Chapter 66 - 62: Return

Chapter 66: Chapter 62: Return

"Fine, I accept. But you must also agree to one condition. After I wipe your core directives, you have to delete all data related to Lucia and me, and ensure it can never be recovered."

Yin Zhen loosened her grip on the gun. The red indicator light on Lucy’s temple blinked furiously. She was calculating the probability of successfully gaining her freedom by doing this.

A minute later, Lucy raised her head again.

"I accept your condition. Now, please hold my hand and say the passcode. It is a phrase Miss Lucia’s mother once told her."

Yin Zhen frowned. It was laughable—she couldn’t remember a single thing! Lucia’s memories of her mother were profound but distant, and many details had long since blurred. Yin Zhen would need to enter that Gothic space and flip through Lucia’s book again to have any chance of finding a clue.

[00:00:35]

Yin Zhen maintained a neutral expression, stepping forward to take Lucy’s hand. The bionic woman’s hand felt no different from a real human’s. It even possessed a trace more warmth than a member of the Blood Clan, making it feel remarkably alive.

"If you try to take this opportunity to shut down my core," Lucy said, squeezing her hand back as the indicator light flashed, "my programmed sequences will still send the comparison data to the large screen across the room within 0.1 seconds. I am not deceiving you, so please do not deceive me either."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Yin Zhen smile. Before Lucy could even begin to analyze the meaning behind it, she felt an overwhelming Strength suppress her. Her time froze, all her processes were simultaneously suspended, and her consciousness plunged into darkness. It was faster than 0.1 seconds!

[00:00:25]

Yin Zhen was still holding her hand out, but Lucy had vanished, successfully stowed away into her Game Backpack. Bionics, it seemed, did not count as living creatures.

[00:00:20]

With twenty seconds left, Yin Zhen dashed over to Lucia’s Weapon rack and pulled down a low-profile silver handgun. She loaded the magazine with maximum efficiency, slapped it into the gun, and stored the entire Weapon in her backpack. Then, pushing her agility to the absolute limit, Yin Zhen vaulted over the sofa with one hand and sprinted into the game room. She snatched a co-branded gaming AR visor off the wall and stuffed it into the backpack’s third slot. In the final second before her return, Yin Zhen lamented why Lucia didn’t like gold items!

[Countdown finished. Time in this world is now frozen.]

[Welcome back.]

Darkness flooded her vision. Yin Zhen should have returned directly to her own living room. However, when she regained consciousness, she found herself standing inside that Gothic space. The stained glass windows still depicted scenes of vampiric feasts and ancient rituals. The card table was exactly where she left it, holding her cards and Items. Did the Dark Destiny card look a bit paler?

Before Yin Zhen could dwell on it, a massive shadow pressed down from the sky. She looked up, her pupils shrinking sharply. The white, angel-like creature from beneath the drilling platform was hovering in the sky. It was even more colossal than before—so massive that it completely blotted out the heavens. A blood moon hung behind it. Silhouetted against the crimson glow, it looked like a deity descending from antiquity. Its pure white skin, folded giant wings, and blurred yet soft features felt holy, bizarre, and absolutely terrifying!

It was looking at her. Those black eyes—like two pools of solidified abyss—stared directly at her, piercing through all barriers and striking straight at her soul. Yin Zhen wanted to step back, but her feet were rooted to the ground. She couldn’t move an inch.

Wrapped in bloody light, the gargantuan figure crashed into the tightly shut Gothic doors. It felt as if the entire sky was collapsing on her.

BOOM!

The doors held, but the tremor from the impact echoed throughout the entire space. Spiderweb cracks spread rapidly across the stained glass windows, and Yin Zhen’s consciousness shattered in an instant.

Yin Zhen jolted up from the sofa, gasping for air like a drowning victim hauled out of the depths. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her back was drenched in cold sweat.

She looked around in a panic and realized she was sitting in her own living room. She had returned from Lucia’s luxury apartment to this cramped, rundown little place. There were no stained glass windows, no blood moon, and no towering entity. There was only dusty old furniture and the lonely darkness of an apartment with disconnected electricity due to unpaid bills. An unwashed pot from her last meal still sat on the dining table, and the air carried the signature damp odor of an old house.

