Johnny crawled up from the ground and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, cautiously walked to the elevator door.
He reached out to press the button, but before his fingertips could touch it, the floor indicator light ca on, starting from 28 and counting down, 27, 26, 25...
Behind him, the hotel’s waitstaff bustled about, guests at the entrance enjoyed their drinks and books, and so just strolled around; appropriately soothing music made the lobby seem particularly leisurely, and the air even carried a faint scent of flowers.
Johnny was still surveying the hall when, with a ding, the elevator doors slowly opened in front of him.
Looking at the empty carriage, then down at his feet, he hesitated.
To step in with his left foot would an submission. Johnny loathed nothing more than to be threatened by others in his life—if he listened to Wei Tianyang now, it would be disrespectful to himself. In the past few decades, scarcely anyone had dared to threaten him, and those who did were dealt with by him.
But if he stepped in with his right foot, he would certainly die. Were it anyone else, he wouldn’t be considering so carefully, but with Wei Tianyang, he didn’t want to take the risk. He knew that the Superman waiting for him on the 28th floor would surely decapitate him.
Sweat beaded on Johnny’s forehead. Today, he could only choose between humiliating himself or ensuring his demise.
He stepped in with his left foot.
Wei Tianyang was the god he chose, the one he wanted to burn this world to the ground for, and thinking of this made Johnny feel slightly better.
The elevator took him to the 28th floor, where a little girl stood at the doorway, looking at him curiously.
"I’m here to see, your master," Johnny said.
"Call Starbucks," Starbucks said.
"That’s the na of a coffee chain," Johnny said.
"Now, it’s also my na," Starbucks responded with a hint of pride.
"He must have... conquered you, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be smiling like a little whore. Tell , how much of his essence have you drunk? How does he play with you?" Johnny said with a laugh.
Starbucks slapped him across the face, then glared at him, fuming.
Johnny touched his cheek and said, "This hand of yours, it can stay on your body for at most another 30 minutes."
"You are a bit too confident, Mr. Johnny," Starbucks said.
"Just wait and see, soon, even your great boss will kneel down and beg ," Johnny said.
"This way, Mr. Johnny, I don’t think your eting will last long, after that... I’ll co back and clean up," Starbucks said.
"Clean up?" Johnny said.
"Follow ," Starbucks said without any explanation.
The two proceeded, one in front of the other, to the door of an empty room.
Starbucks knocked on the door, but Johnny twisted open the door and went straight inside.
Wei Tianyang was sitting behind a table, leaning against a window, flipping through a thick book.
Using the heel of his foot, Johnny closed the door behind him, surveyed the room, which was empty, save for a table and a stool, both of which were claid by Wei Tianyang.
He slid his sunglasses down a bit and saw the title of the book in Wei Tianyang’s hands: "Ulysses."
"You’ll just have stand?" Johnny said.
"If you prefer, sitting on the floor is also an option," Wei Tianyang said without taking his eyes off the page.
Johnny chuckled and plopped down on the floor.
"I’ll make you a bet, Wei Tianyang. By the ti you’ve listened to this recording, you’ll be kneeling in front of , begging," Johnny said.
"Speak," Wei Tianyang said.
Johnny pulled out his phone, brought up a recording, and then placed the phone on the floor.
The phone emitted the voices of a woman and a man in conversation.
"Your son’s na is Wei Tianyang, right?"
"What do you want? I’m already dead."
"Sotis, even the dead can be of use. You’re bound here, fully aware of his whereabouts, yet unable to follow him. That must feel terrible, right?"
"He can take care of himself..."
"Not many people in this world can communicate with the dead. I am your only chance. I can take you to see your son. He will be able to see you, I know it."
"I won’t be your hostage. I know what you’re plotting."
"That’s not for you to decide. The organization calls the Netherworld King for a reason."
"What are you going to do..."
"The deceased can’t always maintain their state indefinitely. Your attachnt is to see him one more ti, and that’s why you have beco a ghost. But with enough ti, even you will gradually dissipate. We an no harm to Wei Tianyang; in fact, we can’t really do anything to him. It’s just... as the deity we’ve chosen, he seems to have strayed a bit from our expectations."
"Your expectations?"
"The world hasn’t been burnt to ashes yet. That is the problem."
"You’re a bunch of lunatics."
"No, we are saving the world. Look at your and your son’s lives, and rember your own death. This world is already rotten to the core. To thoroughly eradicate the rot, only fire will do. He is the fire."
"My son is a warm child, like the sun. He is a good person. He won’t do such callous things."
"You have no idea what he has beco now. Co with , ma’am, I’ll take you to see your son. Help us persuade him properly."
"What if I refuse..."
"I am the Netherworld King. I command the fates of all the deceased. You are already dead, and I gave you a second chance. If you refuse , it’s like refusing yourself. Souls without use are not permitted to remain in this world..."
"I... I’ll go with you..."
The recording ended, and Johnny, with a confident look on his face, pocketed the phone and lay directly on the floor.
"Say sothing. I know you hate right now, and it hurts. But as the Netherworld King said, I chose you to be the god of this world. However, you haven’t acted as I had envisioned these past few years."
As he spoke, Johnny sat up. He saw Wei Tianyang looking out the window, which had sohow been opened, letting a warm breeze blow in.
"You haven’t played the part of a hero, nor have you unleashed your anger on this miserable world... I built a stage for you, yet you ignored it," Johnny said.
"The wars you’ve stirred up around the world these past few years, were they for ?" Wei Tianyang asked.
"The whole world has been shaped into your private playground. Yet what have you done? You’ve done nothing!" Johnny shouted at him.
"Keep it down, Johnny. There are children napping next door," Wei Tianyang said.
"If you still want to see your mother, Wei Tianyang, then you’d better obediently listen and play the character I want you to be. Otherwise, I’ll let the Netherworld King hand your mother over to that bunch of WWII dead soldiers. They haven’t touched a woman in 200 years, I bet your mom could be quite the entertainer for them~" Johnny said with a laugh.
"Keep it down... Johnny, you better find sothing to bite down on," Wei Tianyang said.
"Didn’t you get what I just said?" Johnny said.
At that mont, a bloody head flew in from the window and thudded onto the floor, rolling to a stop next to Johnny’s hand, the neck stump still connected to a piece of spinal column.
Johnny looked down and inhaled sharply.
It was the Netherworld King’s head.
Reviews
All reviews (0)