Chapter 536

Hua Jian Lei and the others emerged from the instance mission; after one mission, Hua Jian Lei, whose experience was about to fill up, and Lao Bao leveled up directly, and Xirensheng's experience also visibly grew by a large margin.

Xirensheng must have gone on a killing spree inside; most of the scripts Yue Chengzhang took involved fighting another group of mercenaries, and after noticing something was off he rushed over, then repelled the enemies there.

It's just unknown whether he arrived after Su Jingming's death or before his death.

Yang Yixie asked about Hua Jian Lei's mission situation, as well as the content of the CG after the mission ended.

Better said, he never considered the possibility of mission failure at all.

【Hua Jian Lei: We obtained some unexpected information, but judging from your chat content, it doesn't seem that important anymore.】

【Hua Jian Lei: That guy named Su Jingming didn't die completely; Yue Chengzhang thought he was dead, but in the final story CG, he and Qi Junyi were recruited by Mu Lingxiao.】

Hua Jian Lei gave a rough description of their situation there; at the start, the mission guide split them into two groups, Xirensheng went straight to another area to grind levels, while Hua Jian Lei and Lao Bao rushed toward the laboratory.

But because their roles in the mission turned into security for the researchers, the mercenaries who were just chatting with them moments ago instantly became enemies blocking their path.

Moreover, the ones blocking the road were all elites; likely every somewhat capable remnant of the Old Church is here.

When the two fought those people, Xirensheng was finally allowed by the mission to retreat and chase after Hua Jian Lei and the others; after the three arrived in Heavenly Dome City from Ying Duo, they cooperated again after a long time, and although some time had passed, their coordination was flawless.

After the mission was completed, they also saw that story CG.

When Yue Chengzhang arrived, Qi Junyi was still protecting the gravely wounded Su Jingming; Yue Chengzhang finally teamed up with Qi Junyi to kill all remaining enemies, then led them to the research lab, hoping Su Jingming could receive the best treatment immediately.

The experiment personnel assured that the two would receive the best treatment.

In fact, the lab lacked such complete medical supplies; Su Jingming was wounded in a vital spot and was beyond saving.

Yue Chengzhang ultimately had to face his close friend's dying state, and because other locations also suffered heavy casualties due to the Old Church's main forces, he could only race back onto the battlefield to prevent further tragedies.

But Mu Lingxiao directly used his own Aberrant Arts, literally draining his own energy, and took Qi Junyi, Su Jingming, and the other barely‑alive Special Ability Practitioners back to the Church, where they received the best treatment immediately.

Mu Lingxiao, regarding Qi Hengyu's future, made Qi Junyi a part of her plan.

Although it's unknown where Su Jingming ended up, he certainly didn't die; perhaps he even became a piece she placed in the shadows.

Yang Yixie didn't press further about Su Jingming's whereabouts, but instead asked about another seemingly insignificant person.

【Ying Duo: What about Mu Linyuan? After you were teleported to the Church, did you see him?】

【Hua Jian Lei: No.】

After they were teleported there, everyone they saw obeyed Mu Lingxiao's orders without any reason; actually, their previous actions were quite abrupt, but once Mu Lingxiao spoke, they immediately complied.

It is evident that Mu Lingxiao holds absolute authority in the Church.

Story props, huh......

Yang Yixie lowered his gaze.

【Ying Duo: I'm afraid we have to change the mission direction first.】

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Mu Linyuan stood in the center of an empty room, the room entirely composed of various glowing green lines, with countless "0"s and "1"s representing Data Streams flowing within.

At this moment, he faced a self‑illuminating glowing green sphere.

He still wore a holy white robe, its collar standing up, covering half his face, revealing only a pair of deep azure eyes.

He clearly looked like a religious envoy, starkly out of place amid the surrounding high‑tech futuristic vibe.

"He seems to have realized something's off."

Mu Linyuan watched the real‑time projection from the instance onto their side, and it was clear that the participants' action directives had shifted.

Initially, their goal was to keep a close eye on each important NPC, then uncover the related storyline and discern their purpose.

After all, time inside the instance is completely paused relative to the outside world, so they can use that period to do many things.

"Of course, even though it's a parallel world, that's still me."

From the glowing green orb came Yang Yixie's voice, sounding a bit mischievously lively.

Completely different from the stiff Ying Duo.

This is Yang Yixie, whose soul withdrew early from Ying Duo's body, so he is the "Yang Yixie" who hasn't had prolonged contact with the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone, the Mutation Source.

Although the contact time was short, judging from his energy body being also glowing green, it should have caused a significant impact.

One should know that the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone is a miracle born on the divine side.

"Just as I can precisely find you after another restart, it's more like I'm surprised that he only now discovered this bug."

Perhaps before this, Yang Yixie never had a detailed understanding of the NPCs around him, so even though he clearly possessed many high‑quality story items, he never actually used any of them.

He probably rarely plays hidden‑corner games in the parallel world, right?

"Yang Yixie" couldn't help but think that, unlike the vibrant, flourishing game scene of the real world, there are only a few companies that can make games in the wasteland world, so they are scarce but very well made.

He has always been welcoming to newcomers; children living in Heavenly Dome City usually aren't Dome employees, which means they have some family wealth, and most can afford to buy their kids a portable gaming console.

In the past, Yang Yixie was a minor celebrity in the Academy because of his gaming prowess.

"I have absolutely no doubt about your abilities."

This time Mu Linyuan even directly addressed them as "you all".

Yang Yixie's earlier remark turned out to be prophetic: the final boss is in Xinshou Cun, which sounds like a roundabout way of saying it's back to the starting point.

But in reality, this starting point is the one Mu Linyuan has repeated an unknown number of times.

People living in this world always need some aspirations.

His wish is modest, yet exceptionally difficult.

After countless rewinds of the clock, he finally, within the endlessly repeating fate, found the player who deviates most from the script.

Thus, the player and the Xinshou Cun village chief formed an alliance.