Chapter 89

After drinking the Human Evolution Liquid, Rui Si often heard a voice in his head that claimed to be "Master." This voice had a strange power over him, able to control his actions. When it once tried to make him kill an innocent person, he forcibly seized back control of his body. Following a senior's advice, he gouged out his own eyes. Without sight, the "Master" could no longer control him.

Fortunately, the enhanced power remained within him. And these people—monstrous yet still human—were not just Rui Si, but a group of them.

The Government Army and the Rebel Army's complete control—from mental indoctrination to total domination of the body—was indeed terrifying, but for the wicked, there was something even more frightening: in this world, those who harbored goodwill were always the majority, and they could not be manipulated into committing crimes against others.

Rui Si and the others had planned to stage a rebellion, but Lin Tu had been quicker. When both sides joined forces, the battle that was on the brink of collapse was saved.

Dawn.

After thirteen full hours, the war finally ended.

There were no cheers. People silently walked onto the streets and began to gather the bodies of their compatriots.

"Brother! Big brother!" "Little John! Little John!" Calls for missing friends and relatives echoed through the post-war dust. From time to time, one could hear joyful replies, or find familiar faces among the wounded in the hospitals, but more often, the calls sank like stones into the sea.

In the outer shelter, Fourth Sister and Fifth Brother worked together to carry the bodies of Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Third Sister to the center of the living room, where they had cleaned a spot and laid them out neatly. Third Sister was the most unfortunate—when the Rebel Army first stormed in, they had fired wildly, and she had died instantly. Eldest Brother and Second Brother had died saving them. Fourth Sister and Fifth Brother straightened the clothes of their three siblings, then collapsed beside them, crying bitterly. The orphaned had finally found a home, but that home had scattered before dawn.

Lin Tu climbed over the ruins of walls along the streets like a mountain, heading back toward her shelter. A bitter victory—but a victory nonetheless.

The earth beneath the grey sky finally saw the first rays of sunlight in years. The oppressive air after the battle, shrouded in smoke, was now fresh, and even the devastation all around inspired hope.

From now on, this land would know only peace and reconstruction. Once the shadow of nuclear radiation lifted completely from the continent, a new world would be rebuilt here.

The players' phones all chimed with a short message at the same time, and Lin Tu was no exception—

[Congratulations! You have successfully cleared Scarlet Doomsday—C-class Disaster: Place of Exile]

[At the time node of Day 54 and 1 hour, you have changed the history of this world! The shameless warmongers have been completely eliminated. You have dispelled the shadow of war and kept the perilous smoke of gunfire at bay. Main quest complete, clearance conditions met! (C-class random reward unlocked)]

[Note: Since side quests are still in progress, you may choose to remain in this world until Day 90 or leave immediately. Regardless, your side quest settlement point will be on Day 90 of the disaster.]

"Guan Suiyue!" Inside the shelter, Guan Suixing wailed as she leaned over her sister. "We won, Guan Suiyue! We cleared it!"

"Stop crying, Guan Suixing. I'm not dead yet." Guan Suiyue lay in bed, her voice weak. "But this time... you did pretty well." Her younger sister's overall rating wasn't high, and she was careless. Guan Suiyue had always worried about her. After this disaster, she thought, perhaps she could gradually let go.

Her little sister was really something, Guan Suiyue thought pleasantly. She was just a girl who wanted attention, always pretending to need looking after. She should have cared for her more.

"Liu Sheng! Come check on my sister!" Guan Suixing pawed at the wounds on her sister's body, which were absolutely horrifying.

Just then, Lin Tu, Luo Yongzhi, Yi Ying, Liu Sheng, and the others returned to the shelter one by one.

Liu Sheng had already spotted the bloodied figure on the bed. Grabbing his medical kit, he hurried over to examine her, frowning. "She's got penetrating wounds in her arm and leg, plus bullets in her shoulder and stomach. Too severe. You need to leave this disaster now and get to the Doomsday Town hospital."

There were players in Doomsday Town with special abilities related to healing. Although Guan Suiyue was badly injured, as long as she got treatment in time, she would recover without too much trouble. Of course, a great deal of pain was unavoidable.

"Go ahead," Lin Tu said. "I'll stay here and watch over the shelter for you. Your side quest won't be affected."

