GRMFBS CH195

Zhan Yan felt terribly anxious inside: I have so much intelligence that needs to be reorganized! I still need to double-check whether everyone’s individual personas are safe! I don’t want to accompany a puppet anymore! But none of this can be said out loud!

Unhappy!

Aggrieved!

Zhan Yan: “Wuwuwu, I just really, really want to eat the sweet bread made by older brother!”

Zhan Jinli’s private inbox began to explode.

Zhan Suiru: [Did you secretly feed younger brother the pastries you made before?]

Ji Yueming: [Jinli, do you know why Yan Yan suddenly wants to eat the pastries you made so badly?]

Zhan Yunkai: [Jinli, did Yan Yan say anything to you?]

Zhan Jinli: …How would I know?!

Why was this blame pinned on his head again?!

Lord Ghost King Lin Yuan also felt wronged, and sent a message to ask his younger brother.

Zhan Jinli: [Do you want to eat sweets?]

Zhan Yan: [No. I’m not interested in sugar, I just want to eat what you made.]

Zhan Jinli fell into deep thought.

He didn’t want sweets, he only wanted what he made.

Aside from being sweet, there was only one special trait to the pastries he baked—they could transform into ghost food.

Humans ate food to nourish their physical bodies, while ghosts ate food to nourish their souls.

Living people couldn’t eat ghost food, but the pastries he made had an extra step in the process, allowing living people to eat them as well.

Could it be that Yan Yan had expended too much mental energy lately and needed nourishment? Did his internship drain him that much?

Not necessarily! His younger brother was now a younger brother capable of spouting absolute nonsense!

Zhan Jinli sent a message to his younger sister: [Take Yan Yan for a physical checkup first. Wait until I return a bit later to take a look.]

Once he had time, he would personally go back and examine his younger brother’s condition.

Zhan Yan was dragged out for a medical examination. At least from the perspective of modern medicine and his sister’s puppet diagnostic functions, his body was completely fine, exceptionally healthy, and thanks to his regular fitness training, his physical state was even better than most people’s.

Zhan Yan decided to just let it all go: “Anyway, I just want to eat the bread made by older brother. I really, really want to eat it!”

In any case, his older brother went through the exact same routine back then: because nothing turned up in his medical checkup, everyone simply indulged him.

Zhan Yan planned to replicate it.

At any rate, their parents weren’t home right now, and his older brother and sister both had their own matters to attend to; they couldn’t possibly keep badgering him over the sweet bread indefinitely.

After Zhan Yan finally saw off his sister’s puppet and secured short-term freedom to eat sweet bread, night had already fallen. Zhan Yan returned to his room and breathed a sigh of relief. He finally had time to sort out his sister’s gossip threads.

Just as he opened the profile and before he could look closely, the big shot Deep Shadow suddenly sent a rapid barrage of messages.

If one wasn’t answered, he would poke him with another, exhibiting an aura of not resting until his goal was met.

What was so urgent?

Zhan Yan logged onto the forum.

I Just Saved the World!: [The apocalyptic world is about to border ours.]

I Just Saved the World!: [Estimated to be within three days, perhaps even faster.]

I Just Saved the World!: [It’s Infinite’s handiwork; it’s very skilled at this.]

I Just Saved the World!: [There isn’t much time left.]

Zhan Yan was greatly shocked.

What happened? When he checked the gossip threads last time, there was still half a month left! Only three days had passed since then.

He opened the Gossip System and started searching.

[The apocalyptic world is approaching this world… Expected to border this world in [2 days 22:42:24].]

This gossip thread even came with a countdown board; the time displayed was decreasing every minute and second, and the rate of decrease was noticeably faster than the normal flow of time!

Which meant they actually had even less time. What was going on? Spit back the ten-plus days you swallowed!

Zhan Yan was going crazy inside, yet he had to urgently handle the situation.

First, reply to the big shot Deep Shadow.

Approaching Science: [Understood, I will go notify the others.]

Approaching Science: [What do you mean by Infinite’s handiwork?]

He sent messages to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance. Aside from Luo Wang and Administrator Lingyu, he directly sent private messages to his parents’ accounts; if he didn’t receive a reply within three minutes, he planned to find others for an emergency notice.

In addition, he needed to check the gossip threads. Infinite’s sudden intervention to accelerate the approach of the apocalyptic world definitely meant another conspiracy. And how did it achieve this?!

The big shot Deep Shadow replied to him, and cross-referencing it with the gossip threads, Zhan Yan figured out what was happening.

