Category: Let Me Shoulder this Blame!

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Chapter 108

Yuan Zheng was stunned for a while. Finally, he couldn’t help but chuckle and sighed helplessly. Then he broke off a small piece of chocolate and plopped it into his mouth.

It has been a long time since he had eaten chocolate. The bitter and mellow flavor spread across his tongue. Then the sweetness of the treat broke through with a light milky fragrance. It was very invigorating.

Mu Shi was not as restrained as him. He held a large lump of chocolate in his mouth. His cheeks bulged slightly as he squatted in front of a shelf, concentrating on searching for what he wanted.

Like this, he almost looked like an ordinary young man who easily gave people a favorable impression of him.

When Yuan Zheng first met Mu Shi, he was stunned by the other person’s particularly calm and indifferent temperament, and he had instinctively put up some guards around him. But as he gradually became familiar with the other person, he realized that he was probably just introverted and not talkative.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Yuan Zheng looked at him for a while, shook his head, and couldn’t help but laugh. Then he turned and walked over to the tools section.

The supermarket was so huge that even if everyone carried as much as they possibly could, they would still leave behind a lot of goods that they could not take with them.

After they closed the door to the supermarket, Yuan Zheng’s palm glowed with white light, and he pressed his hand to the door lock again.

Not long after, the white light gradually shrank, and finally condensed into a delicate and small key, which fell into his hand.

Yuan Zheng took out a thin silver chain, strung it through the key, and then handed it to Su Shi: “Take it. You will be the only one who can open this lock in the future.”

Su Shi had found a book bag to carry the things that he picked out from the supermarket. He also took back his bundle. When he carried it on his back, he strongly exuded the aura of a student.

He looked down at the key in his hand. Before he could speak, the striker had already grabbed his shoulder and patted him: “It’s only thanks to you that we found this place, of course the supermarket belongs to you—Little Boss, in the future, when we buy things, don’t sell it to us for a high price, you hear?”

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The team members were all in a good mood. They laughed at the striker’s words and joked along with him incessantly.

Carrying two military engineer shovels made of stainless steel, the deputy team leader bowed his head with a complicated mood. Finally, he completely lost his firm belief in his standpoint.

The sky was already getting a little dark. Yuan Zheng ordered the team to make preparations. He picked up the silver chain and put it around Mu Shi’s neck. He wanted to take the opportunity to rub the soft looking short hair of the other person, but suddenly found empty space beneath his palm.

He looked down at the young man who avoided his hand. Yuan Zheng was slightly stunned when he met those bright, limpid eyes. In the next second, his expression eased back up and he patted Mu Shi’s shoulder with a laugh.

“My fault, I overstepped. Sorry. Let’s go.”

Su Shi followed, but there was an indescribable heaviness in his heart.

He has went through several worlds, and only one person has done this action to him, but the other person should still be in the middle of upgrading and shouldn’t have the time to come to this world to pull the rug out from under his feet*.

[*T/N: 拆台 – to undermine somebody’s plans]

The protagonist did give him a sense of familiarity, but maybe this time it was really just a similar set of data…

But he was unexpectedly hoping for the other party to chase after him and mess with his plans again.

Su Shi snapped out of his daydream, horrified. He shook his head vigorously and dispelled the terrible thought from his mind. Suddenly a sharp alarm sounded in his ear.

Su Shi’s heart thudded. From his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow rushing towards them. He subconsciously leaned to one side to make way. But the others were not as fast as him, and they were scattered every which way from the collision.

The black shadow wounded several people one after another, snatched away the supplies that they were carrying, and immediately fled the scene.

“It must be the Son of Hell!”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

The striker yelled. He clutched his injured arm as he jumped back onto his feet. His eyes flashed with anger: “This bastard is too savage. We have to catch him today no matter what!”

The patrol team has been chasing after the Son of Hell for more than half a year, but every time they only caught some troublesome student. The team members were so angry that they immediately picked up their equipment.

Su Shi’s vision was better than everyone else. He could already see a bunch of zombies approaching the group quickly, attracted by the smell of blood. With his mood in a tangled mess, he reached out and grabbed onto someone’s elbow. It turned out to be the petardier.

“He is not the Son of Hell.”

“Follow behind us. Be careful or the Son of Hell might drag you away.”

The petardier warned him in all seriousness, waved his hand, and then dragged Su Shi behind him.

“Don’t worry. We have been tracking him for half a year, so we can be certain—if the Son of Hell is not him, then are you saying that it is you?”

[T/N: I’m not sure if the intent is coming across correctly in English, but the petardier does not suspect Su Shi of being the Son of Hell. He’s asking a rhetorical question that implies Su Shi can’t possibly be the Son of Hell.]

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The author has something to say:

Su Shi: …… Q^Q

#Your prop: the shoddy mask has been damaged#

#Favorable impression +99 points#

#The deputy team leader doubts his initial suspicions of you#

T/N: Apologies for being a day late. Was a busy day yesterday. >_<‘

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Chapter 107 

Su Shi was still thinking of taking any opportunity to leave, so he responded quickly to the suggestion and jumped out of the armored vehicle.

“Captain, why are you taking the little sprout along too?”

Seeing Su Shi also getting out of the car, the striker frowned and blocked him: “He’s still considered a college student, how can he protect himself? Don’t bring him along. It’ll add trouble. Tell him to stay in the car and rest. He’s been frightened and all alone for so many days, yet you’re not letting him get a good rest?”

