PSW - Chapter 176

Chapter 176

It was too unfamiliar. Just seconds ago, Zero One had been sweating bullets for Zheng Yi, incredibly worried about her. But now, as it looked at the figure standing in mid-air, it didn't dare to continue recording or even capture a still image.

One cannot look directly upon a god.

"What, you don't recognize me?" The golden light in Zheng Yi's eyes gradually receded and faded, revealing their original black color. Despite having gone through the lightning tribulation, her clothes were completely undamaged.

[...I recognize you, of course I do.] It was just a little scared. Even though Zheng Yi hadn't actively displayed her divine might, the small amount that had inadvertently leaked out during her breakthrough was enough to awe Zero One. After all, it was just a small, helpless system.

"You're now a system that has assisted a god." Zheng Yi's tone was light, as if she were smiling, but when Zero One looked, it saw she had little expression. Soon, however, Zheng Yi seemed to adapt to her current state, and her expression became more animated.

[You... your current body...]

"It's still the one you chose, but after being tempered by the lightning tribulation, it's barely usable." Otherwise, an ordinary body would have a hard time containing the soul of a god.

Of course, there are exceptions, but if a body were forced to contain it, it would be nearly impossible for the god to display their proper strength; the body might even explode at the slightest misstep. In that situation, a spiritual body (soul) on its own would be in some danger.

Zero One didn't understand any of this; it simply heard Zheng Yi say it was "barely usable" and believed her. It waited quietly as Zheng Yi closed her eyes again to regulate her energy, until all her oppressive aura and presence were withdrawn and she appeared no different from an ordinary person.

"Why aren't you talking?"

[...Hehe.] Now that Zheng Yi had truly returned to her divine status, Zero One naturally didn't dare to be as impudent as before. In the past, it would have eagerly chattered on, asking a series of questions like, "Where are you going next? When will you find Yu Yinan? Did Yu Yinan pass the test? How do you plan to take her away? When do you plan to leave this world?"

[You don't have to mind me. I'm just a little unused to it. I'll probably... probably be back to my old self in a little while.] After an awkward laugh, Zero One, worried that Zheng Yi might get the wrong idea about its attitude, offered an explanation. Although it felt the possibility was minuscule, it couldn't help itself.

Zheng Yi seemed to give a slight nod but didn't respond. She faintly sensed her direction and then used her teleportation ability.

---

Did something happen to Zheng Yi? Or... or did she encounter something? That strange phenomenon, and that inexplicable, awe-inspiring feeling just now... everyone must have felt it, right? Yu Yinan calmed herself slightly. Hearing the clamor from the surrounding rooms, she wondered if the other women were feeling anxious.

She pondered for a moment, then tidied herself up and went to the window. Looking at the expanse of ruins under the moonlight, she sighed softly.

I did help her, didn't I?

A soft knock sounded at the door. Yu Yinan composed herself. Although she didn't know what had happened to Zheng Yi, she had already thought of the right words to comfort the others. There seemed to be a water-ability user among them; perhaps she could bring them some hot water to help them relax and get a good night's sleep. "Come in," she said softly. "That thing just now-"

The words she had prepared caught in her throat. Yu Yinan pressed her lips together, silently gazing at the doorway, staring at the figure there. Her vision gradually blurred until tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Jiejie, haven't you grown up? Why are you still crying?"

"...I thought I'd never see you again." Yu Yinan couldn't help but stumble forward two quick steps, only to stop again. She seemed to want to reach out but shrank back, trembling. She tried several times, but her hand froze in mid-air, as if the person before her would vanish the moment she touched them. Maybe this is just an illusion, or my own obsession? Maybe...

Zheng Yi looked at her, her black eyes so clear and bright they seemed to see through everything—her anxiety, her awkwardness, her fear, and her weakness—and embrace it all.

"Will you leave again?"

"I don't belong here." Zheng Yi wore a faint, radiant smile. She looked at Yu Yinan, her tone gentle. "But you can choose."

"I already answered. I'm willing." Yu Yinan walked closer. The Zheng Yi before her was so familiar, yet she also gave off an indescribable sense of unfamiliarity and distance, filling her heart with more unease and uncertainty. But Yu Yinan had no thought of retreat. She felt the blood boiling in her veins, her pounding heart seeming to have eagerly awaited this very moment. "I am willing. I always have been."

She walked toward Zheng Yi, step by step. Though the door wasn't far, Yu Yinan's gait was steady, filled with a resolve that would never waver.

As she closed the final distance, Zheng Yi finally stepped into the room, opened her arms, and gently embraced her.

"From now on, you will not be able to decide your own life or death. In the long future, a time indistinguishable from eternity, you will feel bored and uninterested. You will grow weary of everything, perhaps even of me, but you will never be able to escape me. You will leave this place, leave this world. After a hundred years, all your bonds will have returned to dust, and you will know that nothing is as it once was. In the future, you may never make new friends. Over the long eons, you will change, but you might also stay the same." Zheng Yi said softly, "And you, as my subordinate god, will never, ever be able to betray me. I will control your life and death."

