Chapter 153: Secrets and the End

The moon falling toward the ground instantly sparked panic among the faithful; people scrambled desperately toward the Hunguangda Cathedral, feeling safer only when closer to the wild goddess atop the church.

Wu Chang gazed at the terrified crowd and envied the backward science of the instance plane's native inhabitants.

If they knew the moon was truly a massive celestial body, and that if it truly fell, not just Serina but the entire realm would be destroyed, they would be even more panicked.

The moon did not actually strike the ground; it descended from the sky until it hovered above the Hunguangda Cathedral, transforming into a massive white light sphere forty to fifty meters in diameter.

Wu Chang was certain that even if the Midnight Cemetery Realm's laws differed, its moon would never be this small—a sphere no larger than a few Mikel Is, even if he ate several of them.

Indeed, the giant sphere turned, revealing a stretched, grotesque face.

The face appeared as if an entire human epidermis had been flattened and rolled thinner than thin, so thin that capillaries were visible, so thin that light passing through produced a translucent substance.

The grotesque face smiled at him, and a voice, inexplicable and sudden, appeared directly in his mind.

"Only by merging with the miracle can you feel the greatness of the divine. Make a wish."

Looking at the grotesque smile before him, Wu Chang recalled what Brother Han Er had told him about the First Miracle.

In the legend of the First Miracle, the Grand Sage of the Spirit Herb Sect flew into the sky and merged with the moon to spread the light gained from the miracle across the entire city, saving all plague victims and granting peace to all.

Upon closer inspection, the massive light sphere descending from the moon looked exactly like a giant human-skin balloon.

Was this grotesque thing before him the Grand Sage who ascended in the First Miracle?

Didn't Mikel I erase the Grand Sage's consciousness when preparing for the Blood Moon Immortality?

Wu Chang felt a surge of unease and shrank back, slipping within the protection of Elin's wings.

"What are you?"

This time, the voice that answered came from the Miracle Tree beside him.

"Me? I am the Miracle Walker."

No sooner had the words been spoken than Wu Chang, just as when he encountered the Great Miracle in Yifu City, found his consciousness drawn into the mental space.

Unlike last time, when the Great Miracle could drag him directly into the mental space, now that his Inspiration exceeded 100, he actively followed the Miracle Tree into the mental space.

He wanted to see what this thing intended.

In the mental space, he truly stood on the moon; the surrounding landscape matched exactly the lunar scenes from sci-fi films of Blue Star.

On the desolate moon, a forty-meter-tall tree grew, its volume far exceeding the Great Miracle in Yifu City.

The tree before him must be the true form of the Miracle Moon.

The Miracle Moon's form was not as bizarre as the Miracle Tree; instead, it resembled a mythical giant tree—tall, solemn, even slightly sacred.

Beneath the tree sat an elderly sage, gesturing to him; when the sage's features were stretched and proportionally enlarged, they bore an eight-tenths resemblance to the grotesque smile on the human-skin balloon.

Since he'd come this far, refusing to sit down would be rude.

Wu Chang approached the tree and sat across from the elder.

"Are you the Miracle Walker, or the Grand Sage?"

The elder looked at Wu Chang and asked: "The Grand Sage you speak of has already merged with me. Who I am depends on whom you wish to speak to."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow—he suffered from decision paralysis, disliked choosing between options, and preferred elimination; he'd eliminate both options soon enough and see if the thing still pretended.

He had no patience for the Miracle Walker's nonsense and asked directly: "Why did you bring me here?"

The Miracle Walker said nothing; he gestured, and a fruit fell from the branches above—a fruit between an apple and a peach, its surface shimmering with starlight, as if tiny diamonds had been glued onto a painted starry sky.

The Miracle Walker handed the fruit to Wu Chang and said: "This is your reward for awakening me."

"Item Name: Mythic Fruit"

"Item Description: A fruit saturated with wish-energy; consuming it grants one small miracle, capable of fulfilling one wish, with difficulty level not exceeding the Wasteland Realm's B-rank instance ceiling."

"Note: It is part of the Miracle Walker's body, containing his purest wish-energy."

The Mythic Fruit resembled the Miracle Stone in appearance, but was fundamentally different—the Miracle Stone was the crystallized wish-energy of the Miracle Walker after death, an ownerless object.

The Mythic Fruit, however, was part of the Miracle Walker's flesh.

Wu Chang played with the fruit in his hand for a moment, then placed it back on the table.

The Miracle Walker blinked in surprise: "Don't like it?"

Wu Chang said: "Do you know I'm not a native of this realm?"

The Miracle Walker nodded honestly.

