Chapter 53: The Never-Sleeping Imperial City 15

In the night sky, where the sun and moon shone together, the entire Nightless City seemed to be enveloped in a layer of black fog, and the waters of the Helplessness River changed from mercury to normal water.

Xia Qi looked around at the pedestrians and scenery on the street, feeling as if a gray, frosted glass had been placed over his eyes, making everything hazy and creating an unreal sensation.

"Isn't this black fog similar to the black smoke that emanates from the Heaven Seer's array?" Xia Qi couldn't help but say.

As night fell, the surrounding zombies transformed back into human forms, though their movements became sluggish, and their expressions were not as lively as they had been in the past few days.

Sister Hong also noticed something was amiss. After a moment of thought, she replied, "Generally speaking, entering the final battle mode means the instance is about to end."

The appearance of the sun and moon shining together had a significant impact on the zombies within the city.

Xia Qi nodded. When they were in the Rose Earl instance, they had entered a state similar to "Long Night Mode," and he was almost forced to clear it then.

"But... your grandmother..." Sister Hong hesitated for a moment before reminding Xia Qi.

Although Xia Qi's grandmother's disappearance would affect the Extinguisher's purification value, Sister Hong was more concerned about Xia Qi's mental state. Putting herself in his shoes, if Xiao Yu died in the Heaven Seer's black smoke, she might go insane on the spot.

"I will find her," Xia Qi said coldly. Not wanting to discuss his grandmother with Sister Hong, he changed the subject, "Both the Extinguishers and the Heaven Seers only have three people left."

Now, the Extinguishers were down to him, Sister Hong, and Financial Man, while the remaining three Heaven Seers were Cha Gong, Scarface, and the Array Holder from two days ago.

"We need to find Financial Man quickly. If he's done anything despicable, don't blame me for killing him and using him to gain purification value!" Sister Hong gritted her teeth, clearly still disturbed by the actions of the white-faced human trafficker.

From the "mother" that the white-faced man had transformed into, it was evident that he mostly trafficked innocent women who were not in poor conditions.

These women were sold by the white-faced man to old men or disabled men in the mountains, leading lives of darkness, constantly subjected to beatings and sexual abuse. And that wasn't all; these women were also forced to bear sons for them.

The reason these women appeared in the Nightless City instance was because they were already dead—whether by suicide or murder was unknown.

Thinking about this, Sister Hong felt some regret: "We let him die too easily just now."

He should have been whipped seventy or eighty times before being strangled to death for it to be satisfying.

Xia Qi didn't comment much on how the white-faced man died. He planned to find Financial Man first and secure the purification value for the Extinguishers.

The two walked towards the Helplessness River, hoping to find Financial Man selling watermelons.

Unexpectedly, as they crossed a street, they heard Financial Man's familiar cry: "Anyone want to buy my watermelons? Please save the child..."

Xia Qi: "..."

After selling watermelons in Nightless City for several days, Financial Man's promotional slogans had become increasingly varied, showing his marketing talent.

Sister Hong strode up to Financial Man, glancing at the boy lying next to him, and asked bluntly, "Do you remember who you are?"

Financial Man was still wearing his old white vest, which seemed to have never been changed, with yellow stains at the corners.

He stared blankly at her and asked, "Dear customer... do you want to buy a watermelon?"

"Buy your head!" Sister Hong roared, becoming agitated again.

Seeing that Sister Hong was about to fight, Xia Qi coughed lightly and interrupted, saying, "Let me ask."

Sister Hong pursed her lips, glanced at Xia Qi, and stepped aside.

Due to having just killed the white-faced human trafficker, her emotions were unstable. She knew that playing with emotions could affect her thinking, so she decided to calm down and leave the rest to a reliable teammate.

"Is this your brother? What illness does he have?" Xia Qi squatted down, pointing to the boy lying next to the watermelon stand, and said, "Answer my questions, and I'll buy your watermelon."

"Sure." Seeing that Xia Qi was willing to buy a watermelon, Financial Man's expression improved. "My brother has tuberculosis. We can't afford treatment, so we're selling watermelons..."

Tuberculosis? Selling watermelons?

Xia Qi frowned and asked, "Do you mind if I take a look at him?"

