Chapter 261

"Why?" Yu Siyi's voice trembled, unable to understand Lu Langfeng's order.

Lu Langfeng offered no explanation, his tone growing colder: "You only need to answer me—do it or not."

His increasingly rigid attitude reminded Yu Siyi of past experiences; she feared being abandoned again and hurriedly said, "I'll do it, I'll do it!"

Hearing her affirmative reply, Lu Langfeng's face once again broke into a smile; he took out a painting and placed it before Yu Siyi, saying:

"Press your forehead against it, open your mind, and fully accept the information within. When you wake up, it will all be over."

Yu Siyi stepped before the painting and, following Lu Langfeng's instruction, pressed her forehead against it.

She felt a memory not her own drilling into her mind, while the memories she once thought etched into her soul were being slowly replaced.

In this moment, it felt as if not her memories, but herself, were vanishing.

She was uneasy, yet did not stop her action; instead, she tilted her head slightly, glancing at Lu Langfeng with the corner of her eye, asking:

"Have I been helpful?"

Unfortunately, she never received Lu Langfeng's reply—she lost consciousness, completely and utterly.

Lu Langfeng, who had witnessed everything, shook his head; he retracted the painting from Yu Siyi's forehead and withdrew the energy shielding the room's cameras.

He had completed all other actions in plain view of the cameras, but for this memory replacement, he chose to conceal it.

Lu Langfeng sat in his chair, gazing thoughtfully at the sleeping girl.

Why had he spared her?

It was not his style; though he did not deliberately slaughter, neither did he deliberately show mercy.

According to his nature, these wild transcenders were nothing but disposable tools; to reduce leaks of information about him, he usually eliminated all such tools.

Was he soft-hearted?

Of course not. The lives of ordinary people—including ordinary players—meant nothing to him, mere insignificant strokes on a canvas, erased or kept depending on his mood.

He acted without restraint, never caring whether ordinary people were caught in the crossfire; especially during his conflict with Bai Ta, the number of ordinary people killed by his actions numbered at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand.

Did he feel guilt?

Of course not. He felt no emotion toward them—not even pity.

Yet he still spared Yu Siyi.

Perhaps because, in her, he saw a reflection of his former self.

If he had taken Yu Siyi with him, perhaps she would have become another him—but if she had merely awakened her ability, and at the fork in her future, had not followed the same path he once took, might she have had a different future?

He was curious, so he did it.

Lu Langfeng rose from his chair; he could sense the other eight tools in the fifth basement level, still in a trance-like state, repeatedly drawing runes on the walls with their fingers.

Some, pressing too hard, had worn their fingertips raw and bloody.

He did not order them to stop; instead, he instructed them to continue.

They were all meant to die; only to let her live normally had they been spared—how fortunate for them.

Lu Langfeng walked toward the underground elevator; since entering Wanghai City, he had spent this long precisely for this moment.

Although the personnel levels of the Administration's regional branches varied, all buildings housing the Administration were constructed by personnel directly dispatched from headquarters.

Especially the underground spaces, which typically held transcendent criminals and stored vital artifacts for each regional branch, required the highest level of protection.

A moment's lapse would inevitably attract players daring enough to attempt a free-for-all looting spree.

Each regional branch's underground space used the Administration's unique encryption, linked via the third basement level to the Administration's Chi Lang Space; backed by Chi Lang Space, each branch possessed nearly limitless power—ordinary Deep Abyss Level Two players found it nearly impossible to breach or infiltrate.

But safety depended on maintaining contact with Chi Lang Space.

During this period, Lu Langfeng had planted nails one by one into the Administration's underground, eroding its defense system.

Now, the invasion space he summoned had successfully severed the connection between the fifth and sixth basement levels and the upper floors through the gaps he had previously created.

With Chi Lang Space on the third basement level, its energy could not reach below—making the treasure vault on the sixth basement level of Wanghai City appear before him like a free buffet, one he could pack and carry away at will.

Lu Langfeng pulled out a paintbrush and drew a circle on the elevator door; the circle glowed, and a smaller door opened within it.

He slipped inside, his body plummeting straight down; he fell nearly a hundred meters, and just before hitting the ground, an invisible force gently lifted him, allowing him to land softly.

Pure elegance.

He straightened his suit collar and walked slowly to the door of the sixth basement level; he repeated his trick, opening a small door into the special storage room.

The instant he entered, his gaze was drawn to a massive glass display case; inside lay a doorframe three meters high and two meters wide, entirely covered in ornate patterns.

The sign before the case bore its name: "Worldgate."

