Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 448: Chapter 65: A Gift from Xiaoyugan

Waiting quietly for Xiaoyugan to awaken, Bai Wu pondered many questions, yet at this time, Bai Yuan appeared again.

He stood to the side clapping his hands, donning an encouraging expression that one could instantly discern as mocking and said a famous quote from the Ice Steam Era,

"You’ve expended so much effort to save him, but is all this worth it?"

"My anger towards you has not subsided because of this, you’d best be careful with your words. Obsessions, after all, are not impossible to change."

"Then you really are a dutiful son, hahaha..." Bai Yuan laughed heartily.

Bai Wu looked at Bai Yuan with distaste.

Bai Yuan shrugged:

"Alright, alright, to redeem my image as a merciful father, you may ask a few questions before the afternoon tea arrives."

Bai Wu didn’t refuse:

"Is Xiaoyugan a Split Body? You better tell me now."

"Yes. This cruise ship is, and so is the other one, only the other ship wasn’t as lucky as this one."

"Lucky? Are you referring to Wen Hao or Jing San?" Bai Wu noticed the critical point.

"Both, you see. Wen Hao, although weak at first, later gained tremendous power and is now considered a formidable Evil Fallen on his own. As for Jing San, it’s fundamentally why this ship wasn’t directly destroyed by The Pursuer."

Bai Wu understood.

The Pursuer wanted to find Jing San’s memories and also wanted to kill Xiaoyugan.

But before killing Xiaoyugan, The Pursuer didn’t know of Xiaoyugan’s strength. If it weren’t for Jing San entering the Memory World, The Pursuer wouldn’t have come here.

After entering, it then became clear that Xiaoyugan was not a minor character. Thus the Memory World could be destroyed from the outside... This might be difficult to accomplish.

But The Pursuer indeed managed to do it. Bai Wu continued to ask:

"Do you know The Pursuer?"

"I have some understanding, heard of it before. It’s part of a mysterious ancient organization, but whether this organization has many people...or is just one person, I’m not clear about that."

"Ancient? You’re sure about using that word?"

Bai Yuan smiled and said:

"The arrival of distortion came much later than the birth of distortion, don’t mix them up.

Before that, two entities of Origin Level were already constraining each other. However, as more and more people emerged, with their desires intensifying and their emotions becoming more extreme, that became the catalyst for the emergence of the Well.

Only then did the High Tower come into being, and thus the present apocalypse."

After Bai Yuan finished speaking, Bai Wu thought about it for a while, and it largely matched his own deduction.

The birth of distortion would be much earlier, maybe shockingly so. But going by Bai Yuan’s words, it seams like distortion itself is linked with many aspects of human psyche.

This reminded him of the Lake God, a monster that shouldn’t have existed but came to be because of the descent of distortion, crafted from people’s superstitions, resentments, and a plethora of psychic constructs.

But whether distortion created the psychic monsters or these facets of the human psyche brought about distortion, that seemed something worth exploring based on Bai Yuan’s words.

Bai Yuan continued to say:

"It’s just that this mysterious ancient organization was later almost annihilated. As for who wiped it out, you could probably guess. Of course, it wasn’t absolute annihilation but a sort of suppression."

"Is that also why he’s not so active on the outside? At least this person didn’t catch my attention before," Bai Wu inquired further.

Bai Yuan said:

"He has several Law Bodies. I’m not sure how many, but these Law Bodies all have certain restrictions. However, one thing is certain, one has died at your hands, and another will inevitably become active."

"You mentioned someone destroyed this organization? Was it Jing Yi?"

Bai Wu guessed, but was also somewhat surprised.

"Yes, he is a respectable adversary, and also a very troublesome one. Although the number of times I’ve fooled him is slightly more than he’s fooled me, who asked for it when even K and I combined can’t beat him?"

Bai Yuan’s expression didn’t change, mentioning such a formidable character seemed to be just an amusement to him.

"Is Jing Yi the adversary that truly makes you want to give up, seeing no chance of victory?"

"It’s not yet time for you to know." Bai Yuan did not answer the question directly.

But it did indirectly let Bai Wu know, it wasn’t Jing Yi.

Bai Wu said:

"It seems that every step I take is within the predetermined threads."

"Not always, there have been a few times when you’ve stepped outside of the chessboard."

"That was the case in the sixth layer, and also when facing the heart of Jing Si. I have said, the most dangerous challenge you have faced was that scenario. Actually, my appearance wasn’t part of my plan either."

"But if you want to become the Chess Player, you still need to make more interesting choices."

Bai Yuan said this quite seriously, as if it were a form of recognition, but for Bai Yuan, the greatest significance of Bai Wu’s choices was to make the story interesting.

The essence of a game is to let players make interesting choices.

And what he enjoyed even more was watching players make those choices.

Bai Yuan said:

"And the fact that you survived in Baichuan City is also like this. Although overall you haven’t deviated from the chess game, you are gradually making this drama more captivating. I do look forward to the day when you can reach a place I’ve never envisaged. This possibility only exists with you.

