Chapter 205

Wu Chang asked tentatively: "Are they very ugly?"

Fang Hui said: "No, they're all beautiful."

Wu Chang hissed as he drew in a sharp breath: "Are you serious? Do you even hear what you're saying?"

Are you calling me just to show off?

"I'm busy. I'm hanging up. If you bother me again with this kind of trivial nonsense, I'll start scheduling fixed times to answer your calls."

Fang Hui panicked on the other end: "Wait! I'm not joking—don't hang up!"

Wu Chang said nothing, waiting for Fang Hui to continue.

After a moment of silence, Fang Hui said: "If I were still single, this might not be life-threatening—but now I can't. I have a girlfriend."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Fang Hui to be so responsible—he'd actually rather die than betray Meng Yawen.

If it were him trapped in enemy territory, and someone used this method to interrogate or test him, his reaction wouldn't be nearly as strong as Fang Hui's.

Fang Hui: "If my girlfriend finds out I cheated, she'll kill me—I'm not using metaphor. I'm describing exactly what will happen."

Wu Chang: …

Give back my respect.

"If it's really that serious, I think—uh—based on my understanding of people, if you explain you couldn't resist, everything will blow over eventually."

In Wu Chang's impression, Meng Yawen was carefree and cheerful, nothing like how Fang Hui described her.

Fang Hui's voice on the phone trembled slightly, as if recalling some terrifying memory. He whispered:

"I'm not exaggerating at all—you don't understand. I sleep lightly. Half-asleep, I often hear someone whispering in my ear. Once, just as I heard a whisper, I cracked open my eyes and saw my girlfriend letting me rest my head on her thighs, giving me a knee pillow."

Wu Chang frowned: "You're pulling a second act now?"

Fortunately, Fang Hui didn't pause this time and continued:

"In my sleep, she cradled my head and kept whispering over and over: 'Don't betray me, don't chase after other girls.' She used that kindergarten teacher soothing-a-child tone, whispering for nearly twenty minutes."

"When I thought she might be distracted and tried to peek at her, I met her eyes directly. Throughout that time, she'd been staring fixedly at my face—and even when I saw her, she smiled at me."

Okay, Wu Chang admitted, this was genuinely creepy.

He never expected Meng Yawen, so sunny and cheerful on the surface, like a big sister, to be a yandere behind closed doors.

If someone else told him Meng Yawen was like this, he'd think they were lying. My Sister Meng brought me into the Bureau—how could she be like that?

But coming from Fang Hui, the credibility shot up.

Every girlfriend he'd ever had was abnormal. He'd thought Meng Yawen was the exception—now it seemed she just hid her true face from everyone else.

"Then why don't you break up?" Wu Chang asked.

After such a terrifying experience, anyone else would've cracked. If they were on video call, he'd say: "If you're being coerced, blink twice."

Fang Hui sighed: "Actually, my girlfriend is fine most of the time—especially during the day. No signs of anything odd. Even the day after that incident, she acted completely normal. So I suspect she has dissociative identity disorder."

"But even with two personalities, neither one has ever treated me badly. I've never thought of cheating—so why break up?"

"But now it's different. I'm being forced. Mr. Source, you have to save me. Otherwise, even if I survive this, I'll be killed by my girlfriend at night."

It wasn't surprising Fang Hui was panicking—if Meng Yawen's true nature was as he described, she might just kill him outright.

Wu Chang paused, then said: "I do have a method. But you'll suffer a bit. Are you willing?"

Fang Hui shouted immediately: "Of course I am!"

If you don't suffer now, you'll never get the chance again.

"Then let me try."

Wu Chang spoke, activating his Misfortune ability, attempting to cast it through the phone onto Fang Hui.

According to the skill description, "Unlimited Live Stream" could only transmit auditory and visual effects—but his Misfortune ability never said it required face-to-face contact.

He'd heard He Wei say that their entire club was haunted by a female ghost after watching a modified horror film.

If such a weak ghost could use video to lock onto targets, Wu Chang had always wondered: could he use his Descent of Calamity to curse someone remotely?

