Chapter 253: Why Do You Believe Me?

When Wu Chang swung his sword, the world plunged into pure silence, as if a silent film were being performed.

The blade flashed past, severing sound, severing space, and severing the golden cymbal in the sky.

It also severed the Joyful One's golden body.

The instant the golden great sword split the golden cymbal in two, a deep wound, bone-deep, appeared on the Joyful One's exposed chest; blood gushed forth, making his already dimmed golden body fade another two shades, turning from golden body to copper statue.

Though the Joyful One still stood, Wu Chang could feel that the Joyful One's flawless Buddha body had been utterly shattered.

Massive outflows of vitality and energy caused the Joyful One's body to decay faster than his Warring Knight transformation had collapsed.

Starting from the feet, the colossal copper-colored Buddha statue disintegrated at a visible rate.

The outcome was decided; Wu Chang looked at the Joyful One and said with slight triumph:

"Looks like external artifacts still have the upper hand."

The Joyful One stared at the massive, everted wound on his chest, watching the shattered bones within, his face filled with shock.

Since he had perfected his Buddha body, he had never suffered such a severe injury—not even when hunted down and surrounded by the Reason Realm's pursuit squad had he been this humiliated.

He never expected today to be defeated by a Wasteland Realm player, and one who had only entered the Wasteland Realm two or three months ago.

If he had Wu Chang's fortune, if he had the favor of the Abyss Game Administrator, how could his great ambitions fail?

Just before they clashed, he saw Wu Chang pull out two more items: the Golden Throne and the False Miracle—both top-tier artifacts in the Wasteland Realm, priceless and unavailable on the market; even if he had obtained one in the past, he would have treasured it immensely, almost worshipping it when not in use.

Yet Wu Chang treated them casually, showing not the slightest caution—he clearly didn't value these two items, suggesting he actually owned more than two of such artifacts, perhaps even ones more precious.

In two or three months since entering the Abyss Game, how many dungeons had he even completed?

On what grounds?!

The world is so unjust, with no distinction between good and evil, no clear rewards or punishments—then what meaning is there in all he has done?

Looking back on all he had done, the Joyful One found himself utterly ridiculous; he held his head high, refusing to lower it, lest his red nose fall off.

A nameless fire rose; in a corner he didn't notice, the golden hue of his body faded further, even peeling away.

No!

The Joyful One seemed to sense something, as if waking abruptly from a dream, snapping back to awareness.

When he had first achieved partial mastery of the Buddha body and cultivated the flawless state, he believed that even if he couldn't fully sever greed, anger, and delusion, he could at least restrain the three poisons within his heart, remaining unmoved and free of deluded thoughts no matter what he encountered.

But just now, the greed, anger, and delusion hidden deep within him erupted, growing wildly in his heart under the immense shock Wu Chang delivered, nearly undermining his Dao heart.

At this moment, he realized it wasn't that he was born with the ability to guard his true heart, desireless and unattached—it was simply that he had received too much, and whatever he desired came to him without needing to strive.

In the past, the players he saw—even those stronger, more fortunate, or more gifted than him—were all within a certain range.

He had always had a flaw in his heart, but it was so small and hard to trigger that he had never noticed it.

No matter how many sutras he recited daily, if he couldn't even see his own full picture, how could he mend the flaw?

No amount of prior mental preparation, theoretical foundation, or self-enlightenment could replace the helplessness one feels when the three poisons manifest and strike directly at the cracks in one's heart.

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

Only when the Joyful One encountered Wu Chang, whose cheating was unreasonable, and was defeated by him precisely when his confidence was at its peak, did he finally see the cracks in his heart.

Only when his defenses shattered completely, inside and out, did he see the flaws within.

The Joyful One quickly stabilized his mind, gesturing to gather the scattered prayer beads; without needing a string to connect them, the beads formed a circle around his hand, slowly rotating as he turned them, his eyes closed, refusing to look at Wu Chang, whispering sutras softly.

The sutra recitation was devout, its tone calm and melodious, its resonance lingering; the media personnel from various nations who had been watching from surrounding high-rise buildings, previously unsettled and panicked by the battle, now fell silent upon hearing the sutras.

