He Fang confirmed that there was something fishy about the Chong family brothers’ NPC mission. Although it was a two-option mission, the actual content of both options included one very clear and precise element—punishment.
But in reality, if one were to truly look into this incident, it couldn’t really be blamed on the Chong brothers. Since the other party had set their goal to infiltrate from the very beginning, they had undoubtedly made thorough preparations. No matter who carried out the mission, there would have been problems.
Looking at it from both sides—On one hand, it allowed these people to easily enter the city due to their bodily rejection reactions; that’s one aspect. But on the other hand, after gathering all these people together, they were quickly able to detect abnormalities that could be counted as an indirect merit for the Chong brothers.
In reality, having their wages docked was already an extremely severe punishment. At most, they’d be demoted—so the next level of serious punishment would be to lower the Chong brothers from their current positions to the same level as ordinary soldiers. But it wasn’t possible to imprison them. It wasn’t like they had committed a crime.
Demotion? It could be done, but it wasn’t necessary because what the Chong brothers had been doing all along had nothing to do with military training anyway. It was Yuan Zhiran who was handling the management.
Their wages had already been docked, and they had also recognized their mistake. Were they supposed to write a ten-thousand-word self-reflection on top of that? In this day and age, corporal punishment isn’t exactly acceptable anymore, right?
And then—”weapons.”
That word was very strange. Under normal circumstances, would people be considered as weapons? True, the Chong brothers’ abilities could indeed be called formidable. With good coordination, Chong Xiao and Chong Ying might not even lose to the Rainbow Squad. But even so, that still didn’t qualify them as “weapons”.
And judging from how the mission was phrased, it seemed that the Chong brothers, as “weapons”, had encountered some kind of problem. Could it be their bodies that had malfunctioned?
He Fang suddenly began to suspect whether the Chong brothers in his NPC mission were actually robots or some kind of cyborgs. Looking at the two men standing silently in front of him, He Fang felt that the issuance of this mission was extremely troublesome.
Should he put it on hold for now?
The mission had already been received, and it probably wouldn’t disappear. After all, there was no mission countdown showing. Maybe he should gather more information first before making a decision.
“You two stay with me for now.” He Fang first issued a command to the Chong brothers. “I’ll give you the main orders once I’ve made up my mind.”
Chong Xiao and Chong Ying lowered their heads slightly. These two brothers looked noticeably different from their usual selves, and He Fang had no idea what to do about it.
“Yuan Zhiran, prepare a file on Chong Xiao and Chong Ying for me.” Ever since he had experienced one of Zhu Yan’s NPC missions, He Fang had felt that Zhu Yan had undergone a major change after that mission—he had become much more proactive. He Fang felt this was a change that matched Zhu Yan’s inner wishes, so when it came to handling the Chong brothers’ mission, he was being very cautious.
Just then, He Fang suddenly received contact from Qian Qu, who reported that a messenger claiming to have come from Light City was at the border, carrying very important information and requesting an audience with the City Lord of Angel City.
Light City?
He Fang furrowed his brows. Why was a city like that getting involved at a time like this?
As he walked, He Fang contacted Guo Miaofeng, asking him to compile Light City’s data and send it over.
Rubbing his hair, He Fang felt that he had somehow ended up getting busier and busier in the game for no apparent reason. The Chong brothers were following closely behind him, step for step. As long as He Fang turned his head, he could see them. The two stood like door guardians, one on the left and one on the right. Chong Xiao was icy cold, his eyes pitch black, and even Chong Ying was acting out of character, cold and silent.
He Fang let out a sigh.
Light City was a small mobile city—a very common type of mobile city. It wasn’t large, with only a population of around one hundred thousand, but it was a combat city.
A combat city with a population of one hundred thousand. There were very few women inside, and it was basically full of strong, burly men. They did engage in warfare with the outside, but they didn’t go to extremes. Their operational style was more like that of a thief, always launching sudden attacks on mobile cities, scratching here and there like a rat. Because of the current scarcity of resources, it wasn’t practical to use weapons to wipe them out completely, so they were always able to bite off a piece and then let the main force escape.
And this kind of small mobile city moved extremely fast. Large mobile cities didn’t move without rules. Usually, their movements were based on the detection of regions with available resources or areas suitable for planting. But Light City would analyze the movement trajectories of large mobile cities and arrive ahead of time to loot the resources from the area first.