His words started out sounding reasonable, but there was something off about the latter half of his persuasion.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

The deputy leader gaped with his mouth open. He was just about to agree with the striker, but then his words got stuck half way up his throat.

Yuan Zheng did not rush to speak. He just crossed his arms and looked at Mu Shi, patiently waiting for his choice.

“… Asides from the supplies warehouse nearby, I also know of a supermarket, and it’s not far from here.”

Seeing his [Bonanza] ability lighting up again, Su Shi pondered for a moment, and then added more weight to his stance.

“Really?”

The striker’s eyes brightened. He quickly pulled Su Shi over with interest, and put the person behind him: “Great, you tell me the way there, and I will clear the way for you in front. Rest assured, you will definitely not be put in danger.”

Compared to the warehouse, which only stored basic materials and they even had to turn in ninety percent of the harvest, the team members who go out on mission obviously prefer supermarkets.

This was not only because there were always some surprises to be found in supermarkets, but also because the team had complete rights over the distribution of items obtained from there. If they found a large enough supermarket, then the entire team could live well off for a while.

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The team members’ eyes lit up when they heard there was a supermarket nearby. Their enthusiasm rose instantly, and in the blink of an eye, they escorted Mu Shi out quite far.

Yuan Zheng raised his eyebrows, shook his head, and chuckled. Then he locked up the car and caught up with them: “All right, but don’t forget about our mission, we still have to report back to the higher ups…”

The deputy leader was left behind. He stood there stewing in anger for a long while, and finally swallowed down the advice to not bring along outsiders while performing their mission.

The weight of the supplies was very heavy, so it would not be convenient to carry the supplies around with them. Taking into account the high enthusiasm of his team, Yuan Zheng temporarily adjusted the mission plan, and decided to first go to the supermarket that Mu Shi had spoke of.

Low-level zombies would not move about easily during the day, so the danger was relatively low. But a wave of zombies had after all just broken out in this area, so there might be zombies above Grade C in the area. The team did not dare to relax their vigilance and moved forward quickly.

Following the navigation on the map, Su Shi led everyone to the supermarket in a short span of time.

The so-called supermarket was just a miserable little retail store. The team members were somewhat disappointed, but they also didn’t want to make the kindhearted student sad, so they joked with each other, saying that they didn’t know what they might find inside and that it might be something good. The downcast atmosphere turned around and resumed its liveliness in the blink of an eye.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Su Shi didn’t speak. He moved forward and fiddled a few times with the lock before unlocking the supermarket door. Then he walked down the stairs.

According to the level of the treasure trove last time, if this was not a supermarket, then he would complain about the system deceiving consumers when he went back.

The team members did not expect there to be stairs leading underground. They hesitated for a moment, and then quickly followed.

The power supply had been cut off. Yuan Zheng used his abilities to light up a few overhead lights, and then a dazzling array of goods shelves were suddenly revealed to everyone.

Excitement lit up in everyone’s eyes.

The members of the patrol team were well trained and naturally they would not scramble disorderly. After assigning tasks, they split up to search different areas. Su Shi did not go with the others. Instead, he went straight to the glasses counter in the corner.

There were only glasses frames. He didn’t know if the system’s special effect [as long as you wear glasses, others will not be able to recognize you] was still effective.

Su Shi picked up a few glasses frames that caught his eye and stored them away. Then he casually picked up a bag of unexpired chocolates. He tore open the bag and went back the way he came, and just so happened to bump into Yuan Zheng who was walking in his direction.

“What did you pick?”

It was the other party who had led them to his supermarket. According to the rules of apocalyptic times, everything here was considered Mu Shi’s even if he could not carry it all.

The person in front of him obviously did not have this kind of awareness. He generously showed him the bag of chocolates in his hand and passed it over to him: “Do you want to eat?”

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Translator Corner

Su Shi: “Do you want to eat… me?”

(Lol, just kidding.)

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Chapter 106

Su Shi received the military knife. The petardier of the group picked up Su Shi’s baggage with one hand.

The bag contained hundreds of high-level crystal nuclei* that the Son of Hell had obtained. Su Shi hurried forward, but the petardier laughed boldly and patted his shoulder: “I’m helping you carry it, not snatching it from you. Carrying such a heavy load with that small body of yours, what are we gonna do if you get tired and can’t walk later?”

[*T/N: If you’re not familiar with the Chinese version of a zombie apocalypse, a crystal nucleus is used for powering up (usually by consuming it), and it can be found within zombies. So you’d have to kill the zombie and then dig out the nucleus (usually from the brain). Stronger zombies would yield higher-grade nuclei.]

“It’s dangerous here, let’s leave this place quickly.”

Seeing that the situation was mostly cleared up, Yuan Zheng spoke calmly and took the lead to get out of the forest.

In the apocalypse, zombies were rampant everywhere. Su Shi was forced to join the group. He followed them out of the woods and boarded the armored vehicle parked outside.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

The deputy leader was a little worried. He moved into the front passenger seat and spoke in a low voice.

“Captain, isn’t this too hasty? After all, we don’t even know his background…”

Yuan Zheng was unconcerned though, and he casually replied.

“Do you think he looks like a bad guy?”

Recalling the clean and clear light in those eyes, the deputy leader was temporarily at a lost. Then he bowed his head: “Indeed, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, but you really can’t judge a person by appearance–”

He wanted to say something else, but Yuan Zheng had already raised a hand to interrupt him. He glanced behind him and then indicated that the deputy leader should do the same.

