Chapter 915: Nightmare?

I’ve looked at this map once and already memorized it completely, so the “map” as an object isn’t important—the information on it is what matters.

Wait… how can a map be preserved intact and safely in the “Land of Finality”?

If I carry the map with me, even if I don’t encounter Qinglong, it would still be left on the ground during one of the annihilations.

That way, the map would be lost, and there’s no telling whose hands it might fall into.

If I want to keep it safe… I might as well hand it to Qinglong. But giving it to him directly would definitely make him suspicious, so Bai Yang set up this scheme.

But who is the map being preserved for? Logically, only someone who has lost their memories would need this map.

Could it be…?

Bai Yang has repeatedly stated that he might lose his memories someday… Is he planning to use Qinglong to transfer this map to himself…?

As I walked out of Bai Yang’s game site, cold sweat dripped down my back.

I still remember telling Jiang Ruoxue… Bai Yang’s thinking is several steps ahead of ours.

When he gave me this map, he had already anticipated Qinglong’s reaction—and mine as well.

He even predicted that when I discovered all this, I might play along and put on a performance to reassure Qinglong.

I racked my brains to cut through all the fog and find a path, only to realize Bai Yang had already marked all the landmarks on that very road.

I couldn’t afford to delay any longer. Bai Yang was already racing down this path, while I was still fumbling in the dark.

I knew I needed to grow stronger—immediately.

I found an abandoned building and used abstract lines to recreate Bai Yang’s map on a hidden wall. It looked like natural cracks in the surface, and after making sure only I could decipher it, I labeled eight animals on the wall in Middle English—something very few could understand.

After all, I wasn’t sure how long Bai Yang’s plan would take. Though I’d memorized these locations, there was no guarantee I wouldn’t forget over the years.

After that, I began wandering the city—spending mornings participating in “Earth-level” games to secretly eliminate “Participants,” and afternoons recruiting new “Extremists.”

Since I no longer had to report to Bai Yang’s game site regularly, I had more time to search for Jiang Ruoxue.

As expected, she had joined “Paradise Entrance” and grown close to Yun Yao. I didn’t reveal Bai Yang’s plan, only telling her that the “Extremists” couldn’t remain this disorganized forever.

I needed a method—a way to gather all the “Extremists” at a moment’s notice.

For now, they could scatter and operate independently. Though they were safe, there was no way to rally them when needed, making it impossible to execute Bai Yang’s final task.

Jiang Ruoxue didn’t ask for details but agreed to find a solution. She said it wouldn’t be difficult—just required coordination between her and Zhou Mo. With “Causality” and “Voice Transmission,” they could make the others hear a supernatural call.

They said they needed time to prepare, but once ready, they’d seek out every “Extremist” to imprint them with an “Echo.”

During this time, I also visited Bai Yang. He was still standing at the entrance of his game site, troubled by the sudden resurgence of “Pleasure Bank’s” popularity. He had wanted to tone down the game’s intensity, but he couldn’t stop the greedy Participants.

Bai Yang claimed he no longer wanted to earn “Dao,” yet its quantity kept skyrocketing daily.

When I spoke to him, I stuck to inflammatory lines. Since Qinglong believed we were splitting apart, we might as well play the part to the fullest.

This routine continued for some time… until two years ago, when I blacked out again.

This time, it felt ominous… I woke up in an unfamiliar place. After wandering the streets for a day or two, I realized I was at the edge of “Dao” City. I didn’t know why I was there, but I quickly found a familiar road and headed toward Bai Yang’s game site.

I suspected my timeline was glitching again… I needed to know what year and day it was—immediately.

But all I saw along the way were countless corpses, the air thick with the stench of blood… The “Land of Finality” had always resembled hell, but today, it was worse than ever.

What was happening?

Why weren’t there any living souls on the streets…?

I’d blacked out many times before… but this was different.

After walking for five or six hours, I finally found Bai Yang.

His game site wasn’t as usual—it was filled with dead “Participants,” yet Bai Yang sat inside, calmly reading a book.

“Brother Yang…?” I pushed the door open and called hesitantly.

Bai Yang visibly stiffened, staring at me for a long moment before murmuring in confusion, “Why are you here now…?”

“What happened…?” I asked in a low voice. “Why are the streets like this…? And the ‘Participants’ here—?”

Before I could finish, I froze.

I hadn’t noticed earlier… but something felt off.

In the center of Bai Yang’s office lay a corpse.

Face-down, its features were obscured… but it wore a white dress.

That white dress looked familiar… Wait, is this—?

“B-Brother Yang…” My voice trembled. “What is this…?”

Bai Yang didn’t look at the corpse. Instead, he locked eyes with me and said, “There’s nothing here. You’re mistaken.”

“What…?” I blinked. I was sure I wasn’t mistaken—that was my corpse.

I stepped forward and flipped the body over.

The face was identical to mine.

I checked the fingers—same tattoos.

A clear wound pierced through its forehead, as if something had drilled straight through…

Bai Yang seemed slightly flustered. He stood, grabbed my arm, and pulled me to the door, insisting, “Yan Zhichun, there’s nothing here. You saw wrong.”

I didn’t understand what he was doing… Did he just kill me?

No, that couldn’t be… If he killed me, then what am I now?

“B-Brother Yang… Can’t I ask about this?” I muttered. “I know you have your reasons… but this is… hard to accept.”

“You’ll always be safe,” he said. “But there seems to have been a miscalculation… You appeared before the annihilation.”

“Before… annihilation?”

“Yan Zhichun, go somewhere and wait to die,” Bai Yang said. “This is all a nightmare. You’ll wake up soon.”