Ten minutes later, in a room at Tianzhushan Grand Arena, Si Zi pushed open the door and walked in listlessly, his expression low and his eyes dim, but he seemed to be doing a bit better than when he was in the Arena earlier.
The room was exceptionally spacious, with luxurious gold and red carpets on the floor, and a fireplace embedded in the wall directly opposite the door.
Golden flames flickered lazily inside, crackling and spreading a fragrant warmth, while several comfortable sofas nearby each had a silver-white flickering candle floating above them, making the entire room exceptionally bright.
The room was not empty; as soon as Si Zi pushed the door open, several gazes instantly converged on him.
"What exactly did you do?!" a girl with fiery red hair suddenly stood up from beside the fireplace, striding aggressively towards Si Zi, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at his nose, shouting, "You destroyed more than half the Arena in one go, didn't you?!
You made the Level 5 Arena undergo two full days of maintenance with a wave of your hand, didn't you?!
You almost shattered the barrier and blew up all those spectators, didn't you?!
How old are you, acting so impulsively?!
Little Ling Lan didn't even get a scratch, and you completely lost control, didn't you?!"
"I'm sorry, Chi Lu..." Si Zi hung his head in frustration, apologizing in a low voice, "I really lost control just now, I'm sorry."
"Are you a coward?! Who told you to apologize?!" The girl named Chi Lu glared at him fiercely, angrily saying, "So what if you destroyed more than half the Arena?!
Anyway, the repair materials for this place don't cost money; Big-Nose Lu Wei just needs to find some scraps from his 1% non-explosive stuff, and he can fix it!
So what if it needs two days of maintenance? For decades, the average standard of the Level 5 Arena has been pitifully low; what's the point of watching them fight like kids?!
So what if the barrier shattered? Didn't those spectators turn out fine?!
Are you that spineless?! Why apologize?!"
This girl had a good figure and a temper that sharply contrasted with the former.
Her attire was similar to Si Zi's, but her cloak was crimson, and the close-fitting, one-piece light armor she wore was scarlet, adorned with black patterns and many sapphires, outlining her figure, which was as good as Ya Ya's (but slightly inferior to Yu Cheng's).
She held her chin up arrogantly, her gaze towards Si Zi extremely unfriendly.
"But I shouldn't have lost my mind." Si Zi, however, still hung his head listlessly, sighing, "Earlier in the Noob Arena, if that Half-Dragon Knight hadn't rushed up in time, I might have killed that Half-Orc girl before the barrier took effect..."
Chi Lu snorted, "Then the person you should apologize to isn't me."
"Don't be silly, Si Zi wouldn't want to be a chicken chasing after players to apologize~"
A man with messy hair popped half his head up from the sofa, winking at Chi Lu with a chuckle, "That would be too ridiculous."
"Shut up, Four." The girl, presumably Second Chicken of the Noob Arena, glared fiercely back at him, then kicked Si Zi's knee hard, "You really need to clear your head."
The weak young man, presumably First Chicken of the Noob Arena, nodded and slowly walked towards the fireplace, but was stopped after only two steps…
It wasn't Chi Lu, who was grinding her teeth, but a girl with light blue short hair, wearing a white cloak and pure white light armor.
"Are you alright?" she asked emotionlessly, her ethereal voice as calm as water, her crimson eyes unblinking.
Si Zi gave an unnatural smile, "I'm fine."
"We won't suffer fatal injuries in mimicry." She continued, staring at Si Zi without blinking, "Your behavior just now was irrational."
Si Zi showed a somewhat bitter expression, "I'm sorry, Ling Lan, I just accidentally remembered when you..."
"You saved me, and I survived." The girl named Ling Lan calmly interrupted him, saying expressionlessly, "Back then, I was just fulfilling my duty to protect you."
Chi Lu impatiently clicked her tongue behind them, muttering, "But now you don't have that duty anymore..."
"Yes, I don't." Ling Lan, however, heard the remark and turned to Chi Lu seriously, saying, "But I'm used to it."
Chi Lu rolled her eyes dramatically and strode back to the sofa she had been lounging on, sitting down huffily.
