PTM 90

Chapter 90: My Love, My Messiah

The team split into three groups. Zong Yanlei was called away by Wuxi Li; Yu Xuan left with Zhong Xiaoshan after the magnetic shackles on his hands and feet were removed; while Ye Shuer and I went with Chu Luo to the tent filled with electronic displays.

Based on the results of the meeting, the remaining people lying in the neuro-navigation pods would be divided into three risk levels according to their performance in the metaverse simulation sandbox.

The low-risk group consisted of individuals who did not exhibit dangerous tendencies in the simulation and who had no vested interests with nobles, royalty, or the Holy Church. These individuals were selected by Balaka and released first.

They would not know what happened. Their five years of memories from the metaverse would be erased, and when they wake up, they would only think that the celebration ended smoothly, but a technical glitch caused them to be trapped in the neuro-navigation pods for a day and a night.

Seeing the atmosphere outside, they might be confused, or panicked, but frankly speaking, these people didn’t have that much influence, so even if they guessed what happened, there was nothing to fear.

On the monitor wall, one screen after another turned completely white, indicating that the user of the neuro-navigation pod had woken up.

Next, the task was to deal with the second group of people classified as medium-risk. These people consisted of nobles, royalty, high-ranking members of the Holy Church, and individuals from all walks of life with whom they have intricate interests.

“You’re also a Wo, how can you be so biased. You sided with the Penglai people against your own people?”

Shen Jing, holding his laptop, stood a little further back. Ye Shuer’s hologram, with his legs crossed, hovered in mid-air, always by my side like a shadow. He was resented that Shen Jing, a Wo and one of the founders of WRA, had turned to serve Zong Yanlei, and he had grumbled about it countless times along the way.

“He pays a lot.” Shen Jing typed on the keyboard with one hand, not really paying attention to Ye Shuer’s pestering.

“My God!” Ye Shuer suddenly clutched his chest, leaned close to me, and complained in shock, “Ge, did you hear that? This person actually said that Zong Yanlei paid a lot! A lot! Where is the integrity of the nation? Where is the dignity of the country?”

I looked at him, feeling relieved but also worried. I was relieved that he hadn’t experienced those turbulent five years; I was worried that those missing five years meant he lacked the maturity and wisdom that comes with age.

“From now on, the people of Penglai and the people of Wo will be one family. There will be no more distinction between Penglai and Wo. Don’t say such things again,” I whispered to him.

Ye Shuer hesitated, then swallowed his words after seeing my expression. He finally managed only a dry “Oh”.

“Everyone, I am Chu Luo. Not Princess Chu Luo, nor the daughter of the King of Penglai. From this moment on, I am simply Chu Luo, an ordinary citizen of Penglai…”

At that moment, Chu Luo began speaking on the other end. I raised a finger, signaling Ye Shuer to remain silent.

In front of hundreds of lit screens, Chu Luo held a spherical wireless microphone, her voice gentle yet powerful.

“I know you are very scared right now. Darkness, silence, being unable to move, not knowing where you are, not knowing what has happened, so I will keep it short.”

You are still lying safely inside the neuro-navigation pods in Zhongyang District. All activities for the celebration have concluded, but due to unforeseen circumstances, you are temporarily unable to exit on your own. Please do not panic; no one will harm you.

Now, I need you to listen quietly to me for a few minutes.

These people also had no memory of those five years. Even though Chu Luo tried her best to reassure them and tell them not to panic, how could a few words dispel their fear in a completely dark and unfamiliar environment?

“Where am I? I can’t see anything at all!”

“Is the neuro-navigation pod malfunctioning?”

“I knew this thing wasn’t safe!”

“Oh my god… it’s so dark here…”

The scene was chaotic, and no one was listening to Chu Luo. She sighed, turned around, and gave Shen Jing a wink.

Shen Jing received the instruction and pressed a key on the keyboard. The next instant, everyone on the screen seemed to be attacked by some invisible force. They clutched their heads in pain.

No one spoke anymore. Chu Luo picked up the microphone again and said with a smile, “I’m glad everyone has quieted down, so I’ll continue.”

Penglai is sick.

It didn’t just start today. It’s been sick for a long time, so long that we’ve all gotten used to its illness, even taking it for granted.

Three hundred years ago, when the Chu Dynasty was established, my ancestors promised to bring order and prosperity to this land. Three hundred years later, order has turned into oppression, and prosperity belongs only to a few. We clink glasses in the banquet hall of the Shangcheng District, while t[unauthorized copy]he people of the Xiacheng District can’t even get clean drinking water.