They didn't understand the meaning of the sutras, yet they felt the peace within—the tone seemed less like language and more like musical scales.

The Joyful One's physical body continued to decay, yet his golden body, previously faded to copper, now shimmered once more with golden light, brighter than at the beginning.

Wu Chang frowned tightly—wait, buddy, when others break through in battle, it's during the fiercest moments, on the brink of life and death, using pressure to break through and win.

You've already lost completely—how are you breaking through now?

Still, since he confirmed the Joyful One's breakthrough wouldn't let him cling to life, Wu Chang exhaled in relief; if this kept going, he'd have to use the Wǔqū Xīng statue.

When the Joyful One's body had decayed to his chest, he opened his eyes; his gaze toward Wu Chang had regained calmness.

"Peace. The All-Knowing Crystal will stay with you for now. When you reach the Reason Realm, we'll have plenty of chances to meet."

Wu Chang clicked his tongue; if anyone else had made such a threat, he'd have dismissed it as the ranting of a powerless fool, ignoring it entirely—but the Joyful One's threat would give him trouble.

Even suppressed in the Middle Layer, the Joyful One had nearly forced Wu Chang to reveal all his cards; if he faced the Joyful One at full strength in the Reason Realm, Wu Chang wouldn't be able to resist at all.

At least for a while after entering the Reason Realm, he'd have to avoid the Joyful One.

Still, he wouldn't let his dignity fall—he replied: "You know my name, but you've never given yours. Are you ashamed to be seen?"

The Joyful One smiled and said:

"Remember well—we are the Light Society. We await you in the Reason Realm."

With that, the Joyful One's entire body dissolved into nothingness.

Wu Chang turned his gaze from the Joyful One to Mercury and Akso; both acted decisively, offering no further struggle, exchanged a glance, and immediately left the dungeon dimension, leaving behind only two burning contracts and two withered yellow leaves.

As for Feiguang and Qianye, the Joyful One hadn't protected them as he had Mercury and the others; affected by the Chaotic Authority, they first fought each other to a mutual ruin, then were slain by the Authority.

With Feiguang's death, the item sealing the dungeon was lifted.

Taking advantage of the remaining duration of his Warring Knight transformation, Wu Chang turned his gaze toward Buk and the other three.

The three knew that after his battle with the Joyful One, Wu Chang would be weakened, and fearing someone might plot against him, he was clearing the area.

They exchanged a glance, understanding instantly, and pulled out their dungeon-exit items, ending the dungeon early.

Huh.

Finally, it's all over.

Wu Chang's tension dissolved; he stared at the golden great sword slowly vanishing in his hand, a flicker of regret in his eyes.

The enchantment granted by the False Miracle was powerful, but its side effects were equally severe.

Wu Chang opened his attribute panel and saw that the "Treasure" skill on the Golden Throne had turned gray.

For a short time, the Golden Throne's Treasure skill would be unusable; since the False Miracle's side effects were not explicitly stated, he wasn't sure whether the Treasure skill would recover.

Fortunately, Schultz, relying on the resonance of virtue and sin, had gathered enough faith, and faith firm enough, which greatly reduced the side effects of the false miracle and did not affect the Golden Country skill, so the loss was not too great.

Speaking of Schultz, Wu Chang shrank his body and checked on this cheap cousin of his, to see how he was doing.

He looked at the black-and-white Hymn lying on the ground and found that it had now completely lost its breath of life, becoming a dead object.

Schultz was already dead?

Not right.

Wu Chang did not see the Omniscient Crystal that would scorch his gaze at the center of the Hymn's brow.

While he was in the thick of fighting Joy, Schultz had seized the chance to slip away — where could he have gone?

Just as Wu Chang was about to search for Schultz's trail, his expression suddenly turned strange — he had found where Schultz was.

Inside the 100th floor of Hymn Tower, Wu Chang's true body, who had been watching the show, suddenly heard a sound from the elevator.

He hurriedly stuffed the champagne and snacks in his hands into his随身空间, put the chair he had been sitting on back in place, his movements like a grade-schooler hastily switching off the TV at the sound of a parent coming home.

