I am utterly at a loss. On one hand, due to the excessive reward points gained from the previous horror movie world, combined with the branch scenario counts she still possessed, she could easily exchange for formidable attributes or skills. Yet, facing all of this, a sense of blank disorientation washed over her… This feeling was just as pervasive in her inner self.

Her memories were illusory… phantoms conjured by her main personality. The truth of those memories held the same ultimate conclusion but featured entirely opposite characters… Should she hate him? Or were she and he still mortal enemies? She didn't know… As the time for the final battle slowly approached, this feeling grew ever more distinct. She was utterly bewildered by the prospect of the final confrontation, and this confusion was the very reason she remained standing here silently.

“The me of the main personality… am I merely a stand-in created by you? To avoid that memory, or as Chu Xuan put it, to hide in the shadows to increase my strength, is that why you created me?” Zhao Yingkong murmured with her eyes closed, not knowing if her main personality could hear her words. Only the heavy pressure in her heart compelled her to voice the question.

…Forget it. I know you won't answer. Talking to a doll you created—I doubt you’d be so bored…” Zhao Yingkong let out a self-deprecating laugh. With a bitter expression, she opened her eyes and began querying the “Main God” for available attributes or skills, preparing for the final battle.

………Alice in Wonderland Pill? What is this?” Zhao Yingkong was in the process of browsing attributes and skills.

But as her consciousness shifted, a thought entirely alien to her suddenly pulled up something else entirely, something unrelated to attributes or skills. It was an alchemical creation, priced steeply at 4000 reward points and one C-grade branch scenario.

The effect was described as allowing one to delve deep into one's own psyche. This effect… Zhao Yingkong hesitated briefly before directly exchanging for this alchemical creation. It was a small, white pill resembling an aspirin, utterly unlike the elixirs of cultivation. It looked incredibly ordinary, yet one tiny pill demanded such a high exchange price.

“…Is this what you wanted? The me of the main personality, why would you want this thing?” Zhao Yingkong whispered to the empty space, clutching the pill in her hand.

Alas, no voice answered from the void. After waiting a long while, she could only sigh and head toward her room.

Though helpless, she decided she had to swallow the pill. No matter what, she had to meet the main personality, even if only for the sake of the final battle.

Back in her room.

Zhao Yingkong poured a glass of clear water. She then looked at the pill in her palm; it appeared utterly unremarkable.

Just like an ordinary cold remedy, Zhao Yingkong took a deep breath, placed the pill in her mouth, swallowed a large gulp of water, and then sat there silently, waiting for something… waiting for the main personality to appear.

Gradually, the surrounding space shattered like mirrored glass. After the shattering, only darkness remained—an endless, boundless darkness.

Zhao Yingkong felt as though she stood in the deepest part of the cosmic void, with no up or down, no past or future, only herself and the person standing behind her.

“Is that you? The me of the main personality…” Zhao Yingkong remained silent for a long time before finally asking, unable to hold back.

“Yes, it’s me… You are very lost. Is there anything you wish to ask me?” The voice behind her spoke clearly.

“…I’m tired.”

Both fell silent immediately. After a long pause, the main personality sighed, “Believe it or not, the initial purpose of creating you was truly for me to die, or at least to remain perpetually asleep. I didn't want to face him again… You must have acquired these memories by now? That was my original intention…”

“But? Although that was your original intention, in the end, you still used me as the vessel to overcome your inner demons, merely allowing me to be absorbed as a negative personality. Such a thing, such a thing…” Zhao Yingkong mumbled, lowering her head.

Behind her stood a little girl, also with her head bowed, her figure and appearance identical to hers, even mirroring the shadow of melancholy on her face.

“…This was truly an accident. I didn't know beforehand that when our two consciousnesses merged, we could break through to the Intermediate Stage of the Fourth Tier. The inner demon was yours, and the inner demon was mine. While this method of overcoming inner demons is opportunistic, it is also incredibly perilous. But we passed through it all… I only realized all this after I awoke. Creating you was not originally meant for my absorption.”

The little girl behind her replied with her head down.

