They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 187 "The Fool" Rick

After Danlei heals Rick's body, it will take him a little while to wake up.

While transmitting data, Hughie held Rick very nervously, as if afraid he would fly away in the blink of an eye, and had no intention of communicating with Danlei at all.

So, out of boredom, Danlei could only rummage through Rick's memories.

Danlei was truly shocked when he looked into it.

Rick could only describe his feelings as one of long-standing resentment.

The two had never met before, yet they seemed to have a long-standing feud.

Of course, after carefully reviewing the relevant memories, Dan Lei has to admit that it would be wrong to say that he bears no responsibility for this situation.

Rick isn't a saint; he's just like any other person. He gets emotional when he encounters problems and he also wants to shift the blame.

In the original story, Rick had no one to blame but himself, so he could only take all the blame upon himself.

However, Danlei's deliberate isolation gave Rick a perfect scapegoat.

Although Danlei had no obligation to save the Rick tribe, the fact that the demon race was rampaging here at a much higher density than in other areas was indeed Danlei's fault.

So Rick did grow up, but he also harbored a lot of resentment towards Danlei. For a period of time, he blamed Danlei for all the deaths of the villagers who were killed by the demons.

However, as he grew older, Rick also realized that his hatred for Danlei was entirely misplaced.

So he stopped shifting all the blame to Danlei during his self-reflection period.

But once a negative impression has been formed, it won't be easily changed.

Then, Rick met someone who would change his life.

The two met a few days after Danlei killed Kainas.

This person is Hua Huo. Dan Lei, who plays the character she plays this time, also knows her. She is a star of the Interstellar Peace Company and is known for her friendly and sweet appearance.

Young Rick, encountering such an older woman, naturally had his hormones surging.

However, Hanabi ran into another mishap with Rick.

Because Rick's overflowing hormones were an act. Anyone with a sound mind would find it strange to encounter a clean-cut, young, and voluptuous human woman in the underground passage near the village.

Moreover, the spiritual suggestion of the fireworks was discovered by Rick, who had already awakened to protect his destiny.

So, after exchanging a few words, Rick took action to subdue the "vampire" who was trying to confuse him.

Of course, the next second, Riku was subdued by Hanabi.

Now that she'd been exposed, Hanabi stopped pretending, reverted to her original form, and said to Riku...
“Interesting, interesting. No wonder the little golden dragon has been unwilling to subdue this tribe. It turns out there is someone as interesting as you here.”

Rick remained silent after being subdued, his mind racing as he tried to find a way to turn the tide.

However, Hanabi suddenly clapped her hands and said...
"You're so dirty, like you were dug out of the ground. From now on, I'll call you Little Potato."

Little potato, remember me, my name is Firework, someone who brings you joy.

Here, Hanabi's mention of pleasure was clearly misunderstood by Rick, because when vampires suck the blood of others, they also secrete substances that make the prey feel happy and relaxed in order to reduce the prey's resistance.

So Rick immediately activated his protective power to the maximum, trying to stop Hanabi from "biting" him.

Seeing that Riku still didn't trust her, Hanabi released him and then laughed maniacally.
"Little potato, don't be nervous. I am human and I mean you no harm."

Rick still didn't trust Hanabi, but he knew that turning around and running away now was a bad idea, so he asked...
"There are too many races that can mimic human appearances. How can you prove that you are human? Besides, why should I believe that you have no ill intentions?"

Seeing this, Hanabi slowly walked to Rick's side and kept circling around him, saying...

"Proof? I am human, so why do I need proof?"

As for malice, I didn't blow you up into the sky, so where did the malice come from?

After saying that, Hanabi pulled out a Hanabi doll from somewhere, threw it aside, and instantly an explosion was heard, with rubble flying everywhere.

Rick was nearly scared to death by the fireworks. The two of them were currently in an underground cave, and if the cave collapsed, they would both die.

Of course, this is only within Rick's worldview; after all, he cannot yet imagine what it would be like for humans to survive in the universe through the power of destiny.

However, Rick now believed that Hanabi wasn't there to harm him, because the man was a madman whose mental state was clearly abnormal.

However, Hanabi also sees Rick in the same light.

Rick is adept at confusing and manipulating others, and even deceiving himself; he's a natural-born fool.

However, he had not yet awakened to his own pleasure.

In addition, this person is clearly the reason why Dan Lei treats this area specially.

