I’m back

 

It was nearly dusk when Lu Mingze arrived at the church entrance. Nervously, he patted his chest and took a deep breath.

He placed his hand on the door and said softly, “Bishop, I want to enter the church. I need your help. Please open the door.”

With a creak, the door opened automatically. Cao Qian carried the statue on her shoulder and followed Lu Mingze inside.

Qian Daniu supported Yuna. Yuna’s face was streaked with tears as she said helplessly, “Then what should I do? I love him. Even if he doesn’t love me, I still love him!”

Qian Jinlai revealed a sly smile completely at odds with her appearance and whispered softly into Yuna’s ear, like a demon murmuring temptation: “There’s nothing wrong with love. What’s wrong is the way you love someone—it’s too humble. Humble love lets others take whatever they want from you, especially someone like the city lord. Women are everywhere around him, and servants willing to give their lives for him fill the streets. What advantage do you think your devotion has?”

Yuna said blankly, “Then… how can I obtain him?”

“If you can’t get his heart, then get the person,” Qian Jinlai said. “Cooperate with us. Just like how we dealt with the bandits on the underground level, we’ll leave the city lord barely alive. We’ll assign you to be his guard. Lock him up in the basement of the gold shop. Take care of him every day, provide him with food, make it so that you’re the only one in his life, so he can’t live without you. One or two years—he might rage, he might get angry. But five or ten years later, he won’t be able to leave you. Love grows from companionship. When his world has only you in it, he will love you. Do you know what Stockholm syndrome is? Hehehe…”

Yan Hebi and Guan Ling listened to Qian Jinlai’s words and slowly—very slowly—moved closer together, huddling for warmth.

“Women are terrifying…” Guan Ling said, trembling as he looked at Qian Jinlai.

“I think she not only loves melodramatic soap operas, but also enjoys horror movies and bizarre films…” Yan Hebi said, gripping the Sea-Blue Eye tightly in his hand.

That’s right—he had already obtained the Sea-Blue Eye. The process was extremely complicated, and he even got kissed by that noble young lady.

Yan Hebi himself didn’t understand how things had turned out this way. How had a demon-slaying, battle-driven, hot-blooded story become a romance strategy game when it reached him? And he’d ended up as a scumbag who tricked people out of gemstones!

“What’s wrong?” Cao Qian asked when she saw Yan Hebi squatting on the ground in dejection.

“When I found the city’s residents, they were in the middle of internal conflict, rooting out traitors,” Yan Hebi said. “Lu Mingze’s earlier chart-based method helped them find the liars. Some people had clearly done evil but claimed they hadn’t. Once the statistics came out, their level of demonization exposed their lies. The residents tied them up, saying they’d wait for the prince to eliminate the demon first, then hand them over to the prince to be dealt with in a fair manner.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Cao Qian said.

Yan Hebi hugged his knees gloomily. “That’s true, but I always feel like I’m not playing the same game as you guys.”

“That’s not important,” Cao Qian said, taking the Sea-Blue Eye from his hand. “As long as it’s reasonable and lawful, the means don’t matter. What matters is that you completed the task.”

She handed the pair of beautiful gemstone eyes to Yuna, who was slipping toward darkness. “There’s still half an hour before sunset. I hope you can, during this time, restore the statue to a superficially normal state. Even poor workmanship is fine. Can you do it?”

Yuna didn’t respond.

Qian Jinlai spoke softly beside her ear, “We could also wait until tomorrow, but the later it’s finished, the less time you’ll have to spend with the city lord.”

“I’ll definitely finish the task within half an hour! Some of the handiwork might not be very refined, but I can fix it slowly later!” Yuna stood up and said decisively.

“Very good.” Cao Qian smiled at Qian Jinlai. “Looks like all those melodramatic stories you read weren’t for nothing.”

“Same to you. Your ‘strong female lead’ novels gave me some inspiration too,” Qian Jinlai replied with a smile.

The two readers, seeking common ground while reserving differences, clasped each other’s hands and temporarily reached an agreement.