These small, thief-like mobile cities were endlessly annoying. But given the scarcity of life in the apocalypse, no one had gone so far as to completely annihilate these small, cautious cities. Moreover, they had one particularly notable skill compared to the large mobile cities: they were far better at venturing into dangerous places. They could burrow into the skies and the earth, and the probability of obtaining rare resources was much higher. They were quite suitable for trade.
And among all this, there was one very attention-grabbing detail—Light City had once been one of the buyers of Arrival City.
Light City didn’t have enough people, so they needed to purchase large numbers of people from Arrival City to fill their labor force. Naturally, they had been one of Arrival City’s major buyers.
Given this background, it was hard to deny that they might be here to seek revenge. After all, He Fang had liberated Arrival City, cutting off their source of population.
But if it was really revenge, why send a messenger?
Could the recent air raid incident have anything to do with them?
He Fang glanced at the Chong brothers following behind him and thought for a moment. “How about you two wear masks?”
He was afraid that if the messenger saw Chong Xiao’s eyes, he might immediately despair and want to die.
From a distance, He Fang saw Qian Qu talking with a thin, frail-looking man. The reason he thought the man looked frail was that, even though the man was wearing metal armor, he still appeared small and slight. The outer armor currently available wasn’t exactly perfected—heavy and bulky was the norm. Yet he was especially thin, with slightly sunken cheeks, clearly malnourished.
The frail man made eye contact with He Fang. Qian Qu noticed and seemed to tell the man who He Fang was. Then, He Fang saw the man suddenly break into a sprint and charge toward him.
At that moment, He Fang suddenly heard the sound of a long blade being drawn and a gun being cocked behind him.
However, that man directly knelt before He Fang, crying out hoarsely and desperately, “City Lord of Angel City, please, please, please save us!”
Everyone was stunned by this sudden action. The man, now prostrating himself on the ground, had a voice so raspy it sounded like it came from someone who had just suffered immense injustice from the world and had fallen into utter despair.
“Wh…what’s going on?” In He Fang’s impression, everything he knew about Light City painted them as cunning and sly. Was this crying just part of some ploy?
“We’ve been taken over by a super-large mobile alliance city!” The man didn’t even lift his head as he spoke, still kneeling on the ground and loudly pleading with He Fang. “It’s Ao City! A super-large mobile alliance city! One of those enormous alliance cities currently in operation. They’re forcing us to launch an attack on Angel City! And they’ve even planted spies inside your city. Your city’s border defenses should have already suffered attacks recently!”
He Fang: “……”
What kind of play was this supposed to be? A voluntary confession?
The man said his name was Zhang Guangshi and claimed he had been secretly smuggled out of Light City under the pretext of death. This time, he had come on his own initiative to approach Angel City, hoping to seek asylum from Angel City on behalf of Light City.
“Among the soldiers currently stationed on your city’s borders, a considerable number of them have probably already been replaced. Please, you must be extra vigilant and conduct thorough screening. This is a matter of utmost importance!” Zhang Guangshi said this to He Fang with utmost seriousness.
He Fang looked at Zhang Guangshi’s profile. He wasn’t lying. His name really was Zhang Guangshi, and under the affiliation column, it clearly stated the three characters: Light City.
“I don’t understand. If they’re forcing you to attack me, and you have the backing of an alliance city, logically, you should just side with them directly. There’d be no need to come and speak to me, would there? In the end, you don’t even know who we are, do you? From every angle, choosing to obey them seems like the more beneficial option.” He Fang studied Zhang Guangshi carefully. By now, a lie detector had also been strapped to Zhang Guangshi’s body.
“Ao City is a city modeled after ancient times, ruled by a monarch □□ — do you understand? In this era of great change, there actually still exists such an autocratic, one-voice city. What’s more, Ao City directly classifies all people into different ranks—high, middle, and low. If we’re absorbed into Ao City, we’ll be the lowest tier. We may not be do-gooders, but we fight for our own freedom and dreams. We don’t want to just be shackled into Ao City like that.”
However, because of Hope City’s recent propaganda, which has been spreading the difficult-to-achieve ideals of equality and freedom in the post-apocalyptic world, even if it’s hard to distinguish truth from falsehood, there is a significant possibility that it could be real.
“Ao City,” He Fang raised an eyebrow slightly. A super-large mobile city? That’s the one from earlier, the city involved in the production of intelligence regarding the birth and docking of the aircraft, isn’t it?
