Chapter 206

Huo En's personality really appealed to Wen Xishu; there was a feeling of meeting too late.

Wen Xishu said:

"Did you hear any strange sounds just now?"

Huo En shook his head:

"No."

Wen Xishu was shocked:

"No?"

Huo En was somewhat surprised:

"It seems another off-field clue occurred that only you could perceive?"

Wen Xishu was curious about the term "off-field clue."

"Why call it an off-field clue?"

Huo En said:

"Although in terms of attitude toward handling things, one shouldn't be too self-centered, in the process of solving troublesome events, I will view myself as a player."

"In this way, if information appears that doesn't belong to me, I consider it off-field information."

Wen Xishu liked this answer very much.

At this time, the sky had gradually cleared up, and as Wen Xishu, under Huo En's control, defeated the Sin Sea Behemoth, the Sin Sea Behemoth in the distance also disappeared along with it.

But Mia nearby was still muttering the sentence she had been muttering not long ago.

And that feeling of being locked onto by something had not disappeared.

"So, he is a woman."

After defeating the Sin Sea Behemoth, Wen Xishu had gradually recalled some things.

Some obvious characteristics of women began to gradually become clear in his memory.

Huo En said:

"In Longxia, there is a very interesting saying that I like, called Yin and Yang."

"Now it seems that this world has Yin and Yang; men generally present a Yang state, and women generally present a Yin state. Of course, it's not absolute, but the world is always in a state of Yin-Yang harmony."

"Once there is no Yin, the Yang itself is actually out of balance."

"Fortunately, we have temporarily preserved this concept. But it looks like the monster will appear again."

The Sin Sea Behemoth will not die; it will constantly evolve and become stronger and stronger.

However, after killing the Sin Sea Behemoth, it seems it won't be attracted again for a short time.

"We need to find a safe place; if the Sin Sea Behemoth appears again, I'm afraid it will become very difficult to deal with."

The Sin Sea Behemoth is like some kind of error-correction mechanism.

Wen Xishu and the others finding back the people who lost the concept is like a bug in this world.

The force to kill the bug might not be strong at first, but it will become stronger time after time, and the force will become greater and more exaggerated.

Huo En nodded; although he didn't know where to hide, he also felt that at least they should leave here first.

So Wen Xishu carried one person again, pushed another, and Huo En had one person lying flat on his numb legs, and they began to travel.

"Survive for twenty-four hours, and after returning to the Ark, perhaps many questions will have answers." That was what Wen Xishu thought.

As for Mia, Wen Xishu tried to seal Mia's mouth.

He had a feeling that Mia's mouth, which kept muttering, was like some kind of signal transmitter, allowing the Sin Sea Behemoth to locate them.

Interestingly, when Wen Xishu blocked Mia's mouth with something, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, and both of them felt that they could finally stop thinking about "women."

Huo En and Wen Xishu were not easily influenced by external factors, but when mentioning the lost concept, it was always easy for both of them to have their thoughts interrupted.

Mia had originally seemed awake, but after her mouth was blocked, she actually fell into a coma again.

This scene made Huo En click his tongue in wonder.

Huo En also did not forget Wen Xishu's initial question.

"What sound did you hear?"

Wen Xishu said truthfully:

"Someone is asking for help. He told me that the next island is critical, and I must enter the next island."

If the person saying this were not Wen Xishu, Huo En would think the other party was talking nonsense.

But now Huo En listened very seriously; he frowned:

"Continue."

Wen Xishu nodded:

"At first, this person was not asking for help. He just told me that the Sin Sea Behemoth is very difficult to kill and that it will constantly evolve."

"But at least my speed is very fast, fast enough that the Sin Sea Behemoth finds it hard to lock onto us."

"And as I defeated the Sin Sea Behemoth, it seems he had other expectations of me."

"He began to ask me for help."

Huo En seemed to have thought of something, his expression becoming increasingly solemn:

"Continue, continue, what key words did he say?"

The four words "key words" also made Wen Xishu realize the problem.

Sirius constellation?

No, this information is not key, at least not key to Huo En and the others.

Wen Xishu immediately thought of it:

"He said he is in the Ark."

