Boppoli, stationed within the Lost Illusion Company, stared in disbelief at the scene displayed on the energy curtain before him.

This trial hell he had designed had now become the designer’s own instrument of torture.

Seeing the boy’s expression, the crowd around Boppoli couldn’t help but draw closer, wanting to comfort him, wanting to say something, yet no words came easily.

Huan Bao’er stood quietly not far behind Boppoli, her gaze fixed on his trembling back.

Smack! In the scene, Yang Zicang’s spear missed and stabbed through the boy’s side into an upright rock. It was as if the opponent had suddenly awakened to a nimbler, more concise reflex; with just a slight shift, Yang Zicang’s attacks were rendered completely ineffective.

In the antechamber of the Hall of the Magos Larynx.

Thanks to the Five-Cycle Traveler bloodline, even without fully awakening the Cycle of Blood, Hong Haocheng replicated others’ trajectories with remarkable speed—especially when the target’s outline overlapped with his own!

Yang Zicang’s whereabouts on Earth largely overlap with his own, with Xuefei, and with Julia; in this world, they largely overlap with the Bound Spirits of City 11 and with Morrie!

Hong Haocheng quickly gains complete control over Yang Zicang’s life trajectory.

“I know you won’t believe me if I say it was a misunderstanding. But it doesn’t matter—the world is vast, and time is long. Come, follow in my footsteps.”

The boy looked at the furious young man across from him, like a demon incarnate, a barbed claw appearing in his hand, with only five seconds left until all attacks became ineffective.

The spear flickered incessantly as Yang Zicang attacked him like a madman.

[Life Replication.]

Hong Haocheng drifted unpredictably, as if every step he took landed outside Yang Zicang’s trajectory.

“Without a map, there is no direction. The footsteps of life are like brushstrokes wandering back and forth on such a blueprint.”

The trajectory formed by the path Yang Zicang had taken was like an inertia—the moment Yang Zicang made a decision, it was already seen by Hong Haocheng.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Spear shadows flashed, and flames roared.

“A lost person is like a headless fly.”

The light of the silver quadrilateral spread like rippling waves, but had no effect on the person shrouded in the red tide ahead.

“Five seconds are up.”

Under everyone’s tense gaze, a twisted droplet-like energy appeared on Hong Haocheng’s body.

Hong Haocheng looked at Yang Zicang and also at everyone present. Trajectories were floating behind all of them.

They all took a step back in unison.

Yang Zicang’s gaze locked firmly onto this person who could no longer be attacked, as if wanting to imprint his form, the contours of his features, the position of every single pore into his mind.

The boy walked forward step by step and picked up his own weapon.

“I have been appreciated by the councilor. I am about to embark on the Fate Track… I’m sorry… Captain… Yang.”

Hong Haocheng vanished from where he stood.

{Sebastande’s Rock Gate has absorbed one resonance——”Resonant Gazing Entity”.}

{For the Defender to become a complete entity, there are still 4 “Listening Gazing Entities” left.}

After briefly exploding and getting damaged, these eyeballs reappeared.

The ape-like monster broke free from the sword’s thrust, wildly attacking those affected by the murmuring eyeballs.

Yang Zicang turned his head; his spear flew forward with a bang, nailing it to the wall.

[I have harvested 1000N.]

Flames blazed on his body.

[When the time limit is reached, I shall proceed to the destiny of a new world.]

Yang Zicang looked at the surrounding people with indifference.

Many had already activated their claw hooks; no one dared to bet on whether Yang Zicang would go mad.

Cheng Yunze supported Ning Jiajia as she leaned against the black stone wall, with the Moon Angel standing guard in front, always on alert.

A few meters away from the stone wall, Zhao Yun, who had been leaning against it, had already controlled Ziyun Jun to pinch the little girl out of the stone coffin. The two little bees kept shuttling back and forth between the pocket of the little zombie Diudiu and Yang Zicang. These Psychic Body-like creatures were extremely fast, and almost no one noticed them.

Diudiu’s emotions actually gradually stabilized, which relieved Zhao Yun. The little girl’s humanity had not completely collapsed.

“Stop crying. From now on, come with me.”

The little girl, covered in blood, was deeply sad.

“Bad guys… they are all… the bad guys my sister said… wuwu…”

Diudiu, in Zilong Jun’s palm, looked at Yang Zicang in the distance. At that moment, the young man walked toward the bodies of Morrie and Julia. Their hands were still tightly clasped together.

Then he picked up the craft statue that belonged to Julia.

“This is Sister Julia. Whenever she was unhappy… she would hold this doll… to her chest, and she would tell me stories.” The little girl, who belonged neither to humans nor to Demonic Nightmares, sobbed and spoke looking over.

Yang Zicang nodded. He walked up to the little girl, whose much-shrunken psychic body enveloped her, watching Yang Zicang warily.

“I hope you don’t treat her as a weap…”

“No need to say more,” Zhao Yun limped over.

