Reality, in an apartment in Unknown Province City.
Bailing woke up in bed, feeling the sunlight pour through the window onto her cheek, a slightly warm sensation.
She raised her hand and touched her face, pinching it hard.
It hurt!
She wasn't dead.
The Final Gate was real.
She survived again!
Joy first appeared between her brows, and she giggled, but then the smile froze on her face, and then slowly faded.
Her eyes stared blankly at the white ceiling.
"Why did you choose Him?"
Cheng Shi's question kept circling in her mind, and she still remembered her answer.
"Isn't it because I like Him?"
Yes, isn't it because she likes Him?
But in the end... what does she like?
She slowly got up, and just like after previous Trials, she took off her clothes and stood naked in front of the mirror, turning around, examining the marks that corruption had left on her body.
The feeling of embracing desire wasn't unpleasant, but did she really like it?
Perhaps.
Bailing smiled self-mockingly and walked towards the bathroom.
This was an old, dilapidated apartment, but thanks to the combined prayers of the surrounding Players, the hot water supply was quite sufficient.
She turned the shower to maximum flow and the temperature to the highest, letting the hot water pour over her body, scalding her skin red.
Her hands kept rubbing her body, and even though nothing could be rubbed off the red skin, she was still scrubbing hard.
Only when she collapsed exhausted inside the bathroom and fell into a weary sleep did this "torment" end.
In her dream, she seemed to return to the day the Gods descended, looking at the only choice before her, Bailing asked innocently:
"If I believe in You, what should I do?"
She still remembered that captivating voice.
"Flesh, power, money, selfishness, greed, laziness... everything will be a desire you can pursue."
"But I... don't want to hurt others."
"Then bring joy to others."
Joy?
From that day on, a sensory hunter who pursued "fleshly sinking" was born.
She had never hurt anyone, only brought...
Joy.
After an unknown number of hours, Bailing slowly woke up.
A smile appeared on her face again, and she slowly got up and dried her body, choosing a brand new dress suit from the dressing room and slowly putting it on.
For Players, old clothes had only one destination, and that was the trash can.
But Bailing never threw away her clothes; each dress was like a videotape of memories, allowing her to recall the details of each Trial.
She carefully hung up the dress, tidying it meticulously, while recalling every scene that had just happened.
But just as she was smoothing the hem of the skirt, she suddenly found a letter in the seam of the skirt corner.
A letter written on a book page.
Bailing covered her Mouth in surprise; she pulled out the letter in disbelief and unfolded it with trembling hands to read.
The beautifully written characters on the letter entered her vision one by one.
"The... Hope... of... Fire's... invitation... letter?"
...
Reality, in a classroom in Unknown Province City.
Fang Shiqing picked up a piece of chalk and skillfully drew a symbol on the blackboard.
The moment the chalk touched the board, the blackboard twisted into a pure black door; without hesitation, her gaze firm, she walked into the door.
Beyond the door was endless Void.
As she stepped in, invisible steps rose beneath her feet, guiding her to the designated place.
After only a few dozen steps, Fang Shiqing saw a "person" sitting opposite her, a "person" outlined by burning candlelight, sitting in mid-air and looking down at her.
Feeling the gaze of this "person," Fang Shiqing shook her head and smiled wryly:
"Do you have to be so ostentatious?"
"Qingqing, this is the treatment I deserve. I opened this passage, invisible even to the Gods, to help you all communicate. Shouldn't you praise me every Time we meet?"
"Stop, stop, stop. Praise You, praise the great Hope of Fire, but please stop calling me Qingqing; it's sickeningly sweet."
"Okay, Qingqing."
"..." Fang Shiqing rubbed her forehead helplessly, "Has He arrived?"
"He has, He's right ahead."
Fang Shiqing nodded, about to leave, but stopped after two steps and turned back, asking with a face full of confusion:
"Speaking of which, why don't you call Him 'Xin Xin'?"
"..."
The candlelight person's tone faltered, and He answered awkwardly:
"I'm afraid He'll beat me..."
"Pfft." Fang Shiqing really couldn't hold back and laughed out loud, and even her subsequent steps were much lighter.
Not long after, in a bright hall, she saw that magnificent man.
"So happy, what's the good news?"
"You're injured?" Fang Shiqing frowned slightly.
"Minor injury, it's fine. I encountered a God Chosen of corruption and exchanged blows twice."
The man said it lightly, but the danger involved was easily imaginable to be terrifying.
The difficulty level of that segment of the Trial was almost beyond the imagination of ordinary Players.
Fang Shiqing didn't ask further, just nodded.
"Speak, Time is precious."