Huo En immediately shouted to stop:

"Stop, stop! Stop right here."

Wen Xishu stopped pushing the wheelchair, and Huo En closed his eyes to think.

After all, he knew more information than Wen Xishu.

However, Huo En was not just thinking simply; he began to recount many information fragments.

"Ark, ability users, people constantly being sacrificed, energy, normal sea areas, Sin Sea, Sin Soil Fragments, sea beast invasion... stopping on the island."

"You were on the island and heard a cry for help from someone claiming to be from the Ark! No, not from the Ark, but that person is still in the Ark."

"I seem to have a clue. But I need someone to review it with me."

Huo En and Wen Xishu looked at each other, and both thought of the same thing. Soon, the two began to construct possibilities.

Huo En said:

"Shall we piece together a story? Right, we can continue moving."

Wen Xishu nodded; he began to push the wheelchair forward while saying:

"You go first?"

Huo En said:

"There exists a very powerful ability user in the Ark, very powerful. For some reason, this ability user was imprisoned in the Ark."

Wen Xishu couldn't help but complain:

"Your storytelling rhythm is too fast. Starting with the climax?"

Huo En countered:

"I can't start from the Free State slaughtering the Indians, or the Age of Discovery discovering the Free Continent, right? Or do you want me to start from the apocalypse descending and the Free State building the Ark?"

Wen Xishu took over:

"Alright, my turn. This imprisoned person has powerful abilities, perhaps exceeding all other ability users on the Ark, but overall, he just longed to ride the Ark away from the apocalypse."

Huo En nodded:

"Although I don't know why you presupposed this, it doesn't conflict with the story I'm about to tell."

"He longed to stay away from the apocalypse and had always been hiding his abilities."

"But he was still discovered by other ability users. The captain of the Ark, very likely because of his power, developed fear... or some kind of greedy desire. In order to deal with him or control him, he united with other ability users to imprison him."

It was Wen Xishu's turn:

"But after that, strange things began to happen on the Ark. The imprisoned ability user's strength was powerful beyond everyone's imagination."

"And the original sea area, on that day, suddenly turned into a red sea area."

"The Crimson Sea, named Sin Sea by your captain. Of course, if we had more details, we could know why he would call this sea area the Sin Sea."

"Then, the Ark began to be attacked by mysterious creatures—the Sin Sea Behemoth."

"To make the Sin Sea Behemoth stop attacking, there is only one way—that is to arrange for people to enter the Sin Soil Fragments. Eight people go in; as long as these eight people go in, they can temporarily appease the Sin Sea Behemoth's anger."

Huo En felt increasingly comfortable; thinking that Wen Xishu's thoughts were exactly the same as his own, he had a feeling of finding a soulmate. This feeling was the first time he had experienced it.

"My turn? Alright, actually everyone was deceived, all thinking the Sin Sea is a real sea area. But the truth might not be like this; perhaps the Sin Sea... and the Sin Soil Fragments are not real."

"No matter how far the Ark sails in the Sin Sea... the Sin Sea Behemoth can always suddenly catch up to the Ark."

"Perhaps the Sin Sea Behemoth never left the Ark at all; the Sin Sea Behemoth was simply summoned by someone in the Ark."

"That person is the one imprisoned by the captain and many ability users together."

Wen Xishu immediately took over:

"Hmm, it's not that the behemoth invaded; it's because the behemoth's master was on the ship from the beginning."

"The Sin Sea Behemoth attacks the Ark because the Sin Sea Behemoth longs to rescue that person."

Huo En did not immediately take over this time, but thought for a good while before slowly opening his mouth:

"That imprisoned person has powerful strength; he wants to save himself. But he can only save himself through the Sin Sea Behemoth."

"Originally we thought that only by approaching the Sin Soil Fragments, that is, landing on the island, could we avoid the Sin Sea Behemoth..."

"But now it seems that landing on the island is a means to eliminate the Sin Sea Behemoth's desire to attack? Or a means to cut off the connection between that person and the Sin Sea Behemoth?"

