Chapter 2200: Descendants
The woman confessed, but in reality, she was recounting her bitter past.
She had lost her parents at a very young age and was taken in and cared for by other believers under the radiance of the Goddess. However, her foster parents also died in an attack by Outer Zone Players. She drifted between neighbors' homes for two years before finally entering an institution similar to a welfare home that specifically took in orphans of believers.
Life there was neither good nor bad. The adults, having undergone baptism, treated the children with patience and did not hit or scold them. But the children, not yet bathed in the Goddess's radiance, did not know how to love others or get along peacefully. She was often bullied, frequently went hungry, and when she told the adults, they pitied her but also showed great tolerance toward the children who bullied her.
The believers simply said that when the children grew up and felt the Goddess's call, they would naturally correct themselves—even those who did evil would turn over a new leaf, let alone children.
So the woman began to yearn for the Goddess as well. As she grew up, she saw many of the children who had bullied her become good kids, even taking the initiative to apologize to her, compensating her afterward, and often looking out for her.
This made her believe even more in the Goddess, and she decided to follow the Goddess forever when she grew up.
The believers said the Goddess loved everyone, whether they were her followers or not. So the woman treated everyone equally. To care for the sick, the elderly without support, and children who had lost their parents, she often worked herself to illness. But she didn't think this was a bad thing; instead, she felt that every illness was a test of her will.
Whether this test was reasonable or recognized by the Goddess, the woman believed she had received positive feedback. Later, while caring for a severely injured Outer Zone Player, she found love through this spirit.
The stranded Outer Zone Player couldn't leave this district, so they got married. Thanks to her lover's help, high-grade Evolution Agents even cured some of her illnesses and injuries. Two years later, they nervously had a child. Both worried that the child would be as weak and sickly as the woman or even other more defective hermaphrodites, perhaps even dying young. But they were lucky; the child born fully inherited the father's "normalcy." Not only was it not a hermaphrodite, but it was also much healthier than the people in this district.
Being different from others always invites criticism, so they quickly moved to another place to live. Both her lover and child changed their names, stopped going to the hospital for checkups, and even the woman made minor modifications to her appearance.
Because the child was a normal person, the woman's husband worried that the child might one day become a Player. From a very young age, he began targeted training, using good Evolution Agents to strengthen the body, teaching him combat techniques, Instance strategies, and even going to great lengths to find methods of Super Evolution.
Life was happy. In her spare time, the woman gradually started helping out at some clinics and welfare institutions. Her hardworking and cautious life had never been this happy. But soon, her life took a drastic turn.
A Holy Maiden came from the temple, saying the woman's child was very talented and wanted him to undergo testing, then ask the Goddess to bless and protect him. That day, many people came to the house. The woman was at a loss, while her husband frowned deeply.
But the child eventually left with the Holy Maiden. For the next six months, the child contacted them every few days, telling them what he learned at the temple, saying the Holy Maidens were very kind to him. Sometimes, half-asleep, he could even hear the Goddess speaking to him, though he couldn't remember what was said.
The woman grew happier and happier, but her husband grew more and more unhappy. Half a year later, on a prearranged day, the woman waited for her child to come home. But he didn't return by evening, and the temple couldn't be contacted. So her husband hurriedly said a few words and left.
He left and didn't come back either.
Anxious and worried, she waited until the next morning. Two Players came from the temple and told the woman that her husband had betrayed the Goddess and killed a Holy Maiden, and had now taken the child and fled the district.
The temple people didn't make things difficult for her, but the woman's husband and child had become traitors to the Goddess Cult. So the woman considered herself guilty and began atoning. She sold her house and all her valuables, donating the money to the elderly without support. She worked from morning till night, refused help from others, ate only the bare minimum of food each day, and even refused medical treatment when injured…
"I hope this can wash away my sins, and I also want to die in repentance. But my body is too good… After all these years, I still can't die… Could it be that my sins haven't been fully atoned for yet… Goddess, please forgive me. Let me atone alone. Don't add more sins to my husband and child…"
The woman cried herself to sleep. The light in the room had long since disappeared. There was no Goddess.
Xu Huo was just outside this alley. He took a photo from the woman's arms and left.
In her narration, the woman deliberately omitted some key points. For example, why the couple changed their names, faces, and moved after the child was born. Or why the temple wanted to keep a non-hermaphrodite child there. And since the child was being well taken care of, why did the father go to the temple to take him back? As for betraying the temple and even taking the child away… that was the temple's version, hard to verify. But this possibility was very small, because if that Outer Zone Player really had a way to take the child and leave, he wouldn't have chosen to move and change names to avoid the temple.
However, it could be inferred from this incident that the number of normal children born from unions between stranded Outer Zone Players and locals was probably not small. Over such a long time, the temple couldn't have been unaware. Not only were they aware, but the decision-making level of the Goddess Cult had also intervened with these normal children. The stranded Outer Zone Players had obviously realized this too, which was why they avoided district hospitals in later years and were even unwilling to let their children be seen by believers.
So the main structure of this district's population, besides Divine Envoys, Holy Maidens, and believers, also included stranded Outer Zone Players, their children, and even their grandchildren.
What would be the view of the Goddess Cult among the descendants born from unions between Outer Zone people and locals?
If normal children born from unions with Outer Zone people were healthier and more suitable to become Players, this would impact the very foundation of the Goddess Cult. The Goddess Cult had always preached that hermaphrodites were stronger and more suited to this world. What reaction would the decision-making level of the Goddess Cult have?
And knowing there was a better way to avoid giving birth to deformed children and extend the lifespan of ordinary people, the Goddess Cult remained silent. Under the influence of being raised by Outer Zone Players and the impact of what they saw and heard after becoming Players, wouldn't the children born here, looking back at this religion, develop doubts and hatred?
(End of Chapter)