“If—if you, City Lord, truly wish to realize the dream of freedom and equality in this post-apocalyptic world, we of Light City are willing to merge into Angel City unconditionally!” Zhang Guangshi declared with firm conviction. “We know you took in Arrival City. Due to Arrival City’s nature, you must now be facing a gender imbalance with far more women than men, right? And the greatest characteristic of Light City is that we have more men, and they’re capable.”
A city offering itself up?
A hundred thousand people, and unlike Arrival City, it’s a mobile city, meaning it can sustain itself. If stationed nearby, it could essentially become a newly expanded section of the city.
“No matter what, we don’t want to be controlled. We are people who yearn for freedom, and we’re extremely skilled in combat. We can teach the people of Angel City how to fight.” Zhang Guangshi tried his best to emphasize their capabilities.
However, He Fang frowned and said, “But even if this can work out, Angel City may not necessarily be a match for a super-large mobile alliance city.”
He Fang looked over the information regarding Ao City. Ao City was like a greedy, evil dragon, wanting to hoard and keep everything it laid its eyes on.
“I think your decision to choose us is a mistake,” He Fang said inwardly. Not that his city’s soldiers and military strength were necessarily weaker than Ao City’s, but this city, delivered to his doorstep, made him uneasy.
Let alone any other reasons, just the fact that a combat city would arrive at such a critical juncture would definitely impact the public order of his own city.
But accepting it isn’t entirely out of the question either, as long as it’s placed a bit farther away, and connected by roads just like Angel City and Hope City.
Actually, it’s feasible.
“Ao City has always had a poor attitude. Although it’s somewhat remote from here, to them, they see themselves as the imperial capital. As for us, small cities wandering along the outskirts, in their eyes, we’re merely subordinate towns under their rule. Them sending us to attack Angel City was also a way to test your limits, and then bring you under their command!” Zhang Guangshi said. “It’s not just us; other cities around us have received similar messages, all targeting you. After all, you’re the only one in this region who dares to form an alliance. Since you have the courage to go head-to-head with Ao City, you must have some uniquely powerful strength to rely on!”
He Fang spoke with Zhang Guangshi for a while and came to understand his train of thought. Many mobile cities under Ao City’s rule weren’t exactly willing to remain under its control. After weighing the options, they wanted to try another path—Hope City, which had the capability to defend against Nightmare Beast Seed attacks.
He Fang lowered his gaze. It was for the purpose of defending against the Nightmare Beast Seeds—that was the real reason. All other reasons were basically hollow. Only this one held genuine credibility.
“Angel City is located very close to the Nightmare Beast Forest. When it comes to areas near the Nightmare Beast Forest, mobile alliance cities normally won’t approach proactively,” Zhang Guangshi said.
He Fang felt that the logic made sense.
“To show our sincerity, we’re willing to invite you, City Lord, to visit our Light City. We will treat you with the utmost hospitality and use all our resources to prove that Light City can bring tremendous benefits to Angel City. Please give us a chance to prove ourselves!”
“Mm.” He Fang was contemplating whether to send someone to check it out.
Zhang Guangshi finally showed the first smile he had since meeting He Fang: “Thank you, esteemed City Lord. Please believe that our Light City will be a tremendous surprise for Angel City.”
He Fang had a vague, strange feeling—like a premonition. He looked up at Zhang Guangshi and felt an instant discomfort. It was a kind of player’s intuition toward the storyline. After all, almost every game likes to throw in a twist.
When Zhang Guangshi saw He Fang looking at him, he immediately put on a fawning smile. “We believe that City Lord won’t refuse us. Didn’t you once say in a broadcast to all of us that as long as one has the heart to come to your city, you would accept them all? We believe in City Lord’s broad-mindedness. You surely wouldn’t turn away a poor mobile city seeking refuge from misery.”
He Fang choked on the words.
He furrowed his brows.
On the surface, that sentence sounded like flattery.
But it was as if it was pressuring him in secret.
Almost as if under some strange compulsion, He Fang opened his mouth. “I don’t plan to make the final decision on this matter.”
At the same time, He Fang noticed that Zhang Guangshi’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest.
There wasn’t a single reaction that should appear in someone who’d just been gently refused.
“May I ask, is there any particular reason?” Zhang Guangshi didn’t seem discouraged at all and immediately asked in return.
