Chapter 197 - The Karmic Cycle
Translated by Eve
Edited by Serefina
5. The Karmic Cycle
Lu Ting returned home and fell onto his bed, exhausted. Shortly after, a pained expression bloomed on his face.
【666：You can’t afford to buy any more psychosuppressants. There’s only one dose remaining. Do you want to use it now?】
【Lu Ting：I’m fine. It’s nothing.】
666 didn’t say anything more. He had already gotten used to his host being like this. Actually, Lu Ting had been okay during the first two worlds. However, he had developed a terrible psychological shadow after Xie He’s death in the third world. He had been forced to watch on helplessly as the person he loved repeatedly died in front of him, each time more tragic than the last....
Lu Ting had to act according to the character settings of the roles the main system assigned. He wasn’t allowed to OOC, but he hadn’t been able to bear to truly hurt Xie He.... Xie He himself was incredible too. Therefore, he had been able to easily pass the first three worlds.
At that time, the main system had started to become suspicious of Lu Ting, who had lost three times in a row. It suspected that he had been throwing the game. It had also felt that Lu Ting’s true Favourability Value towards Xie He was too high....From the fourth world on—where they had played monarch and minister—the main system had increased the difficulty level of the capture and had sealed Lu Ting’s memories. It made it so that he only had access to the original host’s memories so that he could execute his mission perfectly. Even 666 had been separated from Lu Ting to prevent him from helping his host.
666 could only watch on helplessly as everything had happened. Lu Ting, who had lost his memories, would suffer and feel regret from having hurt his beloved after falling in love with him time and time again. He would then lose the love of his life and spend the rest of his life alone. He was essentially hurting himself. It was as if he were stuck in an endless cycle....After Xie He left each world, Lu Ting would still have to wait until he died before leaving. This was the penalty for failure set by the main system.
What 666 didn’t understand was how, even after having his memories sealed, Lu Ting was able to still fall in love with Xie He so easily every single time. His love for Xie He had likely already become an instinct engraved into his soul.
666’s heart hurt terribly because he knew that Lu Ting’s regret would only intensify after he regained his memories each time. Despite that, 666 could do nothing to stop it. He could only do everything he could to get information regarding Xie He. He would tell Lu Ting that Xie He was fine whenever the other’s memories returned.
During the first three worlds, Lu Ting had been able to endure watching his beloved leave him and lead a lonely life to the end....But in the nine worlds after that, his amnesiac self would fall in love with Xie He only to suffer and regret later. After he died, Lord God would then reinstate his memories before sealing them again. This kept repeating....Every time Lu Ting regained his memories, he would hurt even more than his amnesiac self had. It was like he was being forced to relive those painful memories while fully conscious to engrave the pain deeper into his soul. He had to watch on helplessly as he hurt the person he loved the most.
This was his punishment.
Every time Lu Ting lost to Xie He, the main system would deduct from him ten times what Xie He was awarded, until Lu Ting was left with no more experience points. That was why this was their last world.
In order to help Lu Ting feel a bit better after he regained his memories, 666 would tell him of everything he saw and heard. He would tell him what Xie He had said to 444 in an attempt to lessen Lu Ting’s self-blame and anguish. But it had been useless.
Lu Ting was the person most unwilling to hurt Xie He in this world. But he had ended up hurting Xie He time and time again.
666 silently stared at his host. Lu Ting had lost four—soon to be five— hundred thousand experience points to Xie He. He had lost his entire fortune and endured twelve painful lives. And this was the last time. He may very well lose his life this time.
The next morning, when Lu Ting woke up, the first thing he did was ask 666 how Xie He was.
【666：Oh, he went home. He seems fine. Nothing seems wrong....】
【Lu Ting：You were right yesterday. Thinking that he cares for me is just my own wishful thinking. He would never forgive me....In any case, he already hates me so much. I don’t mind letting him hate me a bit more.】
【666：But you....】
&#k3010;Lu Ting&#kUU1J;My reason for coming back was to help free him. As long as he can be freed of his fate, nothing else matters. I know that he’s always wanted to break free.&#k3011;
If it wasn’t because Xie He had a strong desire to break his shackles and thus decided not to give his heart, Lu Ting would never have made it in time.
But despite this, in Lord God’s eyes, Xie He was nothing but a miniscule bug from an E-ranked world. By the time Xie He’s actions had become enough of a threat, Lord God had wanted to erase him. Lu Ting, who had been waiting for an opportunity all this time, had taken this chance to negotiate with Lord God. He had lied, saying that he was willing to come back to capture Xie He, that he wanted to right his shameful past. He had set up a very harsh contract with Lord God. Only with that had the main system agreed to bind Xie He to a system.