Guan Suiyue nodded. Without another word, she chose to leave immediately—a flash of white light, and she vanished from the room.

Guan Suixing was worried about her sister, but she didn't leave right away. She held out her phone to Lin Tu. "Hey, I like you well enough. Let's add each other. You carried me through this time; next time I'll carry you!"

Lin Tu wanted to refuse, but for Guan Suiyue's sake, she silently held out her own phone. After they added each other as friends, Guan Suixing waved and vanished from the disaster world as well.

Only five remained. Liu Sheng stayed behind to wait until the wounded were stable. Luo Yongzhi, Yi Ying, and Li Yuanyuan stayed to help with reconstruction, planning to leave on the last day.

Since there was no danger anymore, and the town had plenty that needed rebuilding, everyone simply moved out of the shelter. Lin Tu also moved out, but she couldn't be bothered to build a new house, so she moved directly into the residence of a Government Army official.

Before she moved, Rui Si held a funeral for Grandma Doro.

At the funeral, David wept inconsolably, blaming himself for not finding Lin Tu in time—maybe then there would have been another way to save Grandma Doro.

Rui Si comforted him, telling him that Doro's death had nothing to do with him. Only then did Rui Si reveal the full truth of the matter. Before Boluo died, he had a letter sent back. In it, he wrote that after drinking the Evolution Liquid, he had somehow been judged as an SR, and unlike the others, he had seen the "Master" with his own eyes, even earning the chance to attend to her. He learned that the "Master" was the one pulling the strings behind it all. So he feigned obedience, learning many secrets of the Government Army's high-ranking officials, and also one particular thing—the Master was not of this world. Her name was Plum Blossom A.

Boluo wrote down every secret he heard and sent the letter to his mother. He plotted to resist Plum Blossom A's rule, but unfortunately, he failed. The failure implicated many people. Fortunately, some survived—Rui Si among them.

What happened afterward was clear. Shi Duoluo used the secrets in the letter to threaten a Government Army official into saving Rui Si. She carefully avoided sensitive words so as not to draw Plum Blossom A's attention, but she knew these secrets would eventually bring her death. Having survived today, tomorrow might bring an even greater calamity, so she took her own life in grief and desperation. After Rui Si arrived at the Government Army, he pretended to defect and rallied many of Boluo's former comrades, and then Lin Tu organized the civilians...

That was the truth, more heartbreaking than any lie. Shi Duoluo, Rui Si, and people like them bore heavy secrets, carrying the weight for everyone else, while people like David couldn't even deliver a genuine thank-you to them in time.

David wept before the grave. Lin Tu stood behind him, lifting her eyes to look out at the countless tombstones—the comrades of Boluo and Rui Si—and even more nameless graves bearing only inscriptions like "**'s Brother" or "Died for Freedom."

"If you don't mind my asking," Rui Si said, "do you all come from the same place as her?"

"No," Luo Yongzhi answered for them. "We're like you—just unluckier. Our world is shattered, so we have no home and can only wander through other disasters."

He had to admit, watching these people rebuild their homes—sweating heavily, but with thriving smiles on their faces—made him a little envious.

Rui Si: He really shouldn't have asked that question.

"Will you stay here forever?" Rui Si asked. After receiving a negative answer, he said regretfully, "I've collected all the [Human Evolution Liquid]. What should I do with it?"

"Give it to me." Lin Tu took all the Evolution Liquid.

The other players stayed in the civilian district, while Lin Tu headed north alone with Yuan Que. Yuan Que's condition was terrible—unlike Rui Si, he had no mentor to guide him. He had simply gouged out one eye by instinct, keeping the other, which still allowed Plum Blossom A to affect him. When the battle began, Plum Blossom A had increased her control over everyone, and Yuan Que could only keep harming himself, using physical pain to stay lucid.

Lin Tu tucked Yuan Que into bed and wiped him down with alcohol to lower his fever. But he still lay in the blankets, flushed all over—his arms, legs, and neck covered in wounds from self-harm. Occasionally he murmured her name, and at other times a sharp, different voice would rasp out from his throat. He was burning with fever, barely conscious.

Lin Tu tried to feed him medicine, but his jaw was clamped shut from pain. She had to pry his mouth open and push the pill in with her index finger. Yuan Que twisted and struggled unconsciously, his tongue sliding around.