The deputy leader turned his head hesitantly, only to realize that at some point the other people in the team were already chatting with the Mu Shi of unknown origins.

The marksman was explaining the rules of B Base to him, while the petardier gave him the ham from their rations, and the doctor unscrewed the cap from the drinking water before handing it over. Everyone’s expression was gentle and patient, and there was a relaxed and warm atmosphere in the airtight, armored car that had never been seen before.

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The striker, who has the most irascible temper in the crew, had rolled up his sleeves, and was calmly teaching him how to use the military knife. Perceiving the deputy leader’s not quite friendly gaze, he sharply lifted his head, pulled Mu Shi behind his body, and sent a sharp glare towards the front passenger seat.

The deputy leader retracted his gaze, resigned to the situation, and heaved a sigh: “I hope it’s just me over thinking things.”

There was a moment of silence. But he was still worried, so he once again shifted his body towards their group leader: “Captain, this is already the fifth student that we found impersonating the Son of Hell. We should report this to the higher ups. And it’s best that we give a lecture of some sort to prevent these students from jumping on the bandwagon…”

“Understood, if we catch another one then we will report it.”

Yuan Zheng responded simply. Then he raised his gaze to look at the handsome young man through the rearview mirror.

In the apocalypse, humanity has honed their survival instincts and they could tell whether someone was hostile or threatening at a glance.

Mu Shi didn’t say much, and his expression was indifferent, but his entire person was gentle and not even a little bit aggressive. His body radiated a rare warm and pure aura. Even if it were just from basic instincts, the other team members would subconsciously get close to him.

Yuan Zheng turned the steering wheel and drove the armored vehicle onto the smooth national highway. He glanced again into the rearview mirror.

Mu Shi learned how to handle the military knife very fast. The striker patted him heartily on the shoulder, smiled, and said something. The others around them all laughed.

Mu Shi sat in the middle of the group. His clear gaze took in the friendly smiles of the people around him. His good-looking eyebrows curved slightly, and the corners of his lips also rose up in a shallow smile.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

His originally cold expression instantly melted and the exquisite facial features suddenly came to life. It was obviously just a very shallow smile, but it made people feel a deep warmth in an instant.

In comparison, the guy who was robbing passersby with sacks last time seemed much more like the Son of Hell.

Finally setting aside the last trace of doubt, Yuan Zheng opened up the electronic map and inputted in the instructions.

The base had been destroyed, so this meant that everyone else now had the right to collect any remaining armaments and supplies. In addition to their daily hunt for the Son of Hell, their mission this time was to go to an overlooked warehouse and bring back whatever they could find.

The armored vehicle stopped off to the side of the national highway, and the team members skillfully got dressed in their equipment right away. Yuan Zheng turned around and just so happened to meet Mu Shi’s gaze, who was looking over at him.

Those eyes were clear and pure, like a stream of freshly melted spring water, inexplicably giving people a strong favorable impression.

“You can come with us or stay in the car. We will be back soon.”

Yuan Zheng spoke with a warm voice, and handed him a flashlight: “This armored vehicle’s defense function is very good. You can rest assured in it. Nothing will happen.”

“I will go with you guys.”

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Chapter 105

The deputy team leader, who was standing behind the young man, came forward. He sized up the young man with a wrinkle in his brow, kicked aside the mask on the ground, and spoke in a somewhat bad tone.

“I’ve already told you guys a long time ago, don’t think that you can pretend to be the Son of Hell and act cool with some shoddy broken mask. We’ve caught the wrong person four or five times now. It’s lucky that you still seem steady. Right now, it’s a mess outside. What will you do if something really happened to you?”

……

Su Shi went silent. He glanced at that shoddy broken mask on the ground.

“All right, you’ve already lectured him enough.”

The young man who was the head of the squad interrupted the deputy leader. With a milder tone, he said to Su Shi: “My name is Yuan Zheng, I am the leader of the patrol team at B Base. It is very dangerous here. What is your name, and where do you live?”

There was a slight shift in Su Shi’s expression when he heard this person’s name.

It turned out that the other party was the protagonist of this world.

Yuan Zheng was currently only an A-level ability user, but he has S-level potential. He possessed fire and light abilities, and was the captain of a government-sanctioned patrol team.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

In accordance to the storyline, there would be many eyes on the protagonist due to his talents, and he would encounter countless crises. And it was precisely because this time the protagonist chose to stop pursuing him that Mu Shi decided to secretly guard the other person all the way until the end, often times saving the protagonist in life or death situations.

His heart shook with expectation at the familiar storyline, but in the following blink of the eye those expectations vanished like smoke in thin air. He laughed at himself for indulging too excessively in his fantasies.

It was Su Shi who had personally pushed that string of data onto the road of a civil servant*, but before that happens – before he ascends to godhood – he would be stuck in that world. In this new world, it was unlikely for Su Shi to meet his protagonist – the one who always stirred up trouble for his missions.

[T/N: Refer to chapter 102. If Esmond (the ML of the previous world) ascends to godhood he will transcend that world’s plane of existence and become a “staff member/civil servant” of the main god system.]

Well, it was probably better this way. At least he would be able to steadily carry the pot until the end.

Su Shi silently comforted himself like this, and tried his best to wave away the trace of loneliness in his heart. Holding fast to his character setting of a grim and vicious thief, he shot the other person a quick glance, turned around, and walked away just like that.

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He only made it a few steps when the striker* caught up to him and blocked his path: “Damn brat, do you want to die? The real Son of Hell is inside. A student with soft skin and tender flesh like you should be careful. He’ll roast you and eat you up!”

