Lu Siya and Qin Hu climbed up with great difficulty. While they coughed up blood, they listened to the two engage in their verbal fight.
When they saw that the spirit energy deviated Lin Chuan was rendered speechless by Meng Chao, both of them were dumbfounded.
“I didn’t expect that you can really just keep yakking away in a fight like those women playing mahjong!” Qin Hu mumbled.
“Shut up and don’t be reckless! Don’t throw those Shooting Star Blades all over the place!” Lu Siya gritted her teeth. “We’re all heavily injured, and even with our strengths added together, we aren’t Lin Chuan’s opponent. We have to see whether Meng Chao can awaken what remains of his real self in the depths of his heart!”
“What gave you the right to order me around, you stupid woman? You’re involved in the matter behind why Frenzied Saber is entirely— No, I mean, most of my squad was wiped out because of your team. We haven’t settled this score!”
Qin Hu’s eyes were red as he said fiercely, “They were my friends, and I loved them dearly. We were brothers who would die for each other. If you don’t give them at least ten million as compensation, I won’t stop until I kill you!”
“…” Lu Siya sucked in a deep breath and said, “I can give you 10% of the profit we gain from the right to mine the Red Radiance Jades first. But you must use every bit of your strength to help us escape.”
“Understood, Ms. Lu!”
“Also, shut up.”
“Got it, Ms. Lu!”
Before their voices could fade away, Meng Chao grunted and crashed near them.
“Whatever you say now is useless!” Lin Chuan pointed at the White Spirit’s carcass and said hysterically, “Whitey already sacrificed herself for my ideals. Am I supposed to accept her falling hell while I change my mind and run away?
“No! Since I chose this path, regardless of whether I’m right or wrong, I can only continue it!”
Meng Chao stood up with Lu Siya and Qin Hu’s support. The three of them stood together.
Meng Chao refused to give up and pointed at the White Spirit’s carcass before executing a major attack. “Big Brother Lin, how could you still mention the White Spirit? You’re the one who killed her!”
“What did you say?” As he expected, Lin Chuan was stunned for a moment before he flew into a rage. He pointed his chain spear at them. “You’re the ones who killed her!”
“Don’t you understand? She didn’t need to die. She didn’t even need to sneak around and become the White Spirit. She could have appeared under the sun in Dragon City with her head held high and played together with the children in Blessed Heavenly Garden and Joyous Heavenly Garden.”
Meng Chao broke free of Lu Siya and Qin Hu’s grip and walked out of their protection. He stood once more before the burning flames from Lin Chuan’s Undying Bird and said loudly, “I believe in you when you say that you weren’t controlled by the White Spirit. On the contrary, you were the one who has been bestowing human wisdom to her and turned her from an ignorant monster to an intelligent creature who has emotions, can think, and is just like a human.”
“That’s right, Whitey had wisdom that wouldn’t lose to that of a human.” Lin Chuan’s eyes lit up, and he said hurriedly, “She was definitely not a monster!”
“But you led her astray!” Meng Chao decided to stake everything unto this last blow and said coldly, “If you had been more optimistic and chose an upright method to fight for our rights, you could have told of your experience of living together harmoniously with the White Spirit to everyone so that more citizens would understand that humans did not have to fight to the death with monsters.
“Agricultural University has a monster controller course, and a lot of monster controllers have pets. Perhaps we could have figured out a way for humans and monsters to coexist and help each other, or at the very least, not bother each other.
“I mean, I know that it wouldn’t be easy. The bloody grudge humans and monsters have from over the past century of battles wouldn’t disappear so easily. You and the White Spirit would definitely have faced a lot of suspicion, mockery, threats, and attacks. It would be a difficult path filled with thorns and flames.
“But no matter how difficult the path is, we should walk on it with our heads held high. This is the true path to become a superhuman!
“If you did that, could there have been a chance that we could have used another method to end the Monster War?
