Chapter 37#
Zhao Xing never imagined that one day he would be swallowed alive by a monster.
Even more unthinkable was that, in such a state, he would still be alive.
In the chaos moments before, his flashlight was lost, his gun was gone, and Zhao Xing, groping in total darkness, only touched warm, pulsating “walls.”
Was he inside the monster’s stomach?
Was this really not a dream? How bizarre.
Zhao Xing’s mind was a blur, but his hands moved without hesitation.
He pulled the sharpest dagger from his belt and stabbed forcefully into the wall!
Blood sprayed, completely smearing the transparent mask on Zhao Xing’s face.
Damn, this was disgusting.
Zhao Xing never wanted to experience this again.
Though the protective suit covered him well, he still felt sticky all over.
Suppressing his urge to vomit, he wiped his visor and thrust the dagger into the wound again, sawing diligently as if cutting down a tree. No matter how the monster thrashed and leaped outside, he didn’t stop.
Damn it, if he got out this time, he could brag about it for life!
“Pfft!”
The dull sound of cutting flesh suddenly lightened, and the sensation of the blade entering the meat became swiftly weightless.
Zhao Xing paused, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
—He had finally pierced through.
He pressed harder, gripping the dagger and slicing downward!
The satisfying sound of leather tearing reached his ears, along with the monster’s roar.
But the monster’s cries grew fainter as the tearing sound grew louder.
Zhao Xing twisted his wrist, pulling apart the clinging flesh and transparent membranes, and saw a crack of light.
Through that gap, he beheld the sunrise in the east, so brilliant and magnificent, unbelievably beautiful.
Gazing at the scene outside, Zhao Xing suddenly felt uncertain.
Was this real?
Could it be his imagination?
Had he really, with just a dagger, spent a day and a night killing the monster and saving himself?
Was everything he saw now just a fantasy before death?
Like the light and hope seen by the little match girl.
In a daze, he noticed the gap he had struggled so hard to open was beginning to heal at a visible speed!
No!
His heart nearly stopped. Abandoning the dagger, he reached in with his bare hands, shoved his whole arm through the slit, and with gritted teeth, tore it open with all his might.
Damn it! Don’t close!
Even if it was a dream or an illusion, he had to get out—otherwise, all that cutting would have been for nothing!
Just as he was tearing with all his strength, the resistance on both sides suddenly vanished, like a deflated balloon going limp.
Zhao Xing ripped open the monster’s belly like tearing a bedsheet!
Then, with murderous fury and covered in blood, he stepped out from the monster’s stomach.
The massive beast lay on the ground, its blood staining the entire grassy field and flowers like a scarlet river.
And Zhao Xing stood in that river, thick drops of blood dripping from him. He looked up—
In the boundless sea of flowers, there was a vine-made flower bed, on which lay a beautiful girl sleeping with her back to him.
His right ear burned as he heard her murmuring dream words, laced with sobs.
“…I knew it, I knew no one could save me.”
Zhao Xing turned to look at the monster he had killed.
And for the first time, he noticed—the monster was about five meters long.
The mist slowly dissipated, revealing the truth of the world.
All the previous absurdities and impossibilities now made sense.
How could a five-meter monster run out of a two-meter door and swallow Zhao Xing, who was 1.87 meters tall, in one gulp?
Why was this massive monster impervious to bullets and grenades, only to be easily cut open by a dagger?
Why did Zhao Xing, an ordinary human, survive being swallowed and still manage to fight back?
Because this was an illusion.
It was the illusion world of the flower spirit girl.
She was trapped in her own illusion, convinced no one could save her.
But just now, at the moment Zhao Xing decided to get out of the monster no matter what, the one controlling the illusion became Zhao Xing himself.
His mood lightened. Facing the rising sun, a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth. Even the thick blood dripping from his protective suit added an inexplicable charm.
Zhao Xing turned around and, after three minutes of searching, found a clear lake.
He jumped in to wash the blood off his suit, then picked up his dagger, gun, and other weapons, and walked back through the vermilion gate.
According to the normal procedure, Zhao Xing should have woken the flower spirit girl, told her the secret of the illusion, helped her muster courage to save herself, and then break the illusion that had trapped her for years, and walk out together.
But Zhao Xing didn’t.
Come on, that woman had opened the door without warning yesterday, releasing the monster and nearly killing him.
And then she muttered to herself in her dream, sobbing that no one could save her.
Zhao Xing wasn’t about to entrust his hope of escaping the illusion to such a brain-dead teammate.
The world behind the door was just as he had imagined.
It was like a completely different world, even the sky was several shades darker.