"I might as well be a bit conspiratorial. Assuming that after eight people sacrifice some kind of concept, they can appease the Sin Sea Behemoth's desire to attack—"

"Then the contradiction comes."

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Yeah, I can't figure this out either. If we all lost the concept of 'woman,' we could make the Sin Sea Behemoth stay quiet for the next day and not attack us."

"Then why, when we refuse to lose this concept at this moment, does it attack us instead?"

The two's story piecing together suddenly interrupted.

Because they were both stuck. After a while, Wen Xishu said:

"Is it possible... that actually the two types of Sin Sea Behemoths are not from the same system?"

"Is it possible that the Sin Sea Behemoth on the Sin Sea is the imprisoned person's desire for self-rescue?"

"And the Sin Sea Behemoth in the Sin Soil Fragments symbolizes... some kind of error-correction mechanism?"

Huo En also immediately understood what Wen Xishu wanted to express; he slightly revealed a look of shock:

"You mean to say... there is no Sin Sea at all? And no island named Sin Soil Fragments??"

Wen Xishu said:

"Brain in a vat, have you heard of it?"

Huo En's face turned somewhat pale.

"You should remember, right? Once reaching a certain stage, the behemoth will make everyone fall into hallucinations." Wen Xishu asked again.

Huo En nodded:

"Yes... yes, I understand, Wen Xishu, I understand everything!"

"So it was like this... so everything was like this?"

Huo En indeed understood, and Wen Xishu also understood.

Huo En began to speak continuously:

"If we never land on the island, we will see rotting flesh appearing on the cabin walls. It's as if... we are in the belly of the Sin Sea Behemoth."

"There is another point. Every island is different; on some islands, the lost concept is children, on some islands, the lost concept is the elderly. And there are other islands... like this island of ours, the lost concept is women."

"In addition, the Sin Soil Fragments, which are these islands, some are cities, some are deserts, and some are small towns..."

"Ever-changing, messy. At first, I thought according to a gamer's mindset... this is just a game setting."

"But now that I think about it, it's not like that!"

"It's consciousness! It's a consciousness habitat!"

"Remember how we left?"

Wen Xishu of course remembered:

"The scarlet sea fog blocked our sight, sea monsters were attacking outside continuously, no one could see the scene outside the sea fog, and no one dared to open the window to face the sea monsters."

"So no one saw... there were no islands around the Ark at all!"

"And the so-called landing on the island was not the Ark stopping next to an island!"

"The way to leave the Ark was to take the elevator inside the Ark and enter the portal."

"But that was just an illusion; there was no portal at all! That was a consciousness connection device!"

"We... are in the consciousness of that imprisoned person!"

"The eight of us are game-theory sacrifices!"

Huo En clapped his hands:

"Brilliant, yes, the eight of us are game-theory sacrifices; this is like some kind of... super complex hypnosis."

"We assume the captain is trying to control that strongest ability user."

"Right, did he say his name?"

Wen Xishu hesitated for a second, finally deciding to tell Huo En:

"That imprisoned ability user is named Sirius."

Huo En was slightly surprised:

"What a strange name, alright, I can accept it, it's all game settings. Hmm... in order to control Sirius, the captain engaged in a game with Sirius."

"The so-called game is Sirius trying to save himself through mental attacks. Manifested as the Sin Sea Behemoth attacking the Ark."

"The captain, through mental attacks, tries to control Sirius."

"And landing on the island is actually entering Sirius's consciousness world!"

Huo En continued:

"The captain perhaps mastered some kind of ritual, some kind of means, to let eight people enter Sirius's consciousness world."

"In this world, by letting all eight people lose some kind of concept... he also makes Sirius accept the non-existence of this concept."

"But among the eight people, as long as someone can realize what the lost concept is... they can preserve Sirius's concept."

"Of course, this possibility is very low; if it weren't for you, Wen Xishu, I wouldn't have been able to hold onto this concept. I have to thank you."

Wen Xishu remembered that before landing on the island, he knew many people had lost some concepts; in some people's concepts, there were no elderly. In some people's concepts, there were no children.

He couldn't help but ask:

"If... a world without women means losing Yin-Yang harmony, then what does a world without the elderly mean?"

