Chapter 112 Grand Death
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
“Fulfilling the believers’ wishes was my duty.” That awful deity, resembling a detestable leader, held a meeting with all the employees. He advised them to focus on their work and not express any dissatisfaction due to its demanding nature. A beautiful maid standing beside him poured a glass of red wine, smiling and softly suggesting, “Sir, it’s time for you to fulfill a wish.”
Though his tone was polite, it was a subtle reminder for him to stay focused and not waste time with meaningless chatter.
“Oh, right,” he exclaimed, realizing that he hadn’t touched upon the main topic. After being reminded, he lightly tapped his head and laughed. “Yes, I completely forgot.”
He glanced across the crowd, consisting of the world’s top media professionals who had attended the meeting. Cameras and spotlights of various kinds were directed at him, capturing the moment that would reshape the destiny of humanity.
The deity couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, basking in the attention of the masses. He clearly enjoyed being the center of the world’s gaze. Swirling the wine glass, he finally said the long-awaited words that everyone had anticipated: “I will grant the believers’ wishes, and the fusion of the three-dimensional and two-dimensional realms will never occur again. The fusion zones will remain forever vanished!”
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone present felt a strange sensation, as if something had detached from them. It was a strange feeling that brought a sense of fulfillment.
Seeing the expressions of the crowd, the deity wore a satisfied smile. He raised his cup, laughed heartily, and made a toast to celebrate humanity’s victory. Then, he raised his head and drank all the wine in one gulp.
The news spread like wildfire through the online world. People who had eagerly awaited this day rushed around, celebrating the hard-earned achievement.
After a long time, the never-ending fusion finally came to an end. People embraced a new beginning, no longer living in boundless fear.
Although there were still some shortcomings, they no longer had to hide like mice…
“Thank you,” voices of praise emerged from the crowd. In that moment, they forgot about the deity’s unattractive appearance and oily demeanor, regarding this unremarkable figure as a noble savior. “You saved us…”
This statement set off a commotion in the venue. Various languages filled the air, even though the meaning was unknown, their faces seemed to carry a grateful expression in that moment.
The deity also smiled, but unlike the exaggerated smiles of the believers, his smile carried a profound meaning. However, no one realized the significance of that smile at that moment. The deity opened his mouth, but instead of fulfilling the believers’ wishes, he expelled crimson blood…
It splattered on the ground, mixed with shattered organs. The deity’s eyes widened in disbelief, his face turned pale, and he weakly collapsed to the ground, murmuring, “The wine is poisoned…”
Screams erupted as everyone witnessed the horrifying scene through live television broadcast.
The deity’s body collapsed to the ground, devoid of the confident smile on his face. He screamed for help, desperately seeking assistance like a pitiful creature.
Little did anyone expect that this was just the prologue. In the next moment, several silver rays suddenly shot out from the crowd, moving at incredible speed. Before most could react, the rays had already pierced the deity’s body.
When the realization of the tragedy struck the crowd, the deity, sitting on the ground, was defenselessly turned into a hedgehog. His entire body was impaled with silver needles, rendering him firmly pinned to the floor. His mouth wide open, all his pleas for help were choked in his throat—he was dying, unable to utter a word of desperation.
“Aaaah!!!” a scream erupted within the crowd. The guard who had been standing by the deity’s side had vanished, leaving him alone, lying on the floor, staring with wide eyes as the crowd dispersed like a tide.
“Ah…” miraculously, he wasn’t quite dead yet. The deity weakly stretched out his hand, seemingly attempting to seek help.
Amidst the chaos, someone silently approached the magnificent stage. They gazed upon the deity’s pitiful state, raising a sharp weapon without hesitation. Swiftly, as their hand rose and fell, the deity’s head tumbled to the ground, rolling forward until it detached from the body. His eyes were filled with the pain of disbelief, as if he hadn’t realized until death that the very same believers who had adored him had now become his murderers.
The rolling head jolted the nerves of everyone present. The crowd exploded, but they persistently held onto their instruments, broadcasting the tragic event to every corner of the Earth.
Every human who cared about the deity’s fate bore witness to this god-slaying murder.
The severed head hit the ground, signifying death even for a deity. Rolling and tumbling, it landed at the edge of the stage and received an unexpected kick, sending it flying elsewhere. In the next moment, the deity’s body ignited with green flames, burning for a brief moment before turning into a pile of black ashes.
A sudden gust of wind brought an end to this absurd feast. People couldn’t intervene in time as snowflakes carried the remaining ashes, drifting into the crowd. The ground became pristine as if everything that had just happened was a ridiculous illusion conjured by the masses. However, deep inside, everyone knew it wasn’t an illusion. It was all too real.
The deity was dead, killed by many. People anxiously brushed off the ashes from their shoulders and heads, with disgusted expressions, afraid that the remnants would linger a moment longer on their bodies.
Absurd and laughable, the death of the deity was witnessed by people worldwide.
He had granted humanity’s most cherished wish, only to be mercilessly killed without even a moment to catch his breath. Li Yuan, staring at the sudden turn of events on the television, stood frozen in place. From the deity’s poisoning to being pierced by countless swords, from losing his head to eventually being reduced to ashes by a blazing fire… In a short span of a few minutes, Li Yuan felt as though she had lived through a century in front of the television. She and her mother were speechless. By the time they snapped out of it, the deity had been slain, not a trace of his body remaining, as if everyone had experienced a surreal and bizarre dream.
