Only After Setbacks Can One Truly Understand Life's Philosophies!

The moment the enormous golden sword light came crashing down, the Zombie's figure vanished completely beneath the blow.

Boom!

Amid the thunderous roar, the ground was leveled. As far as the eye could see, it looked like a doodle wiped away by an eraser. Every piece of rubble, every ruined wall and broken structure along that path had vanished completely, leaving only a flat expanse marked by the sword's slash.

Whoosh~~

Under the night sky, the wind howled past. The surroundings, already resembling a disaster zone after the building's collapse, had been reduced to even greater ruin by that strike. They could even be called desolate.

And upon that desolate ground, only Fang Ran stood there in stunned disbelief.

His eyes were vacant as he stared at the enormous ravine before him, his mouth slightly agape, unable to believe what he was seeing. The Silver Dragon longsword had fallen to the ground and turned back into a belt.

Did... I do this?

For a long time, that was the only thought left in his mind. Blood still streaked down his face, mixed with dust and leaving it filthy and disheveled.

He looked at his raised hand, utterly lost in thought.

Meanwhile, at the former site of the building not far away.

Boom!

Lightning and flames collided, triggering another violent explosion. The surrounding area was nearly pitch-black, littered with traces of countless blasts!

The culprits behind it all, the single-ponytailed girl and the unruly young man, stopped moving at the same time. The lightning and flames in their hands simultaneously subsided, and both frowned as they looked in another direction.

Atop the building, broken in half, the Middle-aged Gentleman stopped reciting the spell that controlled the demon and looked toward a certain direction in surprise. Nor was he the only one. The beautiful subordinate fighting someone in midair while worrying about Ye Sheng, the boy in the back alley wearing huge headphones and a Korean-style trench coat, and countless others all stopped what they were doing and looked toward the source of the sudden disturbance.

Just as everyone was shocked and confused by this.

Ding! Target confirmed dead.

Ding! D-27 has been successfully killed.

Ding! Night Battle results being calculated.

Ding! All results are being finalized.

Ding! No abnormal interference detected.

Ding! This Night Battle scenario has ended.

Ding! All participants, 11/11, are ready for return. Countdown: nine.

A string of system-exclusive "ding" notifications rang beside every participant's ears. Everyone widened their eyes and stared incredulously at the mist still lingering around the building.

What was going on!?

Before the mist had even fully cleared, someone had found D-27's true body?!

There was no time for them all to be astonished. The system countdown was already drawing to an end.

Above the building, the Middle-aged Gentleman's face darkened, his expression sinister.

"Who!? Just who was it that could actually—"

The countdown ended, and his figure disappeared.

On Fang Ran's side, the same string of notifications appeared before his bewildered eyes. But unlike the others, several additional messages appeared at the end.

Ding! Primordial Qualification achieved. Participant permissions granted.

Ding! You killed D-27.

Ding! Night Battle Reward issued.

"Hm?"

Fang Ran was still dazed. He remained deeply shaken by the sword wave he had just unleashed.

"You..."

Suddenly, a figure in the distance staggered to her feet. Fang Ran jumped, and all his absentmindedness instantly vanished. He remembered the terrible situation he was currently in.

He was shocked that she could still wake up after injuries like those, but then he realized that his left hand no longer hurt and had stopped bleeding.

Uh, was this because the instance had ended and health was starting to recover?

Ye Sheng staggered toward Fang Ran. From the way she swayed, Fang Ran had no doubt that she might collapse the very next second. So recovery was gradual. At the moment the danger disappeared, Fang Ran, who had yet to process what had happened, began drifting into random thoughts.

"You..."

Ye Sheng was still in terrible condition. Her ribs were fractured, her head was concussed, and the blow from the Middle-aged Gentleman's demon ambush had seriously injured her. Her vision was still blurred, and she could not see clearly before her.

But she had to stand. At the very least, she knew that after the person before her had swung out that sword light, the Night Battle had ended. That thing—the reward—had to be in his hands!

I have to...

"You..."

Ye Sheng spoke with difficulty, but the agony kept her from forming a complete sentence. She staggered closer to Fang Ran.

Fang Ran's heart inexplicably began pounding. A beauty who looked like she had stepped straight out of television was staggering toward him. He was already certain that she could not hold herself up any longer.

And at this distance, she would definitely fall into his arms!!!

Thump, thump!!

That was Fang Ran's heart hammering violently, and he shamefully realized—

Damn it, I'm actually kind of looking forward to this.

Ye Sheng continued stubbornly staggering forward. In her vision, she could only make out a figure standing before her, seemingly watching her.

Closer, closer.

As Ye Sheng gradually closed the distance, she could finally make out the person's face within the small range of her vision amid the darkness!

But suddenly, she felt herself step on something.

Her body tipped over. Ye Sheng lost her balance and pitched forward, her vision suddenly plunging!

Ding! Countdown: one.

As if fate were mocking her, the system finished reading the final second. Ye Sheng panicked. Her hand seemed to grab hold of something, and she desperately raised her head to look.

It was a figure she failed to see clearly even at the very end.

Then both of their figures vanished at the same time.

Buzz!

His vision filled with white light, and he was briefly dazed and dizzy. The next second, Fang Ran snapped back to his senses.

"Me!!!"

He abruptly raised his head and looked around.

The night around him was quiet, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects from the residential complex. But what shocked Fang Ran most was what he saw in the distance.

The upper half of the station building stood intact beneath the night sky.

And he was currently in a back alley of a residential complex near the station. The building directly ahead was standing there perfectly fine.

"A dream...?"

Fang Ran asked in disbelief, still unable to calm down. If everything earlier had been an illusion, then...

However, he soon confirmed one fact.

What had just happened did not seem to have been a dream.

Because the irrefutable proof Fang Ran had at that moment was—

—his jeans were gone.

Yes, that was right. You saw correctly. His jeans were gone.

Back when he had first been chased, after Xiaomi had been sacrificed, the side of his pants had already torn open in a huge rip and was barely holding together.

The night air was slightly chilly in the deserted back alley of the residential complex.

Fang Ran trembled all over, lips pressed tightly together, chin raised proudly. He somehow looked rather gentlemanly.

The evening breeze made Fang Ran feel a little cold. At last, he understood something his moral education teacher had once said.

Only after experiencing setbacks could people understand life's philosophies.

Fang Ran felt that he had now grasped this life philosophy.

First, the whole thing about encountering a beautiful woman in trouble, then accidentally getting to take advantage of her and seeing her underwear or something—that was all a lie from web novels. In reality,

it might be your underwear that got seen.

Second, without a belt,

pants could fall down very easily.

And lastly—

never casually set a flag for yourself!!!

"This is killing me!"

Fang Ran covered his face and crouched down, on the verge of tears.

"This time, I really have to Nude Run all the way home!!"