This Me

After seeing off "Amulet Owl" offline, Li Li walked out of the warehouse and complained to his Saintess who was guarding the door:

"Finally, they're gone."

That guy found Aer at his warehouse entrance and had the audacity to ask for quest rewards.

Fortunately, Li Li reacted quickly and brushed him off with "quest timeout."

This incident served as a reminder for Li Li. He decided to create a quest system when he had the chance, clearly defining the completion conditions and rewards for each quest, to prevent players from pestering him whenever they got an opportunity.

Putting these matters aside for the moment, Li Li examined the girl in front of him. Seeing that she wasn't injured, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked:

"You took longer to return than I expected. Did something happen?"

Aer's ears twitched.

"I followed the oracle's instructions and circled Broken Sword Valley. I didn't pay attention to the time."

Hearing this, Li Li was slightly taken aback and confirmed again, "You really circled Broken Sword Valley the entire way around?"

Aer nodded.

Although Aer spoke very little, having spent so many days together, Li Li had slowly begun to understand her way of thinking.

The original command he gave Aer was: "Go check the designated stronghold, try to be back before dawn. If you have time, you can take a stroll around Broken Sword Valley and see what threats are inside, but don't take risks. If you encounter danger, come back immediately."

At the time he said this, Li Li didn't know that the sky above Broken Sword Valley was experiencing a seemingly never-ending thunderstorm.

There was no concept of "before dawn" at all.

Those were the three [Divine Declarations] He had unleashed on Apep earlier.

It was only after observing for a long time with the eyes of "Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" that he confirmed it was the residual power of his own Divine Power.

Thinking of this, Li Li reached out, grabbed Aer's wrist, and probed her internal condition, while also not forgetting to ask:

"You weren't injured, were you?"

After being away for so long, he was worried Aer might have encountered an accident. It was always better to be cautious.

He projected his consciousness into Aer's body, starting his examination from her soul.

Within the God Banning Barrier, Li Li's authority as a god still existed, but it was strictly limited, which was why he could wield the power of [Divine Army] and [Exit Game].

It's just that His power was very weak and required "touch" to take effect.

No curse, no abnormality, and her soul seemed undamaged...

The only difference was that Aer's level had increased from Lv84 to the current Lv90, and she was stuck at the advancement.

This meant she had gained about 2000 points of Faith from this trip alone.

He just didn't know where it came from.

"It's good that you weren't injured..." Li Li released Aer's hand.

When he grabbed her, Aer still had no expression on her face, but she wrapped her fluffy tail around Li Li, pulling him close.

Li Li stroked Aer's tail, very satisfied with the soft texture.

"Did you find anything unusual in Broken Sword Valley?" he asked.

He had heard from a Little Panda keeper online before that the outer fur of a Little Panda was coarse, but the fur at the base of its tail and on its belly was soft and incredibly smooth.

Now, it seemed, at least regarding her tail, the keeper hadn't lied.

"Yes." Aer nodded blankly. "Apep's fragments were scattered everywhere. There were many, and they were very tasty. I found two pieces and accidentally ate them."

"Two pieces gave you 2000 points of Faith?" Li Li gasped.

Aer nodded and tightened her tail, completely embracing Li Li.

"I'm very hot," she said.

Aer's small face was flushed. She extended her hands, holding Li Li, and buried him in her fluffy tail.

This situation was clearly not normal.

"Then I'll see if I can help," Li Li sighed.

He was wrapped by Aer's thick, fluffy tail, his feet off the ground, and his arms held by Aer's hands. He could only close his eyes and focus his attention inside Aer.

The next moment, a faint golden light emanated from Aer's body.

Her demeanor changed abruptly. She suddenly grew two centimeters taller, and her short, ear-length hair quickly grew, reaching her shoulders.

[Name: Aer] [Race: Beast-Ear Race] [Class: Saintess of Creation] [Level: 91] [Rank: Legendary]

"You absorbed more than 2000 points of Divine Power, but you were stuck at the Lv90 advancement. The Divine Power accumulated in your body had nowhere to go, which is why you felt hot. I've already taken care of it for you."

Li Li looked at Aer, squeezed her tail, and reminded her:

"Can you put me down now?"

Hearing this, Aer twitched her ears and reluctantly set Li Li down.

Regaining his freedom, Li Li looked at his Saintess again, finding her more pleasing the more he looked.

Actually, when Aer had advanced just now, there should have been special effects.

This was a promotion to the Legendary rank!

However, this was within the range of the God Banning Barrier, where any power related to gods was restricted to the extreme.

"It's cold outside, come inside and let's chat."

Li Li took Aer's small hand and led her back into the warehouse. He spread out the delivery boxes on the floor and sat down with Aer.

"There's nothing much I want to say, really. I just want to vent a little."

Li Li sat down cross-legged and, regardless of whether Aer could understand, began to speak to himself:

"The people I summoned are completely different from what I expected. They know the future of this world and treat it like a game."

"Aer, can you understand? They are dangerous, more terrifying than any evil god."

"The ones right now are fine, but as more people are summoned in the future, there will definitely be a large number of innocent people who will die because of their actions. This is unavoidable."

"This blood debt should be on my head. I don't intend to evade it."

"But I still plan to cater to them and constantly refine the details, at least to make this world look like a game in the eyes of these people from another world."

As he spoke, Li Li took out a notebook and began writing and drawing on it:

"For example, next, I'll create a quest system for them, so I can use quest rewards to control them and make them work for me."

"Oh, and monster experience points. I'll let them know how much experience they've gained immediately after killing a monster."

"This is a very troublesome project, and I need to set it up manually, one by one."

"But I've already obtained the monster data from 'Despair Expedition OL.' This is a game from another world. It's said that the monster stats in it are exactly the same as in this world."

"I plan to find an opportunity to verify it, and I'll need your help then."

Li Li put down the notebook and took Aer's hand, saying with a serious expression:

"Ever since you summoned me, I've been thinking about what this world is and why it's like this."

"When I briefly returned to my main body to retrieve my power, I actually knew the answer, but I just didn't want to admit it."

"This world is newborn. It was born two thousand years ago, and on the brink of destruction, it chose me as its new consciousness. And because of me, it reshaped this messed-up world using a game from my memory as a template."

"No." Aer shook her head. "This world is very good. I like it very much."

Aer shuffled closer and hugged Li Li again, her tone firm:

"The world is good, and you are also good."

Li Li closed his eyes and buried his face in Aer's embrace, his expression softening considerably.

"Thank you..."

"Aer, do you know the trolley problem? A runaway trolley is heading towards two tracks. On one track, there's one person tied up, and on the other, there are five people. Do you pull the lever to change the trolley's direction, killing one person to save five?"

"To save this world, I've already pulled the lever."

"For some people, this isn't even considered a moral dilemma, because we are also tied to the track with five people."

"But lately, I've been having nightmares. I dream of the people I summoned killing all the residents of an entire city for experience points."

"I also dream of them killing you, just because you might drop beast-ear accessories."

"I think I'm afraid of them, and I'm also troubled by this moral dilemma. I'm more cowardly than I thought, Aer... The reason I'm telling you these things is because I know you are my Saintess, and you can absolutely never betray me."

"Isn't that very despicable? But I am such a despicable person."

Breaking free from Aer's gentle embrace, Li Li shook his head forcefully, as if trying to shake off the cowardice from his soul. Then, his gaze became firm:

"Alright, Aer."

"Since I've already pulled the lever, I won't let the train stop."