"Run away?"
Bai Zhou asked, "What will happen if we run away?"
"Nothing much."
Ya said, "You'll be free."
"Your life has only just begun. It'll be even more exciting from now on."
That expressionless face remained as if frozen in ice, like a harbor in the North Pole's permafrost.
Yet that perpetually cold northern frozen soil could give birth to swans beautiful enough to make one's heart tremble.
And then, this swan had barged into Bai Zhou's world with great gusto and said to him, "Let's run away together."
Of all the things Bai Zhou had heard over the years, the words warmer than "Keep it up" were probably "I'm here." She neither forced him forward nor urged him to run away. She simply stayed by his side, letting him do whatever he wanted.
Ya was that kind of person. She would never make decisions for Bai Zhou.
But once he made up his mind, she would take him onto that mule of destiny and gallop wildly down the road.
In any case, you're the one who chose the direction. Don't worry about how we run or how fast we go.
"..."
Bai Zhou suddenly felt at ease.
Although the recent days had been a complete mess, and although he always felt as if the future held nothing but darkness, Ya's words instead made him feel much more secure.
Thinking about it carefully, wasn't the outside world pretty good too?
It was a completely new world, filled with towering buildings and neon-lit streets deep into the night, where the mysterious and the ordinary did not intertwine.
Everyone knew nothing about the Mystic World. Only in the shadows were the Authorities and the Blood Worship Cult locked in a surging struggle.
The bustling crowds hurried about to make a living, while groups of students headed to school. At that moment, Bai Zhou would leap from a high-rise and descend from the sky.
Unfamiliar wind brushed against his body. In the blink of an eye, he would merge into the crowd and disappear.
Thus, he could flee openly beneath the unfamiliar sunlight.
Together with Ya.
...That didn't seem so bad, did it?
It would certainly be an exciting life filled with urgency, completely different from Bai Zhou's past.
Faced with Bai Zhou's escape and revenge, the Special Management Department, worried that its secrets would be exposed, would surely send wave after wave of pursuers.
Troublesome figures would search throughout the city along its veins, laying out a Heavenly Net and surrounding and intercepting Bai Zhou in the empty streets.
But that would still be better than being watched in the base and waiting to be slaughtered like a pig.
Thinking of this, Bai Zhou was no longer afraid... In fact, he even began to look forward to such a future.
The cells deep within his body stirred to life.
Such days would naturally be far more dangerous than idling around in the base... but they also carried a touch of romantic adventure.
Weren't all adventure stories like this? The Protagonist's life began with being hunted by the villain, then charged forward recklessly, ultimately completing a magnificent transformation.
Bai Zhou hated trouble, was extremely cautious about keeping a low profile, and especially liked to make a fortune quietly.
But that didn't mean he was a coward.
He had refused to behave himself even in Evening City, always wanting to see the Wilderness outside... though fortunately, he never did.
His Destiny Path was that of an "Adventurer."
Perhaps such an adventurous life was actually more in tune with the true meaning of this path.
As long as Bai Zhou became stronger faster than those hunting him could keep up.
Then one day, he would come back and counterattack, killing every last person who deserved to die!
However, before that—
"Before leaving this base, I still want to do one thing," Bai Zhou said.
"What?"
"Kill someone."
Ya turned to him in surprise, never expecting those words to come from Bai Zhou.
"Who do you want to kill?"
"Deputy Han."
Ya immediately understood. "He does deserve to die."
"But this person... won't be easy to kill," Ya added.
"How so?" Bai Zhou humbly asked for instruction.
"You asked me to investigate the truth behind the 'cannibalism.' I've figured it out."
"You also asked me to find out the strength of the base. I've figured that out too."
Ya's expression grew solemn.
"—The four Sword Bearer tactical squads are the ones inside the base that deserve the most attention."
"They're the Special Management Department's elite rapid-response force, renowned for their outstanding tactics and advanced equipment. They're specifically used to suppress the dangerous activities of unlawful cults more effectively."
"...Fortunately, you don't need to worry about those Killing Machines for now, because tomorrow night, they'll be the main force resisting the Blood Worship Cult."
