GRMFBS CH198

The Gossip System detonated into a deep, star-studded sky within Zhan Yan’s mind. Amid the sea of stars, he held on with all his might to that golden star shimmering with a dark-crimson glow.

All information related to this unfolded like an expansive scroll across his consciousness:

The reflection of the apocalypse, the ruins, the fortress, the will of Infinite, the dark-crimson psychic power, and the blood trickling from his sister’s eyes!

Save my sister!

Save my sister!!

The world barrier suddenly stirred.

A gap abruptly opened in the thunder net over the firmament; from the boundary where the apocalypse clung tightly against the world barrier, the thunder light began dispersing steadily outward in all directions.

Ji Yueming looked up sharply.

“What happened?” Ning Xi asked urgently.

Did something go wrong with the formation? Or could the formation operators no longer hold out?

“No…” Ji Yueming gazed up at the zenith and said, “The world opened the breach of its own accord.”

“It wants to embrace the apocalypse.”

The desolate ruins fell from above Zhan Suiru’s head.

Like a shooting star plunging toward her.

“Save her.”

Amid the starlit sea of information, someone wept as they embraced the star representing her.

Accumulated energy gauges began to burn away one after another; the veil over the concepts of the psychic and the network began to tremble.

The world barrier enveloped this dead world with gentle grace.

Drip.

The apocalypse condensed into a single drop of rain, falling into Zhan Suiru’s pupil.

Her pupil mirrored the entire world.

The psychic power flowing across her body began to lose its color, those dark-crimson hues draining into the desolate reflection of the apocalypse within her gaze, painting it with a gentle, rosy blush like the morning glow.

That was not blood she had shed.

That was the world, right before its death, entrusting its most cherished remnants to its final child.

The gaming world submerged within the network surfaced; along Zhan Suiru’s psychic power, the apocalypse flowed into that virtual realm—a place that had fused a fragment of its former self with the mental power of its last child.

This was the sanctuary prepared for it by this world.

The dark-crimson mental veil outside the gaming world shed its tint, pure snow-white pouring in alongside the apocalypse as they blended together.

When those radiant red gleams settled upon the NPCs within the gaming world, their gazes suddenly became spirited and alive.

The conceptual chains linking the network and the mind quietly shifted amid this synthesis of the virtual and the real; amid the burning energy gauges, a tiny backdoor was carved out—those who held authority over the newborn gaming world could use it as a transit hub, projecting their psychic power into reality.

Vast, boundless psychic power erupted from Zhan Suiru, sweeping across the coast like a blizzard beneath the blazing July sun.

Projections of monsters were pulverized into dust; abnormal spatial pockets shattered.

Personnel arriving from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau were caught completely unprepared, swept up in this colossal tempest. The blizzard-like psychic energy swirled around them, yet inflicted not a single trace of harm.

Stunned, they looked up at that figure atop the high tower.

“Is that… the Lord…?”

The blizzard howled, gleaming like polished iron in the scorching sunlight.

Surging, raging, bursting from wounds suppressed for far too long, it locked Infinite’s consciousness in a vice grip, hammering her imprint deep into its very core.

Within his consciousness, the blizzard danced, as if bursting free of every shackle. Watching the snow, Zhan Yan began to weep.

Wuwuwu, this is wonderful, sister didn’t die!

He had been frightened half to death, wuwuwu!

He felt so heartbroken, wuwuwu…

While Zhan Yan was sobbing, someone knocked loudly on his bedroom door.

Bao Qingshan called out from outside: “Zhan Yan, are you awake?”

Startled by the knocking, Zhan Yan’s crying hitched, ending in a loud hiccup.

Bleary-eyed from tears, he picked up his phone, only to realize it was already past eleven in the morning.

His classmates had assumed he woke up late because he was exhausted from running around yesterday. Bao Qingshan figured he was fine and hadn’t wanted to disturb him. But with noon fast approaching and Zhan Yan still not up, they couldn’t help but worry.

“Awake, I’m awake,” Zhan Yan answered.

His voice carried a heavy nasal tone, which only made them worry more.

