Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 543: Chapter 160: The Bringer of Light

"Revisiting the old places is certainly interesting, especially when you’ve acquired superpowers and have returned as a time transgressor; and how about your kinsfolk and older generations?

They still look just as they did back then, so ordinary and plain... oh, you’ve noticed an anomaly.

No seal comes without a price, the act of sealing anything eternal has its corresponding price.

It’s like if a sealed object is powered by electricity, but for electric items, you need batteries~

When the batteries run out, the High Tower appears."

Bai Wu simplified the content of these words—

Once this person dies, the High Tower will emerge.

Once this person is alive, will the High Tower disappear?

For the past thousands of years, the High Tower has always been hidden in some space.

But there lies a question, isn’t the appearance of the High Tower determined by the concentration of distortion?

Isn’t the appearance of the High Tower orchestrated by Jing Liu and Jing Yi?

At this moment, Bai Wu reviewed the deeds of Jing Liu—

Jing Liu misled Jing Er into thinking that the person feared by the gods had appeared, making Jing Er decide to take matters into his own hands, to resolve Bai Wu.

To achieve this, Jing Er first lifted the area restrictions.

Once the area restriction was lifted, Jing Liu then led the Ark to shatter the Hei Wu.

And the preparation that took place beforehand was to find a reliable captain for the Ark—Wen Hao.

Thus, what followed.

Looking back now, the cross-temporal rescue mission in the Blood Mist area ninety years ago was actually to tangle Bai Wu’s fate with that of Gu Hailin and others.

Then came the shelter plan. Hence, there was the Baichuan defense battle.

The purpose of this defense battle was to convince Jing Er to believe the prophecy in the Well that someone would lead humanity back to this world and destroy the Well.

And mankind stepping out of the High Tower undoubtedly strengthened the persuasive power.

That’s why Jing Er stepped out of that area.

However, in the Baichuan defense battle, Bai Wu became a disposable piece because after Bai Wu drank the Well Water, Jing Liu could no longer see Bai Wu’s causality.

Jing Liu’s plans, link after link, were to open the Well.

The opening of the Well was for the area beyond the Mist to be enveloped in distortion.

The area beyond the Mist being enveloped in distortion was, in turn, to bring about the reappearance of the High Tower.

So shouldn’t the appearance of the High Tower be decided by the concentration of distortion?

The notes of Prayle’s Eye raised these doubts in Bai Wu.

Luckily, the problem was right in front of him, and so was the person to solve it.

After a good while, Little Bai left, and Bai Wu slowly approached this clerk.

This fast-food restaurant was just like the countless others in Sheng Country, following the naming format "xx base".

The clerk, wearing a duckbill cap and a red T-shirt with a chicken head logo, said to Bai Wu somewhat sluggishly:

"Welcome... welcome."

Standing at one meter seventy, looking slightly overweight and very clean and ordinary, the overall impression he gave was of an amiable ordinariness.

Adding to the impression that he had some intellectual difficulties, Bai Wu could understand why such a person wouldn’t catch Bai Yuan’s attention, and why such a person could become friends with himself.

Because in this man’s eyes, no matter how perfect Bai Yuan was, he was just someone unrelated to him.

On the contrary, the younger Bai Wu had many things in common with this man.

Conveniently, not liking Bai Yuan, or rather, regarding Bai Yuan with indifference, was one of the key points to becoming friends with the younger Bai Wu.

"Hello, I am Bai Wu."

The clerk looked at Bai Wu, puzzled.

Bai Wu thought to himself, has the mask been worn for too long that it imprinted on the face?

"If you didn’t want to find me, I couldn’t have come to you, so let’s not waste time."

He believed the other person was merely pretending.

But the clerk was genuinely confused:

"I... I don’t quite understand, sir, do you want to eat fried chicken?"

He seemed very foolish, and there was even a hint of panic in his eyes, as if he had recalled something.

Yet, due to memories, he seemed somewhat fearful.

But to the eyes of others, this was just the timidity of a purely good person.

People like the Ten of Spades don’t rely on disguises to deceive.

Therefore, if it were a disguise, it couldn’t influence Bai Wu’s judgment.

In penetrating disguises, Bai Wu considered himself specialized.

So he knew that the person before him wasn’t pretending.

"I’d like a portion of fried chicken. Do you have spicy cumin flavor?"

"Yes, we do."

Bai Wu found a corner out of sight and sat down.

Jing Liu said:

"Is there something wrong with this person?"

"There is, to a certain extent."

"Which aspect is incorrect?"

"His existence seems to completely negate yours."

Jing Liu didn’t understand this sentence, and Bai Wu didn’t explain.

In Bai Wu’s eyes, the reappearance of the High Tower was indeed engineered by Jing Liu from behind the scenes.

And then successfully prepared the wedding garment for Jing Yi.

But now... this theory seemed a bit shaky.

Bai Wu thought for a moment and decided to tell Jing Liu everything.

Perhaps he could hear what Jing Liu had to say.

