APP: Chapter 174

[The movie emperor killed Gu Yu. The movie emperor won! Ahhh, Dad Jiang Shuo.]

[No, Xie Chi opened the door. Those white roses… it doesn’t feel like Xie Chi lost. He also crushed the hearts. I feel that it isn’t good for the movie emperor.]

[Fu*k…? Above person, don’t scare me.]

[To tell you the truth, I still don’t understand the plot.]

[The trial has begun. Ahhh so excited.]

***

Jiang Shuo and Xie Chi disappeared into thin air and the stone door slowly closed. After five long minutes, the stone door opened again. This time, the lids of the 11 black coffins behind the stone door were opened.

In each black coffin lay one person. There were 11 people, 10 actors plus a wizard. In other words, they were all the players in this tarot game. Their eyes were closed tightly, their hands folded over their abdomen and their expressions quiet, as if they were sleeping in the arms of an angel.

In the dark room with no light, a beam of light gradually entered. This light came from the top of the room. A hole appeared in the top of the room. This hole became bigger and bigger until the ceiling no longer blocked people’s eyes.

The sky was foggy and blue, a bit like frosted glass. It was vast and remote, deep and wide and seemed able to accommodate all things in the world. However, the vicissitudes of life didn’t move. In the chaotic sky, a snow-white figure gradually appeared.

The figure gradually became clearer. It was an angel with a dignified, quiet, solemn and peaceful face. The angel opened its wings which were as huge as kun peng (mythical beat). The wings were bright and shining, like hope.

The angel turned his head slightly and his gaze passed over the faces of everyone in the black coffins. In the peaceful eyes of the angel who perceived everything, there was nowhere to hide the ugly, the beautiful, the good and the evil.

In the black coffin, some people became thin and looked like the devil. One person faded and showed divinity.

The angel looked slowly, sometimes expressionless, sometimes frowning deeply or sighing helplessly. Finally, he looked at a certain position and there was a faint smile on his face. His pure and crystal-like obsidian eyes filled with tenderness and affection.

This was his child. In the long journey of life under the mud and sand, he never lost his willpower, strength, justice and temperance. The tower could destroy his body, hair and skin but it couldn’t destroy his heart and soul. The devil couldn’t confuse him or lead him astray. Even the god of death, who regarded everything as a dog, didn’t dare to disturb him.

He was a magician and knew what the Magician card wanted to tell him. He learned to draw on the power of the heavens and earth. He explored the true meaning of life, from simple to complicated, and finally returned to the basics. He understood everything and returned to his original point. Life was just a cycle.

Find the original heart, show unswerving determination, have a beginning and an end.

This dark tarot game was just an ordinary stepping stone in his life journey. For some people, they would never pass the threshold. There was the trumpet of death and the black curtain symbolizing the end.

Some people would be silent sooner or later and some would eventually shake the sky. He would be cherished forever, he deserved to be cherished forever. God would give him the greatest blessing.

Small movements were heard in the judgement area. It was as if the glacier that lasted thousands of years was melting and spring water was rushing. The roads of life and death were inherently opposed. Justice wouldn’t allow evil to encroach on it at all.

The moment the door of life opened, the road of death became the road to death.

***

The moment the angel appeared in the judgement area, the movie was replaying on the big screen in the movie theater.

One by one, the obscure and difficult plots were broken down and analyzed in depth for the audience.

This Tarot Game movie gradually became more complete.

***

[I know it is ruining the atmosphere but I want to say… fu*k me!!!]

[Fu*k… if this is the case, the road of life won against the road of death… right?]

[You can’t say anything? Then let me speak for you! God Xie is awesome! Jiang Shuo must die!]

[Fu*k… Unbelievable. I thought Xie Chi was on the second floor but he was actually on the tenth floor.]

[Really awesome… God’s blessing. Just based on the angel’s eyes, the outcome is obvious!]

[Wait a minute! That squeezed heart… fu*k, does that mean that everyone except for Jiang Shuo and Gu Yu will be able to live?? Isn’t this too cruel? The scariest thing is that Jiang Shuo doesn’t know yet! He thinks he has won!]

[Wu wu wu, it is too fulfilling to be a fan all this way.]

[Where are the movie emperor’s fans now? Come out and whitewash him hahaha.]

[Does Jiang Shuo want to be a legendary movie emperor who was only in power for less than 48 hours in the app? (ridiculing comment)]

[Cough, who remembers that God Xie is just a second-tier actor.]