Infinite frequently captured other minor worlds; it was thoroughly experienced and adept at resolving issues like world escape and repulsive forces between world barriers.

There probably wasn’t another world more adept at this than it, because other worlds usually didn’t engage in this sort of unscrupulous behavior.

This world had zero experience in this regard, so it was completely normal to get ambushed without realizing it.

The players understood Infinite’s nature and methods much better. The Retirees’ Alliance had begun tracking this matter as soon as they learned the apocalyptic world was approaching. Several players with special abilities unsealed their supernatural powers, attempting to capture Infinite’s movements regarding this event.

Now they had caught on, but unfortunately, they didn’t know how Infinite had accomplished it, so they temporarily had no idea how to stop it either.

Deep Shadow speculated that this was a specialized technique that shouldn’t drain Infinite too much.

It wanted the apocalyptic world; it needed a minor world to serve as the foundation for its revival. Now, believing it was fully prepared, it had no desire to give this world more time to get ready—it wanted to catch everyone off guard.

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau received the message from the Retirees’ Alliance at the same time. The Wan Yao Alliance notified Mount Chaofu; they had emergency contact methods, which were much faster than Zhan Yan using the forum to reach his brother.

“Adjust the formation to a standby activation state. Double-check the sections connected to the Underworld nodes. Hand me the data report from the Sky-Balancing Instrument…” Ning Xi clearly assigned every task, and began contacting the personnel currently on shift.

The Sky-Balancing Instrument was used to monitor the access points of the apocalyptic world.

The bordering of two worlds was not like two spatial volumes making contact with each other, not like one box bumping into another. It was an intersection at a higher dimension; there would be spatial tremors, but that was merely one part of it. What was more significant was the running-in of universal laws. The apocalyptic world no longer possessed any living beings; their fusion wouldn’t produce issues regarding biological life, but it would cause a series of impacts including physical laws and material foundations.

Ning Xi had tried deducing the access methods of the two worlds. Unfortunately, his Great Divination technique was too thoroughly crippled; without utilizing his cultivation and relying solely on mathematical divination, he still couldn’t calculate any definitive outcome in the end.

However, while his cultivation was crippled, his mind wasn’t. Relying on the data monitored by the Sky-Balancing Instrument, he could also infer the nodes through which the apocalyptic world would have the greatest impact on their world.

During this period, the Wan Yao Alliance had already accelerated repairs on this world’s barrier specifically addressing these aspects, trying their best to minimize these impacts and turn the integration of the apocalyptic world into a slow, gentle process.

Three days. This timeframe wasn’t long, but for him, it was already sufficient. When making his initial plans, he had reserved a buffer of time in case unexpected changes occurred. Everything was properly prepared now. An exact window within three days actually made it easier for him to make arrangements.

“Also, monitor movements in the black market.”

…

“Guard the secret chamber well; I will make a trip to Mount Chaofu.” Deep within Shennongjia, Zhan Yunkai took a deep breath, spread his wings, and took off with a flap.

When two worlds met, space-time would inevitably produce tremors. That would be the moment most prone to unexpected disruptions.

“Rest assured,” Demon King Xunmu’s ancient voice promised. His root system hid that secret space even deeper.

Whether it was the formation or the world barrier, both required the coordination of the Underworld. Zhan Yunkai and the other demon kings were assigned their respective tasks and flew into the Netherworld.

…

Zhan Jinli had urgently returned to the Underworld. There were still several nodes in the Underworld formation that required coordination with Tie Lao, which had been delayed for half a day when he went looking for Tie Lao earlier. He would handle them right away; two days would be plenty of time.

…

Inside the black market.

“I say, are you even listening to me? I’m serious. Both the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance have made massive moves; something huge is definitely about to happen soon. I bet it’s related to the apocalypse. This is a massive secret, and being able to dig it up this fast is a testament to my skill. Telling you now is purely out of friendship.”

Zhan Suiru had the communicator on; the broker chattered endlessly through it, while Zhan Suiru focused on making adjustments to the puppet that had just returned.

She felt the broker was on the verge of being driven mad by the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau lately, having completely discarded his former philosophy of maintaining an air of mystery, rambling like an absolute fool.

However, the fact that the broker was warning her at this moment showed he had indeed come to notify her as soon as he received word—she had only just received the Book of Secrets’ message herself.

The accelerated approach of the apocalypse was Infinite’s doing; it knew where the apocalyptic world would border theirs.