"Is your Power of Causality no longer usable?" Bai Wu asked.

"I am indeed hanging by a thread in reality, and I certainly won’t use the Power of Causality again unless it’s a critical moment," Jing Liu said with some wariness.

"Don’t be nervous; I was just asking casually, because if you could use the Power of Causality to probe this clerk, you’d realize he’s an extraordinary being."

Bai Wu’s words didn’t alleviate Jing Liu’s doubts but rather increased her curiosity:

"What exactly did you see?"

So Bai Wu repeated Prayle’s Eye’s note to Jing Liu word by word.

After listening, Jing Liu was indeed as astonished as Bai Wu had anticipated.

But Jing Liu was ultimately different from Bai Wu; some of her thoughts could indeed fill the blind spots in Bai Wu’s thinking.

"Do you think the note deceived me? That this person is just an ordinary fool?"

"Although you have failed, partly because of me and partly because of Jing Yi, your efforts can’t be entirely worthless."

"The appearance of the High Tower is key for Alpha’s escape, clearly your effort. How could it possibly hinge on whether this person lives or dies?" freewebnoveℓ.com

Bai Wu’s words indeed echoed what Jing Liu had contemplated.

But now, Jing Liu valued Bai Wu’s "Eyes of Sequence" more than Bai Wu did himself.

Only someone who truly possessed the Power of Causality could understand how useful Bai Wu’s eyes were.

It’s similar to how only someone who had truly possessed Temporal Power would understand how useful Temporal Return was.

Jing Liu said:

"Maybe... there’s no conflict."

"Oh?"

Clearly, Jing Liu had a different insight, and Bai Wu said:

"Let’s hear it?"

Jing Liu said:

"All we know is that the appearance of the High Tower requires the distortion density to reach a certain specific value."

"I’ve been planning these matters for years, but in the end, I’m just pushing towards a certain outcome, as if a problem has appeared before me, and I’ve been continuously solving it."

"I’ve solved the problem, but I’m not the one who set it."

This explanation, Bai Wu could understand.

What Jing Liu could do was to meet the conditions for the High Tower’s emergence under known rules.

But the condition, meaning the limit value for the High Tower’s emergence, who decided it?

Even the fundamental values of regional rules would deteriorate, turning humans into Evil Fallen where negative emotions accumulate...

Who on earth set these parameters, completely untouchable?

Jing Liu, Jing Yi, everyone’s efforts were aimed at fulfilling an "imperial edict," but while they seemed to control everything, they didn’t know whether this "imperial edict" would change by evening.

In another world, many years later, when Alpha broke free from the High Tower, did it mean... that in the Well World, this person had already died?

The "battery" of the High Tower, had it run out of power?

Bai Wu, for some reason, felt a little distressed when looking at the somewhat dull-witted clerk.

This person, chosen by the creators of the High Tower, was placed in their own world, suppressing the most powerful Demon King from another world.

But how ordinary was this person’s life in this world?

He had lost his appetite for fried chicken. As the somewhat silly clerk brought up the fried chicken, Bai Wu asked his question again:

"Since you reached out to me, you let that call go through... you must have wanted help, so why won’t you meet me now?"

The dull-witted person still didn’t respond to Bai Wu’s question, with genuine confusion on his face, not understanding what Bai Wu was saying.

Jing Liu said:

"Think about it, when you made that call that day, did you see him?"

Jing Liu’s words reminded Bai Wu, and the somewhat simple-minded clerk had also gone to attend to other customers.

Bai Wu reminisced for a moment; to find every detail in such a distant memory required a bit of effort.

After a while, he suddenly froze.

Jing Liu asked:

"What’s wrong?"

"I remembered something."

"Let’s hear it."

"Indeed... when I was making that call, I sought him out. I asked him if this world really had Ultraman. He told me it did."

Jing Liu expressed his doubt:

"That sounds like a conversation between two children. Although his intelligence is increasingly resembling that of a child. Your reaction just now, however, seemed like you stumbled upon some important clue."

Suddenly, Bai Wu felt the urge to eat the fried chicken. He bit into it, crunching on the breadcrumbs and chewing the muscles.

After swallowing the food, Bai Wu finally spoke:

"I just suddenly thought of a possibility."

"What possibility?" Jing Liu asked.

"Is it possible... that he wasn’t actually calling for help, he was just responding to me... giving me some power so that through that call, I could find some comfort?"

That call, in Bai Wu’s memory, had not gone through.

But with Bai Yuan’s modifications, Bai Wu had indeed experienced a very beautiful past.

He made that call and then received a reply from Zero: "Hello, this is the homeland of the light."

Although this memory had been changed back by Bai Yuan.

But at least it showed that Bai Wu at that time was so lonely; perhaps Bai Yuan had sensed it.

So when the Mechanical City was merging with Zero’s Inner World, did he make a special point to change this scene?

Another point is that the call was indeed received by Yin Shuang. Although Bai Wu’s memory did not have it going through.

