Chapter 313: The Final Request

After leaving the nearly collapsed city of Sigef, Wu Chang and Amber returned to the orphanage.

Back in the real Sigef, Amber's body reverted to fifth-grade size; they reported their safety to Superintendent Susan, and the grown Amber personally thanked Yu Siyi before the two headed back to Huayuanjie.

On the way home, Amber told Wu Chang everything that had happened.

Even after reverting to her normal size, she did not forget what occurred in her small form—the events in the nearly collapsed Sigef felt like a nightmare to her.

But this time, she remembered every detail of the nightmare, including the monster shaped like a giant wolf, and the older sister who appeared to help her at her most desperate moment.

After hearing Amber's account, Wu Chang's opinion of Yu Siyi shifted slightly.

He understood well the strength of dungeon monsters, especially those tied to Amber, whose power far exceeded that of ordinary monsters.

How long has Yu Siyi been with the Bureau? Even counting reward dungeons, she had experienced at most two.

Not to mention her—even Wu Chang, when he had just completed two dungeons, would have avoided monsters in the Cursed dungeon entirely.

For her to step forward like that could only mean she acted on a sudden impulse.

Yet the more impulsive it was, the heavier her kindness became.

And unless something unexpected happened, Yu Siyi was the secret weapon mentioned by the Negotiation Master—she had aided not only this side, but also Zhenwo's side as well.

He disliked owing people favors; if he got the chance, he should ask Hou Jingchuan what her wishes or goals were, and find a way to help her.

On the way home, Wu Chang had been worrying about where to sleep tonight, but when they arrived home, he found Number 26 Huayuanjie intact, standing exactly where it had been.

It wasn't entirely undamaged—the attic showed clear signs of being gnawed.

The gnaw marks matched Amber's description.

It seemed his and Erin's guess had been correct: before the meteor struck, Amber had vanished along with the entire house.

But how had she done it? And why had she reverted to her childhood form after entering the nearly collapsed Sigef?

Wu Chang recalled Frank's resentment in the old school building—in Frank's memories, Amber was in sixth grade.

Was Amber's size change connected to that original resentment?

Wu Chang possessed many pieces of information about Amber, but he was missing just one thread to connect them all into a complete truth.

That thread could only be found by someone who truly understood Amber.

He pulled out the silver leaf pendant and gazed toward Knox Elementary.

Like, Teacher Marivela.

But none of that mattered now—the most important thing was that he had brought Amber home.

He parked the car in the garage, took Amber's hand, and knocked on the door.

Footsteps approached from behind the door; it opened, and Erin smiled at them both.

"Welcome home."

"You successfully reclaimed Amber, lifted her existential anxiety, and gave her the courage to face her past and future, becoming an irreplaceable guide in her life."

"You gained Amber's full recognition. Amber's current recognition value toward you: 100 points."

"You gained an additional 20% attribute liberation."

Amber's final inner demon was exceptionally difficult, but the reward was equally generous.

When he entered the church, found Amber, and gave her the Bethlehem Star prepared by Superintendent Amanda, he had already taken over Amanda's role and become the person Amber fully recognized.

But…

Watching Amber cling tightly to Erin, whispering softly, Wu Chang felt a pang of envy.

Why did he always have to do all the dirty, exhausting work, yet Amber seemed closer to Erin in the end?

Will Erin get MVP in the dungeon settlement while he ends up as a free-rider? If so, he'd make a scene.

Wu Chang sighed and checked his attribute panel: another 20% attribute liberation, plus the 10% from the Philanthropist Statue activated after winning the mayoral election, gave him his current stats:

Life: 85

Strength: Body: 85 / True Self: 209

Agility: 58

Endurance: 64

Energy: Body: 249 / True Self: 159

Inspiration: 116

Willpower: 160

Gaining 60% attribute liberation caused his Body's Energy and True Self's Strength to touch the Wasteland Realm barrier.

In the Cursed dungeon, touching the Wasteland Realm barrier with a minimum stat of 58—what did that mean?

Other players' combined five stats probably didn't even match his lowest stat: Agility.

If other players saw his panel, no matter how much he explained he wasn't cheating, none would believe him.

People really shouldn't try too hard—overdoing it only invites misunderstanding.

While checking his attributes, Wu Chang noticed something: he had gained Amber's full recognition, yet the hidden side quest remained incomplete, meaning Amber's story was not over.

To fully complete the hidden side quest, he would need to unravel every secret about Amber.

Time was still early; there would be plenty of chances.

After all the turmoil, Amber had long reached her limit; after chatting with Erin for a while, she grew too sleepy to keep her eyes open.

Erin took Amber into the master bedroom to put her to sleep, while Wu Chang stayed alone in the living room.

If Long Kai could find Number 26 Huayuanjie, Lin Jiang and the others likely had too.

