Chapter 289 The Instigator, the Truth and Edward

In the previous "cycles", Xia En always thought that the white light that flooded his vision and body was a sign of the "reset" of this space.

It's like the cutscene when you die in a game.

But now that I think about it carefully, I find that the white light seems to be composed of a violent secret force.

Moreover, each time the white light appears, there is a subtle difference.

In the first cycle, the white light appeared the latest. It was not until the [Diamond Star] was mostly submerged that it belatedly emerged.

After several cycles, the time when the white light appears has been advanced.

Sometimes not long after hitting the iceberg, white light appears.

This was obviously influenced by Operation Shane.

"Wait, isn't that actually white light, but... a man-made explosion?"

"Or, some kind of powerful spell?"

Xia En frowned and thought to himself: "And those people who want to destroy the [Diamond Star] should have noticed my actions."

"They were worried that something might change later, so they advanced their plans?"

Although this was just Shane's guess, the information collected during these "loops" made him firm up his idea.

It was true that Xia En had mistaken the goal of breaking the game before.

The "recyclable" process itself is not without value.

"So, if you want to prevent the sinking of the [Diamond Star], the key is to find the source of this big explosion..."

Shane immediately thought of the muffled sound coming from the cabin.

If you find the place where the muffled noise came from, you might be able to follow the clues and catch the culprit who caused the sinking of the [Diamond Star].

After clarifying his thoughts, Xia En first spent some time to wake up the confused Joey and help her understand her identity.

Then, he put his hand on the wall inside the room.

In the last "loop," Shane had rediscovered his connection to the ship.

And with the "reset" of time, this connection has not been broken.

Xia En guessed that this was because the bond between him and the [Diamond Star] originated from the depths of his soul, and naturally could not be easily erased.

Touching the wall of the cabin, Shane could vaguely perceive some scenes inside the ship.

On a large ship like the Diamond Star, the space inside the cabin is intricate.

If I had to find my own way, I don't know how much time would be wasted.

This is because Xia En's control on the [Diamond Star] is not perfect enough, so he needs to use this stupid method.

——If he is on the [Black Swan], his perception is all over the entire ship, and he can even determine the position where every wave hits the hull.

Not long after.

Xia En's eyes were fixed on the lower cabin, an area near the power room.

There is no other reason.

An unusual number of people gathered in this area.

Among them were many mysterious people with good auras, who seemed to be holding a secret gathering.

Just such a gathering itself seems very suspicious.

Especially when the [Diamond Star] is about to encounter disaster, it is difficult not to doubt whether these people gathered for any special purpose.

After discovering the suspicious target, Shane did not hesitate and took Joey directly towards the lower cabin.

Xia En, who had made contact with the Diamond Star, had a clear view of the surrounding routes as if he had turned on the full map.

Less than five minutes.

Xia En and the two came to the vicinity of the gathering area.

The lower cabin of the [Diamond Star] is very spacious. In addition to the crew's accommodation, there is also a spacious storage hall.

Don’t forget, this ship was originally designed to escape the floods that swept the world.

Being able to provide the daily necessities of so many crew members, the storage hall of the [Diamond Star] is naturally incredibly large.

At this time, the location of this secret gathering was in one of the empty storage halls.

Tap tap tap...

Before Xia En entered the hall, there was a sound of footsteps beside him.

Walking from the corridor were two young sailors.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, still just a teenager.

However, they were sallow and thin, and their clothes were in tatters, carrying a lot of dirt and dust. There were wounds that looked like whip marks on their unkempt faces.

Xia En's eyes narrowed slightly and he guessed the identities of these two teenagers.

Obviously, they are what Luther called "the little bastards among the untouchables."

They are the civilians living on the lower level of the ship.

However, judging from the appearance of the two teenagers, it is obvious that the living conditions of the civilians in the lower cabin are not very good.

Not only did they not have enough food and water, but they also seemed to have suffered a certain degree of abuse.

But to be honest, Shane wasn't surprised by this.

In the Age of Discovery, the lives of lower-level sailors were indeed not too precious, let alone protecting their human rights.

On those ships that transported slaves, in order to carry a few more slaves, the bottom cabin was almost packed to capacity, and the living space of each slave was only a little bigger.

They can only poop and pee in place, and only give them the minimum amount of food.

The death rate during transportation is appallingly high.

Although the [Diamond Star] was not a slave ship, the oppression of civilians by nobles obviously existed.

However, understanding is understanding.

Thinking of the gorgeous and beautiful decoration in the upper cabin that can even be described as "luxury", and the rich and noble people coming and going in the restaurant...

Compare this to the shabby and deserted appearance of the lower cabin.

Xia En couldn't help but feel some indescribable feelings in his heart.

With chaotic thoughts flashing through his mind, Xia En embraced Joey and took a step towards the shadow in the corner.

In an instant, the shadow rippled like water waves, gently wrapped around their bodies, blocking the sight of outsiders.

"Huh?"

The taller of the two boys turned his head and looked around, asking suspiciously.

"Did you hear any sound?"

The other boy shook his head: "No."

The tall boy thought for a moment and said: "Then I must have heard it wrong."

"But... have you really thought it through? Once we walk through this door, there is really no turning back."

"I have thought it through!"

The boy who was asked looked serious, with resentment and hatred in his eyes: "Why should those noble lords decide who can get on this ship?"

"Why can they eat fish and meat, but we can only eat black bread and drink dirty water in the stinky ditch?"

"Anyway, the flood is coming soon, and my father and sister will not survive, so I might as well take all those lords to the sea to feed the sharks!"

"Let's die together!"

At the end, the boy's tone was full of murderous intent.