Huo En shook his head:

"Perhaps it means... conservatism, it means respect, it means some things that only the elderly can bestow."

"Many people say that when you are alone and have no elders left, you will usher in a huge transformation. You might become cold-blooded, or you might become free."

Wen Xishu said:

"Then what about children?"

Huo En said:

"Hope, change. I'm not sure, just as men and women may not necessarily represent Yin and Yang; I'm just indicating that the elderly, children, women... these things may just be appearances; it is very likely that they metaphorically represent some kind of imagery."

"But what is certain is that the more these images or concepts are lost... the more Sirius deviates from himself, the more—like a puppet."

Through the disappearance of various types of people at different stages... to influence the world inside Sirius's heart?

Wen Xishu felt his hair stand on end. Ordinary qualified ones were actually trying to turn a demigod into a puppet through some means?

This was truly an extremely bold, yet logical idea.

Huo En said:

"So... when we return to the Ark, the sea beasts we face are Sirius's desire for self-rescue."

"But when we enter the consciousness world, the sea beasts we face are some kind of means of the captain."

"The two types of sea beasts look the same, just to numb us, but in essence, they are different."

Wen Xishu added:

"The reason they can be the same... perhaps it also represents that after the previous 'landing on the island' was successfully completed, the captain had gradually mastered some of Sirius's abilities."

Huo En nodded:

"In short, the elderly, children, women... seem to be some kind of imagery. If these images are lost, will Sirius gradually become cold and numb, or give up on his own redemption?"

Wen Xishu agreed with this view.

He and Huo En deduced it... and felt that everything, while absurd, was reasonable.

They had never left the Ark, never landed on an island at all, but had always been in Sirius's mental world.

Without a doubt, they helped Sirius preserve the concept of "woman."

However, the two didn't know if everything was as they speculated, then after the two returned to the Ark... whether they would encounter trouble.

This trip to the Mysterious Tower, the island is a level, and the Ark is also a level.

There is one more point that Wen Xishu is very concerned about—

Sin Soil, Sin Sea, are these names really just a way of saying it?

If it was to cover up the truth, why not use other names?

Why not call it the Crimson Sea Area, why must it be called the Sin Sea? Why not call it the Chaotic Islands, why must it be called Sin Soil Fragments?

Is it really unrelated to the Sin Soil world mentioned by the tea-selling old man?

Huo En looked at the sky:

"There are dark clouds gathering again... it looks like the next wave of attacks is coming. Even if Mia is already in a coma, it seems we cannot escape the pursuit of the Sin Sea Behemoth."

Originally, Huo En intended to use Wen Xishu's controller again to control Wen Xishu to defeat the Sin Sea Behemoth once more.

But thinking that the Sin Sea Behemoth might be more powerful than before, and thinking that defeating the Sin Sea Behemoth treats the symptoms but not the root cause...

Huo En suddenly asked:

"Endless fighting doesn't seem like the correct solution. Wen Xishu, do you think, for someone like me, if I didn't have your help, would it be possible for me to clear the level alone?"

Wen Xishu heard the subtext:

"You want to say, is there a way for ordinary people to, after finding back the lost concept... not trigger the error-correction system and not be discovered by the Sin Sea Behemoth?"

Huo En sighed:

"I wish we had met earlier."

Wen Xishu thought for a moment:

"In this world without women, we who know of the existence of women will be erased by the world."

Huo En took over:

"It's like, we are viruses, to be cleaned up by antivirus software. But before meeting Mia, we actually hadn't really unlocked the word 'woman'."

"What if we make the whole world a virus?"

Wen Xishu said:

"I think I understand why you have been unwilling to abandon Mia and Judy."

The sky was still getting darker, and Wen Xishu discovered that the Sin Sea Behemoth's arrival indeed had a timing.

This time was enough to do many things.

Huo En nodded:

"We have to join forces to defeat the Sin Sea Behemoth one more time; this time it might be a bit tricky, but next, we won't have to run away meaninglessly, but instead go do something crazy enough."

Wen Xishu smiled and threw the controller to Huo En:

"Huo En, I really hope that in the future you can leave the Ark."

(End of chapter)