The Final Step

Think about the people you've killed!

Think of your parents!

"How bleak, how cruel, how hopeless this world is!"

Lu Zun, controlling his body, shouted desperately, "Below you is a bottomless abyss. If you jump in, you'll be free, like returning to your mother's embrace!"

' Qin Yiguan ' stared at the ground in front of him.

Grains of sand, due to the vibrations emanating from the depths of the crack, rolled continuously into the abyss and disappeared without a trace.

"They are free."

"I have not..."

' Qin Yiguan ' looked dejected. Suddenly, it looked up at Lu Zun and said, "You're right, I can't take it anymore. I want to go back to my mother's embrace..."

Suddenly.

Qin Yiguan released his grip, and he fell completely to the ground.

At this moment, Lu Zun was also inexplicably dragged to the edge of Leviathan by some unknown force, just one step away from falling into the abyss. But as Qin Yiguan fell, his body relaxed, and he finally regained control of his body.

And at this very moment.

No force could interfere with the Absolute Hit; Lu Zun's body suddenly took off and landed more than 100 meters away!

He was still shaken and drenched in sweat!

Call!

Qin Yiguan suddenly woke up with a start, only to find himself curled up on the first-floor stairs, having fallen asleep at some point.

A blanket was also covering his body.

He glanced at his sleeve and touched the corner of his mouth. "How come there are so many energy cube remnants? Did I sneak some?"

The next moment.

Qin Yiguan squinted, "Has the Child woken up?"

He rubbed his head. "What happened?"

All he remembered was that after leaving Dr. House's clinic in the Experimental Zone, he was preparing to log off and go home to visit Teacher Qing.

Then... not only did I fail to log off, it felt like I was dreaming.

He entered a pitch-black environment where 11 figures sat opposite him, all silent. He couldn't see their faces, nor could he move or speak.

Time seemed to have passed for a very, very long time.

The twelfth figure returned, dejected and radiating utter negativity and despair. He snatched his chair and pushed himself out of the darkness.

then.

I woke up on my own.

It was at this moment that God's Abandoned once again sent out a set of data in a very impressive manner.

' Brain Restricted Zone A07 [Dissociation VI] -- Development Rate +5, Current Development Rate 20%'

Personality 1: Black Calamity.

Personality 2: Guardian.

Personality 3: Child.

Personality 4: The Boundless One.

Personality 5: The Victim.

"Victim?"

"What is that?!"

After a moment of silence, Qin Yiguan thought to himself, "I'm not sick!"

Beep beep beep.

The communicator rang.

It was none other than the Jiu Zhengxuan.

"Qin Yiguan, come to the Experimental Zone immediately, coordinates 1622/2236."

I don't want to go.

"Come quickly!"

"I don't want to sleep anymore!"

"Come quickly!"

"Call me brother."

"You...! Come here immediately!"

Metaverse Experimental Zone, coordinates 1622/2236.

This is a warehouse in the desert, enormous inside, with a pungent smell of blood.

Qin Yiguan slowly walked into the warehouse.

But then Jiu Zhengxuan stood in the center of the warehouse, his white suit stained with blood, holding his own head in his hand.

To be precise, it was a head with the exact same face as him.

Qin Yiguan met his gaze.

Jiu Zhengxuan's face paled slightly as he said, "This is... San Zhengxuan."

Qin Yiguan, intrigued, tilted his head slightly and said, "You killed someone."

"I don't."

Jiu Zhengxuan frowned, "I didn't kill them!"

Qin Yiguan chuckled, "Killed him, so be it. I'm different from you; I won't whine or blame you."

"I didn't kill him!"

Jiu Zhengxuan's voice was inexplicably agitated as he tried his best to explain.

"Hehe."

Qin Yiguan smiled. "I believed you, but only to save face for you. In truth, I didn't believe you at all."

"You..."

Jiu Zhengxuan's face turned purple.

Qin Yiguan then said, "You summoned me here just to tell me this?"

Jiu Zhengxuan slowly extended his palm, revealing a stack of memory chips, totaling 30.

He said, "I've read it. These are the memories of different people being tortured and murdered. The methods are cruel and bloody. The murderer... is San Zhengxuan."

Qin Yiguan remained unmoved. "The same situation exists on the basement floor of the Memory Archives next to the school; it's all filled with these memories of torture and murder."

Jiu Zhengxuan frowned.

Qin Yiguan continued, "The one who harmed Teacher Qing was Fourth Zheng Xuan. Xiao Li, who works for Officer Wang, is a traitor within the police station; he specializes in collecting these memories from the minds of the deceased."

"But."

"I just killed Fourth Zheng Xuan and Xiao Li."

"As per our agreement, I'm sharing this information with you."

Jiu Zhengxuan's expression changed repeatedly, his eyes twitching as he said, "Fourth Zheng Xuan and the others... Qin Yiguan, I am still the captain of the Youth Order Squad, and you dare to openly recount your murderous crimes to me!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yiguan remained silent, quietly observing Jiu Zhengxuan's blood-stained body. He noticed that Jiu Zhengxuan showed no inclination to arrest him.

