After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 85 Silent Forest (9)

An Jing couldn't help but smile.

"I know."

She looked out the window at the tree, and then took one last look at the house.

“I really want to stay,” she said softly, “but I also know that this isn’t the place that truly belongs to me.”

She turned to Rose and said:

"Take me back."

Rose looked at her and nodded: "You'll regret this."

"I know I might regret today's decision when I encounter difficulties in the future."

"But that's how I think right now."

A gust of wind blew, and the sycamore tree swayed gently, its leaves falling softly.

The surrounding light seemed to be scattered by the wind, peeling away little by little. The familiar living room began to blur, the aroma of warm pork rib soup slowly receded like the tide, and the cicadas chirping in my ears became hollow and distant.

She turned around abruptly and rushed back to the living room.

Her father was carrying a bowl of soup toward her, while her mother sat at the table with a reproachful yet indulgent smile on her face: "I told you not to play on your phone, but you just wouldn't listen."

She stood there, watching all of this, her eyes slowly reddening.

She walked over step by step, as if afraid of disturbing some beautiful dream.

"Mom, Dad," she called softly.

Both of them looked up at her with familiar smiles on their faces, but said nothing.

She knew this was the final farewell.

She raised her hand and gently tugged at her mother's clothes, just like she would when she was a child: "I'm sorry."

The mother simply smiled and reached out to touch her hair.

And the next second, the world disappeared.

The intense light pierced my eyes, as if my soul was being pulled through some kind of barrier.

An Jing stumbled and suddenly appeared in the original trial area.

All around were the familiar training grounds.

She took a breath and quickly scanned her surroundings.

Youlong, Youxin, Yunji, and Dongqing were all standing not far away. Although their expressions were different, they had all clearly woken up from the illusion.

And she was the last one.

“You’re finally out,” You Xin said. “We’ve been waiting for at least ten minutes.”

"Looks like my awareness isn't as high as yours." An Jing spread his hands helplessly, smiled, and pointed to himself, "It's all my fault, I dragged everyone down."

"It's alright, it's good that you're okay." Dongqing patted his chest. "I thought you might not be able to get out."

"You guys can still laugh." Yunji rubbed his head and complained angrily, "I just inexplicably memorized two physics formulas in the illusion, it's driving me crazy."

"I...it seems like I went back to the time when my parents were still married," You Xin said softly, her voice tinged with melancholy.

At this time, a familiar voice sounded.

Rose walked out clapping his hands, still sporting an irritating expression: "Alright, you're all awake now, you humans."

He glanced at the group, then his gaze finally settled on An Jing, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

"Congratulations, you have all passed the test."

He waved.

The surrounding scenery suddenly spun violently, as if space itself had been twisted into a vortex. Before they could react, they were forcefully pushed out of the training ground by a force.

They crashed heavily onto the woodland outside, where the sunlight was still bright and the ground was slightly damp, as if everything they had just experienced was just an illusion.

But everyone looked confused and exhausted, as if they had just had an extremely vivid dream.

"So what exactly happened?" Yunji rubbed his shoulders. "Why did he arrest us?"

"A trial?" Dong Qing asked in confusion. "But what will the result be? Can someone tell me?" You Xin frowned and said, "I was pulled in for no reason and then thrown out. I really don't understand what they're trying to do."

An Jing and You Long exchanged a glance, their understanding unspoken.

Just as she was about to say something, she noticed some movement in the distance.

Meanwhile, in the space on the other side.

Rose had returned to Chichen's side, arms crossed, muttering with dissatisfaction:

"Why did you give An Jing preferential treatment? Everyone else relies on themselves, but she got to choose, and you even told her that the other world is real... You're being way too nice to her."

Chi Chen stood in the void, staring at An Jing standing there in a daze on the light screen, his eyes gentle, but his tone soft as he spoke:
"This doesn't count as using connections."

"Her choice was the most difficult."

"Everyone else thought they were experiencing a hallucination, something fake, a test of their faith. They were able to come out of it because they knew it wasn't reality."

“But An Jing, she knows it’s true.”

Chi Chen's eyes flickered slightly: "She knew she could stay and return to the life she had always dreamed of, with her parents by her side, familiar streets, smells, and a future."

"But she gave up on an unknown, dangerous, and almost hopeless goal."

Rose blinked, and after a few seconds clicked her tongue and said, "Now that you mention it, it does seem more difficult."

“Hmm.” Chi Chen’s lips curved slightly as he reached out and ruffled Rose’s hair. “So, she deserves it.”

Rose huffed and turned her head to the side: "Hmph, I admit it, I did admire her a little when she said those words."

“That was a very difficult choice,” Chi Chen said softly.

"Then stop rubbing my head!"

"Okay." Chi Chen chuckled. "You're getting more and more arrogant, Rose."

"No."

In the forest at this time.

An Jing stood there, listening to Yun Ji and Dong Qing complaining about how absurd their illusions were, while You Xin remained gloomy.

"What a strange experience," Dongqing muttered. "But it felt so real, I almost believed it..."

“Me too.” You Xin nodded. “Even knowing it’s an illusion, the feelings are too real.”

Youlong noticed that An Jing had been silent for a long time, so he walked over and asked in a low voice, "Are you alright? Did anything happen in the illusion?"

An Jing was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

She looked at the shadows of the trees in the distance, and the smell of pork rib soup and her mother's laughter seemed to linger in her ears.

She lowered her head, concealing the emotions in her eyes, and shook her head with a smile.

"nothing."

She paused.

"I almost fooled myself."

"what?"

"It's nothing." An Jing smiled, her voice so soft it seemed to drift away on the wind. "It's good that you're back."

The next moment, the earth suddenly shook violently!

The group instinctively grabbed onto a nearby tree trunk, exclaiming in surprise, "What's going on?! Not again?!"

"Is that kid up to something again?" Youlong frowned, his gaze fixed on the distance like a hawk, and immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, this time it seems really mysterious."

Boom——! !

The ground deep in the forest suddenly collapsed, and a colossal creature slowly crawled out.

Its entire body was twisted, as if it were pieced together from countless eyeballs and tentacles. It stood nearly ten meters tall, and a strange, putrid stench immediately filled the air!
"What a huge, mysterious creature!" Dongqing exclaimed in utter horror.

"They're really here!" Shinya subconsciously pulled out the prop he had brought.

(End of this chapter)