Chapter 199: Retrospection!

Speaking of what happened underground in the shelter, Wu Chang was instantly wide awake—his eyes lit up and his ears perked.

He Yun gazed into the depths of the circuit passage and slowly recounted the past of the underground shelter.

In the plane where He Yun was, the surface gradually became unsuitable for human habitation due to the progressively worsening weather.

To continue surviving, humanity gradually split into two factions.

The Star Sky faction and the Earth Core faction.

The Star Sky faction believed humanity's future lay in space; they wanted to build a space-borne Noah's Ark, carrying the spark of humankind away from Earth to find a planet suitable for life.

The idea was good, but the problem was that at the time no habitable planet other than Earth had been discovered—this choice was full of unknowns.

In contrast, the Earth Core faction advocated building underground cities, which could isolate the pollution from the surface; at the same time, humanity would not leave Earth and could keep trying to purify the surface environment.

Once the surface returned to normal levels, returning from underground to the surface would be far easier.

In the end, over ninety-nine percent of humanity chose the Earth Core faction.

Underground Shelter No. 88 was one of the underground cities built by the Earth Core faction at the time.

At first, the Star Sky faction and the Earth Core faction were merely a divergence between two plans; the two sides still had dealings with each other.

But as the situation developed, the die-hard supporters of both camps gradually drifted toward extremes, believing that only their own path was the only path.

The slogan "The underground is humanity's true home" was quickly put out, and certain ancient conspiracy theories and sci-fi stories also began to appear in everyone's view.

For example, "Life originated from the Earth's core," and "The Earth's core is not filled with magma, but contains a wonderful underground world."

It even evolved in the end into slogans like "Light comes from below, crisis comes from above!"

The original plan of temporarily taking shelter underground while waiting for the surface environment to recover instead became a rejection of going to the surface—to have a future, one had to go deeper underground.

But setting aside whether an underground world actually exists, for an underground shelter to develop, it truly had to keep going down.

Whether expanding living space or seeking resources and energy, going downward served everyone's interests.

Shelter No. 88 did exactly that—and really did dig something up underground.

At a place more than five thousand meters below the surface, they bored through a special space.

It was not the legendary underground world, but what was inside excited the residents of Shelter No. 88 even more than an underground world would have.

There was energy there—endless energy.

They only needed to run circuits into the underground space to draw a continuous supply of electricity from it, as if the air there were gaseous lightning.

The discovery of massive energy supported Shelter No. 88's rapid development; whether in city construction or scientific research, the pace of development was even faster than when humanity was on the surface!

At the same time, exploration of the special underground space was carried out in parallel.

As they explored, deep within the special space people discovered an ancient temple; by deciphering the inscriptions on the stone stele in front of the temple, they learned that the power of this space all originated from the deity enshrined within the temple.

The energy leaking from the temple alone was more than enough for them to use without end—if they cracked the temple's secrets, wouldn't that send them to the heavens?

So Shelter No. 88 organized an expedition team to enter the temple and explore; they thought they would open a door to the future, but they never expected to open Pandora's box instead.

Their investigation damaged the temple's original seal; a massive surge of white mist burst forth, not only wiping out the entire expedition team but also devouring everything built within the special space.

To resist the white mist, the underground shelter could only seal off the passages leading further down and send people to perform periodic maintenance.

Sealing off the special underground space was not the end of the disaster for Underground Shelter No. 88—only the beginning.

Because from that day on, Underground Shelter No. 88 fell into an endless time loop, and no one could escape.

After Wu Chang finished listening to He Yun's story, his first question was: "In this story, what role do you play?"

He Yun's expression turned somewhat ugly; her gaze looked toward the depths of the passage as she said, "I was the only survivor of the team that investigated the temple back then. The leader of that expedition was my brother."

Wu Chang: "In other words, you've seen the underground temple with your own eyes? What kind of building is it?"

He Yun didn't know why Wu Chang was asking this, but she still answered, "It's a massive stone temple. Its existence is extremely ancient, and the hall still uses pictographic script."

