---o---
Early morning. Xianzhou [Luofu], Divination Commission.
"What a mess…"
Sitting at the desk exclusive to the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission, Fu Xuan looked at the thick stack of papers in her hand and couldn't help but sigh with a headache.
This was the reward from the last simulation: the confessions of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. These remnants who still stubbornly believed in the Plaguespreader were secretly stirring up trouble on the Luofu, intending to drag the entire ship into eternal damnation, cleanse it of all faith in the Reignbow Arbiter, and restore the era when the Plague of Longevity ran rampant.
However, the outcome of the last simulation was vastly different from what these Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had hoped for.
[Lord Ravager Phantylia], using herself and a Stellaron as a sacrifice, ignited the remaining half of the Ambrosial Arbor, a relic of the Abundance. She twisted and reshaped almost all the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, transforming them into Antimatter Legion footsoldiers. She lit the flames of calamity in every corner of the Xianzhou [Luofu], causing the ship to be utterly annihilated in the blazing inferno, reduced to cold, pale ash scattered across the sea of stars.
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus never intended to destroy the Xianzhou [Luofu]. While those people were greedy, they were certainly not mindlessly insane.
Among them was a group of high-ranking individuals who were also part of the Luofu's upper echelon, perhaps even second only to the Six Charioteers.
For instance, the Elixir Censer Master of the Alchemy Commission and many other high-ranking officials within the commission itself. The vast majority of the remaining members were outworlders, greedy individuals who sought immortality and boarded the Xianzhou with the intent of obtaining it on the [Luofu].
They might have been dissatisfied with the Xianzhou [Luofu]'s current path of following the Reignbow Arbiter, and they might have intended to rebel against the current regime, but they would absolutely never think of destroying the entire Xianzhou [Luofu].
Because that would be meaningless to them. Although the legacy of the Plaguespreader had become a foul thing to be discarded like a worn-out shoe by the Xianzhou, one had to admit the profound and far-reaching influence the Plaguespreader had on the entire Xianzhou Alliance. Over six thousand years ago, the entire Alliance followed the path of [The Abundance] Yaoshi.
Although they later changed their allegiance, it didn't mean they had to completely abandon everything related to [The Abundance].
Things like the Xianzhou people's eternal life, the craftsmanship of the starskiffs, the unique biotechnology of the jade abaci, and the Xianzhou's other techniques in metallurgy and terraflesh technology were never abandoned by the Alliance.
The Alliance had always been pragmatic, a fact Fu Xuan, as one of the Luofu's Six Charioteers, knew very well. Since they were pragmatic, their faith in deities was not something that couldn't be changed.
This might sound rather blasphemous, but it was a fact.
The Xianzhou Alliance once followed the path of [The Abundance] Yaoshi. Later, because of the suffering of long life, they abandoned [The Abundance]. After severing an arm to seek the protection of a new Aeon, they once turned their gaze to [The Preservation] Qlipoth.
That Amber Lord was once the most mainstream faith within the Xianzhou Alliance for a thousand years. The majority of Xianzhou people were willing to cooperate with the Interastral Peace Corporation and accept the Amber Lord's protection.
It wasn't until that day, several thousand years ago, when a meteor streaked across the sea of stars, and the Reignbow Arbiter made their first appearance, that the Xianzhou Alliance changed its allegiance once more, truly setting the path of faith for the Alliance.
There are many legends about the Reignbow Arbiter, but those stories, full of mythological color, are merely articles written to increase the Xianzhou people's sense of identification with the Aeon. The actual history is not so full of humanity. The Reignbow Arbiter and the nameless hero from the Xianzhou [Yaoqing] were not the same person. Calling [The Hunt] the Reignbow Arbiter was nothing more than a case of misattribution.
...Therefore, since a pursuit of faith could be changed in the past, it remains possible for the Xianzhou Alliance's direction to change in the future if a better faith appears, or if those in power have other pursuits.
For example, if the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had truly achieved "victory" and seized political power on the Xianzhou [Luofu], it's not impossible that they would have changed their allegiance once again, becoming adherents of [The Abundance] Yaoshi.
So, no matter how outrageous the actions of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were, and no matter how much Fu Xuan detested these villains who disregarded the lives of the people, their actions were, in essence, nothing more than an internal factional dispute on the Luofu. They had an absolute bottom line: they would not think of destroying the Xianzhou [Luofu].
But now, that very thing had happened. These Disciples of Sanctus Medicus became the vanguard for [The Destruction], pawns of the Legion, and contributed greatly to the annihilation of the Xianzhou [Luofu]. This should not have been something they would do.
For the past two days, Fu Xuan had carefully read the confessions. The vast majority of the Disciples were merely greedy individuals seeking eternal life. When thrown into the Shackling Prison and facing interrogation by the Ten-Lords Commission, it took only a moment for them to break down in tears and confess everything they knew, admitting to their crimes.
But their confessions were bizarre. Almost all of them claimed they only wanted to revive the Ambrosial Arbor to gain a chance at immortality, which was consistent with their behavior in the previous simulation.
Only a few high-ranking members provided more detailed accounts, stating that the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had collaborated with [Lord Ravager Phantylia], received the aid of a Stellaron, and decided to stir up chaos on the Xianzhou [Luofu], then use the Stellaron to once again catalyze the Ambrosial Arbor's growth.
Not a single one of them mentioned anything about "destruction." It was clear they had no idea why Phantylia would suddenly be willing to sacrifice everything, including herself, just to destroy the Luofu.
...They were nothing more than a vanguard, completely ignorant of what lurked behind this conspiracy to destroy the Luofu.
