Chapter 315: Fate Is Wonderfully Inexplicable

Everything that happened in the cursed fate instance was watched by Mavira and Grace, but in Amber's world, they were merely ordinary people, unable to exert any power.

No matter how anxious they were, they could not provide direct or effective help.

After much deliberation, they reached one conclusion: bring in outside help!

As designers of the cursed fate instance, though powerless within it, they could still exert limited interference upon the dimension itself.

They connected Amber's inner world to the Abyss Game, allowing outsiders to enter the instance, hoping to use the outsiders' strength to help Amber defeat the monster born from her psychological flaw.

But they never expected the outsiders to be this useless.

Batch after batch of outsiders entered the instance dimension; not only did they fail to uncover Amber's deepest secret, they couldn't even locate a few special locations tied to her.

Whether stupid or foolish, they naively believed that merely surviving a certain time in the cursed fate instance and leaving would count as completion.

Not only did they fail to help, but the massive number of outsiders who died within the instance released Abyss corruption, causing the corruption level of the cursed fate instance to skyrocket and teeter on the brink of collapse.

This made an already dire situation even worse.

If not for opening her inner world and finally welcoming Wu Chang, Amber's mind would have collapsed far sooner, and they would have borne the blame.

As for why Amber's age kept changing—in the haunted school building, Frank's resentment showed her as sixth grade; in the crumbling city of Sigf, she reverted to pre-school age.

The answer was simple: the original setting period of her inner world was Amber's elementary school years.

If Amber failed to overcome her psychological flaw before graduating elementary school, her inner world would collapse and reset, forcing her back to her early childhood state upon entering elementary school, restarting a new cycle of psychological flaw repair.

Aside from the memories stripped away by the faceless shadow of the haunted school building, Amber remembered everything that occurred in each cycle, though she blurred her sense of time and never noticed her age cycling repeatedly.

At first glance, it seemed Amber could restart after failure in her inner world while retaining memory, as if possessing a save-and-load ability, trying again and again until success.

But the problem was, each world reset was fundamentally a collapse of Amber's psyche.

Because Mavira and Grace constructed the system granting Amber a second chance, each collapse worsened her psychological flaw and lowered her mental upper limit.

The crumbling city of Sigf was not some hidden space—it was Amber's next inner world, about to be reshaped after another collapse.

Hence, the Amber appearing there had reverted to her childhood state.

In that space, no extra deities existed; the world was riddled with cracks, indicating Amber's will had reached its limit.

If Wu Chang had not been assigned to this instance, with Lin Jiang and others prepared, they would have already succeeded in triggering Amber's total collapse.

Wu Chang scrutinized the two Miracle Walkers before him; after losing their ability to fulfill others' wishes, they proved unreliable.

If not for Lin Jiang leading him to the cursed fate instance, Amber would likely be dead.

But now that Wu Chang had come peacefully, the city of Sigf was at peace.

In Mavira's description, beyond Amber's past experiences, one detail caught his attention.

Both Mavira and Grace mentioned that Amber's inner world was not a simple dream, but a real world constructed from her memories and dreams.

The reason her dreams became real was partly due to Gaia divinity, but overwhelmingly due to a special high-level energy.

That energy allowed the cursed fate instance to infinitely approach reality, perfectly repairing Amber's psychological flaws, and while mending them, fully awakened her Gaia divinity, enabling her, upon awakening, to merge the generated real world into her authority.

Such immense power reminded Wu Chang of something he himself was seeking.

He asked tentatively: "The energy you used to construct Amber's inner world—could it be the Primordial Spirit Pivot?"

Before Mavira could answer, Grace, who had been hugging him, blurted out without caution:

"We usually call it the Creator's Legacy, but your term is also correct. Who would've thought that at your current life tier, you'd know of energy at this level? No wonder I chose you."

Wu Chang recalled the All-Knowing Crystal drooling, and remembered Hou Jingchuan saying every player who survived the cursed fate instance gained tremendous benefits.

Especially Jian Xing—clearing the cursed fate instance even allowed him to attain sudden enlightenment in sword Dao, acquiring a legacy normally accessible only at the Principle Realm.

Could the benefits those players gained all stem from the aura of the Primordial Spirit Pivot?

His voice grew dry: "Where did you collect so much Primordial Spirit Pivot?"

Grace shrugged:

"Of course from the Wasteland Realm. Those low-tier sentient beings there can't sense what Primordial Spirit Pivot is—even if it's placed before them, they don't recognize it."

"Due to our race's nature, we easily gain followers; we have them help us, collecting Primordial Spirit Pivot at the price of recycling trash."

"All the energy we gathered was poured into this dimension. In terms of devotion to Amber, you can't compare to us."

