Time Returns to One! A Promise!

Liu Zheng said a few words, then left behind his contact information.

Yu Tiezhu was the first to take it and write it down.

Wu Yu and the others followed suit without showing anything unusual.

"Bro! Leave me your contact info. When I get back, I'll treat you to sweet-and-sour carp!"

Yu Tiezhu looked at Wu Yu and laughed. "My daughter will cook it herself. It'll be absolutely delicious!"

"No need."

Wu Yu replied flatly.

Seeing him refuse, Yu Tiezhu did not dare press further and could only say honestly, "Alright."

The countdown ticked away second by second, and the Tower remained utterly quiet.

Wu Yu checked the items in his inventory and discovered that the panel for [Dungeon Key] had changed.

[Dungeon Key]

Type: Miscellaneous.

Quality: White.

Description: The key to the village chief's dungeon. It is no longer useful.

"The dungeon is in the village chief's house?"

He was somewhat surprised.

This thing had been obtained from the Evil Tiger Stronghold, yet it belonged to the village chief's dungeon. That was interesting!

"Looks like this was a hidden quest too. I just never uncovered it."

"What a pity."

"With the True Great Ruins existing, this [Newcomer Secret Realm] must be fake! A dungeon... or perhaps spacetime from the past."

The Dungeon Key was already useless. Wu Yu could only shake his head and give it no further thought.

He had never been a greedy man. Human strength had its limits; it was enough to seize sufficient opportunities. There was no need to pursue perfection in every detail.

Time passed quickly!

Creak—!

The ancient bronze door suddenly opened.

Wu Yu hurriedly looked over and found that outside the ancient door was actually the hallway of his own apartment building. The open security door was exactly as it had been when he arrived.

On the ground, the box that had contained the [External Heavenly Spiritual Root] lay quietly.

"It's the construction site! Outside is the construction site!"

Yu Tiezhu shot to his feet, startled and delighted.

"On my side, I'm seeing the inside of the Inspection Bureau!"

Liu Zheng also stood up and nodded. "It seems that the space beyond the door is different for everyone."

"This Tower was mysterious to begin with. There's no need to be surprised by whatever appears."

"Let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Zheng took the lead and walked out. The moment he passed through the ancient door, his figure vanished before everyone's eyes.

Liu Yu got to his feet unsteadily. As he passed Wu Yu, he raised a brow at him, then glanced at the girl and laughed. "You actually didn't kill her. You're quite the gentleman, cherishing jade and pitying flowers."

"?"

Wu Yu frowned.

Liu Yu offered no explanation and left with a lazy expression.

Bai Xiaotian put on an obedient act, greeted the others, and left as well.

Yu Tiezhu was in no hurry. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Wu Yu.

"Bro, you're a good person, but I can't shamelessly take so many things from you."

"Consider these things a debt I owe you. If you need anything, just contact me."

As he spoke, he gave Wu Yu a communication account, then hurried away.

Watching them leave, Wu Yu slowly rose to his feet, only to see that the girl had stood up at the same time.

"What, do you want to thank me too?"

Wu Yu smiled.

The girl pursed her lips in a smile and said, "Uncle~! If you can catch me in the real world, I'll definitely thank you properly."

"Sure."

Wu Yu chuckled and nodded. "If I catch you in the real world, I'll definitely make you break."

"Uncle, what exactly counts as breaking?"

The girl looked confused, tilting her head with an innocent expression.

Wu Yu knew she was pretending, so he could not be bothered to waste more words. He strode to the ancient door and stepped through it.

With one step, he crossed space and returned to the hallway.

Dusk had yet to depart, while night took its time arriving.

Wu Yu picked up the box from the ground. Recalling the information he had seen earlier, he could not help forming a guess.

When he turned around, there was no ancient bronze door behind him. Only the hallway, flooded by darkness.

Crash—!

Heavy rain poured outside, and a cold chill blew in, cutting across his face.

But times had changed. Wu Yu did not care about such a little chill.

At the entrance to the hallway, he raised his head and looked up.

Within the dark, oppressive clouds, the Mysterious Tower could no longer be seen.

Wu Yu pondered for a moment, then took the Communication Watch from his coat and glanced at it.

The time... was roughly the same as when he had entered the Tower.

"Time returns to one. It seems it isn't only the time of every Tower Climber participating in the secret realm that returns to one. The time between the Great Ruins and the real world can probably be altered too."

"What an inconceivable power!"

"Could this be a benefit of the [Newcomer Secret Realm]?"

Wu Yu returned home and shut the door.

His little home was simply furnished: one living room, one bedroom, and one bathroom. It did not even have a kitchen.

Since he had received rewards not long ago, Wu Yu's current clothes no longer fit him well. His height and build had changed somewhat.

He changed into another set of clothes, lay on the sofa, closed his eyes, and began resting.

Late at night!

Wu Yu opened his eyes and abruptly sat up.

The moment he woke, his blood and qi trembled throughout his body, and a wave of heat drove away the chill around him.

"Sleeping at home really does feel more secure."

Wu Yu twisted his neck and took out the Communication Watch for a look.

Three in the morning!

"A few hours have passed. If there were more than nine Tower Climbers, news should already be spreading online."

Wu Yu nodded slightly and tapped the watch.

White light shot out, unfolding a virtual screen above the watch.

After the Great Cataclysm, humanity had rebuilt civilization.

But the remaining and newly emerged spatial gates were still dangerous. Chaotic spirit energy filled the wilderness beyond the cities, making it difficult to establish networks.

For example, River City's Spirit Network only covered the city and the nearby towns. Beyond that, there was nothing.

Wu Yu entered several major forum sites and browsed the news.

"Shocking! Someone jumps from Spirit Mountain Technology Park, suspected suicide!"

"Mayor Gao criticizes Deep Space Bank's violent tax collection, calling it a massive threat to federal citizens."

"Mayor Gao pays 20 million in back taxes; Deep Space Bank drops further pursuit of liability."

"[Nine Dragons' Might] potion reaches another record high! One vial now costs three million!"

"Lightning and thunder strike Dragon Mountain District; an expert may be undergoing a tribulation!"

"Expert: Talisman masters should take off their long robes and enter factory assembly lines to mass-produce talismans."

"Nothing."

Wu Yu frowned slightly and opened various forums to browse some more.

He did not search for any keywords. He merely browsed.

Finally,

he found traces of it on a short-video platform.

A Transcendent Martial Artist was showing off his Dao techniques, opening his mouth to spit out a ball of lightning, arrogantly declaring that immortal cultivators had already been eliminated and were the tears of a bygone era.

A young man had learned a martial arts cultivation technique overnight, and his parents proudly filmed a video to show off.

There were a hundred towns around River City, and the city had a permanent population of eighteen million.

Even in the middle of the night, the Spirit Network remained clamorous.

"This is an extraordinary age. Those who did not enter the Tower will find it difficult to tell truth from falsehood."

"But even if half of it is real, that's not bad. It can draw away quite a few eyes."

Wu Yu let out a breath of relief, turned off the watch, and took out several items.

A wine flask containing divine blood, Tiger Roar Soul-Refining Diagram, and [Mountain Lord Soul].

These were the finest gains he had obtained in the [Newcomer Secret Realm]!

But they were different types, so their value was certainly not the same.

"Which one should I use first?"

Wu Yu fell into the sweet agony of choice.