In terms of transmission method and skill level, his ability clearly dwarfed that ghost's—there was no reason it shouldn't work.

He'd never had time to test this idea until now.

As his Misfortune skill activated, he truly felt Fang Hui's vitality through the phone.

Then he pointed remotely—and Fang Hui was immediately struck.

Though Fang Hui inherently possessed Primordial Light, it remained inactive, and since he wasn't a Player, his Inspiration and Willpower were far inferior to Wu Chang's.

Fang Hui triggered the special state without exception.

"Target's combined Inspiration and Willpower is less than 20% of the user's combined values. Effect triggered: 'Plague,' 'Summon Misfortune,' 'Descent of Calamity.'"

"Due to target's abnormally low combined Inspiration and Willpower, special state triggered: 'Qi and Blood Deficiency.'"

"Special State: Qi and Blood Deficiency"

"State Description: Target's body is severely depleted, completely drained. During this state, maximum Life and Energy are drastically reduced, spirit is listless, willpower is crushed."

"Qi and Blood Deficiency" was undoubtedly the most suitable effect for Fang Hui right now.

Wu Chang could sense that even if the Bliss Cultists kidnapped Fang Hui and forced him to eat blue pills like candy, his little Fang would remain listless, utterly drained of energy.

Cut off the function at its source—no matter how skilled the Bliss Cultists were, what could they do?

But the problem was: Qi and Blood Deficiency didn't just drain energy—it also lowered maximum Life. Wu Chang worried he might accidentally kill Fang Hui.

So he temporarily suppressed "Summon Misfortune," "Descent of Calamity," and "Qi and Blood Deficiency," keeping only "Plague."

Then he asked: "Do you have toilet paper?"

Fang Hui answered, confused: "Yes."

Wu Chang: "Is there a bathroom in the room?"

Fang Hui: "Yes."

Wu Chang struggled to hold back his grin and continued: "Now follow my instructions. Take the toilet paper, go to the bathroom, and tell me when you're done."

Fang Hui didn't know what Wu Chang planned to do, but since it was the other's request and sounded plausible, he did as asked.

Once Fang Hui sent word that he was ready, Wu Chang immediately activated the "Plague Spreader" effect, flooding Fang Hui with dysentery, malaria, acute gastroenteritis—every diarrhea-related illness he could muster.

As long as it doesn't kill you, keep running.

No one could attack someone in the midst of frantic diarrhea—not even followers of the Bliss Cult!

Sure enough, the moment his ability activated, Fang Hui on the other end let out a muffled groan; Wu Chang ended the call before any unpleasant sounds could come through.

Kid, think you can show me up? Go sit in the toilet.

He didn't choose "Qi and Blood Deficiency" because the other reason for going all-in on diarrhea was not to let the kid off easy.

He'd been relatively gentle; Fang Hui should be grateful—if He Wei had answered the phone, his fate would've been far worse than this.

After resolving Fang Hui's problem, Wu Chang was about to return indoors from the balcony, but as he turned to look down, he froze in place.

He saw a familiar figure entering the inn—and that figure shouldn't have been there now.

He hurried back inside, told He Wei to wait a moment, then activated Social Anxiety and Elite Stealth, slipped out of the room, and reached the stairwell.

Half a minute later, Meng Yawen passed by him, continuing up the stairs.

Is Meng Yawen like Cao Cao? Just mentioned, and she appears.

Wu Chang followed behind Meng Yawen; the two, one ahead and one behind, quickly reached the inn's rooftop.

There, Wu Chang saw another familiar face—the Helmeted Man.

Meng Yawen knew the Helmeted Man, and from her tone, she was anything but polite; without preamble, she coldly asked:

"Have you found the person I'm looking for?"

The Helmeted Man's strength clearly surpassed Meng Yawen's, yet now he displayed the posture of a subordinate, his voice weak as he replied:

"Not yet."

Meng Yawen narrowed her eyes; a sharp killing intent rose in them, her face chillingly cold—this expression was utterly absent from her usual demeanor.