"Okay, I've sent out two new invitations, one is the Forgotten Doctor, and the other is the Sensory Hunter."
The man raised an eyebrow, a little surprised: "A follower of corruption?"
"Yes, a follower of corruption."
"And then?"
"The Doctor refused, the Hunter... probably won't refuse."
"Oh?" The man became interested and laughed, "Why?"
"Because her heart's melody, like yours and mine, is filled with notes of compassion, leaping with symbols of Hope's Fire."
"Are you sure this is a follower of corruption?"
"I am sure."
"Okay... You are the Fire Seeker, you call the shots, so can I prepare a welcome ceremony to welcome our new partner?"
Fang Shiqing seemed to think of someone, but she still shook her head, casting aside the distracting thoughts, and nodded with a smile:
"She will come."
...
Reality, in a residence in Unknown Province City.
Xu Lu screamed as she woke up, standing up abruptly from the table, knocking the crystal ball and cards on the table to the floor.
She still struggled for a while as if someone was grabbing her neck, until her back hit the wall and she came to her senses, realizing she was no longer in the Trial.
This is...
The rest area?
When the Gods allocated fragmented activity areas to all Players, the term "home" had basically faded from people's minds.
Most Players called the place they lived in the rest area, and some Players called it a foothold, or even a place to barely survive.
Xu Lu looked at her hands in disbelief, then quickly felt herself all over.
But when she found that she was indeed alive and unharmed, the fear on her face became even more apparent.
Why!?
Why did she get dragged into the wrong The Final Gate by Cheng Shi, yet still survive?
Why did He clearly have the chance but didn't choose to kill her?
Why did the revelation from Fate tell her not to trust the follower of Time? But judging by the outcome, the follower of Time was clearly right!
Why is this?
Could it be that Fate's will was for me to die!?
Why should I!!??
Ever since I believed in Fate, there hasn't been a day when I didn't revere You, not a day when I didn't praise You, not a day when I dared to disobey You.
But in the end, You, You actually guided me to my Death?
Why?!
Is this my Fate?
I refuse!
Xu Lu's eyes were a mix of fear and anger, resentment and hatred growing; she tightly clutched the dice of fate in her hand, her face gloomy and uncertain, her expression changing several Times.
Xie Yang on the rooftop seemed to hear the commotion downstairs; He leaned over the edge of the rooftop, bending down, and asked anxiously:
"Lu Lu, Lu Lu? Are you okay? What happened?"
Xie Yang's call brought Xu Lu's rationality back a little; she withdrew the hand that was about to throw away the dice and stopped speaking with resentment.
Then, she quickly reverted to her previous voice, answering coyly:
"Brother Xie, I'm fine, I just accidentally bumped into the table."
But from beginning to end, she didn't take a single step towards the balcony where Xie Yang could see her.
"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay. You weren't injured in the Trial, were you?"
"Thanks to Brother's potion, I'm fine, it's just that the potion... seems to be used up."
"Ah? Oh! It's fine, I'll ask Cheng Shi for another bottle; He might still have some."
Cheng Shi!!
It's Cheng Shi again!!
Xu Lu didn't know what she was thinking; the look of disgust flashed across her eyes several Times, but in the end, she still said weakly:
"Then... won't it trouble Brother?"
"Hey, no trouble!"
...
Reality, in a suburban area of Unknown Province City.
A Ming lay on the ground, looking up at the scorching sun, his heart surging.
When He received the will of Order to eliminate the follower of Chaos but was countered by Huang Bo, He knew He was going to die.
Imprisoned on the wall by the enemy and subjected to inhuman torture, feeling his life drain away bit by bit, He even despaired to the point of giving up.
But unexpectedly, just when He thought his life was about to dissipate, a snap of fingers from the depths of Nothingness pulled his consciousness back to reality.
He woke up from the wall, completely unharmed.
Just like when He first entered the Trial.
A Ming looked at himself in full condition, utterly shocked.
He tore off the blood nails, struggled and jumped down from the wall, looked at the Time, and there were 2 hours left.
Time?
A Ming suddenly understood.
It was the Forgotten Doctor's method, a trick of Time, state backtracking.
That Doctor named Cheng Shi saved Him.
Praise Time, who let Him survive again.
After that, He searched all the way for the memory doors and the whereabouts of his teammates, only to find that his teammates had already left the Trial.
Not only that, outside each memory door, they had left him clues to the answers.
He was like someone who had a dream, dreaming that He was abused and about to die.
But when He woke up from the dream, the Trial had automatically cleared.
"Cheng Shi... Thankfully, You were there..."