"...But you've long controlled my life and death, my everything, haven't you?" Yu Yinan looked at Zheng Yi, raising a hand to caress her cheek. She met those black eyes, as if she could see the divine soul hidden behind them. She murmured, "So, did you once have to sever all your bonds?"

"Not really. My world was rather special, and I was the most special existence within it. I never had the chance to form bonds with many people, nor did I feel any particular attachment to that world or most of its inhabitants." Zheng Yi smiled and shook her head, showing immense patience and gentleness as she explained softly, "The time from my birth to my ascension, and then to becoming a god, was too short, and I was used to doing as I pleased. Becoming a god didn't change my personality much. I just found that... after truly becoming a god, many things became boring. That's all."

"Then, can you tell me your divine name? Gods are supposed to have them." Yu Yinan held Zheng Yi tightly. "It isn't really 'Saint,' is it?"

"..." Zheng Yi paused. "I became a god through my own power, not through things like faith or incense offerings. I don't need faith, so I have no divine name, no rituals, no prayers, and no followers."

"Well, you do now." Yu Yinan's eyes sparkled. She gazed at Zheng Yi, caressed her cheek, and kissed her lips, whispering, "I am your most faithful follower... and I've even found many other followers for you. So, don't leave me behind."

"I am willing to become your subordinate god. To me, this is a gift—an intimate bond forged with you." Yu Yinan placed one light kiss after another on her. Tears welled in her eyes, but her tone was utterly resolute as she whispered, "I missed you so much."

"Zheng Yi, I love you so much."

A brilliant golden light filled Yu Yinan's vision. She looked at Zheng Yi as a profound and indescribable divine pattern appeared in her mind. Stroke by stroke, the pattern was branded into her soul, flowing with a golden radiance.

A tremendous surge of energy battered Yu Yinan's spirit, and her body began to tremble. But none of the energy spilled out; every strange phenomenon was concealed, contained within the small room. Only Zheng Yi watched her quietly.

Finally, a pale golden light swallowed everything. Yu Yinan thought she saw Zheng Yi give her a gentle smile before she fell into a deep sleep.

In her dream, her body became incredibly light and began to float naturally. She seemed to be flying, higher and higher, easily passing through the clouds and continuing her ascent.

Upward, upward... where was she going?

Yu Yinan was in a daze, her consciousness in the dream muddled and unclear. She only knew she had to keep going up, up... She seemed to cross through layer after layer of clouds, to transcend this world entirely. After reaching a certain height, she looked back and realized how poor, weak, and tiny her world was. But she didn't stop. She continued to fly upward, and she seemed to see countless different worlds—some powerful, some flourishing, many as weak as her own, and some with faint auras, as if they had not yet been truly born. Is this the myriad worlds?

In that instant, Yu Yinan seemed to have many epiphanies, but her muddled consciousness prevented her from pondering them deeply. She could only instinctively continue upward.

If an entire world was so small, so insignificant—some so tiny they couldn't even be noticed without concentrating—then how much more minuscule and inconspicuous were the living beings within it? I am just such a small, insignificant existence, Yu Yinan thought.

The dream seemed exceptionally long and exhausting. But Yu Yinan paid it no mind, stubbornly and resolutely flying upward. She was a fragile soul, too small to be seen, yet she kept climbing, ever upward, without rest.

Where was she going? Was she truly suited for such heights? What right did she have... was she worthy? Was this persistence really worth it? They were from two different worlds, as far apart as heaven and earth...

The anxiety of countless nights, the endless lonely pacing, the innumerable sobs and cries, the silent vigils until dawn... all of it flooded her heart at this moment.

In that moment, her muddled soul saw the past—saw her own childhood. She saw a life where she was never chosen, never favored. She saw herself defending herself until she was hoarse, yet no one believed her, while her younger brother could get everything just by pouting and shedding a few tears. She saw her miserable, weakened state after running away from home, saw her low self-esteem and isolation, saw how she tried to pretend her wounds didn't exist simply by avoiding everything.

She saw all her flaws and shortcomings, countless fragments flashing past. Her ascent began to slow.

But... but she had also received so much kindness!

There was her homeroom teacher's earnest advice and wholehearted help. There was the stranger who, pretending to be casual but clearly nervous, handed her a pack of tissues and a bottle of water. There was the classmate she barely knew who said during a chat, "Yu Yinan? She's so cool. It's a shame she seems hard to approach... It would be amazing to be friends with someone like that."

More and more memories she had never noticed surfaced in her mind, and the story soon arrived at the rainy night she first met Zheng Yi.

That was the beginning of it all.

Yu Yinan felt heavy, utterly exhausted, but she fought to surge upward, as if breaking through countless barriers. She gritted her teeth, stubbornly giving her all, setting her very soul ablaze. In that moment, a brilliant flame seemed to erupt from the depths of her soul, granting her endless power.

She possessed endless power!

She saw the figure above the clouds.

Those golden eyes, like a blazing sun impossible to look at directly, watched her quietly, radiating no pressure.

Then, a faint smile appeared.

Yu Yinan arrived at Her side, at her side.

She had always belonged here. She had finally arrived.

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