Working Records in a Weird World - 20

 

| WRIAWW | Saint in Shackles | 20

The guiding beam of light arrived, and everyone was teleported back to the Infinite Space.

All the lower-level survivors landed in Guanghai, while only Joshua, Qin Ye, and Shu Xingwen, who held the rights to their respective instances, were sent back to their own domains.

The instance controlled by Qin Ye was called the Imaginary Fortress, an A-level instance that had taken considerable effort to conquer in the past.

Each instance had its own unique scenery and environment, unlike the perpetually sunlit Temple instance. The Imaginary Fortress was built on the permafrost of a snow-capped mountain, where blizzards raged year-round, and the cold was bone-chilling. 

A steel-cast military fortress stood amidst the icy winds, its rigid lines defiantly resisting the harsh gales, perfectly embodying the iron-blooded and austere principles of the Watchtower Guild.

As soon as Qin Ye landed, he saw his adjutant and vice guild-leader, An Tao, running toward him.

"Guild Master, you’ve finally completed the mission!"

Seeing An Tao’s anxious expression, Qin Ye frowned, "What happened while I was away?"

"Ah, too much has happened."

An Tao quickly summarized the piled-up affairs in the most concise manner possible.

What she mentioned were only the most urgent matters, including but not limited to Qin Man getting injured during a B-level mission, with Zuo Wenxuan currently seeking healing in the Temple, and the Infinite Space recently discovering a D-level newbie who was now being fought over...

"To the Temple."

Thus, after returning from the S-level mission, Qin Ye didn’t even have a moment to rest before rushing through the teleportation array of the Imaginary Fortress to the Temple.

"Tell me in detail how Qin Man got injured."

"Alright."

But the truth was, Qin Man had provoked the trouble himself and acted inappropriately. Even though An Tao carefully explained it in a few simple words, the facts couldn’t be whitewashed, she could only made it sound slightly more nicer to listen to.

After finishing, An Tao was surprised to see a trace of weariness on her guild master’s face.

In the eyes of everyone in the Watchtower Guild, the guild master’s expression had always been one of unwavering military resolve. No matter how difficult the situation, even when the core army was nearly wiped out in the Temple instance, Qin Ye’s determination had never faltered.

But now, he seemed like any middle-aged father, covering his head with his hand, hiding the confusion and doubt behind it.

"Tell me, is there something wrong in my parenting?"

This was a question An Tao couldn’t answer, nor dared to.

Fortunately, Qin Ye didn’t seem to need her reply, as he murmured to himself, "Xiao Man’s mother passed away during childbirth, so he grew up with his grandparents. Over the years, I’ve been stationed in the military and rarely returned home. I’ve neglected his education, and out of guilt, I indulged him too much, which led to his unruly personality."

"If it were just the real world, it might have been fine. At least my influence could have protected him for life. But the Infinite Space is full with danger, where a single misstep could lead to disaster. Back then, the higher-ups only ordered me to assist Joshua, but somehow, Xiao Man ended up being brought in as well..."

Seeing that the conversation had finally reached a point where she could interject, An Tao quickly said, "Guild Master, I can't speak much on other matters, but hasn't the Infinite Space always randomly selected survivors to enter?"

"It's been said that to prevent psychological issues among survivors, the main system has blurred our past memories in advance, leaving only some important information. Even so, the time spent here has been too long. Now, I can barely remember my family's faces, the only thing I remember is that my parents are still waiting for me. For the young master to follow you in here doesn't seem like a good thing, but at least he's by your side. You can think of it as a comfort, unlike us who came here alone, with only the belief of returning home to support us."

By the end, An Tao wore a bitter smile, clearly empathizing deeply.

She wanted to say more, but unfortunately, the teleportation array had already lit up. In a flash, the endless snowy plains before them were replaced by the shimmering waves of the Aegean Sea.

Being in someone else's territory, it was obviously not appropriate to continue such conversations.

An Tao concealed the trace of sadness on her face, and Qin Ye also lowered his hand, reverting to the stern and serious image he presented to outsiders.

The two of them walked into the temple one after the other.

Under the vast sky, the crowd surged. No matter the time, there were always many people here. Many survivors, upon returning from a dungeon, would head straight to the temple. Even if they weren't injured, they would come here to see the priests or soak in some holy water for peace of mind.

The two of them were already prominent figures in the Infinite Space, key members in every dungeon raid. Coupled with their distinctive appearances and attire, they were immediately recognized by the survivors upon entering.

"Is that the 2nd?"

"It really is! What's a big shot doing here? Could he be injured?"

"Looking at how he's walking so briskly, it doesn't seem like it. There's news that the top-tier veterans teamed up for the first S-level mission in the ultimate dungeon."

Despite their admiration, no one dared to approach and greet them, only whispering among themselves as they watched the priests lead the two to a restricted area of the temple not open to the public.

As soon as they entered, Qin Ye saw Zou Wenxian looking disheveled, with a scruffy beard.

Seeing them come in, he was about to speak but was interrupted, "Go back and rest. I'll take over from here."

It was a brief sentence that was hard to discern any emotion from it.

Zuo Wenxuan's heart trembled, and he hurried to explain, "Actually, things aren't as you think."

"I know. I've already understood the entire mission process. The issue itself isn't your fault. The biggest problem is that you didn't complete the task I assigned you. You don't need to stay here, go back and accept your punishment."

"...Yes."

His heart that had been hanging high finally settled with Qin Ye's words.

The glimmer of hope in Zuo Wenxuan's eyes completely faded. Given the current situation, An Tao, who was a step behind, couldn't say much. She could only pat his shoulder in consolation and then quickly follow Qin Ye's steps.