Thinking of this, Fu Xuan couldn't help but sigh again, helplessly pinching the stiff bridge of her nose.
Obviously, the difficulty of resolving this major crisis for the Luofu had just been raised by another level.
After all, with these Disciples providing no useful information, the only way to get enough intelligence to solve the Luofu's impending doom was to make direct contact with that Lord Ravager.
However, although this matter was already extremely troublesome, it wasn't enough to make Fu Xuan this vexed.
The reason she was acting this way, sighing one breath after another, was actually because of Ron.
Yesterday, Ron did not report to the Divination Commission. Instead, he slept for nearly the entire day at the Petrichor Inn. In the evening, he followed Qingque to Aurum Alley and had a hearty meal, just like an ordinary tourist.
By monitoring all this through the Matrix of Prescience, Fu Xuan had completely erased any lingering shred of hope in her heart and confirmed the fact that Ron was a player.
After all… if he weren't a player in the Life Simulation Game, Ron's actions should have mirrored the situation from the last simulation. But now, the discrepancy was glaringly obvious.
This matter brought immense pressure upon Fu Xuan. She was constantly thinking about how she should face another player like Ron, and how she should ascertain Ron's attitude—to figure out if all the trouble from the previous simulations was his intention, or if he had encountered some irresistible force.
She knew very well that if she were to truly face Ron, many unexpected situations would arise. Although she had interacted with Ron recently, and the memories from the last simulation had somewhat diluted her impression of him, she still couldn't erase her fear of him.
Everything Ron had done in the simulation before last was too deeply seared into her mind. She couldn't change this instinctual fear. All she could do was try to overcome it while making contact with Ron.
Although this would mean losing a great deal of initiative and making it easy for Ron to see her weakness, this was something only she could do.
Just as Fu Xuan was feeling vexed about this, she suddenly heard a strange sound—
The heavy sound of footsteps and the friction of flesh and clothing being dragged across the ground, accompanied by faint, muttered whispers, as if some homicidal maniac was dragging a corpse toward her.
She cast her gaze in the direction of the sound and saw a grim-faced Ron dragging what looked to be a listless Qingque, who seemed to have lost her soul, mumbling about "My vacation, my vacation…" as she was brought before her.
A familiar situation was playing out in reality… Ron looked at Fu Xuan and declared righteously:
"Let me work! I want to work now!"
"Master Diviner Fu, I'm ready! Make me a Diviner of the Luofu Divination Commission!"
---o---
Fu Xuan is a player.
While eating with Qingque, after probing from various angles, Ron had confirmed this fact.
He had originally only been suspicious. But when Qingque told him that the Xianzhou [Luofu]'s aid to Belobog was pushed forward by Fu Xuan, then this player identity had to belong to her, no matter what.
Although Ron didn't know how Fu Xuan had managed to make the entire Xianzhou [Luofu] listen to her proposal and aid Belobog at any cost, the matter had already happened. Delving into the reason was meaningless. All he needed to know was that Fu Xuan was that player.
After completely confirming this, Ron immediately dragged Qingque to the Luofu Divination Commission the very next day. He decided to join the commission just like in the last simulation, hint to Fu Xuan that he was also a player, and have a direct, open and honest talk with her.
But he hadn't expected that after seeing him use the same method of joining as in the last simulation, Fu Xuan would fall completely silent.
She looked at Ron in silence for a long time. After a long moment, she stiffly forced out a single sentence—
"Qing… Qingque! Go write up the work reports for the last two days. Turn them in to me after work!"
The listless Qingque standing beside them felt her heart drop. She instantly snapped back to her senses, her eyes filled with shock and confusion as she looked at Fu Xuan.
I just helped you recruit Ron into the Divination Commission, and now you're throwing me away like a used rag and making me go write work reports?
She immediately pleaded with a face full of grievance:
"No, Master Diviner! I have bled for the Divination Commission, I have served the Divination Commission with merit! If not merit, then at least hardship! I—"
The nearby Ron obligingly covered Qingque's mouth and whispered in her ear:
"Go on, this is a good thing. Just don't come back before the end of the day."
Qingque looked at Ron, utterly bewildered. For a moment, she felt like she couldn't understand what was happening at all.
Why were the Master Diviner and Ron suddenly trying to get rid of her? What did she do wrong?
Qingque was baffled. But as the most skilled slacker in the Divination Commission, she had one excellent quality—
She was more than capable of reading her superior's expression.
Understanding that something she didn't know—and absolutely shouldn't know—was about to happen, Qingque immediately shut her mouth and left without another word.
What was going on between the Master Diviner and Ron? She wasn't curious. She really wasn't.
Curiosity killed the cat. If there was really something going on, she absolutely did not want to know!
With that thought, Qingque's short legs pumped furiously, and she scurried back to the assembly hall like a wisp of smoke to slack off at her workstation.
Watching Qingque go, Ron turned his head to look at a Fu Xuan who seemed to be facing a great enemy, and he smiled gently.
"The person who shouldn't be here is gone… Master Diviner, now we should talk about the things only we should know."
Ron spoke, getting straight to the point.
"If I haven't guessed wrong, Master Diviner, you should also be…"
But before Ron could finish his sentence, a familiar, arrogant voice cut him off.
"So you aren't in the Shackling Prison, but here, Ron… Hmm? There's someone else?"
Ron and Fu Xuan froze simultaneously, then immediately turned their gazes toward the source of the voice, their eyes wide with astonishment.
Following the sound, they saw Herta strolling leisurely in from outside the Divination Commission.
She looked at Ron, then her gaze shifted to Fu Xuan, and she said thoughtfully:
"What, you're a player too?"