Lu Langfeng took a deep breath, his face suffused with rapture—this was the scent, the scent of a spatial dimension-traveling artifact.

Artifacts capable of traversing dimensions were exceedingly rare; even he had found only one—the Hui Shi Painting Scroll.

He had used his final activation of the Hui Shi Painting Scroll to enter the Quiet Town instance, but fortunately, he had smelled the scent of a spatial-traveling artifact on the Administration members who later entered the instance.

He opened the display case and took out the Worldgate.

As he caressed the Worldgate, a look of delight spread across his face; his current state of pleasure surpassed even watching a chosen model slowly corrupted by his desires, culminating in a grand explosion into fireworks.

The Worldgate had severe usage restrictions; in the hands of the Administration, it was merely an expensive emergency rescue tool—an utter waste.

Only in his hands, by extracting its essence and shattering its constraints, could its true power be unleashed.

Lu Langfeng stored the Worldgate in his personal space and turned his gaze to the other glass display cases around him.

The Wanghai Branch was merely a second-tier city branch; aside from the Worldgate, nothing here caught his eye—but since he had come, not taking more would insult the sacrifice of the nine tools.

If so, he would reluctantly pick out two items.

While Lu Langfeng was selecting treasures in the Administration's sixth basement level, Wu Chang still sat in the Emotion Art Museum, waiting for Lu Langfeng's return.

Time passed second by second; his sense of foreboding grew, turning into restlessness.

He looked at the boy learning painting from Lu Langfeng and asked: "How long does Mr. Lu usually take when he goes out?"

The boy shook his head: "It's uncertain. If Teacher Lu hasn't returned by seven p. m., he tells me to lock up and leave on my own."

"Does he often leave you alone and not come back?" Wu Chang asked.

The boy answered honestly: "Too many."

Wu Chang slapped his own forehead, suppressing the urge to curse, "Then why did you just say Mr. Lu should be back soon?"

The boy scratched his head, slightly embarrassed, unaware that the dye on his hands had stained his hair.

"Because I saw you were in a hurry—if my answer caused you to miss Mr. Lu, he'd be angry."

Wu Chang nearly laughed in anger—so I'm the one who's impatient and leaves, that's none of your concern, and Mr. Lu won't blame you, right? You're quite the clever little brat.

He had a hunch Lu Langfeng wouldn't return today, so he added the boy on JuXin and told him to notify him immediately if Lu Langfeng came back. After giving the instruction, he hurried out of the art museum.

Outside the museum, he immediately accessed the Bureau's backend system, pulling up surveillance footage around the Emotion Art Museum to track Lu Langfeng's movements.

He discovered Lu Langfeng had driven away an hour earlier, behaving normally the entire way, returning directly home and not leaving since.

Lu Langfeng's actions seemed normal, but Wu Chang's subconscious sensed something off—he chose not to follow, instead keeping his phone screen locked on the surveillance feed around Lu Langfeng's house, then returning to the Bureau to report the current situation.

It wasn't that he feared Lu Langfeng or that the mastermind behind the scenes had prepared something, and that rushing in would lead to disaster—he was worried about revealing too much of his power, drawing the attention of Director Gao and Xiang Jianxing.

His peaceful identity had already become a public enemy of the Four Organizations, and the Light Society watched him from across a dimensional barrier—he needed to preserve a legitimate identity, one that allowed him to live openly in reality.

As Wu Chang drove back to the Bureau, the boy in the studio sighed and shook his head slightly.

Young people are always so impatient—how long has he waited before he can't sit still?

What's the use of being in a hurry? You can't even see me—how could you ever find me?

The boy paused for a moment, then hummed a tune as he continued finishing the unfinished painting.

The painting depicted a dark, isolated island; in the center, an abandoned building flickered with scattered flames.

"Light, for some, is a safe haven—but for others, it becomes a shackle limiting their potential. A body unbound by any hardship is still restrained by others' gazes. I wonder if he'll like my little performance."

!

Wu Chang drove back to the Bureau; as soon as he entered, he sensed the atmosphere was tense, and an inexplicable pressure rose from below—like an Erosion instance.

He spotted Linghu hurrying out and grabbed her. "What's going on in the Bureau?"

Linghu had been burdened with worries, her eyes filled with panic, but seeing Wu Chang appear, she instantly felt safe, calming down somewhat.

She said: "The Bureau has been attacked—from below. According to instrument readings, an unknown Erosion instance has appeared underground, completely severing the underground space from the surface."

Wu Chang frowned. An Erosion instance spawning inside the Bureau? Is this guy trying to ruin the New Year?

Or was this deliberately done—to cause trouble inside the Bureau?

