Chapter 347: The Abyss Game

What does the one who destroyed the Pillar of the Present World intend to do?

Wu Chang had been pondering this question, but the answer lay right before his eyes, and he was hesitant to be certain.

Whether it was Christine's guidance or the intelligence he had gathered, all now pointed to the same final conclusion.

"They want to connect the Wasteland Realm and the Rational Realm?"

He spoke conservatively, but at this moment, his true suspicion was that the Wasteland Realm, the Rational Realm, and the Present World were all linked.

Currently, there is no true connection between the Present World and the Abyss Game—only selected Abyss Game players can freely travel between the two.

But following Christine's line of thought, he extended his perspective further—not just from a single plane to the Temporary Administrator's view, but all the way to the perspective of the entire Abyss Game and the Present World.

He saw that the origin of the Pillar of the Present World crisis was the attack on the four major organizations' spatial domains.

After the four major organizations were attacked, the most obvious change in the Wasteland Realm, besides the Pillar of the Present World, was the proliferation of supernatural abilities in the Present World.

Whether it was the increase in wild supernatural beings or the loosening of information control over supernatural phenomena, people began to believe that supernatural power truly existed.

Although he had not conducted a deep investigation, he did not know whether the decision to promote the public disclosure of supernatural information was driven by the Evolutionists or the Orderists.

But he did not believe such a crucial choice coinciding with the Pillar of the Present World crisis was mere chance.

The Pillar of the Present World crisis, the proliferation of supernatural power in the Present World, and the tacit agreement among all factions that the next world instance would reshape the balance between the Present World and the Abyss Game—

Wu Chang pulled his gaze away from isolated events, viewing all the clues from above; his intuition told him that the Present World was the true target of the Light Society.

If the Present World were fused with the Abyss Game, and dragged into the Abyss, everything would change.

Merely imagining such a scenario made his intuition pierce his mind with pain.

At that point, it would no longer be a question of good or bad, but of how bad, how utterly hopeless.

This act was too insane; even though he believed the Light Society's actions were already extreme, he still could not be certain they would truly do it.

Christine said:

"You already have the answer in your heart—you don't need me to give it to you."

Wu Chang shook his head, shifted his thinking, no longer letting intuition guide his judgment, but attempting to analyze with reason.

He said: "Wait, if that's true, many things cannot be explained."

Christine condensed energy into a chair and sat down slowly, saying:

"I happen to have some time today—I can answer your questions."

Wu Chang organized his thoughts and said:

"My Lord Christine, you compared the Pillar of the Present World to a pillar supporting a house—but can the two truly be compared?"

"At its peak, there were no more than thirty-six Pillars of the Present World—could they possibly bear the weight separating the entire Abyss, the Wasteland Realm, and the Rational Realm?"

"Even if they could, wasn't the Abyss already a unified whole without layers before the Pillars appeared?"

Christine let out a light laugh and said:

"You have a major misconception about the Abyss. What do you think the Abyss is?"

Wu Chang froze. This question was like someone suddenly asking him, "What is the world?"

Most people, faced with such a question, would instinctively answer that the world is simply the space they inhabit—no explanation needed.

He didn't understand Christine's question and asked hesitantly:

"What is the Abyss?"

Christine said: "The Abyss is one of the infinite connection points between realms—it not only links countless realms but continuously gives birth to new ones within itself."

"It predates the birth of all realms; it connects to the most fundamental root of the universe."

She gestured, drawing a rose resting near the altar toward her, and said:

"In your world, there is a phrase I love: 'One flower, one world; one leaf, one enlightenment.'"

She plucked a petal from the rose and said: "If each petal is a world, then the Abyss is an endless garden."

"Would you think a few petals could determine the entire garden?"

Wu Chang frowned and said: "Of course not."

"That's why I don't understand how the Pillars of the Present World could support the layers of the Abyss."

Christine released her hand; the petal floated away and landed on the ground before Wu Chang.

The moment the petal touched the ground, it withered rapidly—the fibers on its surface twisted into grotesque, ugly forms, swelling and growing at incredible speed.

They became wooden tendrils, or some kind of peculiar shrub, spreading wildly in all directions, filling the entire space in the blink of an eye.

Wu Chang stared at the shrubs and realized his vision was being drawn into them—he followed the shrubs downward, his sight plunging underground.

Beneath the surface, he saw thick cylindrical pillars; continuing downward along them, the pillars thinned and sprouted branches.

Following his intuition to choose a branch, he pressed forward—and on the branch appeared green leaves.

At that moment, Wu Chang realized: what he had seen in the room was not shrubs shaped like tendrils, but an upside-down tree.

The shrubs before him were the tree's root system; the cylindrical structures buried underground were the trunk; the finer parts were the branches.

Understanding everything, his gaze followed the branches into the leaves, tracing their veins, and at the tip of a leaf, he saw a plump fruit.

"Do you understand now?"

Christine's voice sounded behind him, causing his vision to spin wildly.

His perspective rotated 180 degrees; when he regained his senses, his gaze had returned to the room—the tree roots once exposed underground were now buried, while the trunk, branches, and leaves that had once been beneath the ground now stood above it.