Obviously, this kind of resentment is not accumulated in one day, but accumulated over a long period of time.

Hearing this, Shane in the shadows suddenly realized.

At this time, he finally understood who wanted to destroy the [Diamond Star] -

Civilians!

It was these commoners that the nobles looked down upon who decided to drag the Diamond Star, along with the nobles on board, into the deep sea!

It was not difficult for Shane to hear from the boy's words.

Unlike the nobles who generally did not believe in the "world-destroying flood", the lower-class servants and commoners were extremely convinced of the coming of the flood.

It is easy to understand if you think about it carefully.

The more difficult and hopeless people are, the more they long for the end of the world.

This is not only an expectation of self-destruction, but also a hope that a disaster will destroy the original order and give them the opportunity to climb up.

It seems that these commoners paid a huge price to get on this "Noah's Ark."

At the same time, their families were unable to get on board - such as the boy's father and sister, who became "abandoned people."

This will undoubtedly make many people feel resentful towards the nobles.

Coupled with the huge gap between the upper and lower cabins of the Diamond Star, the contrast between luxury and shabbyness will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among many people.

If someone else adds fuel to the flames and stirs up trouble at this time, it is hard to imagine what these civilians will do.

It seems to confirm Shane's conjecture.

A shout suddenly broke out in the empty storage room.

The two teenagers looked at each other: "It must be that the pastor is preparing to hold a ceremony."

"Let's go in quickly!"

After that, the two walked into the storage room.

With the help of shadow disguise, Shane and Joey followed closely.

As soon as they entered the hall, they saw at least dozens of sailors standing here, looking in one direction with slightly fanatical eyes.

And in the middle of them, there was a high platform protruding from the ground.

On the high platform stood a masked, white-haired old man, who seemed to be saying something to the sailors.

This should be the "pastor" mentioned by the teenagers.

This is more than just like a cult gathering, it is clearly a cult gathering!

"My Lord saw that people were extremely sinful on earth, so he announced that he would use a flood to destroy all living creatures with flesh and blood on earth, and all of them would die!"

"This is a purification of our souls and a purification of the world."

The pastor said in an old and calm voice: "However, those greedy and selfish nobles built this sinful ship in an attempt to avoid the washing of the flood."

"How selfish and blasphemous this is!"

"We can't stand it, so we have to resist!"

To be honest, Shane was not very interested in the words of this nameless charlatan.

But under the incitement of the masked old man's highly inspiring tone, Shane could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the hall had changed.

People became more and more excited and fanatical.

Shayen suspected that the old man had used some special secret technique while speaking, which made the sailors trust him almost blindly.

Suddenly at this time, the young man who had just arrived asked.

"Mr. Pastor, can we really enter the Kingdom of the Lord after we die?"

"Of course."

The old man vowed: "If you sacrifice your life for the Lord, you will naturally be accepted by the warm Kingdom of God where there is only light."

He said this very seriously, and it was obvious that he had already believed it.

Yes, if you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.

But when he heard this, Xia En's face changed slightly.

The Kingdom of Light?

Could it be...

Xia En's eyes fell on the feet of everyone.

On the floor, there was a huge magic circle, which almost included the entire storage room.

It was called a magic circle, but it felt more like a large altar.

For some of the runes, Xia En could recognize them at a glance, and murmured in his heart.

"Brilliant Religion?!"

That's right. With Xia En's experience in the [Glorious Land] for many days, he could naturally see that these runes were closely related to the Bright Religion.

That means that this "Mr. Pastor" actually believed in the Billion Bright Religion?

Xia En's first reaction was disbelief.

To be honest, during this period of time, Xia En had developed a great liking for Huijiao.

But now...

In the dim cabin, the old man with a strange mask whispered a strange spell, and the weak firelight reflected the extreme fanaticism on people's faces.

—— The whole scene was filled with a strong sense of evil.

It was very different from the light and purification mentioned by the old man.

Then, the magic circle under people's feet began to glow, licking their ankles and calves, clinging to them like living things.

The meaning of those runes is sacrifice!

It is obvious that the old man is ready to sacrifice the lives of everyone here in exchange for the advent of miracles.

Xia En would naturally not watch this happen. He did not hesitate to get out of the shadows and knocked the masked old man unconscious with one punch.

"Who is it?"

Everyone looked at him in amazement.

After seeing the noble costume, people's eyes suddenly showed strong hostility.

"It's that evil nobles!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

Although Shane sympathized with the civilians, his words were meaningless in front of this group of crazy guys.

He attacked directly and knocked them to the ground.

This battle can only be described as crushing.

Just when everyone lost the ability to move, a familiar figure walked to the door of the hall.

Edward looked at him strangely and asked, "His Highness Shane? What happened?"

"Edward? Why are you here?"

Shane frowned.

At this time, he finally realized where the strange feeling that he had ignored before came from.

Every time he "looped", he seemed to see the prince named "Edward".

The first two "loops" were understandable.

After all, the first time was a coincidence, and the second time was when Shane took the initiative to find him.

But in the third loop, when Shane was preparing to speed through the copy, he actually saw Edward in the cab.

This seemed a bit weird.

As for this encounter, it was even more incredible.

How could Edward appear in this storage room by chance and just happen to see the gathering?

There is no such coincidence in the world!

Thinking of this, Shane looked solemn and asked Edward.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?"

Edward was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

After this smile, it was as if an invisible mask was peeled off from his face, allowing him to return to his true self.

Then, Edward took out a pair of single-sided glasses from his jacket pocket and put them on slowly.

There was an indescribable elegance in his movements.

When he really put on the glasses, his whole temperament changed.

Edward saluted Shane elegantly and smiled gently: "You can call me... [Undertaker]."