Of course, I’m also looking forward to a bad ending. Thinking about whether you’ll be torn apart by Jing Si or Jing Yi, the eventual extinction of humanity, the monsters in High Tower emerging—it all seems like an interesting conclusion."

Bai Wu felt that the next thing Bai Yuan would probably talk about was the issue of passing on one’s legacy, and sure enough, Bai Yuan said:

"So you could consider leaving offspring before you die, to prevent the game from coming to a complete halt. But the few girls you know are all too mundane."

Bai Wu decisively had no interest in taking the conversation in that direction:

"Which side does The Pursuer belong to?"

"Which side? You shouldn’t ask that, you should ask about their purpose."

Bai Wu didn’t speak, just glanced at Bai Yuan, who very consciously said:

"To reclaim the Twist. Anyone with the Power of Twist will be reclaimed. Don’t underestimate the Ten Thousand Phantasmal Bodies, it’s a fun ability.

You should have realized by now, Parasitic Heart Demon, Reverse Dimension, Rule Binding—these abilities are all powerful, and the Ten Thousand Phantasmal Bodies are no exception. The awakening of the top ten Sequences requires specific conditions, you’ll have to figure that out yourself."

After a slight pause, Bai Yuan said:

"The master of Ten Thousand Phantasmal Bodies exists outside too. What exactly is his relationship with The Pursuer in the Memory World, whether they are the same person, whether he has entered High Tower, those are up for you to investigate, after all, there are things I don’t know either."

"By the way, it’s time for me to go. You should have cooled down by now, I look forward to your next act."

Bai Yuan said, intending to leave, when Bai Wu said:

"Where is Xiaoyugan?"

"In a place you cannot reach~"

Bai Yuan disappeared. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Bai Wu got what he wanted, his dislike for Bai Yuan deepened by another notch.

If this man, casting aside his playful human-world mentality, fully cooperated with The First Generation, perhaps everything would be different.

·It’s as if this person always provides some answers, but never fully discloses them.

Bai Wu had wanted to ask, about the several powers he had at his disposal, what exactly they were.

But Bai Yuan had already left, and even if Bai Yuan appeared, even if this time it was him persistently asking questions to gather information, the control over the topic still remained in Bai Yuan’s hands.

Just like the majority of the explorations up to now, they all seemed to comply with some sort of causality.

But Bai Wu was not anxious about this, he was very open-minded about it.

Bai Yuan was a gambler from the previous era. Among Jing Yi, Jing Liu, Bai Yuan, the creator of High Tower, the source of the Twist—with these people’s mixed chessboard, Bai Wu was very clear about his own position and trajectory, just waiting for an opportunity to deviate from the path.

Bai Yuan was waiting too, eager to see what Bai Wu’s final choice would be.

...

...

Several hours later, Xiaoyugan woke up.

The world that had been twisted and collapsed due to the battle between Bai Wu and The Pursuer, had already restored sixty percent of its appearance.

When Xiaoyugan opened her eyes and sat up, Bai Wu showed a smile.

Whether Bai Yuan truly didn’t care about Xiaoyugan or it was some sort of reverse psychology, in Bai Wu’s view, he had protected this pitiful woman.

"The Pursuer is dead, you don’t need to look around anymore."

Just like waking from a myriad of dreams, or as in the numerous times within dreams, she always felt uneasy as she looked around, gaining fleeting comfort from it.

Listening to Bai Wu’s words, Xiaoyugan said:

"You’re hurt."

"It’s nothing serious. How about you?"

"I’m all right... well, there was something, but it’s all right now." Xiaoyugan glanced at herself and eventually confirmed that she was indeed fine.

She still remembered that just before losing consciousness, Bai Wu had suddenly appeared from the vortex and rescued her:

"Thank you, Bai Wu. I... I thought you wouldn’t come back, but I hoped you would, and you really did."

Xiaoyugan hung her head, slightly turning her face to look at Bai Wu.

"I said I wouldn’t lie to you," Bai Wu said with a smile.

It was a strange feeling when the emotion of sorrow was ignited, Bai Wu felt it too.

They had just met for a short time, yet he was unwilling to deceive her, even though she had tremendous "value for deception."

"The source of the Twist and The Pursuer are eliminated, this place is protected by the Evil Fallen from the Ark, so you’ll be safer here. No more need to live in fear."

"Oh, I’m not scared..."

As she subconsciously tried to contradict herself, Xiaoyugan covered her mouth, her pale and feeble expression revealing a hint of pride.

As if she truly wasn’t afraid.

"Is that so?" Bai Wu asked with a smile.

"Scared, ah!"

Xiaoyugan reacted, speaking the truth as soon as she opened her mouth. She was indeed scared; she had really wanted to appear as mature in front of Bai Wu as K and Bai Yuan... but she just couldn’t manage it.

Fortunately, at that time, Xiaoyugan was trying to present an image of maturity in front of her "enemy’s" son.

Now there was no need for that; if she was scared, she was scared—after all, someone was there to protect her.