Influenced by the guild master himself, the Watchtower Guild maintained strict discipline. After all, according to military law, only results mattered, not the process. It was an undeniable fact that Zuo Wenxuan had failed to protect Qin Man.

An Tao knew that Qin Ye didn't actually blame Zuo Wenxuan, but with such an incident, the application Zuo Wenxuan had recently submitted to join the core group within the guild would have to be put on hold for now.

Soon after dealing with Zuo Xuan, they arrived at the inner chamber of the Temple.

The priest was waiting at the door, and inside lay Qin Man, unconscious and unaware of his surroundings.

A moment later, Joshua pushed the door open and entered.

The silver-haired man was dressed in a simple, plain white morning robe, his long hair tied up, clearly having just prepared for a bath. He had returned to the infinite space at the same time as Qin Ye, and upon hearing the news, he had rushed over without delay.

"I apologize for troubling you with my son."

Seeing Joshua in this state, Qin Ye knew he had interrupted the other's rest time.

Despite his usual pride, Qin Ye felt at fault and bowed his head in apology.

"It's nothing. Guild Master Qin is an old partner of mine. It's just a small effort."

Joshua spoke lightly, not elaborating further. Golden light flickered at his fingertips as he turned to begin the examination.

An Tao and the priest stood together in the corner, playing the role of silent observers.

Of course, though she remained silent, An Tao kept watching.

As she watched, An Tao began to drift into thought.

She noticed that when Joshua removed his monocle and tied up his hair, his entire demeanor changed and suddenly become much more aggressive.

How could such a simple change in appearance cause such a dramatic shift?

Just as An Tao was pondering this, Joshua withdrew his hand.

"It's a simple little curse, it's nothing serious. As you know, curses can't be washed away by the holy water, so it just appears severe."

Qin Ye visibly relaxed: "What is the effect of this curse?"

"Just sleepiness. I suspect the weird that cast this curse isn't very strong and has limited destructive power. It can be easily removed. However—I think it might be worth considering whether to remove it at all, since there's only one more instance left before leaving the infinite space."

Joshua's words were subtle, but Qin Ye understood his meaning.

A sleep curse with no destructive power was practically tailor-made for Qin Man. Rather than worrying about the big or small troubles he might cause upon waking up, it might be better to let him lie there, so that he would not have to worry about him everyday.

"Thank you, but I need some time to think about it."

"Alright, take your time. I'll go rest now." After enjoying the struggle and pain on Qin Ye's face, Joshua waved his hand dismissively: "Let me know when you have made up your mind."

To be fair, the bait was reasonable and tempting enough. Joshua was about seventy percent sure Qin Ye would take it.

If he agreed, Qin Man would essentially become a direct leverage point for Joshua, allowing him to use Qin Man's life to control Qin Ye.

If there was anyone in the entire infinite space that Joshua was most wary of, it would undoubtedly be Qin Ye.

After all, the world is always fair. The stronger the ability, the simpler the countermeasure.

Though the Eros Code was powerful, it had a little-known bug.

That was, Joshua himself could not have any strong emotions toward other beings, or he would be controlled in return.

Fortunately, Joshua was naturally cold-hearted and indifferent.

In fact, in his special vision, he could not only discern the emotional values others held toward him but also clearly observe his own feelings toward others.

—It was a undoubtedly a sea of desert of numbers.

All values were uniformly fixed at a cold 0, neither increasing nor decreasing, neither with anything new nor extinguished, without exception.

Having spent so many years in the Infinite Space, it wasn’t as if no one had ever suspected that the 1st possessed some form of control-like ability. However, the only person who truly knew the full extent of the "Eros Code" was Qin Ye.

What’s even more ironic is that this secret was actually revealed to Qin Ye by the higher-ups before he entered the Infinite Space, as a countermeasure against him. 

This also precisely indicates that Qin Ye was not just his protector, but also a sword hanging over his head.

Joshua wished that Qin Ye would one day die mysteriously and take his secret to the grave.

Watching the silver-haired Patriarch leave with the priests, his figure disappearing behind the carved arch of the Temple, An Tao cautiously spoke up, "Guild Master, are you really considering the 1st’s suggestion?"

Qin Ye remained standing in place.

The man lowered his head, gazing at Qin Man’s sleeping face. After a long pause, he let out a low "Hmm."

From An Tao’s angle, she couldn’t clearly see his expression.

"But Guild Master, didn’t you previously tell us not to get too close to the 1st? You also said that we shouldn’t judge people solely by their appearance. With this in mind, shouldn’t we be more cautious about the 1st’s suggestion..."

"My mind is made up. This is the ultimate dungeon. I'll let Xiao Man sleep until the day we return to the real world."

Qin Ye shook his head, "Moreover, Joshua isn’t untrustworthy. On the contrary, he’s extremely trustworthy."

"He indeed has the ability to unravel the eternal nightmare of the Infinite Space and bring the survivors back to the real world. And only he possesses this ability. Not only does he have the ability, but he has—no, he must do this."

The main system blurs the survivors’ past memories, but Qin Ye, who entered through the backdoor, clearly retained some of them.

"Then why did you say not to get too close to the 1st?" An Tao was a bit confused.

"..."

After a long silence, Qin Ye slowly spoke.

"Because the higher-ups used some means to force him to save the world, which has left hatred in his heart."

Joshua is a saint in shackles.

He is far from the kind of savior who loves all beings, and within him lies the potential to destroy the world.

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TL: I don't know if it's just me but I don't like Qin Ye at all.