The sky was filled with a dark, oppressive mass of clouds, making it hard to breathe. Soon after, a strong wind swept in, and large hailstones rained down as if they were free, pelting pedestrians who hadn't had time to dodge.
Yesterday was a sunny and clear day, but overnight it turned into extremely bad weather, causing immense suffering for the people at the bottom of society.
This year's harvest will likely be meager. Such weather is common and not something worth reporting.
However, this massive hailstorm didn't just occur in Shangjing; it hit almost every corner of the world at the same time.
It's as if the whole world is crying and grieving for someone, wanting to seek justice for that person.
Shang Shujue stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and glanced at the time: 2:37 PM. At this time, it should have been a clear, sunny day.
But at this moment, the sky was as black as night. He frowned, his intuition telling him that something was wrong. Either that elusive World Consciousness was causing trouble, or something had happened to Su Youchuan.
He still possesses so much fortune; if something were to happen to him while he's basking in that fortune, the world would inevitably be affected. But would the impact be that significant?
"Host, Su Youchuan has been frantically recalling his childhood and the times he was pursued by Shang Shujue these past two days, causing him to reflect on his life and feel deep regret. He has begun to hate his birth and the person who gave him everything..."
Nuomi hurriedly came out of the System Space and talked a lot with Shang Shujue. Fearing that he might not understand, she simply summarized it concisely.
"What I mean is, Su Youchuan's mentality has collapsed. Subconsciously, he no longer wants the identity of this Child of Fortune. He has developed a sense of self-loathing and doesn't want to be a pawn anymore."
" The World Consciousness certainly couldn't agree, so it was forced to reveal itself, using all its energy to connect its joys and sorrows with the weather of this world."
" The World Consciousness created a false dream for him to stabilize his emotions, but the resulting aversion manifested as this terrible weather..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Shujue frowned deeply. "Is it currently connecting, or has it already succeeded?"
"It's a success..."
Nuomi looked out the window at the weather, and when she said this, her eyes were full of sorrow, and her tail stopped wagging.
"Host... have we failed our mission in this world?"
"..."
Shang Shujue fell silent. He didn't know how to answer Nuomi's question. He also didn't know if he could really accumulate enough Merit Points on his own before Su Youchuan destroyed the entire world.
"Can Nuomi enter Su Youchuan's dream?"
Nuomi turned to look at Shang Shujue and saw his determined gaze, which seemed to indicate that he had not given up. She paused for a moment, then shook her head with some regret.
"I'm sorry, host... Even with Dream-Entering Talisman, I can't enter Su Youchuan's dream. He's currently immersed in it, and the World Consciousness intends to use his dream as the core to recreate a new world without you, and continue the story's trajectory."
"...?" Shang Shujue was silent for a while, feeling a headache. Was this any different from the World Consciousness jumping up and down, wanting to destroy the world? No wonder Su Youchuan had a bad mentality, and so did the World Consciousness. It's true that every pot has its lid!
"Then can you tell me why Su Youchuan's mental state collapsed? Was it sadness, heartbreak, or regret?"
Shang Shujue covered his forehead in exasperation, his tone filled with barely suppressed helplessness. Nuomi frantically searched through the System Store and information before telling him.
"It seems he learned from Yang Shaoying that you're doing very well, while Han Dong has been courting disaster lately, even causing the deaths of his own parents. Su Youchuan probably felt very sad about it, and then he broke down..."
"... No way, with that kind of mentality, how did he manage to do such heinous things? Was he possessed? I'm truly impressed—"
Upon hearing this, Shang Shujue was dumbfounded. Was Su Youchuan's mental fortitude really that weak? This couldn't be right...
"Uh... maybe it's a role awakening... because of your existence, you represent vigilance and justice, and people who spend a lot of time with you are always more likely to reflect on themselves and yearn for justice and such."
"Besides, Su Youchuan has truly fallen in love with you now. He yearns for you, and then he reflected on his actions, so..."
