Act 7 · [NEMESIS · RETRIBUTION]

Foreword:

Ideals are guiding lights.

[--Leo Tolstoy]

[Part ① - Bloodletting Church]

The five people stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Finally, Jason reluctantly took Jiang Xueming's Universal Elixir and used it to heal the bruises on his face. Then he stared wide-eyed at the button.

Meteor, standing to the side, yelled, "Hey, can you handle this? Don't play tricks!"

The waiter pouted, immediately becoming unhappy. "You're not allowed to question my good gentleman! He's very capable!"

After about ten seconds, Jason pressed the wooden button for the corresponding floor—and the elevator finally started moving.

Wen Bucai: "How did you know it was this floor?"

Jiang Xueming was also waiting for an answer, staring intently at Jason.

Jason explained patiently.

"This elevator has a total of thirty-one floors. The eighth and ninth floors should be the finance office or the boardroom. There are seven different fingerprints, with large fingers and no scars."

"The other floors are considered residential areas. The wooden buttons are covered in grease and dust, and they are used as tool sheds, warehouses, electrical rooms, and garbage disposal rooms."

"According to the organizational structure of the Nine Realms Station, members of the Skull and Bones Society would report to Zero Platform. Judging from the mechanical wear and tear on the wooden buttons, the oldest and loosest button leads to the floor of Zero Platform."

Jiang Xueming asked, "What if there was a grumpy guy who liked to pound on elevator buttons?"

"If this is a long-standing habit, it will create a large dent on the watch face." Jason's words were cut short—

--The elevator doors slowly opened.

After passing through the reception hall and restrooms, the group walked several dozen meters further before a breathtaking view unfolded, revealing a massive obsidian bridge.

Meteor excitedly tugged at Jason's sleeve. "Wow! Really?! You're amazing!"

Wen Bucai: "So talented!"

"It's just a trivial skill," Jason said, but the waiter was wagging his tail happily like a tail.

The bridge is over 60 meters wide. Jiang Xueming used a pedometer to measure its length, which is 441 meters. There are many animal footprints and tire tracks left by rubber tires along the road.

The journey was smooth and unimpeded, without encountering any enemies.

The five people continued until they reached the first landmark at Zero Platform.

It was a classical European Gothic building with flying buttresses and a tall, pointed roof.

The large golden glass windows are covered with blood-red, frenzied butterflies. On either side of the main entrance are statues: one of a knight in armor with a sword, and the other of a sage holding a stone and a staff.

At the highest inverted cross, instead of Jesus being crucified, a giant, Madness Butterfly hangs upside down.

The church is about sixteen meters high, and this butterfly takes up almost two-thirds of the entire church. Its insect mouthparts are pointed directly at the door, as if it wants to suck the brains of the person who is being given blood.

There are different roads on the left and right sides of the church. To the left is a winding mountain road that stretches for several kilometers and is accessible by car.

To the right lies a complex mine tunnel leading to the deep pit below, but all the mine carts are gone. Judging from the cigarette butts on the guard post, they had just left—it's as if they received a tip and needed to hurry, so they took all the vehicles with them.

Only the anteroom and confessional are exposed to the outside; the rest of the church is hidden within the obsidian mountain.

Its name is engraved on the white marble floor in front of the door in Hebrew.

I know Wen Bucai, and I also know Jason.

They read it aloud simultaneously.

"The Blood-Petition Church."

Jiang Xueming asked in confusion, "Is this imitating the Lingweng Church at the Nine Realms Station?"

Wen Bucai: "I'm afraid so. After all, the station giving away sticks and sapphires to passengers are real favors—the Skull and Skull and Bones Society can't just do nothing if they want to recruit. If they give in on benefits, who will be willing to risk their lives for you?"

"You're neither human nor ghost! What kind of Church of Blood is this?! Burn all the scriptures and straighten the crosses! Wipe out your entire church within three days!" Meteor stepped forward, wanting to kick open the door to see what was going on inside.

Wen Bucai caught the meteor at the right moment and casually tossed it behind him.

"Wait a minute."

Jiang Xueming caught his friend and saw Wen Bucai walking forward while taking out his backpack. He wondered, "What are you trying to do?"

Wen Bucai: "You guys actually went into this godforsaken place? Haven't you suffered enough already? My Inspiration tells me there are people inside."

Jiang Xueming observed the mountain. "There are people inside? This looks like the only entrance to Zero Platform. After receiving the stone, we immediately went to the BOSS to get the club. We should be close to our final goal. Mr. Wen Bucai, do you mean we need to take a detour? Make some other careful plans? Develop a detailed battle plan?"