[*T/N: 突击手 – I think it is referring specifically to the person who cut his mask in two. Coming back from translating chapter 106, “striker” seems to be his role/position in the team, just like a doctor or a marksman role. Can also be translated as “assaulter” or “attacker” but I’m afraid that might get confusing later, so I went with “striker.”]

Su Shi frowned slightly. His right hand, which was hidden in his sleeve, twitched. He was about to tie the other person up with vines, but Yuan Zheng suddenly grabbed his right arm.

“We’re the ones who chased you all the way out here. Regardless of anything else, we should be the ones to escort you back.”

Before Su Shi could gather his wits about him, the protagonist was already dragging him along.

While pulling Su Shi forward, Yuan Zheng turned his head to look at him and spoke with a kind temperament: “Can you tell me what your name is now?”

The corpse of the mask had yet to go cold. Su Shi glanced back at the broken mask and insisted: “Son of Hell–”

Before he could finish talking, there was a thud on his forehead. The striker fumed: “Tell the truth!”

His mission was to protect the protagonist’s group in secret. Su Shi swallowed his words and chose not to argue with him: “Mu Shi.”

Everyone referred to him as the Son of Hell, but no one knew his real name.

Yuan Zheng nodded and patted him on the shoulder: “Where is your home? We will send you back.”

Since his task was to protect the protagonist’s group in secret, then naturally he could not travel with them.

Su Shi was eager to get away from them, so he flippantly answered with the name of a base that was nearby, but then the look in everyone’s eyes changed. Their gazes were full of hesitance and sympathy.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

“That place… was just met with a wave of zombies. It’s already been destroyed. We had received a notice, so we came to try our luck, to see if we can salvage any armaments or supplies from there.”

Yuan Zheng’s expression was complicated, and he spoke with a careful tone.

As a result, midway to their destination they coincidentally ran into their old enemy, the Son of Hell, and ended up pursuing him all the way here.

The defensive power of that base was very weak, and it did not take long for the wave of zombies to overwhelm it. Most likely this young man’s home was in shambles too.

Yuan Zheng couldn’t bear it. He stepped in front of Su Shi and placed a consoling hand on the young man’s shoulder. “If you have nowhere to go, then come with us.”

Hearing what he had just said, the team deputy leader was stunned and promptly opened his mouth to stop him: “Captain–”

“This is the apocalypse. Everyone joins together to survive. It’s no big deal.”

Yuan Zheng interrupted his deputy leader. Then he pressed his military knife into Su Shi’s hand: “Take it for self-defense. Be careful. Now let’s leave this place first.”

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Chapter 104 (37.1)

Su Shi lowered his head. His eyes fell upon the mask that had been cut in half.

The system trembled: “There is a quagmire at the three o’ clock direction, host can rush over at lightning speed and bury his face in it…”

With a snap, Su Shi cut off the instant communication function with the system.

This was the end of the world.

His character this time was named Mu Shi, and he was called the “Son of Hell.” In this world, he was a fierce and evil thief.

Mu Shi was born in the top central base of power. There, all children who reach the age of five would activate supernatural powers. The children were then divided into upper, middle, and lower class according to their power levels.

The upper class was specially trained and cared for, the middle class received lots of training and became the main source of fighters, and the lower class was responsible for the most basic chores and logistics.

Asides from these three classes, there were actually a small portion of children who were not qualified for rating because they could not awaken any supernatural abilities.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

These children were completely abandoned, secretly used as experiment subjects, kept in dark cages all their lives, and had to accept all kinds of inhumane and bitter experimentations. Mu Shi was one of these experiment subjects.

Ten years ago, the central base was suddenly razed into ruins overnight, and this terrible secret was finally exposed. But everything related to it was buried under those ruins.

Except for one unnamed youth.

A pair of pure black wings protected the boy, allowing him to escape from the explosion unscathed. He had looked like a being rising from hell. No one knew what his abilities were, only that he has unfathomable mental powers, and that he could easily destroy common B-level abilities. Even the hardest fortress was unable to withstand a single blow from him.

Rumor has it that his powers were triggered in the face of impending death, and that he had completely destroyed the entire central base for revenge.

No other base dared to offer him shelter, so he wandered alone in the zombie-infested wild, but he still managed to survive by plundering food and resources. Furthermore, he established his own base of power beneath the ruins of the central base, and the people dubbed this place as the Unbounded City*.

[*T/N: 无限城 – could also technically be translated as the Infinite City, which has a better ring to it, but “unbounded” has better nuance, because I believe it is referring to the city’s lack of walls, since everything is just a giant heap of ruins.]

In actuality, the destruction of the central base had nothing to do with Mu Shi. The people there were trying to create a super weapon, but the failed experiment had blown up the base instead. Coincidentally, Mu Shi obtained his current abilities from the radiation caused by the explosion.

But the outside world obviously did not realize all of this, and the people’s fear of him increased day by day. They firmly believed that he would one day take revenge on all of humanity, and even attributed many evil deeds that had nothing to do with him onto his head.

His mission this time was to [shoulder the infamy of being an extremely evil thief, guard the Unbounded City, secretly protect the protagonist and his party, and finally give up his life to protect the hope of the future of humanity.]

An official world had much broader requirements for missions and plot development. He no longer had to tremble in fear at the need to pull a runaway plot back onto the main storyline. This was considered good news.

Su Shi finally moved his gaze away from the mask and onto the tall figure of the ability user in front of him.

