Chapter 179: The Real Ruan Qingtan!【Major Overhaul, Start Reading Anew from Here!】

At this moment, Lin Yifan even desperately hoped that the "Ruan Qingtan" before him was still a fake!

If it were a fake, he could scheme without any pressure.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to face it!

At least at this moment, he felt a little guilty, so he could only weakly say: "Sorry! To me, those are just memories; I really can't recall that I killed you so many times in the illusion realm."

"What's there to apologize for!" Ruan Qingtan raised her short sword, the blade reflecting their blurry silhouettes, and said nonchalantly:

"Originally everything is just an illusion; even if you kill me many times, it's all fake, so there's nothing to fear."

"Moreover, as you kill me more often, your strikes become swifter; I hardly feel any pain, so don't blame yourself!"

"Besides, feeling guilty now is just wasting time, because this layer is still an illusion; if we can't break out of this illusion, we'll be trapped here forever."

Saying this, her face filled with determination, she spoke with heightened spirit:

"Although each previous time ended with one of us dying, this time I believe we can definitely break out, because I believe in you."

"Don't worry, we definitely can." Lin Yifan smiled confidently.

Actually, he wasn't truly that confident; but now, what could he do if he wasn't confident?

However, at this moment Lin Yifan noticed that the dark red bloodstain on the blade of Ruan Qingtan's short sword had not yet dried, casting an eerie hue in the dim light.

Seeing this eerie sheen, his heart jumped, and he instinctively asked:

"You just... killed someone? Who did you kill?"

His voice hoarse, he scanned the surroundings warily.

Ruan Qingtan followed his gaze to the blade, then suddenly gave a light laugh, flipped her wrist, and pointed the tip at his throat—

"Guess?"

Lin Yifan's pupils contracted, his body instinctively leaned back, but he saw her twist her wrist, the blade grazing his neck with a "swish" and stabbing behind him!

"Pfft!"

The dull thud of the blade entering flesh exploded in his ears.

He jerked his head back, only to see a twisted, semi‑transparent humanoid creature gaping with a bloody maw, its head just inches from his neck, pierced through the skull by Ruan Qingtan's short sword.

The monster emitted a shrill wail, then dissolved into black smoke.

Lin Yifan's scalp went numb in an instant; if not for Ruan Qingtan's intervention, he would have been severely injured even if he didn't die.

He swallowed, looking at the jelly‑like transparent figure lying on the ground, and asked:

"What is this?"

Ruan Qingtan, Ruan Qingtan flicked the black blood from her blade, raised an eyebrow, and said to him:

"I don't know what this is, but this is the place where I first entered the illusion realm, and back then I had already slain many of these ghostly things."

"I can't see their names or any info, so I gave them a name myself—Slime."

"Come to think of it, the first time I encountered them, I suffered a great loss at their hands, nearly losing my life."

"So you must be careful; this area right here is the most dangerous!"

Lin Yifan took a deep breath and nodded.

Even so far, he still couldn't confirm whether the "Ruan Qingtan" before him was truly the real Ruan Qingtan.

But one thing is certain: at least at this moment, they are on the same side.

So Lin Yifan didn't voluntarily retreat, and the place he was in was indeed strange.

"What exactly is this place?" He looked around; amid the ruins, faint outlines of broken structures could be seen, like a forgotten battlefield.

"The inner world of the Red Moon." Ruan Qingtan sheathed her short sword, her expression grave, "We are trapped in its mental domain, layer upon layer, like..."

"Russian nesting dolls." Lin Yifan continued.

She gave him an approving glance: "Each time we break an illusion layer, we enter a deeper one, until we are utterly lost."

"How do we get out?"

"Find the 'Core'." Ruan Qingtan pointed into the distance, where a tower's outline loomed faintly in the gray mist, "In these 278 cycles of my being killed over and over, I haven't done nothing!"

Lin Yifan narrowed his eyes and suddenly realized that the tower's shape... closely resembled the library that had previously tried to trick him into converting to the Red Moon.

Seeing that tower, Lin Yifan felt a bit more trust toward the Ruan Qingtan before him.

However, he still couldn't bring himself to trust her completely!

Even if everything before him seemed reasonable, being too reasonable was also wrong!

Who knows if it's because earlier there were too many inconsistencies, letting him see through the illusion, so they evolved?

So Lin Yifan remained seventy percent wary from start to finish.

At this moment, he suddenly grabbed Ruan Qingtan's wrist and asked in a low tone:

"Ruan Qingtan, it's not that I don't trust you; it's that I've experienced too many illusions and seen too many falsehoods."

So now, if this is also an illusion, please tell me. On what basis should I believe you? Who knows if you're just another trap set by the Red Moon?

Ruan Qingtan fell silent for a moment, then leaned close to his ear and lowered her voice:

"My innate talent skill is that when opening a treasure chest, I sincerely pray for what I want, and then, before opening the chest, I kneel and kowtow before it, which increases the chance of getting what I desire."

Now, can you believe me?

Upon hearing this, Lin Yifan's heart jolted, for her talent secret was something only the two of them knew.

Then the person before him truly was Ruan Qingtan.

"It's really you, that's great, really great!" Lin Yifan exclaimed excitedly, his words tumbling out in excitement.

"I originally thought you were dead, which is why those strange things kept taking your appearance to deceive me."

"I never expected you to still be alive—this is truly wonderful news."

Upon hearing that, Ruan Qingtan burst out laughing: "Actually, I also thought you were dead, because in my 278 illusion cycles, you always appeared as my lover."

"But I'm quite clear we're not that kind of relationship; even if I did have feelings for you, your heart is clearly not into such romantic affairs."

But I've touched your body—it's completely real—so I assumed something had happened to you, which is why I ended up being possessed by a monster.

As it turned out, I never expected that in that recent cycle you would suddenly kill yourself; only then did I realize you might be the true captain, and indeed all the following cycles of the illusion realm collapsed.

At this point, Ruan Qingtan hesitated slightly and asked cautiously:

"Captain, I have a question—I don't know if I should ask."

Lin Yifan lifted his head and laughed:

"You want to ask what I really feel about you, right?"