Fireworks has been observing this human tribe for some time now. Everyone else is quite boring, but Rick is very interesting.

Every time Hanabi sees Rick lock himself in his room and accuse himself of causing XXX's death, she can't stop laughing.

For Hanabi, the greatest fun is turning people with a saintly complex into jokes.

So, Hanabi suddenly leaned close to Rick's ear and whispered...

"Hey little potato, let's have some fun."

I'll teach you the skills of disguise and acting, and let's turn all the other people fighting outside into a source of amusement.

For example, don't you think it's quite amusing to watch the high and mighty Dragon King of Avalon weep bitterly?

When Hanabi said that, Rick actually imagined it for a moment, and sure enough, a feeling of joy rose from the bottom of his heart.

Rick paused for a moment, then looked up and said...
"What should we do? How can we leave a scar on that high and mighty Dragon King so that he will always remember the resistance of us lowly ones?"

Seeing that Rick had taken the bait, Hanabi immediately laughed.

"First of all, the first thing is to learn to laugh with me."

The diaphragm should vibrate rapidly, followed by laughter.

What? You don't know what the diaphragm is? That's troublesome. Well then, just use your presence and give me a laugh…

The following part of this memory is all about the Fireworks Cult's Way of Pleasure and the Way of Disguise.

At this moment, Rick slowly woke up. Since he was lying on Shubi's lap, the first person he saw when he opened his eyes was Danlei, so he unconsciously said...

"Huh? I should be dead? The Dragon King of Avalon? Fireworks sent you down here too?"

Upon hearing this, Dan Lei's head immediately filled with disbelief, but he still managed to suppress the urge to punch someone (Shubi's data hadn't been fully transmitted yet) and said...

"Is this how you talk to your savior?"

Also, Hanabi was arrested and is currently being held in the city.

Moreover, I've made a copy of your memories; whatever your plans are, I can find out just by reading them.

As Danlei spoke, Shubi also stuck her head into his line of sight and said happily.
"That's great, Rick, you're alright. That's wonderful."

The moment Shubi appeared, Rick's intelligence kicked in. He immediately sat up, touched his unharmed body, and then asked Shubi uncertainly...

"My injuries were healed by the Dragon King?"

Hugh didn't go into details, but simply nodded and asked...
"Rick, check yourself again. Is there anything else that feels uncomfortable in your body?"

However, Rick was more concerned with another question at this moment, and turned directly to Danlei to ask, "Why did you save me?"

Dan Lei spoke frankly about this issue.
"This machine-like creature clung to my leg, begging me to save you, saying it was willing to give everything it had."

I agreed, in exchange for your life, she will use her memories and stored data.

Upon hearing this, Rick's face immediately darkened, and he said in disbelief...

"Memories and data... So, Shubi will forget me soon?"

Hugh Bidai Danlei answered this question directly.

"No, Shubi will never forget Rick."

The Dragon King only asked me to back up my memories and data for him; it won't damage my data.

Moreover, you were sent here by the Dragon King.

He said your body was pierced by the Skywings, and he happened to find you while tracking them.

Rick harbored deep resentment towards Danlei, but he couldn't blame Danlei for what happened today.

It was an accident that Hughie found Jibril.

Moreover, the information about Jibril was given to him by Hanabi before he went to Avalon.

The subsequent actions were temporary responses.

It's worth noting that Rick originally intended to pass the intelligence to the goblins, who would then pass it on to the Skywings.

Fortunately, Riku had kept the "original evidence" that Hanabi gave him with him, which allowed him to complete the plan.

However, although the plan was completed, the very person who was supposed to be tricked was found the next second.

The key point is that Danlei just said he read his memories and is slowly looking at them.

This would let him know his entire plan, which would be fatal.

Rick's mind started racing, trying to figure out how to get through this first and then quickly notify everyone to relocate.

Unfortunately, Danley overheard Rick and Jibril's entire conversation.

Therefore, Danlei directly used the excuse of memories to say...
"You humans are really unreasonable."

I only skimmed through your memories and discovered a great deal of resentment towards me.

It's ridiculous that you're resented just because I didn't come to save your tribe.

Rick could only remain silent in the face of Danlei's words, because Hanabi's training had not made him lose his ability to distinguish right from wrong, so he could only remain silent.

Seeing this, Dan Lei continued...
"However, the plan to falsely claim that Avalon City is manufacturing an artifact capable of instantly killing gods is quite well-designed."