They were in the blood-sucking forest outside the Unbounded City, which was full of plants that have completely mutated after being exposed to radiation. If they used even a little bit of supernatural power then the bloodthirsty vines would hone in and wildly prey on them.

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So even though the other side had so many people surrounding him, they did not dare to act rashly. No matter how powerful they were, they could only attack with ordinary military knives.

But he was different. He had the ability to control plants. Even these mutated plants would still become completely docile and obedient beneath his control.

It was because of this forest that no one dared to invade the Unbounded City.

Nevertheless, he had to get rid of these pursuers.

Su Shi silently retracted his right hand into his cuff and beckoned over a vine with anesthetic effects. The plant lied in wait underfoot. As soon as something goes wrong he planned to take down these people with the plant first, and then consider everything else later.

However, the look of things didn’t seem right.

After the mask was cut in half, the look in these people’s eyes showed strange changes. Not only did the hostility strangely disappear, easing up a lot, some of the people have even lowered their weapons, revealing slightly dumbfounded expressions.

“Are you another student from the base?”

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Chapter 103

Su Shi was dispirited. He lifted his hand, pressed twice, and chose [Disguise].

[T/N: [Disguise] is the skill that Esmond used to change their facial features. It can also be translated as Face Altering Technique, but I went with Disguise, which sounds more encompassing, due to what the system says next.]

……

The system was silent for a long while, and then it spoke carefully: “Host, this skill can not be used in the real world.”

Su Shi looked up with dead eyes.

Faced with its host’s gloomy gaze as if he had lost his ideals in life, the system persisted for a while and then resolutely compromised: “[Disguise] skill adjustment: In any reality-based world, its setting can be transformed into [No one can recognize you as long as you put on a pair of glasses]. Host, as long as you put on a pair of spectacles, no one will be able to tell that it is you.”

This treatment was considered not bad. Su Shi finally managed to cheer up and wobbled up from the sofa: “Don’t you feel that the previous experiences seem to be not very useful?”

[T/N: I think he is referring to the skills that he gets at the completion of each world, in particular [Bonanza], lol, but the word used in the raws is indeed “experience.”]

“Indeed, not very useful.”

The system was just about to talk to him about this. Seeing its host finally pulling himself together, it immediately agreed with him and quickly offered a valuable piece of advice: “When the host was blocked off from the system, I went and communicated with other systems. They all unanimously agreed that the host’s problem is in the face…”

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Su Shi opened and closed his mouth. The words that he wanted to say were stuck in his throat.

“In the final analysis, the dilemma that the host encounters is that as long as someone lays eyes on the host, they will subconsciously treat you as a kind, honest, loyal, and reliable person.”

Having found the crux of the issue on its own initiative, the system was in high spirits, and happily continued to add: “So as long as the host hides his face, similar problems won’t occur.”

Su Shi couldn’t believe this simple and crude solution: “It’s that simple?”

“Yes, it’s that simple.”

The system was full of confidence. The bottom of the console suddenly opened up, and a plank was sent straight to the host.

On the plank was a pitch-black and ugly mask. It looked both malevolent and vicious. If it were to be left in some random corner at night, it could easily scare a whole score of people out of their senses.

Su Shi didn’t care about his own image much. He picked up the mask and looked at it, trying to put it on his face: “If I walk down the street wearing this in a reality-based world, won’t I get beaten up?”

“It’s okay, this mask is specially made for your next world!”

The mechanical voice was high-spirited and full of energy, sounding just like an enthusiastic salesperson: “When you wear the mask, you will definitely have a grim and desolate aura comparable to the God of Darkness, making people feel ample despair and fear…”

“Okay, okay, I should go now.”

Su Shi couldn’t bear to keep listening on. He shuddered and opened his mouth to cut the system off. Then, feeling unease again, he turned around and said: “I will go and return quickly. Remember to leave the back door open for me.”

“Will do, will do. Host can rest assured. Go and return quickly.”

The system happily opened the door for him. The data scrolled across the screen, and in a flash it was upgraded to the official mode.

Su Shi took a step forward, and his body suddenly failed.

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When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the middle of the woods and besieged on all sides. All of the gazes that were focused on him were filled with restrained fear and hostility.

It took three seconds for the soul and the body to fully merge together. It was just when the people surrounding Su Shi had cordoned him off that his body froze. The opponent seized this gap and slashed at him ferociously.

Between the lightning and the flint*, Su Shi’s soul had completely merged with the body, and he quickly dodged the blow that almost took his life. But his face suddenly felt cold.

[*T/N: Yeah, no idea, that is exactly what it says in the raws.]

The hideous and ugly mask was cut in half and fell silently to the ground, revealing a handsome face.

No one could have imagined that under such a hideous mask there was actually a very delicate young man. His eyebrows were gentle and soft. His eyes were clear and unclouded, looking calmly at the pursuer* in front of him. There was not an iota of fear or nervousness in his gaze. Instead, he exuded a simple and calm aura that seemed to come from his very bones.

[*T/N: 追杀者 – the complete meaning of this noun is “a person chasing after someone to kill them”]

He was originally good looking, but under the strong visual contrast, it moved people’s hearts even more, practically giving birth to a breathtaking feeling.

The pursuers all stared blankly. Their movements stalled as they stared pensively at his face.

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The author has something to say:

Su Shi: ???