If someone took this photo and sent it to Wu Chang, he'd swear it was AI face-swapping.

Meng Yawen snorted and said, "You haven't found him—or you haven't looked." The Helmeted Man's voice dropped even lower, like a child caught doing wrong, pleading:

"The Pillars of the Present World are the priority. I should spend time hunting for the hidden He Wei, not your ordinary boyfriend. A mere ordinary person—if you want to play, once our plan succeeds, we can find you something similar…"

The Helmeted Man's words were cut off by Meng Yawen's high roundhouse kick.

The kick dented the Helmeted Man's helmet—and more importantly, it pierced through his positional barrier, sending him flying five or six meters sideways!

This meant Meng Yawen had reached Abyss Layer Two—or possessed the power to enter it, existing in a liminal state, suppressing her power without ascending.

This revelation made Wu Chang stare in disbelief.

He'd always thought he was good at hiding, but clearly, there were stronger players—when it came to concealment, Meng Yawen outdid him by far.

Meng Yawen looked at the Helmeted Man as he rose from the ground and said coldly: "I don't want to hear you speak of him like that again."

The Helmeted Man bowed his head. "Sorry. I spoke out of turn."

Meng Yawen walked to the rooftop's edge, gazing down at the underground shelter, and said slowly: "There are thirty-six Pillars of the Present World. Losing one or two doesn't matter. But I have only one person I love—if he's gone, everything is gone."

!

"I didn't mean to disrupt your plan. I just followed his car here—and happened to run into you. Think carefully: if you help me find him, and the Pillars fail, I can protect you. But if he's harmed, no one will save you."

The Helmeted Man replied obediently: "I understand."

Wu Chang suddenly understood—he'd searched the location Fang Hui gave him but found no car. It had already been spotted by Meng Yawen.

And from this dynamic, Meng Yawen and the Helmeted Man belonged to the same organization—with Meng Yawen holding a higher rank.

Fang Hui's luck was consistently reliable: previously, he'd picked either bad women or yandere types. Now? He'd landed a yandere bad woman—with serious connections.

He's had his lifetime's worth.

After giving her orders, Meng Yawen descended the stairs and left the inn.

Not far from the exit, a figure suddenly appeared before her, waving to greet her.

Meng Yawen frowned—she had no patience for pick-up attempts now.

Wu Chang asked in a mysterious tone: "Young Lady, are you looking for someone?"

At those words, Meng Yawen tensed completely. She sized up the stranger and asked:

"Who are you? How do you know?"

Wu Chang had no reason to hide it: "I was resting on the top floor of Inn 88 just now. I happened to overhear your conversation."

Meng Yawen asked: "Do you know who I'm looking for?"

Wu Chang said: "I can guess. Two days ago, a clueless ordinary person stumbled into this place. He's probably who you're after."

Meng Yawen asked without expression: "What do you want?"

Wu Chang shrugged: "Just treat me as a concerned passerby. I want the Pillar of the Present World—but you can't give it to me."

Meng Yawen: "If you have the ability to take it, I won't stop you."

Wu Chang didn't drag it out: "Yesterday, in the deeper stone temple underground, I saw that ordinary person. Ask the guy you just spoke to—he knows how to get there."

Meng Yawen nodded. "Understood. I'll investigate."

Even if she was desperate for Fang Hui's safety, she wouldn't act on a stranger's word alone.

The more urgent the situation, the calmer she had to be—plans needed careful preparation, all factors confirmed, action taken only after thorough strategy.

Seeing Meng Yawen wasn't rushing, Wu Chang suddenly remembered something and said:

"Oh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, as I was leaving, I saw the Bliss Cult bringing over a dozen young women—slim, dressed scantily—into the stone temple. They said they'd hold a ceremony today."

"I envy that kid. A dozen beautiful young girls. Why can't I ever get lucky like that?"

As soon as he finished, Wu Chang clearly felt Meng Yawen's aura shift.

Meng Yawen asked, nearly word by word: "You're certain?"

Wu Chang replied casually: "It's not life-or-death for the kid. Why would I lie about something so trivial?"