“…But the result cannot be changed, can it? For the final battle, to fight against those two hims… If you don’t absorb me, you won't be able to fight them at all. Setting aside sheer power, we’d lose immediately on the factor of combat duration… Do you want to lose the final fight? So, in the end, you will absorb me too…” Zhao Yingkong said sadly, recalling the experiences since entering the horror world—from the first life-or-death battle, to fighting side-by-side with companions for the first time, to being injured, to dying, to being resurrected, and then developing feelings for Zheng Zha… Everything. Although she had been in the reincarnation world for a long time, compared to her days in the real world, this period was short. Yet, the profound memories left behind were ten, even a hundred times greater than her previous ones. These memories were treasures she held dear. How could she give them up?

“…Perhaps not absorption.”

The girl behind Zhao Yingkong suddenly spoke. At those words, Zhao Yingkong shuddered. She turned around in disbelief, just in time to see the girl behind her also turn with a smile. The two girls, standing back-to-back, finally saw each other for the first time.

“Is this you? The me of the main personality…” Zhao Yingkong reached out to touch the girl’s face, but just as she approached the midpoint between them, an invisible barrier blocked her.

It was as if she were looking at herself in a mirror; the self inside the glass was her, and the self outside the glass was also her.

“This is us… You are me, and I am you. We are inseparable. I know all your memories—every laugh, every pain, every time we fought shoulder-to-shoulder with our comrades, every moment of joy at the brink of death. I know it all. These memories won't disappear; only this barrier between us will vanish. We will become one. Not one absorbing the other. We—no, I. These are my memories; you gave me memories, and I return memories to you…” The little girl opposite Zhao Yingkong smiled and placed her hand at the midpoint, overlapping with Zhao Yingkong’s hand. Instantly.

Both girls quieted, staring at each other motionlessly. Time seemed to have stopped…

In the real world.

Zhao Yingkong sat silently on the chair with her eyes closed, appearing to have fallen into a deep sleep… Only when she awoke, which of them would it be? Compared to Zhao Yingkong’s confusion, the other team members exhibited varying degrees of excitement—not just the thrill of gaining massive reward points and branch scenarios, but also the excitement of the impending final battle. This excitement couldn't simply be classified as happiness; it contained elements of fear and apprehension, all blended together.

This constituted the current psychological state of most members of the Central Continent Team.

“Imhotep, we’re participating in the final battle… Will I survive?” In Imhotep and Anck-su-namun’s room, he was embracing the great ancient beauty of Egypt. These two had been together for many years in the real world, and after enduring the true test of affection in The Mummy, their feelings for each other were deeply rooted in their souls. In this respect, they were indeed a deeply loving couple. *However, neither of them were ordinary pious believers. In a sense, they might be considered villains in the eyes of common folk, certainly not paragons of loyalty. Thus, at certain crucial junctures, they would also consider their own avenues of escape, such as facing the impending final battle now.

………Those elixirs can indeed greatly extend your lifespan, but to live long-term with me, the key is still to raise your strength. While you exchanged for the B-grade reinforcement attribute of the Sun Priest this time, relying solely on exchange cannot unleash the power of this enhancement. You still need to use it for training and combat…” Imhotep said to Anck-su-namun.

Speaking to this point, Imhotep paused, let out a soft breath, kissed Anck-su-namun, and then said, “We both still have revival quotas. If I die, I can be resurrected using the Book of the Dead. If you die, you can also be revived using reward points and branch scenarios. So…” Anck-su-namun froze, her beautiful eyes focusing seriously on Imhotep. The handsome bald man’s expression was solemn. He spoke earnestly, “I want to experience the final battle alongside the Central Continent Team… Being with them is reassuring, and it’s a lot of fun, much more interesting than the dull life in the real world. Since I’ve given up the idea of ruling the world, living like this, fighting alongside them in this strange world, isn't bad at all.”

Anck-su-namun looked back at Imhotep seriously. After a long moment, she smiled lightly and pressed her red lips against his. After a brief kiss, she raised her head and said, “I will stay by your side. If I die… you must revive me, just like a very, very long time ago, when I waited for your resurrection in Hell. I knew you would definitely come, even if it meant enduring countless hardships and suffering, even if I was mummified for ten thousand years, you would surely come to save me…”

“…Yes, I will definitely come. Even if it means death, even if I am mummified again, even if I sleep for ten thousand years, wherever you are, I will come. I will come to find you…”

“I’m coming to find you!” Cheng Xiao shouted loudly, continuously pounding on the door of Chu Xuan’s room while yelling. The man’s face was contorted in fury, looking as if he genuinely wanted to kill someone. His clothes were spotted with drops of blood, and the trousers he wore below his waist had two large tears, the dried bloodstains presenting a dark red color, covering nearly half the fabric.

