I would rather betray the gods

At night, Yuzu stood silently by the iron bars of the window, seemingly lost in thought but actually conversing with the magical artifact suspended in the night sky.

Of course, this was just his monologue; the artifact remained unmoved.

The artifact is like a single star among countless others, its faint white light shining eternally.

During the lecture, he said he wanted to try to get out as soon as possible, which actually meant he wanted to try to salvage the magic weapon.

Because he was weak, he knew he was not the original soul, making it difficult for him to achieve that "original resonance" with the divine artifact.

However, in order to avert the divine punishment, he didn't know what to do and could only follow the plan devised by his subordinates.

He then recited the original owner's story in a memorized manner, referring to the person he mentioned in his "previous life" diary.

During the day, he would follow his pre-arranged plan and use his free time to travel to different areas of the planet.

On the surface, it was about building relationships with criminals from different factions to gain an advantage in public opinion, but in reality, every place they went to was carefully planned.

Those places were where he had created one battle miracle after another in his previous life, wielding divine weapons.

Now, he revisits this place as a mortal, which may awaken the long-dormant spirit within him that was frozen by the divine artifact.

But the warden was not blind to this.

Just like the information he had prepared, and always on guard against his former master vying for the artifact, he had already transformed those places that were full of memories beyond recognition, making people feel that "the days of yesterday that have abandoned me cannot be retained."

For several days in a row, the divine artifact hanging in the sky showed no change in light or movement.

This means that the artifact resonates stably only with the Warden's energy, and everything Yuzu does is in vain.

The pomelo was simply left to rot, and it spent its time by a bamboo grove and stream.

The warden, who was secretly in control of everything, gradually became smug, because the warden knew more about the artifact's past than Yuzu, and there was not a single battle related to the artifact there!

"Second Master, the showdown is in two days, why aren't you following the plan?"

Not only were the other party closely monitoring Youzi's actions, but Youzi's team behind him was as well. Banlan infiltrated again and questioned Youzi, who was giving up.

Yuzi, with her trousers rolled up, was setting up a fishing trap in the water when she looked up and saw the variegated fish. She immediately exclaimed excitedly, "You've come at the perfect time! I'll catch a big fish and grill it for you later!"

Upon hearing this, Banlan immediately became displeased, stamping her foot and saying, "With the situation so dire, how can Second Master still have the leisure to amuse himself?"

Yuzu, however, was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't reply, until she set up a perfect fishing trap in the waterway.

He excitedly pointed to a blue stone not far away and asked Banlan, "What do you think of that?"

Looking around, Banlan saw a blue stone placed in a corner of the stream, with green bamboo swaying gently in the wind on both sides. With the babbling water, it was like a little fairyland. "It's very beautiful. It must be a unique experience to sit there and cool off."

"That's absolutely right!" Yuzu immediately beamed with excitement, giving Banlan a thumbs-up to show that her answer was spot on.

As he spoke, he jogged over to Banlan, took her arm and led her to the bluestone, then gently pressed her shoulders to help her sit down.

"Second Master, what are you trying to do?" Banlan sat down with great difficulty and tried to stand up again.

At this moment, Yuzu lowered her head and said softly, "Don't move, just sit and wait for the grilled fish I'm going to make."

Banlan couldn't see his expression clearly, but from his tone, she could tell that he was deep in thought, and was not as relaxed as he appeared on the surface.

Although she didn't understand, she didn't say anything more.

Then Yuzu straightened up and looked happy again. She waited for the fish to swim into the mechanism, caught the fish, and grilled it.

When Banlan got tired of sitting, she turned to the side. Seeing this, Youzi exclaimed that her sitting posture was very artistic and repeatedly told her to stay seated and not move...

From that night onward, Yuzu stopped standing by the window.

Seven days later, the grand ceremony was held as scheduled, and the venue was packed with people.

The original intention of the grand ceremony was to showcase powerful weapons and enhance deterrence, but over time it has become a rare source of amusement in the otherwise dull lives of prisoners.

People actively participated in every step, but when it came to the most crucial moment, the "descent of the divine artifact," the warden suddenly announced that this step would be skipped this year.

Everyone was disappointed, but those who had the power to raise objections had been colluded with by the cyborgs to remain silent, leaving only whispers in the room.

At this moment, a hand suddenly rose from the dusty crowd, saying that the theme of this grand ceremony was the divine artifact, and what was the point if even the divine artifact did not appear.

It was Yuzi, because people made room for him after he spoke out.

Soon, he found himself alone in an open space, facing off against the warden on the platform.

After so many days, everyone already knows what Yuzi's true identity is.

So Yuzu no longer needed to hide it. With a single upward flick of her two fingers, she transformed into a god-like form.

Before the usual courtly pleasantries could be exchanged, Yuzu immediately began to recount her connection to the divine artifact and her purpose in coming here. She also explained that this was the very reason the warden had not revealed the artifact.

The warden did not back down because of the difference in status, and also stated his position.

