drooped his shoulders, picked up the carton, and went to the utility room. “…Shi Yuan, you have to remember that money is the best thing in the world.”

*

When Shiyuan got off work that day, he felt at a loss for a while.

It was logical to say that he had found his human and kept his only promise. He could ask for nothing more, nothing better – and he was indeed happy about it.

But the cost of the Abyss Watcher, and the matter of the God of Salvation, had again confused him a little.

Now he was desperate to be touched on the head.

He sent a message to Lu Tinghan: [Are you home yet? Can I come to you now?]

Lu Tinghan didn’t answer – he said yesterday that it was inconvenient to reply to messages at work.

Shi Yuan sent another one: [Then, I’d better go home first]

When he was about to get on the bus, his cell phone rang.

Lu Tinghan: [Busy today, wait for me at the West Port Station.]

Lu Tinghan: [Find a place to sit and eat something.]

Shi Yuan received a transfer of 100 alliance coins.

He checked the traffic route with difficulty, got on the bus, and grabbed the railing in the crowd. The car was shaking, he did the math, now he owed Lu Tinghan 300 alliance coins, and he had to work 50 hours to pay it back.

Forty minutes later, he got off at West Port Station.

There were very few people in this area, the houses were mostly abandoned, and very far away was the military stronghold, guarded by high walls, iron nets, and tough soldiers. And in the air in the opposite direction, steam was rising, that was the food distribution office.

Shi Yuan got a bowl of hot porridge and sat on the bench in the distribution office. He scooped up a spoon of porridge, blew it to cool, and ate slowly.

The people around him were talking and laughing in a low voice, talking about topics that Shi Yuan could not understand.

Beyond the city, at the end of the horizon, the sky was covered with dark violet and aurora green, while the sunset lit up the clouds with dark gold and blood red. At first glance, it looked like a chaotic curtain of competing colors.

It was a very peaceful day, a gorgeous dusk.

However, this peace was soon broken.

Before the porridge was half finished, Shi Yuan heard thousands of birds screaming, feathers rubbing, sharp claws clashing – human ears couldn’t catch sound waves of this frequency, but the monitor in the monitoring center was filled with alarms, and a large area of red was dazzling. People began to panic. Three minutes later, two teams of aircraft were like dark strange eagles, howling through the sky, chasing the fading sky light away.

Shi Yuan continued to drink porridge.

This feeling was very wonderful. He was surrounded by diners talking and laughing, while in the distance was a terrifying, storm-like noise. The two were clearly separated, and only he could perceive them at the same time. He seemed to be between two worlds, listening and witnessing everything on the dividing line.

A message popped up on the phone soon：

【Level III Warning

To all residents of Gleaning City: At 18:34 on August 24, 2240, 200 kilometers away from the city, a large-scale migration behavior of infected birds was observed. The type of infection is “Abyss No.4, Multi-Limb Deformity”. Residents are requested to return home, lock the doors and windows, or go to the nearest place of refuge.

Gleaning City Monitoring Center】

The sound of sirens sounded in the city, unlike during the curfew, it was much more rapid and sharp. Everyone scattered and flocked to a nearby underground shelter. The doors and windows were locked, and the curtains were closed without leaving any gaps. In just a few minutes, the lively atmosphere came to an end, and the whole city fell into dead silence, leaving only Shi Yuan on the street.

Shi Yuan didn’t want to leave, he still had to wait for Lu Tinghan.

When he finished his porridge, a group of patrolling soldiers came from a distance, and he had to hide in the side alley until they were far away.

At the end of the alley was a broken wall, half collapsed, and the red bricks were exposed. Shi Yuan sat on it, he could just see the waning sun outside the city.

He waited for a long time until the heavens and the earth dimmed and the sun sank.

The flocks of birds were still agitated, and the Alliance air force was still engaged with them.

Shi Yuan couldn’t help but think of “The Martyr”. Cheng Youwen’s creative inspiration came from reality, and there were many monsters in the script. At the end of the script, the monsters disappeared, so what about in real life? Will there really be a god-like figure of salvation who can make the strife between monsters and humans disappear?

The question was too complicated for him to know the answer.

In the sky far away, huge flames exploded, an armed helicopter fell to the ground like a ball of fire, and the light burned red, as if another round of sunset.

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**TN

Putting the cart before the horse – running in the opposite direction; doing the opposite; completely opposite to the direction and purpose or deviating from the correct goal and going in the opposite direction.