Chapter 216: Next Time, Send Your True Body

Although the Pillar of the Present World serves as a passage connecting the First and Second Layers of the Abyss, it is situated in the intermediate layer and is not the true Second Layer of the Abyss; its capacity for player levels is limited.

The upper limit for entry is level forty-five.

Players above level forty-five, even with a pass, will be repelled by the Pillar of the Present World and must undergo an elaborate ritual to reinforce the Pillar before passage is possible.

To those present, a level forty-five player hasn't even begun to touch divinity and is considered too weak even to serve as a subordinate.

Yet this very individual managed to strike them from afar—and even wounded Mercury, who ranks among the top ten among them.

The absurdity of this incident rivals encountering a B-rank trial dungeon on the verge of going out of control.

Mercury covered his nose; blood continuously gushed from between his fingers, turning his employee-like friendly smile into a grotesque, terrifying grimace.

A female player beside him swung her staff, enveloping him in golden healing light; within the glow, his nosebleed slowly ceased—but the moment the light faded, blood spurted out again.

This scene utterly stunned everyone.

As players who have activated the Seed of Divinity, they are nearly immortal to non-divine players; as long as their energy sustains their divinity, any injury heals rapidly.

An injury they cannot recover from means the attacker has struck their very essence.

What puzzled them further was that this injury strongly repelled divinity—even skills infused with divinity could not dispel it.

The absurdity of the current scene went beyond merely encountering a B-rank trial dungeon on the verge of going out of control—it had already achieved a breakthrough.

The female player who had just healed him tried two abilities in succession, both failing; helplessly, she pulled a pack of tissues from her inventory and handed them to Mercury.

Mercury rolled the tissues into a ball and stuffed them into his nose, temporarily plugging the bleeding.

After this ordeal, everyone's expressions in the conference room turned solemn.

Leaving aside the strange nature of the injury, the fact that someone could strike Mercury's true body from afar and directly damage his essence—even among those seated here, many could not accomplish this.

If such a person appears in the Pillar of the Present World, the outcome speaks for itself.

The one who spoke again was Joy; his brow furrowed slightly as he asked:

"Was the attacker one of the Four Organizations' guardians?"

Mercury shook his head and said: "Not a guardian player. From the aura, it was a Wasteland Realm player."

At these words, the room erupted in uproar.

A Wasteland Realm player striking the essence of a divine player from afar? Even our cheats wouldn't dare set values this high.

Dude, are you cheating this blatantly? Don't you fear the admins banning your account?

As the group debated possible methods the attacker might have used, a man seated above Mercury, wearing a brass helmet, suddenly frowned, as if recalling something.

He spoke: "Could the one who wounded you be the same individual you exposed in your contract, the one I struck remotely back then?"

Mercury's face darkened; he stole a glance at Joy, then nodded and said:

"Their auras are very similar. It's probably the same person."

The group's chatter instantly fell silent.

He possesses the ability to strike from afar; his damage is high enough to wound the essence of divine players; and he's incredibly durable—Mercury and Thor Perun together couldn't kill him.

This monster is merely a Wasteland Realm player.

If he ascends to the Second Layer of the Abyss, will he even let us live?

Hearing Mercury and Perun's words, Joy could no longer sit still; he stopped turning his prayer beads and said:

"This is truly a major problem. Time is running out, Mercury—urge the people you've hired to hurry. You must obtain that item soon. Losing one Pillar of the Present World isn't critical, but that item cannot be lost."

Mercury nodded and said: "I'll notify them."

Inside Shelter No. 88, Wu Chang withdrew from the temporary administrator's perspective, his consciousness returning to reality.

He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the sofa in He Yun's office. As he sat up, he saw He Yun entering with two cups of coffee.

He Yun handed one cup to Wu Chang, then sat beside him and said:

"Just now, when I transferred the Shelter's permissions to you, you suddenly froze, staring fixedly at the corner, as if petrified."

"I checked your vital signs—the instruments showed you were perfectly healthy. I guessed you were like during your spirit-channeling, seeing something, so I moved you to the sofa."

Wu Chang turned the coffee cup in his hand and said: "I did see something."

He Yun shrugged: "If it's hard to explain, you don't have to."

Wu Chang explained: "It's not a secret I'm hiding from you—I just don't know how to describe it. Simply put, when you transferred the Shelter's permissions to me, I gained this plane's recognition. Using the plane's power, I saw the true universe we inhabit."

"Whoa." He Yun raised his eyebrows dramatically. "You're not telling me you just communicated with my world, are you?"