#This is not good#

#Is it too late to disfigure myself?#

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The translator has something to say:

Phfffft! Bwahahaha, that mask didn’t even last a minute in the new world. XD

When the system suggested that Su Shi wear an ugly mask, the first thing that jumped into my mind was the historical figure Gao Changgong, a.k.a. the Prince of Lanling.

It was said that he had such a beautiful and feminine face that he always wore a hideous mask into battle in order to appear fearsome to the enemy. He was a general that had won many battle merits, and was widely beloved and admired for his kindness and bravery. He was killed not in battle, but through a cup of poisoned wine presented to him by the paranoid and jealous emperor. The empire was subsequently wrecked by outside forces due to losing one of its greatest generals.

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Chapter 102

Su Shi lay quietly on the sofa. His gaze fixed upon the faint smile glimmering in the eyes of the new pope. It took a long time before he opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice: “I don’t understand why you are doing this.”

“It’s better to have hope than to despair. Look at him, isn’t this also a good thing?”

The screen flickered twice and returned to being a cold and rigid flow of data, but the mechanical voice seemed to sound faintly guilty.

“Good?”

Su Shi’s gaze abruptly turned cold. The icy aura that he had in the last world had yet to fade away, and at this moment his fierce aura suddenly erupted. “He is waiting for me, but can I still go back?”

The life of a pope was long. Four hundred years, five hundred years… If the other person really broke through the barrier and ascended into godhood, then he would have a lifespan of millions of years.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

In such a long or even eternal life, Su Shi could not imagine the other person just guarding someone who would never wake up. Whittling away like this day after day until time eventually washed away his memories.

This kind of misty, insubstantial hope was the real eternal cage of despair.

This was the first time the system saw its host with such a tough and unyielding attitude. The system fell silent, worried that its host would really cause chaos. It hesitated for a long time before speaking up.

“Worlds with a god have a long plotline, after you finish the novice world, the rest time in between each world will be decided by you… if you finish the next world quickly and come back, I can open a back door for you and send you back [to this world], all right?”

Su Shi raised his head, amazed. His eyes brightened.

Seeing its host’s anger dissipate, the system finally relaxed. When it continued to speak, its voice was more vigorous: “You see, this world is much better than the previous world, you earned a hundred thousand experience points. Let’s get the rating for this world, and then pick a new world, all right?”

The system’s attitude today was too eagerly attentive. Su Shi vaguely felt a little strange, but in the end he didn’t think much of it. He leaned back on the sofa and nodded.

“In this world, the host gained a total of 173,000 experience points, deduct 1,000 points for painkillers, deduct 20,000 points for assaulting staff members, and that leaves a total balance of 152,000 points…”

“Assaulting staff members?”

Su Shi raised his head, startled. Feeling aggrieved to the extreme, he asked: “Who was the staff member?”

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“All gods are beings that goes beyond the plane of existence. They are all staff members who are paid wages and have a permanent post. You beat up the God of Darkness. He has the right to file a complaint with the main god system.”

The system replied straightforwardly, and Su Shi’s expression instantly collapsed.

Seeing his reaction, the system could not help but feel guilty: “Host, next time you encounter a world with gods, don’t beat up the other party again.”

Su Shi gritted his teeth, and in the privacy of his mind he gave the God of Darkness another round of beating. Then he took a deep breath to calm his mood.

In any case, he was fined a lot of points, but he had earned even more.

It was rare to have some surplus money in his hand, so it was still a thing to be happy about. There was no need to pursue the fines, which have already been issued anyway.

The system noted that Su Shi had not lost his temper, and then cautiously said, “Right now, we are still in the testing phase. We can only open up the official world after upgrading. The upgrade requires 150,000 experience points…”

……

“Host, cheer up!”

The system saw his host looking like he had lost all direction in life in an instant. The screen flickered for a spell, and then the data stream came together in the image of a small beating heart.

In the end, there was no system that did not use money*. Of course it was impossible to upgrade from the testing stage to the official stage without spending experience points.

[*T/N: The specific word used here is 氪金, which translates directly as “krypton gold,” and it means “to make an in-app purchase in a game”]

Moreover, it was the perfectly calculated time to spend.

Seeing the pitiful two thousand points remaining in his balance, Su Shi lay on the sofa and pretended to be dead. He didn’t want to move at all.

Seeing that he did not react more violently, the system renewed its courage and quickly completed the following data settlement.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

“Congratulations to the host for attaining the achievement [I Just Can’t Die], the task completion rating is S, the protagonist’s misunderstanding value is 100, and the current world rating: S grade. Host can choose one skill from anyone in this world to copy, and directly improve the mastery to the highest level.”

In the end, the protagonist thought that he was really the Son of God, and even the God of Light was roped into the lie. This lie was quite valuable.

T/N: System told him not to beat up a god? I feel like that’s foreshadowing to more misunderstandings… Lol

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Chapter 101

The sun has risen again on the Warren Continent.

Everything that followed after seemed to be a matter of course.

They successfully defeated that pope who was controlled by a demon. They prevented the God of Darkness’s invasion, and brought light back to the continent again. Esmond’s prestige in the hearts of the people was infinitely elevated, and there was almost no need to dispute the position of the next pope.

Just like in the original plot, Esmond decisively dealt with all the Fallen who could not be purified, and screened the entire papacy again. The remnants of the God of Darkness were completely expelled from the Warren Continent, and the entire land was once again bathed in light.

With the new elections, Esmond became the youngest pope in the Warren Continent in over a thousand years.

The young pope became ever more diligent after he took office.

