Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 469: Chapter 86: Bai Wu and 59

There are many important choices in life, and although some choices originate from personal decisions, they are also influenced by the era, and in turn, they come to influence the era itself.

Bai Wu found that the option symbolizing the freedom to choose, "Independent Action," had disappeared.

After he made his choice, a prompt appeared in his mind.

[You have made the final choice. Since the free option was not used throughout, your failure will not lead to death but will allow you to leave this game while retaining your qualifications to challenge the Magic Tower.]

Is this a... guaranteed survival reward? A chance to start over?

Yan Zizai looked at Bai Wu, who seemed distracted, thinking he was still unable to accept what had happened to Gu Qingyu:

"A lot has changed, Gu Qingyu’s betrayal... No, he definitely did not betray us, I refuse to believe that someone who stood firm until the end would betray us."

"Maybe his cognition was altered by some means, maybe his memory was erased... but either way, he is no longer my teammate."

"The people of Sheng Country were transported to this city and then became the Evil Fallen who slaughtered the people of Meinan... the remaining members of the Distortion Correction Team, scattered around the city, are betting on a gamble set by the Evil Fallen from the farm..."

"These Evil Fallen would place bets on which squad would be the first to find this Evil Fallen from Sheng Country."

"Just like how the nobles of the High Tower used to toy with the lower-class humans, the Evil Fallen now control the world. Without the protection of the High Tower, humans have completely become playthings and food."

"Gu Qingyu... is a key figure within the Distortion Correction Team; he has eliminated several Sheng Countrymen who participated in the monster games..."

Yan Zizai’s tone had become angry:

"Among these people were former warriors from the Investigation Corps, the Garrison Corps’ warriors, and... his former superior."

"His blade had no affection; after staunchly defending the High Tower and ultimately being swallowed by the tide of the Evil Fallen, he was taken to the farm. That period was probably when his thinking began to change, and at the same time, Gu Qingyu’s strength... also greatly improved."

Thinking of Gu Qingyu’s formidable strength, even the proud Yan Zizai had to admit:

"Now, he is... unrivalled. I am not his match either. In fact, even before he was taken to the farm, his strength had reached an unfathomable level."

"You should know, after the shelter was established, he left the High Tower and embarked alone on a path to become stronger. This person... if he is a friend, is truly the most reliable friend; but now that he has become an enemy, he is the most terrifying foe."

"Maybe even you are no match for him."

After drinking the Well Water, Bai Wu’s strength had reached a level that surpassed human norms.

But for Wu Jiu, this only meant he had to work even harder and become even stronger to protect his subordinates; nothing more.

The strength of others only inspired him and he never relied on it.

About Wu Jiu, Bai Wu had made his choice. He also believed that since it was a significant choice, it must have a great connection to the scenes that followed.

In Yan Zizai’s intelligence, there were many things that Bai Wu found inconceivable.

Jing Si had actually become a sealed object within the High Tower...

Thinking of the phrase from the sixth level of the High Tower—"You and I are essentially the same," Bai Wu suddenly felt a chill.

At this time, Jing Si was indeed of the same origin as Alpha.

It seemed that these strongest beings all carried the same fate.

And Alpha among the Evil Fallen, why was it able to create the High Tower? Probably because it had been sealed in the tower for seven hundred years and had also comprehended some kind of method.

However, a tower created by monsters should be on a different level from the High Tower created by the High Tower Creator.

Bai Wu asked the next question:

"Is Xu Wei still around? How is the shelter doing?"

Yan Zizai nodded:

"The shelter... remains a shelter. Although after the distortion concentration increased around Baichuan City, the areas surrounding the shelter have become extremely dangerous, within the shelter’s range... thanks to Jiang Yimi holding a piece of the Doomsday Puzzle, the distortion has been cleared."

"This is a double-edged sword. The Evil Fallen around the shelter have long vanished, and the increased distortion concentration means more twisted rules, making it harder for other powers to pass through the numerous black zones and reach the shelter."

"But at the same time, it has made it harder for the shelter to find survival resources. The Evil Fallen are fine; hunger only causes hunger pangs and does not weaken them. But there are some of your human friends in the shelter, and they are not having an easy time..."

