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After Saving The Universe A Thousand Times: Chapter 29
Chapter 29: Mirage 6
Dong Jin, who had left the opera house, was evidently unaware that Lei Ming’s thoughts had been completely derailed by the rose he had casually tossed.
At this moment, he was pondering the whereabouts of the Daytime Godhood.
He was pretending to be blind, not actually blind. While listening to the opera earlier, he had carefully scrutinized the stage but didn’t notice anything unusual.
Speaking of which, in the story of “Noah’s Ark,” the dove didn’t bring the olive branch back to Noah until after the flood had ended. Could it be that the Daytime Godhood, treated as an olive branch by the God of Revelry, would only appear at the conclusion of this instance?
If Kai had really designed things so meticulously… at this moment, Dong Jin suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that this god hadn’t entered this instance.
Just dealing with Lei Ming was enough to give him a headache. If Kai, who was always strategizing, were added to the mix, how would he have any time to explore the instance? He’d probably be too busy playing mind games with the two of them.
Thinking this way, good job reporting him, Lei Ming! If next time you could report yourself as well, that’d be even better!
Not being able to cheat for him was already bad enough, but could they at least stop making things harder for him?
While silently grumbling, Dong Jin was buying some items on the island that he might need later. By the time he returned to the guesthouse, it was already close to 2:00 p.m.
However, before he even stepped into the first floor of the guesthouse, he heard two people loudly arguing outside.
At this moment, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered there, making it impossible for Dong Jin to see who exactly was arguing. He could only vaguely catch snippets of the quarrel.
“I was clearly here first! She’s supposed to be my dance partner tonight!”
“What’s with this ‘supposed to’ nonsense? Even if you did invite her first, so what? She never agreed to you. Your dance partner? More like the dance partner in your dreams! Take a look in the mirror, bro. If she had to choose between the two of us, no matter what, she’d pick me!”
Not wanting to squeeze through the crowd, Dong Jin spotted his meal companion—a chubby little monster—standing on the outskirts of the crowd. He directly grabbed him to ask what was going on. Little Fatty, who had already been watching the commotion for quite a while, immediately replied:
“What’s there to ask? It’s the classic two guys fighting over one girl. Isn’t there a beach banquet tonight? There’s definitely going to be dancing. Those two male streamers both want to invite that beautiful woman over there, and as they kept talking, they started arguing.”
“By the way, where did you go? You’re only coming back now! I’ve been waiting to have lunch with you since 11:00, and I haven’t eaten yet!”
Hearing this, Dong Jin casually brushed off the Little Fatty, who was already completely captivated by Earth’s cuisine.
Meanwhile, the two arguing men became increasingly heated until they seemed completely unable to contain their anger and ended up fighting each other.
As they shoved and scuffled, the surrounding crowd inevitably backed away slightly, allowing Dong Jin to finally catch a glimpse of the three main characters through the gaps in the crowd.
But the first thing he noticed wasn’t the appearance of the two men and one woman; it was the intriguing information provided by the “Eye of Truth.”
At this moment, above the heads of the three, there were labels reading [Monster One], [Monster Two], and [Monster Three], respectively.
Oh? He had originally been wondering, since everyone came to participate in the No Heartbeat Challenge, who couldn’t resist and ended up fighting out of jealousy on the second day.
Now it seemed things weren’t that simple at all.
After a while, the two male monsters who had been fighting were finally pulled apart with great effort by those intervening, but their argument continued:
“Where do you get the face to think you’ll definitely be chosen? Since you’re so confident, let’s see who receives more love letters over the next few days. The loser has to send all their viewers to the other person’s livestream!”
“Fine, let’s compete. Who’s afraid of you? Everyone here, brothers and sisters, be our witnesses so he doesn’t go back on his word. If I win, I don’t even want his measly popularity points. When the time comes, I’ll randomly pick someone from the people who wrote me love letters and give it away, or we can split the popularity evenly. After all, the people who choose me obviously have great taste and deserve these rewards.”
“All you know are these crooked tricks. Are you planning to bribe people into writing love letters for you? Fine, whatever he does, I’ll do the same. When I win, I’ll also give away those popularity points…”
Dong Jin didn’t even bother to listen to the rest.
What kind of love-at-first-sight, fall-head-over-heels, impulsive two-men-fighting-for-one-woman romantic drama was this?
This looked more like three monsters setting up a staged performance!
It was already known that monsters needed to trigger sufficient emotional fluctuations to attack humans.
These three first stirred up a wave of emotions among the onlookers with their heated argument, then found an excuse to have others write them love letters, causing another wave of emotions.
Although Dong Jin didn’t know the exact emotional thresholds for everyone, since this challenge was called the “No Heartbeat Challenge,” wouldn’t writing a love letter essentially mean admitting you were moved?
With these love letters, the monsters might not even need to go through the trouble of causing emotional fluctuations; they could directly attack the humans who wrote them. And once there were fatalities, the hidden panic would quickly spread.
By then, the organizers could start spreading rumors about the impending tsunami and how you couldn’t leave without enough popularity. Faced with the threat of death, the already muddled livestreamers wouldn’t question whether the tsunami was real or fake but would instead try every possible way to escape the island as quickly as possible.
