John bit his teeth and his whole body trembled. He suddenly stood up and grabbed Wen Xishu by the collar.
Lies will not hurt people, the truth is the sharp blade.
"Isn’t it so? Isn’t the reason they were all corrupted because of money?" John grabbed Wen Xishu’s collar and roared angrily.
Wen Xishu let John grab his collar. He just slightly tilted his head back, then - raised his hand and slapped him.
Pa, the sound was so crisp, it landed on John’s face, leaving him completely stunned.
Wen Xishu, rarely, raised his eyebrows, carrying a few slivers of anger:
"So, you think Catherine likes you for what? When she proposed marriage at your lowest point in life, was she after your money?"
"When you felt betrayed, did you ever think that there were seven people who supported your dreams unconditionally, selling everything they had?"
"When you thought they were corrupted by money, did you ever consider that they didn’t acknowledge you just because you became wealthy? They were the ones willing to conquer the world with you from the very beginning, when you had nothing."
"Now, you unilaterally declare them corrupted by money, do you think you are right?"
"You would rather believe that a girl like Catherine was corrupted by money than believe in the courage she showed standing up for you at your lowest, you are just like a coward!"
"John, so many years have passed, and you are still the coward who refuses to believe your father became bad, always just evading!"
That last sentence was almost growled out.
John’s face showed bewilderment, followed by gradually deepening fear. He opened his mouth slightly, wanting to defend himself, but not a word came out.
Wen Xishu suddenly changed his tone, switching to another angle to bombard him:
"I don’t know why your game became like this. In your game, there’s no righteousness anymore. After the apocalypse, every mission must be interpreted from a dark perspective to survive in your game."
"Indeed, this is the seriousness you anticipated. But do you really acknowledge such a game?"
Wen Xishu grabbed John’s collar again, speaking very earnestly:
"When I was young, give me a simple A-button gun, three lives, and I believed the protagonist of Contra could fulfill his mission."
"Even if Mario didn’t eat mushrooms, facing so many enemies, I firmly believed he could defeat the Demon King with just his jumps. Because with him and me together, we are the strongest."
"No matter how many enemy tanks there were, I firmly believed I could defeat them, guarding the old general’s earth wall. I believed in my skills, that I could fight my way out."
"In the novice village, the level-one hero never worried about how strong the Demon King in the distance was, because I, controlling him, firmly believed we could end the Demon King’s reign together!"
"To hell with reality’s rules, to hell with seriousness, to hell with reasonableness, I want the unreasonable, I want to transcend reality, or why would I play games?"
"These games gave me faith and courage early on. They made me believe I am the protagonist of this world. Even if life crushed me again and again, at most, I would start over."
"But John, what about you, what did your game bring? The approaching apocalypse is all your personal hatred. You got the cruelty and bloodshed you wanted; you have villains mastering money. But where has the person who could joyfully enjoy the game gone?"
"Is he dead already? If we can’t even believe in games, what else can we believe in?"
Each question struck at John’s heart. That final query, originating from John’s own questioning, hit him like a boomerang right in his forehead.
Suddenly, he remembered many years ago, he had asked why Bomberman could defeat so many enemies.
His father had said, because we, holding the controller, are omnipotent.
But with his father’s departure, he gradually forgot these things. He even started to deny these things deep in his heart.
"I can’t stop the apocalypse from coming, John, and I truly believe you have the talent to make games."
"I also don’t believe changing you would affect Wind City in any way. If zombies don’t descend, there will still be other monsters."
Wen Xishu’s emotions began to gradually temper:
"But I came here, still hoping you would seriously consider the decision you are about to make. Because your friends are all waiting for you. In the game, you still have countless partners. In reality, Catherine is still waiting for you."
"They may indeed have lost to the Demon King named Reality, but they are all waiting to challenge the Demon King again with you."
"Your talent was chosen by the gods. You have the ability to make games become reality. Maybe in your eyes, the perfect work in your heart is finally coming to fruition."
"But games, once turned into reality, are no longer games. Everything in the game can be very cruel and dark because players know it’s just a game. They have the right to parody the game, and the right to immerse and enjoy the game."
"But reality is different. When ’The Apocalypse’ becomes the apocalypse...it no longer matters whether it’s serious or not."
John’s anger gradually subsided too. He seemed never to have thought about why he hated money so much.
Nor did he realize that the coming apocalypse and the coming of ’The Apocalypse’ were fundamentally different.