With this thought, she smiled again:

"Aren’t you scared?"

"I don’t have that ability for the time being. But maybe I will be in the future."

"Poor thing, I’m envious... No, I mean, poor thing."

Actually, Xiaoyugan didn’t know where the logic in feeling sorry came from, but she felt Bai Wu was somewhat pitiable for saying that.

Bai Wu laughed. Who was pitying whom?

"I have to leave, Xiaoyugan, my friends are still waiting for me outside."

"I don’t want you to go... Never mind, you should go. Will you come back?"

"Of course, I won’t let you wait too long. Can you promise me something?" Bai Wu asked.

"What is it?"

"Make more friends. The next time I see you, I hope to meet some interesting, normal people from before the Twist descended. Can you do that? It’s very important to me to write a few observation reports on interactions with memory bodies."

"Why is it important?"

"You just need to know it’s important. Yes, it’s greatly helpful to saving the world."

"Oh... I don’t understand but I get it, get it, get it!" Xiaoyugan decided to repeat the important things three times but subconsciously wanted to "balance" it by saying ’I don’t understand’ three times.

She, of course, still didn’t understand.

Bai Wu was just making it up.

All he wished was that by leaving, he could make her feel less lonely.

The Memory World was a great place; if it were Bai Wu himself, he would probably be happy living in a world where Zheng Yue was a taxi driver and the team leader and boss lady were neighbors.

Of course, some key elements couldn’t be twisted, except for the fact that Cain was an honest person.

"When will you come to see me?" Xiaoyugan asked.

"Since there’s a lot to do outside, I can only come to see you when I find time, but once I’ve finished everything outside, I’ll take you away from here."

"Really? But I really want to wait here for them to come back..."

"When that time comes, we can go look for them together."

They, of course, referred to Bai Yuan and K, and even though they had long realized that these two might never return, there was still this feeling that they would.

Because there was still an infinite amount of time, perhaps that scene awaited them in the future. Such illogical optimism, it seemed, was also a pillar of her strength.

Xiaoyugan thought about it for a long time before finally nodding and saying:

"I want to find them too. They made me wait so long, it wouldn’t be my fault to be a little disobedient occasionally, right?"

Bai Wu agreed:

"Blame them."

"Right, blame them."

It was about time, all the affairs he had to deal with were settled, and Bai Wu said:

"Goodbye, Xiaoyugan."

"Wait a minute, wait!"

Xiaoyugan opened up a vortex, stepped into it, and vanished.

Bai Wu stood there, baffled, but soon Xiaoyugan returned, holding a fragment in her hand.

"This is something Jing San left behind."

Before any annotation popped up, Bai Wu guessed from the imprint of a chariot on the fragment that it was a piece of the Doomsday Puzzle.

But why would a Doomsday Puzzle fragment fall?

"A memory body?"

"No, it’s Jing San."

Bai Wu looked at the fragment, and the annotation quickly appeared:

[Following the offerings of Full Moon and Manjushage, you have obtained another fragment—Jade Chariot. The power of this fragment is very short-lived; it is a fragment with a limited number of uses. It has two remaining uses, and each lasts for one hour.

Its power is also rather fun, allowing you to be free from the causal restrictions of the entire world. Or better said, during its active time, you will have no cause and effect with anything.

Everyone will suddenly forget you. You can briefly—purify all cause and effect to zero.]

Bai Wu took the fragment, puzzled as to why Jing San’s fragment would fall.

Because normally, if Jing San is not dead, the fragment should not have fallen.

And according to the information provided by Bai Yuan and the others, Jing San was indeed still alive.

"This is very strange. This fragment is also very strange..."

"What’s strange about it?" Xiaoyugan asked.

"Do you remember how this fragment came to be?"

"I don’t know, I just sensed it."

Xiaoyugan clearly didn’t know the situation either, and Bai Wu could only speculate... Could it be that such memory "purification" was also recognized by the rules as a "kill"?

Bai Wu was not certain about this question, and his attention gradually shifted to the power of the fragment.

"Temporarily severing causality with all things... It’s a strange ability, not as direct as the previous fragments, but it seems like... it could play a significant role in the future."

Without pondering too long, Bai Wu thanked Xiaoyugan and then prepared to leave.

Xiaoyugan opened up a vortex to send Bai Wu back.

Watching Bai Wu leave gradually, she felt like laughing and crying at the same time, but this contradictory emotion was eventually eased by Bai Wu’s comforting words.

"Remember what I said? I will come to see you, and you, try to meet some interesting memory bodies."

A smile appeared on her face:

"I remember."

The journey in the Memory Museum came to a temporary end.

But the path of Bai Wu’s exploration was still long and winding. He had just left the Memory World and appeared outside the forbidden zone of the Ark when he immediately received a message from Zero. It pulled Bai Wu instantly from the previous scene, back to the battleground of confrontations on the farm.

"The Mechanical Descending God of the Club Q has begun. He is creating fear bit by bit. I need you to go to a place to achieve a true Descending."