Before him was a winding path up a mountain, at the end of which stood a dark, eerie castle.
Zhao Xing pulled out something like a sword hilt, pressed a button, and a brand-new laser longsword appeared in his hand.
He gripped the sword tightly, feeling eager, as if he were a brave warrior in a game setting out to slay a dragon.
But in reality, it wasn’t far off.
After all, now that he was in an illusion he controlled, wasn’t he invincible? The difficulty was almost the same as in a game.
Zhao Xing charged forward with fervor, fighting in blood, tirelessly for a day and a night. He even stormed the castle, cut off the boss’s head on the throne, and held that hideous, dark, demon-horned head in his left hand.
What a thrill.
Zhao Xing let out a long breath, stretched his neck, and carried his trophy, strolling casually back to the garden.
When he returned, the flower spirit girl was squatting beside the red monster’s corpse, dumbfounded and shocked.
“Bang!”
Zhao Xing threw the head at her feet and asked, “Was it him who imprisoned you?”
The flower spirit girl shrieked, then covered her mouth in panic.
After an unknown time, she came to her senses.
Her face was streaked with tears, a mix of fear, shock, and disbelief. But if you looked closely, you could also see a glimmer of joy in her eyes: “…You… you killed him? How did you… you actually…”
She suddenly covered her face and broke down in tears.
As if mourning all the suffering and trials she had endured.
Zhao Xing waited patiently for her to finish.
After a long while, she stopped.
She stood up, wiped her tears, smiled awkwardly, and said with gratitude, “…Thank you.”
Zhao Xing: “The monster is dead. You can go home now.”
The flower spirit nodded with a smile, then walked east.
Zhao Xing initially wanted to follow her, but after two steps, he realized it wasn’t necessary.
The flower spirit skipped forward, but her body gradually became transparent.
And the sea of flowers around her vanished at a visible rate, turning into an empty ruin.
Above the ruin, a statue of a goddess rose.
Soon, the flower spirit was completely transparent, turning into countless shimmering particles that flew toward the goddess statue.
Zhao Xing studied the statue closely and noticed it was almost identical to the one by the lake outside.
After absorbing all the particles, the goddess statue opened its eyes and came to life, taking the form of a woman.
She resembled the flower spirit girl.
But was different.
The flower spirit girl was innocent, lively, childish, and naive.
The woman before him looked to be in her early thirties, beautiful, dignified, compassionate, and godlike.
She opened her eyes, looked at Zhao Xing, and spoke gently: “Thank you for saving me.”
Zhao Xing: “You already said that.”
The flower spirit smiled and sincerely praised him: “You are truly remarkable—an unparalleled warrior and strongman in the world, able to kill the powerful earth demon.”
Zhao Xing: “I only killed him because I knew it was an illusion.”
The flower spirit paused: “…Don’t you know that a perfect illusion can almost completely simulate the real world? That illusion wasn’t perfect, but it was mid-to-high level. The monsters you fought had at least twenty percent of their real power.”
Zhao Xing was stunned.
The flower spirit counted on her fingers: “During your battle, you almost died 137 times.”
Zhao Xing: “…”
The hand holding the laser sword trembled slightly.
At the same time, he felt a chill down his spine.
Damn! When he was fighting the monsters, he thought he was an invincible king of illusions, killing as easily as playing a game!
Turns out he had 137 brushes with death!
The flower spirit suddenly corrected herself: “Ah, I misspoke. You wouldn’t have died because you have a protective charm.”
Zhao Xing: “…What?”
The flower spirit nodded: “A protective charm—someone cast it with their life, ensuring you survive one fatal blow. That person also gave you a Blue Saint Light blessing… I can only see this much.”
Zhao Xing was dumbfounded.
Who was it?
His curiosity about the Blue Star person who gave him the Blue Saint Light blessing grew even stronger. He almost suspected he had saved that Blue Star person’s life without knowing it.
But even if it was a life-saving grace, was casting such a life-risking charm a bit… too sincere?!
The flower spirit: “By the way, how did you get here? I can send you back.”
Zhao Xing snapped back to reality and told her how he bought a UR card from the show and found this place.
The flower spirit looked surprised, seemingly unable to understand why information about her would appear in a vending machine.
Zhao Xing: “Maybe after you were trapped, your friends or clansmen cooperated with the show to rescue you.”
But since the so-called garden was an illusion, cameras couldn’t reach it, so the live broadcast effect was poor. The show didn’t take it seriously, only putting the tip in the vending machine for random lucky adventurers.
Zhao Xing happened to be the chosen one.