You, Oh Mi, stopped there, but Shang Shujue understood what he meant. He was speechless and angry.
"Oh, I have to thank him! Damn!"
Shang Shujue turned around, walked to the sofa, picked up her phone, found Su Youchuan's number in the blacklist, and dialed it. She dialed about five times, but no one answered.
"Looks like calling won't work. I'll try calling Song Yanqing. In this awful weather, surely he's still training?"
"Host, they are in an underground, enclosed space, unable to sense changes in the weather above ground..."
"..."
Shang Shujue called Song Yanqing, but no one answered the first call, and the second call also went unanswered; the phone only showed a no signal message.
"Alright, Nuomi, buy Divine Movement Talisman, Dream-Entering Talisman, and Body-Protecting Heavenly Dipper Talisman from the System Store. Use the Divine Movement Talisman and Body-Protecting Heavenly Dipper Talisman to get me safely there first. I'm going straight to Su Youchuan's house; that bastard deserves a beating!"
"Host, I understand. I'll get on it right away!"
As soon as Nuomi finished speaking, Shang Shujue Shang Shujue enveloped in a light golden glow, which then merged into his body, protecting him completely.
He turned and walked to the balcony. Before jumping, he looked at the dark sky still hailing and whispered to Nuomi, "Deduct all Merit Points and remaining points, rewind time to before the hail started falling, and freeze time."
"Host! If you do this, you will..."
Nuomi's eyes widened instantly, looking at Shang Shujue with some worry. Shang Shujue didn't want to hear his emotional appeal and interrupted him directly, his tone firm and his eyes resolute.
"Stop talking nonsense, do as I say!"
"... good!"
Before Shang Shujue jumped, time returned to the clear blue sky before the hailstorm. Time stood still, and he jumped off the platform, disappearing instantly upon activating the Divine Movement Talisman.
Ten minutes later, Shang Shujue arrived at Su Youchuan's door. Yang Shaoying had just left, and Su Youchuan had just lain down in bed. He climbed directly from the tree branch to the upper floor.
" Nuomi, where is Su Youchuan?"
[Host... sizzle... World Consciousness... sizzle... is right next to Su Youchuan... sizzle... follow me for a haircut... sizzle... Host! I'm about to be blocked... sizzle... Here are the talisman and the Divine Movement Whip... sizzle... be careful... sizzle--]
Nuomi's voice disappeared. Shang Shujue frowned, gripped the Divine Movement Whip in his hand, and felt no threat from the pressure emanating from it. Instead, it instilled fear in the World Consciousness that was resisting him.
"You piece of trash who treats human life like dirt! You actually dare to threaten me like this! I, Shang Shujue, hate being threatened more than anything in my life!"
As soon as Shang Shujue finished speaking, he rushed into Su Youchuan's room with the scissor. When he saw the black mist floating on Su Youchuan, he didn't hesitate for a moment and lashed out with his whip, determined to kill it.
"Ah—outsider! You dare touch me! I'll kill the people you care about—and another outsider! He has no protection whatsoever; if I kill him, he's doomed!"
It trembled and dodged, the connection ritual broke, and Su Youchuan fainted. But it didn't care about anything else and continued to threaten him recklessly, even showing Song Yanqing's face.
"You're asking for it!"
Shang Shujue paused, his cold and fierce aura instantly intensified, and the coldness between his brows and eyes transformed into boundless rage, all of which gathered on the Divine Movement Whip in his hand.
At that moment, he moved with incredible speed, landing in front of the black mist like lightning. His whip struck it with perfect accuracy, and the mist let out a miserable cry before scattering without even having time to say its last words.
After the black mist dissipated, a pink crystal core was suspended in mid-air Shang Shujue didn't have time to see what the crystal core was, let alone dodge it.
It struck him in an instant, merging into his body. He was stunned for a moment, then everything went black, and he passed out.
Holy crap—what the hell is this thing...? Uh...
"Host--"