Yuna rapidly repaired the statue and, one minute before dusk, put freshly washed war boots onto it. Cao Qian hoisted the glittering golden statue onto her shoulder, carried it to the centre of the church, and placed it onto the seal left behind by the bishop.

Lu Mingze held the statue’s hand and said, “I’m handing my body over to you. You must keep your promise and return it to me after the demon is eliminated.”

The statue said, “That’s not necessarily so.”

“I believe you,” Lu Mingze said seriously. “Human nature is complex, but you’re different. You’re the embodiment of all humanity’s beautiful wishes. You’re willing to dedicate yourself to the town’s residents. Even if you lose your way for a moment, you won’t be led astray.”

“What if I want to seize your body for myself?” the statue asked.

“They said they would help me.” Lu Mingze pointed to his teammates standing behind him.

The statue’s gaze fell on the pink-haired girl capable of wielding the Holy Sword, and it sighed softly, “You have a group of good friends.”

Lu Mingze picked up the mirror that had been lying face down, glanced at it, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Am I too good-looking?”

The statue: “……”

He had seen it once before; this was the second time.

After praising his own face, Lu Mingze put the mirror down and, at the moment dusk arrived, picked up the mirror for a third time.

The instant he saw the mirror, Lu Mingze’s body stiffened. The next second, regaining composure, he said to the mirror, “I guess… it’s pretty good-looking.”

This time, the body was no longer controlled by Lu Mingze, but by the statue. Lu Mingze’s consciousness entered the statue, and the blue gemstone-carved eyes now held a hint of liveliness.

At the moment the two swapped bodies, Cao Qian grabbed the Holy Sword from the statue’s hands and leapt to the church rooftop to look into the distance. She shouted to everyone, “They’re coming!”

The city lord’s mansion released soaring black smoke, which even ordinary people could see clearly.

They took the bait!

The group had discussed whether the city lord would fall for such a crude and simple plan, as it was obviously a trap. Yet it was the statue that gave them confidence. The statue said that people corrupted by demonic energy would have their behaviour amplified infinitely according to the degree of corruption, with rationality suppressed.

The city lord had endured for 20 years. Now he finally had a chance to consume divinity, and it was at dusk—he would certainly fall for the trap.

A black figure, almost blending into the night, flew toward the church at incredible speed.

Cao Qian shouted, “I’ll hold him off—hurry!”

No sooner had she spoken than the city lord appeared in front of them. The city lord’s mansion was about 2 kilometers from the church—2000 meters that would take minutes even by car—but the city lord arrived in an instant. His speed was terrifying!

But Cao Qian was not incompetent either. She swung the Holy Sword and blocked the city lord’s claw with one strike.

At this moment, Cao Qian could see the city lord clearly. His black bone wings spanned 17–18 meters, and his entire body reached 40 meters. There was no flesh on him, only bones wrapped in black mist. Two green lights glowed where his eyes should be.

“Ugly enough,” Cao Qian sneered. “Is it fun turning yourself into this, Linlin?”

At her voice, the Swan Crystal Linlin activated its “Idleness” mode: “Goo ga goo ga, I have so many things I want to do, but I don’t know where to start… oh well, I’ll just lie down for a bit first.”

As the Swan Crystal’s sounds rang out, the city lord gradually became dazed. The green lights that resembled eyes dimmed. He retracted his bone wings, couldn’t attack Cao Qian, and curled into a ball of black mist, quietly circling on the roof.

Cao Qian: “……”

She whispered to Linlin, “Well done!”

After controlling the city lord, Cao Qian leapt downstairs with her sword. She lifted the prince’s body possessed by the statue with one hand, and grabbed Guan Ling with the other, saying to everyone, “I’m going. This place is in your hands.”

The Blank Book held by Yan Hebi said, “Go and come back quickly!”

Cao Qian nodded, carried the two, and ran toward the city lord’s mansion.

Outside the mansion, an armoured figure clanked back and forth, patrolling.

Seeing Cao Qian arriving with Lu Mingze, it ran over happily, saying, “Gaga ga, Prince, this body is really useful! Huh? You’re not the prince.”

