MTLNOVEL Chapter 201: The Truth!
In the final month, maternal love triumphed over her passion for civilization.
His wife, Hui, had red eyes and sobbed softly.
She pleaded with her husband, "I can't bear to part with our child."
"Let's... leave this place..."
...
Was this the ultimate choice?
Lu Yuan clenched his fists, his eyes bulging and his heartbeat suddenly quickening.
Was this how the Green Grass Civilization was destroyed?
Unexpected, yet somehow within the bounds of reason...
[Mommy...]
Conch called out softly, and that tiny blue light orb representing the soul flickered like a firefly.
Her emotions, like the ocean's waves, rose and fell without a touch of calm.
...
The lean man, Conch's father, Di.
He gazed into the distant sky and fell into a prolonged silence.
His eyes seemed vacant, his hands trembling, as was his body, "Hui, we cannot be the criminals of civilization..."
"Even if we take her and flee far away, we would live a life lost and overwhelmed with pain and guilt."
"We would still lose everything, and civilization would be buried with it..."
"How... how can we do such a thing?"
"Beside our daughter, we have friends and families, our parents... I... don't want to... nor can I bear to..."
"I..." Hui, pale-faced, trembled.
Looking at her husband, she touched her belly.
Two lines of clear tears streamed down from her eyes.
She spoke with difficulty, "What you said... is right."
...
[Mommy...]
Seeing this, Conch didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or to clutch at her heart.
Her sense of morality was too high; she couldn't bear the spiritual shackles of being a "civilizational criminal."
The whole situation became even more perplexing.
...
The couple sat in silence for a long, long time.
Suddenly, Di spoke, "So, we shouldn't enter the Green Grass Paradise..."
"Let's go to real Hell instead."
"In Hell, we can say sorry to her, that we aren't qualified parents."
"We... chose the greater number of people."
After a long silence, Hui dried her tears, "Okay, I'll listen to you." Experience tales with empire
...
Lu Yuan was profoundly shaken as he witnessed this scene, his breathing even seemed to stop.
The subtext of their words was that they would commit suicide—their child sacrificed for civilization.
Suicide was apparently the only way to preserve civilization and absolve themselves of guilt.
In the end, they did not choose to betray civilization.
Indeed, it was a noble act.
In the fervor of the Green Grass Civilization, there lay a subtle, unnoticed sadness.
...
And so, the day adorned with flowers and bathed in rosy light finally arrived!
Di's wife faced the day of childbirth.
As planned, the day the child was born should be the peak period for "Mind Control," and all tasks should be completed on that day.
Of Baiyu Square, beneath the White Jade-laden Opium Poppy tree, crowds packed the space,
for today, the Green Grass God would be born, and all intelligent life would enter the Virtual World.
All worldly riches now held little meaning.
They brought out all their finest foods and wines, their cups clinking in celebration, filled with laughter, anticipation, praise. The singing was ethereal, as if it were divine music reincarnated, and the dancing was light and graceful, as if performed by Fairy.
Even many Aliens were allowed to join the "Green Grass Paradise."
After all, any Alien who made it here had considerable abilities.
The birth of the Green Grass God required a vast amount of "Spirit," hence the Green Grass People didn't discriminate against Aliens.
[Sir, Sir, don't you know the Ascension Ceremony is about to begin?!]
[Stop sleeping, get up, let's enter the Green Grass Paradise.]
The girls cordially invited those powerful outsiders.
They called this plan the "Ascension Ceremony"!
As the name implies—ascend to eternal Heaven and achieve true ascension.
[Sir, you just lie quietly inside the bud, and when you next open your eyes, you'll be in the Green Grass Paradise.]
[Once we've survived the Epoch calamity, perhaps... we could return to our bodies once again.]
[Hehe~ but I think you might not want to leave... What difference is there between the real and the virtual world?]
[Those Extraordinary Artifacts will also contribute their rules.]
[Those... are our Elder team, a total of 108 people.]
The feast came to an end, and all those with Divine Skill entered structures resembling flower buds.
These functioned as hibernation tanks, capable of uploading one's consciousness, allowing the soul to enter the Green Grass Paradise.
At the same time, the Divine Skill within the soul would also be extracted.
Ordinary civilians simply had to lie down in bed and fall asleep.
Immerse in a beautiful dream, and the step of consciousness uploading would be completed, never to awaken again.
"Look, that's our High Priest... He's always so wise, under his leadership, we have never failed."