All of you here, including myself, are beneficiaries of this system. We enjoy the privileges, wealth, and status it brings while remaining blind to the suffering it inflicts. This is not the fault of any one person, but the fault of the entire structure. And structures don’t change on their own; someone has to tear them down.

Therefore, I made a decision. To abolish the monarchy.

There will be no more royalty, no more nobles, and no one will be superior to others because of their lineage. Instead, there will be a democratic republican government with the participation of all its citizens.

Even I was shocked when I heard about Chu Luo’s decision, let alone these powerful and influential people.

Some of them looked bewildered, while others quickly realized what was happening and began to curse.

“What are you talking about? Who gave you that right?”

“This is a rebellion! Where is His Majesty the Emperor? Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?!”

“You’re just a deposed princess, who gave you the audacity?!”

“Let us out right now, you wicked harlot!”

Without Chu Luo’s instruction, Shen Jing pressed the “attack” button again, and those people, who were cursing, covered their heads and screamed in pain.

“Does this thing cost money to press? Why are you so reluctant to press it?” Ye Shuer pointed at Shen Jing’s keyboard with an angry expression. “Press it a few more times!”

Shen Jing glanced at him. He didn’t say anything, but pressed it again.

Under such torment, even a fool would know to keep quiet. As expected, after that, no one dared to interrupt Chu Luo when she spoke.

“Now, I have a request for everyone here.” Chu Luo turned around and gave Shen Jing an OK sign as she spoke.

“I request that you relinquish your political power, all your land, and half of your personal property. This wealth will be incorporated into the new regime’s transition fund for healthcare reform and universal education. In exchange, the new government will guarantee the legitimacy of your remaining assets.”

Hearing this, Ye Shuer leaned close to me and whispered, “Ge, if they’re this ruthless, what if they unite and stage a coup later?”

I crossed my arms, looked at him upon hearing this, and said slowly, “Do you know how Machiavelli defined nobles and commoners?”

He shook his head.

“Offending the nobles is bearable, but offending the people is fatal.”

Even the most dangerous wild beast loses much of its ferocity if its teeth are pulled out and its nails are trimmed. Besides, these people didn’t even qualify as “wild beasts”; at best, they were just a bunch of bloated, fat rabble.

Offending the people gave them an ever-present, more legitimate reason to launch uprisings and changes. They were endless and inexhaustible. But offending the nobility? Ha! Their numbers were limited, and they were arrogant; even if they staged a coup, who would follow them?

Finally, I must be honest with you about something.

The artificial intelligence Balaka, which is currently managing this space, has the ability to perceive your truest thoughts.

After you have heard this, please make your choice.

For those who genuinely agree with this direction, Balaka will recognize your intentions and have you sign a series of transfer documents. After that, the neuro-navigation pod will automatically activate.

I understand those who disagree; this is not an easy decision. Everything you’ve built up over a lifetime, I’m asking you to relinquish it all in minutes. If I were in your shoes, I would need time too.

So I’m giving you time.

But I need to remind you of one thing: within the timeframe of Balaka, each minute you perceive is not equivalent to each minute in reality. This darkness will not harm your bodies, but it will be extremely, extremely long.

I don’t want to force anyone with fear, but I also won’t pretend this choice has no consequences.

Isn’t this just intimidation? I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ge, see? I told you this idea was feasible!” Ye Shuer said excitedly, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

Indeed, the God Controlling Plan and what Chu Luo was doing now had similarities. However, they were also fundamentally different.

Looking at Chu Luo’s back, I had a definite sense of reality for the first time. The little princess who said, “If love has to be controlled by others, what is the meaning of living?” had now grown into an extraordinary person.

“I know that for many people, today is a nightmare. You will hate me, you will call me a traitor, a rebel.”

You’re right. By the old standards, that’s what I am.

However, the old standards are no longer applicable.

The promise made three hundred years ago has not been kept. I dare not say I will do better than my ancestors, but I can at least guarantee one thing: from this day forward, the fate of this nation will no longer be determined by a single surname.

It belongs to everyone who lives on this land.

That’s all.

Please make your choice.

Humans are highly social animals; even the structure of the brain is designed specifically for “social interaction.” When the external environment no longer provides stimulation from light, sound, and touch, the brain will spontaneously generate signals due to “hunger.” Over time, this will lead to a breakdown in both physical and mental health.

Simply put, they’ve gone mad.

The vast majority of people, after experiencing a “week” of adjustment, gave up. They dejectedly expressed their willingness to support the new government and offer their power and money.

