Chapter 156 : It Sounds Truly Wonderful

How ironic. Cooperating with Stacy was now her only option.

A few days ago, Milly would have thought it was a joke.

But fate was cruel. From the moment she discovered the truth, she and Stacy were bound together. Stacy needed her to leave this world, and she needed Stacy’s power.

Fighting the creators alone, fighting the ones behind the Pope, was impossible. Her only solution was Stacy, the virus.

No other way.

A small joke from a heartless fate.

“Milly…”

Stacy stared at her hand, held by Milly.

She couldn’t keep up. Maybe it wasn’t Milly’s head that was the problem, but her own.

After reaching the end of the world, Milly had not only realized it was fake but had also asked her a question. As an outsider, Milly knew more than she did. The words she didn’t understand must be from the real world.

“Milly… what does NPC mean?”

Stacy finally asked. “Why the new name? And every time you say it, you add that you have nothing to say to me.”

“NPC? Created virtual characters like you are NPCs.”

“I…”

“You already know the whole world is fake. Everyone in it is a created, fake existence.”

Stacy wanted to say something, but Milly cut her off. The world was fake, and her existence was created. She, along with the world, was a false existence.

“The only thing I’m not sure about is whether you, as a virus program, are an intruder or a normal program that malfunctioned.”

Listening to Milly’s mumbling, Stacy understood her question, even if she didn’t know what a virus was.

Why had she become like this? Why had she become the Fell God?

From the moment she learned the world was fake and fell, the ones in the shadows had targeted her, trying to erase her existence. It was only by abandoning her body and faking her death that she had ended the long struggle.

As long as she didn’t show her face, her fake death would remain hidden.

But she had helped Milly too much. Although she had erased her traces, the reaction speed of those people… her fake death wouldn’t fool them for long. She had to hurry and restore her body.

Using Lillian’s body against them would be difficult.

Seeing Stacy fall silent, Milly sighed. “I told you, there’s nothing to say to an NPC. See, you’re stuck already.”

But this Stacy was unfamiliar. It was the first time she had seen her like this, completely unlike her memory. She couldn’t help but poke her cheek.

“Hey, are you stupid?”

Strange. Stacy had been staring blankly since just now. It couldn’t be that calling her an NPC had actually made her stupid, could it? Although that wouldn’t be bad. Milly only needed her power.

Stacy looked away, her gaze on the black curtain at the end of the world.

“I remembered something. The ones behind the Pope seem to be planning something.”

“Hmm?”

She hadn’t misheard. She had thought Stacy would still be hung up on the NPC issue.

“The ones behind the old fool… they’re planning something big.”

Milly looked at the crimson countdown. It was ticking faster. Since she had realized the truth, it had sped up.

They couldn’t even bother to create a new map to fool her. They just sped up the countdown. They must be short-handed too. Or maybe they thought that even if Milly knew everything, she couldn’t stop them, so they just sped up the process.

Finally, some useful information. But it wasn’t good news.

“Stacy, do you remember where he was preparing? We don’t have much time.”

The countdown was moving too fast.

Stacy nodded. Good. But Milly thought she heard a low murmur.

“Yes, not much time left…”

Milly didn’t catch what she said. It wasn’t until much later that she realized the anomaly. But that’s a story for later.

“Good. Let’s go.”

“Now?”

Milly spread her wings, ready to fly, but Stacy grabbed her hand.

“Sorry, Milly. Can you give me some time?”

Milly glanced at the countdown. Although she said time was short, it wasn’t that urgent. She could spare a little for Stacy.

She retracted her wings. Their eyes met. In the moonlight, she saw something flickering in Stacy’s eyes.

“Milly… can you tell me what the real world looks like?”

“Hmm?”

Milly hadn’t expected this question. Strange. When did she become so sentimental? Stacy seemed different tonight, as if possessed.

But it wasn’t bad. Much better than the nightmare demon in her memory.

If she had met this Stacy first, maybe those painful memories wouldn’t exist.

“Follow me.”

She grabbed Stacy’s hand and flew back to the lake.

It was a good time to organize her thoughts. Now that she knew the truth, she needed to sort out the information in her head.

The lake shimmered in the moonlight. The ripples looked no different from the real world. So realistic. No wonder she hadn’t noticed.

She sat on a rock by the lake, feeling the night wind. Milly softly described the real world. Stacy listened quietly, like a child hearing a fairy tale.

Just for tonight, let her drop everything and be a child expecting the unknown.

“It sounds… truly wonderful.”

Milly paused.

In that moment, she realized that for Stacy, everything she described was like a distant fairy tale. From the moment she was created, her world had been a pre-set, cold cage.

“Actually, it’s not that great.”

“But at least,” Stacy whispered, “at least it’s real, isn’t it?”

Milly opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of anything to say. She continued to describe the real world.

The night deepened. Milly rubbed her sleepy eyes. Was it from overusing her brain? Describing the real world and organizing her thoughts at the same time. Her eyelids grew heavy.

With a yawn, her voice faded. She closed her eyes and leaned on Stacy’s shoulder, her breathing becoming steady.

“Asleep.”

In the moonlight, Stacy pulled Milly into her arms, looking down at her sleeping face with gentle eyes.

Milly’s breathing was even and warm. Her long eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. She looked so small, so fragile, yet she carried a hope Stacy had never dared to dream of.

“I’m sorry, Milly. If only before…”

She shook her head. Some things had to wait until she woke up. And Milly probably wouldn’t accept her apology.

A bitter smile. No matter how Milly had come to this world, from now on, she would help her return to that beautiful world, instead of staying in this cold, unchanging one.

Her finger brushed Milly’s cheek. A sigh melted into the wind.

“The real world… sounds wonderful.”

The eastern sky began to whiten. Stacy gently stood up, holding Milly. The girl in her arms nuzzled against her, like a sleepy kitten.

“Good night, Milly.” A magic circle glowed beneath her feet. “Now… it’s time to meet that old man.”