“Zhan Yan, are you alright? We brought you lunch. Do you want to get up and eat something?”

Zhan Yan: “No need, you guys go ahead and eat.”

Let him cry a little longer; he couldn’t stop right now!

“You haven’t eaten all morning.” Bao Qingshan refused to leave. “How are you doing? Gu Jiancheng even called my phone yesterday, saying you didn’t pick up his calls last night. I told him you were tired after spending the day with family and went straight to sleep when you got back.”

He had been force-fed several mouthfuls of dog food. Gu Jiancheng’s voice carried an overwhelmingly oppressive edge when he was in a foul mood.

Only then did Zhan Yan remember that he hadn’t made his bedtime phone call to his little classmate Gu. Last night, after tapping into his sister’s gossip thread, he had passed out completely, only waking up just now.

Pulling out a tissue, he wiped his tears messily, checking his camera feed. His eyes were heavily swollen and red; anyone could tell at a glance that he had been bawling, completely impossible to hide.

Bao Qingshan was still rambling on outside: “And then you didn’t answer this morning either, so your Gu Jiancheng called me again. In four years of college, I haven’t taken as many calls from him as I have these past two days…”

The bedroom door flew open, almost causing Bao Qingshan to stumble.

Looking up at Zhan Yan’s face, his expression turned cautious: “Yan-er, what happened? Did you two have a fight?”

Zhan Yan’s nasal tone hadn’t entirely vanished: “No, I stayed up late watching a drama last night, and watched a few more episodes when I woke up today. The plot was just too tragic.”

Bao Qingshan was stunned; Zhan Yan never watched dramas before.

“What drama?”

Zhan Yan randomly rattled off the title of a tearjerker that had been plastered across advertisements everywhere lately.

Bao Qingshan’s expression suddenly turned very complex.

[Bao Qingshan never expected you to enjoy this kind of melodramatic soap opera. As a dedicated enthusiast of melodramatic novels, he feels he has found a kindred spirit.]

Zhan Yan: …

Wuwuwu, why does he still have to make up excuses and tell lies even at a time like this?!

Zhan Yan rubbed his head. Why was it aching so badly?

He glanced at the gossip threads:

[Your head collided with the headboard.]

Forget it, forget it. This ordeal was finally over; what remained was merely wrapping up loose ends.

He needed to eat something first. Sleeping for so long had left him starving; now that the crying had passed, he felt famished enough to swallow a whole cow.

Zhan Yan inhaled the meal his classmates had brought until not a scrap was left. Still feeling unsatisfied, his brain steered his gaze toward the large refrigerator.

Opening the fridge, he cast a longing look at the bread and cakes made by his brother.

Bao Qingshan was terrified by his appetite: “Yan-er, you can’t eat anymore. You’ve eaten nearly double your usual amount, haven’t you?”

Zhan Yan: “I’m fine, I’m just hungry.”

“Eating like this will rupture your stomach.”

“It doesn’t feel bloated at all, I’m just hungry. I’ll just have two more bites of bread.”

Bao Qingshan tried to nag him further: “If you keep this up…”

Zhan Yan gave him a dark look: “You ratted me out to my sister yesterday.”

Bao Qingshan: “…Then don’t forget to call Gu Jiancheng in a bit.”

Victorious, Zhan Yan retreated to his room carrying the bread.

He had to soothe his boyfriend first. Classmate Xiao Gu was probably frantic by now.

Zhan Yan rolled bread balls while dialing the number.

The moment the call went through, it was answered instantly.

Zhan Yan offered a brief reassurance, then hastily hung up. With so much having transpired, he still needed to sort through his thoughts, and there was plenty to handle afterward.

Having gone an entire night and morning without being able to reach his boyfriend, if not for the shadow embedded in the fitness band indicating Zhan Yan was completely safe, Gu Jiancheng would have rushed over long ago—in truth, had it not been for the phantom projections Infinite stirred up due to the apocalypse’s approach, he would have snuck over already.

Gu Jiancheng was currently in a rather awkward situation. He hadn’t expected the bordering of the apocalypse to be resolved this quickly. Less than three hours had passed from start to finish, yet those blasted projections Infinite conjured were still running rampant.

