Black sail

Chapter 688 LXVIII. Reflecting the Heavens
Everything he said was true.

But Qili wasn't moved at all. It was just a stranger's wishful thinking, even though it was the craziest thing the man had ever done for her, bar none.

The madness was so intense that only fear was spreading.

It might even evoke a little pity: Don't you have anything more important to do?

To see someone, one must pay the price with their life.

It truly lives up to the saying, "I'd be willing to die for you."

If this is where his life ends, then his death was utterly worthless, and I could never have any goodwill towards such a person.

"Indeed, your life was on a countdown. You rushed into the inferno, not to save anything, but to find your own reflection in the madness of burning. If you were truly allowed to leave, would you be willing to do so?"

Qili spoke seriously, not believing Micah's words. She looked at the door welded shut with strange metal. If she refused, he would only have a mental breakdown and do something even more extreme.

"..."

Micah remained silent for a while, looking at Qili from beginning to end. If it were ten years ago, when he was still a minor official in Dawn Harbor, he would never have thought that such a thing would happen.

Her gaze was more captivating than any gilded compliment.

Are you looking for your own reflection?
What she said makes sense; she came to see what lies at the end of the road, at the end of desire.

This is not someone else's destination, but only your own.

That was many, many years ago.

In a kingdom by the sea, there lived a woman.

She had no other worries during her life except loving me and accepting my love.

A cold wind rose from the clouds and froze her to death in the darkness.

From the moment Micah saw Qili, his dream girl was already dead, and now she was only by her grave, where the sound of waves crashing echoed.

What I saw...

She is just a real person who, apart from her stunning beauty, has no extraordinary abilities or miracles to behold, such as a desert flower blooming or a dried-up sea springing.

He only felt a sense of wonder. As the initial shock of her beauty gradually subsided and the distortion became clear, he no longer felt that sudden burst of inspiration. It was just like any ordinary night spent wandering in a brothel, utterly boring.

An extraterrestrial once said that to pursue a woman, even if you really want to sleep with her, you must act as if you don't care. An unequal relationship cannot be called a relationship.

He transforms into the Great Law.

Micah simply can't perform that kind of maneuver.

Now he... has simply shed all pretense, reached the pinnacle of enlightenment, returned to his true self, and genuinely possesses this state of mind, without any pretense.

He took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

"Is it satisfying... more like a wish fulfilled. As you said, I was indeed searching for something, but I already know the answer, the truth behind the mystery I've been investigating. There's still half an hour left, and I want to be quiet at the finish line for a while. But that doesn't mean I'm letting you go. I'm one of the pirates in that communication. Until the deadline is over and the Emperor's attitude towards Heaven's Port is revealed, you are my hostage."

Micah stopped looking at Qili and found a chair to sit down.

But I don't regret coming here.

The "historical text" of the "river of desires" has been found.

Qili simply stood there as if being lectured, constantly scrutinizing the man who was hanging his head and lost in thought. The silence lasted for several minutes.

I don't know if it was some kind of performance or real... After doing all that crazy stuff, I just let it go so easily.

She sat in front of the vanity mirror, continuing to casually remove the accessories from her hair.

She tried her best not to provoke the madman, but she simply couldn't bear to watch any longer.

"The answer is that this is a vain obsession, a battle against a non-existent opponent. You are probably very disappointed, like the story of the princess and the soldier. If he stood for a hundred days, the princess would marry him, but the soldier left on the night of the ninety-ninth day, retaining the last bit of his self-respect."

Qili mocked.

Micah dismissed it, saying that Qili overestimated him.

“I’m actually not a very ambitious person. If I were that soldier, I would have waited a few more days to see how things went. Disappointment… it’s not really like that. Everyone can be resentful of everything around them like a mad dog, they can curse their fate and vent their dissatisfaction, but in the end, they still have to let go calmly.”

Micah replied casually.

"You haven't let go yet, have you? You're still holding me hostage."

"Please bear with me for a moment. I'll be caught as soon as I go out. After finishing the game, I'm bound to feel a little unsatisfied and want to check the developer credits and such. I'll leave when the time is up."

"What nonsense."