“I’m the statue,” the statue said. “Take us to the third basement level of the city lord’s mansion quickly.”

“That’s tricky. The bandits on the first basement level were awakened by the demon ritual and are causing chaos,” the armour said.

Cao Qian swung her Holy Sword: “I’ll go cut them down.”

“No need,” the armour clanked as it laughed. “We guardians of the town are here too!”

It raised its halberd and slammed it onto the ground: “Brothers, get to work! Remember the bandits fighting and killing each other in the city lord’s mansion? The prince caught them and imprisoned them underground, and now they dare escape. Beat them to death!”

The mansion walls trembled violently. The fourth-floor clock rang “clang clang.”

“Don’t worry, just go downstairs,” the armour said. “We’ll clear the way.”

“No need,” Cao Qian said, tapping the armoured figure’s halberd with her sword. “I’ll handle it myself.”

She then threw her longsword downward with force. The Holy Sword pierced the ground, breaking through three basement levels, and landed at the centre of the summoning ritual!

“Clank clank,” the armour shivered, its iron shell trembling. Fear nearly made it kneel before Cao Qian. “Big sister, you’re amazing!”

“The little minions are yours!”

After saying this, Cao Qian jumped into the basement through the hole created by the Holy Sword, carrying the statue and Guan Ling.

Their task was to destroy the summoning ritual. Once the ritual was gone, the city lord would lose his backup forces.

“Blood can only be cleansed with blood,” the statue said, looking at the ritual patterns on the ground stained with blood. “The prince’s body appeared because of prayer. His blood has demon-purging power. But it requires a lot of blood. Even if I’m willing to return the body, he could die from blood loss. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Guan Ling rolled up his sleeves. “Go ahead and bleed him. Leave the injuries to me. Hurry, my time is short. Cao Qian can add time; I can’t!”

Before swapping bodies with the statue, Lu Mingze had tapped Cao Qian’s bracelet, extending her time by a day. Cao Qian’s bracelet had three marks, allowing for three days, but Guan Ling only had one, and soon he would return to the real world.

With Guan Ling’s assurance, Cao Qian wasted no time. A cold light flashed in her palm. Using the surgical knife prepared by Xing Ye, she cut all the veins in the statue’s hands and feet. Blood gushed out, flowing along the summoning ritual patterns, covering the stains left by the previous eight sacrifices and the city lord.

Half an hour later, the blood covered everything. The statue lay weakly on the ground, powerless: “Human bodies are so fragile… it hurts so much.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Guan Ling placed his hand on the statue, performing the last “Broken Mirror Restored”. Instantly, the statue’s injuries healed.

“Amazing!” The statue looked at its restored wrists, marvelling at Guan Ling.

“Well, it’s not exactly a good thing that gave me this skill,” Guan Ling said, slightly embarrassed.

He told Cao Qian, “Cao Jie, it’s in your hands now. I’ll wait in the real world for your good news.”

“You will remember us,” Cao Qian promised.

No sooner had she spoken than Guan Ling disappeared.

The black mist in the summoning ritual, now washed away by blood, gradually disappeared. Cao Qian carried the Holy Sword upstairs and saw a group of sofas, chairs, and tables furiously beating the bandits attempting to escape. The armour was assisting them in formation. Seeing Cao Qian arrive, it immediately said ingratiatingly, “Big sister, the prisoners are causing a lot of trouble. Many wanted to rush to the church, but just now, they suddenly weakened and we successfully suppressed them!”

Cao Qian saw the clock that had slid down from the fourth floor about to grab a bandit’s tongue. She averted her gaze as if she hadn’t seen it, and said to the armour, “Take it easy. We can’t use unlawful personal punishment.”

“Yes!” The armour saluted Cao Qian.

After handling the situation there, Cao Qian returned to the church with the statue, unsure of how the battle was going on the other side.

The statue looked at the armour and other magical creatures and chuckled, “I’m no match for the little prince. He’s more suited to be the child of god. The city lord wants his divinity.”

