Chapter 558: What Do You Want?

Chapter 558: What Do You Want?

“Huh? Not learning Spatial Manipulation skills anymore?” Seeing Zheng Yichen actually switch to a different book, Dan Marina asked curiously. After resolving the affairs of Jora Town, Zheng Yichen had returned to his divided life, alternating between the Containment Zone and the Underground Base. The living black patterns on Loris were gradually shrinking, not being expelled, but compressed.

As the living black patterns shrank, Loris’s behavior also began to revert to her original tendencies. This left Zheng Yichen feeling somewhat conflicted. How should he put it? Comparing the two, she was better like this now, and yet…

“Not learning it for now. I’ll focus on the main thing first.” Zheng Yichen shook his head and waved the Magical Grimoire in his hand. “Can you understand this?”

“Nope!” With a glance at the Magical Grimoire in Zheng Yichen’s hand, Dan Marina said bluntly. She wasn’t a Witch who specialized in Magic. The spells recorded in Zheng Yichen’s Magical Grimoire were clearly modified versions enhanced by Irene, practically unique spells of their own.

As long as Zheng Yichen didn’t lose this book, and Irene didn’t spread her Magic around, this Magic would be out of print.

“So, you see, when I have free time, I manage the Magic Weapon Summoning Book for you. About that Nightmare Realm, once it’s ready, could you give me some permissions too?”

“…That’s still a long way off, and you’re already thinking about these things? Or do you want to stir up something again?”

“I’m helping you!” Dan Marina looked seriously at Zheng Yichen, explaining to him: “You should know, for a space to truly develop, it must have the stirring of the Threads of Fate…”

“But the Nightmare Realm is fake,” Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but say. “It doesn’t need such troublesome things, right?”

“Superficial! If you want that place to develop properly, this is actually essential. Otherwise, that Nightmare Realm will be a stagnant pond. It won’t have natural development; everything will operate under the conditions you’ve set. Is that what you need?”

Zheng Yichen thought seriously. Although having everything under his control was reassuring, a stagnant environment was indeed somewhat… that kind of mode suited Online Games. Used in something like the Nightmare Realm, which Zheng Yichen theoretically wanted to design as an ‘infinite flow’ style, would seem somewhat inadequate.

After all, when people were pulled in by Nightmare Magic, the immersion was complete. But if the progression inside was rigid, it would feel awkward, reducing that sense of immersion. This was the Otherworld, not Earth. People on Earth might say that in such a realistic holographic game, even if the internal NPCs and storylines were a bit rigid, it would be fine as long as it was playable!

When you couldn’t even play if you wanted to, why think so much?

“The Power of Fate is the necessary factor to activate stagnant water. See, can you do without me?”

“Alright, to reduce bugs…” Zheng Yichen nodded. “But your main body hasn’t recovered yet. Can you do such things?”

Dan Marina waved her hand casually. “It’s fine. The Nightmare Realm is a fake after all. Even if we mix in the Power of Fate, it doesn’t need much. A tiny bit of effect can be infinitely magnified inside, because everything in the Nightmare Realm is fabricated, while the Power of Fate is real. Their qualities are different.”

Zheng Yichen understood Dan Marina’s meaning. It was somewhat like having a real fruit knife suddenly appear in a virtual online game… If it could truly appear, that thing would absolutely be an ultra-divine artifact capable of easily slaying gods and demons. The levels were different; how could a bunch of data contend with a real fruit knife?

“But, if you want to construct a Nightmare Realm that lasts long enough without needing to shut down, you still need one more person…”

“Qin?” Before Dan Marina could finish, Zheng Yichen immediately thought of who she meant. Zheng Yichen had also previously considered this. After all, he had seen Qin create a False Personality before. This was somewhat similar to the Undying Witch’s false Soul, but the nature was different. Qin’s was only created by endowing the target with strong enough emotions, so the difficulty and limitations were very low. Of course, the effect gap compared to a false Soul was huge.

It was like… the difference between 2D and 3D effects.

The False Personality was 2D. It was just a bunch of rich emotions synthesized and solidified under the influence of Qin’s ability. When chatting with Dan Marina before, Zheng Yichen learned from her that Qin’s ability encompassed so-called seven emotions and six desires. Her mastery of her own ability had reached a transcendent level.

To put it this way: Qin didn’t know Necromancy. But as long as there was a carrier, a corpse, and she endowed that corpse with a strong enough ‘appetite’, even without the influence of Necromancy, that corpse could produce effects similar to Necromancy… By forcibly endowing this corpse with the endless ‘appetite’ obsession, it would simply reanimate!