Bai Wu did not ask which human friends were not having an easy time, as it was still better than being treated like livestock in this twisted city.

It was indeed the right choice to give the Doomsday Puzzle piece to Jiang Yimi. Without it, the deadly battles that were fought would have lost their significance.

Thinking of this, Bai Wu felt slightly relieved. The shelter still existed... and countless black zones formed a natural barrier, which was not bad at all.

"As for Xu Wei you mentioned... is he someone from the shelter? The shelter hasn’t been affected, so he should still be in the shelter."

Bai Wu understood and began to analyze the current state of the story’s timeline in his mind—

Xu Wei had Temporal Return, so he could never starve; whenever he was hungry, he would simply return to a time when he wasn’t.

The monsters in the High Tower, although they had comprehended part of the power, clearly couldn’t contend with Jing Si’s Inverted Well Domain.

Unless it found the owners of Sequence 10 and Sequence 12.

But now it was seriously wounded, and Xu Wei was in the refuge, a series of dark zones ironically making Xu Wei safer.

The situation hadn’t reached the worst extent, at least there was still a possibility of remedying everything.

But all this had one prerequisite—his own self from this timeline had not died!

Bai Wu suddenly realized that he seemed to have accepted this reality. Although he vehemently resisted this future, deep down, he felt it was true.

Later, Bai Wu chatted with Yan Zizai for a while longer, discussing the situations of Yan Jiu, Ruan Qingyun, Liu Chengzi, Bai Xiaoyu, and others.

Most people had survived, but there were some... who died or disappeared in the battle to protect the High Tower.

The Seventh Team of the Investigation Corps didn’t have a single coward.

It wasn’t just Gu Qingyu who had held out until the end; Wang Shi, Shang Xiaoyi, Yin Shuang, Qin Lin, and Bai Xiaoyu had all held the line.

But in the end, only Gu Qingyu was still alive.

Wang Shi and Shang Xiaoyi died at the hands of the Evil Fallen, Qin Lin was still alive, but maimed. Bai Xiaoyu was rescued by a massive monster covered in gastric fluids.

And Yin Shuang had disappeared.

In the Distortion Correction Team’s execution records, there was no Yin Shuang. Yin Shuang, Bai Xiaoyu, even Yan Jiu were all on the bounty list.

This meant that Yin Shuang was still alive, but strangely enough... whether it was in the Ark zone where Yan Zizai and Wen Hao were, the Distorted City, the refuge, or even the outskirts controlled by the Evil Fallen, there was no news of Yin Shuang.

But Bai Wu had no way to learn the details of these matters.

Some issues were more urgent than others, and he needed to understand more about other matters. As for his former companions dying in battle...

Bai Wu hoped that after experiencing this revelation, he could change all of it.

In the end, Bai Wu asked Yan Zizai for directions on how to get to the "ranch" in Meinan.

"After the High Tower emerged, the people in the Ark, including Captain Wen Hao, had a certain obsession with the High Tower,"

Bai Wu knew, after all seven hundred years ago, the purpose of the Ark was to head towards the High Tower, although it was all a lie.

"They brought people ashore and came to the outskirts of the High Tower, where they found the Teleportation Stele. There was a shipbuilder who, incredibly, deduced the construction method of the Stele... although it wasn’t nearly as precise as a real Teleportation Stele, and the position of each teleport was pretty unstable..."

"But this shipbuilder’s Stele truly gave us a chance to conduct guerrilla warfare. Jing Yi and that Tower Monster were badly injured, and currently, the biggest trouble is Gu Qingyu."

Bai Wu nodded, more accepting of this outcome.

Wen Hao’s ship was full of talents, and the strength of the core crew members was undeniable; it seemed there wouldn’t be any issues in the short term.

Bai Wu said:

"What about Zero? How is he?"

"Zero has been providing us with technological support. Jing Wu and Huangquan Island joined forces, but they were defeated by Zero."

Bai Wu laughed. Did Jing Wu fail again?

Although he felt it should be so, Bai Wu analyzed that Zero and Jing Wu were closely matched, and for Zero to win, he must have had some new tactics.