Ya paused briefly before continuing:
"Also, among the base's six departments, excluding the Black Box Maintenance Department, there are five lieutenant-grade officers. Each is a department head and a Level 3 or higher Extraordinary."
"...Deputy Han, however, is the only officer who isn't a Level 3 Extraordinary, because he was promoted relatively recently."
"—But among Level 2 Extraordinaries, he's definitely among the strongest fighters."
"That's because he may be the richest person in the base aside from the Major, giving him enough capital to arm and strengthen himself."
Ya warned Bai Zhou in a low voice:
"You've only just become a Level 1 'Adventurer.' Even if you're a Destined One, the gap between you and Deputy Han still can't be ignored."
"This person may be extremely troublesome for you!"
"A Level 2 Extraordinary..."
Bai Zhou pondered. It would indeed be difficult.
But Ya continued:
"...However, killing Deputy Han before leaving really is necessary."
"Huh?"
"Everything in the base is carried out in secret."
Ya shook her head.
"There are many people hidden behind Deputy Han, but all the substantive evidence and clues end with him."
"He handles every connection directly and carries the most secrets. He also seems to have an Account Book."
"An Account Book?" Bai Zhou's heart stirred.
He remembered that Deputy Han carried a black notebook with him at all times.
"Bai Zhou, you need to understand that the Special Management Department and Branch 36 can't be treated as one and the same."
Ya explained this to Bai Zhou in a tone more serious than ever before.
"You can't oppose the Authorities forever. There's no way to survive that."
"But if Branch 36's true nature isn't exposed completely, the pursuit won't stop, and the people you'll have to face will become increasingly despair-inducing."
"I understand." Bai Zhou nodded.
"So, before they realize that I've discovered their secrets and begin hunting me..."
"Getting the most crucial part of the clues from Deputy Han tomorrow night will be my last chance, right?"
"...Theoretically, yes."
Ya nodded hesitantly. "But it'll be very difficult!"
"—Then we'll kill him!"
What else was there to say?
With all the factors combined, the reasons couldn't have been more sufficient.
—Deputy Han had to die!
The others were still beyond his ability to provoke.
Killing Deputy Han offered the highest cost-effectiveness, and the key clue needed to break the deadlock was also in his hands.
As for strength—
"Don't I still have one night?"
Bai Zhou said.
He seemed to have been mentally prepared for this long ago.
Ya froze for a moment, unable to understand what Bai Zhou meant.
"One night... What can you do?"
You're an "Adventurer," not a "Dream Walker." It's not as if you could sleep and find an opportunity in a dream, then ascend to greatness overnight.
It wasn't even late yet, and you were already dreaming!
Points deducted!
Once your score was too low, go back for retraining!
Bai Zhou glanced at the tower outside the window. The time displayed on it was eight in the evening.
"It's getting late. I should prepare the Ritual to enter the Reflection Ruins Realm."
He said this.
Entering the Reflection Ruins Realm through a Ritual at midnight, like stepping into mist inside a mirror, was a compulsory lesson for Extraordinaries.
Ya had taught him long ago, but Bai Zhou had never found the time to try it.
If Brother Liu hadn't run into trouble, he had originally planned to make the trip on the night he completed his training.
But now, the time had truly come.
—Back into "Jurassic"!
First, he would retrieve that "Trojan Horse." It seemed like it might come in handy.
Then he would find Dead Fatty and take his revenge. This time, he would definitely kill it with one slash, giving it no chance to transform.
Bai Zhou was quite curious about why the Last Will above Dead Fatty's head was so different from those above the other corpses.
What would he receive if he fulfilled that wish?
After becoming an Extraordinary, he still hadn't had the chance to fulfill another new Last Will.
But Bai Zhou knew that this might be the fastest "shortcut" to becoming stronger.
Even one night could bring about a tremendous change that determined life or death!
After setting a simple goal, Bai Zhou was filled with motivation.
...However, Ya seemed to have a different opinion.
"The Reflection Ruins Realm?"
Ya was speechless.
She rubbed her head and looked at Bai Zhou with a hint of helplessness.
"You seem to have a misunderstanding about the Reflection Ruins Realm."
"...The Reflection Ruins Realm isn't a place where you can simply go once and pick up some rewards."
Bai Zhou blinked.