“The deity is dead?” Li Yuan asked, dazed.
“Is this a television drama?” Her mother struggled to accept it. She even stood up and walked to the television, watching the chaotic scenes unfolding on the screen. “How could the deity possibly die?”
Yes, how could the deity die? Li Yuan wondered. Previously, she had found the greasy deity quite detestable, but he hadn’t done anything directly harmful to humanity. Even if he was unlikeable, was death truly warranted?
Li Yuan licked her dry lips and forced a smile. “Mom, they must be playing a joke, right?”
Li Yuan’s mother remained silent. She put down her knitting and let out a soft sigh. “The new year has arrived.”
Li Yuan stayed quiet. She sniffled and suddenly felt like crying. She held back for a while but couldn’t contain it any longer, quietly sobbing.
Her mother asked her why she was crying.
“I didn’t expect that he would die,” Li Yuan choked up. “I just disliked him, but I never imagined he would die so tragically…”
Her mother gently stroked her head. She had many words to say, but all that escaped her lips was a sigh. She said, “Yuan Yuan, don’t cry anymore. If you keep crying, it’ll break my heart.”
Li Yuan had her mother’s tender care, but what about the deity? The deity who was despised by countless people and met such a gruesome end, was there anyone who cared for him?
Of course, there was someone. Lin Zhaohe felt a deep sympathy for him at this moment.
Even though he knew that the deity standing on the stage, despised by everyone, was not Zhuang Lao himself, witnessing him drink the poison and suffer such treatment made Lin Zhaohe feel uncomfortable in a strange way. Not only did he feel sorry for the deity, but he also inexplicably felt a surge of anger, thinking that these people were truly ungrateful. The moment the deity granted their wishes, they immediately killed him.
As he watched the green flames consume the deity’s body, Lin Zhaohe furrowed his brow. The frustration in his heart compelled him to let out a long sigh, drawing astonished glances from A’Yao and Gu Xuyu, who were watching the news with him.
“Is Xiao He feeling sorry for the deity?” A’Yao asked.
“It’s not about feeling sorry or not,” Lin Zhaohe said. “This relentless act of grinding an exhausted donkey, it just makes one feel uncomfortable.”
The mere thought that Zhuang Lao was the one suffering such injustice made Lin Zhaohe even more uncomfortable. He became restless to the point where even the beautiful face of the TV host on the screen seemed detestable.
Others might not know, but he truly felt sorry. Lin Zhaohe thought that if Zhuang Lao had gone through all of this, he would probably have gone insane.
The reactions of the people were in stark contrast to Lin Zhaohe’s feelings. The radiant smile on the host’s face was like a blossoming flower as she passionately announced that someone had killed the deity. The police were now investigating the whole incident, and she asked the audience to guess if they could find the culprit.
If the previous wishes were the end of a nightmare, then the death of the deity was another carnival.
The media present were like vultures, feasting on the death site of the deity, eagerly extracting his final worth.
“How many people actually wanted to kill him?” the host asked. “And how many of them didn’t have the chance yet…”
Lin Zhaohe didn’t want to watch anymore. He took out the remote control and changed the channel, but almost every channel had the same content. In frustration, he decided to turn off the TV altogether.
A’Yao and Gu Xuyu exchanged a glance, surprised by Lin Zhaohe’s reaction. Honestly, they didn’t expect the culprits to act so quickly, directly killing the deity during this ceremony. It seemed ruthless, and it didn’t surprise them. When human nature’s evil is unleashed, the depths to which it can sink are truly astounding.
In a few days, it would be the traditional New Year. Those inside the warm house couldn’t feel the cold brought by the snowflakes fluttering outside the window. They sat inside, sharing stories and discussing their wishes for the coming year, talking about the desires they hoped to fulfill in the future.
The divinity who could grant any wish disappeared, but the crowd seemed oblivious, as if he had never existed. That despised deity, regarded as a worthless commodity by the masses, vanished ever so lightly into the cold snowy night.
After the spectacle under the bright lights finally dispersed, Lin Zhaohe sat on the couch, waiting for the return of his beloved.
With a creak, someone turned the doorknob, and Lin Zhaohe turned around to see Zhuang Lao’s face, adorned with a smile.
Lin Zhaohe stood up and rushed toward him, embracing him tightly.
Zhuang Lao was surprised by the warmth of his lover. He gently stroked his lover’s fluffy head and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy about something?”
Lin Zhaohe: “They killed you.”
Zhuang Lao: “Xiao He, I’m still alive.”
Lin Zhaohe: “They didn’t care about our past. They just burned you to ashes.”
Zhuang Lao smiled and said, “Xiao He, actually, in the end—it was my own hand.”
Lin Zhaohe: “?”
“Hey!” Zhuang Lao said, “Didn’t expect that, did you?”
Lin Zhaohe’s expression froze for a moment. “You really did it yourself?”
Zhuang Lao: “Well, this is what they call taking matters into your own hands.” Since they were going to act anyway, he might as well do it himself, cleanly and efficiently, to avoid leaving any suspicious traces.
“Don’t be unhappy, Xiao He,” Zhuang Lao pressed his forehead against Lin Zhaohe’s head, emphasizing each word. “I killed someone I wanted to abandon anyway, someone who represented a burden on me.”
Breaking free from the identity of a deity was also a way for Lin Zhaohe to regain his freedom and give meaning to starting everything anew.
At this moment, it could be considered a successful completion of a virtuous act.
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