A few of the more stubborn ones, after experiencing six months of darkness and desolation in the metaverse, stopped being obstinate and begged Chu Luo and the others with tears running down their faces. They even claimed that they would give up everything if they were released.

Even after leaving the neuro-navigation pods, these people wouldn’t be immediately released. Instead, they would be placed under military custody and house arrest in Zhongyang District. They would be gradually released only after necessary transfers and relocations were completed.

And so, the squares on the screen turned white one by one, until finally, the entire screen was a bright white.

The issue of the medium-risk group had been resolved.

Only three high-risk cases remained.

“General Zhong had already claimed Wuxi Kunpeng. What do you plan to do with the old king and the pope?” Ye Shuer asked before I could.

It was obvious he really cared about the fate of those two old men.

Chu Luo withdrew her gaze and turned around. A smile graced her face, but it did not reach her eyes.

“Let me show you directly.”

She nodded to Shen Jing.

Shen Jing tapped a few keys on the keyboard. A moment later, hundreds of monitors simultaneously went out, and when they came back on, they split in two, with each side merging into a separate screen.

On the left was the old king, Chu Huan.

He was stripped of all the garments symbolizing power, left naked and suspended ​visit our site​above an abyss. He was not bound by chains, but by ribs pulled from his own body.

His white bones were bent into hooks. They pierced his shoulder blades and collarbones, spread his limbs apart like an insect nailed to a specimen board.

Dark red flames burned in the abyss beneath his feet, they climbing upwards from his toes. With each inch the flames climbed, his skin blistered, cracked, curled, and peeled off like wax on a red-hot iron plate, revealing the bright red muscle fibers beneath.

The old king’s mouth was wide open, his facial muscles contorted to the point of being almost inhuman. He was screaming, but by the time the sound reached the screen, it had long lost its human form, it sounded more like the noise of metal being bent.

On the right was Pope Benedict.

His punishments had no fire, no abyss. At first glance, it even looked serene.

He was bound face up to a stone altar, his limbs nailed into the stone, unable to move an inch. A circle of people dressed in white sacrificial robes stood around the altar.

They had no faces. Their smooth, blank, egg-shaped heads, as if their features had been erased, had only a slit. It opened and closed mechanically as they chanted scriptures in unison.

Amidst the chanting of sutras, the leader, dressed in Read onwhite, picked up a sharp scalpel from a tray beside the altar.

He placed the blade against the Pope’s chest, and slowly, reverently, as if he was performing the most solemn religious ceremony, made a straight incision from the center of the collarbone downwards.

His chest was pried open one rib at a time, they cracked crisply under the force. Then, he removed the Pope’s aged and ugly heart.

The man in white held the beating heart aloft, displaying it to those around him as if it were a sacred object. The other men in white knelt on the ground. Their foreheads touched the earth, and their chanting suddenly rose in pitch, transforming into an almost ecstatic hymn.

The Pope began to cough up blood. Crimson, frothy blood gushed from his mouth and nose. It trickled down his face. His body convulsed, and the nails loosened, clanging against the stone with a jarring sound.

But he wouldn’t die.

A moment later, the beating heart slowly disappeared, and the chest cavity miraculously healed itself completely.

Immediately afterwards, the chanting of sutras echoed again, and the man in white, holding the scalpel, leaned close to him once more.

They started all over again.

These were two hellish punishments specifically designed for sinners.

Chu Luo had her back to the screen and was facing us, speaking in a calm voice as if she were stating tomorrow’s weather.

“Based on the limits of the human body, they shouldn’t be able to last more than a few days without eating or drinking.” She paused. “But with Balaka there, and with the time flow in the metaverse being deliberately adjusted, the remaining few days are enough for them to suffer hundreds of years of torture inside.”

Ye Shuer’s projection remained motionless, his face already pale.

“Is that enough sincerity?” Chu Luo asked him.

Ye Shuer trembled, instinctively hiding behind me, and stammered, “Enough, enough.”

Good.

I stood there. My gaze passed over Chu Luo, watching the two old men’s miserable state without blinking, listening to the screams rising and falling from the two screens on either side. From the bottom of my heart, I felt, “This is wonderful.”

I took a few steps forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chu Luo.

“In the simulation, you never gave up on your father until the very end.” I didn’t look at her, still staring at the large screen. “I thought you loved him very much.”

Chu Luo remained silent for a long time. I thought she wouldn’t answer, but she suddenly spoke up: “I didn’t not hand him over because I loved him.” Her voice was very soft, “but because in that timeline, as the crown princess, I had my own dignity and stance. I could lose, but I couldn’t lose in such a humiliating way.”