Wu Chang suddenly realized something. He stared at Grace and Mavira and asked:

"The organization you use to harvest Primordial Spirit Pivot—would it be called the Brocade Merchant Guild?"

Grace tilted her head, thinking: "I can't remember clearly. Since this world teetered on collapse, we've been heavily assimilated by it, severed from our kin."

"But one of the organizations… was probably called that."

Wu Chang hadn't expected that the ever-wealthy top donor—not a he, but a she—was actually a Miracle Walker.

The top donor fused with Amber; the money spent on advertising for him was, in effect, spent for Amber.

Calculating it all, his top donor was Amber herself.

This reminded him of a saying: Fate is wonderfully inexplicable.

When he first discovered in the Silent Passage dimension that Primordial Spirit Pivot existed in high-value antiques, he had suspected the Brocade Merchant Guild's motives.

He thought the Brocade Merchant Guild might possess an All-Knowing Crystal; he never imagined their target was indeed Primordial Spirit Pivot—but the user wasn't the All-Knowing Crystal, but the Miracle Walkers.

This also implied that the Miracle Walkers and the All-Knowing Crystal likely existed on the same level, both originating from the Fourth Layer of the Abyss.

Amber was different from him; her situation offered no choice. If she could truly be regarded as an equal being and fused with the Miracle Walkers, perhaps it was a great opportunity for her.

He no longer needed to worry about Amber's future—he should worry about his own.

He changed his demeanor instantly, wearing a warm smile as he asked Grace, who sat on him:

"This business is truly excellent. Can I invest?"

Grace beamed: "Of course you can. After all, you're the man I chose."

Wu Chang was deeply moved. Had the Dao not forbidden it, he'd have willingly submitted himself to being taken advantage of.

He was about to ask Grace about profit-sharing when Mavira across the room doused him with cold water.

"We're going to cooperate long-term. Treating him like this—he'll get angry when he finds out."

Grace let out a soft "tch," then widened her eyes at Wu Chang, wearing an expression of "I'm just a little kid, I know nothing."

Marvella added:

"You can join the Brocade Trading Association, sure—but you're already too late."

"Concentrating a World Replica consumes vast amounts of free Primordial Spirit Pivots. For self-preservation, under the influence of the various planes' wills, players will find it nearly impossible to access antiques containing Primordial Spirit Pivots for three years after a World Replica forms."

Wu Chang, unwilling to give up, asked: "And what about after three years?"

Marvella replied flatly: "The speed at which a World Replica forms depends on the number of players in the Abyss's first layer and the accumulated Abyssal Corruption in the Wasteland Realm. Do you need a recap of these basics?"

Wu Chang shook his head: "No, I already know this."

Marvella gave a slight nod and said: "Good, that saves us a lot of time. After every World Replica outbreak, Abyssal players surge dramatically—you know that well. Simply put, according to our estimates, after this World Replica, the influx of new players will greatly accelerate the formation rate of World Replicas in the Wasteland Realm."

"The time interval until the next World Replica will likely be less than three years. That means, after this one, the Primordial Spirit Pivots now inaccessible to ordinary players will also cause the Brocade Trading Association's business to pause."

Marvella's news struck Wu Chang like a bolt from the blue—even the Omniscient Crystal in his personal space trembled uneasily.

It was like learning one day that beneath his home lay a gold mine, with gold everywhere, bags full of cash.

But when he arrived, he found his neighbor cleaning up, telling him the vein was dry—the last nugget had just been picked up.

He'd have been better off never being told about this shortcut at all.

He whispered: "Then… can your stockpile…"

Marvella said: "As we just said, we collect Primordial Spirit Pivots solely for Amber. All Primordial Spirit Pivots have been fused into this plane—there is no stockpile."

Hearing this, Wu Chang finally gave up, lowering his head to glare at Grace, who had given him false hope.

Grace immediately flashed a dopey smile, rubbing against him, trying to charm her way out of it.

!

Marvella rushed to recover: "You needn't be so discouraged. To attract strong warriors, every outsider who survives and leaves receives a corresponding amount of Primordial Spirit Pivot aura, based on their contribution to Amber's completion."

"Your actions for Amber are enough to earn you a large share of Primordial Spirit Pivots."

Here, Marvella's tone grew strange as she said:

"Believe us—once you help Amber awaken and complete the plane's ascension, the reward you receive will surely satisfy you."

"After all, our Miracle Walker clan possesses the ability to see through desires and fulfill wishes. No one understands the human heart better than we do."

You… understand the human heart?

Wu Chang gave Grace a disgusted look. If you truly understood the human heart, you wouldn't have designed this wheat-skinned, sporty little girl.