Wu Chang sipped his coffee—it was smooth, with plenty of milk and sugar—while He Yun's cup clearly held nothing but black coffee.

"How did you know I like this taste?"

He Yun struggled to suppress a laugh: "Because someone insists on ordering hot milk with sugar at bars—I figured you couldn't handle black coffee."

Wu Chang protested: "I only ordered hot milk—the sugar was the bartender's own addition."

He Yun gave him an expression of feigned belief. "Sure, sure."

Wu Chang steered the topic back: "The universe I saw isn't the starry sky above us—it's a network connecting countless worlds, the true universe."

"There, I saw a world shatter like a bubble and instantly be swallowed by the universe, leaving not even a trace. In that space, I sensed something unsettling—as if something major was unfolding."

He Yun asked: "If my original plan fails, will my world become that bubble you described?"

Wu Chang: "Maybe."

He Yun leaned his head against Wu Chang's shoulder. "I can't imagine such a future."

Wu Chang immediately replied: "Then don't imagine it. As long as I'm here, I won't let that happen."

"Then how should I repay you?" He Yun's voice came from beside Wu Chang's ear.

Before Wu Chang could answer, He Yun pinned him down onto the sofa.

Wu Chang looked up at He Yun, straddling him with eager excitement, and stammered:

"This is the office—people keep coming and going outside. Isn't this inappropriate?"

He Yun said: "Shelter 88, activate Quiet Office Mode."

With a ding, the glass windows along the office corridor and the massive floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the entire energy mine turned opaque black.

"Now no one can disturb us."

"Wait!" Wu Chang shouted again.

He Yun sighed and said, "What now?"

Glup.

Wu Chang swallowed hard, forcing a pleading, awkward smile as he said, "There's something I need to confess."

He Yun narrowed her eyes, her expression solemn, and asked, "Are you gay?"

"I'm not, I don't, don't say that! You can't joke about this!" Wu Chang immediately denied it.

He Yun exhaled in relief and asked, "Then what else do you need to confess?"

Wu Chang hesitated many times before finally forcing himself to speak: "You probably heard it from Gu Feng—I'm not from this dimension. We live in another dimension, and we frequently cross between dimensions."

"So, outside, I have a woman I must take responsibility for."

Hearing the word "responsibility," He Yun's face darkened. She stared at Wu Chang, her voice low:

"Have you married her?"

Wu Chang said, slightly embarrassed, "No." He Yun's expression softened slightly, then pressed, "Then you're still a couple?"

Wu Chang paused. "We haven't reached that point."

This left He Yun speechless. If you're not even a couple, what responsibility are you talking about?

Could it be that something happened due to some reason, but no relationship was established? No—that didn't fit either. Wu Chang had said before he was still a virgin.

"Then how far have you gone?"

Wu Chang whispered, "Holding hands and hugging."

He Yun stared at Wu Chang in silence. "You really should drink sweet milk. My brother, since he started drinking unsweetened milk after kindergarten, knew that holding hands and hugging won't make anyone pregnant, and doesn't require taking responsibility."

Wu Chang said, "Our relationship is complicated and hard to explain right now. Our connection isn't physical—it's spiritual."

He Yun shrugged. "Then take your time. I've set aside the whole night for you. We've got plenty of time."

Wu Chang: "..."

!

Seeing He Yun's firm attitude, Wu Chang could only, while pinned beneath her, briefly recount his relationship with Ailin.

After listening, He Yun seemed to understand, and analyzed:

"So, the girl you call Ailin previously suffered from severe emotional detachment. Now you're her guardian, and she's developed dependence on you."

"Because of the things you've experienced together, you feel fondness for her. But you're not sure whether her attachment is merely dependence—or if she even understands romantic love, or if she feels it at all."

"You simply believe you're bound to her, that you have an obligation to care for her, so you feel you must take responsibility. But in truth, nothing has happened between you. It's all one-sided on your part."

Wu Chang sucked in a breath. Though He Yun's analysis seemed correct, why did it sound so off coming from her mouth?

"I think your phrasing is flawed, but it's more or less the situation."

He Yun sighed, leaning forward to rest her body atop Wu Chang, murmuring softly: "Another girl you saved, who gradually reclaimed herself with your help."

Wu Chang opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He Yun took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on Wu Chang, her eyes gleaming with the light of a predator.

"I feel sorry for her plight. But I told you—in my world, if you don't seize what you want, someone else will take it. Since she hasn't learned to live like a normal person, I'll strike first."

Wu Chang: "But..."

"No buts," He Yun interrupted.