His tongue swept over her fingertip. The almost-healed wound on her hand felt the wet, warm touch, and the itching of the wound seemed to ease. Lin Tu instinctively pressed down, wanting more relief, and felt something soft yet firm.

Her face flushed. She quickly pulled her hand back.

On her fingertip, a translucent strand of liquid stretched like an unbreakable silk thread, connecting her wounded fingertip to Yuan Que's damp lips.

"Sister..." His lips moved unconsciously.

"I'm here." He was sick—what was she thinking?! Lin Tu quickly scolded herself, picked up the prepared medicinal granules, and fed them to him spoonful by spoonful.

In the days that followed, Lin Tu either stayed home caring for Yuan Que, farmed in the Anomaly Space, or returned to the civilian district to help rebuild houses. Her days were full and busy.

On the last few days, Luo Yongzhi and the others decided to leave early.

"Everything is back on track," Luo Yongzhi said happily, but then hesitated. "But I think we shouldn't stay here any longer. They're grateful to us, but what happened in that war let them know we're different, so I think... our presence will always remind them of the bad times."

Yi Ying agreed. "We told them we were going to explore the radiation zone. After all, saying there are other worlds out there would be too shocking. I think by the time they really leave the radiation zone, they'll have forgotten us."

"Guan Suixing and Guan Suiyue left too early. They asked us to bring back gifts for them," Li Yuanyuan said with a laugh.

"Sister Lin, are you coming with us?" Liu Sheng asked.

Lin Tu shook her head. "I'll wait a while longer."

After saying their goodbyes, the players vanished from this world simultaneously.

Lin Tu returned to her residence. A month had passed since the war ended, and Yuan Que's condition still hadn't improved. Lin Tu knew that the [Human Evolution Liquid] still flowed through his veins, and as long as that damn Plum Blossom A still existed, Yuan Que would never get better.

Lin Tu picked up her phone and decisively tapped the screen—

[From "The Joker's Game": "The Sunken Land" has fallen once more. You are invited to return. You may now choose between two options:

Participate in S-class disaster "Abyss of No Light" and receive the designated S-class reward;

Decline to participate in the S-class disaster; you will receive no reward.]

"I accept the invitation."

"As for the designated S-class reward, I want a weapon that can kill the highest-level monsters."

That request was a bit unreasonable. The system was silent for a long while before listing only a few items that barely fit the requirements.

Lin Tu's gaze swept over them and she immediately picked out one called [Warden's Blood]. It was a weapon coating that could be used at most three times. Applied to a weapon, it granted the weapon the power to kill any monster—provided that the monster had killed at least eighteen innocent people.

Plum Blossom A? More than enough.

Everything went smoothly. Lin Tu leisurely applied the Warden's Blood to her long blade, and when she was done, she picked up the [Human Evolution Liquid] and drank it without hesitation.

In the pitch-black night sky.

The woman muttered to herself in frustration: "Damn, now there's only one left, and this one's a piece of trash. It's over, it's over, this world is completely done for."

Just as she was scratching her head, she suddenly sensed something and widened her eyes.

In the darkness, Lin Tu felt her hands and feet bound, and she had become impossibly small. Especially when she met the gaze of the wide eyes opposite her, Lin Tu saw her own reflection in them.

A card with a gilded edge, floating in midair, emitting a dazzling golden light. At the center of the card was clearly Lin Tu's image. Holding a long blade, black hair falling over cold eyes.

—She had become a card?

"SSR!" The woman shrieked. "An SSR actually got made! This is perfect! With this card, I have a chance to make a comeback! I'll make them all pay!"

"Lin Tu..." Plum Blossom A called out softly.

Her voice seemed to hold a spellbinding charm, and for a moment, Lin Tu felt her blood surge and boil involuntarily. But in an instant, she regained her wits. Then she realized she was spinning toward the woman, the restraints gradually loosening, revealing her original form again.

"Want to see my special move?" The not-yet-fully-enlarged little Lin Tu asked.

"Huh? How can you talk—" Plum Blossom A's expression suddenly changed drastically.

"Blade Flash!" Just as Plum Blossom A was about to turn and run, Lin Tu slashed forward. In the boundless darkness, a shrill scream pierced the entire space.