The artifact has resonated with him for nearly two thousand years, which is the best proof that the artifact belongs to him. Since it is his, he does not need to obey the will of others, and you, God King, are no exception.

Arguing like this would naturally lead nowhere, so Yuzu turned around and loudly suggested in front of everyone that since everyone claimed the artifact belonged to them, why not let the artifact itself declare who it belonged to?

Yes, the artifact has a spirit, let it prove itself to everyone!

Those present unanimously expressed their approval of the proposal.

Looking at the gradually boiling crowd, the warden felt a surging wave crashing over him. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. If he didn't agree, it would be difficult to end the situation. He had no choice but to agree to the proposal.

"Didn't I tell you to greet these people properly? Why are you all joining in the commotion?"

The warden suppressed his anger, glanced sideways, and questioned the cyborg standing behind him in a low voice.

"That's right. I told my superior at the time that I would only act according to my own ideas."

The cyborg shrugged.

These days, everyone has been watching what Youzi does.

It was precisely Yuzu's humble approach that allowed him to see beyond the veil of the God King and discover the real Yuzu, someone he admired. Therefore, he had no reason to stop Yuzu.

The warden, having been tricked, glared fiercely.

But before he could react, the sky suddenly darkened.

Everyone looked up and saw dark clouds rolling in the sky, with a huge vortex slowly forming within them, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

It was Yuzu. Seeing that the warden agreed to let the artifact make its own choice, Yuzu quickly took the initiative to receive the heavenly punishment.

If the divine artifact returns, it will appear before him and remove the divine punishment.

Otherwise, without the warden's permission, even if the artifact had the will to protect him, it would be difficult for it to betray its master and reveal itself.

Immediately following, all the lightning in the vortex gathered together and condensed into a huge ball of light!

Like a bright lamp hanging in the sky, the sphere of light illuminated half the sky and also illuminated the increasingly astonished expressions of the people.

A bolt of lightning is about to strike!

People who had regained their senses quickly fled the vicinity of the pomelo, fearing they might be implicated.

In fact, the oppressive aura had already arrived, and the surrounding air had indeed become heavy and calm.

Yuzu tilted his head back, looking calmly at the enormous lightning ball that resembled a giant beast's mouth, without taking any defensive stance. This was his greatest sincerity in welcoming back the divine artifact.

It was also a huge gamble for him, because he wasn't sure if the artifact would appear.

"There's no such thing as a divine artifact that can defy divine punishment; it's just that this artifact is qualified to take your life for its own!"

His posture made the warden uncertain, but the warden knew the consequences of the artifact's appearance, so he stood on the platform and roared at him.

A life for a life? Nobody told me this!

Upon hearing this, Yuzu could no longer remain calm. She suddenly realized that the artifact's indifference was not simply a matter of coldness.

He panicked. He subconsciously started looking around for Banlan, wanting to ask Banlan if it was like this... but there was no Banlan around.

Rumble

Just then, a huge, muffled thunderclap came from the sky. It wasn't ear-piercing, but it made people's internal organs tremble. The pebbles on the ground were even shaking slightly, like an earthquake.

Immediately afterwards, a huge ball of light and sparks flew across the sky, and then a beam of incandescent lightning shot out towards the pomelo, the lightning as large as a giant dragon.

In an instant, the pressure increased exponentially, like an invisible giant wave engulfing everything, and Yuzu had no choice but to use her arms to tightly protect what was in front of her.

Suddenly he saw a crimson ray of light appear beside the dragon-like lightning, trailing a long fiery tail as it sped past the lightning and then merged with it directly in front of it.

It's a magical artifact, it's here!

But Yuzu couldn't be happy at all. First, she struggled to break free of the oppressive force, then leaped up, reaching out with one hand towards the faint red dot in the center of the lightning in front of her, while shouting hoarsely, "I'll bear my own divine punishment!"

Everything happened so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that people didn't even have time to react. They only saw the pomelo shoot into the air before their vision was filled with a blinding white light...

After the light faded, the clouds parted and the sun shone through, and people slowly recovered from their temporary blindness.

Everything was back to normal, but when they looked around, they couldn't find any trace of Yuzi, and they couldn't help but wonder if she had been annihilated in the divine punishment just now.

'Jingle Bells'

Suddenly, a pleasant sound came from above.

Then, the pomelo slowly landed back in its previous position, with a ball of light floating in front of it.

What is that?

People stared wide-eyed at the shimmering light, and after a long while, they finally saw through it and discovered that it was the divine artifact guarding the star—a beautiful little wind chime.

The reason we can't hear it is because the artifact has never been able to make a sound.

Why is it possible now? People wondered.

"All things have a spirit, and the spirit that guards this planet has always been its spirit. Now it has let go of the past and returned to the body I brought with it."

Yuzu retrieved the divine artifact from the shimmering light and answered everyone's questions.

He shook it gently and felt that it was "very heavy".

'Jingle Bells'

The wind chimes rang again, melodious and pleasant to the ear.