“I’m here for you! Open up, Chu Xuan! I’m going to kill you!” Cheng Xiao roared with a face twisted in explosive rage, looking indescribably ferocious. He battered the door while shouting, “The gloves you made for me! You said embedding B-grade Wind Spirit Stones would allow complete use—damn it, I embedded two Wind Spirit Stones! The power is huge, it’s huge… but why is this wind completely uncontrollable? It all blasted back at me! I almost became a eunuch! You idiot, open the door!” With that, Cheng Xiao hammered the door again, but unexpectedly, the door sprang open with a snap. Caught off guard, Cheng Xiao tumbled inside and fell toward the floor.

It was only due to Cheng Xiao’s excellent agility that he managed to slap and press against the ground, spinning upright to stand.

“Get down here. I’m in the basement.”

Chu Xuan’s voice drifted from the entrance to the basement.

Accompanying it was the sound of a small-scale explosion. Who knew what he was doing? If he was experimenting… were explosions like this normal? Cheng Xiao shuddered.

It was only then that he snapped back to his senses, realizing exactly where he was standing—it was clearly Chu Xuan’s room, or more accurately, the floor above Chu Xuan’s laboratory. This realization was terrifying. If one valued their life, one would never go into Chu Xuan’s lab.

This was already an unwritten rule within their team, and he had dared to come looking for him… Was he incredibly brave, or had he gone mad?

Just as Cheng Xiao was losing his nerve, his eyes accidentally swept over the bloodstains on his thigh, and his anger instantly reignited.

Earlier, he had excitedly taken the Wind God Gloves modified by Chu Xuan. This was a pair of gloves capable of summoning fierce gales for surprise attacks. Paired with his Southern Dipper Northern Bird Fist, it could unleash 200% of his true strength against enemies. Not only that, using the Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist with these gloves required significantly less stamina. The pity was.

These gloves were a low-tier Martial Cultivation artifact, meaning they required a martial artist with True Essence power to use—a level he hadn't reached.

Upon obtaining the cultivation manuals, and utilizing the energy conversion function of the Magic Ring, Chu Xuan had indeed created low-yield energy converters capable of using various energy stones to transform energy. For these low-level cultivation items, ordinary Sapphire-grade energy stones were more than sufficient, which is why Chu Xuan agreed to modify the gloves for Cheng Xiao.

The modification process need not be detailed. Suffice it to say, after receiving the modified gloves, Cheng Xiao immediately donned them excitedly and headed to the basement to test their power. The result naturally satisfied him—or rather, over-satisfied him. The power of the Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist increased by over 500%, but there was a massive flaw… the Southern Dipper Water Bird Fist, which controlled gentle winds, could not control the hurricane unleashed by the gloves. The wind’s power was too great, causing the resulting punches to scatter everywhere. Two gusts grazed the roots of his thighs, missing by barely an inch, which would have rendered him a temporary eunuch…

“Damn it, I’ll risk it! It’s just a trip to his basement! I heard Xiao Honglv came here too and left safely, didn't he? My luck shouldn't be that bad… Let’s go! An offense against one's progeny is an unforgivable feud, damn it!” Cheng Xiao cursed loudly to bolster his courage before heading down to the basement.

Chu Xuan’s basement was perhaps the largest one opened up by anyone on the team. It was filled with experimental equipment that Cheng Xiao couldn't name, and piles of scrap metal lay nearby. These items were neatly lined up, extending into the far distance, where even more strangely shaped apparatuses could be seen. In short, everything here was constructed by this man’s own two hands.

“Uh, you’re here?” Chu Xuan was intently peering down into a microscope. Beneath the lens, a tiny piece of flesh was wriggling slightly. This small piece of tissue was sealed within a glass chamber, and Chu Xuan, while watching the flesh, manipulated a laser gun inside the chamber to blast the tissue incessantly. This continued for several minutes until the piece of flesh was completely charred to carbon. Only then did Chu Xuan look up at Cheng Xiao.