Was that so?
Ya said:
"I think you've probably noticed it too. The so-called Reflection Ruins Realm is actually a Tinghai City magnified countless times over... but also somehow different."
"Because you entered the Reflection Ruins Realm from Tinghai City, the one you went to was [Reflection Tinghai]."
"Simply put, it's the reflection of the current civilization on the other side of Blue Star."
"The vast Wildernesses covered in mist between the various Reflection Cities and the cities themselves form the Reflection Ruins Realm we see."
"—Evening City is a Stronghold established by the Blood Worship Cult on the outskirts of 'Reflection Tinghai.'"
Bai Zhou: "...?"
What was Ya talking about?
Why couldn't he understand her?
What did she mean by... a reflection of Tinghai City?
Was she talking about that city outside, the one filled with towering buildings?
—Was she sure the Reflection Ruins Realm looked like that?
"You encountered danger the moment you entered last time, which was proof enough of how dangerous that place is."
Ya solemnly warned Bai Zhou:
"Most resources are monopolized by the Authorities. The other resource sites are all incredibly dangerous, and most Extraordinaries explore them in groups."
"Otherwise, all you can do is wander around and rely on luck."
"We're pressed for time now. I don't recommend that you place your hopes in a place like the Reflection Ruins Realm, where everything depends purely on luck."
"If you run into people from the Authorities inside, it might create even more trouble!"
"..."
His clear eyes blinked nonstop.
Bai Zhou was genuinely becoming more and more confused the longer he listened.
Where had these other people come from, monopolizing resources and exploring in groups? And what did she mean by being discovered by people from the Authorities?
In that desolate Wasteland Ruins where not even a bird would shit,
Aside from monsters and corpses, Bai Zhou hadn't seen a single living person.
...Something seemed wrong.
Only at this moment did Bai Zhou finally realize—
His understanding and Ya's understanding seemed to have diverged enormously.
"What about the Previous Civilization relic you mentioned earlier..." Bai Zhou asked cautiously.
"—You've actually been thinking about that?"
Ya's ruby-like eyes widened slightly.
He couldn't help shooting Bai Zhou a sideways glance:
"Although, perhaps it was the pull of the Sacred Oath Slash's extraordinary knowledge that led you to pick up a broken entry-level Extraordinary Weapon the first time you set foot in the Reflection Ruins Realm..."
"Maybe it was just the good luck you had this time that gave you a false impression."
"—But in reality, that's an extremely unlikely occurrence."
"You can't expect to strike it rich by finding antique gold at an elementary school flea market."
Ya suddenly felt that there were still considerable gaps in his special training.
He really needed to properly explain the Law of the Jungle in the Reflection Ruins Realm to Bai Zhou.
That enormous city, filled with the bizarre and the seemingly real yet unreal, was a genuine "Dark Forest."
With a "whoosh"—
Flames lit up in his hands, taking shape out of thin air.
Layer upon layer of flame-formed skyscrapers rose in his hands.
Then, using the foundations as the dividing line, another cluster of skyscrapers appeared symmetrically beneath them.
The blazing firelight illuminated Ya's helpless face:
"The Tinghai City beneath our feet is on the surface of Blue Star, while [Reflection Tinghai] is on the reverse side of Blue Star—but it's on the surface layer of that reverse side!"
"That's where the endings of Tinghai City throughout the past several centuries have converged."
"Everything that has passed away from Tinghai City during the present civilization will echo here in different forms."
As he spoke, the flaming city in Ya's hands collapsed with a thunderous roar.
A new city rose from the ruins.
Another new, symmetrical reflection of flames appeared once more.
"Whenever a new civilization arrives, its reflection appears on the surface layer of the Reflection Ruins Realm, burying the traces of the previous civilization in the deeper layers below."
"History has always been like this, hasn't it? Every new civilization is built upon the ruins of the civilizations before it."
"As history moves forward and civilizations change, one ancient and unknowable Previous Civilization after another is buried layer upon layer beneath the civilization of our era."
With a "boom,"
Chaotic flames intertwined beneath the reflections of the skyscrapers, tangling into an impenetrable mass.
—Symbolizing the many Previous Civilizations suppressed and buried deeper beneath [Reflection Tinghai].