"Sure." Financial Man was generous with customers.

Xia Qi approached the boy lying next to the watermelon stand and began examining him.

The boy was very thin, around thirteen or fourteen years old, with dark circles under his eyes, looking sickly.

"Do you have any other family members? Are they still alive?" This time, Xia Qi addressed the boy lying on the ground.

Hearing someone speak, the boy slowly opened his eyes. Unlike when he was asleep, his eyes were pitch-black, devoid of light, and looked at people in a chilling manner, making one feel uneasy.

"Yes." The boy smiled slowly. At his age, he should have been full of vitality, but due to long-term illness, his smile was exhausted. "But they are also sick."

Xia Qi slowly narrowed his eyes, meeting the boy's gaze. "Feeling sick isn't good, especially when you can't afford treatment."

"What do you mean?" The boy's expression suddenly turned cold. He reached out with his thin hand, grabbing Xia Qi's wrist tightly and asked in a hoarse voice that didn't match his age, "What do you want?"

Feeling an inhuman strength from the boy's grip, Xia Qi shook off his hand.

Xia Qi walked back to Financial Man, grabbed his dirty vest, and pulled him up, saying, "Confess. Did you cheat them out of money before?"

"What are you talking about?" Financial Man looked at him in confusion. "If you're not buying my watermelon, you shouldn't say such things."

Based on the white-faced man's previous reaction, Xia Qi knew that Financial Man was fully aware of his actions and was hiding behind his role-playing to avoid ghostly retribution.

After all, the fate of the old man was a warning. Those who failed to play their roles perfectly met their deaths.

Xia Qi exchanged a glance with Sister Hong and said, "Feed him watermelon."

Seeing Xia Qi and Sister Hong move, the boy suddenly got up from the ground, looking at them coldly.

"Haha, okay." Sister Hong laughed and picked up the watermelon knife, slicing open the watermelon.

With a "snap," the watermelon made a sound like flesh being cut, and fresh red juice started flowing out, filling the air with a bloody smell.

Sister Hong sneered, using both hands to split the watermelon in two.

Inside the watermelon was not the expected red flesh but a white, flowing substance that looked eerily similar to brain matter.

"Wow, the flesh of this watermelon is white. What an unusual watermelon you have!"

Seeing the contents of his watermelon, the Financial Man's face turned pale with fear. "H-How can this watermelon be like this..."

Sister Hong, clearly addicted to feeding people, scooped up a handful of the white and red mush and turned towards the Financial Man, smiling sweetly. "Come on, let Sister feed you some watermelon."

"N-No, don't..." The Financial Man stared at the bloody mess in Sister Hong's hand, his face filled with terror, shaking his head vigorously.

Xia Qi had one hand on the Financial Man's shoulder. At that moment, he heard a rustling sound behind him, as if something was approaching.

Xia Qi swiftly drew his trident, without even turning his head, and thrust it backward forcefully.

"Aah!" A strange scream came from behind him; the boy seemed to have been injured by Xia Qi.

Xia Qi turned around to look at the person behind him.

The boy stood there, glaring at him with resentment. His hands had transformed into pitch-black claws, and the right claw bore a large hole punctured by the trident, smoke rising from the wound.

"W-Who are you people!" the boy growled viciously.

"The ones here to enlighten you." Xia Qi looked at him coldly, then turned his trident, pointing it at the Financial Man's throat. "Do you refuse enlightenment?"

"Hahaha." The boy let out a hoarse laugh, covering his smoking hand while slowly retreating. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

From the current situation, this zombie boy was clearly more troublesome than the parents of the pale-faced man. He didn't seem to care whether the Financial Man would die, only that he would suffer immensely.

Sister Hong also frowned, feeling her right hand start to itch again.

It seemed they couldn't kill the Financial Man just yet.

"Let's take them back first," Xia Qi said, exchanging a glance with Sister Hong. They decided to bring the human and the zombie back for further study on how to enlighten the zombie boy.

While binding the human and the zombie, the zombie boy tried to escape but was whipped down by Sister Hong and tied up with ghost-restraining ropes.

After securely binding the Financial Man and the boy, they prepared to transport them to Night Emperor's territory.

As they approached the palace gates, several explosions echoed from within Nightless City.