"Your mental state is still unstable." Ling Lan then turned back to Si Zi, and suddenly pressed her forehead against his, releasing the completely dazed young man after four or five seconds, and said seriously, "I suggest you consult with High-Rank Observer Albus Diacard; he might have a solution."
Si Zi shook his head a little frantically, "No, it's fine... I'm okay, I just need a little rest."
"And he also needs to make sure no one sticks their head to his during this time," Chi Lu said mockingly.
A little boy, dressed in similar attire to the others and looking only twelve or thirteen, grinned at Chi Lu, then turned to ‘Four’, who was also chuckling softly, and whispered, "Is it drinking vinegar?"
"It's eating vinegar, Three." Four made a face, raising an eyebrow towards Ling Lan and Si Zi, "But if they keep going like this, we'll have to stop Chi Lu from fighting for a while; her self-control is even worse than yours..."
Three's eyes immediately lit up, "Really?!"
"Fake." Four yawned lazily, chuckling, "You're completely different when you're fighting compared to your usual self."
Three hung his head in frustration, and just as he was about to say something, the room door opened again…
Nois Hua Shao appeared before the five people, looking quite disheveled.
"Hello, Nois~" Four flashed him a fresh, bright smile, grinning, "Si Zi didn't cause you too much trouble, did he?"
Nois gave a dry laugh and shrugged helplessly, "No, I can barely handle this level of destruction, and Si Zi was quite... well, quite restrained; even if I hadn't intervened, there wouldn't have been any casualties."
"You're too modest, Nois." Three mischievously chuckled at him, sliding down the armrest of the sofa onto the carpet, "As the twelfth-ranked High-Rank Observer of Tian Zhu Mountain, you shouldn't have used the word 'barely' just now; the damage Brother Si Zi caused was like a drizzle to you~"
Nois, or rather, the twelfth-ranked High-Rank Observer of Tian Zhu Mountain, The Analyst Nois Hua Shao, swore quickly, then looked at Si Zi, who looked a bit awkward, "How are you now?"
"I'm alrea..."
"His condition is still a bit unstable."
Ling Lan calmly interrupted Si Zi as soon as he spoke.
She turned to Nois, her face still devoid of expression, "He remembered the time I almost died."
"Ugh, what an unlikable tone, so why does Brother Si Zi like Sister Ling Lan?" Three whispered to Four.
"Why do you go berserk as soon as you enter combat mode?" Four retorted.
"I don't know..."
"That's the answer."
"Huh?"
Nois's forehead was throbbing with veins.
He tried his best to ignore their conversation, then said seriously to Si Zi, "The God Extinction Society no longer exists."
The latter nodded, "I know..."
"Your mission as the Five Divine Beasts of Deicide no longer exists!"
"I know..."
"Everyone... well, all the Gods thought you were dead! Even if they knew you were alive, they probably wouldn't bother looking for trouble!"
"I know..."
"So you are safe! Zero will no longer be in mortal danger!"
Si Zi's eyes narrowed slightly, "You can call her Ling Lan; we have names now."
"Yes, yes, Ling Lan, I'm very sorry." Nois gave a wry smile and made an apologetic gesture to Ling Lan (who remained unresponsive), then continued to Si Zi, "So Ling Lan will no longer be in mortal danger! Understand?"
Si Zi nodded, "I'm sorry."
Chi Lu let out a loud 'hmph'.
"Once you repay your debt to Tian Zhu Mountain, you can leave." Nois shrugged, his usual jovial smile returning to his face, "Whether you want to travel the Innocent Continent, or find a place to live in seclusion quietly (Chi Lu snorted again), you can do whatever you want."
Four whistled, "I don't mind staying here forever; honestly, Tian Zhu Mountain feels more like home than the God Extinction Society ever did."
"Agreed." Three also nodded in agreement, "I think so too."
Chi Lu scoffed, "No ambition."
Four exaggeratedly gestured at his chest, "Nonsense! Do I even have a chest? Where would I get such grand ambition? But speaking of chests, I remember a phrase, what was it, something like big chest no... Ow!"
His hair was on fire.
"Anyway, you can do whatever you want then." Nois's mouth twitched, then he spread his hands and said, "But please, don't cause any more trouble until the twelve Pillars of Heroes are filled."
