Chapter 43: Meaning
"July 1st… Is there anything special about it?" Xio asked in puzzlement. She didn't think that this was referring to the present, only that it had happened in history.
Ebner shook his head and did not explain. He did not know how to explain either. He just turned around and said to Mr. Gaston, who was still guarding the rear passage, "I know the source of the internal strife here. Follow me!"
"You know it again? Do you have to be so fast? I have no idea! Compared to you, I feel like I'm a retard!" Mr. Gaston lamented in his heart for his intelligence. His expression changed, and he nodded numbly. He was now used to the other party's 'sudden realization 'style.
Finally, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Pretending to be calm, he asked, "Where do we need to go?"
"To the lowest cabin. The person we're looking for is there," Ebner replied with certainty. Through the previous clues, he had already confirmed that this scene was the original "Maritime Battle" instigated by Tris!
Watching Ebner and Gaston walk toward the stairwell one after the other, Hugh hesitated, then turned back to the lady who'd lost her beloved. "Hide yourself first. We'll be able to restore order to the ship soon." With that, she jogged to catch up with Ebner.
The lady looked gratefully at Xio's back before suddenly asking, "My name is Chelly! Miss, may I know your name?"
Xio didn't turn around this time and simply replied, "Xio!"
"Xio…" The lady secretly remembered this name. Then, she picked up the dagger on the ground and turned to hide in a nearby cabin. No matter how ruthless she was towards those murderers, she knew that she had no ability to deal with them. She could only protect herself first and not waste the life that her benefactor and lover had given her.
Gaston, who was walking on his left, smiled at Xio. "There's no point in doing this. When this scene ends, she will no longer exist."
Xio shook her head and said stubbornly, "She lives because of my words. Even if it's just a few minutes or hours, it means something to me!"
"Up to you! What a little girl." Gaston shook his head and smiled. He did not have any bad intentions, but he felt that such naivety was not suitable for the world of Beyonders.
Xio pursed her lips and looked at Ebner in front of her. After struggling for a moment, she asked, "Ebner, what do you think?"
Ebner thought for a while before saying seriously, "Everyone has their own persistence. If you think it's right, then do it! Don't care about what others think." This persistence was the brilliance of human nature.
When Xio heard this, the corners of her lips finally curled up. Clearly, she was happy that she had been understood.
Most of the brutes on this ship were besieging the lowermost cabins, so the more Ebner and the other two went down, the more enemies there were.
Fortunately, Mr. Gaston seemed to have expected such a situation. He had prepared a lot of explosives for area-of-effect damage, and with Ebner and Xio's master-level combat skills, as well as the fact that their opponents were just a group of ordinary people, they managed to kill their way to the lowest level of the cabin safely.
This cabin was originally used to store the food and fresh water on the ship. With these supplies, the people inside could hold on until now.
Seeing Ebner and the other two storming in from outside, the few men who were originally guarding the door of the lower cabin were pleasantly surprised. They were naturally happy that they had received help, and shocked that the combat strength of these three people had exceeded their expectations. If they had any malicious intentions, they would definitely not be able to deal with them.
"Halt… You… Who are you?" Seeing the three approaching, a blond young man in a black suit raised the short sword in his hand and asked.
Ebner stopped walking. Instead of answering the man's question, he asked, "Who's in charge here?"
The people on the other side looked at each other but did not reply.
Xio frowned as she released the might of an Arbiter and repeated Ebner's words in a deep voice. "Who's in charge here?"
This time, none of them hesitated. Instead, they pointed fearfully at a middle-aged man dressed as a captain and a boy with a round, amiable face.
"We will listen to Captain and Tris!"
"Tris?" Ebner looked at the shy boy in the corner.
"It's me, sir. What's the matter?" Tris seemed to be frightened and looked uneasy, but his eyes were darting around. It was obvious that the sudden change had made him want to retreat.
"You were the one who instigated internal strife among the crew and passengers, causing them to kill each other! Am I right, Mr. Instigator Tris of the Theosophy Order?" Ebner directly pointed out the source of the internal strife. Then, before anyone could react, he pulled out his revolver and fired six consecutive shots at Tris.
As the scene was about to end, Ebner was afraid that he wouldn't have a second chance to attack. Therefore, he had already activated the pure white eye before shooting. With the help of the Knowledge Keeper's weapon master's abilities that he had experienced in advance, the six bullets had sealed off all directions for Tris to dodge.
Although such an attack was meaningless and would not affect Tris in the real world at all, as Ebner had said before, there was some persistence in doing what he wanted to do. After witnessing the misfortune of this ship's crew with his own eyes, he could not think clearly without killing the culprit here.
However, before Tris became an Instigator, he was an Assassin. This Sequence Beyonder was most proficient in dodging and hiding. Before he was shot, he had already thought of a countermeasure. He retreated and was about to fuse into the shadows of the cabin.
At this moment, Xio's revolver roared angrily, and it struck the shadow behind Tris!
Back when Ebner had pointed out that Tris was the Instigator of the Theosophy Order, Xio had already guessed what her friend would do next because that was also what she wanted to do. She wanted to avenge the innocent victims on this ship if she could!
Even if it was just a fictional scene, she still felt indignant and wanted to do it.
Xio had previously come into contact with another Instigator and had long known of this Sequence's ability. Therefore, Tris's last chance of survival in this scene was sealed. His head was instantly penetrated by a bullet and shattered to the ground…
At the same time, the surrounding scenery shattered, and everything ceased to exist. Only three figures were left wrapped in the fog of the dream realm, entering the rewards.
…
In the real world, in the corner of the Clover's deck and cabin, facing two murderers who had torn most of her clothes, Chelly cried in despair.
But at this moment, the murderers suddenly stopped moving and seemed to be in a trance. Chelly somehow mustered the courage to pick up the dagger that had fallen on the ground and quickly slashed it across their necks!
The two corpses fell to the ground one after another, and she was stunned for a long while after being drenched in blood. She stumbled over to her lover, who was nailed to the wall. She cried as she caressed her lover's face, and then she muttered to herself, "My dear, I originally thought that I wouldn't be able to live without you… But just now, my heart suddenly had courage and strength… Perhaps this is your blessing in the kingdom of the gods!"
She wiped her tears and said firmly,
"I will live on! No matter what, I will live on! Bring your share with me!"
…
Deep in the ship's lower decks, Tris awoke with a start, his eyes darting around warily. Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, he muttered to himself, "I feel like I had a nightmare, but I can't remember what. It's just that… I think I was killed… could this be a warning?"
Alarmed, Tris decided, "This mutiny has served its purpose. I should wrap things up before anything unexpected happens… even though the casualties aren't quite what I'd hoped…"
Noticing his unease, the captain beside him asked, "Mr. Tris, is something wrong?"
Tris responded with a sheepish smile…
…
What Ebner and Xio did wasn't meaningless!