“Because I’ve only heard your one-sided story, and I don’t know the truth of the situation. But just like I promised everyone in the broadcast, I will accept anyone. I’ll accept you all, regardless of what kind of mindset or reasoning you have for coming.” He Fang had also started to notice the difference between his city and the others, but he still couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
He didn’t intend to judge things by the city’s strongest combat power but instead to base it on the lowest level of strength in Hope City. Right now, the majority of the residents were still just ordinary people, and those from the main city only made up a small proportion.
“Then will you accept our invitation?” Zhang Guangshi asked. His expression and demeanor were both extremely sincere.
He Fang looked at Zhang Guangshi—this thin, yet equally bold young man, who didn’t look at all like someone capable of fighting. Vaguely, He Fang felt a strange, sinister aura emanating from him.
He Fang turned his head and looked toward the Chong brothers, who were wearing masks. At that moment, there was still a quest marker hovering above their heads. He blinked, then suddenly said, “I will fully entrust this matter to my subordinates, Chong Xiao and Chong Ying. Whether to take you in or to reject you, that will be for my subordinates to decide.”
He Fang glanced back once more, only to find that the quest hadn’t been completed.
He frowned. Just then, Chong Ying’s voice came from behind the mask, his tone having shed part of its youthful edge: “City Lord, we are not suited to make such judgments.”
But He Fang turned around and spoke directly to the Chong brothers: “Zhu Yan told me, there are many things I don’t need to personally worry about. You two should be my strongest support. I should trust you—is that wrong?”
Chong Ying was stunned. His slender, youthful fingers quietly tightened against his leg.
“I’m giving you this mission as a form of tempering. I want to see how you redeem yourselves.” This was a chance for them to atone for their past mistakes. He Fang felt it fit the mission conditions perfectly. Moreover, there was another important reason: “You’ve grown idle now, lost in confusion. I hope this mission helps you find your sense of purpose.”
He Fang didn’t understand why the mission defined them as weapons, and even described them as imperfect and dull.
What is perfection? What is sharpness?
In his view, the current Chong Xiao and Chong Ying were already excellent. With Chong Xiao as the strongest in close combat and Chong Ying as a powerful long-range AOE damage dealer, they were practically a perfect combination. And their personalities were… kind of cute. What about them wasn’t good?
Since it was an NPC mission, there was a high chance it had been issued based on the NPCs’ own state. Maybe it was because they saw themselves as weapons that the quest had such a description.
“I’ll also stay with you the whole time, watching as you complete the mission.” To ensure that the NPC mission wouldn’t be interrupted due to a player’s absence, He Fang wouldn’t be leaving the Chong brothers for the time being.
Chong Ying clearly lacked confidence now, even his tone carried doubt: “City Lord, matters that require decisions, please don’t entrust them lightly to others.”
“Everyone else is making decisions, so of course you two can as well—or are you saying you intend to disobey my orders?” He Fang’s gaze remained fixed on the question mark hovering above their heads as he spoke. “If it were something you could complete easily, would that still count as making up for your past mistakes?”
Because of the masks, He Fang couldn’t see the expressions of the Chong brothers, but at that moment, he suddenly noticed that his quest had been completed.
Chong Xiao and Chong Ying had acknowledged the mission, which meant it was successfully completed. He Fang once again confirmed that so-called NPC missions were likely tasks born from the personality computation process of the NPCs in the game “Ruins Without Restart”. It was a moment of transformation.
The question mark had disappeared, but no new quest had arrived—most likely because it was now time for them to carry out the mission.
Up to this point, He Fang had rarely seen Chong Xiao and Chong Ying take any initiative. It was as if they only ever acted under orders. Even though Chong Ying appeared lively and full of ideas, in reality, he had always been operating based on Yuan Zhiran’s commands.
“Um… City Lord?” Zhang Guangshi clearly didn’t understand the current situation or how things had developed.
But He Fang stood up directly and reached out to touch Chong Xiao.
Chong Xiao’s body was extremely stiff. Ordinarily, if he didn’t want to move, no one could budge him. But He Fang was able to pull him up with ease.
Then He Fang sat down in the seat that Chong Xiao had just vacated. He was a bit surprised. Despite Chong Xiao having sat there for so long, the chair had no warmth at all.
Chong Xiao stood there. The moment he rose to his feet, Zhang Guangshi reacted as if he had just seen something terrifying. He suddenly shrank back. The small, skinny man who had just been eloquently making his case in front of He Fang was now so intimidated that his teeth were chattering. He Fang watched as Zhang Guangshi lowered his head to the point where only the top of it was visible to everyone, and no one else could even speak to him.
