Shattered World

Hall.

"... This choice is very risky, with a success rate of less than 1%."

After a moment of silence, the Book Spirit spoke calmly.

"In the end, not only will she and I fall into Eden, but you also have a very high chance of being dragged in. Just how terrifying is that kind of place? I'm sure you've already seen it. Even so, are you still going to insist?"

"So what? Instead of wasting time talking about this, you might as well tell me the key points and exactly what I need to do."

Rolling his eyes, Bai Zhi looked somewhat speechless.

"What I mean is, you don't need to take the risk."

Looking down at the [Pitch Black Rubik's Cube] Levitation above her palm, the Book Spirit spoke calmly.

"If you kill her, you can still stop the Final Ritual. Why risk your life to save her?"

"What? Aren't you saving her too?"

Seeing the other person's actions, Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I just don't want to fall into that kind of trap. If it weren't for that inexplicable contract, I wouldn't care about this kind of thing, because it's closely related to me. But what about you? What is your relationship with her?"

With her head down, Book Spirit's tone remained unchanged.

"You've only just met; you have no reason to do anything more."

No one knew what she had done, but as she spoke, the [Pitch Black Rubik's Cube] Levitation above her palm began to spin rapidly and automatically... It was the first time Bai Zhi had ever seen something like this spin.

"If you have to find a reason for everything you do, how uncomfortable would that person be?"

While examining the Magic Cube with a hint of curiosity, Bai Zhi pursed his lips.

"There's no reason not to save someone. Can't I just say I empathize with what she went through? Besides, I made a promise with her. Honesty is the foundation of being a decent person, don't you understand?"

"... Everything in that world is real to her, and I don't know what you'll encounter once you go in there."

After a moment of silence, the Book Spirit spoke calmly.

Anyway, good luck.

As she finished speaking, a strange black light suddenly burst forth from the [Pitch Black Rubik's Cube]. When the light dissipated, Bai Zhi's figure had vanished without a trace in the hall.

And-books "...

After Bai Zhi left, Book Spirit looked down at the [Pitch Black Rubik's Cube] that had landed in her palm, and a rare hint of doubt flashed in her eyes.

For some reason, when the Strength contained within the Magic Cube was fully unleashed, she suddenly felt a strange and intense desire welling up within her...

I want to eat this Magic Cube.

The sun was shining brightly, and the weather was perfect.

"Tsk... In this world, have all Strength been stripped away? Not just Skill, Equipment, but also items, even the Inventory can't be opened..."

Standing under the shade of a tree in a grassy area, Bai Zhi frowned slightly after briefly checking his current situation.

At that moment, the faint sound of two Girl talking could be heard from the side, accompanied by the sound of the wind.

"Phew... I finally found you! Hurry up, we're about to board the train and leave."

Seeing the Girl sitting blankly on the swing amidst the Sea of Flowers, Xing breathed a slight sigh of relief and ran over in a few steps.

"Are we about to set off... Xing? I feel like I've forgotten something."

Hands onto the swing ropes on either side, the Girl looked up at the sky after a moment of silence.

"Is it because of Nightmare again?"

Xing paused slightly after hearing the Girl's words.

"But that Nightmare wasn't..."

"It wasn't Nightmare."

Interrupting Xing's words, the Girl shook her head, slightly bewildered.

"I don't know what I forgot, but it feels like I forgot some important things."

"Okay, let's go to the car and think about it slowly."

Xing reached out and took the Girl's hand, then smiled and began to speak.

"When we get to Eden, any wish can come true, and you'll even remember things you've forgotten... Look, the car's here."

As she spoke, Xing looked up at the sky.

As a Shadow fell over them, a rather beautiful convertible float descended from the sky and came to them. There were already more than a dozen people on the float, most of whom were Young Girl, with a few adults among them.

Without exception, their faces were all adorned with happy and expectant smiles.

The door of the float opened, and the kind-hearted driver, standing inside, smiled and extended his hand to them.

"Get on board, this is the vehicle to the land of eternal happiness, the Garden of Eden."

"Um..."

Infected by the joyful and happy atmosphere on the bus, the Girl nodded gently, took Xing's hand, and jumped off the swing.