Cao Qian said, “But you’re the one protecting this city. Everyone has thoughts of being less skilled than others, but that’s not a reason for low self-esteem and frustration. Where you are lacking, find ways to improve through learning.”

“…I’m not human,” the statue said.

“But you have humanity,” Cao Qian replied. “No one is born perfect, and neither are you. Lu Mingze will eventually return with us. When it comes time to manage the city and continue being the spiritual support for the people, it will be you. Take this opportunity to learn as much as you can.”

She hurried to the church and saw the city lord being beaten by several people.

The statue: “……”

Isn’t this the formidable demon? How did he end up like this?

Qian Jinlai, tired from fighting, saw Cao Qian return and leaned over, saying, “Qianqian, that Blank Book is too strong. I feel like I’m holding max-level gear in a newbie village.”

It turned out that after Cao Qian left, Xing Ye had unleashed his full power.

His intimacy with Lu Mingze had reached 80, allowing him to use the “Repainting Brush.” One moment he used “Requiem,” then a “The Fire Ring of the Unlucky Beast-Tamer,” then “Ghost hitting a wall” and “Hypnosis,” beating the city lord into submission.

When Cao Qian and the statue destroyed the summoning ritual, the city lord lost his demonic energy support and could no longer withstand Xing Ye.

Xing Ye seized the opportunity to command Yan Hebi, Qian Jinlai, and Yuna to pin the city lord at the center of the bishop’s barrier, drawing the “Barrier of Light” that Lu Mingze had previously obtained in the church.

The “Barrier of Light” was most effective at dawn. It was rare when Lu Mingze used it.

But in Xing Ye’s hands, it was like a QR code printer—he had no mercy. With Lu Mingze’s 15 million points of support, he unleashed dozens of Barriers of Light in one go, directly restoring the city lord to his original human form.

His bone wings disappeared, he returned to human appearance, standing 185 cm tall and rather handsome.

By now, Qian Jinlai and the others were tired from fighting, leaving only Yuna, who was still crying while punching the city lord’s chest with her little fists.

The church was illuminated by the Barrier of Light, bright as day, dazzlingly so, attracting countless residents from the darkness to watch.

“You’re too strong…” Cao Qian murmured.

The Blank Book glanced at the pitiful city lord on the ground and said, “I am the ultimate winner of the game. The opponent has always been the system. The boss in the game was never my target.”

Although unspoken, its words implied “using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.”

Cao Qian: “So annoying…”

Yan Hebi: “So handsome…”

Cao Qian and Yan Hebi exchanged glances. Yan Hebi immediately straightened up: “So arrogant! It’s practically looking down on us with its nose!”

Seeing through everything, Cao Qian silently turned around, saying nothing.

The Blank Book said to the statue, “Everything is over. You can switch back to your body.”

Its tone was polite but carried the unspoken threat: “If you dare revoke, I’ll kill you.”

Xing Ye was actually very angry. Lu Mingze had been trapped in the mirror, and now, for everyone’s memory, trapped in the statue. He wanted to end this state quickly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t break my promise to him,” the statue committed.

It then picked up the mirror and looked at it three times. The third time, it said to the mirror, “You really are beautiful.”

No sooner had it spoken than Lu Mingze returned to his body. He put the mirror down and hugged the statue happily, saying, “You too!”

Elsewhere, Qian Jinlai pulled Yuna off the city lord and said to her, “Stop flopping around. Let’s do the main task first—fully repair the statue. That sword is also about to break.”

The Blank Book said, “Restore the statue before dawn, and you will be granted the right to manage criminals.”

Upon hearing this, Yuna seemed supercharged and rushed to the statue, beginning to repair it with a “clanging” sound.

The gold armour she had previously attached was a shoddy workmanship. The system’s task progress was 0.81. If the statue’s body wasn’t fully repaired, even if Lu Mingze entered the statue, the task wouldn’t be considered complete, and the game wouldn’t forcibly end.

While Yuna repaired the statue, Xing Ye was also busy. He had Lu Mingze show the statue some policies he had written about town management and criminal punishment. He said, “Memorize quickly—you’ll need this later.”

