Knock, knock.
A crisp knocking sound came from outside the door. Ron, who was already paranoid due to the sudden arrival of the Xianzhou [Luofu], stood up instantly. His gaze shifted in a flash, staring dead at the broken door of his home, countless thoughts flashing through his mind...
But these thoughts eventually converged into one, the simplest one—
The people from the Xianzhou have come?
He could be sure that the person outside must be from the Xianzhou... After all, at this time, no one else should be coming to find him.
Although it sounded pathetic to say, Ron had no relatives in Belobog, nor any friends—
Ron transmigrated to this world all alone. In the beginning, he couldn't even afford to eat and could only steal emergency food rations from vending machines at night to fill his stomach.
Later, although he relied on his desperate fighting on the front lines of the Fragmentum to obtain the position of Captain of the Silvermane Guards for the restricted zone, his nine-to-five life as a guard was just a daily routine for Ron.
Regarding the enthusiasm for saving Belobog, it had been extinguished early on in reality. This led to Ron not getting along well with most of the hot-blooded Silvermane Guards. Ron also had no interest in taking a step further in personal relationships with them, resulting in him being a loner despite living in Belobog for a long time, rarely interacting with others.
Back when he was in the Underworld, perhaps his boss Bronya would still care about him, but he had already submitted his resignation letter to Bronya. The current him in reality should be an ordinary person no one cares about...
His interpersonal relationships were so blank that in the last simulation, when Cocolia wanted to find his residence in Belobog, it took her a whole month to find Ron in the corner apartment building most easily forgotten by this city.
And now... to lock onto his residence so precisely and quickly, and to come knocking at this very unideal time... If not the people of the Xianzhou, who else could it be?
Ron looked solemnly at the door, which had fallen silent after the knock. He subconsciously clenched his fist, then after a moment of silence, released it helplessly—
Although he didn't really want to meet these uninvited guests, since things had reached this step, the subsequent developments were no longer something he could easily choose.
He actually had the means to flip the table... The entry "The Way of Salvation" was enough to let him ascend to the throne of an Aeon instantly, and as [Salvation], once again spread glory across the entire star sea.
But this was reality, not a simulation. Once a choice is made, there is no chance to start over...
Ron could certainly ascend to the throne of an Aeon in reality, but what then?
Not to mention that he would inevitably confront the four Aeons—[Preservation], [Abundance], [Harmony], and [Remembrance]—due to tearing apart their Paths. Even if Ron went with the flow and, as per the previous simulation, used the position of an Aeon to try to find a chance for survival, eventually facing the crisis where the [Finality] Terminus would destroy the universe, Ron, shackled by his Path, would have much less room to maneuver...
Although if the Xianzhou visitors really had any malicious intent, Ron naturally wouldn't hesitate and would immediately become the [Salvation] Aeon.
But for the sake of having more room to maneuver and simulation leeway later, and to finally determine if there was hope to defeat [The Finality] Terminus, Ron decided not to use the entry "The Way of Salvation" until the absolute last moment.
At least, I have to see what these people actually want first—
My trump card is in my hand; I am far from being desperate.
Thinking this, Ron took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and forcibly suppressed that trace of panic in his heart, making his face appear calm. He responded with a feigned air of indifference:
"Wait a moment."
He moved his feet lightly. Because of the panic in his heart, he was a bit stiff, but this actually made his footsteps sound steady and firm. Every step landed heavily on the floor, making a dull thud.
The visitor outside the door waited quietly and politely, silently awaiting Ron's welcome.
From Ron's bedroom through the living room to the door, the short distance felt like a heavenly moat—
But no matter how much he dawdled, this short distance couldn't delay much time... Ron walked to the door, dawdling, grabbed the door handle in front of him, hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and pulled the door open.
There was no one outside the door.
?
A huge question mark popped up in Ron's mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little creeped out in his heart—
No one? Then who was knocking?
Why did this suddenly turn into a horror movie scene? Did the phantom from the Goethe Hotel run to my door?
Just as Ron's heart was in turmoil, a light cough came from below...