"I’ve returned to reality now, I should give Zero a heads-up... Let him prepare early, although I don’t know how he managed to fend off Jing Wu and Huangquan Island’s forces."

Bai Wu thought for a moment and then asked:

"Logically speaking, with the power of Reconstruction and Disassemble Everything, the forces of Black Gold Island on their own would surpass Zero’s. After the regional restrictions lifted, Black Gold Island’s power growth also accelerated. How did Zero win? Although I hope he did." ƒrēewebnovel.com

He had thought Yan Zizai wouldn’t know exactly how Mechanical City repelled the enemy, but Yan Zizai did know and gave Bai Wu a staggeringly shocking answer.

Yan Zizai pondered for a few seconds, then with a perplexed expression, said:

"You might... find it hard to believe, but Zero repelled Jing Wu and Huangquan Island’s forces because there was a powerful ally."

"It seems that this ally is someone I would never have thought of?"

"Yes, Hong Yin, a White Deer, and..."

Yan Zizai paused, seemingly playing coy, until Bai Wu signaled with his gaze that it was okay to speak, and only then did Yan Zizai say:

"Jing Er." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Jing Er?"

"Yes, your reaction is quite calmer than I expected."

Bai Wu was anything but calm. Upon learning that Jing Er was reinforcements, his heart felt as if he had watched a line of sows fall into a ditch in succession—though he couldn’t fathom it, he was immensely shocked.

"Hong Yin and White Deer..."

Bai Wu recalled the people of Zao Lake Village had indeed said the Lake God was the White Deer, so the existence of the White Deer was a reality.

Hong Yin and White Deer bringing Jing Er to save Zero?

Bai Wu laughed:

"It seems not everything in the future is a disaster..."

Yan Zizai nodded:

"The perimeter of Mechanical City has also become a black zone. In the fight with Jing Wu, we suffered another huge setback, but it wasn’t easy for Jing Wu either."

"Jing Wu can be considered... defeated by Zero for the fourth time. As far as I know, long before you knew Zero, Jing Wu had already attacked Mechanical City once."

"Then, in your journey to Mechanical City, you and Zero defeated Jing Wu again."

"Next in the shelter, Jing Wu was tied down by Zero and subsequently defeated... and then there was this time."

The never-say-die ’Waste Five’ wasn’t bad, after all. Bai Wu finally felt that this future had some aspects that weren’t too heavy.

But the situation wasn’t very optimistic either.

Having suffered failure after failure, Jing Wu would have to grow.

Bai Wu still remembered, that monster in the High Tower had said, Jing Wu possessed the most powerful weapon...

This weapon could very well be Disassemble Everything and Reconstruction. If Jing Wu fully mastered these abilities, he would also become a troublesome character.

Bai Wu’s chat with Yan Zizai lasted until the afternoon.

Tucked away on him was an artifact that could conceal cause and effect; Bai Wu believed that if fate could be altered, so could the future.

But the key lay in how he maneuvered, how to avoid the "inevitable failure," or at the very least, minimize the adverse effects brought by the "inevitable failure."

After understanding the ins and outs of the situation, Bai Wu knew he had learned all there was to the revelations of this scene.

Next, it was time to exit this Magic Tower.

This was also the result that Bai Wu reached after weighing his options—

The Club K had catalyzed this area; in the realm of causality, it was inevitable. Some mysterious entity, through this area, had brought him revelations about the future.

And it emphasized the importance of choice. This also made it clear to Bai Wu that a series of significant decisions lay ahead, where even the slightest misstep could lead to the world’s destruction, humanity reduced to livestock.

Time was of the essence; he must now return to reality, starting with the first causal loop—the whereabouts of Dong Nianyu.

With the future having developed to this point, Bai Wu noticed—

The first step was Jing Liu’s subversion of Dong Nianyu.

The second step, his own choice to head to Denglin City, would result in Jing Si killing him.

The third step, Jing Yi using himself as bait to draw Jing Si away from the High Tower.

The fourth step, the fall of the High Tower, where Alpha of the Evil Fallen seals Jing Si.

If any one of those four steps crumbled, it could prevent this harsh future from unfolding.