"No, I have no ideas or battle plans. What's the point of planning if there are only five of us? Let's just use our best skills and fight head-on!" Wen Bucai busy rummaging through his backpack for props and finally pulled out more than twenty pieces of "playdough" that looked a lot like soap.

But Jiang Xueming recognized him at a glance.

--It's a plastic bomb.

Wen Bucai was attaching bombs to the load-bearing pillars outside the church while explaining his actions.

"You little darlings, remember this: in places like this, experienced passengers usually just use bombs to level them. A Xing is right—these weird, inhuman buildings should be blown to bits."

"Go in? Enter through this path? What if there are some hidden traps, poison arrows, or repetitive, maze-like terrain inside? Do you think I'm playing a game by Hidetaka Miyazaki? How many lives do I have?"

Jiang Xueming immediately followed. "I'll help you!"

Jason and Meteor were both dumbfounded. They thought Wen Bucai a fun-loving person, but they didn't expect him to be such a down-to-earth person, showing exceptional honesty in this kind of situation.

The waiter immediately asked, "Mr. Wen! These plastic bombs are for dealing with the Corrupted Dragon, right? You're using them now? What will you do when you're actually killing the dragon?"

Wen Bucai immediately replied, "Relax, I've seen bigger scenarios too. Besides, they learned their lesson about firearms sixteen years ago. Maybe they've become smarter and this thing won't work anymore. We need to be adaptable!"

Waiter: "That..."

"Stop talking." Wen Bucai snapped his fingers, signaling everyone to leave quickly, implying that the bomb-planting was a done deal. "Does this mean we have to retreat without weapons, bombs, or fire? Am I supposed to hide in Dragon Wing, skin it alive, and kneel before it? Am I supposed to admit defeat?"

Everyone retreated a hundred meters away.

--Judging by the weight of the plastic bomb, it could absolutely destroy any living thing within a radius of 100 meters.

[Part ② - A Sense of Ritual]

There are two rows of seats inside the Blood Offering Chapel.

The left side is reserved for sixteen cabinet ministers, clever individuals who act as intermediaries between the Skull and Bones Society and Bones Society and the outside world.

The right side is reserved for sixteen special guests, who are hunters recruited by the Skull and Bones Society from various industries.

All the seats were empty. A clever, well-informed person led the way and fled. After seeing the devastation at Bork Pass and Great Mu Yuan, they immediately escaped through another secret passage.

Only the old steward Andre and the young attendant Balu remained here; they were the Big Leader's closest henchmen and most capable subordinates.

At this moment, they remained beneath the icon of the Madness Butterfly, guarding the only path to the Cabinet, and stood before the pulpit of the Bloodletting Chapel, all to give the enemy a taste of their power—to perform the rituals with the utmost care, just like the bloodletting ceremony.

The young attendant, Balu, was only twenty years old, strong and robust. He showed his companions the guns and melee weapons he carried, ready to fight a bloody battle with the enemy. A powerful aura emanated from his body, flashing and disappearing in an instant.

The old butler Andre, looked to be in his fifties, but was actually close to seventy. The reason he was always by the Big Leader's side was because the entire building design of Zero Platform, including the water and electricity wiring, ventilation, and fire prevention, was all his doing.

Andre deserves half the credit for the fact that this den of iniquity has been able to operate to this day.

Balu changed his posture several times in front of the podium, discussing his entrance lines with the old butler.

"What should we say, Andre? How much longer do we have to wait? Are they not coming at all?"

Andre stood before the podium, his bearing impeccable and his attire magnificent, his hands resting on the Madness Butterfly Bible: "Questions must be asked one by one so that I can answer them one by one."

Balu immediately stood up straight and raised his head, but then felt that his imposing manner was not enough, and wanted to ask the most important question.

"Then tell me! How am I supposed to meet the enemy? How should I make my entrance?"

Andre: "It needs to have a sense of ritual."

Balu: "How can we create a sense of ritual?"

Andre: "I will knock down the [Holy Blood] and [Holy Communion] from the Madness Butterfly Bible, and you will cut your wrists to bleed and trigger the mechanism."

Balu exclaimed with delight, "Great! This way, the lime powder will burn along with the sulfur when it comes into contact with my blood! It'll be very easy to fool them! They'll be so scared they won't even be able to hold their guns properly!"

Andre continued, "You must proceed unhurriedly. As I continue to strike the [ritual] and [blood offering] buttons, and the lamps light up one by one—then you will fight them, fight with style, fight with unwavering determination!"