Christine had somehow appeared behind him and said:

"I think this form is easier for you to comprehend."

"What you perceive as the Abyss is merely one isolated portion of it—like a single tree in a forest. The tree belongs to the forest, but it is not the forest."

"From the beginning, I never said your actions affect the entire Abyss. You can only influence the tree you inhabit."

"You seem to call it the Crimson Courtyard."

Wu Chang, with sudden insight, said:

"The fourth layer of the Abyss actually represents different parts of this tree?"

Christine said: "You can understand it that way."

Wu Chang gazed at the great tree before him and said:

"But there's still one thing unexplained: even if the part of the Abyss we can influence is only a small portion, like this tree before us."

"Then what role does the Pillar of the Real World play within this tree? Before the Pillar of the Real World existed, didn't this tree have any divisions at all?"

Christine looked at Wu Chang with an expression of appreciation; what she had said was not difficult to understand, yet in reality it was extraordinarily perilous.

For both the structure of the Abyss Game and the very nature of the Abyss involve the world's hidden secrets.

For instance, the fruit tree she had condensed before Wu Chang was merely an ordinary projection, hiding no malice whatsoever.

But when she equated this projection with the Abyss Game, and Wu Chang accepted this viewpoint, the projection's existence began to resonate with the Abyss, transforming from a mere fruit tree projection into a true projection of the Abyss.

Although the Abyss projection before them was confined only to the scope of their discussion, its dangers remained far from negligible—especially for transcendent beings like Abyss Game players.

If one's will and intuition were not firm enough, one might encounter something one should never see while tracing the roots up to the leaves.

Such an entity was no less terrifying than beholding the true form of a deity; a single misstep could lead to mental collapse.

Wu Chang had observed everything without any change in his spirit, proving that the strength of his current life was already sufficient to know the truth he sought.

If so, Christine had no objection to saying more.

She pointed at the great tree before them and asked:

"In the real world, when you see a tree, is there a distinct intermediate layer separating the roots from the trunk, clearly dividing the two regions?"

Wu Chang shook his head; precisely because there was no such division, he had struggled to understand.

Christine said:

"Exactly—just as natural trees have no clear boundaries, the true Abyss has always been interconnected across its four layers, indistinguishable from one another."

"The reason the four layers of the Abyss appear clearly separated here is because this place was meticulously designed by some entity."

Hearing this, Wu Chang suddenly remembered the place they had entered: the Abyss Game.

The word "game" from the very beginning indicated that everything they were experiencing was the creation of some powerful being, not something natural.

Christine continued:

"Perhaps to protect you, the one who created this tree fashioned special barriers between the layers of the Abyss, separating you from one another."

"This ensures that when you are weak, you cannot accidentally wander into the depths of the Abyss, and also ensures that entities within the Abyss's depths must overcome countless obstacles to influence you."

In her description, the once-naturally connected parts of the tree now extended half-meter-high transition segments at their junctions.

To help Wu Chang see clearly, the transition zones glowed faintly.

These glowing regions were the intermediate layers of the Abyss Game.

Wu Chang now understood: the so-called intermediate layers, the dimensional barriers—all were the work of the Abyss Game's creator.

He had long felt that everything about the Abyss was overly designed: for example, the Wasteland Realm's level cap was 30, and once attributes exceeded 200 points, the Wasteland Realm's restrictions kicked in, adding one more layer for every additional 100 points.

If everything was artificially set, it made perfect sense.

Christine continued:

"This tree you stand upon, being artificially designed, required no support at its inception and could still maintain its layered structure."

"But as more outsiders like yourselves—calling yourselves 'players'—entered, Abyss corruption spread into the intermediate layers. The corrupted intermediate layers became unable to sustain the boundary between the Wasteland Realm and the Rational Realm."

As Christine explained, the intermediate layers began to rot, forming massive holes.

Some enormous tree cavities pierced straight through the trunk, allowing one to see the other side through the Kong Dong.

The tree, riddled with holes, grew unsteady.

Wu Chang saw something faintly writhing within the cavities; he leaned forward, pressing his face to the ground, staring at the hollows between the roots and the trunk.

He saw the root surfaces begin to writhe, roots growing upward into the intermediate layer, reaching to connect with the trunk.

The parts entering the intermediate layer, under the influence of a special force, transformed from wood into steel rebar.

The steel rebar pierced through the intermediate layer, drilling into the trunk; with the support of the rebar, the once-unstable tree regained stability.

Christine said:

"When the intermediate layer is severely corrupted and can no longer independently sustain the Abyss's divisions, it requires the Pillar of the Real World—enhanced with temporary administrative authority—to assist in propping up the intermediate layer."

Wu Chang grunted, climbed to his feet, and said:

"Lady Christine, if I understand you correctly, our existence seems like that of wood-boring insects inside the tree."

"You can understand it that way," Christine did not deny Wu Chang's words.

"The corrupted intermediate layer has long lost the ability to sustain the separation between the Wasteland Realm and the Rational Realm. If you were to remove these Pillars of the Real World now, the intermediate layer would vanish instantly."