He had boasted earlier that everything east of the Hengduan Mountains was under his purview; as a result, the crisis on the apocalypse side was dealt with, but his cleanup work wasn’t finished.

This was rather embarrassing.

The somewhat embarrassed big shot Deep Shadow desperately wanted to chat with his boyfriend a while longer.

Only to be promptly hung up on.

Gu Jiancheng: …

Suddenly deprived of his boyfriend’s affection!

He called Bao Qingshan. What on earth was distracting Yan Yan’s attention so thoroughly!

Bao Qingshan gave him the title of a television drama.

The big shot Deep Shadow opened the melodramatic drama, and after finishing the plot synopsis, fell into deep contemplation.

…

Zhan Yan was completely oblivious to the misunderstanding brewing on Gu Jiancheng’s end. He was busily stuffing himself with bread balls while reorganizing the gossip threads.

First was his sister.

Thinking of his sister, Zhan Yan couldn’t help letting out a shaky breath. The lingering sensations of the dream still clung to him, filling him with grief.

His sister was Rong Sui, the “Lord” of the apocalyptic world.

When the apocalyptic world was destroyed, that self-destructive psychic storm was meant to cleanse all pollution, but it would also obliterate the consciousness of every living being. Seizing the exact split second when the taint was cleansed and the untainted souls were bared, the long-suppressed world consciousness of the apocalypse gathered them up with utmost care.

Psychic power served as the bridge through which a world connected with the outside. When Rong Sui’s psychic power broke through Infinite’s blockade, the apocalyptic world was finally able to establish communication with this world.

Entrusting those souls along with its blessings to Rong Sui, it concealed her inside the world’s very last supernatural power core as her own shattered. Shielded by Yang Ran’s core, it sent her across that fleeting conduit straight to this world.

The apocalyptic projections on the beach had faded, and personnel from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had arrived at the scene. Yet by the time the blizzard-like psychic storm dissipated, Zhan Suiru had already departed on her invisible flying motorcycle.

The warm summer sunlight kissed every inch of her skin, the wind ruffling her hair and lifting the workshop pendant around her neck that housed Xiao Ran.

She was deeply loved by her world.

The apocalyptic world had merged into the gaming world. Suspended between the virtual and the physical, the surviving souls found a new sanctuary to rest.

When those souls began to awaken, the slumbering world consciousness would awaken alongside them.

After reading the threads, Zhan Yan’s eyes welled up with tears once more.

Wuwuwu, this is so wonderful. His sister was truly safe, the apocalyptic crisis was resolved, and everyone was fine.

So, now that his sister was safe, he could officially start getting angry!

How could she hide so many personas?! Zhan Yan counted them up: the gaming master “Big Sledgehammer Eighty”, the network-type supernatural “Red Crystal”, the black market’s “Artisan”, and the apocalypse’s “Lord”. A grand total of four personas! Surely there wasn’t a fifth, right?

His sister’s gossip thread continued to refresh:

[Zhan Suiru snuck back into her workshop and carefully stowed away the “Zhan Suiru” puppet.]

She had planned to use this puppet to pretend she was still alive in case she perished. Though she only had time to test it once before Yan Yan, she figured the others wouldn’t notice either—she would just need to find an excuse never to cut Yan Yan’s hair again.

Zhan Yan: …Sob QAQ

Zhan Yan held it in.

Stay angry!

Hmph! Good thing she only tested it in front of him. He was the only oblivious one who couldn’t tell without using the Gossip System. If it were anyone else in the family, who wouldn’t spot that it was a puppet with a single glance? When that happened, all hell would break loose, resulting in a chaotic, accidental unmasking of the entire family!

Sister was far too reckless!

[Zhan Suiru returned to the black market, taking back the gift she had originally intended to leave for the broker. Reopening her workshop, she released the puppet butler, Xiao Ran.]

Zhan Yan suddenly realized something.

Oh, right—he now had another brother-in-law. He had completely forgotten about his brother-in-law in the chaos.

He was going to find out how to save his brother-in-law right now!