Baru exclaimed with delight, "Great! That way, my blood and sweat will fall into the sacred place, into the church, and I will be one with the Madness Butterfly!"

Andre: "If you're exhausted, use the Universal Elixir. I'll pull out the [Holy Transformation] envelope. When you open it, the gunpowder will ignite the pages, and you'll be reborn from the flames to fight them a second time. You have to use up all your bullets before you can unsheathe your blades and fangs."

Balu: "Then what are you doing?"

Andre: "I'll take care of it."

Balu: "You're just going to watch?"

Andre: "After you die, I will try to fight, to devour your flesh and blood, like a frail old wolf on the verge of death from a heart attack, fighting for my ideals. The Madness Butterfly will surely appreciate me, think highly of me, and eventually accept me."

Balu: "What about before?"

Andre: "I might fire a few shots, but I won't—if I hit you, the whole ceremony will be ruined."

Baru said dejectedly, "Are you going to use these tricks to pretend you're fighting alongside me?"

Andre: "After all, the Big Leader only says 'Charge!' instead of 'Follow me!' -- Do you have some strange illusions about our station, Balu?"

Balu shook his head. "It's just... I feel it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this."

Andre: "For the past sixteen years, I have worked for the Big Leader and built nests for the Corrupted Dragon. No one has ever come here before. This is your first time on this stage. It's normal to feel nervous, uncomfortable, and insecure."

Balu suddenly snapped back to reality.

"That's true. I never fight alongside those lowly mercenaries from the Bock Outpost. I just watch them writhe in the blood and gore, and occasionally a strange sense of pleasure rises within me. I understand it's a feeling of superiority. I am more noble and elegant than these lowly beings struggling for survival. — Thank you, Big Leader, for keeping me away from conflict, for not having to risk my life for the Abyssal Railway, and for allowing me to live a peaceful and happy life for so long."

"But don't worry." Andre's composed expression turned cunning and ruthless. "In the sixth and eighth rows—two places near the gate—I've prepared hidden traps and mechanisms. There are wire traps, animal snares, and improvised traps everywhere. The Big Leader used to forbid me from making these strange things, lest I accidentally injure the cabinet's distinguished guests. Now I can do it freely, hehehehe."

Balu: "What if they hurt me?"

Andre casually tossed him a design drawing. "Then use your brain and memorize it."

Balu caught it, held his breath and focused intently under the statue of the Madness Butterfly, and after looking at it for a long time, he still couldn't remember it; he simply didn't have the talent.

"It seems my chances of survival are slim today, Andre. I always felt that the probability of dying at your hands was much greater than dying at the hands of the enemy."

Andre said nonchalantly, "The Big Leader is only concerned with pleasing the Corrupted Dragon, and the cabinet's VIPs have fled in disarray—I've thought about it over and over, and I still don't understand why Zero Platform, which I've painstakingly built up for so long, is like a porcelain doll that shatters at the slightest touch—it's probably because of this indifference. I disregard your life, and you disregard mine. Regardless of life or death, we will eventually become Madness Butterfly. How could a race that eats human flesh and drinks human blood possibly care about the safety of [humans] themselves?"

"Forget it, I'm simple-minded, I won't think about it too much." Balu finally gave up and chose a suitable spot to stand.

Below the podium, he could see the long and redundant front avenue dozens of meters away.

He pondered it carefully, thinking to himself.

This room is so cleverly designed that if an enemy were to enter and immediately try to raise their gun, they would be unable to find their target in the darkness.

Then the lights came on one after another, and the flames closest to them contained magnesium strips that were sure to blind these people.

If necessary, I will use the microphone on the podium to throw them into a panic.

What should I say?

Let's say "Welcome!" in Spanish!

They were misled by the sound effects and couldn't find the real sound. I kicked a few more chairs away, and while they were raising their guns in defense, I secretly shot and killed one or two of them. After they fell to the ground, I walked forward—emerging from the darkness on a red carpet—and, together with the traps Andre had set up, slaughtered all these bastards.

So--

The Big Leader will return to my side!

So--

--I might continue to lie sprawled on the soft bed in the tower of Zero Platform, looking at the scenery of Bork Pass through binoculars, living a life of idleness and waiting to die.

Bring it on.

Why haven't they come yet?

As long as you appear--

--We'll greet you with two CZ805 rifle bullets.

If you dodge to the side and find a table or chair to save your life, that would be the best thing ever—I could then use my loud, clear laughter to mock your foolish ways of being trapped in bear traps and improvised escape routes.

