Chen Luo did not dare to abruptly deactivate all the enhancement effects on his body. He understood perfectly well that he had to make the most of the explosive power still remaining in him and climb out of this bottomless abyss as quickly as possible. Attribute-boosting buffs could not last forever. If he forcibly dispelled them now, the suppressed magical backlash would make him collapse on the spot. Although repeated level-ups had made his physique far sturdier than before, he still shuddered whenever he thought of the terrible price a real human like him had to pay after overloading himself. That was exactly why, during the underground battle, he had gritted his teeth and held back rather than activate his Ego state again—he truly did not want to experience losing his reason and turning into a frenzied, bloodthirsty beast once more.
Yet what troubled him most was the answer given by the AI Guardian underground. It had not only failed to resolve his questions, but had also raised a whole host of new ones, making him question everything: Who had originally owned the body he now occupied? What close connection had that person shared with the ancient Black-and-White Society? Why had the Guardian identified him as "Traveler #6676" with such bizarre deference? Countless dark mysteries surged up, winding through his mind in a tangled mass.
***
At the same time, on the surface, about five hours earlier—at the very moment Chen Luo had slipped and fallen into the magical fissure.
The entire temporary base immediately descended into chaos. None of the children or soldiers was willing to sit idly by. They frantically dug up every inch of ground around the spot where Chen Luo had vanished, using pickaxes, shovels, and even their weapons. Yet in response to their desperation, the ground that had closed up again had become as hard as cooled steel. No matter how hard they struck it, they could only send harsh sparks flying without leaving even a scratch.
-"Hey! What on earth happened here?!" Ryan and a group of soldiers had just returned from hunting and clearing the surrounding area. Seeing the chaos, they hurried over to ask.
-"Brother Chen Luo... Brother Chen Luo suddenly disappeared!" Alice replied in a daze, her nose stinging as she fought back tears. Everyone who had just returned was stunned by the news.
-"Big Brother was standing right here before the ground collapsed." Chris sheathed his blade and narrowed his sharp eyes, carefully examining every blade of grass nearby. "I've checked thoroughly. There were no magical fluctuations from stealth skills or an assassin's abilities—only the sound of earth and rocks colliding. My instincts tell me that some extremely strange spatial anomaly just occurred!" With the keen senses of a Wolfkin assassin, Chris knew perfectly well that his calm and dependable big brother would never abandon the group without a reason unless he had been forced into an unavoidable situation.
After a tense discussion, Zhang Zewei and Galahad decided to split their forces. One group of soldiers would continue searching the surrounding alleys for traces of Chen Luo, while the others stayed behind to reinforce the defenses and help the children finish setting up the temporary base.
The search party moved with extreme caution through streets littered with rubble and ruined buildings. No one dared make a loud sound, because everyone understood the terrible price they might pay if they accidentally provoked the mutated bats that hunted by sound and nested on the rooftops of high-rise buildings.
-"Do you think he'll come back safely, Chris?" Alice walked beside the little Wolfkin, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz and filled with anxiety. To her, Chen Luo was not merely her protector but also the benefactor who had given her a new life. She had not yet repaid his kindness or reached the day when she could remove this slave collar with her own hands. How could she bear to watch him disappear?
-"I don't know for sure..." Chris gently patted Alice on the shoulder and reassured her in a firm voice. "But I believe he'll be fine. Brother Chen Luo is stronger than any of us. Don't be afraid!" The little Wolfkin turned to the worried children and decisively rallied the group. "Everyone, focus on finishing the tasks you've been assigned! Even if Brother Chen Luo hasn't returned, the work at the base must go on. We can't become a burden to him!"
-"Well done, little fellow! With such a steady temperament, you'll surely become an outstanding leader one day!" Galahad approached from behind, rubbed Chris's head with his rough hand, and rolled up his sleeves with a smile. "You're absolutely right. Sitting around crying won't solve anything. Let this old man give you a hand!"
Meanwhile, Anthony—the young Catkin assassin—quietly split off from the group. With his exceptional climbing skills, he easily scaled the tallest buildings. Using his ability to communicate and establish mental connections with animals, Anthony sent dozens of sewer rats and crows into underground passages and side tunnels to search for Chen Luo, while he himself took the opportunity to gather dry firewood and bring it back to the base.
Three difficult hours passed, and all the reinforcement work at the temporary base was finally complete. Just as everyone gathered in the main hall, exhausted, the rats Anthony had sent out suddenly hurried back. They brought shocking news: deep underground, directly beneath the coordinates where Chen Luo had disappeared, an extremely abnormal wave of ancient magical energy had suddenly erupted!
