Chapter 46.1 Two extremes
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Qi Ming and Lu Xiaotian, two people who found pleasure in others’ misfortune, burst into laughter, completely disregarding Lin Zhaohe’s self-respect. It nearly made Lin Zhaohe’s eyes turn red with anger.
Zhuang Lao gently rubbed his subordinate’s sad head and suddenly had the idea of teasing him. He leaned close to Lin Zhaohe’s ear and whispered, “Don’t want to stay inexperienced?”
Lin Zhaohe cried, “I’m not…”
Zhuang Lao said with a smile in his tone, like comforting a child, “I know you’re not. If you want, I can take some risks and help you out.”
Lin Zhaohe was shocked for a moment before realizing what Zhuang Lao meant. His face immediately turned red. “B-boss, are you… suggesting something improper with me?”
Zhuang Lao: “If that’s how you understand it, you can.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Uh… well…” He lowered his head, looking visibly embarrassed. Zhuang Lao heard his cute subordinate become even more bashful and say, “After the secret mission, how about a raise?”
Zhuang Lao: “…”
Lin Zhaohe: “It’s okay, even if you don’t!”
Zhuang Lao remained silent, starting to ponder why Lin Zhaohe had such significant financial pressure that he would always ask for a raise.
After finishing their swim, evening arrived.
Lu Xiaotian mentioned a magic show on the cruise ship and asked if they wanted to watch. Lin Zhaohe replied that they were just idling around, so they might as well find something to do together and agreed to go.
Twenty minutes later, the group sat in the audience seats of the magic stage.
Lin Zhaohe sat comfortably, legs crossed, enjoying some sunflower seeds. Lu Xiaotian also wanted to grab some, but Zhuang Lao stopped her.
“Safety first,” Zhuang Lao said.
Lu Xiaotian teared up and said, “Isn’t this being too nervous? It’s just one sunflower seed…”
Before she could finish speaking, Qi Ming, seated beside her, let out a cry of pain and spat out a sunflower seed. “Damn, this seed is alive. It almost broke my tooth…”
The sunflower seed waved its tiny hands and feet, angrily protesting, “Poke your gums, poke your gums! Lu Xiaotian, I won’t let you off easily!”
Lu Xiaotian looked on, gasping in cold air, feeling a slight ache in her gums.
Soon, the sunflower seed was apprehended too. The victim, Qi Ming, spat out blood and tearfully exclaimed how cunning the seed was, poking a hole in his gums and causing him great pain.
Lu Xiaotian said awkwardly, “Thank you for enduring this ordeal on my behalf.”
Qi Ming, wearing a mask of pain, sighed, “Sigh… It’s our duty to share the burdens with our customers.”
The magic show on stage began, and a tall figure appeared on the stage.
The man was dressed in the classic attire of a magician, wearing a mask on his face and a hat on his head. He gave a faint smile to the audience below and clapped his hands, signaling his assistant to bring out a magic prop—a small box that seemed to be used for a human-cutting illusion.
“Magic shows nowadays don’t seem to be that interesting,” Qi Ming muttered under his breath.
It was somewhat true. In a world dominated by 2D works, magic seemed to lose its luster. After all, even with Lin Zhaohe on stage, they could perform telekinesis.
Lin Zhaohe cracked sunflower seeds and said, “Keep your voices down, it’s starting.”
The entire hall dimmed, and the magician performed a few warm-up tricks like transforming doves and flowers. They appeared ordinary, and the audience didn’t applaud much, clearly unimpressed by the current magic’s lack of allure.
Lu Xiaotian rested her chin in her hand and watched for a while before yawning and saying, “So boring. How about we go back and sleep?”
“Not a bad idea,” Lin Zhaohe replied.
“Let’s leave after he finishes this act,” Lu Xiaotian suggested.
Lin Zhaohe nodded in agreement.
