The True Core

To be honest, the fact that the team's Unique capable player has a problem is indeed a significant issue.

Bai Zhi had a fairly clear understanding of his own strength. His current strength was only reflected in his Survival Ability; in other aspects, he was still far behind others.

After all, he hasn't even reached Level ten yet, and compared to the others in the team, the innate Level difference is at least ten levels higher.

Although level doesn't account for a Player's overall strength, the attribute bonuses from a higher level are still quite attractive. After all, you can't even compare to Fireworks of Romance in terms of Strength, and being forcibly dragged around by the other party is just too embarrassing.

This Large-scale Campaign Quest is his best opportunity to quickly Level up.

So far, in the [Anna's Gift] Dungeon, apart from a few things that are still unclear, Bai Zhi has a general understanding of the situation. Even without the interference of Otherworld Player, the difficulty of this Dungeon definitely top-tier.

This Dungeon revolves around Anna, with [Mutation Curse] and [Doll Curse] as key elements.

If it weren't for the wealth of information provided in the Notebook left behind by the previous Investigator, he wouldn't have been able to figure all this out in such a short time. Investigating the rules within the Rose Manor wasn't too difficult, but if he really wanted to get to the heart of the matter and kill Anna, then it certainly lived up to the "extremely dangerous" warning in the System Prompt.

If it weren't for the presence of a capable senior Senior like Dead Zero in the team, he wouldn't have risked entering the Core Area...

"You really can't see anything right now?"

Bai Zhi waved his hand in front of the other person's face, still somewhat unwilling to give up, and asked the Young Girl with her eyes tightly closed.

"Is it really that exaggerated? That Giant Meat Chunk just glanced at you, and you went blind?"

"I'm not blind, just temporarily damaged. Even if it's just a scene from the past existing in our memories, it's something we can't face right now."

The Young Girl frowned slightly and reached out to Precision grab the hand that someone was trying to use to play pranks on her head.

"The thing is amazing, you're completely unharmed."

How did you find the location of my hand?

Deliberately skipping the topic, Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow.

"Perception, using the body to notice all changes around you."

The Young Girl released her grip, her tone indifferent.

"If you want to learn, I can teach you."

"Let's put that aside for now... Can you open your eyes?"

Reaching out to touch his chin, Bai Zhi looked at the Young Girl in front of him with a thoughtful expression.

"I have a piece of Equipment that provides God's Perspective, a so-called third-person perspective that doesn't require seeing with your eyes. I can lend you this Equipment temporarily. But the problem is, it's a pair of Contact Lenses. If you can't open your eyes, you can't Equipment it."

"The fact that your eyes can open means your vision has been restored."

The Young Girl's face remained calm.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"No, I'm just worried that in our current state, it might be terrible to face that March-shi. He's definitely ahead of us, but with you like this... never mind."

Bai Zhi reached out and touched his chin, letting out a slightly regretful sigh.

"Let's take it one step at a time. I'll try to avoid a fight. The current situation is too unfavorable for us. How did you suddenly go blind?"

"..."

Giving up on correcting any grammatical errors in the other person's words, the Dead Zero turned his head away expressionlessly.

"I'm so sorry for holding everyone back. How's the situation now?"

"Hmm... This is a world of dolls, because everyone in the world has been turned into dolls. Just like the previous [Mutation Curse], the so-called [Doll Curse] probably originated from this."

Bai Zhi glanced down and nodded.

"In short, this is another behemoth, because it has turned an entire planet into a toy... Overall, it's rather unremarkable, much better than the previous world, but it's still a world that has been destroyed by the corruption of Anomaly."

"The Doll World... yet another world to perish...?"

"It's a pity that those were just fleeting glimpses; there was no way to observe them for long. If I could have observed them more closely, perhaps I could have discovered more."

Bai Zhi shook his head.

"There's no need to be too curious about such things. We're not capable of exploring them yet. Let's focus on protecting our own world first. What our world is facing is only just beginning... The long night is coming."

"..."

The Young Girl did not respond to Bai Zhi's words, and Bai Zhi also remained silent, gazing intently at the scenery below and around him. Others might have had some reservations, but he had no such taboos.

For a moment, all around was silent.

A green ribbon of light flowed slowly beneath their feet, seemingly without end.

After an unknown amount of time, under Bai Zhi's gaze, the surrounding scenery finally began to change slightly; they were rapidly falling towards a place filled with light.

"The Core Zone is the most dangerous. If we want to completely end this Anomaly tale by killing Anna, we'll be taking a lot of risks... Listen carefully to my instructions, and do whatever I tell you to do."

Reaching out to grasp the other person's hand, Bai Zhi uttered this brief statement before stepping down the stairs in front of him.

As if specially arranged to welcome them, the steps made of white light stretched all the way to the Lowest. Bai Zhi counted them briefly in his mind; there were 249 steps in total.

As they descended to the ground, the steps behind them dissipated into countless specks of light, scattering into the air. Looking back, the boundless black Void they had just seen was nowhere to be found.

"Where is this place?"

Feeling the warm sunlight shining on him and smelling the fragrance of grass and wildflowers, the Dead Zero suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"Here?"

Bai Zhi raised his head and looked ahead, smiling slightly.

The neat path paved with bluestone led them forward to a beautiful castle under a blue Tian Kong. Blonde Loli in a White Princess Dress was happily chasing butterflies in the courtyard, accompanied by a smiling Maid. At the castle gate, a couple, clearly husband and wife, stood smiling and looking out at the courtyard.

"This is a dream that seems detached from reality, yet is also exceptionally 'beautiful' and 'precious'."