He lowered his head and met Fu Xuan's gaze as she looked up. For a moment, he saw a lot in Fu Xuan's pair of eyes that were as calm as a lake—
In those deep pupils, dyed purple along the edges like a black hole, there seemed to be deep vigilance and a matter-of-fact understanding that she had expected this.
She seemed to have foreseen this meeting long ago. She just looked at Ron calmly, standing motionless in this drafty hallway of the apartment building, silent like a giant mountain.
Ron vaguely started to sweat.
Enemy? Or friend?
Can't see through her... simply can't see through her.
Fu Xuan just stood there, her petite body not moving a muscle.
She didn't speak, didn't move, just looked at Ron with quiet eyes, making Ron completely unable to see what she was thinking.
Master style.
It has to be said, she lives up to being Fu Xuan... On this ecological giant ship of the Luofu, there are many unreliable people, but a steady person who performs a divination before every meeting, deduces a dozen development scenarios, and makes full preparations for all possibilities—that would be only Fu Xuan, the Master Diviner.
Regardless of whether Fu Xuan was truly an enemy... just at the first glance of the meeting, Ron couldn't help but feel pressured by Fu Xuan's unfathomable nature.
The air was so quiet. Ron couldn't even hear the sound of Fu Xuan's breathing—Isn't this guy being too steady? What is she guarding against that she even prepared her breathing?
No... no, I can't let this stalemate continue. I have to say something...
Thinking this, Ron held back for a long time, and finally spoke somewhat stiffly:
"You came."
................................
Fu Xuan thought she was prepared.
But the moment she heard the heavy footsteps coming from inside the room and saw Ron open the door with a cold and indifferent face, ignoring her as a matter of course, the small fear she had just suppressed in the bottom of her heart exploded again.
This man who destroys the world if a single word disagrees with him... naturally possesses a confidence that disregards everything—
Ron ignored her. In a very humiliating way.
But actually, Fu Xuan had already expected this. She was clear that wanting to build a good relationship with an existence like Ron, the hardships she would have to undergo would be no less than thirsting for an Aeon...
Or rather, this difficulty far exceeded worshiping an Aeon. After all, Ron could definitely become an Aeon. The difficulty gap between meeting an Aeon and building a good relationship with a God-construct was heaven and earth.
Fu Xuan had already prepared herself to face such difficulty, but when she truly stood in front of Ron, memories from the last simulation subconsciously resurfaced in her mind—
The Ron of that time stood at the horizon, his face exactly the same as now.
He held a lantern in his hand. The golden flame within the lantern was jumping incessantly, as if his anger was rising.
He opened the cover of the lantern and tilted it slightly. Endless dark gold fire poured out, sweeping through this entire star system like a flood...
Being burned by the fire, the memory engraved in Fu Xuan's mind still remembered the vast divine might brought by that endless fire, and the warmth and hope engraved in the bottom of her heart. She also remembered the terrifying scene hundreds of years later when she was entangled by mara, and the fierce Holy Light swept across the Luofu, burning everything into gas within the Holy Light.
The Ron of that time was just like this now, his face sunken and cold. His whole person was stiff and hard like an Aurumaton moving according to a mechanical template. The muscles all over his body were taut as if he was a warrior ready to face an enemy at any moment. He just glanced coldly at the Luofu, and the fierce Holy Light burned everything.
Fu Xuan also turned to ash in that fierce Holy Light. Her flesh, blood, bones, and even soul were burning. Just looking at Ron's indifferent face, Fu Xuan could vaguely feel the scorching pain coming from all over her body.
The premonition of death echoed in her mind. The memories shattered under the divine might of the Aeon were enough to collapse a mortal's will. Even though Fu Xuan, as the Master Diviner of the Luofu, had long been unlike a mortal, she ultimately failed to receive the true favor of the Aeon and step into the ranks of [Emanators]...
That memory had been forcibly hidden by her, but after seeing Ron—the original owner who had once glanced at her and burned her thoroughly with infinite Holy Light—the sealed memory echoed in her mind. Although Fu Xuan's will was firm, she couldn't help but be pinned to the spot by the fear born from the bottom of her heart.