Hearing this, Wu Chang couldn't help but click his tongue.

That bastard Fang Hui really knows how to cause him trouble. Unless something unexpected happened, the stone building where Fang Hui is currently under house arrest must be the very temple He Yun spoke of—the one that brought disaster.

But that's fine too—no need to fuss over who goes first. Most likely, the moment he breaks through the instance, he can save Fang Hui along the way.

Wu Chang took several deep breaths, expelling the lingering smell of Calamity Mist from his chest and lungs, and asked:

"You telling me all this certainly can't just be to tell me a story."

He Yun nodded, her eyes growing resolute.

"I've always wanted to return to that space and reseal that temple, but because of what I went through, I can't face the Calamity Mist, so I've been unable to act."

"And you're the opposite of me—you're completely immune to the Calamity Mist, and your strength is strong enough. You're the perfect candidate to go underground with me!"

Wu Chang nodded and said, "Got it. As for entering the temple you mentioned, I have no objections, but before that, shouldn't we talk about something else first?"

"Something else? Is there anything more important than this?" He Yun was somewhat puzzled.

Wu Chang rubbed his hands together and put on the standard smile a shop assistant gives a customer. "Of course there is—for example, payment."

He Yun asked in confusion, "Aren't we friends?"

"Hey, look at the way you put it—even blood brothers have to settle accounts clearly." Wu Chang said with a smile. He couldn't exactly offer to work for free just because she was good-looking and had a great figure, could he?

Saving Fang Hui didn't cost money, because the money Fang Hui had spent treating him to meals at restaurants over those four years of dorm life had already paid the fee in advance.

He Yun looked at Wu Chang, at a loss for words. Having stayed in Underground Shelter No. 88 for a long time, due to the abundance of energy and supplies, and because people had long been playing their roles, the primary driving force behind most people's actions was to satisfy the desires of their inner spiritual world.

Beating each other to the death counts. Reckless behavior counts. Helping others counts too.

Even receiving payment after work is just a necessary procedure to satisfy one's sense of inner achievement—the supplies produced by the underground shelter are enough for everyone to enjoy.

For a moment, she really couldn't think of what payment to offer.

He Yun pinched the bridge of her nose, recalling a few deals the bartender had once begged her to take over.

"I'm the strongest mecha maker in the underground shelter. Maybe I can custom-build a set of mecha for you, or help you modify a tech-oriented weapon. How does that sound as payment?"

When watching the mecha boxing match at the Shattered Bottle Bar earlier, Wu Chang had already been eyeing the underground shelter's mecha. He had assumed He Yun could at most provide a standard-issue set, but he didn't expect her to open her mouth and offer a custom set—she was actually the strongest mecha maker in the underground shelter.

This time he really hit the jackpot.

He immediately said, "Deal!"

Seeing Wu Chang agree to help, He Yun lost interest in continuing the inspection and immediately dragged Wu Chang away to draft a plan for sealing the underground temple.

The two left the power station. He Yun was still disassembling the maintenance mecha when he saw a figure suddenly appear at the power station's entrance.

The instant the other party appeared, Wu Chang's spiritual sense went into a frenzy of alarms, signaling that he had to be careful.

The newcomer was a man wearing a leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet on his head. He carried no weapon and no visible props, yet he radiated a powerful, oppressive pressure.

It was obvious the other party was a player, and he hadn't come with good intentions.

Recalling Scalpel from last night's arena, the helmeted man before him had likely also come for He Yun, but his rank was far above Scalpel's.

Scalpel's strength, though considerable, hadn't exceeded Wasteland Realm players by much; even as a player on the second layer of the Abyss, he was a newcomer who had only just advanced.

The helmeted man before them was different. Just from the aura he exuded in his every gesture, one could tell he was an extremely seasoned player even on the second layer of the Abyss.

The bad news was that the helmeted man was very strong—he had already exceeded the maximum value of the Wasteland Realm's planar barrier, making him at least 10 levels stronger than even the top Wasteland Realm players.