Even though none of this had happened yet, Dong Jin could already envision the tragic scenes of slaughter and deceit that would follow.
Just like the opera sung earlier in the theater.
“Dong Jin?” At this moment, Fei Lin, who had also been watching the drama from the side, noticed his presence.
But this time, she didn’t continue pretending not to know him. Instead, she walked over and said to him in a low voice:
“Don’t believe what they’re saying. Although I don’t know their exact intentions, I can sense that they’ve been lying from start to finish.”
It seemed her perception abilities were more useful in this instance than he had imagined.
This thought flashed through his mind. In return for Fei Lin’s kind reminder, Dong Jin directly repaid her by telling her the conditions under which monsters could kill and said,
“Although this is just a guess of mine, you’d better avoid doing things like writing love letters or confessing to someone. If nothing unexpected happens, by tomorrow night, this island will descend into chaos.”
In the previous conversation between the two monsters, there was an implicit suggestion that a streamer’s popularity could be transferred between individuals.
Upon receiving this signal, the trial challengers might even take action against those around them before the monsters did.
However, no matter how clearly Dong Jin saw through everything, even if he voiced these speculations, not many would believe him.
Not only because different universes were naturally opposed to each other on the path of ascension but also because all the trial challengers were competitors on their own paths as chosen ones of the gods.
If it weren’t for Fei Lin’s talent in emotional perception, which allowed her to distinguish lies, even though she and he belonged to the same universe, she might have suspected he had ulterior motives.
If Fei Lin was already like this, let alone the others.
In this situation, remaining silent was his best choice.
“Ge, my Jin Ge, we’ve finished watching the drama—can we eat now?” After Dong Jin and Fei Lin ended their brief yet covert conversation, the little Little Fatty who had been squeezed away by the crowd earlier managed to force his way back with sheer determination for food and spoke to him.
The moment Little Fatty’s words fell, Lei Ming, who was walking over from a distance, seemed to hear something and cast him a sinister glance.
Little Fatty, bewildered by Lei Ming’s inexplicable look, stared back in confusion, only to see Lei Ming continuing towards the guesthouse. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but say, “What’s up with that Sītè guy? I didn’t provoke him today, so why does he look like he wants to kill me?”
“Speaking of which, didn’t he leave wearing that outrageously expensive suit jacket? But now that he’s back, not only is the jacket gone, but even his shirt looks like it was slashed with a knife. It’s not even spring—don’t tell me he got into a fight over love too?”
Hearing this, Dong Jin turned to look at the chattering Little Fatty beside him. No matter how much this one acted like a foodie, he still noticed the faint knife marks on Lei Ming’s shirt at a glance.
Clearly, beneath this seemingly friendly exterior, Little Fatty was still a dangerous monster.
With this thought, Dong Jin remarked with an underlying meaning, “Fighting isn’t necessarily because of love—just like writing love letters isn’t necessarily because of love. For example, if I told you that if you wrote me a love letter, I’d add an extra dish to your meal, would you write one?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?” Whether he truly didn’t understand or was just playing dumb, Little Fatty answered without the slightest hesitation.
Forget it, testing this guy was pointless.
Because even without a love letter, the emotional fluctuations he caused earlier while cooking were already enough for him to attack Little Fatty.
“Let’s drop this topic. Come on, let’s eat. You had devil peppers this morning—how about trying viper peppers next?”
As Dong Jin suppressed his thoughts and prepared to lead the monster beside him inside to find food, he didn’t notice Fei Lin standing behind him, repeatedly hesitating to speak.
Or rather, ever since Lei Ming appeared, Fei Lin’s expression had gradually become more and more subtle. By the time Dong Jin and Little Fatty used love letters as an example, and Lei Ming halted at the entrance of the guesthouse, the complexity on her face had almost reached an uncontrollable degree.
Yet, even as Lei Ming walked into the guesthouse again, and as Dong Jin and Little Fatty followed one after another, she still didn’t say a word.
Or rather, ever since Lei Ming appeared, Fei Lin’s expression had gradually become subtle. By the time Dong Jin and the chubby guy used love letters as an example and Lei Ming directly halted at the entrance of the guesthouse, the complexity on her face had almost reached the point of being impossible to conceal.
Yet, even as Lei Ming re-entered the guesthouse, and as Dong Jin and the chubby guy followed one after another, she ultimately did not speak.
Time quickly reached 20:00.
A single day was enough for the three prophecies posted by the “Magician” account to be verified one by one.
Not only the “Magician”—the two accounts that followed, “Fool” and “Star,” also benefited from the momentum and rapidly exploded in popularity across the entire internet.
At this moment, Dong Jin, who was live streaming, did not switch screens to check the skyrocketing follower count of those three accounts. Instead, he changed into a suit, tied up his long hair, and arrived on time at the beach where the night banquet was being held.
The tide was rising.
Under the night sky, wave after wave of seawater surged onto the shore, the frothy white waves standing out starkly against the darkness.