With his current stats, sleep was no longer necessary; to prevent Lin Jiang and the others from causing trouble, he needed to remain fully alert to feel safe.

The night passed in perfect silence—he heard no cry from Amber, no murmurs of struggle in her dreams.

She must have had a good dream.

Someone had shed all constraints and could sleep peacefully, while others were doomed to lie awake.

In a vacant house in Sigev City, Lin Jiang smashed the table in front of him with a punch, then swung the vase to hurl it at the TV.

His expression was manic, wild as a demon, shouting:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The reason he broke down was the lotus lying on the ground.

After Long Kai's death, the World Will, as Moqili had said, began to collapse, and the lotus petals withered at lightning speed.

When the lotus completely withered and died, it would signify the total collapse of the World Will, allowing them to trigger the bombs they had long buried to transform the Cursed dungeon into their own Pillar of the Real World.

Then they could travel along the Pillar of the Real World to the Realm of Reason.

But just now, the lotus, which had withered by ninety-nine percent, suddenly revived, regaining vitality at a visible pace.

Now, the lotus lying on the ground had returned to its most brilliant, fully bloomed state.

If the World Will does not collapse, then whether the dungeon is broken or turned into a Pillar of the Real World, it will fall into Peace's hands, with no relevance to them.

Li Zi sighed, walked to the lotus, bent down to pick it up, and brushed off the dust.

"Lin Jiang, don't get so worked up. Calm down first."

Better not mention it—once he mentioned calmness, Lin Jiang exploded.

He strode toward Li Zi with a dark face and said: "Calm down? You want me to calm down?"

"How am I supposed to calm down? If we can't reach the Realm of Reason, we'll all die! Do you think only I'm on their radar, and you won't die, so you're so calm? Do you think you can just vanish on your own, untouched?"

Li Zi showed a helpless expression. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean!"

Lin Jiang screamed hysterically, pacing anxiously around the room, muttering:

"Another failure. They failed again. I should've listened to Long Kai—right when we entered the dungeon, we should've gathered all our strength and killed Peace. If he were dead, none of this would've happened."

Li Zi urged: "Isn't this all part of Mr. Moqili's plan?"

"Yes, Mr. Moqili's plan," Lin Jiang replied sarcastically.

"They say believe first, then question—we've believed until we're at our wit's end."

"Peace has already won the mayoral election in Sigev City. If he wants, one order can make everyone drop everything to hunt us down."

"At this point, shouldn't I question it?"

Li Zi smiled apologetically. "I still think we can trust Mr. Moqili one more time."

Lin Jiang's face flushed red. "Trust again? How am I supposed to trust..."

Before Lin Jiang finished his complaint, he saw Li Zi pull out a contract from his personal space. Lin Jiang had seen this exact contract many times—it was one of Mr. Moqili's abilities.

Li Zi tilted his head slightly, revealing an innocent smile. "Actually, Mr. Moqili prepared a backup plan."

A chill rose up Lin Jiang's spine. Backup plan? Why had he never heard of it?

A backup plan that didn't include him?

"W-what backup plan?" His throat tightened, his speech turning halting.

Li Zi said: "Mr. Lin Jiang, your target is too large to hide. The backup plan is to transfer the highest authority of the Four Organizations to me."

As Li Zi spoke, Lin Jiang, bound by the contract, involuntarily opened his personal space and handed Li Zi four crystal pillars sealed with the highest authority of the Four Organizations.

"Thank you." Li Zi took the crystal pillars and stored them in his own personal space.

After surrendering the highest authority of the Four Organizations, Lin Jiang's body did not stop—it continued pulling from his personal space a seal bearing the character "Ten Thousand," and handed it to Li Zi as well.

Li Zi caressed the seal and spoke slowly:

"Then, I also need you, Mr. Lin Jiang, to cover for me and end this dungeon."

As he finished, he stamped the seal onto Lin Jiang's forehead.

!

The next instant, thick black mist poured from every pore of Lin Jiang's body, coalescing into concentric rings of black thorns that wrapped around him like a cocoon.

Lin Jiang screamed and cursed: "You can't do this to me! I'm the one in charge of the operation!"

"Li Zi, I f***ing kill you! If they can do this to me, won't they do the same to you? I'll wait for you down there!"

Li Zi sneered. "Mr. Lin, I have sufficient trust and respect for the elders of the Light Society. That's the greatest difference between you and me."

"I always believe. And then I believe again."

Lin Jiang: "F***... woooo..."

Before Lin Jiang could finish his curse, countless thorns plunged into his mouth, completely sealing his throat.

The room fell silent, leaving only a cocoon of thorns pulsing like a heart.

