After sending Amulet Owl offline, Li Li finally walked out of the warehouse and complained to his Saintess, who had been waiting outside the door:
"Finally gone."
That guy had spotted Aer at the entrance to his warehouse and still had the nerve to ask for a quest reward.
Fortunately, Li Li reacted quickly and fobbed him off with "the quest timed out."
This incident reminded Li Li that he needed to find an opportunity to create a quest system, clearly defining each quest's completion conditions and rewards so the players would not make unreasonable demands whenever they got the chance.
Setting those matters aside for now, Li Li examined the Magical Girl before him. Only after seeing that she was uninjured did he breathe a sigh of relief and ask:
"You came back later than I expected. Did something happen?"
Aer's ears twitched.
"Following the divine oracle. Circled Broken Sword Valley once. Didn't notice the time."
Li Li paused slightly before confirming again, "You really went all the way around Broken Sword Valley?"
Aer gave a quiet "Mm."
Although Aer did not speak much, after spending so many days together, Li Li had gradually come to understand the logic behind her actions.
The exact order he had given Aer was: "Go check the designated stronghold and try to return before dawn. If you have time, you can take a look around Broken Sword Valley and see what threats are in the valley. But don't take risks. Come back immediately if you encounter danger."
When Li Li had said that, he had not known that an apparently endless thunderstorm was raging in the sky outside Broken Sword Valley.
The concept of "before dawn" simply did not exist.
That was the aftermath of the three Divine Declarations he had fired at Apep earlier.
It was only after observing it for a long time through Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword's eyes that he confirmed it was the lingering power of his true body's divine might.
Thinking of this, Li Li reached out, grasped Aer's wrist, and examined the condition inside her body while asking with concern:
"So you weren't hurt?"
She had been gone for so long that he was worried she might have encountered some accident. It never hurt to be careful.
He projected his consciousness into Aer's body and began inspecting her from her soul onward.
Within the God Banning Barrier, Li Li's authority as a god still existed, though it was strictly restricted. That was why he could still wield the powers of Divine Army and Exit Game.
However, his power was extremely weak, and it only worked through "contact."
No curses, no abnormalities, and no signs of damage to her soul...
The only difference was that Aer's level had risen from Lv84 to Lv90, where she was stuck at her advancement.
In other words, she had gained at least around 2,000 points of faith on this trip.
He just did not know where it had come from.
"It's good that you weren't hurt..." Li Li released Aer's hand.
When he had grabbed her, Aer's face had remained expressionless. Yet she used her fluffy big tail to wrap around Li Li and pull him close in front of her.
Li Li stroked Aer's tail, extremely satisfied with its soft, fluffy texture.
"Then did you find anything unusual in Broken Sword Valley?" he asked.
He had once heard a Little Panda keeper online say that a Little Panda's outer fur was coarse, but the fur near the base of its tail and on its belly was soft and incredibly smooth.
Now it seemed that, at least regarding tails, the keeper had not been lying.
"Yes." Aer nodded blankly. "Apep's fragments were scattered everywhere. There were many. They were tasty. Found two pieces. Accidentally ate them."
"Two fragments gave you 2,000 points of faith?" Li Li sucked in a breath.
Aer nodded and tightened her tail, completely pulling Li Li into her embrace.
"I'm hot," she said.
Aer's little face was flushed red. She reached out with both hands, held Li Li in her arms, and buried him in her fluffy tail.
This was clearly not normal.
"Then I'll see if there's anything I can do." Li Li let out a long sigh.
Wrapped in Aer's thick, fluffy tail with his feet dangling off the ground and his arms held by her hands, he could only close his eyes and focus his attention on Aer's body.
The next moment, a faint golden glow spilled from Aer's body.
Her aura abruptly changed. She suddenly grew two centimeters taller, while her ear-length short hair rapidly lengthened to her shoulders.
Name: Aer Race: Beast-Ear Race Class: Saintess of Creation Level: 91 Rank: Legendary
"You absorbed more than 2,000 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 overheated. I've taken care of it."
Li Li looked at Aer, pinched her tail, and reminded her:
"Can you put me down now?"
At that, Aer's ears twitched. Reluctantly, she set Li Li down.
Having regained his freedom, Li Li looked over his Saintess again, finding her more pleasing to the eye no matter how he looked at her.
Actually, Aer should have had some special effects when she advanced just now.
This was an advancement to the Legendary Rank!
But they were within the God Banning Barrier's range. Any power related to gods was suppressed to the absolute limit by the God Banning Barrier.
"It's cold outside. Come inside and talk with me."
Li Li took Aer's small hand and led her back into the warehouse. He spread the cardboard boxes across the floor and sat down with Aer.
"Actually, I don't really have anything to say. I just want to vent to you."
Li Li sat cross-legged. Whether Aer understood or not, he simply continued on his own:
"The people I summoned are completely different from what I expected. They know this world's future, and they treat this place like a game."
"Aer, can you understand? They're dangerous, more terrifying than any evil god.
"These few are fine for now, but as more people are summoned in the future, many innocent people will definitely die because of their actions. That is unavoidable."
"This blood debt should be placed on my head. I do not intend to avoid that."
"But I still plan to cater to them and keep refining the details, at least making this world look like a game in the Otherworlders' eyes."
As he spoke, Li Li took out a notebook and began writing and drawing in it.
"For example, next I'll create a quest system for them. That way, I can use quest rewards to control them and make them work for me."
"Oh, and monster Experience Points, so they can immediately know how much experience they gained after killing a monster."
"It's going to be a very troublesome project. I'll need to configure everything manually, one by one."
"But I've already gotten the monster data for Despair Expedition OL. It's a game from another world, and supposedly the monsters' stats in it are exactly the same as those in this world."
"I plan to find an opportunity to verify it. When the time comes, I'll need your help."
Li Li set down the notebook, held Aer's hand, and said with a serious expression:
"Ever since you summoned me, I've been thinking about what this world is and why it became this way."
"During that brief minute when I returned to my true body and reclaimed my power, I actually learned the answer. I just didn't want to admit it."
"This world is newly born. It came into existence two thousand years ago, and on the verge of destruction, it chose me as its new consciousness. Because of me, it reshaped this damned world using a game from my memories as its template."
"No." Aer shook her head. "This world is good. I like it."
Aer shuffled closer and once again pulled Li Li into her arms, speaking with certainty:
"The world is good. You are good too."
Li Li closed his eyes and buried himself in Aer's embrace. The expression on his face eased considerably.
"Thank you..."
"Aer, do you know the trolley problem? Ahead of an unstoppable trolley are two tracks. One has one person tied to it, and the other has five. Do you pull the lever, change the trolley's direction, kill one person, and save five?"
"To save this world, I have already pulled the lever."
"For some people, it does not even count as a moral dilemma, because we are tied to the track with the five people too."
"But lately, I keep having nightmares. I dream that the people I summoned slaughter everyone in an entire city for experience."
"I also dream that they kill you just because you can drop Beast-Ear accessories."
"I think I'm afraid of them, and I'm troubled by this moral dilemma too. I'm more cowardly than I imagined, Aer... Even the reason I'm telling you these thoughts is because I know you're my Saintess and can never betray me."
"Isn't that despicable? But I'm just that kind of despicable person."
Breaking free from Aer's gentle embrace, Li Li shook his head hard, as if trying to cast off the cowardice rooted in his soul. Then his gaze became firm.
"Alright, Aer."
"Since I have already pulled the lever, I won't let the train stop."
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