Lord of Prayer - Chapter 177 135: Descending to Reality (2)

Without a doubt, this was the work of the Desire Demon. Its power stemmed from the lust of any species, and as intelligent life forms, humans provided a far superior quality of desire.

“Damn it, are the Dreamwalkers in this district completely useless? How could they have not noticed a mass incident like this at all? They must be officially reprimanded!”

The head of the Field Operations Department, a hot-tempered man, immediately called the Dream Management Bureau and ordered them to conduct a thorough investigation of the region’s Dreamwalkers.

The results were as expected. The region’s Dreamwalkers had been unwittingly influenced by the Desire Demon. Although the influence was minuscule, it had caused them to subconsciously ignore the dream anomalies in this area for some time.

Now that the Desire Demon had achieved its goal of helping Qin Xu successfully resurrect his daughter, what would happen next was anyone’s guess.

·

「Twenty minutes earlier.」

In a long-abandoned factory in the Jinzhu Suburb.

“Why are we still in Jinzhu?” Qin Xu demanded of the voluptuous Succubus. “Didn’t we agree you’d take us to Restricted Area 199?”

“There’s nothing to be done. Teleporting you to Restricted Area 199 would require far more power. A Crowned King has come to Jinzhu, and a fluctuation of that magnitude would absolutely be sensed,” the Desire Demon said, shrugging helplessly.

Just then, the girl lying on a simple iron cot nearby let out a soft murmur. Qin Xu hurried over and grasped his daughter’s hand.

“Duoduo… Duoduo… Can you hear me?”

Responding to his call, the girl’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing the dazed expression of someone who had just woken up. Then, in a familiar voice and tone, she called out:

“Dad, where is this?

…Wh-why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

Tears streamed down Qin Xu’s face, and he was so choked up he couldn’t speak. The next moment, he pulled his daughter into a tight embrace. In his heart, there was only the joy of getting her back and an overwhelming sense of relief.

“Wh-what is wrong with you?” Qin Duoduo seemed frightened, not just by her father’s unusual behavior, but also by their abnormal surroundings. ‘Why am I in a place like this?’

After a long while, Dr. Qin wiped his tears and asked, “Duoduo, do you remember what happened before?”

Qin Duoduo began to recall. “My illness was in its final stage, and you were taking me on a trip around the world… Wait, aren’t we supposed to be in the Maldives? Where is this?”

Dr. Qin wasn’t the least bit surprised. Duoduo had succumbed to her terminal illness in the Maldives. Now that she was resurrected, it was only logical that her memories would stop at that moment.

“It’s… complicated. It’s a long story. Are you thirsty? Would you like some water first?” Of course, he couldn’t tell Duoduo the truth, so he changed the subject.

“A little hungry…” Qin Duoduo touched her stomach, then said with some confusion, “My body feels like it’s recovered. I’m not as weak as before. Wait… my heart, why isn’t my heart beating?”

She placed her palm on her chest and was horrified to find she couldn’t feel a heartbeat. She looked at her father in terror. “Dad, what’s going on?”

Qin Xu said nothing. He produced some instant food from out of nowhere. “Let’s get some food in you first.”

Qin Duoduo didn’t take the food. Instead, she felt for her pulse. Just as she’d feared, there was nothing—it was as still as stagnant water. Connecting this to her present circumstances, her expression turned grim. “Am I… already dead?”

“No, you’re not dead!” Qin Xu’s voice was strangely frantic. “You’re still alive!”

“I clearly remember I was on the verge of death… Dad, what method did you use to save me?” Qin Duoduo’s expression was complicated as she looked at the steel structures in the abandoned factory. “Why do I feel some kind of… impulse towards this machinery?

It’s as if… they’re my kind?”

“…”

After a long, long silence, Dr. Qin let out a deep sigh. He knew that hiding the truth was pointless; sooner or later, instinct would drive Duoduo to discover how different she was now.

“The truth is, I used a certain method to rebuild your body as a robot’s. It was the only way for you to live.”

“A robot…” Qin Duoduo stared at her own hands in disbelief. ‘But this is clearly flesh and blood…’

“Your internal organs have been mechanized. I’m not sure about the other aspects. But now, you don’t have to worry about your terminal illness anymore.” Qin Xu lovingly stroked her head, his smile tinged with deep exhaustion. “I finally saved you.”

“…” Qin Duoduo didn’t ask any more questions. After a moment of silence, she took the initiative to hug her father and murmured, “You’ve been through so much, Dad.”

Hugging his precious daughter, Qin Xu gave a genuine smile. He was certain that it had all been worth it. “It was nothing… As long as you’re okay…”

In the shadows nearby, the Demon from the Abyss watched this heartwarming scene, the corners of its lips curling upwards.

“How lovely.”

‘I wonder what kind of horrifying monster such sincere, deep familial love can create…’

「Late that night.」

Qin Xu didn’t leave Jinzhu with Duoduo. Instead, he planned to wait for things to die down a bit before sneaking away.

In his youth, he had accidentally obtained a Storage Artifact. Before leaving home, he had filled it with enough supplies to support them here for several months.

After the father and daughter fell asleep, the Desire Demon emerged from the darkness with a faint smile. Its form dissolved into a wisp of smoke and drifted into Qin Duoduo’s dream.

·

At the Star Association office.

Forced to work overtime by Jiang Che, Zhou Chen turned off the lights, collapsed onto the sofa, and called softly towards the lounge, “Going to sleep now, good night.”

There was no reply.

Jiang Che wasn’t the type to respond anyway. Xiao Ju, on the other hand, let out a “MEOW” in acknowledgment.

Zhou Chen closed his eyes. He said he was going to sleep, but in reality, his consciousness floated upwards and arrived at the Round Table Hall.

He had done a real estate transaction with Qin Xu and had even shaken his hand, which counted as sufficient contact. Therefore, his Wish Radar should be able to scan the man’s wishes.

—He wanted to try using this method to find Qin Xu’s location.

Sitting on the ancient, mottled Obsidian Throne, Zhou Chen focused his mind, and the Wish Bubbles belonging to Qin Xu appeared.

He randomly selected a Wish Bubble and extended his consciousness out along with it, attempting a descent.

He had used this method before when he helped Lin Ya escape danger. Back then, however, he was only Tier One and his soul was incomplete, so the duration of his descent was limited, as was the vision he received. Now that he had ascended to Tier Two, the effect would surely be far greater than before.

The next moment, Zhou Chen’s consciousness used Qin Xu as a medium and successfully descended into “reality.”

‘Does this count as a ‘Divine Descent’?’ Zhou Chen muttered as he gazed into the darkness, sizing up his surroundings. It appeared to be an abandoned factory.

Then, he saw the young girl on the cot next to Qin Xu. It was Qin Duoduo, who had been dead for more than half a year.

‘She really was resurrected…’

Zhou Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. He saw a black miasma swirling around the girl’s body—it was a strange demonic aura.

‘Demonic Possession? No… Is the Desire Demon invading Qin Duoduo’s dream?’