Yang Zicang handed the statue to the little girl with tiny fangs. Diudiu grabbed the little statue—or rather, the craft-made toy—immediately.

Her face regained a hint of youthful fairness, and on her body, certain traces of blood emitted special energy fluctuations.

Those probably came from Hong Haocheng.

……

{Itzpapatl’s rocking door has absorbed one synergy “Synergy Gazing Entity.”}

{Before the Defender becomes a complete form, three “Listening Gazing Entities” remain.}

“The Defender is almost mature.”

Everyone knew well that the power of a mature Defender was not something ordinary people could handle, and some had already regretted coming.

“If I had known in the end we’d have to fight a Defender, I would never have come in. Too bad about my five spike claws.”

“Who told you not to listen to the rumors? Clearly, some people have already found information about the final demon in those sixth-color rooms.”

“Zicang the Great can take it down, right?”

“That thing can only be fought with over ten thousand years of sequence. To win the match, we’ll definitely need to send a few people onto the new Fate Track.”

They thought this might be the “conspiracy” of the Demon Heroic Hall’s designer. Everyone’s gaze at Yang Zicang already carried a strange sentiment: this guy was probably planning to “disappear” all along, so before leaving, he sought to scrounge up some “welfare” for everyone.

Yang Zicang had no idea what these people were secretly thinking and resenting about him.

Some people had already decided to leave as soon as possible. With someone like Yang Zicang, who had liberated the ten-thousand-year sequence limit, the Defender was not their concern. Instead, they should steer clear of its line of sight to avoid becoming targets of its attack.

“Mr. Yang Zicang. Hello, my name is Li Wei.”

At the edge of the hall, a middle-aged woman in a gray tracksuit walked over.

“I sympathize with Mr. Morrie’s misfortune, but in this world, life is so unpredictable. My condolences.”

“Hello, thank you.”

Yang Zicang glanced at her and replied casually.

In the city, such combinations of attire and age were common; some people would intentionally hide their youthful appearance.

He began to contact Luo Bin to learn about the information on Defenders that had appeared in the past.

This was the final enemy. As long as he eliminated this terrifying monster lurking deep within the Demon Hero Hall, he could obtain the reward and head to a new Fate Track — this was something he had to do, because that person must die at his own hands.

At that moment, Yang Zicang had already unlocked the sequence seal, and he wasn’t worried about anyone attacking him. The only regret, as this woman had said, was that he still couldn’t save Morrie, who had changed the future.

“I can help you preserve the bodies of these two, if you’d like.”

“What is your ability?” Yang Zicang finally looked at her squarely.

“It’s [Freshness Expert], which can keep certain items fresh. For example, by subjecting it to time flow, I can preserve an apple for years without rotting. I once stored the carcasses of twisted beasts in forest, and they were still fresh months later.”

As she spoke, Li Muwei pulled out a cloth bag. A red dashed line flashed in her hand, and a red phantom appeared over the large bag. She threw an Ability Sphere on it, then motioned with an open hand for him to sense the object.

Shao Min walked over, crouched down, and sensed the contained information.

Several people from headquarters also came to touch it, all indicating no danger.

[I can use the “Freshness Preservation Expert” ability once.]

[For every 2R of temporal sequence invested, storage lasts for 1 day, and the duration can be renewed.]

Yang Zicang’s heart began to stir again.

Toward this bizarre world, Yang Zicang still held a glimmer of hope. Though he didn’t know if it truly existed, he wanted a chance to revive this foreign friend who had sacrificed himself to save Yang Zicang’s life.

“Put them together,” Cheng Yunze’s voice came from the side. “Take this stone coffin to house them. Once you’ve mastered it, it can vanish and reappear like your gun. With your mental strength, it shouldn’t take long.”

“You’re willing to give it to me?”

“I genuinely admired Morrie, but we all have our own goals. When you can only make one choice, I saw no good alternative. Consider this stone coffin my token to him.”

Yang Zicang’s cold eyes fell on the face of the chief of this hostile city.

Cheng Yunze’s gaze was unflinching, locking firmly with Yang Zicang’s.

“Don’t forget, my friends also died in this battle. In truth, without the sacrifice of that friend, I wouldn’t have my current strength either.”

Yang Zicang’s anger, raging inside, inexplicably subsided a little.

“Thanks.”

……

Lost Illusion Company.

Inside a retro conference hall, like that of a cocktail party.

Huan Bao’er stared at Boboli sitting on the ground, his youthfully haunted throat emitting painful low moans.

Suddenly, from the ring on his chest, three silk threads burst forth.

A peculiar gleam flashed in Huan Bao’er’s eyes. The crowd was startled, murmuring among themselves.

“Ugh, ah!!!”

The boy’s throat erupted in a roar full of unwillingness and sorrow.

“He’s ascended!”

“A quadrilateral! Executive Boppoli has become a quadrilateral with his own mental power!”

“So this… is the Demon Hero Hall…”