"What happens between you two afterward, I don't need to know—as long as you don't bring her into my world, I'll pretend I don't know. But before that, I'm going to leave more marks on you, to make you answer for what you just told me."

Seeing He Yun was unstoppable, and from his own perspective, he also liked her very much.

Maybe he should just give in?

"Wait!" Wu Chang suddenly remembered something and stopped her from removing his shirt.

He Yun was growing impatient. "You're not going to tell me there's another one, are you?"

Wu Chang shook his head. "No, what I mean is—the body I used to enter the underground shelter is my clone, not my true body. I want to wait until my true body enters before we continue."

He Yun: "Huh?"

She pinched Wu Chang's upper body—it felt like flesh, warm, and the medical equipment confirmed everything was normal. How could this be a clone?

"Then is your current body a clone, a simulated android, or a bio-engineered being?"

Wu Chang shook his head.

"None of those. It's another version of me, split off by a special artifact. That's a bit convoluted to say—this body is another me, controlled by my consciousness, capable of syncing all sensations back to me, but it's not truly me."

Seeing He Yun's confused expression, Wu Chang really wanted to say: Supernatural abilities, aren't they amazing?

"Also, this form is the result of me altering my physique and appearance—what I chose to show Gu Feng and the others, the peaceful image. It's not my real self."

He Yun said, half-understanding: "I want to see your true appearance."

"As you wish."

Wu Chang removed his disguise mask. His body shifted from the broad-shouldered, muscular giant into a lean, gym-influenced physique.

His features still bore faint traces of the former face, but the rugged, angular jaw softened into gentle contours; his stern expression relaxed into the calm, slightly lazy visage of a young man.

This was his true face. Had he not transformed before He Yun's eyes, even if he walked past her, she would never recognize him.

Wu Chang said, "My real name isn't He Ping—it's Wu Chang. I hope this doesn't disappoint you."

He had not concealed his identity from He Yun.

She had given him her trust, her world, and was now offering him her heart and body. She had gone this far—he had no reason to hide anything.

He Yun stared at Wu Chang's face, then exclaimed:

"No wonder your actions and words often clashed with your face. Now it makes sense—if this is your true self."

"I prefer your current appearance to your previous one."

Wu Chang relaxed after hearing that; if He Yun had a thing for muscular big men, he'd have to figure out how to bulk up with Gao Xuezhang.

As he sighed in relief, he suddenly noticed He Yun's hand had started moving again.

"Didn't we agree to wait until my main body arrives?"

He Yun said seriously: "I promised you before—if you helped me seal the Stone Temple, I'd customize a battle exosuit for you. Do you still want it?"

"Yes! Of course I do!" Wu Chang answered without hesitation.

The exosuit He Yun customized, at full output, could obliterate a level-100 player with a single shot—equivalent to an A-rank item.

And which man could refuse his own Iron Man-style portable battle exosuit?

Seeing Wu Chang's reaction, He Yun's lips curled slightly as he said:

"Good. Customizing the exosuit requires your body data. Don't move. Sister will take your measurements."

After a series of measurements, He Yun uploaded all of Wu Chang's body data to the workstation and began generating the corresponding model according to Wu Chang's specifications.

At Wu Chang's request, the exosuit adopted the classic red-and-gold color scheme.

Once the design was finalized, Wu Chang ran his fingers over the 1:1 scale 3D-printed model, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

"How long will it take to finish?"

He Yun tapped at the keyboard and said: "About thirty days—maybe faster, maybe slower."

Wu Chang's authority as a Realm Controller allowed him to extract one item from his private realm—or upgrade one of his existing items—every fifteen days.

Since the customized exosuit would take thirty days to build, he'd have time to upgrade another item in the meantime.

So he pulled out Dawn's Weight and asked He Yun if she could upgrade it.

As a C-rank item, Dawn's Weight had become inadequate against the near-out-of-control A-rank dungeon.

As a tech-based item, with He Yun's technological capability, upgrading it wouldn't be difficult.

She glanced at it once and told him it could be upgraded—the upgrade period, as restricted by the realm, was fifteen days.

Since his current strength rendered Dawn's Weight nearly useless, he left it with He Yun as his first output from the private realm.

Wu Chang controlled his True Self and stayed with He Yun in the underground shelter for several days; as the deadline to enter the dungeon neared, he told He Yun he would be leaving and would return soon.

He Yun made no effort to stop Wu Chang's departure, but as he was leaving, He Yun narrowed his eyes like an old hunter waiting for prey to step into a trap, and said slowly:

"When you come to collect the gun and the customized exosuit, bring your main body. If your main body doesn't come, don't bother entering at all."

(End of Chapter)