Wu Chang continued: "In my realm, there are many myths. One myth, involving a deity with a penchant for inappropriate relations, tells of Hades kidnapping his own niece, attempting to assault her; when she refused, he tricked her into eating a fruit from the Underworld, claiming that anyone who consumed Underworld fruit belonged to him—whether she liked it or not—and ultimately succeeded in possessing her."

"This story taught me: never eat food offered by someone with ill intent."

The Miracle Walker's expression changed; the false, sickly kindness vanished. His face sagged, becoming utterly expressionless.

This was his true form—the Grand Sage's appearance was merely a skin-suit; all expressions he displayed were artificially manipulated illusions.

"Since you've seen through everything, I'll speak plainly: I want you."

Wu Chang's lips twitched slightly and immediately refused:

"I have no prejudice against minority groups, and I respect all sexual preferences—including those who enjoy fleshy tentacles—but as a traditional male, I can only accept human females. So, I must decline."

The Miracle Walker, controlling the expressionless Grand Sage skin-suit, said to Wu Chang:

"We Miracle Walkers are an exceptionally unique race; our memories synchronize among all members. I have seen you in the memories of other clansmen, and sensed your state when using the Miracle Stone."

"You are one of the most peculiar sentient beings I have ever encountered. I cannot discern what makes you special, so I wish to fuse with you, making you part of me. Our fusion will place your consciousness in control of this body—you may use it as freely as the Grand Sage, fulfilling any wish you desire."

Wu Chang's brow knotted tightly. Bosses wanting to possess players were everywhere—but he'd never seen one begging to be possessed.

"What benefit do I gain by giving you my body?"

It couldn't be that the Miracle Walker was some domineering CEO, frantically pressing zeros on his phone's transfer amount.

Besides, the last time he saw someone frantically pressing zeros on a protagonist's phone, then saying "spend it all," it wasn't from a domineering CEO short drama—it was from a shady microloan ad.

The Miracle Walker said: "While you gain this body, I will also gain the unique qualities of yours, and share them with my other clansmen, helping them complete themselves."

"This benefits both of us—in your human terms, it's a win-win."

Wu Chang scoffed dismissively: You think you can trade this ugly, dog-rejecting carcass for my Transcendence talent? You must be dreaming.

"Not interested."

The Miracle Walker raised his price, saying, "If you think my body isn't strong enough, I can find you a stronger one."

Wu Chang fiddled with the Mythic Fruit and said, "Why don't you show a little more sincerity? As a Miracle Walker, you ought to grant me a miracle yourself, not just toss these things at me as if they mean anything."

The Miracle Walker said, "Impossible. I just said—the Miracle Walker race synchronizes memories among each other. Your wish has the power to kill us."

Wu Chang clicked his tongue. "Are you one of those Saint Warriors? Can't you use the same skill on you twice? You're so damn powerful—why don't you be the Deep Player instead?"

"Then forget it. I already have someone I love. There's no future for us."

Hearing Wu Chang's clear refusal, the Miracle Walker laughed. "That's not up to you. Come, unite with me!"

The great tree within the mental space trembled, its shaking causing the entire moon to vibrate. From the tree's center, massive, deep fissures split the ground continuously—as if the tree's awakening had begun to shatter and disintegrate the moon.

"If you used a skin of a sporty, short-haired, wheat-skinned girl, maybe I'd consider it. But speaking to me in this form? It just makes me sick."

Wu Chang shook his head. If the Miracle Walker could see his Will and Inspiration values, he'd know no such trick could frighten him.

He gathered his will, tore his consciousness free from the mental space, and returned to the real world—only to see the Sage Balloon directly before him, its strange smile now twisted into fury.

The moon, incarnation of the Sage, charged straight toward the Hunguangda Sect, ready to force the union.

"That's not up to you!"

Hmph. Daring to chase me into the real world? Trying a new way to die, are you?

Wu Chang stepped back, hiding behind Ailin.

Ailin, save me!

Facing the hurtling Sage-Moon, Ailin flapped her wings and floated into the air, raising the Light of Resolve in her hands.

The next instant, Ailin, in her divine true form, unleashed the Resolve Charge.

She transformed into a brilliant sphere of light, charging straight at the Sage. To the believers present, if the Sage was a moon plummeting toward them, Ailin was a rising sunrise.

In their eyes, the Sage represented the miracle of the old gods, while Ailin was the new god who had just descended. Their collision symbolized the transition between old and new deities.

The moon and the sunrise collided—and the outcome was obvious.

Ailin swung the Light of Resolve, smashing the Sage-Moon with a single blow. Holy light erupted into flame, igniting the shattered fragments of the Sage, which fell to the ground trailing golden tails.

The explosion of the Sage's moon-form was like a magnificent firework.

The believers who witnessed the transition from old to new god knelt spontaneously, their eyes filled with unwavering devotion.

