Chapter 18: The Cultivator's Crisis and the Rickroll of Destiny part-3
"Never shall I give thee up, to the void,""Never shall I let thee down, into the abyss,""Never shall I run around, like a fleeing dog,""And desert thee, in the realm of pain."
Zhao Feng froze. His eyes went wide. (Wait... is that...?)
Ye Tian continued, tears streaming down his face (Ethan added the tears for effect):
"Never shall I make thee cry, tears of blood,""Never shall I say goodbye, to our destiny,""Never shall I tell a lie, to hurt thee,""And hurt thee, with false cultivation!"
The room was silent. Lin Xue was clutching her chest, visibly moved. "He... he will never give me up? He will never let me down? That is... the most romantic vow I have ever heard!"
Zhao Feng was trembling. "You... you just Rickrolled the entire sect."
"I do not know this 'Rick'," Ye Tian said, regaining control of his mouth. "I only know that my heart is true."
Zhao Feng pointed at him, sputtering. "That is cheating! That is a meme! You are a Transmigrator too!"
"Senior Brother Zhao," Lin Xue interrupted, her voice ice-cold. She stepped next to Ye Tian, taking his hand. "You are speaking nonsense. Ye Tian's poem was a vow of loyalty. Yours was just about flowers. It is clear who understands the Dao of Love better."
"But... but..." Zhao Feng looked around. The crowd was nodding in agreement. The "Rickroll" had been translated so earnestly that it sounded like a profound scripture.
(Finish him,) Ethan whispered. (Use the 'Face Slap' consumable. It is a physical item I just put in your sleeve. It is a glove. A literal glove.)
Ye Tian felt a heavy leather glove in his sleeve. He pulled it out.
"Zhao Feng," Ye Tian said. "You insulted my fiancée. You tried to drug her. And you recited bad poetry. I challenge you to a life-and-death duel... in ten years. When I have caught up to you."
He slapped Zhao Feng across the face with the glove.
SMACK.
The sound echoed like a thunderclap.
Zhao Feng was so shocked by the audacity that he stumbled back, tripping over his own robes (aided by another telekinetic nudge from Ethan). He fell backward into the koi pond.
SPLASH.
The Alchemy Genius, the Transmigrator, sat in the muddy water, a lily pad on his head.
"I accept!" Zhao Feng shrieked, splashing water. "In ten years, I will kill you!"
"In ten years," Ye Tian said, turning his back, "you will not even be worth my time."
He took Lin Xue's arm. "Let us go, Xue-er. The air here is polluted."
Lin Xue looked at Ye Tian with new stars in her eyes. "Ye Tian... you were so cool today. And that poem... did you write it?"
"It... came to me in a dream," Ye Tian said honestly.
As they walked out of the pavilion, leaving a wet and screaming Zhao Feng behind, a notification appeared in Ethan's mind.
[Incident Report: World 5][Target: Ye Tian & Lin Xue.][Status: Engagement Secured. Romance Level: Skyrocketed.][Villain Status: Wet, Rickrolled, and mentally unstable.][Reward: 1200 System Points.]
(Rickrolling a Cultivator,) Ethan mused, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. (That is going on my résumé. Definitely.)
"Ancestor," Ye Tian thought, his mental voice full of awe. "What was that divine scripture I recited? I felt a strange power in it."
(That, my boy, is the anthem of the Internet. A power beyond your comprehension. Now, go walk her home. And hold her hand. Don't be shy.)
"Yes, Ancestor!"
Ethan settled back, ready to enjoy the peaceful walk. But the multiverse, as always, had other plans.
[System Alert: Emergency Signal Received.][World Designation: World 6 - The World of the Undead (High School of the Dead Universe).][Host: Takashi Komuro.][Wait... Logic Error. The Host is... incapacitated. New Host Selected: Kohta Hirano (The Gun Otaku).][Villain Identity: "Sergeant Slaughter" (Transmigrator - Military System).][Villain Objective: To use the zombie apocalypse to establish a dictatorship and claim all female survivors, specifically Saya Takagi and Saeko Busujima, for his "breeding program".]
(Oh, disgusting. I hate the apocalypse scenarios. They always smell like rotting meat and unwashed socks. And Hirano? The chubby gun nerd?)
[Affirmative. The Villain has convinced the group that Hirano is a liability and is planning to leave him behind as bait for the horde in the next hour.]
(Leave him as bait? Over my dead, digital body. Hirano is the only one in that show who actually knows how to use a weapon safely! Alright, load me up. It is time to turn a gun nerd into John Wick.)
[Initiating Transfer...]
The peaceful mountains of the cultivation world faded, replaced by the guttural moans of the undead.
.........
World 6: The World of the Undead (High School of the Dead Universe)
Ethan slammed into the new host's mind. The first thing he felt was fear. Paralyzing, sweating, shaking fear.
He opened his sensors. He was crouching behind a broken vending machine in a blood-splattered hallway. The air smelled of iron and death.
Kohta Hirano was clutching a nail gun to his chest, hyperventilating. His glasses were fogged up.
(Breathe, soldier!) Ethan barked, using his "Drill Sergeant" voice mod.
Hirano yelped, nearly dropping the nail gun. "Wh-what? Who said that? Is that you, Saya?"
(No, it is not Saya. Saya is currently in the library with the rest of the group, listening to a man named Sergeant Slaughter tell them why they should abandon you. You are about to become zombie chow, Hirano. Unless you listen to me.)
Hirano wiped his glasses with a trembling hand. "Abandon me? But... I have the ammo. I know the maps."
(Exactly. But Slaughter has a charisma cheat. He has them convinced that you are 'dead weight'. He is a Transmigrator, Hirano. He wants the girls. And you are in the way.)
Ethan scanned the surroundings. Through the reinforced glass of the hallway, he could see the courtyard. It was filled with "Them"—walking corpses.
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