Listening to the indistinct sound of the waves washing against the shore, even though the “Eye of Truth” had shown no warning, Dong Jin still had a premonition that a tsunami was about to hit at any moment.
After all, there were so many luxurious guesthouses on the island, yet they had specifically chosen this seaside location for the banquet—if there was nothing unusual about it, that would be an insult to his intelligence.
“Welcome, everyone, to this night banquet.”
The next second, the voice of the banquet host interrupted Dong Jin’s gaze at the sea.
He lifted his eyes and unsurprisingly found that the host was also one of the monsters.
“There are no rules for this banquet. All food and drinks are available for self-service. The only hope is that everyone can have a one-of-a-kind, heart-stirring experience in the next hour.”
Perhaps it was because he had already put on tinted glasses from the start, but Dong Jin felt that the latter half of the host’s words carried ill intent. However, with a clear time limit in place, he had no way to leave early.
So, as the lingering melody of classical music began to play, Dong Jin casually picked up a non-alcoholic cocktail and walked toward Fei Lin—there was something about this instance he wanted to confirm with her.
Yet, just as he took a step forward, the late-arriving Lei Ming blocked his way.
“What is it?” Dong Jin lifted his eyelids and looked at the man in a newly changed suit. His gaze swept over the black suit jacket with gold trim and finally landed on the black rose pinned to the left lapel of Lei Ming’s coat.
Noticing his gaze, Lei Ming assumed Dong Jin was interested in the rose. Without hesitation, he plucked it off, preparing to pin it to Dong Jin’s chest.
Seeing this, Dong Jin swiftly and precisely stopped Lei Ming’s approaching hand.
What a joke—who knew whether this guy was giving him a flower or trying to pierce his heart?
“Didn’t expect you to be so fond of black roses. What’s wrong? Not hurt enough from being stabbed in the day?” Dong Jin couldn’t quite grasp Lei Ming’s intent for the moment, so he seized the initiative with a taunt to test the waters.
Lei Ming was never easily provoked, especially now that he had shifted his mindset and changed his approach.
Seeing Dong Jin refuse, Lei Ming didn’t say much. He merely let out a sneering chuckle and tightened his grip on the rose. Yet, the few remaining thorns on the stem couldn’t even pierce his skin.
As he slowly crushed the petals inch by inch, he wiped the floral juice from his fingertips at an unhurried pace. Then, he extended his hand toward Dong Jin again and said, “If you don’t want the flower, then just dance with me.”
Was there some logical connection between flowers and dancing that I wasn’t aware of?
Listening to Lei Ming’s matter-of-fact invitation, Dong Jin was about to refuse when the other continued:
“One dance. One opera ticket.”
Now that’s what you call mastering the art of temptation.
Dong Jin, who had yet to find the Daytime Godhood, shifted his thoughts in an instant. Without the slightest hesitation, he placed his hand in Lei Ming’s.
To him, it didn’t matter if there was no logic between flowers and dancing—so long as there was an equation between the ticket and the dance, that was enough.
Dong Jin had never danced with anyone before. He didn’t know what a proper ballroom dance was supposed to feel like.
But he could clearly sense that dancing with Lei Ming was, in the truest sense, dancing on the edge of a blade.
No matter how gentle the music, no matter how relaxed the atmosphere—so long as he met Lei Ming’s dark golden eyes, everything else vanished into smoke.
This monster wrapped in human skin was like the arrival of a storm.
Every glance he cast, every breath he drew closer, carried a wildness and violence rarely found in humans.
“Dong Jin.” At this moment, even his voice was like gunpowder ignited—husky, smoldering, burning straight into the lungs.
For the sake of the opera ticket, Dong Jin, whose instincts had already been provoked into a defensive stance by Lei Ming’s inherent aggression, barely restrained his impatience and silently waited for him to finish speaking.
And at the very instant Lei Ming called his name, Fei Lin, who was dancing with another streamer not far away, glanced over once again, her expression conflicted.
—Because she had once again sensed Lei Ming’s emotions.
—That overwhelming, forcibly restrained intent to kill.
If it were just that, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But beneath that suffocating killing intent, there was also a desire—one so indescribable that it filled the air.
Was it the desire to kill? The desire to hate? The desire to consume? Or something else?
For the first time, Fei Lin, who was best at discerning emotions, couldn’t tell them apart.
This left her at a loss. Even if she wanted to warn Dong Jin, she didn’t know where to begin.
And so, at this night banquet, unable to suppress her curiosity as always, Fei Lin once again attempted to probe Lei Ming’s emotions. She even paid a small price to sharpen her perception.
Yet this time, not only did she fail to distinguish them, but she was drawn even deeper into a vortex of doubt.
Not just because Lei Ming’s emotions kept fluctuating between repression and resurgence—
But because, behind this monster’s killing intent and desire, there was something else. Something infinitely more complex. Something a thousand, ten thousand times heavier than what he was feeling now.
A feeling that neither pure hatred nor simple love could fully encompass.
If she had to describe it, it was love, hatred, and desire itself.
And now came the real question— Should she tell Dong Jin everything exactly as it was?
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