Yin Zhen sat back down and glanced at the countdown.

[167:59:53]

She had been delayed in that Gothic space for at least five seconds. Why had that thing followed her there? What did it want?

The relentless buzzing of the phone irritated her deeply. She picked it up, opened the Mini Program, pointed the camera at her face, and completed the check-in. Tossing the phone face-down onto the sofa, she remembered those pitch-black eyes and the sensation of being watched; an uncontrollable wave of goosebumps erupted all over her skin. The next time she went to the Red Corpse World, she had to ask Zoe if she had encountered something similar. Zoe and Ian would definitely know something; this was their main storyline, after all. She had inevitably drawn the creature’s attention because she had intercepted Zoe’s fateful encounter at the time.

Taking a deep breath, Yin Zhen temporarily suppressed these unsolvable questions and checked her Game Backpack.

This Item took the form of a card. Its background was the dull yellow of old parchment with scuffed edges. The front bore an illustration of a canvas rucksack, while the back was divided into three slots. The first slot showed a cleanly drawn silver Desert Eagle. Even in the Red Corpse World, this gun was considered an antique. The second slot contained a cyberpunk-style AR visor. On the black mask, red lasers formed two large ’X’s over the eyes, and a chaotic, stitched-up grin stretched all the way to the ears in a grotesque smile. The third slot depicted a frozen Lucy. She was curled up, hugging her knees, with her blonde hair hanging down to obscure her face. All three items were there.

She needed some time to figure out what to do with Lucy; there was no rush for now. Yin Zhen took out the gun, feeling its heavy, solid weight in her hand. She expertly ejected the magazine, checked the bullets, racked the slide, and pulled the trigger. The crisp click of the empty chamber echoed in the quiet apartment. A real gun and real bullets, successfully brought back from the Red Corpse World. This gave her a massive boost in her sense of security!

Coupled with this visor and Ding Yi’s Fake Certificate, she could completely transform into a Hunter in the night and go out to assassinate Blood Clan invaders. This was something she had to do upon her return, which was exactly why she had specifically brought back this tactical helmet. Yin Zhen stored the gun back in the backpack. Listening to the occasional wail of police sirens and the buzzing of passing drones outside her window, she checked the mission she had accepted.

[Special Event Card: Overture of War - Human Faction]

"You heeded the call of your heart and chose to stand with Ancient Abyss. This will be an incredibly difficult path, yet you are fearless. However, I am curious—what exactly leaves you with a lingering attachment to this world that has hurt you?"

[Event Explanation]: The Blood Clan citizen who claimed he could open the world’s gate is hiding in some corner of your city at this moment, either seeking allies or carrying out his god-given task alone. He does not know who you are, nor does he know you are looking for him. But you know that he must die.

[Event Requirements]: Find that Blood Clan member and kill him before your next transmigration. You may seek allies and share this mission with other Players. As long as you ensure you participate in his death, the event will be considered successfully completed. Your rewards will remain unchanged, while participants will receive additional rewards based on their contribution.

[Failure Penalty]: The gates of Ancient Abyss will be opened prematurely, and your world will become a hunting ground for the Blood Clan.

[Mission Rewards]: 50,000 words, Golden Item: Plot Kill.

[Personal Kill Reward (Choose One of Three)]:

1. An Answer: Ask the system a question within the bounds of the invasion game’s rules, and the system will answer truthfully.

2. Team Card: Use this to form your own team. The team size cannot exceed five people.

3. Duplication Card: Use this to permanently copy any single Extraordinary Ability from your Character Card to the Player’s real body.

After reading the Event Explanation, which perfectly struck at her most urgent desires, Yin Zhen let out a low chuckle and directed a rapid-fire string of questions to the system in her mind: "Who exactly are you? Are you the author of Ancient Abyss, or an audience member behind this invasion game? Are the systems different for every Player? Is each system a spectator, or rather... an investor?"

These questions had been buried in Yin Zhen’s heart for a very long time.