The atmosphere instantly became unbearably awkward.
He Fang: “……”
Although he knew that wild NPCs were very wary of Chong Xiao, even those previous gatekeepers like Ye Sheng hadn’t been this afraid, right?
Yuan Zhiran, who had been silently watching from the side, now turned slightly toward He Fang and said, “City Lord, Chong Xiao and Chong Ying are not suited for this kind of mission.”
“I think they’re quite suitable,” He Fang replied without rushing. He casually crossed his legs and leaned on the arm of the chair as he said to Yuan Zhiran, “Chong Xiao and Chong Ying have very high combat strength. They can effectively suppress the hostility within the combat cities. If they perform well this time, I’ll hand over all future combat cities to be managed by them.”
He Fang wasn’t speaking loudly, but he was certain that the two brothers heard him loud and clear. He saw Chong Ying give a visible shiver after hearing his words.
It was a sudden idea that occurred to He Fang. After all, in the apocalypse, combat cities were always full of vicious hostility. Just from Lieyang City and Jianglin City, one could already see the signs—these cities, which treated the more peaceful ones as nourishment, were not the kind of places He Fang believed would hold any kind of moral values.
Now they said they wanted to depend on him, but who knew if they’d bite back once they’d figured out his capabilities?
What makes villains afraid is stronger villains. As the two strongest people in his city, they were clearly the best candidates.
“But…” Yuan Zhiran looked at the currently stiff-as-a-board Chong Xiao and the equally bewildered Chong Ying.
He Fang wasn’t in a hurry—not at all. After all, the in-game time and real-world time were vastly different. He had the patience to wait.
In the meantime, He Fang asked Yuan Zhiran to send him the data files for Chong Xiao and Chong Ying. Then he directly opened the detailed profiles from their attribute panels.
He Fang wanted to understand the reason behind the current condition of these two brothers.
The two of them were born into a very ordinary family, attended school like normal, and it was during school that a teacher discovered their natural physical talents. Coincidentally, their father worked at the police station, so he began deliberately training his two sons.
A father working at the police station, a pair of parents good at recognizing and nurturing their children’s talents—eventually, Chong Xiao successfully joined the police force in a near-perfect trajectory, while Chong Ying, although not yet graduated, had already started interning at the station early thanks to the influence of both his father and older brother.
No problems at all—this was practically the perfect portrait of an ordinary, peaceful little family.
So where, exactly, did things go wrong?
Weapons?
To begin with, before “Ruins Without Restart” went online, there wasn’t even a concept of “weapons”. The strongest weapons in the entire city were the riot shields and batons used by the police. Every household had kitchen knives, of course, but carrying knives in public was illegal.
That’s why, in the beginning, Chong Xiao’s weapon had always been a wooden stick. After he got to the police station, he was issued a baton. Then, after “Ruins Without Restart” went online and weapons research became viable, he eventually switched to a blade.
As for Chong Ying, his “weapons” were even more eclectic. When he was still a child, he just liked throwing pebbles. Later, he moved on to playing cards. Once he started school, he took to throwing pencils, then pencil leads. After making friends, he started throwing origami. Over time, it developed into a habit of throwing whatever he could get his hands on. Eventually, he got into slingshots and other such things. He had always had a deep interest in ranged objects. As he practiced more, his skills improved rapidly.
After “Ruins Without Restar” went online, Chong Ying’s talent for weapon development came entirely from this lifelong habit of throwing all kinds of things. He thought deeply, asked a lot of questions, and was extremely interested, like, what kind of damage would be caused by throwing a certain object? What kind of item could be thrown the farthest? These questions transformed from accumulated experience into natural talent.
These two brothers were, by all appearances, the definition of an inspiring story. Under the guidance of their father, one became the strongest close-combatant, and the other the strongest ranged fighter. It wasn’t very noticeable when they were still in the main city, but once expansion began, their overwhelming strength was simply unimaginable.
But why were they defined as “weapons” in the first place?
Did their parents know they viewed themselves as weapons?
This family looked perfectly harmonious, didn’t it?
He Fang looked again at the parents of the Chong brothers. Both were perfectly ordinary NPCs, but they had some strange tags attached to them, like “Loves Peace”. Why would a tag like that even exist? His city had always been peaceful from the start. They’d never experienced war, so how could a tag like that show up? And then there was one called “Paragon of Justice”. But didn’t his city have a crime rate of zero?