After clearing out the corruption in the papacy, he resolutely issued a lot of teachings that were beneficial to the common people, and soon gained the respect and faith of the masses.

The new pope had very few personal contacts. Apart from making visits necessary for official business, the people only knew that he would go to a very out-of-the-way wooden house alone to visit a secluded friend.

No one knew who that friend was, and no one has ever walked out of that wooden house.

Esmond took off his white robes as he opened the door and walked into a room. A warm candle flame fluttered towards him and lit up brighter. The flame spoke in a lively voice: “Master.”

After that epic fight with the pope, Esmond’s powers continued to rapidly upgrade. The flames that he emitted were gradually gaining sentience. If this continued on, there was even the possibility of transformation.

He finally knew that what his paladin had gifted him was actually a path to godhood.

Esmond nodded at the flame and then sat down by the bed. His eyes fell upon the person sleeping on the bed, and his expression instantly became gentle.

He leaned over and tenderly gathered the person into his arms. He helped the person change into soft brand-new clothes. Then he dipped a cotton cloth into some clean water and patiently wiped the young man’s pale and beautiful face.

“Today is the day of sacrifice*. I was fortunate enough to meet the God of Light, but it was a little different from what I had imagined.”

[*T/N: 祭祀 ji si – to offer sacrifices to the gods or ancestors]

The room was very quiet. He stopped to think for a while, and then he continued on with a smile.

“The Lord God also asked about you, saying that you are probably the child of God from another plane of existence. I think so too. If such an unreliable Lord God was able to give birth to you, then your mother must be extremely formidable.”

The flickering flame reflected off of the young man’s cheeks, making it look like his eyelashes were fluttering slightly, as if he might gradually open his eyes at any moment.

Esmond’s gaze softened. He lowered his head and kissed the young man on the cheek. As if he had just thought of something interesting, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“The Lord God has been wailing nonstop, saying that I must get his daughter-in-law back. I don’t know who he intends to match you with, but no matter who it is, I will not give in.”

As he spoke, the rims of his eyes turned faintly red, but the smile on his face became stronger: “When you wake up, let’s go prance in front of the Lord God together. It would be great if we could see the child of God, and make him angry…”

Only his voice sounded in the room. The young man in his arms leaned quietly against him, his brows were smooth and placid, and the corners of his lips seemed to have a slight curvature.

Esmond muttered by himself for a while, reporting all the interesting things that happened outside. Then he gathered the person into his arms again and softly pressed a kiss to the young man’s cheek.

The flame flickered beside him and hesitated for a long time. Finally, it asked in a low voice: “Master, will he really wake up?”

“He will wake up.”

Holding the paladin’s hand in his, Esmond’s gaze was gentle and warm. He kissed the other party’s forehead. His tone was calm and firm.

“He promised me that as long as I am not sad he would come back.”

As he said this, his breathing was already starting to stutter. He took a deep breath, and forced back the prickling feeling in his eyes.

He raised his hand and tenderly rubbed the young man’s soft and short hair. His brows once again curved into a gentle arc.

“I am not sad at all, so—he will definitely come back…”

……

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Chapter 100

“Don’t be afraid. I will go with you.”

As he said this, he suddenly raised his hand to restrain the body in front of him. Then he drew out the decorative fine steel sword at the paladin’s hip.

Suddenly realizing that the situation was not good, the pope’s eyes darkened, and he tried to release his demonic energy to push the opponent back.

[T/N: Not sure why the God of Darkness is being referred to as the pope now that he is no longer in the pope’s body, but I’m just going to translate according to the raws.]

The black mist had just started to condense when panic suddenly entered his eyes.

Within the condensed black energy, there were still fragments of bright energy mixed together, but it wasn’t the power of light that he was extremely afraid of, rather it was extremely small ice crystals.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Chilling cold rose continually from the body, freezing the blood and internal organs. He abruptly realized something and hurriedly turned into black energy to escape, only to find that he was trapped in an ice-bound enchantment, with the body serving as a barrier.

The long steel sword filled with the power of light broke through, penetrated one body, and sank into the chest of another body.

Warm blood split down, and when it hit the ground, it turned into a luminous raging inferno.

Fear finally entered the pope’s eyes, and the light in his eyes dimmed uncontrollably.

Su Shi’s soul came out from the corner and gave the pope a amicable smile overflowing with murderous spirit.

……

The people suddenly heard a bitter and painful cry. It was vague and indistinct, as if it was coming from a very distant place. Finally, it could not resist any longer, and gradually dissipated.

The sun rose slowly.

The long-lost sunlight finally broke through the darkness to fall upon the earth, and the dense fog dispersed little by little.

The ecstatic people cast their eyes on the scene, but their expressions gradually shook with fear.

The cardinal was covered in blood, and he held the body in front of him firmly with one hand. A sharp sword penetrated through their bodies, stringing the two of them together. The cardinal’s hand was still gripped tightly around the hilt of the sword.

All around them, the raging inferno burned silently.

The God of Darkness seemed to have lost control of his new prey.

The young paladin closed his eyes. Motionless. He looked calm and peaceful, leaning docilely in the cardinal’s arms.

It was like an extremely unconventional embrace.

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Pain spread faintly in his chest. Esmond took a deep breath and tightened his arms with a slight tremor. The tears finally fell.

The sun rose once again, and the darkness receded like a tide.

“Your Excellency Esmond, you can extinguish the fire now!”

Realizing the cardinal’s true intentions, the archbishop stepped forward and spoke anxiously.