No sooner had she spoken than the intermediate layer between the roots and the trunk vanished; the entire great tree sank downward, trunk and roots merging into one.

Now the tree before him was indistinguishable from a natural tree.

Wu Chang stared at the tree without its intermediate layer, falling into brief silence.

After a moment, he asked:

"If the original goal of the Light Society was to eliminate the intermediate layer and merge the Wasteland Realm with the Rational Realm, why didn't they act sooner—destroy all the Pillars of the Real World?"

Christine answered:

"Because they were uncertain whether this path was correct."

The great tree before Wu Chang seemed to rewind, rapidly reverting to its state before the collapse of the intermediate layer.

He saw, at the center of the trunk near the roots, a small stump—one-third the diameter of the trunk—slowly rising upward.

It transformed into a massive metal pillar, connecting the roots and the trunk, stabilizing the entire tree.

Centered on this metallic pillar, with the steel-rebar-like Pillars of the Real World arranged around it as supports, the tree's stability became even greater than when the intermediate layer was intact.

Christine's voice sounded in Wu Chang's ear:

"If they could control the world instance, turning it into their own colossal Pillar of the Real World, it would become like this."

"The massive pillar of the present world, bolstered by temporary authorization, has far greater structural integrity and stability than the original intermediate layer, and can fully support the free passage of entities from the Abyss's second layer."

"Moreover, this passage is entirely under their control; they may open or close it at will."

Wu Chang added casually:

"Even if their plan fails, by destroying the pillars of the present world they have already seized, they can revert the Wasteland Realm and the Reason Realm back into a single unified whole."

Christine nodded:

"Exactly."

Wu Chang fell silent once more, for he remembered something.

He had previously asked the Omniscient Crystal how to prevent or mitigate the Abyss's erosion of the present world.

The Omniscient Crystal's reply was:

"Obtain three pillars of the present world and their temporary Wasteland Realm administrative authorization, acquire faith power from no fewer than three planes, and unite with existing terrestrial divine realms to construct a large, hidden divine realm—this may secure a sliver of opportunity for all."

At the time, he could not determine the connection between these elements, assuming the large divine realm possessed some special ability to purify or absorb Abyssal erosion.

Now, looking back at the Omniscient Crystal's words—the three pillars of the present world, and the large divine realm with structural support—

this strategy was never meant to counter Abyssal erosion; it was clearly aimed at the Light Society's plan.

In other words, the Abyssal erosion of the present world was indeed orchestrated by the Light Society; from the very beginning, their target was the present world.

Looking further back, he realized the critical moment when the present world suffered severe Abyssal erosion originated from the Revelation Stone Tablet in the Painter's erosion instance.

He did not believe this was coincidence; the Painter and the Light Society had long-standing grievances, and their conflict ran deeper than his own with the Light Society.

Later, when he met Lu Langfeng, the man had asked him what he had seen on the Language Stone Tablet.

Clearly, the Painter had long suspected the Light Society's conspiracy and used the erosion instance to send him a hint.

Tsk, damn cryptic bastard.

Look at Lady Christine—she speaks any intelligence outright, never hides or withholds anything. You, on the other hand, stutter and stall when giving information—you deserve a punch in the ribs.

He now understood the Light Society's true plan; what remained was to stop their scheme targeting the World Replica.

If he could destroy their arrangements within the World Replica, then when they attempted to sabotage the controlled pillars of the present world to merge the Wasteland Realm and the Reason Realm, they would discover that in just one month, the Wasteland Realm had suddenly gained five or six new pillars.

When that time comes, and they find their escape route cut off, I wonder what expression those self-proclaimed gods of the Light Society will wear.

Christine's intelligence had helped him immensely; his gaze held gratitude.

Help someone thoroughly, see them through to the end—she had already revealed so much; adding a little more wouldn't hurt.

He cleared his throat and asked:

"Lady Christine, if no one from the Reason Realm interferes with their arrangements in the World Replica, can their plan succeed?"

Christine confirmed:

"Yes. Few understand how to infiltrate the lower realms better than Lyman. With him and another troublesome figure involved, those kids would find it hard not to succeed."

Wu Chang rubbed his hands, slightly embarrassed:

"Lady Christine, about how to destroy their arrangements… you…"

This time, Christine could not answer his question.

"I know only their goal and their general plan; as for the detailed execution, I cannot tell you."

"They feared I would interfere, so from the start, they never contacted the Revelation."

Wu Chang shrugged. Well, though he didn't want to say it, he thought the Light Society's choice not to contact the Revelation was wise.

Christine smiled smugly and said:

"But even if they didn't call me, I could still have my people trace the faintest clues."

"I cannot give you more detailed intelligence, but I can offer you one piece of advice."

Wu Chang nodded obediently: "I'm listening."

Christine uttered four words: "Beware the traitor."

"Thank you for the warning," Wu Chang said, nodding.

Christine said:

"I have told you all the intelligence you sought, and added much extra information besides."

"Now, it is your turn to fulfill my commission."

(End of Chapter)