Si Zi lowered his head somewhat ashamed, "I'll try..."
Nois nodded with satisfaction, then stated that he had some aftermath to deal with and quickly left.
Two minutes later, Chi Lu leaned back on the sofa with her legs crossed, glancing at Si Zi, who was sitting opposite her, and leisurely said, "Tsk tsk, that explosive kid who was scared earlier would be furious if he saw you like this.
Ah, he's really a nice person; both his style and personality are very much to my liking~"
"Is that so..." Si Zi said absently.
Chi Lu's face turned ashen.
"Tsk tsk, this is a provocation~"
"Oh! She wants Brother Si Zi to drink vinegar!"
"It's eating vinegar, you idiot!"
"Oh, oh!"
Poof!!
Both of their hair simultaneously caught fire, and for some reason, Si Zi's hair also caught fire.
...
The next day, game time AM 10:40.
"You have been emergency disconnected; please choose whether to reconnect."
"Reconnect."
"Reconnecting..."
"Connection complete, loading character information."
"Welcome to Innocent Continent, Absolute Neutral Black Vatican, good night."
Mida City, Holy Church United Chapel.
Mo Tan appeared on the bed in his room, and looked up to see the slender figure standing by the table with his back to him.
"Yu Cheng?" he asked in as non-threatening a voice as possible.
"Ah, Mo Tan, you're finally online!" Yu Cheng, unexpectedly, wasn't startled.
She just turned around quickly, looking quite relieved, "That's great, Holy Maiden has already knocked twice."
Mo Tan sat up, scratching his hair, "Uh, what is it?"
"Looking for you, get up quickly, we'll pretend to have lunch and then go find Holy Maiden." Yu Cheng sighed, then began to quickly tidy the table.
She carefully rolled up the map of Misha County, then put the scattered chess pieces into a small bag, then ran to the bookshelf and picked up two cans of Mo Tan's favorite black tea, stuffing all these things into her satchel.
Mo Tan looked at the busy girl in front of him, somewhat bewildered, then obediently stood up, and while helping her tidy up the scattered items in the room (books, quill pens, ink, Yu Ying's leftover snacks, and dropped throwing knives), he tilted his head and asked, "Why are we going to find Xia Lian?"
"That's right~" Yu Cheng quickly took out two books Mo Tan had laid down and put them back on the bookshelf, turning her head to smile at him, "Holy Maiden has already arranged everything.
Two hours ago, all the Holy Knights, low-rank professionals, and civilians who volunteered to fight in Mida City have already assembled.
Mr. Tairo from Hofur City sent someone to notify us overnight in advance, so we can depart at any time.
Don't tell me you forgot."
Mo Tan, of course, remembered what he had arranged yesterday, but he hadn't expected Xia Lian to act so quickly.
He had originally thought it would be good if the main force could depart before sunset.
"Because Holy Maiden thinks highly of you, well, we all think highly of you!" Yu Cheng winked at him, playfully sticking out her tongue, "Everyone thinks that as long as we listen to you, even if the Holy Domain doesn't send reinforcements in time, we'll definitely be able to turn the tide, Commander!"
Mo Tan immediately felt his shoulders sink, and quickly waved his hands, "Don't be silly, don't be silly, I've never thought I had that much power.
I just said I'd try, the kind where I do my best."
Looking at Yu Cheng's hopeful, sparkling eyes, he suddenly felt his face burning, and then began to wonder if he had agreed too hastily yesterday...
So many Mutant wandering around, tens of thousands of Plague carriers, panicked citizens, scarce supplies, limited troops, and a clumsy Commander...
"I must be crazy!"
Mo Tan's eyes were somewhat dim.
And then...
"I know you're just doing your best, Mo Tan, you've always done that." Yu Cheng smiled sweetly, raising both hands to give a thumbs up cutely, "But you just need to do your best; I said it before, Mo Tan, you're super amazing!"
...Hmm.
Mo Tan also gave a thumbs up, gently poking his cheek, "I'm super amazing~"
That's right...
Although those troubles and obstacles objectively existed, however...
"Since she doesn't think I'm a clumsy Commander, then I'm not~"
Chapter 251: The End