The good news was that the helmeted man didn't yet possess divinity within him, unlike the fellow who had signed a contract with Lei Hu, whose strike from a distance had nearly instantly killed him.

Strong, but not that strong.

Wu Chang cracked his knuckles with some excitement, wondering whether he now had the strength to fight a player from the second layer of the Abyss.

The helmeted man's appearance quickly drew the attention of the old doorman. The doorman looked casual, but was in fact an absolute veteran of the jianghu; he had sensed the other's hostility from a great distance.

The doorman put on his combat mecha, gripped a massive-caliber machine gun in his hand, and strode quickly up to the power station's watchtower, aiming the muzzle at the helmeted man and shouting loudly:

"You're not welcome here, outsider! Leave now while you still can!"

The doorman's shout drew He Yun's attention. She hurriedly disassembled the maintenance mecha; without time to put it back in place, she ran out quickly.

"What happened?"

Wu Chang said, "There's an outsider approaching. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be one of Scalpel's accomplices from last night."

The helmeted man was extremely confident in his own strength and completely ignored the doorman's shouts, continuing to walk toward the power station.

The doorman was equally unceremonious, immediately pulling the trigger. The large-caliber bullets rained down like a storm; a single gun somehow produced the momentum of artillery fire scouring the earth.

The doorman in his combat mecha was now unleashing destructive power greater than the Ritualist aboard the Star Leap. If the Ritualist had possessed such firepower, Blood Wolf would likely have been torn to shreds by the bombardment on their very first encounter.

Yet such overwhelming firepower couldn't wound the helmeted man in the slightest.

The helmeted man appeared to be strolling leisurely through the barrage, but in truth was moving at extreme speed. He first moved at a velocity even machines couldn't capture; each time he dodged a volley, he deliberately paused, holding a pose similar to his pre-dodge stance for a brief moment.

His rapid flickering and pausing were like a stack of flipping comic-book frames. Those watching him could string his leaping motions together in their minds into a continuous sequence, allowing him to present a scene that looked like a casual stroll but was actually a series of teleports.

Without a doubt, this was showing off.

The helmeted man was using this method to announce to everyone that the gap between their levels meant they shouldn't put up futile resistance.

Under everyone's gaze, the helmeted man took only three steps and went from a hundred meters away to the power station's entrance.

Then he threw a powerful punch, directly smashing the heavy electric door and sending it flying.

The helmeted man slowly stepped into the power plant and immediately locked onto He Yun.

"You're He Yun?"

He Yun saw through the other's power. She assumed a fighting stance; the bracers on her arms shifted form, becoming a pair of metal gauntlets. The necklace around her neck, like origami folded a thousand times expanding outward, transformed into a suit of form-fitting mecha. "Yes, I am."

He Yun's transformation stunned Wu Chang beside her. The technology of the underground shelter seemed more advanced than he had imagined—wearing mecha had actually been turned into a transformation sequence.

Would the custom mecha He Yun had agreed to make for him have this function too?

The helmeted man was also surprised by He Yun's transformation. He had timed it perfectly, thinking that since He Yun didn't have her mecha on her, he could catch her off guard and win easily. He hadn't expected her to have such a trump card.

Since he couldn't save effort, he'd just have to spend a little more.

The helmeted man shook out his fist and said, "For the sake of our great cause, could I ask you to die for a moment?"

Saying so, he threw a punch.

As the champion of the Broken Bottle Mecha arena, He Yun was highly skilled in boxing technique. She wanted to use her forearm to block the helmeted man's straight punch while her rear hand gathered power, preparing to return the favor.

Her idea was good, but her stats wouldn't allow it.

The instant the helmeted man's fist was blocked by He Yun, a tremendous force exploded from the fist, directly breaking open He Yun's guard. A punch slammed into her shoulder and sent her flying.

"This punch is called 'The Earth Bears All with Virtue.'"

!

After landing the punch, the helmeted man didn't forget to call out the name of his technique; he clearly hadn't used his full strength.