"The Celestial Agents are killing zombies again!"

They turned to see thick smoke rising near the Helplessness River.

"Ding! Celestial Agent Enlightenment Value: +5, Total Enlightenment Value: 305."

"Ding! Celestial Agent Enlightenment Value: +5, Total Enlightenment Value: 310."

"Ding! Celestial Agent Enlightenment Value: +5, Total Enlightenment Value: 315."

After entering the final battle mode, it seemed the Light Extinguishers could hear the Celestial Agents' progress updates, likely to ensure both sides were working hard.

However, the Celestial Agents' "+5" enlightenment value per zombie killed was lower than that of the Light Extinguishers.

This difference was due to their roles and rules. The Celestial Agents had weapons capable of mass-killing zombies, so each zombie killed only added 5 points to their enlightenment value. In contrast, the Light Extinguishers, who followed a role-playing approach, gained 100 points for each task completed.

"These guys are fast!" Sister Hong gritted her teeth, glaring at the distant smoke, and kicked the Financial Man angrily. "Keep pretending, bastard! I'll kill you today!"

"Waaah, I'm just a melon farmer. Why are you doing this to me?" The Financial Man started crying again, refusing to admit his crimes.

Xia Qi and Sister Hong dragged the Financial Man and the zombie boy, throwing them into a side hall of the palace. Worried they might escape, Xia Qi brought eight paper figure drivers to stand guard.

"So, what do we do next?" Xia Qi asked.

Dealing with the Financial Man was inevitable, but in the long run, they needed to handle Xiao Yu and Xia Qi's grandmother.

Upon hearing this, Sister Hong's expression changed, and her voice lowered. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it..."

Xia Qi remained silent for a moment before saying, "Don't force yourself."

Sister Hong did not yet know that Xiao Yu was her real daughter. If she ever found out, would she still be able to handle her?

"What about you... what will you do?" Sister Hong asked, frowning.

Compared to Xiao Yu, Xia Qi's grandmother was clearly a good person, presenting the same challenge: how to enlighten a good person.

Of course, the most pressing issue was that Xia Qi's grandmother had vanished.

Xia Qi pursed his lips. "I'll go find Night Emperor."

With that, he turned and headed towards Night Emperor's quarters.

Watching Xia Qi's back, Sister Hong seemed to understand his intentions and paused, then said, "If you don't want to, don't force yourself. We can always kill all the Celestial Agents and pass the level..."

Xia Qi stopped, turning back to her. "Thank you."

He did not hesitate.

Entering Night Emperor's quarters, Xia Qi found Night Emperor absent. After searching the area, he finally spotted Night Emperor drinking under the moonlight on the rooftop.

Bathed in the beautiful moonlight, Night Emperor sat on the edge of the roof, a golden dragon-scaled belt accentuating his lean waist. One leg rested on the tiles, the other extended downward, making his legs appear exceptionally long. Holding a wine cup, the black sleeves with gold trim fluttered in the breeze, giving him an elegant and regal demeanor. As he sipped his wine, his graceful movements exuded imperial charm, earning admiration even from Xia Qi.

When Xia Qi climbed up, Night Emperor turned his head and gave him a slight smile: "My Moon God, the sun and moon tonight are very beautiful."

Xia Qi sat down beside him, without any hesitation, and said seriously: "Let's have our wedding tomorrow."

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Night Emperor was momentarily stunned; the wine glass in his hand trembled, accidentally spilling a few drops.

"I said, let's have our wedding tomorrow," Xia Qi glanced at him sideways.

What's wrong with this person? Isn't this what he has always been looking forward to?

Even when he has spoken up, why hasn't he responded for so long!

Just as Xia Qi finished speaking, in the blink of an eye, Night Emperor vanished from his side.

As Xia Qi wondered where he had gone, there was a "clatter" sound from under the eaves, as if something had hit the tiles on the ground.

Xia Qi: "..."

Did Night Emperor... just fall down directly?

Author's Note: Author: They say you want to start a palace intrigue scenario next.

Someone: What palace intrigue?

Author: It's that kind of scenario where you're the emperor, surrounded by many beautiful concubines vying for your attention, and every night you can choose one...

Someone: No, no, don't make things up! My Qi, my heart only has room for you!