"Thanks for the intel. I've got things to do, so I'll head off first. If what you said is true, my earlier promise still stands."

With that, Meng Yawen turned and headed back toward the inn.

A few minutes later, Wu Chang, who had been crouching on a nearby rooftop, saw Meng Yawen hurrying toward the Bliss Cathedral with the helmeted man.

It seemed that besides the power station, the Bliss Cathedral could also lead deeper underground.

Wu Chang hummed a tune as he returned to the room. He Yun looked at him strangely and asked, "You seem to be in a good mood. What did you go out to do?"

Wu Chang said proudly, "Ran into a few acquaintances willing to scout the way for us. With them around, dealing with the Bliss Sect will save us a lot of trouble."

"Let's give them a little time to scout, and we should get ready to move too."

Wu Chang and He Yun waited for an hour. After confirming they wouldn't run into the helmeted man at the power station, the two made their way to the power station's circuit passage and walked all the way to its deepest point.

Further ahead, past the thick Calamity Fog, lay the gate leading deeper underground.

Before entering, Wu Chang turned on the walkie-talkie Gufeng had left behind and called him over.

Ever since seeing Zhuo Jie's lingering grievance, he had been mulling over one thing.

Regarding the process of the artificial Pillar of the Present World, did Gufeng, who was stationed here, know about it?

Wu Chang guessed Gufeng knew. From Gufeng's attitude toward He Yun, it was clear Gufeng knew He Yun was a special existence.

Gufeng knew about the artificial Pillar of the Present World, but were the Management Bureau that Gufeng represented and the Bliss Sect, which now openly dominated everything, on the same side?

Wu Chang leaned toward no.

Setting that aside, the four major organizations and the Evil God believers were inherently opposed to each other.

Even setting that relationship aside, even if the two sides had some cooperation, the problem was there was only one Pillar of the Present World.

Who would it ultimately belong to?

For a long time, the Management Bureau had sent people to guard the underground shelter — clearly it belonged to the Management Bureau.

And the Bliss Sect's current movements in the Stone Temple were probably aimed at using Fang Hui to harness the divine power within the Stone Temple.

What could one do with divine power? Nothing more than changing the owner of the Pillar of the Present World.

Could the Management Bureau agree to that? Absolutely not.

Conflict already existed between the Management Bureau and the Bliss Sect. Now, with Meng Yawen and the helmeted man joining in, even greater variables had been added.

Because the force behind the helmeted man aimed to destroy the Pillar of the Present World.

This too put them at odds with both the Management Bureau and the Bliss Sect.

If Wu Chang wanted to seize this Pillar of the Present World, he had to settle all three forces. But he was, after all, still a player of the Wasteland Realm — even with the Sea Giant transformation stacking attributes, he couldn't withstand this kind of war of attrition.

So it was better to set up a game, gather all three sides together, let them beat each other to a pulp, then step in to clean up.

Moreover, the three sides fighting wouldn't just be entertaining — it would also help him stack the passive of the Strife Knight.

The underground shelter was still too peaceful. Since no one was stoking the fire, he'd be the one to do it.

After all, that was his Authority.

It wasn't long before Gufeng arrived with two members of the Management Bureau.

After entering the room, he first glanced at He Yun, confirmed He Yun was fine, then shot Wu Chang an annoyed look.

"This is what you called a desperate emergency?"

Wu Chang and He Yun exchanged a look, both giving a slight nod at the same time. Then Wu Chang looked at Gufeng and said:

"You see us looking fine, but actually He Yun and I have both died once already. Once He Yun dies, it triggers a time rewind across the entire underground shelter, with the rewind point being this morning. In other words, this is actually the third time we've met."

Gufeng felt his CPU was about to overheat. He made a pause gesture and said, "Wait, let me think for a moment."

That was exactly the effect Wu Chang wanted — how could he give Gufeng time to think?

He continued, "The ones who killed He Yun and me are deep underground right now. They're planning to destroy this place, to destroy this Pillar of the Present World."

"We're going to go settle the score with them now. Are you coming?"

(End of this chapter)