On the viewing platform, the death of the Miracle Moon caused the Miracle Tree to wither rapidly. As it withered, faint explosions echoed—the tree's trunk cracked open continuously, spewing flames saturated with holy light.

Soon after, the Miracle Tree turned to ash within the flames.

As the Miracle Moon withdrew, the battle within the Golden Kingdom neared its end.

Wu Chang's True Self launched a surprise underwater strike, smashing the Guardian Fire Cloud with a single punch, then followed with the Mamba Iron Elbow—ending the match decisively.

The skill description of Mamba Iron Elbow normally locks onto the target's face, but in Wu Chang's Whale Transformation, his elbow completely covered the entire body of Hearing Zhanghuo, making it impossible to tell whether the face was the primary target.

!

With one elbow, Hearing Zhanghuo flew like a skilled player's skip stone—rolling and bouncing across the water's surface, leaving a trail of ripples until he finally slammed into the edge of the Golden Kingdom.

Hearing Zhanghuo's Saint form was shattered outright by the elbow strike; so too were all his bones.

With every bone broken and afflicted by blindness, dizziness, bleeding, and weakness, Hearing Zhanghuo slowly sank into the seabed, abandoning all thought.

Just as he was about to become the first 30-level player to drown, a giant hand seized his collar and dragged him up from underwater.

True Self used his Map Editor ability to manifest a reef, tossing Hearing Zhanghuo onto it. Once the negative status effects faded, True Self spoke:

"Was the Extermination Array in Huai Valley during the 'Sui Sui Ping An' instance yours?"

Hearing Zhanghuo glared venomously at True Self. "Yes, I built it. In Huai Valley, you stole my Four-Sided Year Fire Lamp and ruined my plans. I intended to settle the score with you, but you chased me all the way to Serina, stole my wick, and interrupted my miracle."

"In exchange for the Four-Sided Year Fire Lamp, let me die knowing: who are you? And how, after just finishing the Quiet Town instance, did you re-enter the Midnight Cemetery so quickly?"

Wu Chang's True Self sat down before Hearing Zhanghuo, watching the limp, boneless figure slumped against the reef, and said:

"I can answer your questions—but first, tell me why your Quiet Church deliberately triggered instance malfunctions. Don't tell me it's just for fun."

Hearing Zhanghuo, knowing he was about to die, no longer bothered to hide. "Our goal is to harvest the Corrosion Core."

"Corrosion Core? Why?" Wu Chang pressed.

Information on the Corrosion Core was scarce; its item description was extremely brief. He only knew it was important—but not why, or how to use it.

Hearing Hearing Zhanghuo mention it now, he instantly became interested.

Hearing Zhanghuo said, "It is the Master's will. Not just Lehman, the True God, but other True Gods are also instructing their followers to collect Corrosion Cores. This isn't a secret among believers. But not all True Gods can use Corrosion Cores. Many weaker True Gods' followers, if they obtain one, don't hand it over to their god—they come to trade with us."

Wu Chang pondered Hearing Zhanghuo's words. Calling evil gods "True Gods" made sense—no believer would call their own deity an evil god.

But the term "believer circle"—he'd never heard it before. From Hearing Zhanghuo's tone, it seemed different evil god followers formed some kind of network.

"What do you mean by 'believer circle'?"

Hearing Zhanghuo, now speaking freely, explained: "To survive the persecution by the Four Organizations, we True God followers must unite to protect ourselves."

Wu Chang frowned, thinking internally: Too much. Too much. You can lie to yourself, but don't lie to your brothers—how did evil god followers become freedom fighters resisting oppression?

"Aren't the Four Organizations targeting you because you, to please your evil god, recklessly wreck the Deep Game, constantly trigger instance malfunctions, and disrupt reality?"

Hearing Zhanghuo sneered at Wu Chang. "The True Gods' actions may be extreme, but compared to the Four Organizations, they're far better. You may be monstrously gifted, but the organization that trained you? It's clearly a bottom-tier faction—they never even told you basic information."

Wu Chang put on a curious expression and urged: "Tell me more."

Hearing Zhanghuo: "Twenty-four years ago, when the Deep Game first massively recruited players, the Four Organizations already existed. Even before the first players finished their trial missions and entered the Crimson Courtyard, the Four Organizations already held provisional administrative authority and established their own exclusive spaces."

Wu Chang couldn't help clicking his tongue. The Four Organizations' depth was deeper than he'd imagined.

Hearing Zhanghuo continued: "You say we cause instance malfunctions and destroy reality and the Deep Game—but do you know we're just repeating what the Four Organizations did, but in the Wasteland Realm?"

"They used their first-mover advantage to monopolize vast resources, destructively extract high-tier items and materials, trained a legion of experts, then turned around and blocked newcomers under the excuse of maintaining reality's stability. Do you think that's fair? Even now, in the Deep Game's second layer, they're doing the same thing—only you don't know it."