The statue: “……”

It really was just a statue!

Humans and the little prince alike had placed too much expectation on it.

Before dawn, the statue was fully repaired. Lu Mingze’s bracelet task progress reached 5.16, but the Diamond Heart had still not been found.

At this point, Qian Jinlai’s time ran out. Before disappearing, she said, “If I forget about you in the real world, our relationship will definitely be bad in the future.”

She also said to the Blank Book, “I remembered everyone’s phone numbers. Let’s have a meal together in the real world!”

After saying this, Qian Jinlai also returned to her world.

Only Cao Qian and Yan Hebi remained. The Blank Book said to Cao Qian, “Do the cornerstone again.”

Cao Qian asked, “What do you want to do?”

“Create the Diamond Heart again,” the Blank Book said.

Following its instructions, Cao Qian carried the statue. The Blank Book again activated the Barrier of Light. Bathed in sacred light and facing the first rays of dawn, the complete statue appeared on the church roof.

The residents gathered outside the church saw their Child of God. Under the sacred light, they wept and wailed, feeling forgiven by god.

In reality, there were no gods. It was their own forgiveness. Under the purification of the Barrier of Light, the traces of demonization on the townspeople disappeared, and time in the town began moving again.

As the townspeople prayed, the Diamond Heart progress bar on Lu Mingze’s bracelet rapidly increased.

“What’s happening?” Lu Mingze asked.

“There are no gods or demons in this world. Whether god or demon exists lies in the mind of humans,” the Blank Book said. “When people believe in hope again, willing to trust the Child of God, the statue will be filled with divinity once more, regaining the Diamond Heart.”

“My task was to rebuild the city, but in the end, I’ve been finding things to repair the statue all along,” Lu Mingze said in wonder.

Regarding this, Cao Qian felt deeply. She said, “A city whose spirit is decayed cannot awaken its people no matter how much money is spent on construction. And a city full of hope, even if its infrastructure is in ruins and it is far from a well-off life, has a soul. When the townspeople forgive themselves and decide to embrace tomorrow, the city is already saved.”

Sure enough, as Cao Qian, carrying the statue on her head, finished speaking, the progress bar on Lu Mingze’s bracelet filled completely.

A narrator’s voice sounded: “Congratulations to player Lu Mingze for completing the task’s bonus challenge. You and your companions will regain lost memories. But please remember: do not mention the system in real life, or you will be punished.”

Accompanying the narrator’s voice, Lu Mingze found himself disassembled again. When reassembled, he was back in his bedroom.

A tidal wave of memories surged into his mind. Lu Mingze was so excited he nearly cried.

His first thought was to call Xing Ye. He wanted to tell Xing Ye that he remembered everything—they could now explore and learn together on the path of emotions!

Lu Mingze picked up his phone, which had a mirrored case, and dialled the number Xing Ye had given them in the game world—but it was busy!

Who had called before him?

Lu Mingze sat on the bed, fuming, eager to hear Xing Ye’s voice. At that moment, he seemed to feel a kind of instinctive pull. This feeling made him run out the door barefoot, ignoring his mother’s calls from behind, and dash straight through the yard to the front gate.

Outside, a car was parked, and a person stood beside it, talking on the phone.

Lu Mingze ran barefoot to him and, slightly annoyed, asked, “Whose call are you on? Why has it been busy?”

Xing Ye held the phone out to Lu Mingze and said gently, “I was calling you too. It’s been busy.”

Lu Mingze immediately laughed, opened his arms, and hugged Xing Ye, whispering, “I’m back. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not long,” Xing Ye’s voice was a little hoarse. “I’m willing to wait a lifetime.”

“I couldn’t bear for you to wait, so I came down,” Lu Mingze said.

“You’re still not wearing shoes,” Xing Ye said, looking at his feet. “Be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Then carry me back to the room and help me put on shoes.” Lu Mingze leapt onto Xing Ye’s back, pressing his face against his shoulder.

He still remembered this person. How wonderful.

 

Translator : DarNan