Esmond remained unmoved. The body within his arms have long since lost its breath, but he just held onto it as the flames burned more and more fiercely.

The last bit of black miasma cleared away.

Esmond’s eyes softened as they landed quietly on the delicate face in his arms. He held the sleeping youth in his arms steadily with one hand, and raised his hand to help the youth tidy up his slightly messy appearance.

“Ivan, I’m sorry…”

He lowered his head and kissed those closed eyes reverently.

Since he could not keep the youth by his side, then it was better to go with him.

“There is still a turn for the better, Your Excellency Esmond. Quick, stop!”

The archbishop’s eager voice rang from the side, causing Esmond’s body to tremble suddenly. He opened his eyes in amazement, but he failed to find the least bit of opportunity for life on the young man’s body.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Somewhat at a lost, he subconsciously wanted to hold the other person’s weak hands, and brushed up against his cuff. His eyes suddenly shone with infinite brilliance.

The cuffs were damp.

No wonder he did not feel the pain of being burned by demonic energy when the God of Darkness tried to resist against his drawn sword.

Even if the body had been occupied, even if the soul only contained the last traces of power, his paladin was still doing his best to protect him, to the point of turning his body into a frost barrier, confining all evils within his body.

The flames quietly extinguished, and the cardinal lowered his head exhaustedly. He looked at the bloodless, sleeping face, and carefully kissed his lips.

Please wake up.

One kiss and you should be able to wake up…

The person in his embrace remained asleep, leaning against his chest in an extremely docile manner. His eyelashes hung low, brushing against the tops of his cheeks.

Motionless.

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Chapter 99 (36.1)

“Hurry, hurry, hurry–”

The system that he had lost contact with for a long time was echoing urgently.

Su Shi was at a lost. His soul got stuck in the middle of leaving this world.

“Hurry for what?”

The system was unable to explain anymore. It pushed his soul back into his body, and then forcibly suspended his control of the body.

His viewpoint changed in an instant. Su Shi watched helplessly as his body staggered up. Dense demonic energy poured from the depths of his eyes. His expression became completely cold, and the black mist around his body vibrated wildly.

No one expected the pope’s Jedi counterattack.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Esmond turned around hastily. Only then did he clearly see the expression on Ivan’s face. A shiver racked his entire body, and his steps suddenly became sluggish.

“This body is pretty good…”

The God of Darkness moved the paladin’s body a little. His face showed a cold and triumphant smile. His eyes fixed on the cardinal, and he suddenly extended an open hand towards him.

“Come on, destroy me and this body together. How about it?”

Esmond’s hands shook, and red took over his vision.

It was his negligence.

He should have brought Ivan to the archbishop first.

Esmond just stood silently on the same stop, without a single movement, but the demon inhabiting the paladin’s body did not intend to let him go.

After adapting to the new body somewhat, the demon moved slightly, and then all of a sudden it shot at Esmond.

“Your Excellency Esmond!”

The archbishop suddenly shouted, and the sound of his wizened voice roused the cardinal.

Esmond’s gaze fell upon the dark energy swimming in those eyes. He gritted his teeth and fell back a step. His whole body ignited silently with flames.

Icicles pierced through the flames. White mist billowed and spread as the two attacks collided, completely enveloping the arena.

Su Shi’s soul was stuffed in the corner of his body. He finally understood the system’s intention.

This was the last chance.

He could still make everyone mistakenly believe that he has been completely taken over by the pope, and then use a different way to die and take the pope down with him. That could also serve as a very successful end to this world.

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Fire and ice collided, and the white mist in the arena became even thicker.

Esmond’s brows knitted together. He held his breath and checked the movement of his whole body with rapt attention. Suddenly, he heard the sound of urgent footsteps coming from behind.

He turned around sharply, but the rising flames hesitated for a moment. The God of Darkness found a gap in his defense, and struck at his chest with a ruthless punch.

The opponent attacked with precision and brutality. From the start, he aimed for the wound on Esmond’s body.

A sharp pain spread through Esmond’s chest, but he still seemed to be unaware. He looked deeply into those apathetic eyes.

“Ivan…”

His voice was low and hoarse, and thick blood was spreading in his throat.

As if hearing his call, the young man’s figure suddenly stopped. His eyes seemed to recover clarity for a moment, and he fell helplessly against the cardinal’s body. Faint tears rimmed his eyes.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Vague hope suddenly rose, and Esmond couldn’t help taking a step forward, but the corners of the opponent’s lips suddenly turned up with intense mockery. Ink-black light left a severe wound on the cardinal’s shoulder.

The God of Darkness lifted his hand and gripped Esmond’s throat forcefully.

“You’re really easy to trick, but it’s a bit sweet*, so I had you come to me yourself.”

[*T/N: The demon is not calling Esmond sweet. He’s saying the situation is sweet or beneficial for him, because he was able to easily get Esmond to let his guard down.]

The God of Darkness leaned over to look at him. He sneered and tightened his hand brutally.

“I have already swallowed his soul as a sacrifice to me. Only this body is left. You can completely annihilated him just by waving your hand, isn’t that so?”

Esmond stood up slowly. He looked at that familiar and delicate face. The light in his eyes gradually dimmed and turned into bloody determination.

“Ivan.”

He looked at the pope with a clouded expression, as if wanting to look through the face in front of him to the familiar face of the paladin.

Even though the other party probably couldn’t hear him anymore, he still insisted on calling out his name. His voice softened, and his gaze was tranquil and calm.

“Don’t be afraid. I will go with you.”

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