Lu Ting had waited for this opportunity for a very long time. He had been worried that Xie He would refuse, because refusal would mean immediate erasure. However, Xie He had not refused. He had taken the step despite knowing that it was a trap. It was all for the sake of breaking free.
The escape medicine that cost one million experience points...the reason Xie He got it at half price wasn’t because Lord God decided to give him a discount. It was because Lu Ting had paid for half of it. He wanted to do everything he could to best Xie He’s odds. However, whatever happened in the end still depended on Xie He.
No one could help him.
Lu Ting ruffled his hair and stood up, faltering slightly as he got onto his feet.
【666：Boss, your soul has sustained too much damage.】
Lu Ting had secretly hid from Lord God’s surveillance and had split parts of his soul off, implanting them into every capturable supporting character before every world had finished building. Although these characters still had their own memories and personalities, the implanted shards of Lu Ting’s soul caused them to inherit his love for Xie He.
But the price for this was that Lu Ting’s soul had grown increasingly weak. This was because the shards of his soul that had been split off could not be taken back.
【Lu Ting：I’m fine. Actually, I had been a bit worried when I had just started doing this. On one hand, I had hoped that Xie He would be able to obtain more experience points. On the other hand, I had been worried that Xie He would fall in love. After all, Lord God had wished to confuse him and suppress him with this method. Even if he doesn’t love me, if he fell in love with a part of me, he would have still been erased. This had been a double-edged sword. It’s easier to get Favourability points but it’s also easier to fall in love.】
【666：But he didn’t fall, not even once. No matter how much they loved him, his heart was never moved. He just used them, heartlessly treating them as experience points. Just like how he treated you.】
【Lu Ting：Mn, I knew that he wouldn’t disappoint me.】
This had all started because of Lu Ting, so it was up to him to end it. It had been him who had let Xie He down in the beginning.
........................
When Xie He returned home, 444 had also just so happened to come back from hanging out. But he hadn’t encountered 666 this time.
【Xie He：Baby, did you have fun today?】
【444：Yes. O(∩_∩)O~】
【Xie He：That’s good.】
【444：Host dada, what about you~~】
【Xie He：Me? Ah, I was a little disappointed today.】
【444：( ⊙ o ⊙ ) Ah!】This was his first time hearing Host dada speak in such a tone.
【Xie He：Baby, come look at my treasures. 🙂 】
【444：......】
For the first time, Xie He pulled out the album labelled ‘1.’ 444 felt quite curious. Xie He had never pulled this one out before. Was this the first host that had come to capture Host dada?
There was only one person inside this album. As soon as Xie He flipped it open, 444 made a big fuss.
【444：Oh my gosh, isn’t this Lu Ting? He was the first host to try and capture you?!】
【Xie He：Yes.】
【444：@[email protected]】I didn’t expect that!
Xie He looked through the album. For the first time, he didn’t smile. He didn’t say it was interesting, fun, or that he liked him. He just spoke in an insipid tone. “When he left, I had hated him.”
【444：QAQ Did he do something really bad?】This was the first time he heard Host dada say that he hated someone. He felt really scared, wuwuwuwu.
【Xie He：To the me back then, it had been something terrible. He had betrayed me and then left without a word.】
Xie He closed his eyes, recalling his memories of the past.
Back then, he had only been twenty years old. It had been his birthday that day. However, when Lu Ting had come, he had brought Xie Xi with him. On that day, everyone had found out that Xie He’s boyfriend liked Xie He’s younger brother.
The next morning, Lu Ting had boarded a plane and disappeared.
Back then, Xie He hadn’t known what hosts were. He hadn’t understood why this had happened. He hadn’t understood why things had changed so abruptly. He had loved and trusted Lu Ting so much, but the other had left him.
Later on, Xie He finally understood why. Lu Ting had wanted him to hate him.
That was why he had used Xie Xi as an excuse. Even if nothing happened between them, it was still enough to cross Xie He’s bottom line. It was something he could not tolerate.
From that day on, Xie He had never been able to trust anyone easily again. He had begun to closely examine everyone who approached him, gauging their intentions and their goals....
As time passed, no one was ever able to deceive him again.
Now, Lu Ting had come back, but he was using the same old tricks....He really hadn’t improved at all.
The corner of Xie He’s lips rose, revealing a mocking smile. Did Lu Ting know...how he had felt when he had left Xie He on his own?
That was why Xie He had purposely used such measures.... He had wanted Lu Ting to understand how much it hurt to lose someone....