He asked: "Where's Director Gao?"

Linghu replied: "Just now, Instructor Zhao returned from outside and went straight to the Director's office. I don't know what he said, but I saw him, Director Gao, Deputy Director Lei, and Xiang Jianxing take the elevator down together."

"Immediately after, alarms rang from below. When we rushed over, we only saw the elevator returning empty to the ground floor—Director Gao and the others vanished inside. The Bureau is now under Director Xia Jia's command."

"We just contacted Professor Shi, informed him of what happened. It was his remote detection that revealed the Erosion instance underground—it hasn't spread yet."

Wu Chang clicked his tongue. The situation was indeed dire.

Although Xia Jia holds a high rank, her level is only barely above 20, and she's a support-type player, specializing in studying anomalous phenomena and mitigating their impact on reality. In pure combat power, she may not even surpass Zhao Yan.

Putting her in temporary command means the Bureau truly has no one left.

Wu Chang asked: "Where were you going just now?"

Linghu answered: "Director Xia Jia ordered us to carry her directives to various departments in Wanghai City, ready to take control the moment the underground Erosion instance goes out of control—to minimize its impact."

Wu Chang nodded. He had no objection to Xia Jia's judgment, and he regarded Linghu with slight surprise.

"You don't seem very panicked?"

People really do grow. In his memory, Linghu always panicked at the first sign of trouble.

Linghu smiled faintly. "I was panicked, but seeing you reminded me of what you told me before: when the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. Now that you've arrived, I naturally feel lighter."

Wu Chang smiled. "That's right. Keep following Director Xia's orders. I'm going in."

Linghu opened her mouth to ask what Wu Chang planned to do, but before she could speak, he was already far away. She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted:

"Stay safe!"

She saw Wu Chang, his back to her, raise a hand and give her an OK sign, his face relaxed with a reassuring smile.

Knowing Director Gao and the others had gone down, he bypassed the Director's office and headed straight for the Anomalous Disaster Control Center where Xia Jia was.

Everyone who could be sent out had been dispatched; the office was now empty except for Xia Jia—he didn't need to wait.

Wu Chang didn't beat around the bush. "Director Xia, I'm going down."

Xia Jia looked at Wu Chang. Both held the rank of Explorer, but her position was earned through seniority; in terms of achievements, Wu Chang's were far greater. Honestly, if anyone should command the Wanghai Branch, it should be him.

"Wu Chang, the Bureau is short-staffed. I think you should stay aboveground to guard against emergencies. There are two Directors and Xiang Jianxing inside the Erosion instance—the combat power is sufficient. If they can't handle it, your addition won't make much difference."

Wu Chang said: "This Erosion instance is highly unusual. I heard you've contacted Professor Shi Ning—I'm sure he mentioned this incident is likely connected to the Painter."

Xia Jia nodded.

Wu Chang continued: "My intuition is sharp—I'm good at finding instance weak points. I've broken one of the Painter's instances before. I believe I can help down there—at least speed up the breakthrough."

"Staying above, I can't contribute at all."

Xia Jia paused, then confirmed: "According to Professor Shi's detection, this instance is incomplete—only a single region—but its level is A-class. Extremely dangerous. Are you still certain you want to go down?"

Wu Chang answered without hesitation: "Certain."

Xia Jia straightened her posture and said solemnly to Wu Chang: "Then you must find a way to break the instance and bring back the Directors."

Wu Chang: "That's exactly what I intend to do."

Accompanied by Xia Jia, Wu Chang reached the elevator. The doors opened, and he immediately smelled the thick aura of the instance.

He stepped in, pressed the button for B5, and the doors slowly closed as the elevator descended.

As the elevator descended, estimating its speed, when it reached B1, Wu Chang heard a soft *puff*.

The elevator seemed to pierce a membrane, entering another space.

The elevator's lights flickered; its descent accelerated rapidly, as if the steel cables had been severed and it was now in free fall.

Thud!

Ding!

With a heavy thud, the elevator panel showed he had reached the fifth basement level.

But when the elevator doors opened, outside was endless darkness and cold.

He looked around, as if he had arrived on a lone island; he gazed outward and saw a flame glowing at the island's center.

Ding.

He turned back toward the elevator and found that in the instant the doors closed, the elevator cabin had vanished.

He turned his gaze again to the island's center—Director Gao and the others should be there.

Meanwhile, on a barren hill outside Wanghai City, a middle-aged man put down his telescope and turned to face the Revelation member, tortured to the brink of death.

"Little mouse, you're saying you once set up a Heavenly Kingdom here, and then had it stolen by strangers?"

(End of Chapter)