The next act was the grand transformation, where the magician’s beautiful assistant entered the small box and then vanished. The magician covered the box with a black cloth, seemingly preparing to bring back his assistant.
Lin Zhaohe recalled having seen the explanations of such magic tricks before. They were usually based on misdirection and creating visual illusions. This magic act was too cliché, and Lin Zhaohe had seen it too many times. Watching it now, there was no sense of awe.
While Lin Zhaohe casually thought about whether to order some food when they returned to the room, he absentmindedly grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and stuffed them into his mouth. Suddenly, he heard Qi Ming next to him exclaim, “Holy shit!”
Startled, Lin Zhaohe shivered and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qi Ming: “Where’s Lu Xiaotian??”
Lin Zhaohe’s eyes widened. He looked towards Lu Xiaotian’s seat, and realized that Lu Xiaotian, who had been sitting next to him just moments ago, had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty chair, unsettling their gaze.
“Where is she?” Lin Zhaohe was also dumbfounded.
As the music reached its crescendo, the magician on stage lifted the cloth curtain, causing a stir among the audience. Inside the box was Lu Xiaotian, huddled up!
She seemed confused about what had happened, looking around in a daze and saying, “What’s going on?” She turned her head and saw the magician standing beside her, slightly bending down with a smile. The confusion on her face turned into fear, and trembling lips uttered two words, “Juzi…”
“Lu Xiaotian,” a man named Ji Zuoyi, also known as Juzi, revealed a smile. Even behind the mask, Lu Xiaotian could feel the intense malice. He extended his hand in a gentlemanly gesture and spoke softly, “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Lu Xiaotian screamed as if she had seen a ghost.
Ignoring the people rushing towards him from the audience, Ji Zuoyi released the curtain from his hand, and Lu Xiaotian, along with the box, disappeared.
“Catch him!” Zhuang Lao shouted.
Lin Zhaohe lunged towards Ji Zuoyi, but he had no intention of engaging with them. He swiftly turned around, broke through the window, and disappeared in front of everyone within moments.
“This is bad,” Lin Zhaohe said. “Where has Lu Xiaotian been taken?”
“Search on the cruise ship,” Zhuang Lao said. “We have already sailed a considerable distance from the port. He couldn’t have taken her out of the cabin!”
Lin Zhaohe sighed, “How are we going to search…?” The cruise ship was vast, and going through each room would be a daunting task. By the time they found Lu Xiaotian, she could already be lifeless.
“He probably doesn’t intend to kill Lu Xiaotian,” Zhuang Lao said, “otherwise, he would have already taken action.”
It made sense. Lu Xiaotian was just an ordinary human. One stab to her chest and she would be gone. If the intention was to kill her, there would be no need for the elaborate scheme of taking her away.
So, why did Ji Zuoyi kidnap Lu Xiaotian? Lin Zhaohe wondered. Could it be to torture her in captivity? Considering Ji Zuoyi’s background, it wasn’t entirely implausible.
Trembling inside the box, Lu Xiaotian shared the same thought as Lin Zhaohe. She believed that Ji Zuoyi had abducted her for the purpose of slowly tormenting her.
Lu Xiaotian was placed on the ground, and the curtain covering her was lifted. She saw countless pairs of eyes staring at her. Surrounded by so many people, she suddenly felt awkward and let out a nervous laugh, “Hello, everyone.”
No one responded to her. The gazes of the crowd were complex, but most of them clearly wanted to harm her.
Ji Zuoyi emotionlessly opened the cage and said, “Come out, Miss Lu.”
Lu Xiaotian burst into tears and tremblingly stepped out of the cage. She surveyed her surroundings and saw many of the characters and creatures from the assassination group she had created. Most of them had suffered tragic fates, with only a few having a decent ending.
Ji Zuoyi said, “Take a seat.” He gestured to a nearby chair.
Lu Xiaotian didn’t dare to refuse. She walked over and sat down, sniffing as she whispered, “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to.”
Ji Zuoyi: “We all have a question for you.”