Reanimating into a pseudo-Undead monster that sought to satisfy its ‘appetite’. Afterwards, it might even mutate into a true Necromantic Creature because of this. All of this was achieved on the premise that Qin completely didn’t know Necromancy.

Back then, Zheng Yichen thought that if Qin really wanted to stir things up, wouldn’t she be able to create some kind of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ monsters? Simply relying on her ability to forcibly endow inanimate objects with emotions, as long as that inanimate object met certain conditions, it could achieve effects that normally required Magic. How incredible must her own ability development be to accomplish this?

At the same time, Qin could also apply a series of enhancements to living beings… For example, making an ordinary person forcefully achieve a state similar to a Berserker’s Rampage, easily twisting a person’s character. Turning a good person into an utterly wicked scoundrel was just a thought away from her. The Witch who played with emotions had weak direct combat ability, but was actually a rather terrifying existence!

Fortunately, like Dan Marina, Qin was of the orderly type. They both clearly knew what kind of disaster would be caused if their abilities were used recklessly, so they appeared quite restrained… Zheng Yichen felt Qin was even more restrained than Dan Marina. After all, Dan Marina had a history of leaving things around everywhere. As for Qin, she behaved as just an ordinary Madam Proprietress of a guild.

“That’s right… It’s time to bring her into our circle!”

“She doesn’t know about our affairs. Are you sure she’ll support it?” Zheng Yichen asked, slightly frowning. Although Qin was a partner, she didn’t know much about what Zheng Yichen truly wanted to do. Even Irene and Annie… reaching this point was based on Contracts.

“Won’t we know if we try?”

“Damn, you’re planning to force it to happen!?” Zheng Yichen’s mouth twitched. Dan Marina seemed to have done this kind of thing to Annie before. Fortunately, Annie was quite open-minded afterwards and didn’t find anything wrong with what Zheng Yichen wanted to do, so she naturally joined their circle. As for Irene, she wanted to reach a higher realm…

Her research in Magic had already reached a peak. She wanted to use what Zheng Yichen was doing as a foundation to see if she could touch the no-longer-existent ‘Divine Realm’. Most traces of the gods were gone, so to contact these traces, one could only approach them indirectly from other places.

The Black Moon seemed like a good target in her view… After all, the appearance of Witches could be traced back to a specific time. Then why could that Black Moon thing affect all Witches? Anyone with a normal brain wouldn’t believe there wasn’t something to it.

It had been said before that some Witches believed the Black Moon was the source of the Witch’s Power… Alright, even if that were the case, what reason caused the Black Moon to become the source of the Witch’s Power? How did that thing appear?

Man-made? Or god-made?

Annie was like an inclusive ‘big’ sister with a somewhat young mental age; she could be pulled in. Irene had her own pursuits… Since certain things had already happened, it wasn’t strange for her to join them. Loris? Even less needed to be said; she supported Zheng Yichen’s plan. Dan Marina, what this woman did went without saying; she couldn’t bear loneliness and always wanted to stir up something big.

The Witches around Zheng Yichen all had certain foundations and prerequisites. As for Qin, Zheng Yichen couldn’t think of any necessary prerequisite factors.

“That’s right. As long as we accomplish this first, I can persuade her afterwards. If she doesn’t agree, it’s fine. I’ll dig up some of her dark history for you then.” Dan Marina let out a light heh here. She looked at Zheng Yichen and asked, “In your eyes, what kind of person is Qin?”

“Uh, the kind who knows how to enjoy life?” Zheng Yichen said after thinking. Given Qin’s status, whether it was guild matters or Bar matters, it all seemed like play to her. Although it was play, even if they were things that could be discarded at will, she was very engaged when ‘playing’.

After her identity was ‘exposed’, she perfectly maintained her status as the head boss of the Purple Vine Guild and the Madam Proprietress of the Purple Vine Bar. Even in private, she maintained this style, very engaged and serious. Witches, having some peculiar quirks was normal. Zheng Yichen didn’t find anything strange about that. “She’s also a nice person.”

“That’s it? Humph, then you don’t know what Qin was like before~ Well, it’s better not to tell you for now, otherwise she might easily notice.”

“I hate people the most who only say half and then deliberately don’t continue!!” Zheng Yichen almost jumped up to knock the woman’s head. “You did that on purpose, right?!”

“Yes, yes, yes. It’s to let you know too many things that are only half-known, so you’ll think about me extra.” Dan Marina said with a grin. “You really shouldn’t know about this for now. After all, Qin back then, how should I put it~”

“…” Zheng Yichen’s face was expressionless.