Li Zi said calmly:

"When everyone fused with monsters, Mr. Lin, you specifically chose to fuse with the strongest monster in the dimension. Didn't you ever wonder how powerful you'd become once fully merged?"

"I'm very curious. I can't wait to see your transformed form. I wonder if Peace can stop the world's collapse under your power."

At six a. m., Wu Chang opened his eyes while sitting on the sofa, turning off the alarm before it rang, then put on a pink apron and began preparing breakfast for Amber and Erin.

As he opened the fridge to select ingredients, the doorbell rang.

It was rare for a neighbor to visit so early.

Wu Chang opened the door. Two familiar faces stood outside.

One of them was Marivela, whom he had met last night. He had planned to return her pendant today and ask about Amber, but she had come to him first.

The second person with Marivela, however, surprised Wu Chang—how had Grace ended up with Marivela?

Since the Faceless Shadow at the old campus, he hadn't seen Grace in a while.

Grace, who had organized several beach volleyball sessions, now had a sun-kissed wheat-colored complexion, and with her tall frame, she would pass for a supermodel if not for her still youthful face.

The Faceless Shadow had clearly affected her deeply—she had cut her long hair into a neat short style.

All were old acquaintances—one had just helped him, the other was Amber's friend—Wu Chang stepped aside and invited them in.

"You've arrived at a perfect time—I'm just preparing breakfast. Would you like to join me?"

Grace immediately said: "Yes!"

Mavila glared at her from the side; Grace instantly pulled back, offering an innocent smile.

Mavila turned to Wu Chang and said in a stiff tone: "Mr. Xiao En, we've come here to discuss serious matters. Could we find a private place to talk?"

Private?

Wu Chang was about to say this was his home, and there was nothing that needed to be hidden—but he saw Mavila's gaze drift toward the master bedroom, and suddenly understood her meaning.

"Come with me to the study."

The three entered the study. Wu Chang brought two chairs for them and asked:

"What is it you need to discuss away from Amber?"

Mavila said nothing, but her eyes turned to Grace.

Grace cleared her throat, stood up from her chair, then launched herself and clung tightly to Wu Chang.

Wu Chang:?

Wait, what does this mean?

Wu Chang felt numb. He knew Grace had a crush on him—she was even his martial arts fan—but neither law nor his own preferences allowed him to pursue a girl of her age.

He shouted at Mavila: "Teacher Mavila, don't just stand there—do something!"

Mavila kept her stern expression, as if she saw nothing improper before her.

Grace, clinging to Wu Chang, said:

"Why are you struggling? Isn't this what you wanted?"

Wu Chang panicked. "Don't you dare say things like that just because you're young—this will ruin me if it gets out!"

Grace looked puzzled:

"But last time we met, you clearly said that if I approached you as a wheat-skinned, short-haired, sporty girl, you'd consider my request."

Wu Chang instinctively denied: "I never said—"

The denial died halfway through. He suddenly realized those words did sound like something he'd said—and they felt disturbingly familiar.

He rummaged through his memories, trying to recall the scene.

In a daze, a vision surfaced in his mind.

He stood on a desolate moon, beside a tree that shouldn't exist. Beneath the giant tree, an old man held out its fruit, demanding he eat it, insisting he wanted his body and must merge with him.

His reply to the old man was:

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

The vision in his mind faded. The old man's face transformed into Grace, still clinging to him, looking up at him.

He remembered—it was at the very end of the Midnight Graveyard dungeon, on the Miracle Moon, speaking to the Great Sage who had become a Miracle Walker.

"You're a Miracle Walker?!"

Grace nodded and said:

"I've chosen this appearance to match your preferences. Now can we talk properly?"

Wu Chang shook his head:

"First, when I said 'sporty girl,' I meant an adult. Second, we have nothing to discuss—I will never merge with you."

If he hadn't already confirmed Grace and Mavila meant no harm—and had even helped him before—he would've thrown them into the Blind Abyss already.

Grace said:

"Too bad. Couldn't Mavila just cut her hair short? She's sporty too."

Wu Chang shook his head again. "That's not the point. If you came here just for this, I'm going to show you out."

Grace sighed, her tone playful:

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. We didn't come to merge with you—we need your help."

Wu Chang's expression softened. If it was just a favor, there was room to talk.

After all, if they were Miracle Walkers, the Primordial Spirit Pivot Gate they carried couldn't be coincidence.

The Omniscient Crystal craved that Primordial Spirit Pivot but couldn't locate its source. The Miracle Walkers had intelligence but couldn't fully claim it.

Cooperation between both sides—even a 50-50 split—was negotiable.

Besides, about Amber, he had many questions for them.

"What kind of help do you want from me?"

Grace's expression turned serious. She said:

"I ask you to defeat the strongest monster in this world, awaken Amber, and elevate this plane!"

(End of Chapter)