On the other side, He Yun climbed up from the ground. She lowered her head to check her injuries and found that the mecha on her left forearm and left shoulder was severely damaged; her left arm's functionality was heavily impaired and could only exert 30% of its strength.

It could be said that with one punch, the other party had crippled one of her arms.

Wu Chang certainly couldn't just stand by watching. As soon as the fight began, he had already used Social Anxiety Disorder and Elite Stealth to make the helmeted man overlook his existence.

At this point he had already stealthed to five meters behind the helmeted man. He watched for the right moment, suddenly unleashed the Lightning Flash Thunder Shadow movement technique, darted behind the helmeted man, and then with all his strength, punched the helmeted man in the center of his back.

A strength stat as high as 148 points, combined with the charging bonus of Iaido, plus the ambush's advantage of a prepared strike against an unprepared target.

With three factors stacked together, this punch directly made the helmeted man stumble.

If the Iaido charge-up time hadn't been long enough, the helmeted man probably wouldn't have budged in place and would have added, "Master, haven't you eaten? You don't even have the strength to give a back massage!"

After this punch was thrown, both Wu Chang and the helmeted man were stunned.

Wu Chang looked at his own fist, his face full of disbelief. He could be certain that this punch had landed solidly on the other party; he hadn't felt any defensive skill, nor the sensation of hitting any defensive-type prop.

With a punch like that, even Lehmann would have to let out a couple of token yelps. Why was the helmeted man completely unharmed?

Could it be that this guy, because he was also too afraid of pain, had put all his attribute points into defense?

The helmeted man was also dumbfounded. What stunned him was that someone could actually stealth up behind him without him sensing it at all, and that a player from the Wasteland Realm could actually hurt him!

The helmeted man took a liking to his talent and said, "Kid, tell me who you are, and I won't kill you."

Wu Chang had always been good at climbing the pole when offered one. He immediately lowered his fist, assuming a posture of giving up resistance, and said, "My name is Peace, but people in the Wasteland Realm like to call me the Mysterious Newbie."

The helmeted man thought for a moment and said in surprise, "The Mysterious Newbie who broke through that B-rank rampage trial dungeon?"

Wu Chang nodded. "That's me."

The helmeted man's gaze grew fervent; even through the helmet's black glass, Wu Chang could feel the burning heat.

"Any interest in joining us?"

Wu Chang countered, "That can be discussed. But can you first tell me why you were able to ignore my attack?"

At this moment, the helmeted man was the butcher's knife and Wu Chang was the fish on the chopping block. In the helmeted man's eyes, as long as the mysterious newcomer before him didn't want to die, he would definitely join them.

The helmeted man now saw himself as a senior of the organization and offered guidance:

"We guessed right—you really aren't from a major organization, nor are you a core member of any faction. The reason is simple: it's hierarchical suppression."

"Players who break through to the first layer of the Abyss, after entering the second layer, will have a layer of rank barrier automatically wrapped around their body. When facing beings from the first layer of the Abyss, this barrier will cancel out 100 points of the opponent's all-attribute bonus."

"In other words, the strength you just hit me with was first weakened by 100 points, and yet it still broke through my defense, which I'm known for, and made me stagger forward. How long have you been playing the Abyss game to have this kind of strength? Are you really not cheating?"

Wu Chang looked at the enthusiastically answering helmeted man and forced a bitter smile.

Weakened by 100 points of attributes, and I still have to fight this.

The helmeted man before him seemed to be stupidly revealing his hand, but in reality was displaying his faction's power, telling him the combat gap between them, making him give up resistance.

But giving up resistance meant giving up He Yun, giving up this pillar of the present world.

The helmeted man asked, "So, what do you think? Have you decided? Will you join us?"

Wu Chang glanced back at He Yun, then asked without turning his head: "This barrier, it can only cancel out attributes, right?"

The helmeted man: "Isn't that enough?"

"Not enough."

Next, Wu Chang raised his elbow and shouted loudly;

"Man!"