“The White Spirit was a sentient monster. Once its safety was ensured, it could walk the streets of Dragon City freely. It could even play with the children and use its power to create illusions of beautiful dreams for the children.
“It’s just like how we’re currently using huge sandworms to dig tunnels. The current civilization in Dragon City can no longer be separated from monsters. So why couldn’t we develop a deeper relationship with some of the highly intelligent and sentient monsters based on a plausible, sustainable angle?
“And once the war ended, the powerful people wouldn’t have a reason to monopolize most of the resources. Regardless of whether it’s the Deity Realm elites or the mega corporations, their power would be weakened and limited. The normal citizens would then be able to live better lives.
“Big Brother Lin, think about it. If that was really the case, what sort of image would the children in Blessed Heavenly Garden and Joyous Heavenly Garden have of you and the White Spirit? You’d be a hero, a legend, an idol! Many of the children would love the White Spirit. Entertainment companies would even create cartoons and online games based on the White Spirit!”
Lin Chuan listened to him dumbly and kept shedding bloody tears. He mumbled, “What’s the point of you telling me this now?”
“There IS a point!” Meng Chao shouted. “You’re the one who decided the White Spirit’s path, thoughts, impression of good and bad, and her image of all humans.
“She originally had the chance to stand publicly under the sun and be loved and needed by children. But then, she turned into an elusive spirit because of you. She became hated and feared by everyone, and in the end, she died tragically underground.
“And you’re not even done after you killed her. You want to turn her into a demon who destroyed Dragon City!
“If you really blow up the Red Radiance Jade mine and cause the northern offense to fail, how do you think all the Dragon Citizens will view the White Spirit in the future?
“Everyone will treat her as the criminal who caused Dragon City to lose, and she will be the most evil demon who can control human hearts, the queen of monsters who destroyed everything!
“When they mention her name, everyone will either tremble in fear or be filled with rage. Even three-year-old children will want to cut her to pieces and burn her to a crisp. Then, together with their friends, they will spit on her ashes.
“No one will think of you being friends with the White Spirit either. No one will treat you as kindred. You’ll just be a pitiful person who was bewitched by her, a lapdog of the monsters!
“And in the end, due to us failing the northern offense, the Monster War will drag on endlessly. The mega corporations and Deity Realm fighters will get more resources, and their statuses will become greater.
“No one will then question the lack of rationality in the concept of the powerful becoming more powerful, because we’ll be at the critical stage where we’re just a step away from dying. In such a situation, it’s only natural that we focus all the resources on the powerful.
“Big Brother Lin, is this really the future you want to see?”
Lin Chuan’s gaze, lips, arms, the chain spear, and the Undying Bird surrounding him shuddered together.
“Big Brother Lin, the White Spirit is already dead. She can’t control anyone’s mind, and whether or not she will be a ghost, demon, destroyer, or something else in the pages of history in the future Dragon City will entirely depend on your next decision,” Meng Chao said sincerely. “I’m begging you, don’t turn the White Spirit into a demon and yourself into her accomplice who will destroy Dragon City!”
“I…” Lin Chuan looked incredibly pained and conflicted.
“Trust me. The White Spirit’s true goal wasn’t to blow up the Red Radiance Jade mine, but to completely relieve you of your pain,” Meng Chao said. “But now, even if you really blow up the Red Radiance Jade mine, do you think that you will really be happy? If the White Spirit was still alive, would she really want to see you being tormented after you turn into a demon? Big Brother Lin, think about it!”
“AAAAHHH!”
Lin Chuan felt like his head was about to burst. He descended into madness and started swinging his chain spear without any pattern whatsoever.
Meng Chao crossed his chain sabers before rushing forward. He was knocked down time and again and was injured all over. Blood poured down his body, but he continued using his contribution points to repair himself and gritted his teeth to stand up again and again.
“Meng Chao, stop forcing me!” Lin Chuan shouted.