Whether true or not, the revelations Hearing Zhanghuo dropped were explosive. Even if only nine-tenths or eight-tenths were true, there was still plenty of truth—especially that the Four Organizations weren't as harmless as they appeared.

But a question arose.

Wu Chang asked: "If the Four Organizations are so powerful and oppress you so heavily, why do I see evil god followers constantly provoking them—directly attacking the Bureau's young geniuses—while the Bureau, with all its real-world resources, struggles to strike back?"

Hearing Zhanghuo sneered and said, "It's simple—because the true strength of the four organizations is all focused on the second and third layers of the Abyss; anyone with ability leaves the Wasteland Realm as soon as possible."

"In contrast, we true god believers are weak in the second and third layers of the Abyss, but in the Wasteland Realm, thanks to the true god's divine grace, we can make up for the gap with the four organizations—and even surpass them."

Wu Chang sensed an additional meaning in Hearing Zhanghuo's words and immediately pressed further:

"Players in the deeper Abyss layers cannot influence the real world, or their influence is severely restricted—so that's why you're untouchable in the real world and the lower Abyss layers?"

At this question, Hearing Zhanghuo suddenly fell silent and shifted the topic to Wu Chang:

"I've answered enough of your questions. Now it's your turn to answer mine. What is your true identity? How did you clear the Moonlight Sanatorium trial instance? And why did you enter the instance so quickly?"

Facing Hearing Zhanghuo's questions, Wu Chang fell silent. He looked at Hearing Zhanghuo and suddenly said:

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

A question mark appeared above Hearing Zhanghuo's head. "What do you mean?"

Wu Chang blinked and said, "I only said I would answer your questions—but I never said I would give you an explanation. My answer to your question is: I can't tell you."

Earlier, given how much information Hearing Zhanghuo had revealed, Wu Chang might have told him some truthful lies.

But he had just encountered the Miracle Walker. What if Hearing Zhanghuo, like the Miracle Walker, could transmit memories before death through some means? Even truthful lies could still affect him.

So he chose to say nothing.

Hearing Zhanghuo took a few seconds to realize he had been tricked.

"You fucking—"

Enraged and heart-stricken, Hearing Zhanghuo choked, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood. The blood clogged his airway, triggering violent coughing.

Wu Chang asked softly: "Even though I won't answer your questions, would you mind telling me the answer to mine?"

Hearing Zhanghuo's eyes bulged. With all his strength, he gasped out each word, each syllable accompanied by a gurgling sound like water choking his throat: "T-e-l-l—y-o-u—mua…"

The voice cut off abruptly. No one knew if he died from fatal injuries, from choking on his own blood, or from sheer rage.

In any case, he was dead.

Wu Chang sighed and said, "Blame the Miracle Walker. He's the one who destroyed trust between people."

He picked up Hearing Zhanghuo's corpse and dissolved the Golden Kingdom.

After the Golden Kingdom dissolved, Wu Chang's True Self appeared in midair—at the exact same position where he had entered the Golden Kingdom.

He swung his fist backward, driving it into the outer wall of the cathedral, halting his fall. He looked down, confirmed the height to the ground was under ten meters, then pulled his arm free and dropped straight to the ground.

As he landed, he threw Hearing Zhanghuo's corpse before the crowd.

The believers recoiled in fear, then cautiously stared at the corpse on the ground.

The corpse was gruesome—its features crushed flat, unrecognizable—but from the clothing, it was clearly Hearing Zhanghuo, who had vanished alongside Wu Chang's True Self.

The Zhanghuojiao Sect leader is dead!

The Hunguang Sect Sect was essentially built by Hearing Zhanghuo alone; every miracle it produced each year was personally orchestrated by the Zhanghuojiao Sect leader.

Hearing Zhanghuo was the soul of the entire Hunguang Sect Sect. With his death, the Hunguang Sect Sect was effectively shattered.

Seeing Hearing Zhanghuo's death, many clergy and knights who had refused to kneel before Ailin and clung to their faith in the Hunguang Sect Sect now shed their Hunguang Sect Sect uniforms and joined the kneeling crowd.

With Mikael I's plan failing and his complete death; the new miracle covering the old miracle; the Blood Moon Eternal lifted; and the Zhanghuojiao Sect leader dead—the Hunguang Sect Sect dissolved; the new god appeared.

Everything related to the Miracle Moon came to an end.

The blood-written last words on the ruins of the Miracle Tree faded. Wu Chang's face lit up—his reward had arrived.

Good thing I'm the All-Night Immortal—I finally finished. This chapter is today's update; tomorrow's update will be normal.

(End of Chapter)