Chapter 575: Rain

The levitation engine hummed silently, lowering Li Cheng slowly and effortlessly onto the water's surface without ruffling a single ripple (actually fearing that any sudden motion might jolt loose the bone ornaments on his body).

"We shall never forget your life-saving grace, Elder."

Ada, reduced to nothing but a head, spoke through her throat's broadcast speaker; to show respect, she projected a 3D image of herself via her eyeballs and bowed deeply to the Skeleton Knight. "The Whale Song Guild will forever remember your kindness."

"We too."

Wu Quan and Alcy, barely regaining mobility, hurriedly added: "The Special Affairs Bureau, Mechanized Thunder, Eagle of Saladin, Monutong Alliance… will forever remember your kindness."

¤￠o

The cube servitors high above immediately grew restless: "They're stealing our lines?!" "This is shameful plagiarism!"

Li Cheng now felt PTSD at the mere mention of "kindness," but to maintain his master's demeanor, he kept his cold, upright stance, back turned to Wu Quan and the others, and said calmly: "Have you completed your mission?"

"Completed."

Wu Quan nodded; the mission log confirmed it without doubt.

Li Cheng asked again: "The curse on your backs?"

With the collapse and dissolution of the Republican-era mansion, the red blotches cursed upon Wu Quan and the others' spines had receded drastically, losing their anomalous properties and ceasing to spawn malevolent spirits.

Yet the filaments of red hair-like mycelium still remained, rooted deep within the dermis—appearing to risk infiltration into the bloodstream.

Wu Quan exhaled in relief: "Just some hyperplastic hair growth. Not a big issue. The Special Affairs Bureau offers cosmetic surgery and deep medical services."

"That's true."

Xiao Yuan, the customer service rep on the Myriad Eyes communication earpiece, added: "The Special Affairs Bureau once rescued a transcendent life from a script world, known as the Source Celestial Master."

His later years remain unknown, but his entire body grew red hair. After treatment, he regained his sanity, gradually regained human form, and now works part-time as a mascot plushie in a theme park, entertaining children every day."

?

You Special Affairs Bureau really do love kidnapping bosses from script worlds.

I'm starting to suspect the forum rumors are true—that you have a collecting obsession and aim to gather every possible hair and iris color from script bosses.

During the conversation, Ada temporarily generated limbs and extremities from green data to revive the comatose Radiant Addict warriors,

808bass, and others.

These individuals, having been plunged into utter despair before unconsciousness and certain of their deaths, were stunned to find themselves alive, and immediately showered the Tungsten Bone Knight with endless thanks, vowing to erect spirit tablets in their homes and so on.

Li Cheng maintained his cold, upright stance, saying nothing, watching as the Radiant Addict warriors, Alcy, and others gradually vanished back into the real world, then said calmly: "I'm leaving. You should evacuate quickly—this place is unsafe."

"Master Tungsten Bone, please wait."

Xiao Yuan suddenly spoke: "Could we have a word?"

All players except Wu Quan had already withdrawn, and no one had set up hydroelectric generators or radio transmitters

to mark the current location.

Wu Quan, ever tactful, placed the Myriad Eyes earpiece on a floating log, then piloted his submarine backward a hundred meters, donned noise-canceling headphones, and pulled out a fishing rod to begin angling.

"What do you want to say?"

Li Cheng's tone was calm, but he was alert—he had no idea what the Special Affairs Bureau had discussed with the Skeleton Knight.

"You previously warned us to pay attention to the Divine Corruption Tower. We've reconfirmed it,"

Xiao Yuan said in a tone devoid of personal emotion, speaking purely as the voice of the Special Affairs Bureau to the Tungsten Bone: "The 【Sand Sea Big Data Apparatus】 has predicted that the probability of a Divine Corruption manifesting soon has indeed approached its expected threshold."

Li Cheng's heart stirred. The 【Sand Sea Big Data Apparatus】, like the Special Affairs Bureau's obsession with collecting script bosses, was merely a rumor.

Rumor claimed it was a supercomputer based on unknown principles, capable of automatically collecting, integrating, and analyzing all known information to output predictions for the coming months or years.

From matchmaking advice and gacha game odds to box office forecasts, up to stock market fluctuations, international geopolitics, and human scientific progress—it achieved a 60–80% accuracy rate.

Considering that the stock market includes the perpetually chaotic A-share market, this accuracy is already exceptional. It could easily outperform Buffett in quantitative trading.

Coupled with rumors placing the 【Sand Sea Big Data Apparatus】 within the Simulated Star Corridor, activating it once likely consumes astronomical energy. Otherwise, the Special Affairs Bureau's logistics and R&D staff would surely use it in their spare time for absurd predictions—like whether archaeologists millennia from now might mistake a shut-in's wallpaper as mural art, action figures as burial goods, or life-sized pillows as human figurines.

As for the Divine Corruption Tower, according to scattered forum fragments, it is a region where numerous Divine Corruptions frequently appear.

The Tungsten Bone Knight remained silent. Fortunately, Xiao Yuan took this as tacit approval and continued: "Moreover, the next Divine Corruption to manifest may include Dead Light, Shang Sha, Blood Moon, and the Insect Lord."

Boom!

Before Li Cheng could react, the gray rain above jolted, accidentally elbowing the control stick; the hovering Imperial Guard tank recoiled backward and collided with another, producing a loud crash.

Gray Rain gasped—Myriad Eyes earpieces captured sound perfectly; they'd definitely heard that. What now?

"Release oil! Release oil!"

In a moment of quick thinking, she issued a command over the comms channel: all Imperial Guard tanks simultaneously opened their fuel tanks; even the cube and cylinder servitors leaned out of their cabins to discharge mechanical lubricant.

The oil, falling through the air, shattered into droplets like rain, drenching the swamp several kilometers from the battlefield center.

Masking the noise of the tank collision as distant thunder.

"It's raining."

Li Cheng spoke gravely, reaching out and clenching his hand firmly into empty air.

At that moment, the oil release above ceased; the droplets abruptly stopped falling, as if the Skeleton Knight had simply halted the rain with his will.

Xiao Yuan said solemnly: "We will continue monitoring the real world, maintaining balance between the two realms."

"I hope so."

Li Cheng dared not linger. He activated the levitation engine, skimming just above the swamp's surface, and once behind a low hill, immediately went into hiding, observing from afar.

Wu Quan picked up the Myriad Eyes earpiece, retracted his submarine, and vanished from the spot.

Shortly after he left, a large cluster of fish, poisoned by the fuel, floated to the surface of the swamp, bellies up, their eyes reflecting strange glimmers.

"Phew, thank goodness."

Li Cheng, barely holding up his act, wiped sweat from his brow. If Wu Quan and Xiao Yuan didn't leave soon, he'd have to say, "Get out fast—I want to see some bone-thin photos."

At this moment, Gray Rain leapt from the Imperial Guard tank, free-falling, then used her 【Spirit Ambush】 skill to slow her descent before heroically landing on the ground. She brushed her hair aside and asked: "What's this about the Insect Lord Divine Corruption possibly appearing?"

"The 【Sand Sea Big Data Apparatus】 has a 60–70% accuracy rate—it's not guaranteed."

Li Cheng gave a brief explanation. He had appeared as the Skeleton Knight and could not now go back to question the Special Affairs Bureau: "If it's about the Insect Lord, just ask the big group."