“Is something the matter?” Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses.

Cheng Xiao had arrived full of aggression, but Chu Xuan’s soft handling had significantly deflated his anger. Nevertheless, he shouted loudly, “What kind of monstrous gloves did you make for me? That wind is completely beyond my control! The power is immense, yes, but I don’t want to use the gloves only to leave behind two piles of shredded meat—mine and the enemy’s! Damn it, isn't this the same as a suicide bomb?”

“Uh… What kind of power do you desire?” Chu Xuan paused for a moment before suddenly asking.

Cheng Xiao froze, scratching his head. “Uh, preferably something cool and dashing. Like, with one wave of my hand, millions of meteors crash down to kill the enemy, and then a bunch of beautiful women scream for me… Is there a problem with that?”

Chu Xuan ignored Cheng Xiao’s daydreaming, turned back, and manipulated something on the control panel. Then, another piece of tissue was placed into the previous laser containment unit, and Chu Xuan pressed his eye back to the microscope.

“I regret to inform you that such power doesn't exist in this world. Accurately speaking, power is merely a label; its other name can be… sacrifice. What you gain, you must lose something in return. When you gain power, you must lose the means to control that power, such as manipulation or control, or something you’ve already been slowly losing, such as time or life. What you speak of is not power; it is called a dream.”

Chu Xuan replied without looking up.

Cheng Xiao probably realized how ridiculous his request was, so he could only continue scratching his head. “Alright, I admit what I said earlier was just messing around. Then, can you modify these gloves for me again? Just make sure they don't hurt me.”

“Did you not understand what I said?” Chu Xuan glanced coldly at Cheng Xiao, then lowered his head again. “What you gain, you must lose. For you to manipulate these gloves with power far below the Martial Cultivation level, you must sacrifice your safety to obtain this power. Harming others also harms yourself. Look at Zheng Zha; every fraction of his strength was acquired this way, requiring great loss to achieve great gain. If you are unwilling to sacrifice even the necessary components to control these gloves, then you are not worthy of possessing such great power. These gloves are not for you; discard them.”

Cheng Xiao was stunned. After a long pause, he gave a wry smile. “Although I know you’re right, must you be so blunt? I get what you mean—to master this power requires dedicated training, right? Not just wishing to use it completely. That falls into the realm of fantasy, not reality. Is that it? While what you say is true… hearing it from your mouth always makes me want to hit you. I finally understand why Zheng Zha wanted to hit you. Frankly, I feel like doing it right now…” As he spoke, he suddenly saw Chu Xuan manipulating the console to inject something into the tissue. Instantly, the tissue seemed to come alive, splitting into countless pieces, completely filling the glass chamber. Furthermore, the tissue sprouted numerous tentacles and eyes. In the center of the mass, a hideous mouth and countless teeth emerged. Who knew what that injection was, but it was terrifying to such an extent.

“T-Virus Source Fluid ZZ Gene Variant Fusion Agent. It’s a mutated product of the T-Virus that allows any cell to undergo extreme mutation in a short period, resulting in a terrifying creature at the Early Fourth Tier… Computer, inject anti-particle annihilation energy. Keep only one-tenth of the mutated creature inside this glass chamber…” Chu Xuan explained briefly to Cheng Xiao, then loudly commanded the computer. A second or two later, the entire glass chamber flashed violently, appearing momentarily like a miniature sun. Though brief, the intense light forced Cheng Xiao to squeeze his eyes shut in pain. When he opened them, the creature inside the chamber had not decreased; on the contrary, it had multiplied, almost squeezing the glass chamber to breaking point.

“...It seems the energy from the anti-particle annihilation alone is insufficient. Alright, computer, initiate the dual micro-particle annihilation stack sequence again. Inject the necessary energy in ten seconds, reducing this entity to one-twentieth of its current mass..." As he spoke, Chu Xuan suddenly pulled a small bronze bell from his breast pocket and tossed it above his head. Strangely, this little bronze bell seemed to defy the laws of physical gravity; it merely floated above Chu Xuan's head, neither drifting away nor falling.

Chu Xuan turned his head toward Cheng Xiao and stated calmly, "Don't panic, there's only a slight chance of an explosion..." "...Chu Xuan! You expletive you... Ah!" Jumping towards