She turned her face and looked at me expressionlessly, and I turned slightly to look at her in return.

“I am different from Zong Yanlei. I love my country, but men…” She curved her lips into a slight, cold smile, “If Han Zhe betrays me, I will kill him without hesitation.”

After saying that, she walked towards the outside of the tent.

The screams on the screen didn’t stop. I looked straight ahead again, closed my eyes, and listened to this distorted, bloody, primal duet.

“Ge.” A moment later, Ye Shuer’s trembling voice rang in my ​stolen content​ears, “Do we really want to cooperate with these people? They are so scary.”

I slowly opened my eyes, sighed, and gave him a gentle smile.

“Get some rest. I’ll contact you if anything comes up.” With that, I gestured towards Shen Jing.

“Hey, ge? Ge!”

Shen Jing ignored him and turned off the projector.

I took one last look at the two screens, said goodbye to Shen Jing, and then left.

Back in the tent I’d left in the morning, Zong Yanlei was already there.

As I lifted the curtain, I saw him turn to the side and press a syringe against his neck. He frowned slightly the moment the needle pierced his skin, but his hand was steady, his movements so smooth it seemed he had done it many times before.

“You’re back.” Read onHe glanced in my direction and discreetly put the syringe into his pocket.

“Sit down, let me apply the ointment for you.” He picked up the ointment left by Dr. Li on the table and gestured with his chin toward the floor mat.

I walked over to him, but instead of sitting down as instructed, I went straight up to him, tilted my head back, and kissed him.

He paused for less than a second before responding, one hand holding my lower back, the other threading into my hair. I obediently opened my lips and let him entwine his tongue with mine.

I took advantage of his distraction and reached into his pocket. My fingertips touched the still-warm syringe, I pinched it and pulled it out.

Our lips parted, and he reflexively followed. I took a step back and held the syringe up to my eyes. A small amount of light blue liquid remained in the transparent tube; it looked somewhat familiar.

“What is this?” I asked, knowing the answer already.

Zong Yanlei looked at the injection in my hand. His expression gradually returned to clarity from confusion. He looked a little helpless.

“Some nerve repair agents.” Seeing that he couldn’t [stolen content]hide it any longer, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

“Metaverse death aftereffects?”

“Yes.”

I fell silent. I twirled the syringe in my hand and stared at it for a long time.

Suddenly, Zong Yanlei came over and gently pulled me into his arms.

“It’s just a slight headache, it’ll be fine in a few days.” He whispered in my ear. “I’m very healthy, I have a full physical exam every year. Bazel’s doctor said I could live to be a hundred.”

In my mind, images of blood and fire flashed alternately, and the screams of men, women, and children mingled into a cacophony. But at this moment, Zong Yanlei’s steady and powerful heartbeat gradually drowned out those chaotic sounds.

I grabbed the back of his shirt and tightened my grip.

Those five years, everyone said were fake. But for me, the emotions were real, the separations were real, [stolen content]the deaths were real, and the lessons were real.

How could I not be afraid? How could I not hate?

“I saw some things.” Zong Yanlei gently stroked my back. “In the simulation sandbox, my mother showed me what happened a year after I died. She told me to take good care of you. She also said that your stomach problems were caused by the severe side effects of the medication you took when you gave me bone marrow, so I need to pay attention to that too.”

I was somewhat surprised; I had thought…that Madam was hoping I’d die sooner. What is this? Love the house and its crow?¹

Humans are indeed the most complex and ever-changing creatures on earth.

“I’ve taken so much from you. Your blood, your eye, your health… Is that why you wanted to leave me?”

I was startled. I stepped out of his embrace, and looked up at his face.

Those beautiful eyes were listless, and his expression was dejected. He was actually serious.

I chuckled to myself. “Of course not. I just…” I paused for a few seconds, closed my eyes, and listened to my heart, “…I just couldn’t bear to see you marry someone else. I couldn’t bear to see you belong to someone else.”

Before I could finish speaking, I was pulled into a warm embrace once again.

Zong Yanlei hugged me even tighter than before, so tight that my ribs ached slightly.

“I belong to you.”

His voice was low, his lips were close to my earlobe, and his breath was hot.

“I will always belong to you. My love, my messiah.”

***

Author’s Note

If you’re still advocating for war after reading this, you should learn about the Arab Spring and proxy wars.

If you still advocate for war after understanding everything, it just shows that our understanding of the world is not the same.