At this point, Ya spoke again:
"These deeper layers of the past have been completely buried. No one can investigate them, and they gradually erode away with the passage of time."
"Occasionally, relics or Undead from a Previous Civilization, or even an entire [Ruins]..."
"Unwilling to simply erode away, they 'spill' out from beneath the deeper layers and arrive in the surface layer of the Ruins Realm—"
"They become our greatest opportunities, and our greatest dangers!"
"Every such occurrence is accompanied by a bloody struggle for possession."
Ya spread his hands. "After all, there are too many monks and too little meat."
"It's just that your Mechanical Spear-Gun isn't very high-level, and was badly damaged..."
"Most likely, it didn't cause much of a commotion when it spilled out from below. That's why it ended up lying inconspicuously by the roadside, allowing you to pick it up."
"—And now, you want that to happen again?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to discourage you..."
Ya shook his head coldly.
—But Bai Zhou, standing opposite him, had already become thoroughly bewildered.
So all this time, your so-called excavation and research of Previous Civilization ruins...
Was it all just a matter of waiting for them to "spill" onto the surface layer by themselves?
So this was what your Reflection Ruins Realm looked like?
Then where am I?
—Where the hell am I?
On the surface, Bai Zhou kept his face tense as he pondered, but inside, his thoughts were in complete disarray.
I see.
Bai Zhou understood...
The place he had gone to was not some remote "corner" of the Reflection Ruins Realm, as he had assumed.
—He hadn't gone to the Reflection Ruins Realm at all!
Or rather, not the Reflection Ruins Realm as everyone else understood it!
Because they could only move about in the surface layer of the Reflection Ruins Realm, passively waiting for Previous Civilization ruins or relics to emerge.
—But Bai Zhou was different.
They were different. He was different from everyone else.
—He was alone in the "deep layer"!
He was like a solitary patient, alone in the buried Deep Ruins Realm that Ya claimed no one could investigate.
Or perhaps...
He was directly inside a Previous Civilization.
—What was this supposed to mean?
"I feel that, perhaps..."
Bai Zhou drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the restlessness in his heart, then looked at Ya and said:
"Perhaps I really am lucky enough to encounter something else that 'spills out'?"
He said,
"As long as I pay attention to safety, going to the Ruins Realm to take a look won't affect anything, right?"
"That's true." Ya's expression eased.
"As long as you don't place too much hope in it."
"Mm..."
Bai Zhou slowly nodded.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
His heart was nearly leaping out of his chest, yet he continued to keep his expression perfectly normal.
There was no bloody struggle, no Law of the Jungle.
No one knew that Bai Zhou was privately enjoying an entire ruin of a Previous Civilization.
All the Extraordinary Ones were fighting over and over on the "first layer"... while Bai Zhou alone was deep within some unknown layer.
—So I'm "adventuring" alone in the depths of history?
—Exploring the mysterious "Jurassic," whose full appearance I still can't see?
Even at this moment, Bai Zhou still suspected that Ya was joking with him. He felt dazed, as if he were in a dream.
...Because if that was the case, he was far too special.
The places other people could go, Bai Zhou could go as well;
As long as he didn't use a pass and instead crossed over through a normal Ritual, he should be able to reach the surface layer where the Extraordinary Ones gathered.
But places others couldn't go, places beyond imagination... he had already been exploring them for half a day.
—Truly, nothing was forbidden to him!
It was as if, from the day Evening City shattered,
Bai Zhou had completely become a different person.
Deputy Han, Major...
They seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to bring Bai Zhou any fear or sense of oppression.
They knew nothing about Bai Zhou.
Even Bai Zhou himself couldn't see through the person he had become.
The Bai Zhou who had once worried over an empty stomach, growing up in mediocrity and hardship,
seemed to have quietly vanished long ago.
In his place was someone who...
Bai Zhou suddenly remembered what Ya had said to him when he advanced to [Adventurer]—
"Congratulations, Destined One Bai Zhou!"
He slowly clenched his fist, gripping the pattern symbolizing destiny in his palm.
As if he were holding destiny in his hand, a subtle confidence welled up from within.
So—
"Destiny" really is with me...
Before you continue