Qili found the meaningless remarks baffling; the "developer list" was utterly nonsensical. These idiotic statements had hit a nerve, igniting her pent-up emotions. She wasn't an ordinary woman; people of her stature always had a temper.

She knew she had some kind of brain-depressing aura; no matter how many amazing achievements she heard about men, she would become silly and say strange things after getting to know them.

"Everyone...everyone is like that. They pretend to like you a lot, do some superficial things to impress themselves, and say they'd be willing to die for you, but when it comes to actually doing it, they stammer and hesitate. It goes on and on, and it's incredibly annoying."

Don't think you're so tactless. You're the most disgusting idiot of all time. So what if you're dead? So what if your life is counting down? What does it prove? It's all meaningless and useless to me. Everyone acts like they have to accept it, but I don't need this ridiculous stuff.

Qili's voice gradually changed from anger to calm, and she was also somewhat surprised that he would say such things. Perhaps she had never encountered this situation before. He thought that the words of a dying person would carry more weight, which was incredibly foolish.

Micah was speechless. Indeed, he was truly helpless when it came to women he couldn't buy.

"Indeed, it proves nothing; everything you said is true."

I've spent my whole life dealing with women using my assets.

You are right, but not entirely right. You are indeed the ultimate projection of my desires, an obsession.

McCarten paused for a moment.

It's ridiculous... Being denied like that still breaks my defenses a bit, it's really hurtful. But maybe it's because they live in lawless areas, pirates have powerful passive skills, they regenerate health quickly, they're pure tanks.

"Moreover, it is a transcendent existence that proves that miracles do indeed exist in a hellish world."

Unfortunately, I don't know how to use anything other than my capital, so I took out all of it at once.

If you don't want it, then we'll just have to forget about it.

This is the end. There are no miracles; at the end of ideals, only the paleness of reason remains.

Micah didn't ask her to provide any services. Since she didn't want anything and wasn't satisfied with the bargaining chips, then that was the end of it. He didn't know what she was angry about.

"Let it go? You make it sound so easy, do you think you're so cool? If you really did everything you could, and you're still trapped by your obsession, can you really just let it go? That proves that this meeting wasn't that important to you."

Qili didn't believe it at all.

She had encountered too many people like this, but this one, whose name she didn't even know, was the dumbest, without a doubt.

Time is ticking by, and there's still no sign of a clue.

"You've never been to lawless areas, or even places with poor security, have you? I'm just guessing."

"so what?"

"Let me teach you a bit about the laws of Heaven's Harbor. No one is trapped. Anyone can do anything at any time and in any place. Even in Aran, even right now, you can even go out and slap the Emperor, as long as you are prepared to bear the consequences."

"Ridiculous! According to you, people locked up in prison are also free?"

"Of course, freedom comes at a price, otherwise it would be just as boring as everything else. Those people are just bearing the cost."

No one in the world is trapped; everyone is free. The only difference lies in whether one has courage or not.

Even though you're a somewhat harsh bitch, I'm sorry, I'm being honest. I'm not trapped by obsession. I believe that so-called fate and destiny are just passive attitudes towards one's emotions. Ordinary women don't matter, only you—I must pursue you at all costs…the ultimate projection of desire. Bearing the consequences is only natural.

Micah said casually.

The clamor outside grew increasingly violent. The first match of the championship battle, a clash between two halls of fame, the battle between the Divine Sword Dragon and the Demon-Eyed Mad Blade Salert, had begun.

Micah's life was slowly coming to an end.

Qili stood there, stunned.

"The first battle has begun. After the champion is determined and the coffin is opened, we can all see the interesting expressions of those important figures. They are still completely unaware of what's going on."

Micah casually remarked, also somewhat looking forward to it; the ultimate Rashomon scenario, those people's expressions must be hilarious.

Qili turned her head to the side.

It seems... this guy is actually kind of handsome, just a little bit.

"I've already said it before, since you're still here and no one's come looking for you, it means that things haven't been exposed yet."

"Now, if you disguise yourself, I can take you away from here."

Qi Li said solemnly.

"Didn't I already say that the headshots are already flying all over the world? If we try to escape now, we won't be able to leave the capital in twenty minutes. Let me take a good look at the developer credits after I finish the game."

Micah didn't understand that the two identical statements represented completely different meanings.

(End of this chapter)