Chapter 917: The End of an Era

In other words, I’m different from all the “Extreme Path” members…

They don’t die, but I was “brought back from death,” which seems to be another one of Bai Yang’s tricks.

Old Sun told me that whenever this kind of mass-death event happens, it’s the best opportunity for “Extreme Path” members to quickly find their teammates. Anyone still moving around at this time is undoubtedly one of them.

Some people take this chance to get acquainted and form friendships. Rumor has it that the largest gathering ever organized had over twenty people.

Unfortunately, the city is too vast, and the “Extreme Path” lacks a fixed meeting place, so everyone relies on luck to run into each other.

Old Sun also said that these mass resets usually happen in the later days of the ten-day cycle, leaving survivors with little time to search for teammates. They can only recognize each other by chance.

I find this idea interesting… It’s like in a game of Werewolf, where all the wolves reveal themselves at night.

That’s great…

It means Jiang Ruoxue, Zhou Mo, and the others are fine… Everyone I know is safe. I just wonder if I’ll see them again in the remaining days.

“Old Sun, what day is it now?”

My question clearly caught him off guard.

“What the…? Chun, girl, you lost track of time?” Old Sun said, torn between laughter and disbelief. “How can someone from the ‘Extreme Path’ even ask that?”

True, others might not, but for me, this question is crucial.

“It’s already the tenth day,” Old Sun said. “We’re about to vanish. Too bad we couldn’t find more people.”

Hearing this, I knew there was no way to find Jiang Ruoxue in such a short time. I sat down on a nearby stone block, resting my numb arms.

Now I understand what Jiang Ruoxue meant by “Why didn’t you shave your legs before coming?” If I had a choice, I’d have worn a black dress instead.

“The Land of Finality” is disgustingly filthy. The air is filled with powdered remnants of “participants,” settling indiscriminately on the ground and furniture. Every time I sit down, my dress gets dirty.

“Old Sun…” I flexed my arms and asked, “Have you met anyone interesting lately?”

“Of course I have!” Old Sun suddenly perked up. “Listen, girl, I met this great guy. Hmm… should I even call him a ‘guy’…?”

“Who?”

“A fellow from ’83…” Old Sun scratched his head. “Weird thing is, even though he was born in ’83, he looks twenty years older than me. Crazy, right?”

“Uh… what makes him so great?” I pressed.

“That guy’s a ‘Puppet,’ surname Deng. You can call him Brother Deng,” Old Sun said enthusiastically. “Wait till I set up a meet, introduce you to him. Solid folks, all of us.”

“Puppet…?” I blinked. “What kind of ability is that?”

“Well…” Old Sun thought for a moment, then fixed his innocent, wide eyes on me. “Girl, you know how it is. When we get our abilities here, all we get is a name.”

“Mm.” I nodded. “Knowing the name is already the best-case scenario. Some people ‘resonate’ in a daze and don’t even realize the display shows their ability’s name.”

“Right, right,” Old Sun agreed. “So most folks have to experiment after seeing their ‘resonance’ name. Brother Deng did a lot of testing after learning he was a ‘Puppet.'”

“Testing?”

“Yeah, mostly to figure out what the ability does,” Old Sun explained. “According to him, he can transfer moments of death onto corpses… but I don’t buy it. He definitely hasn’t figured it all out. If it’s called ‘Puppet,’ shouldn’t he be able to make corpses move, you know?”

I knew Old Sun wasn’t wrong. Here, if you’re crazy enough—or forget you’re human altogether—not just corpses, even living people can be turned into puppets.

I had a vague feeling this person would be useful later, but there was no way to find him now. I asked Old Sun about his appearance and learned he was a short, stocky middle-aged man.

After regrouping with Old Sun, “Annihilation” arrived. I watched as Old Sun disintegrated into dust before my eyes.

So even the “rules” here have a strict sequence. While the “Extreme Path” can avoid death in mass resets, they can’t escape annihilation.

Two cycles later, everything returned to normal.

People here carried on in the “Land of Finality” as if nothing had happened. Over the next two years, many major events unfolded.

First, “Heaven’s Gate” made big moves. After relocating to a school, they aggressively recruited “participants.”

I was curious… Every “mass reset” lasts two cycles to ensure no one retains memories.

Yet their leader was still Chu Tianqiu.

I knew for a fact he wasn’t “Extreme Path,” yet he somehow preserved his memories as if evading the reset, even pulling powerful allies like Yun Yao back into the fold.

Rumors said Chu Tianqiu “picked up” an exceptionally strong “participant” on the streets, naming them co-deputy leader alongside Yun Yao.

Seems “Heaven’s Gate” was growing stronger by the day.

Later, I reunited with Jiang Ruoxue. She seemed unhappy, refusing to share what had happened no matter how I pressed. Instead, she asked me a strange question:

“If a shattered mirror is repaired, then you forget it was ever broken… does that make it new again?”

I couldn’t get anything else out of her, so I offered some vague comfort.

Soon after, she left “Heaven’s Gate,” making me even more curious about Chu Tianqiu’s character. Maybe, as Aunt Tong said, everything he did stemmed from “goodwill.” Even someone as powerful as Jiang Ruoxue was free to come and go, with no attempt to stop her.

Jiang Ruoxue grew more reserved, though she remained as close to me as ever.

The next unsettling development was Bai Yang. His gaze grew stranger with time.

Every time, he took several seconds to confirm my identity and his own location.

The only silver lining was that his game venue was completely deserted now.

Bai Yang locked himself inside the bank’s office, never stepping out. As a result, no “participant” could even tell it was a “game” from the entrance.

Even if someone did “participate,” Bai Yang would half-heartedly explain the rules.

The once-popular “Lottery” fell into a vicious cycle—its prize pool perpetually empty—until no one joined anymore.

The legendary “Bliss Bank,” after the mass reset two years ago, officially closed its doors in the “Land of Finality.”

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