The elevator doors opened, and the utterly feeble Schultz stumbled in. Wu Chang hurried over to meet him and helped him sit down.

Wu Chang said:

"Schultz, are you all right? Don't fall asleep yet, wait while I open the medical pod."

Wu Chang had just been about to rise when he found his wrist gripped by Schultz. He looked at Schultz and saw Schultz slowly shake his head.

"It's no use, there's not enough time."

Wu Chang frowned. He could feel Schultz's body growing ever weaker — this weakness did not come from injury, but from the soul. Its root cause was Joy forcibly breaking the balance of good and evil, causing him to be hit by tens of thousands of wills.

The Four Directions Year Fire Lamp could only grant him a brief rally, it could not save his life.

He had originally thought Schultz's black-tech workshop would have a way to save him, but now it seemed Schultz had no way either.

Schultz said in a hurried voice: "I don't have much time left. Listen to me finish first, save any questions for the end."

"First, do you see that operating console over there?" Schultz pointed toward the innermost part of the workshop.

Wu Chang nodded.

Schultz said: "This place is actually not a single-story building, but a flying machine — or rather, a spaceship. After I die, ownership will automatically transfer to you. Pilot it to escape; that Hymn Hunter outside can't catch you."

"They are outsiders, they can't stay in our world for long. You only need to wait up in the sky for one month, and there will be no more danger."

Wu Chang was a little dumbfounded. In the previous rumors about Hymn Corporation, alien-conspiracy theories often appeared, saying that Hymn Corporation's cooperation with the Federal Government had involved dismantling an alien spaceship to obtain various black technologies.

He had assumed it was a joke; he hadn't expected Schultz to actually mean it.

Schultz saw that Wu Chang was thinking along the wrong lines and added: "This spaceship is something I built myself, it has nothing to do with the outsiders."

Then he pointed at his own brow and said:

"After I die, the Omniscient Crystal will fall off. I'm giving it to you. I believe you will definitely be able to make better use of it than I did. Our world is now connected to a higher-level world, and I did not completely sever this connection."

"This act is very dangerous, but it also holds the future of our world. I can only walk this far; the rest of the road can only be handed to you."

Schultz coughed twice and continued:

"The core technologies of Hymn Corporation are all recorded here. Once you master the Omniscient Crystal, it will help you understand this knowledge. That's all I have to say. If you have any questions, you can ask them now."

There were too many questions he wanted to ask — if he were really made to ask, Wu Chang wouldn't even know where to begin.

He thought for a moment, watched Schultz's spirit gradually flagging, on the verge of falling asleep at any moment, and asked:

"You don't seem to have any serious injuries on you — why not try treating yourself?"

Schultz said: "My problem comes from the spirit, or rather the soul, not from the flesh. My spirit is already covered in cracks, riddled with holes. If not for the Omniscient Crystal, I wouldn't have been able to hold on long enough to make it back here."

Wu Chang asked: "How did you get hurt so badly?" Schultz's face showed a troubled look — not that he didn't want to tell Wu Chang, but in his mind, Wu Chang was missing too much prerequisite information, and his time would not allow him to give a crash course on the spot.

"Things are a bit complicated. Once you master the Omniscient Crystal, it will tell you exactly what happened. For now you only need to know that I had been carrying out a plan called Hymn, with the goal of creating a god of humanity's own."

"Today was the day the plan was implemented. I used myself as the test subject, but it failed. But this failure was meaningful — I gathered a great deal of data, so when it's your turn, it will be much easier."

Wu Chang sighed and said: "Why? You have wealth and power, you also have world-leading technology, and health and even lifespan are no threat to you. You've already reached the pinnacle of humanity. Does the so-called god of humanity absolutely have to be you?"

Schultz's gaze turned toward the starry sky, his face full of worry. "Because I saw the future — humanity's future. In that future I could see no hope. Only by becoming a god is there a chance to escape that hopeless future."

He turned his head to look at Wu Chang, looked into Wu Chang's eyes, and said: "You'll understand later. In the past I saw no hope in the future, and believed I had to become the only hope myself. But now, I see light in the future — and that light is you."