Driven by the idea that they couldn't let me achieve my goal, they instigated the Skywing and Goblin races to attack my homeland directly.

"And you're pretty crazy, kid. After encountering this mecha girl, you actually wanted to use my stored magic to blast through the planet, reveal the Star Grail, and thus win the war."

Yes, Danlei has already figured out the purpose of Rick and Hanabi's collaboration.

Just like in the original story, Rick came up with the plan to blast through the planet to reveal the Star Cup.

Furthermore, he established communication between the doll that Hanabi left for him and the Hanabi herself.

It can only be said that Morgan treated Hanabi too well, failing to set up a mental and imaginary energy shield around her.

Although Danlei's shackles can continuously absorb Hanabi's life force energy, keeping the life force within his body at a low value.

However, a low value does not mean none; she can still communicate with Rick remotely by using imaginary energy to carry her mental power.

Now, through Rick's memories, Danlei has figured out the sequence of events in which Hanabi and Rick made their initial contact.

After killing Kainas, Hanabi went to the tribe where Rick lived.

Because anyone who pays attention to the actions of Danlei's forces will discover that this area is a forbidden zone for Danlei's forces.

This area now only has this human tribe and a group of roaming demons.

Then, Spark touched Rick and taught him the way of pleasure.

The teaching process shouldn't have taken long, so Rick's mental state is still relatively normal.

And indeed, Hanabi did go on to operate on another continent afterward.

However, after two years of struggling, Fireworks still hasn't found an opportunity for cooperation between the Skywing and Goblin species.

So she went back to her apprentice Rick to discuss it, and they came up with the artifact plan.

The initial idea behind Project Artifact was for Fireworks to infiltrate the city first, and while the Skywing and Goblin races were jointly attacking the city and Danlei was away fighting, Fireworks would go to the energy gathering point and release it directly into the sky.

In this way, no matter what plans Danlei has, they will go bankrupt without energy, and he can also put on a huge magical fireworks show.

But with Shubi and knowing the truth about the God Wars, Riku felt he could make use of Danlei's energy.

By channeling energy underground, we can penetrate the planet and seize the Star Cup.

Rick had even come up with a plan to infiltrate Avalon.

Rick always thought that Danlei's high and mighty gaze wouldn't notice him, an ant, so once the war started, it wasn't difficult to sneak into the city using the Fireworks Cult's techniques.

However, Rick is starting to panic. His plan has only just begun, and now the final boss knows how to break the whole plan.
Moreover, this BOSS is right in front of him now, and can kill him at any time.

As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly, and a ship in distress is met with a headwind; at this very moment, Hugh's data transmission came to an end.

Danlei has no more scruples now. If he wants to make a move, Rick and Shubi, that ill-fated couple, will have to go offline right now.

So, Rick prepared for a final struggle; he immediately prostrated himself on his knees and shouted...

"I'm so sorry! Your Majesty, if you want to vent your anger, vent it on me. Please spare Shubi; she was just used by me..."

However, before Rick could finish speaking, Dan Lei flicked his index finger, causing him to roll over on the spot and swallow all the rest of his words.

Because Danlei could have guessed what would happen next.

Rick will insist that he used Shubi, and then say some cruel things to insult Shubi, just to distance himself from her and gain a chance to survive.

However, Dan Lei really dislikes watching Qiong Yao dramas, and he especially hates this kind of scene, so he decisively interrupted and said...

"Rick, I originally thought you were quite intelligent and well-suited to lead humanity after the war."

But now, having joined the ranks of the Masked Fools, you've only learned half of what they have to offer.

You are a fool. Hughie's calculations only tell you that doing so will cause the overflow of energy to reach the standard for the manifestation of the Star Cup.

He never said that the Star Cup would appear immediately once the energy level was reached. Aren't you worried that the Star Cup won't appear after you destroy the Elf Corridor? Are you prepared to drag everyone down with you when the planet collapses?

And do you think you're the only smart person in the world? That no one else could think of this method?

I'm not afraid to tell you, the magic gathered in Avalon is for the manifestation of the Star Grail. We don't need to destroy the planet; we can just slowly accumulate the magic. Do you understand?

Here, Danlei deliberately said that the plan was useless, in order to prevent Rick from causing trouble later, since he had already been affected by Hanabi.

(End of this chapter)