Just as she was about to step into the car with Xing in her hand, a figure suddenly rushed out from the side, picked her up, and ran away at full speed.

Since nothing like this had ever happened before, everyone, including the driver of the float, was stunned... especially the Passenger on the float who looked like the Girl.

In the short time they were stunned, the figure who had brazenly carried out the heinous act of kidnapping and abduction right in front of them had already run far away.

The way he ran made it seem as if a dozen starving wild dogs were chasing him...

A few minutes later, seeing that those people didn't intend to chase him in their cars, Bai Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and put the Girl he was holding down under the shade of a tree.

"Well, do you still recognize me?"

Bai Zhi squatted down in front of the Girl and asked her a serious question.

"Who are you..."

Looking at the figure in front of her, the Girl tilted her head slightly, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"I think I recognize her, but I don't quite remember... Have we met before?"

"Of course I've seen him. Do you remember our pinky promise?"

Bai Zhi earnestly extended his little finger.

"I've come to keep my appointment. Please don't get on that car. Eden is..."

Before he could finish speaking, Bai Zhi suddenly felt the scene in front of him change abruptly. Before he could react, he reappeared under the shade of the tree.

From the Flower Field not far away, one could faintly hear voices.

"Damn, if you can't handle the game, just reload the save!?"

Bai Zhi quickly understood what had happened.

After giving the middle finger to the sky, he quickly ran towards the Flower Field swing.

However, to his surprise, this time his figure became like Specter, no one could see him, and everything passed right through him.

The Unique that reassured him was that the Girl seemed to still have her previous memories, though her expression was slightly confused.

A moment later, when the float arrived again, the Girl showed no intention of getting on; instead, she pulled Xing back a few steps with her.

"What's wrong? Aren't we going to Eden?"

Xing looked slightly puzzled as she turned to look at the Girl who had stopped her.

"... Someone told me not to get on the bus."

Looking at the driver smiling and extending his hand to her, the Girl shook her head in confusion.

"Although I don't seem to know him, my subconscious tells me to believe everything he says..."

"That's right, that's exactly it!!"

Standing to the side with his arms crossed, Bai Zhi nodded with satisfaction.

"These people are all very bad, you must not listen to them, but listen to me completely..."

Are you dreaming?

At that moment, a voice that sounded quite familiar to Bai Zhi came from the side.

When Bai Zhi turned around and looked in the direction of the sound, he was immediately dumbfounded.

Another "self" that looks exactly like you, and even has the same voice, walks towards you.

From his current perspective, the other person appears as half a person in front of him; behind him, unseen by others, countless details are rapidly being filled in, using himself as a blueprint.

"Okay, stop being so stubborn, let's get in the car together."

He walked straight past him, and the other Bai Zhi smiled and spoke to the Girl.

Bai Zhi: "..."

He finally understood what the Book Spirit meant when it said those things: throwing him out of the Outside the World and creating a pirated version of himself... This thing was truly toxic.

"... A dream?"

Looking at "Bai Zhi" in front of her, the Girl seemed slightly puzzled.

"Of course! How could I possibly stop you from going to Eden?"

Bai Zhi smiled and spoke, then extended his hand to the other person.

"Let's go, let's get in the car together, I'll go with you..."

Just as he was about to finish speaking, and his entire being was about to copy, his body inexplicably stiffened.

Then, as if some extremely terrifying Strength had acted directly on his body, in an instant, the copy of him that was completely replicated in front of Bai Zhi turned into ashes.

What the heck? Copy failed?

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Bai Zhi, who was racking his brains for a solution, was quite taken aback.

In fact, not only him, but everyone here was stunned, especially the driver.

Before Bai Zhi could fully react, another unexpected event occurred. Starting with the driver, the Passenger on the bus turned to ashes one by one, completely wiped out before they could even react.

Then, right before Bai Zhi's eyes, the entire world shattered, and his figure reappeared in the hall.

Inside the hall, the Book Spirit was in a position as if trying to put the Magic Cube into its mouth, as if it wanted to eat it.

Bai Zhi: "???"

Book Spirit: "..."