Wu Chang pointed at himself and said in confusion: "Me?"

If the light Schultz spoke of was the True Self on the plaza — over a thousand meters in size, having just overcome Joy in a cross-level fight — he could still understand.

But what Schultz was facing right now was Xiao En, who just a few days ago had been living a life of eating and waiting to die — this left Wu Chang unable to figure it out.

Schultz's eyes were full of expectation as he said:

"Your potential far exceeds your imagination. The reason the power you gained after your psionic awakening surgery far surpasses others is that your talent zone is extremely complex and requires a Level Nine modification surgery to fully activate."

!

"Heaven has bestowed upon you the most precious talent — bar none. The current you possesses infinite possibilities."

Wu Chang shrugged and said: "To be honest, my ability can only condense some phantoms, and their combat power is close to that of ordinary Disqualified Monsters — nowhere near comparable to the fight you just had."

"Besides, after my brain modification, I didn't get any smarter — I'm far from your level. I don't even believe in myself, so how can you believe in me like this?"

Schultz nodded.

Wu Chang asked curiously: "Why?"

Schultz said with a half-smile: "I don't know."

Wu Chang: "You don't know, yet you still believe."

Schultz only smiled and said nothing.

He took off the badge representing the Chairman of Hymn Corporation from his chest, pressed it into Wu Chang's hand, and said:

"If you can't complete it, then just be yourself — but you must remember, humanity's destiny can only be held in humanity's own hands."

After Schultz finished speaking, he slowly closed his eyes. The double-pyramid-shaped Omniscient Crystal fell from his brow, the light on the crystal's surface receding, as if it had become an ordinary plastic product.

The Omniscient Crystal, having lost its light, no longer scorched Wu Chang's gaze. He picked up the Omniscient Crystal and looked at the attribute panel.

"Item Name: Omniscient Crystal"

"Item Type: Unknown"

"Item Level: Unknown"

"Item Effect: Unknown"

"Note: None"

It was the first time Wu Chang had run into this situation. In the past, when an item's skill was restricted and could not display specific information, the system would show three question marks, telling Wu Chang that there was content here, just that he could not view it for the time being.

Now it was even better — it had directly become "unknown."

Worthy of being something the Bliss Body Processing Realm would cross worlds to snatch up, truly extraordinary.

He put the Omniscient Crystal into his pocket, his gaze falling on Schultz, who had fallen into eternal slumber.

On Schultz's body, a crimson-purple wraith of resentment surfaced.

This was the resentment that belonged to Schultz himself.

Schultz's resentment was like a crystal. As Wu Chang's gaze fixed upon it, an image formed within the crystal, drawing his attention in.

Wu Chang's vision blurred, and when he came back to his senses, a little boy of six or seven, his hair combed in an adult's style, appeared before him.

He had seen this little boy in Xiao En's memories — it was the young Schultz.

The background of the scene was a vast country farm with no visible end in sight. It was Christmas, and the family was decorating the farm, inviting friends to a party, and preparing ingredients for a barbecue.

The little boy was out of place against the lively backdrop; he sat alone on the rooftop, holding a math book.

The book came from his cousin, a sophomore at Evergreen Vine University. The pages were very clean — not a single word on them, and barely any trace of having been opened.

He was hiding up here reading because as soon as his family found him, he could forget about reading for another minute.

The Brown family Schultz belonged to had started out running a farm. Their ancestors were genuine cowboys. When the older generation boasted of past glories, they would even mention how many bandits they had taken down.

Their love of firearms led the Brown family to want to make a gun of their own. Taking this as an opportunity, they founded Anthem Company, though without core technology, they weren't exactly famous in the arms industry.

Though the arms company had an ordinary reputation, the scale of the Brown family farm was second to none — over seven hundred and fifty thousand acres. Even without the arms company, they were one of the top families in the state.

However, as children of a cowboy family, the parents hoped their children would inherit their cowboy blood. Their children should sit on horseback, not in tutoring classes; they should become captains of the school football or basketball team, not bookworms who topped every exam.