"At that time, I... felt very lonely. Look how happy the people of this world are, every person in the little town has their own happiness."

"But I alone had none."

As Bai Wu spoke these words, his face was calm, but his silent sorrow somehow caused the distant clerk to suddenly react.

But Bai Wu didn’t notice this at that moment.

He was still immersed in his memories:

"If this clerk truly is the key to sealing Alpha... he shouldn’t have sent out any signal."

"I’m thinking maybe he just really wanted to help the younger me, to make me understand that there is light in this world."

This possibility might add someone worth reminiscing about in Bai Wu’s memory.

But Jing Liu didn’t think the truth was just that, or at least not only that.

"Let’s observe for a few more days," Jing Liu suggested.

Bai Wu agreed with this.

Since they had already found their target, and since the other party was that crucial person, eventually, the clerk would reveal his other side.

For the next few days, Bai Wu stayed around the small town, observing every individual there as a traveler.

He was like a human observer, and in those days, Bai Wu was very similar to Bai Yuan in the Inner World.

Bai Yuan liked sitting in the coffee shop the most, watching the diverse dwarves, the little girls signing balloons, mechanical people, and more in Bai Wu’s Inner World.

The shop assistant remained dull and foolish.

He would show a pure smile that didn’t belong to his age to the customers. He also brightened up at the sight of Little Bai.

However, several days passed, and Bai Wu hadn’t seen the hidden side of the shop assistant.

He even began to wonder if Prayle’s Eye had made a mistake.

It was not until the seventh day when it began to rain from the sky.

Little Bai, that day, walked on the street without an umbrella.

Bai Wu, wearing a raincoat, followed far behind his younger self.

This scene had also emerged during the fusion with Zero’s Inner World, but in reality... no one would hold an umbrella over him.

Little Bai, feeling somewhat desolate, looked enviously and sadly at the plethora of umbrellas passing by the school, sheltering various fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, mothers and daughters.

Little Bai stood there for quite a while, then turned his head and left.

Jing Liu didn’t know that Bai Wu’s childhood was this lonely.

Bai Wu followed Little Bai closely and found that Little Bai had returned to the coffee shop.

Completely drenched like a soaked chick, the manager felt pity and quickly brought a hot towel. While drying Little Bai’s hair, he said:

"Oh dear, Dr. Bai would be heartbroken if he saw this."

This statement evidently pierced Little Bai’s soul; he broke away from the manager and found the shop assistant.

It was at this moment, standing outside the shop, that Bai Wu finally noticed a significant change in the assistant’s expression.

Little Bai, with overwhelming loneliness and upset, held hands with the shop assistant.

The rain outside the coffee shop became heavier, the sound of pouring water accompanied by countless umbrellas passing to and fro.

The grievance and loneliness in Little Bai’s heart slowly subsided amid the rain and footsteps.

There wasn’t much business today, so the shop assistant and Little Bai sat together and talked for a while.

From a distance, Bai Wu, with exceptional vision, managed to see through the rain and mist to observe every move of the shop assistant.

At that moment, the assistant’s eyes held only kindness and affection.

He was like a close relative to Little Bai, slowly consoling him.

All the memories from Bai Wu’s past began to emerge.

He remembered what happened that day.

Having asked about his mother inadvertently, he was tortured by his father and then fled to the vicinity of the school, feeling even lonelier upon seeing his peers being picked up. He then headed to the coffee shop and conversed with the shop assistant.

The young Little Bai couldn’t detect anything unusual about the assistant, but the distant Bai Wu now spotted something.

The assistant at this time seemed to have snapped to clarity, his eyes no longer showing the simplicity characteristic of dullness, and his expression was no longer foolish.

Jing Liu also noticed this scene:

"It seems that when you’re feeling down, he becomes lucid? That’s really strange. Do you have some kind of connection with him?"

Bai Wu shook his head. He couldn’t remember more, but now, the foolish man had regained clarity.

Bai Wu suddenly understood that perhaps it was the emotions of his younger self that brought out the other side of this person. Bai Wu wasn’t sure of the principle, but he was clear about one thing—

The clarity might not last long, and this opportunity couldn’t be missed.

Once Little Bai left, Bai Wu approached the coffee shop.

But unexpectedly, the shop assistant came out with an umbrella.

He and Bai Wu met right outside the door of the coffee shop.

"Do you dislike the rain?" the assistant suddenly asked.

"A little bit," Bai Wu replied.

"But I don’t mind it at all. You see, my sister loves rainy days the most."

The erstwhile foolish assistant’s eyes twinkled with life as he looked at Bai Wu, smiling gently:

"Let’s go. While the influence of the Reverse Dimension on me is temporarily dispersed, I can answer some of your questions."

(Have you subscribers compiled your monthly tickets from other books? If you have, you could vote for me, and then I’d get the thrill of leapfrogging other authors. With that thrill, I’d be more likely to release more Chapters, right? But wait, you wouldn’t let other authors overtake me, would you? Surely not, right?)