He spun and struck with his elbow, the elbow cleaving straight toward the helmeted man's face like a blade. The helmeted man sneered disdainfully and reached up to grab Wu Chang's upper arm, intending to take advantage of the momentum to grapple Wu Chang. But Wu Chang's arm was as if boneless, dodging his grab at a bizarre angle, and then an elbow strike landed on his helmet.

This elbow strike directly blew apart the helmeted man's helmet and slammed hard into the helmeted man's eyes.

The helmeted man was elbowed into bending backward. He tried to steady himself but felt his footing give way and sat down hard on the ground.

Minimal damage, maximum insult.

After taking that elbow, the helmeted man grew furious.

"Brat! You're asking for death!"

Wu Chang knew he was no match for the helmeted man at the moment and refused to entangle with him. The instant his elbow landed, while the helmeted man was entangled with various negative effects, he grabbed He Yun and ran.

"Run!"

As the two fled, the power plant's gatekeeper old man had already come down from the watchtower and shouted at them:

"You two get going, I'll cover you! Kid, take good care of her for me!"

He Yun looked at Wu Chang with a complicated expression. Facing enemies with such a vast disparity in factional power, and such an enthusiastic recruitment, she had just assumed Wu Chang would agree to the other's invitation, join them, and turn around to deal with her together.

She hadn't expected Wu Chang to actually, for her sake, risk his life choosing to counterattack, and then flee with her.

"You shouldn't have bothered with me. You know we're different—he can't kill me."

At the same time, the elbowed helmeted man had already shaken off part of his abnormal states and chased after them.

The helmeted man was already furious to the point of madness, and seeing the gatekeeper old man recklessly blocking the way, he immediately decided to take it out on him.

"Thick Virtue Bears All Things!"

His footwork flickered and he appeared directly before the gatekeeper old man. He threw a punch, shattering the rifle in the old man's hands, piercing through the old man's mecha, and stabbing straight into the old man's chest.

Accompanied by a cold snort, he directly crushed the old man's heart.

According to the rules of the underground shelter, the dead gatekeeper should have become a corpse and revived again after a period of time.

Who would have thought that the gatekeeper killed by the helmeted man actually dissolved into a puff of mist and completely vanished.

Wu Chang asked in confusion, "Did he return to the collective resurrection point?"

But the moment he turned his head, he discovered that He Yun, whose emotions rarely fluctuated, now actually had a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

He Yun said with hatred, "He's dead."

Wu Chang said in puzzlement, "Aren't locals of the underground shelter unable to die?"

He Yun said, "I don't know. Maybe he mastered some method to kill us completely."

Watching the helmeted man gradually closing in from behind, Wu Chang asked, "Then what do we do now?"

If He Yun had no way, he would use long-range teleportation.

Thanks to his foresight, before leaving this morning, he had set up a teleportation array at He Yun's home in advance.

Who would have thought that He Yun, while running, suddenly stopped, retracted the mecha on her body, and shouted at him: "There's no time. There's only one way left—kill me!"

"Huh?"

Wu Chang's face was blank. No, even if I kill you, you'll just revive on the spot. What's the point?

Do I have to kill you three times in a row to make you use revival escape?

He Yun shouted, "No time to explain, hurry! Kill me!"

Seeing the helmeted man was now less than a hundred meters from the two of them, and He Yun didn't look crazy either, Wu Chang decided to trust her once. If she was unreliable, there would still be time to long-range teleport away with her corpse.

"Whatever, you said it!"

Having said that, Wu Chang pulled out Dawn's weight hammer and one-shot blew off He Yun's head.

Bang!

Amid the thunderous gunshot, he saw the surrounding world begin to twist, everything before his eyes dissolving.

Accompanied by a wave of dizziness, his vision went black. When it recovered, he discovered he had already left the power station's area and returned to the city.

Before he could react to what had happened, he heard a familiar voice ring out beside him.

"Come on, Xiaoliang, give this outsider a show!"

"Shit! Go! Ignore!"

(End of chapter)