Qin Yiguan smiled. "Now, it's confirmed that you have eight brothers. They are all pawns of Lu Zun. As for that memory archive, it was built at Lu Zun's insistence, and the torture memories it contains are also important tools in Lu Zun's conspiracy."

"As for San Zhengxuan, his duty is clearly to collect more memories of torture and murder; if he can't collect them, he'll do it himself."

Qin Yiguan raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiu Zhengxuan, "Your father has no conscience whatsoever, and he's insatiably greedy."

"Shut up!"

Jiu Zhengxuan's body was still trembling slightly. "This proves nothing! Perhaps it was all the will of my eight... brothers! Their own independent action! Currently, there is no direct evidence to show that this is related to my father!"

Jiu Zhengxuan clenched his fist. "However, I can't contact my father right now, so I can't verify this!"

"Well..."

Qin Yiguan sighed, "I thought you had finally come to your senses, but it turns out you won't admit it until you're faced with the truth! You're right, there's no direct evidence right now. The Experimental Zone is too vast, and I have no way of locating Lu Zun's suspected ' Leviathan Rift ' conspiracy."

"And he's a top-ranking official."

Even the Metaverse Know-It-All couldn't find his whereabouts.

As he spoke, Qin Yiguan looked at the memory chip in Jiu Zhengxuan's hand, which was still stained with a lot of blood. The severed head in Jiu Zhengxuan's hand was also dripping blood onto the ground.

People are being murdered every single moment.

Qin Yiguan frowned. "I've lost my patience. I don't need this experience pack."

Jiu Zhengxuan didn't quite understand Qin Yiguan's meaning and asked suspiciously, "What do you mean? What are you going to do?"

Qin Yiguan shrugged slightly, his body transformed into blue code, and vanished instantly.

The distant Experimental Zone of the Metaverse.

Before the Leviathan Rift.

Lu Zun stood a hundred meters away, his forehead still dripping with cold sweat.

Just now, in the instant he took to the air, he saw Qin Yiguan's falling body being swallowed by the dark light from the crack, as if it had been burned to ashes by a raging fire!

"Hehe..."

Lu Zun smiled. For some reason, the confirmation of Qin Yiguan's death, who was originally a minor figure in his eyes, brought him extreme peace.

Why have I become so timid and hesitant?

He shook his head, staring at the entire Leviathan, his teeth grinding together.

"Qin Yiguan, who gave me the biggest headache, is dead!"

"I don't want this 'stepping stone' anymore!"

"It's time to complete the final step!"

Central District No. 03, Building A5426.

Qin Yiguan, accompanied by the nanny robot, infiltrated the luxurious residence.

First, we passed through a spotless living room.

He easily made his way to the first bedroom, took a red apple from the cabinet, took a bite, and chewed slowly.

He looked at Jiu Zhengxuan inside the Nutrient Pod and said, "You're fucking stupid."

Immediately.

Qin Yiguan took another bite of the apple and looked up at the upper diagonal.

The bedroom on the second floor and Jiu Zhengxuan's bedroom are separated by a transparent glass partition.

In the room above, there was a vertical Nutrient Pod facing Jiu Zhengxuan. Inside was an extremely old man with withered limbs, sparse hair, and age spots all over his body. Even his right leg had completely atrophied and had no muscle left.

"I felt something was off when I first came here."

"But I never imagined there were so many stories behind it."

"You see, he's been 'monitoring' you all along because you're his most important tool."

Qin Yiguan looked at Jiu Zhengxuan, "In the old days, coffins buried vertically would turn the dead into the most ferocious ghosts. Lu Zun corresponds to this legend. His Nutrient Pod is vertical, and after entering the Metaverse, he is indeed no different from a ghost!"

At this moment, Qin Yiguan finished eating the apple in his hand, and then picked up a bunch of grapes. While eating them, he slowly climbed up to the second floor.

Standing in front of Lu Zun's Nutrient Pod.

Qin Yiguan gently placed the delicious grapes in his hand aside.

Then he grabbed the wiring behind the Nutrient Pod.

"Lu Zun, you really give me a headache."

"'Experience packs'... I don't want them!"

"It's time to take the final step!"

Click!

Qin Yiguan snapped the wire in his hand!

But there were too many wires in this Nutrient Pod, so he grabbed another one.

Click!

Then, Qin Yiguan kicked the nutrient solution delivery pipe, breaking it!

But then the indicator lights in the entire Nutrient Pod were flashing wildly, illuminating Qin Yiguan's face in a flickering light!

In just 10 seconds, the entire Nutrient Pod suddenly went out.

In the final instant, the virtual panel beside me lit up for a fleeting moment—'Vitality signs zero!'

The aged body inside the Nutrient Pod went limp, and its head drooped!

Qin Yiguan chuckled softly.

I picked up another delicious grape, plucked one out, put it in my mouth, and slowly walked down the stairs.