If Schultz went down, he would surely get a taste of American-style bullying, surrounded by the other kids in the family shouting "bookworm" at him.

He didn't care about their stares, but he loathed stupidity — it made him physically vomit.

Every time they saw him throw up at the sight of them, those idiots thought their pranks were working, and then redoubled their efforts, crowding around him — a vicious cycle.

Schultz rubbed his brow, thinking about it gave him a headache.

Not long after, another little boy who had just learned to walk climbed up onto the roof, tottering as he made his way toward Schultz.

"Schultz, they're calling you down."

Schultz panicked. He quickly steadied the child who nearly rolled off the roof, asking urgently, "Xiao En, how did you get up here? Why aren't they watching you?"

Xiao En burped, exhaling a breath of fermented wheat with an alcoholic tang. "They're drinking. I snuck out."

Schultz was a little helpless, so he had to end his studying and carry Xiao En down from the roof.

Among all the children of the Brown family his age, Xiao En was one of the few whose presence didn't make him want to vomit.

Xiao En wasn't what you'd call traditionally smart — slightly above average in IQ — but he had strong comprehension. And Xiao En didn't cling to the others; instead, he often stayed with him.

Just as Schultz had guessed, the moment he appeared, he quickly became the center of attention.

A pack of brats at that age where everyone — human or dog — found them annoying, followed him around shouting "bookworm," competing to see who could make him throw up first. In the end, it was Xiao En who got him out of the bind.

When Xiao En, reeking of alcohol, a beer in one hand and a revolver picked up from who-knows-where in the other, swayed to his feet beside Schultz, the world instantly fell silent.

Let alone the kids, even the adults were scared out of the room.

The farm was instantly in an uproar.

Xiao En, revolver in hand, turned his head, looked at the book in Schultz's hands, and said with a smile:

"Schultz, look, Grandpa was right — this thing is way more useful than books!"

The brief chaos ended quickly, and time moved on to evening.

As Old Federation folk, the Brown family were devout believers — devout to the point of fanaticism.

On Christmas night, the Brown family would specially invite a priest to lead everyone in prayer and sing hymns together.

Schultz didn't join them. He hid in the study reading. Xiao En sat beside him, also looking at the book, but his eyelids kept drooping, fighting off sleep.

Bang! The study door was kicked open, and Schultz's parents rushed in.

When it was the younger generation's turn to sing hymns, Schultz was the only one missing. They were furious at Schultz's slighting of the divine, and ashamed on his behalf.

They not only rebuked Schultz on the spot, but snatched the book from his hands and tore it to shreds.

Facing his father's fury, looking at the torn book on the floor, Schultz also lost his temper and blurted out the words he often said to Xiao En in private.

"Compared to that thing that doesn't exist, you should respect knowledge and wisdom more."

And what awaited Schultz, naturally, was a round of mixed doubles from both parents.

Half an hour later, Schultz lay face-down on the bed, rubbing his bright-red bottom while flipping through a college physics textbook he had hidden beforehand — the book came from the same cousin.

He did his cousin's homework, and his cousin got him textbooks. The two were old partners.

Beside Schultz, Xiao En licked the wine in his glass and offered advice: "If you'd gotten yourself a revolver first like I did, you wouldn't have gotten beaten so badly just now."

Schultz rolled his eyes and said viciously, "Xiao En, one day, I'll prove to everyone that what is truly great is humanity itself, not some other existence."

Xiao En clapped excitedly beside him.

Schultz asked, "Do you believe me?"

Xiao En: "I believe you."

Schultz: "Why?"

Xiao En blinked, hesitated a moment, then said, "I don't know."

Schultz deflated, collapsing back onto the bed. "You don't even know, yet you believe."

Xiao En said matter-of-factly, "Because you're Schultz. I want to believe you."

Schultz scratched his head. "Oh no, to preserve my image in your heart, I have no choice but to do it."

Xiao En clapped his hands again from the side.

And so, as time passed, when Schultz turned fifteen, his unrivaled academic record had made him a famous young prodigy across the entire state, and he was accepted early by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

On the night before he left Brown Farm, something happened.

(End of chapter)