So strange.
Why did it feel more and more strange the more he looked?
Chong Xiao and Chong Ying looked nearly identical—practically a perfect match—but why… did they not really resemble their parents? A trait skipped a generation, maybe?
Just as He Fang was about to dig further up the family tree, he realized there were no more records. He froze for a moment. From the looks of it, they must have been mid-generation generated NPCs.
Were all the attributes and tags of the Chong brothers’ parents randomly generated?
He Fang was analyzing, thinking, and then—
When he looked up, he realized the entire room was still shrouded in that same eerie silence.
He Fang’s eyes widened. Then he glanced down to check the elapsed time.
Good grief…
It had been silent for a full hour?!
Was… was this really that difficult?
He Fang wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He stared at Chong Xiao for a long time, even checked carefully, but found no “Mute” tag. He was sure Chong Xiao could talk.
And Chong Ying, who was usually chirping nonstop about everything under the sun, was now like a tightly sealed jar—not a single word came out.
What happened?
Did they bug out?
Could it be that, according to the personality algorithms of Chong Xiao and Chong Ying, the current situation was something they were entirely unequipped to handle?
He Fang looked over at Zhang Guangshi, who by now was almost too terrified to even remember how to tremble. Was he on the verge of passing out from fear?
He Fang took a deep breath, rubbed the space between his brows, and cautiously said, “I don’t think what’s expected of you is to make the right choice, but simply to let others see the choice you make.”
His voice spread through the silence of the room: “No one goes through life making only the right decisions. As long as you take responsibility for the choices you make, that’s enough. Chong Xiao, Chong Ying—you two are very important to me. That’s why I want to see the choices you make.”
He Fang thought of his real self outside the game. He was socially anxious, yes—but he wasn’t stupid. He could write strong research papers; he just didn’t have the courage to stand on stage. His intelligence was perfectly fine—he could get into a good university. He was fully capable of living on his own, and by now, he was already completely self-sufficient.
He had made many choices in his life, and the one that brought him the most relief had been the choice to retreat from social spaces and give himself a safe world that belonged to him alone.
Maybe, to others, that was “running away”—but to He Fang, it was liberation.
If Chong Xiao and Chong Ying ultimately still chose to become people who wanted to be commanded, he would accept it. But He Fang had to see them choose it for themselves.
Choice mattered. Only through choice, not compulsion, could a person avoid the sting of regret.
He Fang respected their choice.
And if they chose, right now, that they didn’t want to do this—
He would honor that.
Chong Ying’s fingers quietly curled into his palm. He could feel the confusion and restlessness building in his brother’s heart.
The Creator had given them a problem more difficult than anything they’d ever faced—and right now, they had no idea how to solve it.
They were weapons—meant to be easily wielded, seamlessly used. They could do anything. They could suppress any force, launch an assault anywhere, and assassinate anyone. As long as they took action, no mission would ever fail.
And now, the Creator had given them a mission nearly impossible to complete.
Weapons weren’t supposed to have thoughts of their own. Perhaps, in their everyday lives, they could behave like ordinary people. His brother could quietly and secretly harbor his affections for their Creator, doing everything he could to love Him from afar. And he, too, could exhaust all his efforts just to maintain a bond of eternal closeness with their Creator. But those things weren’t part of the mission.
They were just harmless, inconsequential bits of daily life.
Little selfish desires tucked away.
But the moment they were on a mission, they would suppress all selfishness and become the sharpest blades in the world.
Only… Chong Ying realized with stark clarity that perhaps they had been spoiled by the Creator for too long—far too long. It had led him to develop a trace of self-awareness that should never have existed. In the task that Yuan Zhiran had assigned to him, he had, for selfish reasons, deployed a weapon beyond the designated scope—and that led directly to the consequences they now faced.
It shouldn’t have happened.
This moment—this mission—was like a heavy blow that struck him squarely in the head, shattering the dream and waking him up completely.
They had drifted.
Drifted too far under the Creator’s indulgence, to the point of losing all grounding.
They should be punished. They should be reprimanded. They should be made to reel back all those unruly thoughts beneath the Creator’s scorn.
But what was happening now?
But the Creator now had no intention of pulling them back in—in fact, He had granted them rights that weapons should never possess. He even spoke of entrusting them with great responsibilities in the future.