Fragments of the apocalyptic world, Rong Sui’s assistance—Infinite demanded she provide these to obtain half the control over the apocalyptic world, turning it into its resting place and grounds for recovery.

Half a dead world in exchange for Yang Ran’s resurrection.

“Thank you for your friendship.” Zhan Suiru completed the final calibrations on the puppet. Putting down the tools in her hands, she replied perfunctorily, “I will express my gratitude to you.”

The broker was very dissatisfied with her perfunctory attitude, but Zhan Suiru had already hung up the call.

Looking at the other “herself” before her, she muttered to herself, “This way, there won’t be any problems.”

Zhan Suiru brought the puppet to the reception room. Turning back to look at Xiao Ran, who followed her closely step by step, she gave a small smile, reaching out to pat his head: “Return to the workshop.”

The gears in Xiao Ran’s pupils spun erratically; for the first time, he did not immediately obey the command.

Zhan Suiru could almost see understanding in those eyes that revealed their mechanical framework, and she couldn’t help taking a step forward.

Xiao Ran raised his hands, giving her a slow, gentle embrace, and then returned to the workshop.

Zhan Suiru gasped sharply. It was as if that brief hug had torn all the air from her lungs, causing a pang of ache.

She took the span of a breath to calm herself, watching the workshop door shut in front of her.

Zhan Suiru reached out her hand; under the effect of her supernatural power, the workshop began to shrink, finally turning into a dice-sized silver cube that rested in her palm.

Threading a necklace through the small hole at the edge of the cube, she lifted her hair and tied a knot behind her neck.

Now, only this reception room remained here. Aside from the gaudy surface decorations, there were various mechanisms hidden underneath.

Zhan Suiru retrieved the reception room controller, adjusted the “broker” to a non-attack target, and casually tossed the controller onto the tea table.

She would treat this as a gift for the broker. Although he was annoying, in the later stages of their cooperation, the broker had indeed helped her weather plenty of pressure.

Zhan Suiru pulled out an invisible motorcycle, mounted it, turned invisible along with it, and headed toward the location agreed upon with the Book of Secrets.

She had already confirmed that the pollution in Yang Ran’s supernatural power core was not as simple as she had thought. It was not mere pollution; inside lay Infinite’s shackles.

Zhan Suiru didn’t know when Infinite had tampered with it. It had once controlled the apocalyptic world for many years; it had far too many opportunities.

However, none of this would matter anymore very soon.

…

Within the Gossip System, Zhan Yan opened a succession of gossip panels. Arranged in columns, they were tiled right before his eyes; with the system backup function and the conditioning from being washed over by information streams when entering the network, it was enough for him to grasp the overall situation across all parties. Sweeping his gaze across, Zhan Yan found that the big shots on all sides were very reliable, and there was nothing left that required his reminder.

Yet he still had one most vital task: his older sister’s persona!

The Artisan was his sister, the Artisan had been targeted by Infinite, and the Book of Secrets had definitely made his sister do something!

Zhan Yan pulled out the gossip threads for his sister, the Book of Secrets, and the Monster Doctor, preparing to conduct a deep search.

Ever since receiving the news, he had been keeping a close eye on the changes in his sister’s gossip threads. The threads showed that she had been calibrating that puppet all along. Zhan Yan did not believe for a second that this was all she had done. She definitely planned to do other dangerous things!

In the search bar, he entered “Zhan Suiru” and “Infinite”.

The gossip threads began to load, stuttering and lagging.

Zhan Yan brought several bags of sweet bread into his room and rolled them into bread balls. Tonight, he was going to dig out what Infinite actually wanted his sister to do!

His sister’s gossip thread refreshed.

[Zhan Suiru sent a fake message to her family, claiming she needed to attend an art salon and would be away for about a week.]

Immediately following, Zhan Yan’s phone chimed with a message notification; his sister’s little lie rolled across the screen.

He pursed his lips tightly, ate a handful of bread balls, and began poking at his sister’s gossip thread that was currently loading.

The moment he tapped that thread, the blessing of the Candle Dragon resonated within him; the power of time bored into the selected piece of information faster than the mental power restored by the bread balls.

Time was like an ouroboros, head connected to tail; time was like a wheel, rolling forward.

Time was both cyclical and linear. Circular and forward-marching time sprinkled dust, concealing the secrets of past days from those who did not understand it.

A powerful spirit could pierce through the curtain of time dust, while the Candle Dragon’s blessing could part their veil.

The dust of time would never obscure his eyes again.

Completely unprepared, Zhan Yan bumped his head against the headboard with a thud.

Instantly falling into a dream.