Dan Marina gently patted the Magical Grimoire placed in front of Zheng Yichen. “You, hurry up and learn this. Don’t fall behind my progress.”

Zheng Yichen left Dan Marina’s room with some indignation. As he left, he saw a familiar person. When Liliya saw Zheng Yichen, she couldn’t help but be startled. Looking at Dan Marina’s room again, she couldn’t help showing a relieved expression. That was close, close! She almost got tricked!!

She had been at the Containment Zone for a few days. Just the day before yesterday, Dan Marina found her and revealed her identity. At that time, she was shocked, then immediately thought about reporting this woman’s identity. Who would have thought that Dan Marina had changed her skin, and it was completely undetectable!!

Fortunately, she still had some self-awareness, knowing how troublesome and scheming Dan Marina was. This made her more cautious. She didn’t expose it immediately and chose to wait and see for a while.

As a result, today she observed something quite important. She actually had contact with That Dragon! Zheng Yichen’s commonly used Alchemical Avatar was no longer a particularly secret matter. Basically, those who knew Zheng Yichen knew he liked using this black-haired, black-eyed young man image.

“Damn that sinister woman!!” Liliya muttered angrily in a low voice. Zheng Yichen knew Dan Marina, so naturally he knew the image Dan Marina was using now. Thinking back to Dan Marina’s earlier action of proactively revealing her identity to her, this was clearly a trap. She was definitely also one of Zheng Yichen’s ‘secrets’. Since it was a secret, it fell under the constraints of the Contract. If she violated it, she would definitely be tied to Zheng Yichen’s war chariot.

That damn despicable and shameless woman!

“Yo, we meet again.”

“…Isn’t that obvious?” Liliya glanced at Zheng Yichen with some indignation. “You guys teaming up to trick me is also possible. Don’t let me find an opportunity in the future.”

“Maybe there will be… Oh, right!” Zheng Yichen’s eyes lit up as he looked at Liliya. Thinking about it, there were many people around him who could satisfy some of his additional planning needs. Liliya in front of him was one too. The Mirror Trait Prophecy Art, used in the Nightmare Realm, would be a reasonable Mini-Map!

“What ‘right’? What do you want to say?”

“Temporarily secret.” Thinking of Dan Marina’s earlier behavior, Zheng Yichen said somewhat mischievously, then quickly returned to his own small room, leaving Liliya fuming alone. Her eyelid twitched, and she directly walked into the small house beside her. Dan Marina looked at her with a smile.

It was this smile. Although her appearance had changed, the charm was perfect. Liliya’s impression was so deep it couldn’t be deeper. Whenever she saw this smile, Dan Marina’s true image immediately overlapped on her. Simply put!

Liliya sat opposite Dan Marina. “Still able to smile? Your schemes have already failed!”

“Heh, you weren’t like this before. I remember you were very cute and clingy when you were little, couldn’t sleep every day without my company.” Dan Marina’s light words made Liliya’s hard-accumulated momentum deflate like a popped balloon, instantly flat. This… this completely irrefutable dark history!

“But you abandoned me!!” Liliya said indignantly in a low voice. “Your previous scheme has already failed!”

“How can you call it abandonment? You don’t know the traits of Witches. Besides, taking care of children is troublesome. Seeing you were fine, of course I had to leave.” Dan Marina’s smile remained unchanged, looking at Liliya gently with her eyes. This made Liliya involuntarily shudder. Being looked at with such eyes, she wanted to remain tough, but she couldn’t help softening. Come on, cheer up! You’re not such a person. You were clearly prepared…

“I definitely won’t become that kind of person!” Liliya said, her tone lacking conviction. “And also… your previous scheme has already failed…”

“Won’t become that kind of person, huh? You’re doing quite well in The Church now, right?”

“…Wasn’t that to better find you!”

“Hmm, that was your thought. But you’re also a Prophet. You know the inertial force of the Threads of Fate. Even if you think that way now, can you guarantee what you’ll develop into in the future?” Dan Marina propped her chin with one hand, reaching out with the other to gently stroke Liliya’s white hair.

“I am a Prophet; I can always prevent it, right… I say, I’ve already seen through your previous scheme! Can you please pay attention to this point!!”

Dan Marina looked at Liliya quite strangely. “Oh? What scheme? You’ve been saying strange things all along.”

