Lord of Prayer

Chapter 630: Chapter 404: Choice 2

SNAP.

In the deepest part of the Sinful City, a black notebook that had been flipping pages at high speed suddenly made a cracking sound. The flipping came to an abrupt halt, as if a jammed gear had caused it to freeze.

The flow of time was forcibly altered. Time in the Sinful City once again began to move faster than in the real World!

This would buy them more time.

However, the moment they forced the change, Dupe changed it right back.

"Fuck!" Li Xiye cursed. She worked with Anna to forcibly change the flow of time again, racing against the clock.

After all, this was the interior of an extremely dangerous Tier Four Forbidden Object, and they were on enemy turf. The two of them had to work together just to fight Dupe for control over the flow of time. They had to be completely focused, which was equivalent to losing two Tier Four combatants from the fight.

"Five minutes!"

Titan, the commander of the Raven Legion, shouted in a low voice and took the initiative to charge the enemy Uncrowned.

The two sides engaged in a fierce battle. The terrifying onslaught made the entire Sinful City wail endlessly, as if it were the apocalypse.

At this very moment, the flow of time in the Sinful City was constantly shifting, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Meanwhile, in the outside world, at Liushan Prison, a round, crimson moon was slowly rising. It hung in the night sky, replacing the once-cool Silver Moon and dyeing the entire canopy a dark red. A tide of red moonlight surged out, covering most of Hai City.

·

"Dupe has returned to the real world."

Marvin gazed at the top of the skyscraper, then suddenly turned his head in a different direction. "’Ghost’ tore through space and got out."

’Ghost is probably planning to usurp Dupe’s place in the ritual!’

The thought flashed through Zhou Chen’s mind.

’If Ghost faked his death on purpose, then this move is brilliant. He removed himself from the eye of the storm, evaded everyone’s notice, and hid in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to steal Dupe’s prize!’

"Can you get me out of here?" Zhou Chen suddenly asked Marvin. A suspicion had formed in his mind, and he needed to confirm it.

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure." Zhou Chen nodded, his eyes serious.

"Alright. I’ll do my best to keep you alive." A silvery-white light shone in Marvin’s eyes as he constructed a Space Array. He couldn’t tear through space with his bare hands like Li Xiye; in fact, most Ascenders couldn’t. They had to rely on a Space Array.

"Zhou Chen, do you have to go?" Erin asked, her face full of worry. "Can’t you just leave it to the Star Association?"

Zhou Chen fell silent for a moment. ’I suppose I could,’ he thought. ’The Prophet had said that the way to maximize their gains from this incident was to let the ritual succeed. This meant the Star Association must have already made preparations, waiting to reap the rewards the moment the ritual was complete.’

But...

"Erin..."

Zhou Chen paused, then voiced his suspicion. "Sasha is very likely Ghost... or to be precise, a part of Ghost."

’Why was Sasha the only living person to appear in Soul Rest Cemetery? Why does she have no identification? Why is her memory gone, having forgotten almost everything...’

’What if she’s just a part of Ghost’s true self? A fragment that was deliberately split off, containing the last shred of goodness in his heart...’

’Only then would everything make sense.’

"..." Erin opened her mouth, but no words came out.

In truth, ever since she learned that Sasha had likely been taken by Ghost, she had suspected this possibility. After all, Zhou Chen himself had a Forbidden Object that could separate his own emotions, and similar supernatural cases were not unheard of. She just hadn’t been willing to admit it, or to think too deeply about it...

"I want to find out the truth and see what’s really going on. If possible, I want to try and save Sasha, even if the hope is slim..."

’If Sasha is a part of Ghost, then according to this theory, she’s already dead. Her independent personality has returned to the main body and become Ghost again, like a lost drop of water returning to the ocean, with no distinction between the two.’

’If I had enough Wish Value to use Tiny Miracle, perhaps I could turn Sasha from a personality Clone into an independent person. But unfortunately, I don’t have enough Wish Value to summon a miracle right now.’

’Saying the hope is slim is an understatement; in reality, there’s not even a sliver of hope.’

But Zhou Chen still had to go. What if his theory was wrong? What if Sasha was still safe and sound?

More importantly, as this operation went on, he found himself thinking more and more about the actions of the Prophet and the Disaster Prevention Department.

—The sacrifices require nine pure virgins, eighteen traitors, thirty-six devout souls, and seventy-two grave sinners.

The pure virgins and sinners must be alive, while the traitors and the devout must be souls.

’In other words, from the moment they knew the details, everyone knew that nine innocent young women had been captured by Dupe and Ghost to be used as sacrifices. Unlike the wicked criminals, they were truly innocent.’

’The Prophet and the others had every opportunity and Ability to save them, but they didn’t. Instead, they let the situation develop until the most opportune moment, which included the civil war in North Carolina and many other major events.’

’Admittedly, from a macro perspective, they did nothing wrong; they acted for the continuation of humanity. The core philosophy of the Disaster Prevention Department is "We do not protect individuals, but the human race as a whole." To get what they want, they will coldly watch any sacrifice, as unfeeling as machines, intervening only at the most appropriate time.’

’But from a personal perspective, they were bastards who deserved a gruesome death. They knew people were about to be murdered yet did nothing, letting it happen. If those who died knew that someone could have prevented it all, could have stopped their deaths, they would never be able to rest in peace. They would become vengeful spirits just to demand why the Disaster Prevention Department didn’t save them.’

All this time, Zhou Chen had been telling himself that he was powerless to change any of it, that he couldn’t save anyone with his strength alone. The only thing he could do was carry out his mission. Once the Star Association took care of Dupe and Ghost, the souls of the innocent might find some small measure of comfort.

But that was all just a way to console himself. As a cold bystander, an accomplice, he actually felt a heavy sense of guilt.

Those young women were probably around Erin’s age, or even younger. They were locked in a dark Prison, praying in despair day after day, hoping someone would come to their rescue, but in the end, no one came. They never knew that all of it could have been prevented, that they had a chance to live...

The more he thought about it, the deeper Zhou Chen’s guilt became. Finally, he had an epiphany and understood a crucial point—he wasn’t a member of the Disaster Prevention Department, nor was he some leader who needed to worry about the future of humanity. He didn’t have to look at things from the perspective of some grand narrative. He should do what he wanted to do!

Do what he believed was right!

Nine young women had already been sacrificed, but another nine might still be alive. They could still be saved!

And Sasha. Maybe she was alive, too.

Zhou Chen refused to remain a cold bystander any longer. He would never become the kind of person who would casually sacrifice innocents and disregard life!

VMMMM!

The light of the Matrix flowed, and a silver Space Gate opened. Zhou Chen stepped forward, his gaze resolute. His aura suddenly changed. Behind him, his Golden Soul emerged, resplendent and dazzling.

Marvin was stunned. Zhou Chen had just had a breakthrough in his Spiritual Realm. His Golden Soul was more solid, and his strength would rise to a new level. ’What was he just thinking about? How did he suddenly have a breakthrough?’

Seeing Zhou Chen’s determination, Erin’s lips trembled. She had so much she wanted to say, but of the thousand words on the tip of her tongue, only one heartfelt sentence came out:

"Be safe!"

"I will!"

Zhou Chen nodded and walked through the Space Gate with Marvin.

The scene shifted, and they arrived in a prison bathed in crimson moonlight.

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