She looked up at Ron. Her fingertips were trembling slightly, her breathing had subconsciously stopped, and she was almost suffocating.
But relying on that firm will, she tensed her body, unwilling to lose the strength to speak. She tried to make her first contact with Ron—
Until she saw Ron looking at her calmly, and after a long silence, say dryly:
"You came."
Fu Xuan's heart went cold halfway.
He knew I was coming... No, why would he know?
What else does he know? Did his divination method understand everything?
Indeed worthy of being a man who can inevitably become an Aeon...
Fu Xuan fell silent for a moment. She didn't know exactly what Ron knew, but she was clear that if she didn't find a way to restrict Ron, this world would eventually be burned to destruction under the Holy Light.
She had experienced that pain.
That hesitation like falling into hell, the pain of burning to ashes in the scorching light and heat...
She didn't want the people of the Luofu to experience it once in reality.
She just wanted to try to pull Ron onto the Xianzhou, try to make Ron's growth trajectory not so dark and high-pressure, try to make Ron not become that cold Aeon...
For the myriad people of the Luofu, for the Xianzhou Alliance... she must persist.
Even if this meeting has been thoroughly within Ron's expectations, at least she has to state her own thoughts clearly...
Holding onto such an enlightening consciousness of risking everything, Fu Xuan suppressed her fear of the Aeon, opened her mouth with all her might, and kicked the words out of her mouth one by one, briefly and forcefully:
"I came."
Ron fell silent, then spoke again:
"...You shouldn't have come."
"But I still came."
"What do you want?"
"Please come to the Xianzhou for a chat."
"Just a chat?"
"Just a chat."
...
Another long silence.
Ron looked at the person in front of him who was tensed up tight, speaking as hard as a rock, refusing to say a few more words than necessary, extremely straightforwardly wanting to take him onto the Xianzhou. His temples were throbbing faintly.
Motherf***, how come the original plot didn't say you were as hard as a rock!
In the original plot, although Fu Xuan looked like she had everything in her grasp, was petite but majestic in doing things, she was ultimately willing to be approachable on normal days. In the plot, she was willing to explain things with more than a sentence or two to be friendly. Although she occasionally liked to speak in classical Chinese that left people confused, at least she wasn't like now—popping out words one by one, stiff and hard, her whole body tensed up as if she was going to fight at any moment...
Where is that cute and majestic tsundere from the plot? How come the version I swapped in is only cold and majestic?
Ron felt that Fu Xuan was treating him with the strictest standards. Actually, when he first saw Fu Xuan, an unrealistic idea sprouted in his heart—
He suspected Fu Xuan was a player of the Life Simulation Game, who just saw his various performances in the simulation and came to find him in reality.
But then he immediately denied this possibility... Leaving aside that if Fu Xuan were a Life Simulation Game player, for her to want to act on her own initiative to command the Luofu to come find him—given her status, this situation would be extremely difficult to achieve. Even if she discarded all impossible probabilities and directly determined she was a player, everything she did was absolutely not something a player could do.
Just take the most basic point—if she really is a Life Simulation Game player, why not contact him in the simulation first?
One must know, the Life Simulation Game is the most reliable, completely harmless, and easy-to-use means to deduce fate...
Fu Xuan herself is a diviner. As the Master Diviner of the Luofu, she has to perform who-knows-how-many divinations daily to predict the future and deduce fate for the Luofu. On normal days, she performs a divination even before going out. How could she leave such a useful thing unused?
It's not that Ron is conceited, but given his resume in the Life Simulation Game, anyone who wanted to contact him would have to simulate a bit to test and contact him in the simulation first...
...
Although the situation at the end of the last simulation was not what Ron desired, would other simulation players who didn't know the truth really rush straight to his door?
Are they really not afraid of him?
Given Fu Xuan's cautiousness... No, just based on the cautiousness of the leaders of the Xianzhou Luofu who have experienced countless wars and know exactly what consequences rash advances lead to, only if one of them is a Life Simulation Game player would they inevitably sever and settle everything in the simulation first before possibly ordering the Xianzhou to sail toward the best future.
But looking at it now, Fu Xuan isn't unafraid. Her tone is so hard, it feels like even if he doesn't agree to go to the Luofu, he will be forcibly taken up by her...
