cg13.
"In this world, there are people who pursue the ultimate purity, but also possess fears beyond ordinary comprehension. I once met a pianist with skills reaching the pinnacle of the world, but he could never leave a boat. He died with his purity."
"I like pure people. The games made by such people, even if filled with malice and darkness, are always interesting."
The arrival of Scorpio marked the beginning of a fantastical turn in John’s life.
In cg13, Scorpio showcased many Divine Skills.
It was like playing The Sims; everyone suddenly lost the ability to speak, and all the thoughts in their heads were represented by images.
Scorpio walked with the desperate and wandering John through the streets of Wind City, discovering that the most common image in everyone’s mind was always money.
"Look, the Demon King is everywhere. I completely agree with you; only I truly understand you."
"To hell with the rules of the adult world, to hell with money supremacy. Why can’t this world have a pure game?"
"If children can’t even trust games, what can they trust?"
"There are many ugly aspects of this world, but there should be a sanctuary from the harsh realities."
Even though Scorpio was just a child, every word resonated deeply with John.
The harsh realities should have a sanctuary. Despite the heavy workload every day, despite all the noise in the world stemming from "poverty," why should the purity of games also be tainted by these sounds?
"Follow me. Let me bring everything in your mind into reality. I will let everyone know the true art hidden in your mind."
John looked at Scorpio with a touch of bewilderment:
"You...who are you? Are you a delusion in my mind?"
"Poor soul, even at this moment, you are still denying yourself. You are not pure enough, which will limit your power from reaching my standards. It doesn’t matter who I am, but tomorrow, I will let all of Wind City sing praises of the game in your mind. Then, you will understand, I am not a delusion."
Scorpio smiled, waved, and left.
The final scene of cg13 showed posters, banners, and promotional slogans filling the streets and alleys of Wind City overnight.
The game called "Apocalypse" appeared in everyone’s view in an even more explosive way.
The pictures on the posters made everyone anticipate the game because they were so realistic.
Some even thought that a certain zombie on the poster looked particularly like themselves.
...
cg14.
Having witnessed the miracle, John finally confirmed that the little boy he saw was not a figment of his imagination.
It was a miracle.
Not long after the miracle, Catherine visited John again in the pavilion of the Violet Garden. Catherine leaned on John and started to apologize:
"I’m sorry, John. Perhaps we are chasing different things, which may depend on our different definitions of success. But I surely love you. I shouldn’t have doubted you; I shouldn’t have maliciously thought that it was your pretentiousness. Without your persistence, we couldn’t have created a game of this quality. I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark about such an important matter."
"Because I always thought you only needed to be responsible for making the game well. The messy negotiations, the scheming trials, I could handle them."
"Since I was young, I knew you were a genius. I still remember the defeated look on Charles’ face. John, just consider it a mistake I made, okay? Everyone is still willing to continue fighting with you."
John was unmoved and simply pointed to the posters around them:
"Catherine... I have a feeling that the apocalypse is really near. You should leave Wind City."
At this moment, Catherine thought John had gone a bit mad:
"’Apocalypse’ is indeed near. With Tengyi’s help, we can soon release the game, even though... even though some changes were made that you were very resistant to, but actually... they don’t impact the game experience much."
John shook his head:
"I will always remember what you did when I was at my lowest, Catherine. Go quickly. The apocalypse I speak of is the real apocalypse, like on the poster... the apocalypse. The divine has already appeared, you know?"
Catherine hugged John with a heart full of pain.
Sometimes, life is just about not being able to understand each other. John seriously recounted everything to Catherine.
But the more he did, the more Catherine felt that John seemed crazy. She felt more and more guilty.
Catherine kept explaining that the posters overnight were just game promotions, although she also hadn’t been informed why there was suddenly such a massive campaign, and the promotional images were seriously inconsistent with the game timing.
In the end, John said:
"Catherine... I’m about to disappear. It’s strange; I used to think, how could two people love each other without mutual understanding?"
"But now I feel, even if you don’t understand me, I still love you. If the apocalypse comes... head to this place."
"I’ve hidden all the character relationships and settings of the game there."
John handed Catherine a blueprint, and Wen Xishu noticed... this was the hidden easter egg.
John felt disheartened by his lover’s betrayal, or rather, it was just a difference in beliefs.
But he still loved Catherine.