“You used this image and that connection with That Dragon, hmph, wanting to use it as a basis to make me break the Contract. Impossible!” Seeing Dan Marina finally bringing up the matter she had been very concerned about, Liliya immediately tried to lift her momentum, which had long since dissipated to who knows where.

“Is that so? But the problem is, after you signed the Contract, none of this matters anymore. Whether the Contract takes effect or not is the same meaning. Why would I do such a meaningless trivial thing?”

“Tr-tr-tr-trivial!?” Liliya’s expression couldn’t hold.

Dan Marina gently stroked her hair, as if not seeing her expression, and continued: “Even if it were trivial, I’d only do it when I’m very idle. The problem is, I’m not idle at all now! I have many things to do!”

“…So, all this was me overthinking?” Liliya looked utterly deflated.

“Thinking so many things every day, no wonder your hair turns white. Children should act like children; don’t imitate adults’ thoughts every day.” Dan Marina gently patted Liliya’s head. She had heard Zheng Yichen say before that in his world, where he lived, adulthood was at eighteen, right?

Liliya was seventeen this year… still young.

“This isn’t because of thinking too much!” Liliya swatted away Dan Marina’s hand that was stroking her hair. Looking at the strand of white hair hanging beside her cheek, she couldn’t help but frown. “I’m going to die.”

“You can still live seven or eight years. Even if you cause more trouble a couple of times, you can live two or three more years. You won’t die.”

“…Is that amount of time considered time at all!!?” Liliya shouted angrily. “I don’t want to be caught in the whirlpool of fate, without even a chance to return to the River Styx.”

“I can understand that. But your situation is a vicious cycle. The more you want to find a way to solve your own flaws, the shorter your life becomes. Maintaining the status quo, doing nothing, you can still have seven or eight years.” Dan Marina looked at Liliya. “You are neither a Saintess nor a Witch, yet you wanted to touch this kind of forbidden power for you. I have to praise you, you did it really… beautifully!”

In Liliya’s situation, an ordinary person would have long been dead. Yet she endured it. Although she bore great side effects, at least she gained something. At seventeen, she achieved a level of power that other Prophets would need decades of effort to reach. The price was that she wouldn’t live long.

Leaving aside the price, it was remarkable that she could extend her hand toward the edge of the forbidden. Saintesses were unique to The Church. Regarding the existence of Saintesses, The Church naturally wouldn’t casually publicize their secrets, and those secrets weren’t something Liliya could access.

As for Witches, they had even less to do with her. Of course, Liliya being able to reach this step, some circumstances were also inevitable…

“I’m not resigned,” Liliya said in a low voice.

“So, your not being resigned, what does it have to do with me? I’m not your mother.” Dan Marina rolled her eyes. “The relationship between us was settled when we parted. Even though I took care of you back then, that period might have made you develop new feelings and dependency. But don’t forget, I am a Witch. And you, are just a fleeting wave I saw in my life.”

“…You.” Liliya’s face turned very pale. Dan Marina’s words made her suddenly realize a serious problem she had overlooked or dared not think about. Would Dan Marina really help her?

Her words now made Liliya’s heart sink to the bottom. That Contract she had her sign through Zheng Yichen earlier was probably not a scheme to bind her to their side, but rather, to completely cut off any possibility of her making trouble if negotiations with Dan Marina failed!

Under that Contract, even if negotiations with Dan Marina failed later, and she casually ignored her, Liliya would have no chance to turn things around. Dragging her down at all costs? Even if she could harden her heart, she had no such opportunity, because there was no possibility of leaking any secrets.

And besides seeking Dan Marina, Liliya couldn’t think of any other way. After all, her situation itself was rule-breaking. Even seeking The Church would be meaningless; instead, she would receive severe punishment… But the problem was, because of that Contract, she now had no chance to seek The Church either. All escape routes were gone!

Even though she had gained sufficient power through forbidden means, before a Witch, she was still as fragile as a child. That person had thoroughly and fundamentally plotted against her without even meeting her face to face. Now, she was simply left with no way out!

“Abandon your power, and you can still live a normal life, like a short-lived person.”

“I don’t want to!” Liliya clenched her teeth tightly, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Now she felt so wronged she wanted to find a place with no one and cry her heart out. Dan Marina’s never-fading smile now seemed cold and merciless in her eyes. Perhaps this was the true nature of a Witch. Even though Dan Marina’s previous impression on her was more of a somewhat scheming, gentle big sister, now those impressions were completely replaced by indifference and ruthlessness.

“Then~ what do you want?”

“Huh?”

Dan Marina gently propped her chin. “You directly said you were going to die, but you haven’t said what you want yet.”

“…”