Ron couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. To choose to be "hard" right back, or to go? That is the question.
Ron wanted to do something, but he would only know after going... Although looking at Fu Xuan's performance, Ron didn't think this would be anything good, but since Fu Xuan didn't make a move on him from the start, he thought there was still room to maneuver.
Even if there is really any danger, Ron holds the trump card to flip the table, so he can always ensure his own safety.
Moreover, it's not entirely possible that it's only a bad thing—maybe Fu Xuan is just bad at expressing herself. She looks cold and hard, but in reality, she really just kindly wants to invite him to the Luofu to play, and has absolutely no other ideas?
Don't say this possibility is low or not; just say if this possibility exists!
As long as this possibility exists, generally one can be a bit more at ease, right?
Furthermore, if he really goes to the Luofu and isn't entangled by misfortune, just boarding the Immortal Boat easily like this, to tell the truth, would still be a good thing for Ron.
After all, compared to the Xianzhou [Luofu], Jarilo-VI is simply a difference between heaven and earth. The things the Xianzhou [Luofu] can do are far, far more than Jarilo-VI...
Let's do it like this.
Ron made a decision in his heart. Looking at the Fu Xuan in front of him whose face had already started to turn slightly pale, standing there like a statue of ice, he said peacefully:
"Okay, I'll go with you."
Instantly, Ron seemed to hear the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. That seemed to be the sound of a heavy heart landing—
Fu Xuan's complexion became visibly rosier. She turned around, her footsteps somewhat scattered and urgent, her voice carrying a tremor difficult to detect:
"Then... will you set off with this Seat?"
Ron shrugged indifferently: "As the Master Diviner pleases."
Hearing the words "Master Diviner," Fu Xuan's shoulders trembled slightly. She didn't say anything more, but silently lowered her head and left this dilapidated apartment building, taking Ron onto the exquisite starskiff that had long been parked outside the apartment building, flying with Ron toward the Xianzhou [Luofu] in the sky...
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Bronya, having cleared the chaotic thoughts in her mind, thoroughly lifted her spirits in the restart of the simulation machine. Once again igniting her fighting spirit, she made the smartest decision in her history...
She didn't know clearly what happened in the last simulation, but she wasn't prepared to think about it herself.
Before the last simulation, the reason she didn't go find Ron was because of Ron's sudden departure and her speculation about Ron also being a simulation player, thinking he had his own deep meaning for doing so, and decided not to disturb Ron first...
But this time, it's not a matter of disturbing or not disturbing—he could do something like destroying the universe; could there still be any deep meaning?
Bronya wasn't prepared to think about anything... She just wanted to find Ron now, immediately, right away. Ask Ron what exactly happened, and let Ron help her sort out all this chaotic information...
Then she returned to the surface through the secret passage in Boulder Town and saw the long-lost blue... sky?
There is no blue sky. The giant starship seen in the previous simulation appeared in the sky of reality. Light like flowing stars on the horizon rushed into the Luofu's Scalegorge Waterscape. Bronya knew what that was; those were the so-called "Starskiffs" cultivated by the Xianzhou [Luofu] relying on biotechnology...
Why did the Xianzhou [Luofu] appear here? Appearing in reality?!
What happened??
The new situation once again caused the thoughts the young girl had just recovered to crash. And Fu Xuan, who caused all this, was harboring thousands of thoughts in her heart, steering the starskiff to moor at Scalegorge Waterscape.
And beside her, Ron looked at the approaching behemoth, looking at the neat and orderly Scalegorge Waterscape port and the bright morning constructed by the internal ecosystem of the Luofu, and couldn't help taking a deep breath.
He lifted his spirits and followed the Master Diviner beside him off the starskiff...
A firm touch came from under his feet. This was the feeling of standing on solid ground.
The Xianzhou [Luofu], arrived.
---o---
PS: This chapter was originally only going to be two thousand words, but after writing the two thousand words, I felt the flavor wasn't right. I kept feeling I wrote too little, so I just kept writing and writing, and ended up writing for several hours until it reached six thousand words.