[Wait! Is it possible for Xie Chi to rise to movie emperor? I suddenly remember. Didn’t all the peak actors die in the battle against Shen Yi? There is only a group of old, weak, sick or disabled actors left. It isn’t enough to rise to the top.]

[Doesn’t the movie emperor need to be the number one lead in a black movie?]

[Do you think this movie isn’t good?]

[Fu*k… Movie Emperor Xie? Don’t you think it is exciting??]

[Wu wu, a humble Shen Yi fan here has realized his dream and completely turned into a Xie Chi fan. Dad Shen Yi’s soul resting in Heaven can rest in peace.]

[The above person is exaggerating.]

[You are all really awesome… the judgement isn’t even over yet. Isn’t this like seeing the fertilized egg and already imagining what the child looks like?]

[…Brother, you are sincerely speaking.]

***

In the coffins belonging to Jiang Shuo and Xie Chi, Jiang Shuo and Xie Chi gradually awakened. Jiang Shuo’s side was covered with a thick haze while Xie Chi’s coffin was filled with warm and clear sunlight.

Black and white were opposite each other and distinct. It was over.

Jiang Shuo sneered. He was about to stand up in the coffin to grab the phone out of his pocket. Then he realized that his body was cold and stiff like a dead person. He seemed to realize something. He suddenly raised his head and saw the angel in the sky who had abandoned him. His expression stiffened and his blood instantly ran cold.

“No! Impossible! I couldn’t have lost!”

He had clearly killed Gu Yu. Jiang Shuo’s eyes were red as he staggered up and saw Xie Chi bathed in sunlight and smiling at him.

Xie Xinglan raised a hand and the Blood Demon Sword that Jiang Shuo had previously seized flew back to Xie Xinglan’s hand like lightning. The sword was red, dazzling and extremely arrogant. Xie Chi collected his sword, got out of the coffin and tilted his head at Jiang Shuo. “This time, I won’t say goodbye.”

He was well-dressed, had clean facial features and a gentle and harmless expression. However, his words could instantly collapse an indestructible psychological defense. Jiang Shuo was Jiang Shuo after all. He had his pride and was human like all those who could get to this position.

After experiencing the initial disbelief, he figured out the ins and outs. He lost. The moment these words appeared, all his glory and dreams seemed to be irrelevant. They were no longer meaningful. The anger on Jiang Shuo’s face gradually disappeared and finally became dead calm.

Xie Chi didn’t have the desire to fall into the pit, nor did he want to accompany Jiang Shuo on the end of the journey. He was about to leave the judgement area when he was stopped by Jiang Shuo behind him.

“None of the movie emperors have a good end and it will be the same for you.” Jiang Shuo smiled firmly. Someone once said this to him but he didn’t believe it. Now everything had been fulfilled. He, Jiang Shuo, was just a grain of sand in the long torrent of history.

Of course, he wasn’t sad because this would also happen to Xie Chi. He killed Shen Yi, Xie Chi killed him and someone would kill Xie Chi. This was the fate of the movie emperor.

“I’ll wait for you down there,” Jiang Shuo declared with a smile, his eyes burning.

Xie Chi inexplicably laughed. He didn’t raise his head as he asked, “Do you know why the movie emperor doesn’t meet a good end?”

“Why?”

Xie Chi didn’t answer. Instead, he asked with a smile, “Jiang Shuo, your ultimate wish is to become a god, right?”

Jiang Shuo’s breathing was stagnant.

“For you, human genes are despicable and you want to completely break away from this species. A god is perfect. It is only when you become a god that you can end the nightmare of being pointed at and criticized. You like to analyze weaknesses and criticize others because you have been so irresponsibly defined, right?”

“Enough!” Jiang Shuo’s mood was out of control again.

Xie Chi told him, “The last thing humans are able to learn is to stop. This isn’t a bad thing. The brilliance of thousands of years of civilization is due to the process of ‘I want to get this’ and ‘I want to get rid of this.’ You might be right while I might not necessarily be right.”

“What the hell are you trying to say?” Jiang Shuo sneered. “Go ask the actors in the app who are struggling and refusing to leave. Who doesn’t want to become a god?”

Xie Chi smiled. “I don’t want that.”

Jiang Shuo’s expression froze completely.

“It is because a god isn’t perfect and might not be able to break away from human nature.”

Jiang Shuo’s pupils shrank.

Xie Chi’s tone was blank. “You want to become a god because you can’t get what you dream of. It is nothing more than that.”