But they were weapons.
Their very purpose for existing was to be the Creator’s weapons. As weapons, the moment they developed independent thought, shouldn’t they have been discarded immediately?
A weapon that cannot act in complete unity with its master is never a good weapon. They needed the Creator’s guidance. They needed to understand His thoughts. But the Creator had gone silent. Just as He said, He was leaving everything to them.
The Creator said this was punishment.
They accepted the punishment.
But they couldn’t find a single way to fulfill it.
And the more Chong Ying thought, the more he felt that this wasn’t punishment at all. It was an expectation.
The City Lord was watching, anticipating what they would do.
But what does a weapon do?
Chong Ying could feel it—his dearest brother was completely lost. His brother didn’t know what to do either. He was confused. He was nervous. And he, too, could feel the weight of the Creator’s expectations.
Maybe giving up was the easiest answer.
But…
But…
They wanted to respond to the Creator.
They wanted to fulfill the Creator’s expectations.
They wanted to become the kind of people the Creator hoped they would be.
They wanted to be like Zhu Yan, sharing the Creator’s burdens and worries.
But how?
Brother?
Chong Ying tried with all his might to reach out through the bond that only the two of them could feel.
Brother, what should I do? What should we do to make the Creator happy and satisfied?
Brother, are our thoughts right?
Does anyone know if what I’m thinking right now is correct?
Chong Ying couldn’t help but glance once more at their Creator, hoping to catch even the slightest hint of guidance on His face.
And he could clearly sense—his brother was also waiting for the Creator.
Then suddenly, he saw the Creator reveal a smile—one that was different from usual, just a little wicked. On that face, a face that to them was the most beautiful in all the world, that tiny trace of sly mischief made Chong Ying’s heart thump without warning.
“This time, I really don’t have any solution. I can only rely on Chong Xiao and Chong Ying.”
It was obviously a dramatic performance, exaggerated and playful, but because it was their Creator, they even felt the urge to record it, so they could savor the cuteness over and over again later.
So what should they do?
They wanted to fulfill the Creator’s wish.
But how exactly should they do it?
“Brother says, no… I think, rather than listening to you say so much, it’s better to just go and see for ourselves,” Chong Ying suddenly heard his own voice—that was his own judgment, his own thought. “Please lead the way, Messenger of Light City.”
The moment he finished speaking, Chong Ying instinctively glanced at their Creator.
Had he done the right thing? Would the Creator approve?
But Chong Ying received no response from the Creator—no approval, no denial. Instead, the Creator stood up and said, “Then let’s hurry and go.”
Chong Ying looked toward Yuan Zhiran, but Yuan Zhiran simply turned his head away, hiding his expression from them.
Was that okay?
Was it really okay?
Was it really alright for him to take the lead?
“Chong Ying.” While Chong Ying was still full of doubt about his decision, the Creator, standing not far away, looked at him and asked, “Should I wear armor?”
Chong Ying was stunned.
“Why… ask that?” His heart raced nervously. He looked up at his brother and suddenly understood. The Creator hadn’t answered his question directly; instead, He asked this one. After confirming his brother’s thoughts, Chong Ying replied, “City Lord, you should wear armor, but we won’t.”
“Is that so? I see.”
The Creator’s voice sounded happy, as if pleased that they were able to make a decision.
Chong Ying lifted his head and looked up at his closest family member—his brother, who was much taller than him. His brother was very smart, and he himself wasn’t foolish either; it was just that for too long, they hadn’t allowed themselves to think about such matters.
Whether to wear armor or not represented an attitude. Now, the city hoped to announce to the outside world that they had a way to resist the Nightmare Beast seeds. If they could walk outside freely without wearing armor, it might send a message to other cities.
Among the current search squads outside, the people from the main city did not wear armor—even when facing the terrifying Nightmare Beasts, this remained true. Everyone was proving with their bodies that they did not fear the Nightmare Beasts.
Brother said the Creator needed to wear armor because of their selfishness—they themselves would not be parasitized, but they had to ensure that any possible danger was fully guarded against to protect their Creator from every angle.
That was selfishness.
Selfishness permitted by the Creator.
That was the mission.
But this time, during this mission, Chong Ying felt confused—even fearful.
He felt that after this mission, unexpected changes would happen to them.
And such changes—Chong Ying could not tell whether they would be good or bad.
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
Whoop whoop character arc time