"Alright, Alien, I'm going to sleep! Let's meet in the Green Grass Paradise, I'll take you on a tour of the Green Grass Paradise~"
With the sound of a baby's cry.
The child of "Mind Control" was finally born.
Under the control of several Elders, the baby's soul was peeled from its body and temporarily sealed in a pale blue gemstone.
This gemstone was clearly an extraordinary artifact, even just observing it in the Illusion Realm brought Lu Yuan a profound sense of mystery.
The wealth and heritage of the Green Grass Civilization indeed far exceeded his imagination. There were high-level figures everywhere, a civilization of the Late Epoch was truly remarkable.
However, the closer he got to the final outcome, the more his heart pounded with dread, and his eyes bulged round with fear.
In the end, to the sound of delightful music, the Elders too turned around, bidding farewell to the less than perfect reality and entered the budding flowers.
"High Priest, please complete the final step! We will wait for you in the Green Grass Paradise."
"Mhm."
At this point, everyone's souls and self-consciousnesses had entered the virtual world of the Opium poppy tree.
Only the High Priest, Di, his wife Hui, and that one child whose soul had been stripped away remained.
These four were left lingering in the empty square.
The robots around them were still playing beautiful symphonies.
A cloud drifted overhead, blocking out the sun.
"You should enter Green Grass Paradise as well, I'm about to complete the final step of the god's birth."
The High Priest said indifferently, "After the Epoch disaster is over, you can return to reality, bear a new child, and start a brand new life."
Di spoke with sorrow, "We won't enter, High Priest."
"We'll stay here to watch you complete the final step."
The High Priest then said, "After the birth of the god, Green Grass Paradise will no longer be accessible."
"You will lose the chance to enter Green Grass Paradise, and even I will choose to enter at the last moment... You miss it now, you'll lose the opportunity."
"Yes, we won't enter... We want to stay here, to witness the birth of the god."
Di looked towards the distant sky.
His spirit had died; this world could no longer accommodate him and his wife.
This was the best ending.
The High Priest said, "The birth of the god might fail just because it lacked your spirit..."
"Please forgive our willfulness."
"The entire civilization already has so many souls, and so many Alien Race members, the total is astronomical; it won't miss our little bit."
Di, raising his head almost pleadingly, said, "We just... don't want to, we're not willing to... I'm sorry, High Priest... forgive us this once."
His wife, too, could not help but have teary eyes.
They just wanted to witness the birth of the god.
And then choose death, that's all.
But just then.
The High Priest's expression, abruptly, changed.
The face that was always wise and benevolent now appeared somewhat sullen.
His detached gaze also showed a subtle emotional fluctuation.
His tone, extremely flat: "You should enter Green Grass Paradise... Everyone has to go in, it's part of the plan."
"Without your spirit, the creation of the god might face a degree of uncertainty."
"That uncertainty could lead to ultimate failure."
Di was suddenly in extreme shock, unable to respond to him.
He felt a subtle wrongness.
The creation of the god truly wouldn't be disturbed by such a small difference.
The High Priest as he knew him, understanding and reasonable, would not possibly disagree with their request.
After all, they had given up their daughter, what more could they ask for?
Suddenly an epiphany struck him, anger surged, and he yelled, "Who are you?!"
"What are you?"
"What do you want to do?!"
This voice traveled far and wide across the expansive square.
The High Priest sneered sardonically, "Don't get excited; I'm speaking the truth."
"The creation of the god is inherently difficult; a little less spirit could indeed lead to its failure."
"Please cooperate..."
Mid-sentence, suddenly, a stroke of golden lightning flashed from his hand, striking at the couple!!
Di, the strongest Combat Master of the Green Grass Civilization.
In this moment, he displayed his fighting prowess, confronting the lightning-fast attack, his body erupted with red light, and he forcefully stepped back.
His arm was pierced by the lightning, blood spilling like a fountain.
But the fatal wound was avoided.
He protected his daughter's Soul Gem and his wife behind him, demanding once more, "Who are you really?!"
His wife, Hui, was completely bewildered at this point.
She was struck by an unspeakable shock, utterly unable to believe that such a twist had occurred at the last moment.
And what was more terrifying was that the entire Green Grass Civilization was gone!
Only the two of them remained.
Plus a child.
And an Opium poppy tree into which all the souls of the Green Grass Civilization had been poured, waiting to become a god!
"Who am I?"
"You... shouldn't know so much. Just being quietly obedient would be much better."
The High Priest grinned nastily and there was another calm silence, his eyes cold with dead silence.
The wind howled more fiercely, as if a storm was approaching.
...