The flower spirit: “That’s possible, since the illusion has a restriction—only humans who don’t know me can enter. My clansmen and friends can’t reach it.”
Her expression turned worried: “But that’s absurd! How could they tell the show everything? Earthlings shouldn’t know so much.”
Zhao Xing: “I thought after hundreds of years of coexistence, both sides know each other well. There shouldn’t be any secrets left.”
The flower spirit chuckled softly: “How could that be? The ones dealing with Earthlings now are low-level Blue Star people. Some can’t even fully transform into human form, and their abilities are the most basic.”
She continued: “We Blue Star people have lived on this planet for tens of thousands of years. The higher-level we are, the more reclusive, mysterious, and unfathomable. What Earthlings know of us is less than a tenth.”
Is that so?
Zhao Xing pondered.
On the surface, Blue Star people and Earthlings seem evenly matched, neither able to overpower the other. Online, there are endless arguments and clear divides.
But in reality, the Blue Star race still has powerful, unknown mysterious forces.
And Earthlings? There are billions of humans underground on Blue Star, each taught from childhood “I must not harm my fellow humans,” each constantly repeating “I am an Earthling,” each viewing Blue Star natives as “strange and dangerous, preventing us from going to the surface”…
Brainwashed from a young age to unite, yet filled with hostility toward Blue Star people… Could these underground humans be a reserve army for the surface humans?
The flower spirit: “Actually, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re different from other humans. You’re my savior, and I’m very grateful.”
Zhao Xing smiled at her: “You don’t need to be so polite. I only came because I saw the card and thought there was a hidden mission. I’m not kind—I just had an agenda.”
He had made himself clear.
Almost writing “I’ve completed the mission, now give me the reward” on his face.
The flower spirit wasn’t stingy. She smiled gently and directly placed four items in Zhao Xing’s hands.
“These five beads are illusion beads. Throw one on the ground, and everyone present will immediately enter an illusion. You can use them to escape in dangerous moments. The white one can create a more advanced illusion.
“This is a ability fruit. If you share it with a Blue Star person, you can briefly gain their ability for one hour.
“This is a true sight leaf. Peel off the outer green membrane and place it over your eyes for x-ray vision, lasting one hour.
“This is a mysterious seed. What grows from it depends on your fate and karma. I hope it brings you surprises.”
So generous!!!
Zhao Xing had never thought this woman so beautiful; she radiated a holy light, becoming dazzling and lovely.
The gifts she gave were fantastic.
Especially the leaf—finding the replicants would be a breeze with it.
He even felt the 100 points and laser gun were already in his grasp.
“Thank you,” Zhao Xing said sincerely to the flower spirit. “I was blind earlier. You are definitely the most beautiful person in the world.”
The flower spirit smiled, eyes curving: “Even more beautiful than that human you know?”
Zhao Xing: “…”
He misspoke. He should have said she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
One word difference.
Zhao Xing tried to salvage: “…He’s nothing. He only has superficial beauty; you have inner beauty.”
“Alright,” the flower spirit pretended to pout in disappointment. “I really want to know how stunning that person is for you to like him so much that you won’t say I’m prettier than him.”
Zhao Xing corrected her: “I don’t like him. He’s just objectively beautiful. When you see him—”
His voice cut off.
He wouldn’t see him again. Even if he met the flower spirit again, he could never see Luo Mingshan again.
And the flower spirit and Luo Mingshan would never meet.
But the flower spirit seemed not to notice his distraction, only saying: “But you know, if you don’t like someone, you won’t find them beautiful—at least not incomparably beautiful.”
“Also, do you know? A flower spirit’s sea of flowers has a magical and romantic ability: it makes those with someone in their heart think of their beloved the first time they see it. Did you think of that beautiful human at that moment?”
Zhao Xing was taken aback.
But his stuttering quickly steadied: “No… I didn’t… I did think of him, but not because of the flowers. I thought of him because I saw butterflies.”
He explained to her: He came from the underground world, and in childhood, he and Luo Mingshan had once discussed flowers, grass, and butterflies. So when he saw that imagined beauty and butterflies for the first time, it was understandable that Luo Mingshan came to mind. Nothing more.
Yes, that was it.
“Butterflies?”
The flower spirit tilted her head slightly.
“But there are no butterflies in my sea of flowers.”
She blinked, her expression regaining a hint of girlish mischief and liveliness—
“Butterflies are brought by Earthlings; I don’t like them! So my sea of flowers has never had such creatures, not even in illusions.”
“You know illusions can change based on your thoughts, right?”
“Then, did you think of him because you saw butterflies, or did you see butterflies because you missed him?”