But you chose a sun-tanned hue instead of a pale-skinned Black woman—so you understand a little, but not much.

Since it was already too late to acquire Primordial Spirit Pivots, discussing anything related was pointless.

He skipped the Primordial Spirit Pivot topic and returned to his original question.

"How do I awaken Amber and complete the plane's ascension?"

At the mention of the core issue, Grace dropped the act and answered:

"When you brought Amber back, her psychological gaps were already mostly repaired—only the hidden bomb planted by the Light Society in her Gaia divinity remains to be cleared, and then she will awaken."

"Once awakened, Amber will awaken in the Rational Realm, and this plane will become part of her domain."

"For outsiders like you, preventing the plane's ascension—or freezing this plane as a Pillar of the Present—would best serve your interests. But that would leave Amber's heart incomplete, forever lacking that final thread."

"But we won't let you lose out—we'll compensate you…"

Wu Chang grabbed Grace's cheeks, cutting off her words.

"Amber is my daughter. I don't need your compensation—I'll do this anyway. Stop talking. Just tell me what to do."

Grace rubbed her cheeks and said:

"The hidden bomb planted by the Light Society has fused with Amber's past shadows, becoming the monster that wanders through the nights of Sigef City."

"For example, a few days ago, a monster made of countless eyes kept spying on you. Its origin lies in the all-pervasive surveillance within the secret research facility."

"That surveillance controlled every movement of the test subjects. Many tried to escape the secret facility, but most were discovered during planning—and the next day, their corpses hung before the others."

Miracle Walkers share memories. Grace had seen Amber's memories, and as the designer of the Cursed Replica, she felt this deeply.

Grace sighed and continued:

"Your arrival only patched a few of Amber's psychological gaps—her heart was nearly fully repaired, not because she had only a few gaps, but because the minor, insignificant ones were devoured by the divinity implanted by the Light Society."

"The divinity that devoured all the small gaps is now hatching the strongest monster within Amber's inner world—far stronger than the Shadow Assassin or the Faceless Ghost of the Old Classroom."

"Its existence is Amber's shadow side, half the master of this world. Like Amber, it is unaffected by plane rules, its power unimpeded."

"Destroy it, and everything ends."

No sooner had Grace finished than Wu Chang frowned—he sensed an anomaly in Sigef City through his True Self.

He opened his phone. The local Sigef TV station was broadcasting an emergency report.

On the live feed, a colossal stitched monster, over a hundred meters tall and composed of fused creatures, now appeared in a city corner, rapidly advancing toward City Hall.

The monster clearly suffered no attribute suppression. Buildings in its path were smashed aside by brute force; it moved in a straight line toward City Hall.

Behind it, over a dozen tanks fired furiously. Above it, swarms of armed helicopters launched missiles, while gunners in open hatch doors adjusted their machine guns, firing streams of bullets in unbroken lines.

This concentrated firepower, enough to slaughter any max-level player, struck the monster like it was giving it a bath—it didn't even bother to retaliate, pushing forward through the hail of bullets.

The reason the giant stitched monster ignored these mortal weapons was the strong divinity within it.

Besides divinity, Wu Chang also saw a mass of crimson resentment on its body—but through the screen, he couldn't make out the images within the resentment.

But the information contained in the resentment no longer mattered to him now.

The moment he detected the divinity within the giant stitched monster, the outcome was decided!

As Wu Chang watched the news, Grace and Marvella also saw the monster on the livestream. Grace's face turned grim. She said:

"This monster is wrong—it's stronger than we expected. The Light Society must have tampered with it again."

If the stitched monster physically destroyed Sigef City, everything would end. Grace's voice wavered as she asked uncertainly:

"Can you… defeat this monster?"

Wu Chang looked toward Grace and said in a relaxed tone, "We'll win."

"When a parent wants to protect their child, they are invincible."

"It's getting late. I should go prepare breakfast for Amber, and try to finish off that stitched-abomination before she finishes washing up. Our Xiao En family rule is that the whole family has to sit down at the table together, neat and proper."

Wu Chang had just been about to move when he suddenly saw the study's door handle turn, and Amber walked in.

"Xiao En, Eileen is looking for you..."

"What are you two doing?"

Amber's words were cut off halfway as her gaze was pulled toward Wu Chang and Grace.

Wu Chang followed Amber's gaze and looked at himself. At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa chair in the study, with Grace sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around his arm, pressed extremely close.

And he not only didn't let Grace get down, but remained perfectly composed.

His expression was a little awkward as he tried to explain: "Amber, I think there's some misunderstanding between us."

Amber's face took on a strange look as she stepped back two paces, then opened the study door and shouted loudly:

"Eileen, Xiao En is a pervert! Call the police!"

(End of this chapter)