“Life is an endless cycle. The end of becoming a god is probably just a new beginning. Is there a definite end to life? I don’t know the answer to this question.”

“I have set up countless end points for myself. As a child, I wanted someone to care for me. This is the ‘completion’ represented by the World card. Then I grew up and found I could ask for more.”

“What about after becoming a god? Have you thought about it?” Xie Chi questioned.

He always knew what was good for him and could temporarily stop. Thus, the death of the movie emperors would never happen to him.

Jiang Shuo’s hands gripped the side of the coffin even tighter, his fingertips white due to the strength. His nails had unknowingly dug into the decaying wooden boards. There was a long silence. Becoming a god… was it just a scam?

“What is the item that allowed you to come back to life?” Jiang Shuo suddenly asked.

There was a bit of surprise in Xie Chi’s eyes. He didn’t think Jiang Shuo would still have the desire to know these small details at the moment of death. He readily answered, “Blank paper.”

Jiang Shuo’s originally lifeless face stirred again and he was almost out of control. “What is the effect of the item?”

Xie Chi frowned, wondering why Jiang Shuo reacted like this. He explained, “It is a piece of paper that allows me to draw any intermediate red item.”

Jiang Shuo stared, his entire body shaking. There was deep panic in his eyes. “You are… you are…”

Xie Chi was confused. “What am I?”

Behind Jiang Shuo, the giant coffin lid moved. The coffin closed, the dust settled and Jiang Shuo died after the judgement.

Xie Chi frowned slightly. Jiang Shuo’s unfinished words made him feel a bit strange. He walked back to Jiang Shuo’s coffin and tried to open the lid. The lid opened easily but regrettably, Jiang Shuo was no longer breathing.

Xie Chi was about to leave when Jiang Shuo’s phone slipped out of his pocket. The screen was on and showed Jiang Shuo’s wish interface. Xie Chi couldn’t help seeing Jiang Shuo’s wish even though he didn’t intend it. The first wish was to ‘let the negative genes of humanity disappear.’ The second one…

—Resurrect Yu Yao.

Xie Chi smiled helplessly. Some people said they had no intentions but they still had intentions. Only they knew their true feelings. Of course, there was a chance they might not be clear about it themselves.

Xie Chi didn’t have the desire to spy on the privacy of others and left the judgement area.

***

The moment he woke up, the angel had whispered in his ear and promised that his partners would wake up. The hearts he had found would help them recover.

Xie Chi walked out of the castle with confidence and sat on the stone steps outside the castle. He moved a bit because his legs were a bit stiff from lying in the coffin for a long time. Then he took out a cigarette from his pocket. In the thick shadow cast by the high castle, he lit it and inhaled, finally feeling comfortable.

The invisible pressure was gone. Shen Yi hadn’t died in vain. Xie Chi was still alive. Jiang Shuo was dead and the Pet organization would fall apart. He didn’t need to be the Xie Chi that others had expectations of. He could be Xie Xinglan’s Xie Chi with peace of mind.

“Brother,” Xie Chi called out.

“It’s all over,” Xie Xinglan told him warmly.

“Yes,” Xie Chi answered softly.

For the first time, he felt the ‘completion’ represented by the World card. He was obviously sitting alone but it felt like he was leaning against Xie Xinglan’s arms. The cigarette burned to the end and a ray of sunlight came in through the smoke.

Xie Chi raised his head. The dull and depressing sky with the moon was replaced by a warm and sunny sky. The Sun card, which hadn’t been seen at all in the movie, appeared at the end without warning. The 22 major arcana cards were gathered.

There was a rumbling sound from the bottom of the castle and the awakened actors ran out in a panic. Ye Xiaoxiao and Ren Ze saw Xie Chi sitting on the steps and burst into tears.

Xie Chi won. It was Xie Chi who was sitting here enjoying the fruits of victory, not the lofty movie emperor. Jiang Shuo… was gone.

The resurrected actors were silent. Zheng Luan watched the approachable Xie Chi with deep awe and deep fear in his eyes. Liang Zhen’s eyes were complicated before she smiled with relief. Perhaps the times belonged to young people like Xie Chi. Jiang Shuo was the past and the future belonged to Xie Chi.

Behind them, the old castle collapsed. It had stood for hundreds of years due to the evil of the human heart. Now it had finally fallen apart. The evil Tower card fell.

An upright tower symbolized disaster and doom. The fallen tower indicated a turning point, infinite hope and a new beginning.

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Proofreader: Purichan