Zhu Li numbly returned to her own world.
The person she had excitedly wanted to retrieve, disappeared bit by bit before her eyes, taking all her hopes with them.
Why?
Where did he go?
Had he truly vanished?
She couldn't recall their past. Without obtaining him, was this how it all ended? Sudanshu.com
The main system was even more bewildered. The person it had intended to use as a bargaining chip began to disintegrate the moment the nutrient capsule opened.
It had no time to remedy the situation, nor could it make any demands. It watched as Zhu Li went mad and then left.
Fortunately, it hadn't given up.
007 was still in Zhu Li's mind, trying to convey the main system's explanations and conjectures.
"Host, don't panic. The mission target will surely be alright. He might have gone to another world. This has happened before. After those strategists failed, he would disappear and then reappear in other worlds. His consciousness had never been fully gathered. You are the first to achieve that. He must still be in some world."
Zhu Li was expressionless, a flicker of hope igniting within her. She asked, "What do you mean by 'previous strategists'?"
007 quickly replied, "Host, I haven't told you about A before, have I? Actually, the Time and Space Administration was established because of him. When his brainwaves occurred, we marked it as his awakening. The 'human karma' you mentioned also began then. We detected very strong negative energy fluctuations from him. At that time, many people believed he brought disaster and proposed killing him. The main system believed that killing him wouldn't work, as the negative energy would still exist. Based on his consciousness, which you call a soul, we created those virtual worlds. Of course, to you, they were all real. 'Writing worlds into existence'—perhaps you are right.
"His soul fragments were cast into those worlds, and then we dispatched strategists to 'conquer' him, to understand his demands and change him. But it always failed. It wasn't that the strategists failed; it was that he was unwilling to attach himself to anyone else. His soul fragments drifted in those smaller worlds. Later, we discovered that merit points could counteract human karma. That's when the Time and Space Administration began to have more 'mission targets.' However, the conquest mission for him was always the most difficult. It wasn't until I contracted with you that I thought I'd try my luck. I haven't told you, have I? At that time, I had over two hundred hosts and had tried this mission with all of them. In the first ancient world, 119 of them died right at the entrance. 45 tried to contact him prematurely and most were killed. Of those who barely survived, some developed psychological illnesses. In short, you are the first to succeed. It's because of you that he possessed those people and was with you. He changed because of you."
The system's voice became somewhat weak. "After you successfully completed your first mission, I unbound all the other hosts. That time I said I was going to a gathering, the gathering only lasted a few hours. The rest of the time was spent processing the unbindings."
Zhu Li wasn't particularly interested in what the system was saying. She only cared about one thing: "So, where might he be now?"
"We are investigating. There are too many small worlds. However, that person surnamed Zhang said he could help. They have a system comparable to the main network, so it should be found out soon."
"Good."
Zhu Li's mind was in turmoil as she thought about the worlds they had experienced.
It seemed that, as the system had said, he was different from the original people. In the last world, when she had investigated that person, she had thought it was a mere coincidence, that it was because Chong Yan's soul fragments were increasing, allowing him to push the original person out.
But on closer reflection, from the very first world, Chong Yan's body had only contained resentment and fragmented souls. If that were truly the case, he shouldn't have been able to grow up at all and should have long since perished from countless disasters.
Yet, his fate had not been that bleak.
The system provided a more comprehensive explanation.
"Those characters were minor characters or cannon fodder in the smaller worlds. For them to cause trouble for the male and female protagonists, they certainly had to grow up. Before you, A had never actively possessed those people, nor had we intended for him to possess them while they were young. You don't know that he was practically a jinx. Some worlds were predetermined, meaning they had already been completed and could not be easily changed. But as long as he entered one, he would certainly bring unrest to the virtual world, and the plot and character settings would be completely ruined."
After waiting for two days, news indeed came from the main system, stating that his trace had been found in a small world.
Although it was just a small fragment of his soul, it proved that Chong Yan had not disappeared.
Just as Zhu Li was preparing to go there herself, someone reported that more people were shouting outside the barrier.
Zhu Li suppressed her thoughts and went out. This time, it wasn't Rong Jin, but the young attendant from the Siming Palace.
She walked out, somewhat puzzled, and looked at the little immortal boy whose face was red from the cold. She asked in confusion, "What are you doing here?"
The little immortal boy turned and saw her. His mouth quivered, and he immediately burst into tears. "Wuwu… bad person, great demon! Wuwuwu, it's all your fault. Master, Master has perished… wuwuwu."
Zhu Li was instantly shaken.
"Yao Zhu, is dead?"
The little immortal boy cried, unable to catch his breath, and didn't want to speak to her.
Zhu Li, still holding onto a sliver of hope, wanted to take the little boy back to the divine realm. However, the little boy struggled in her arms.
"I'm not going back! Master told me not to go back, wuwu… Master asked me to tell you, go to the Summit of the Gods. He said if you don't go to the divine realm within three days, he wants me, he wants me to tell you, wuwu…"
Zhu Li turned and took him back to the demon realm, assigning people to guard him, and then went to the divine realm.
She didn't go in, and she couldn't.
Because the Siming Palace had collapsed.
The Siming God Official had perished, and the palace had collapsed with him.
Zhu Li felt an unspeakable sense of loneliness.
She only glanced at it from a distance, then turned and left.
The Summit of the Gods.
Yao Zhu had perished.
A new deity was born.
Something connected. Her speed increased, and a white afterimage quickly ascended the Summit of the Gods.
Unlike what she had seen before, the deathly silence of this place had completely vanished, replaced by vibrant life, lush greenery.
Except for the forbidden tower, everything was like a mortal paradise.
Her arrival startled a flock of birds. Divine birds flew in groups, trailing colorful plumage behind them, so beautiful and enchanting that they filled one with affection.
Zhu Li walked in.
Everything was new, so beautiful.
Her eyes scanned around, and soon, she saw a person on the grass not far away.
The young man in white also noticed her and stood up, looking over.
He was taken aback, then ran towards her and embraced her.
"You're finally here! I've waited so long for you."