I've already thought of my lines!

"Ideals are the guiding light! Only the bravest warriors, who forge ahead into the darkness, can stand against me!"

Balu muttered to himself, as if possessed, his mind filled with nothing but flowers and strong liquor.

Andre finally grew impatient—he had been standing in front of the podium for over an hour, pretending to be serious, and his old back was about to give out.

Balu also experiences dry eyes.

He stayed up all night in the tower the day before, just to beat the game, but he never expected this to happen the next day.

The cabinet's defenses were very weak; there were hardly any guns in the master's bedroom. The Big Leader was a suspicious and sensitive man who would not allow any dangerous or dirty things to be brought into Zero Platform.

"Why? Why aren't they here yet? My passion for [Drama] is about to die!" Balu cried out anxiously, his white tuxedo's bow tie becoming disheveled along with his restless heart. "Why aren't they here yet? Why are they so arrogant?!"

Andre remained silent, using his Inspiration to probe the things outside. Finally, he spoke—

"--Perhaps they're scared? They're leaving? I could vaguely sense someone groping and peering in outside the door."

Balu raised his head, angrily demanding, "Could it be that your clumsy mechanism gave you away and scared them away?"

Faced with the questioning, Andre became even more furious. "Impossible! The traps and mechanisms I set up are foolproof. How can you question me? I designed your room and arranged your schedule. Don't you feel how comfortable and exquisitely perfect your daily life is?"

Baru was completely baffled. "Why? Why did they run away? I don't understand! Are they a bunch of cowards? They know in their hearts, they understand—they are no match for us?"

Andre looked regretful. "Perhaps they were frightened away by the icon of the Madness Butterfly —what a pity, how perfect my stage is! How perfect you are as an actor?"

"No, no, no, they can't leave!" Balu's unease grew stronger. "If... if they leave, how will I prove my worth? How will I continue to live off the Big Leader's favor? I have to at least take some spoils back! A head? An arm? Even a finger? How can I prove my worth to the Big Leader?"

Andre gently patted his lower back. "Don't you have ideals? To recite the same scriptures and perform the same rituals as the Big Leader? You also possess soul power, so you don't need to use these mortal bodies to prove anything, do you?"

Balu shook his head, about to rush out the door. "No. I'm still very uneasy. If these enemies come in and fight to the death on the stage, that would be fine—but what if they just run away like this! And all the shameless guests come back, wanting to steal my credit, and when I go up to the altar for the sacrificial ceremony, they will surely try to harm me. The offering to the corrupt dragon will be my useless body!"

Andre wanted to say something more, "But... how should we account for the merits of the sentries at Bork Pass?"

At this very moment--

--Baru ran up two low steps and sprinted towards the gate.

In that instant, the bright firelight illuminated the contours of his rugged face.

Time seemed to slow down.

He was secretly delighted; was it the light emitted by the burning magnesium strip?

Wrong--

--How could this light be so intense, with scalding waves of heat almost lifting my legs off the ground?

Flames, carrying shards of glass, resembled a torrent of iron and gold dust. The roar of the shockwave and the man-eating tongues of fire destroyed Balu's eardrums in a fraction of a second.

No part of his body remained intact; the immense energy from the explosion tore his skin and muscles apart, then his bones turned to dust, and he was shredded into a pulp by countless charred rubble and fine glass, ultimately becoming a cloud of blood mist.

Andre was several tens of meters away from the explosion point, and he did not react at the moment the explosion occurred.

--We could only watch helplessly as billowing dust rushed towards us.

The hidden door was crushed by the immense pressure, and the shockwave sent all the hidden traps and arrows flying.

He tried to escape, but as soon as he took a step, the pre-prepared animal trap, caught in the vortex created by the pressure difference from the explosion, found Andre's leg like a tadpole looking for its mother.

Only a tenth of a second had passed when Andre froze in place, his powerful Dragon Blood body making his death process extremely slow.

Plastic explosives turned the church statues and glass into ten thousand knives, like cutting tools in a sandblasting process, stripping away all the soft material from Andre's body, instantly turning him into a skeleton, until only a riddled iron frame remained, protecting a lone metacarpal bone—a truly academic challenge for Jason Megan, a half-baked coroner, making it virtually impossible to determine the cause of death.

Even at a distance of 200 meters, Jiang Xueming could still feel the shockwaves from the explosives, causing the entire obsidian bridge to tremble. Many pieces of rock fell into the lava river.

--The explosion was louder than the roar of a corrupted dragon.

--The explosion is the swift and inevitable retribution.