“Big Brother Lin, you’re the one forcing me!” The chain sabers and the spear produced dazzling sparks that lit up Meng Chao’s eyes. His shouts were even louder than Lin Chuan’s. “I don’t want to fight you at all! This isn’t the fight I want! We should be fighting together and happily killing monsters together!
“Even if we have to face powerful human enemies, we should be fighting together and using righteous methods to fight against the School of Thought shared by Lu Siya and Qin Hu!”
Lu Siya was speechless.
“Brat, say that again. Whose school of thought did you just mention?” Qin Hu said.
Lin Chuan attacked with his spear again. “I’ll kill you!”
Meng Chao dodged. “Big Brother Lin, I trust that you won’t!”
Lin Chuan smiled sadly. “Things have already progressed to this point, and you still believe me?”
“I have no choice. That’s how crazy fans are, and you’re my friggin’ idol!” Meng Chao shouted. “Even now, I still believe that you can win against the monster in your heart and admit your wrongs. That you’ll be able to face your low self-esteem and conceit before you destroy Dragon City. That you’ll be able to bring forward a relatively good end for yourself and the White Hero! After all… you were once a hero!”
Whoosh!
The chain spear pierced a red crystal cluster.
Normally, Lin Chuan could have drawn back the spear with just a light tug, but he seemed to have lost all his strength. His face was drained of blood, and he said wistfully, “The way I am now, I no longer have the right to be a hero.”
“Yeah, you might never be Dragon City’s hero anymore.” Meng Chao put his sabers away and looked at him quietly. “But you can become your own hero, the White Spirit’s hero… and perhaps, my hero again.”
Lin Chuan gasped for breath. The Undying Bird surrounding him started pulsating.
Meng Chao’s hands were trembling so badly that he could no longer hold the chain sabers. They fell with a clang.
“Big Brother Lin, we still have time. Please give me and Dragon City a chance.” Meng Chao stretched out his blood-stained hands as if he was holding a burning, brilliant hope in his hands. It might be invisible, but it was there. “Trust me. We can change the future and make Dragon City a better place!”
As Lin Chuan stared at the hope that was gathered together by blood, trust, and Meng Chao’s vitality magnetic field, shame, regret, and pain appeared on his face once more. Along with them were other expressions that could not be described with words.
His chain spear fell on the ground, just like Meng Chao’s sabers.
Then, the Undying Bird circling above his head calmed down and faded away.
“No way.” Qin Hu could not believe it. “He managed to win by yakking away nonstop?”
Lu Siya glared at him.
He quickly shut up.
Meng Chao sighed as if a huge burden had been removed from his shoulders. He knew that he had made the right bet.
In his previous life, Lin Chuan vanished without a trace after the northern offense. Even if the White Spirit started rampaging in Dragon City as a Supernatural Entity, he never appeared again.
If Lin Chuan had really worked together with the White Spirit to blow up the Red Radiance Jade mine and truly became a demon, he would be as infamous as the Dark Witch Bai Jiacao.
A thing like his idol turning into a demon king was something really shocking. There was no way he would not remember it at all.
So, there were only two possibilities.
First, Lin Chuan received a reminder from Lu Siya at the final moment and realized the White Spirit’s plan. It then led to him refusing to help it vehemently and becoming enemies with the White Spirit. After that, he died tragically underground with Lu Siya.
Second, he was deceived by the White Spirit and completed the plan to blow up the Red Radiance Jade mine, create a spirit energy tsunami, and occupy Raging Waves, but he could not accept the fact that the humans failed in the northern offense, that countless normal citizens and soldiers died tragically, and Dragon City suffered a huge blow. So he killed himself.
No matter which possibility it was, both of them suggested that he was never fully corrupted, and Meng Chao believed that he could still save him.
Meng Chao spread his arms and staggered to Lin Chuan.
At that moment, a red granule suddenly crawled out of the depths of the dead White Spirit’s mashed eye socket.