Bai Wu decided to start with the first step, finding Dong Nianyu.

The terror of the Magic Tower was in the fear it instilled in people; the means of Club K, or rather, the first encounter with K, could be said to be K’s victory.

Because the zeroth step Bai Wu was now facing was a trolley problem—

Pressed for time, he had to end this exploration. This signified Light Arrow Knight’s failure in challenging the Magic Tower. Without any challengers, the Magic Tower would continue to exist, and people would still die every day.

But if the Magic Tower wasn’t stopped, and he continued exploring in this scene, perhaps outside this world... Jing Liu had already begun to sway Dong Nianyu.

Is it to have a hundred people die every day, or for all of humanity to become Evil Fallen? Bai Wu made his choice without hesitation, opting for the latter.

This was a choice not made in the public eye.

Ultimately, at Bai Wu’s insistent request, he used the ark’s teleportation mechanism to return once again to the city where humans were kept like livestock.

...

...

Meinan, night descended.

At one in the morning, the maelstrom reappeared, and using Prayle’s Eye, Bai Wu quickly located the direction from which the monster emerged.

He then dashed all the way, heading towards the poor soul from Sheng Country.

According to Yan Zizai, this was a game for the Evil Fallen beyond the city, sending a person from Sheng Country into the city before they transformed into the Evil Fallen, letting them kill at will, and then betting on which Distortion Correction Team would be the first to kill this person from Sheng Country.

All Bai Wu wanted now was to leave the Magic Tower, so his goal was to seek death.

Having never used the freedom of choice, Bai Wu triggered a hidden Easter egg.

Death would not truly end his life but would instead take him out of the game.

Bai Wu sprinted all the way and finally, on a street filled with clothing stores, saw the person from Sheng Country, who had transformed into a Hellhound, tearing at some Meinan person’s neck.

He patiently waited for the Distortion Correction Team to arrive, ready to die alongside this person from Sheng Country.

The members of the Distortion Correction Team indeed arrived quickly, just as the Hellhound from Sheng Country, who had undergone the Evil Fallen Transformation, was about to attack Bai Wu—

A blade flash so fast it seemed to not exist ended the miserable person from Sheng Country.

Distortion extraction.

All three heads of the Hellhound were severed, and its enormous body wobbled a few steps before collapsing beside Bai Wu.

And behind the Hellhound, when Bai Wu turned to look at the member of the Distortion Correction Team... his eyes were filled with astonishment.

Even though this person was no longer wearing the blue and white uniform of the Investigation Corps but instead a white combat suit with a K logo, Bai Wu still recognized him at a glance—

Gu Qingyu.

Bewildered, Bai Wu stood in place. At that moment, he instinctively wanted to do something but found himself unable to move.

According to the rules of the Magic Tower—after a selection is made, no other action is allowed during the period in which the selection is triggered.

But Bai Wu had not expected that the profoundly important choice would come prematurely, only starting to trigger at this moment...

He chose option B, to always trust this person.

Had he chosen A, Bai Wu would have gained the power to kill Gu Qingyu, which would have been a significant advantage in the subsequent explorations.

But having chosen B, facing Gu Qingyu, he would have no ability to resist.

Unable to move, Bai Wu could only watch with a stunned gaze, the person in front of him who seemed to have undergone a complete transformation yet showed no emotion whatsoever.

The current Gu Qingyu indeed had no emotions, only absolute indifference in his eyes.

Even upon seeing Bai Wu, there was not the slightest change in his expression.

As if verifying whether the other party was a twist that needed to be eliminated, Gu Qingyu did nothing for a moment.

Not until Bai Wu seemed to break free from some kind of restraint and called out a familiar name did Gu Qingyu finally make a move.

"Captain..."

The complex emotions contained in those two words changed nothing.

Gu Qingyu moved like a streak of light, his blade flashed, and he passed through Bai Wu in an instant.

The immense force made Bai Wu feel a complete loss of balance, and his consciousness blurred continuously.

This was the sensation of death’s arrival.

Time seemed to stand still, yet time never stopped.

The blade flashed, and the white blade became stained with crimson blood. Gu Qingyu wiped the blood off the blade without looking back and left.