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.

666You cant afford to buy any more psychosuppressants. Theres only one dose remaining. Do you want to use it now?

Lu TingIm fine. Its nothing.

666 didnt 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 Hes 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 a.s.signed. He wasnt allowed to OOC, but he hadnt been able to bear to truly hurt Xie He. Xie He himself was incredible too. Therefore, he had been able to easily pa.s.s 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 Tings true Favourability Value towards Xie He was too high.From the fourth world onwhere they had played monarch and ministerthe main system had increased the difficulty level of the capture and had sealed Lu Tings memories. It made it so that he only had access to the original hosts 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 didnt 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.

666s heart hurt terribly because he knew that Lu Tings 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 others 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 G.o.d 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 Tings 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 foursoon 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.

666Oh, he went home. He seems fine. Nothing seems wrong.

Lu TingYou 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 dont mind letting him hate me a bit more.

666But you.

k3010;Lu TingkUU1J;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 hes always wanted to break free.k3011;

If it wasnt 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 G.o.ds eyes, Xie He was nothing but a miniscule bug from an E-ranked world. By the time Xie Hes actions had become enough of a threat, Lord G.o.d 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 G.o.d. 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 G.o.d. 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 pointsthe reason Xie He got it at half price wasnt because Lord G.o.d 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 Hes 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.

666Boss, your soul has sustained too much damage.

Lu Ting had secretly hid from Lord G.o.ds 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 Tings soul caused them to inherit his love for Xie He.

But the price for this was that Lu Tings soul had grown increasingly weak. This was because the shards of his soul that had been split off could not be taken back.

Lu TingIm 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 G.o.d had wished to confuse him and suppress him with this method. Even if he doesnt 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. Its easier to get Favourability points but its also easier to fall in love.

666But he didnt 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 TingMn, I knew that he wouldnt 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 hadnt encountered 666 this time.

Xie HeBaby, did you have fun today?

444Yes. O(_)O~

Xie HeThats good.

444Host

dada

, what about you~~

Xie HeMe? Ah, I was a little disappointed today.

444( o ) Ah!This was his first time hearing Host

dada

speak in such a tone.

Xie HeBaby, come look at my treasures. ?

444

For the first time, Xie He pulled out the alb.u.m 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 alb.u.m. As soon as Xie He flipped it open, 444 made a big fuss.

444Oh my gosh, isnt this Lu Ting? He was the first host to try and capture you?!

Xie HeYes.

444@[email protected]

I didnt expect that!

Xie He looked through the alb.u.m. For the first time, he didnt smile. He didnt say it was interesting, fun, or that he liked him. He just spoke in an insipid tone. When he left, I had hated him.

444QAQ 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 HeTo 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 Hes boyfriend liked Xie Hes younger brother.

The next morning, Lu Ting had boarded a plane and disappeared.

Back then, Xie He hadnt known what hosts were. He hadnt understood why this had happened. He hadnt 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 Hes 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 pa.s.sed, 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 hadnt improved at all.

The corner of Xie Hes lips rose, revealing a mocking smile. Did Lu Ting knowhow 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 hadnt recognized him at all.

But Xie He hadnt 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 deathbut he was hesitant.

If only one of them could live, what choice should he make?

The main systems intentions had already come to light.

444Host

dada

, why arent you saying anything? ()b

Xie HeIts nothing. He wanted me to hate him, so Ill do as he wishes. ?

He had given Lu Ting the chance to come clean, to stick together. If you loved someone, you shouldnt hide things from them.But Lu Ting obviously didnt 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 gongs soul had been split. It doesnt mean that its been split between multiple worlds. It refers to a split within worlds. The supporting male leads were created with shards of Lu Tings soul. Therefore, their souls were all Lu Ting. _(:)_ He was also responsible for Xie He and the main systems deal.

There are a lot of background settings that have to be explained in this world. It seems that some angels dont quite understand them. QAQ But if I dont 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 acc.u.mulate experience points. However, because he couldnt come back to this world so hed been waiting for the main system to notice the existence of the uncapturable bug that was President Xie. He waited until the main system couldnt 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 shous 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 doesnt want to hurt President Xie and takes no joy in it. Thats preposterous.Honestly speaking, I think these comments are ridiculous. I even wonder if these commenters even read the story. Its 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 Xies 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. Hes only ever loved one person. He doesnt have a high EQ and hes not a fickle person. I dont 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 wasnt allowed to OOC. Later on, it was because his memories were sealed. It wasnt 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 dont know if everyone understands now that Ive said this. It could just be that my ability to express things is lacking. Thats why a lot of readers dont get it. I want to give everyone a delightful story but I didnt expect that there would be so much strife. I accept everyones opinions but I cant 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. Im 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 dontget where the confusion came from??? Lu Ting is as faithful as faithful gets!!! Hes 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)