-"Tell me more! What exactly is down there?!" Anthony crouched down and sternly questioned the lead sewer rat.
-"Squeak! Squeak-squeak-squeak!..."
After a series of rapid, piercing squeaks and the rats' frantic nodding, Anthony's expression suddenly changed, and he was overwhelmed with shock. The boy's unusual silence made the atmosphere in the hall tighten like a drawn bowstring.
-"Is something complicated going on, little one?" Galahad approached, his face taking on the grave expression of a veteran general.
-"The situation... is extremely serious!" Hayate stepped up beside Anthony and spoke in a low voice, making everyone's heart seem to skip a beat.
***
Back to Chen Luo.
He was struggling to climb inch by inch up a sheer cliff covered in moss and sealing Runes. As the various attribute-enhancement effects approached their time limits, his stamina began to drain rapidly. Gritting his teeth, Chen Luo spent another few hundred magic crystals in the System to buy two potions—one 「Haste Potion」 and one 「Strength Potion」—and gulped them down. This time, however, the overwhelming surge of power he had felt before did not return.
-"Have I reached the limit of what my body can endure...?"
Chen Luo bitterly recognized how terrible his condition had become. Stacking too many enhancement buffs on a body already drained of strength had greatly weakened the backlash-toxicity effect of the potions. Even so, the little strength he had left was enough to keep his bloodied fingers hooked into the cliff face and move upward bit by bit.
-"Hah... hah... I can barely breathe..."
Chen Luo gasped rapidly, sweat and blood running from his forehead blurring his vision. He had fallen an enormous distance underground, and now he had to climb back up a steep cliff while utterly exhausted; his internal organs felt as though they were burning. Sensation was beginning to leave his fingers, and every movement that kept him clinging to the rock now depended entirely on his extraordinary will to survive.
-"Hold on... Don't give up... You can do this..."
Just as Chen Luo's consciousness was about to sink into an unknown void, a gentle, sweet female voice, as pleasant as a ringing bell, suddenly echoed softly in his mind. Chen Luo had no idea who the voice belonged to, but its warmth was like a cool spring flowing straight into his exhausted soul and filling him with a mysterious strength. He kept gripping the rocks and climbing... climbing higher...
More than two hours of hellish climbing finally passed. Chen Luo's blood-covered hands at last emerged from the fissure and clamped tightly onto the concrete pavement of a deserted alley!
Using the last scraps of his strength, he dragged himself onto the surface and lay on his back in the dim alley, staring up at the evening sky. His entire body relaxed completely. Then his consciousness gave way, and he sank into a peaceful dream...
In the hazy space of his mind, a blurred figure whose true identity could not be made out slowly approached him. The figure smiled faintly and placed a brilliant platinum-colored orb of light into Chen Luo's chest.
-"At last... you have passed the test of will. And this... is the reward you deserve for your Unyielding spirit."
The orb melted and spread over Chen Luo's entire body. The pain, fatigue, and utter exhaustion vanished in an instant. Immediately afterward, a series of electronic System notifications rang sharply and repeatedly in his consciousness:
-[EGO ACTIVATED: UNYIELDING!
Unlock exclusive skill 「Unyielding Warrior」: Increases Physical Armor and Magic Resistance by 300%; while standing still and entering the Unyielding state, additionally grants 150% damage reduction. In exchange, while standing still and before the effect is deactivated, the Host cannot perform basic attacks or cast active skills. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 day. (Note: Can only be activated when equipped with a weapon classified as a Greatsword.)]
-[Unlock all skills of the 「Unyielding One」 form:
-「Protection」: Creates a magical shield that absorbs damage equal to (5% of maximum HP); while maintaining the Unyielding state, also restores 2% of maximum HP per second (the healing effect is reduced by 50% while directly engaged in combat). Cooldown: 30 minutes.
-「Steadfast」: Activates the 「As Steady as a Mountain」 state—while in the Unyielding state, reduces the duration of crowd-control effects (slow, stun, root, knock-up) by 85%.
-「Unyielding Justice」: Summons 3 floating energy greatswords to assist in attacking nearby enemies. Each slash from an energy greatsword deals (45% AD) physical damage (deals only 50% damage if the Host is not in the Unyielding state).
-「Judgment of Justice」: While in the Unyielding state, drops a massive greatsword from the sky, dealing (65% AD) + (16% of the target's missing HP) true damage directly to all enemies in the area of effect (removes the missing-HP percentage bonus if the Host is not in the Unyielding state). Cooldown: 1 minute.]