How much it had hurt when Xie He had been left behind.
Starting in the fourth world, the difficulty of the captures had increased. Lu Ting had a Blackening Value of 100 as soon as he appeared and he had begun to treat Xie He cruelly. At that moment, Xie He had realized that the main system had likely increased the difficulty because his completion rate had been too high....It had been like Lu Ting hadn’t recognized him at all.
But Xie He hadn’t cowered. Even if it had been hard, he had still won all the same. He had won every single round.
Right up to the present.
Xie He had used any means necessary to win. His goal was to obtain experience points as quickly as possible. He did not want to rest. Every single time, he would make Lu Ting experience the pain of losing someone he loved, the pain of being left behind. The reason for this was that he still felt a bit vindictive....
Now, the last round had come. It was time to decide their life and death...but he was hesitant.
If only one of them could live, what choice should he make?
The main system’s intentions had already come to light.
【444：Host dada, why aren’t you saying anything? (⊙﹏⊙)b】
【Xie He：It’s nothing. He wanted me to hate him, so I’ll do as he wishes. 🙂 】
He had given Lu Ting the chance to come clean, to stick together. If you loved someone, you shouldn’t hide things from them....But Lu Ting obviously didn’t understand this.
The author has something to say:
In this chapter, the main thing is to explain what it means when I said that this gong’s soul had been split. It doesn’t mean that it’s been split between multiple worlds. It refers to a split within worlds. The supporting male leads were created with shards of Lu Ting’s soul. Therefore, their souls were all Lu Ting. _(:зゝ∠)_ He was also responsible for Xie He and the main system’s deal....
There are a lot of background settings that have to be explained in this world. It seems that some angels don’t quite understand them. QAQ But if I don’t talk about it, arguments might erupt....
To put it simply, after Lu Ting left President Xie back then, he first went on lots of missions to accumulate experience points. However, because he couldn’t come back to this world so he’d been waiting for the main system to notice the existence of the uncapturable bug that was President Xie. He waited until the main system couldn’t bear Xie He anymore and wanted to erase him before making a deal with the main system. He lied to the main system, telling the main system that he could capture Xie He. Actually, this was to give Xie He a chance of escaping his fate of having to live his entire life as a capture target. The main system agreed after deciding that it was a worthwhile deal. In order to escape that world, President Xie chose to accept despite knowing it was a trap. He began to transmigrate to gain experience points.
Recently, some ladies seem to have misunderstood the plot. Some people even talk about ‘the gong did xxoo with the shou’s brother in front of him” or what not. He has never been allowed to OOC. Later on, the main system found out that Lu Ting was throwing the game on purpose and thus sealed his memories. He doesn’t want to hurt President Xie and takes no joy in it. That’s preposterous....Honestly speaking, I think these comments are ridiculous. I even wonder if these commenters even read the story. It’s because of these comments that distort the original story that people have developed extremely prejudiced views against the gong.
I really want to stress again that Lu Ting has only ever liked President Xie, just him. President Xie’s younger brother was just an excuse. Nothing happened between them at all. President Xie was the only time Lu Ting had taken on a love conquest mission. It was the only time he had ever failed a mission. In the past, he completed different kinds of missions. Later on, he continued to only do those other kinds of missions. He’s only ever loved one person. He doesn’t have a high EQ and he’s not a fickle person. I don’t understand why some people think there had been something between him and the younger brother. As for his roles in the worlds he was in with President Xie, they had all been crafted by the main system. In the beginning, he did what he did because he wasn’t allowed to OOC. Later on, it was because his memories were sealed. It wasn’t because he wanted to hurt President Xie, ah.... He transmigrated to every world with President Xie, but after President Xie left first, he would regain his memories upon leaving each world. But his memories would be once again sealed upon reaching the next world.
Ai, I don’t know if everyone understands now that I’ve said this. It could just be that my ability to express things is lacking. That’s why a lot of readers don’t get it. I want to give everyone a delightful story but I didn’t expect that there would be so much strife. I accept everyone’s opinions but I can’t stand for groundless accusations and name-calling.
Lastly, I thank all the angels who have supported me and put up with me. You have always been my treasures. I’m so grateful. I want to write this story according to my outline. Readers, you can leave or stay as you wish. I will respect your decisions.
Eve: I don’t...get where the confusion came from??? Lu Ting is as faithful as faithful gets!!! He’s such a softie. Pretty sure he hurt way more than XH hurt in those worlds, having to wake up and be blasted with memories of him hurting XH only for his memories to be sealed again.
sere: ahhh poor babyyyy (this is a theme throughout the entire arc lolll)
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