Lu Xiaotian: “What is it?”
Ji Zuoyi: “Creating such works, what kind of pleasure do you derive from it?”
Lu Xiaotian hesitated for a moment, her voice trembling as she said, “Back then, I was young and constantly pressured by editors for manuscripts. In a fit of anger, I unleashed my true self…” She burst into tears, her words filled with regret. “But at that time, I had no idea you would become real people. Otherwise, I would never have written those things.”
“Then you hold no value in this world,” Ji Zuoyi said in a calm tone, speaking words that condemned Lu Xiaotian to death. “Creating so many terrible life stories, all for your own pleasure… I can’t forgive you.”
If Lu Xiaotian’s creation of these works was driven by love or something else, he could attempt to understand. However, the conclusion this young girl presented was revenge against society.
Ji Zuoyi couldn’t accept that his tragic life and miserable fate were merely entertainment for others. The pain he had endured, his wretched destiny, turned out to be a farce.
Ji Zuoyi seemed to recall something, tears welled up in his eyes, and he choked, “Miss Lu, I am deeply disappointed in you.”
Lu Xiaotian’s crying continued unabated. She had long regretted her actions, but regret was futile. Now that Ji Zuoyi and these characters from her writing had entered the real world, she was powerless to change anything.
Ji Zuoyi raised his right hand, which transformed into a sharp blade. With a single swing, he could take Lu Xiaotian’s life.
Knowing that escape was futile, Lu Xiaotian closed her eyes in despair. In her heart, she thought, “In my next life, I must become a writer of sweet stories and never engage in wrongdoing under the guise of anonymity.”
However, after waiting for a while, the anticipated pain did not arrive. Instead, with her eyes closed, she felt a burst of light. Lu Xiaotian opened her eyes in confusion and found herself enveloped in soft wings. It seemed she was in someone’s embrace. She lifted her head and saw… a dragon’s head.
Yes, it was the head of a dragon, with snow-white skin, delicate and exquisite scales that shimmered like neatly arranged gemstones. Standing beside the dragon was an adorable little girl who pointed at Ji Zuoyi and spoke loudly.
Lu Xiaotian momentarily couldn’t comprehend the situation and asked in bewilderment, “Is this heaven? Am I dead?”
“You’re not dead,” the dragon spoke with the voice of an adult woman, slightly deep and incredibly gentle and pleasant. It said, “Everything is fine now.”
The little girl exclaimed, “It’s not her fault in the first place! She didn’t know you would become a real person! You should reason with her!”
Ji Zuoyi: “Does an author who consistently creates such works deserve to live in this world?” He gestured to the characters standing beside him, all seeking revenge. “For whom has she brought happiness?”
The little girl: “I am also one of her creations.”
Ji Zuoyi was taken aback, his expression frozen.
“I am very happy,” the little girl held the white dragon’s hand and spoke softly, “I can’t let you kill her. She created me.”
Ji Zuoyi gazed at the girl and the white dragon, and after a long while, he finally said, “I have seen both of you.”
During the early stages of his arrival in this world, Ji Zuoyi was unaware that he was the protagonist of a manhua. It was only as he gradually became familiar with his surroundings that he realized his uniqueness. Eventually, he found the issue of the magazine he belonged to and saw himself in the manhua… Nothing could describe it better than the word “tragic.”
Of course, after reading the manhua about himself, he also took the opportunity to read the concurrently serialized manhua. Among them, the one where the little girl and the dragon embarked on a journey left a deep impression on him. He read it multiple times, fantasizing countless times about what it would be like if his author were someone else, someone with a warm heart. Perhaps he wouldn’t have experienced so much tragedy.
However, now, an unbelievable fact shattered Ji Zuoyi’s illusions. The little girl appeared before him, revealing that she and the author who created her were the same person. She was the embodiment of love, while he was the result of societal revenge. Ji Zuoyi found it absurd and laughable.
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