As consciousness flickered, Zheng Zha suddenly found the real world profoundly strange, like a past life glimpsed across an abyss. After the harrowing struggles of the Terror Reincarnation, he felt he had finally been reborn into this reality.

Lori patted her chest. "I was so scared just now, I thought I was just an illusion conjured by that ball of light. Hee hee, it turns out we really can return to the real world. I feel so relieved now... Big pervert, what are you thinking about?" Zheng Zha shook his head, and information flooded his mind—data left by the 'Main God.' Within thirty days in the real world, he was forbidden to reveal anything about the 'Main God' space by any means, or he and everything belonging to him would be utterly erased.

After those thirty days, he must return to this very office. The 'Main God' would then transport him back to the 'Main God' space, but he had to maintain physical contact with all his possessions. Otherwise, those items would remain in the real world; if they were exclusive to the 'Main God' space, their very existence would be wiped clean. If he failed to return to the office after thirty days, both he and all his belongings would vanish simultaneously.

"So, I can't talk about that place at all, and I must be back here in thirty days, and I have to be holding Lori’s hand, right?" Zheng Zha nodded silently, committing these stipulations to memory. Then he spoke, "Let's go, Li'er. I'll take you to meet my parents."

Lori obediently took his hand, this little girl skipping happily by his side. Together, they pushed open the office door and stepped out.

Outside the office were bustling employees—dozens of them hunched over their desks, tapping keyboards or shuffling files, while others were engaged in quiet conversation and laughter. As Zheng Zha and Lori emerged, many instinctively looked over, then froze dead still. For a moment, the entire lobby fell silent.

"Sup... Supervisor Zheng..." "Zheng Zha..." After a few seconds of silence, they swarmed forward, chattering with questions. Generally, they were all asking where Zheng Zha had been all this time.

Zheng Zha exchanged a few casual pleasantries, pulling aside a familiar young man and heading toward the stairwell. Once free of the crowd, he asked the youth, "Wang San, how long was I gone from the company? What's the current situation?" The young man named Wang San pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Zheng Zha before replying, "Brother Zheng, did something happen at home? Why did you leave without a word? You should have at least left a message for the brothers! Nobody knew where you were this time, and Zhao Lei, that bitch, used absence as an excuse to fire you! Now the supervisor spot has been taken by her old flame, Li Liangdong. The brothers are furious under that bastard Li's thumb. If you hadn't come back, we probably would have all resigned en masse."

Zheng Zha lit the cigarette and took a drag. "Some things did happen... Wang San, I’ll teach you a trick. Doesn't that bitch like doing things in her office? Go buy a pinhole peeping device, find a chance to get the footage from inside. Don't go too far, just enough to scare that bastard Li. From now on, he’ll be more obedient than the dog you keep at home... Brother, I have to leave now. Take care of things at home, will you? The old lady and old man aren't well; visit them often with the others."

Wang San was stunned. Just as he was about to say more, Zheng Zha stepped into the elevator, leaving Wang San standing there gaping.

After stepping out of the building, Zheng Zha and Lori shared a moment of complex emotion. Zheng Zha felt it due to surviving a life-or-death ordeal; though not yet achieving complete enlightenment, his psyche had inevitably shifted, becoming perhaps more seasoned and world-weary.

As for Lori, she was filled with astonishment. Her memory was still set ten years in the past, a time before this area had been developed, when low-slung shanties dotted the landscape and the roads were uneven dirt tracks. Now, everywhere she looked were towering skyscrapers, broad, straight avenues, and masses of people pressing in all around. As they left the building, they were swiftly swallowed by the human tide.

Lori was jostled a few times by the crowd, so Zheng Zha quickly scooped her up half-embraced. The little girl immediately blushed crimson, but a sweet smile graced her face. She chirped, "The changes are huge! If you left me alone here, I guarantee I'd be lost within minutes, hee hee, I might even get kidnapped by traffickers..." Zheng Zha held her tightly. "I won't abandon you... Absolutely not!" Lori smiled even more sweetly, practically hanging onto Zheng Zha, and asked cheerfully, "Where do we go now? We only have thirty days! Uh, maybe we should see Auntie and Uncle first, and then go see my mom and dad? How about that?" Zheng Zha smiled and nodded, but then he suddenly froze. After a long moment, he said bitterly, "Damn it... We don't have any money. The clothes I put my cash in were from Alien I... Uh, I guess we have to walk back."

There was nothing more awkward than this. Though he possessed a cubic meter of platinum ingots in his storage ring, he lacked the cash for a taxi. Zheng Zha truly felt the sensation of starving while holding a golden rice bowl. Helplessly, he took Lori's hand and started walking toward his parents' home.

It wasn't until noon that they arrived at Zheng Zha’s parents’ place. It was an apartment building, the kind where middle-class city dwellers lived. When they knocked, the door was opened by a woman in her fifties.

The woman bore faint resemblances to Zheng Zha in her features. The moment she saw him, she beamed. "Son, why are you here today? You weren't home last Saturday or Sunday, and your phone said you were out of range—a business trip, I assume? Come, come, come inside quickly."

Zheng Zha gently pulled Lori, who was hiding behind him, and smiled at the woman. "Mom, look who I brought!" Lori shyly stepped out from behind Zheng Zha and said sweetly, "Hello, Auntie. Li'er came to visit."

The woman looked bewildered for a moment, then gasped in shock, pulling Lori close and examining the little girl from head to toe several times. Then she shouted, "Old man, hurry up and come out, Old man!" Zheng Zha quietly closed the door and watched the elderly couple gaze at Lori with delirious joy. The little girl was both shy and happy. Though she kept silent about her origins and destination due to Zheng Zha’s warning, she kept the old couple utterly delighted, unable to stop smiling. They called Lori's parents, asking ceaselessly about her, but every time they asked about her situation, Lori skillfully diverted the topic, forcing them into ordinary small talk.

About an hour later, while Zheng Zha and Lori were eating lunch, there came a frantic series of knocks at the door. As soon as Zheng Zha’s mother opened it, two figures rushed in breathlessly—a couple in their fifties. The moment they saw Lori eating, they lunged forward. The woman threw her arms around Lori and began weeping uncontrollably, murmuring "Li'er, Li'er." The man, though his eyes immediately reddened, maintained his composure enough to greet Zheng Zha first.

"Alright, alright, let's figure out what's going on first."

The middle-aged man restrained his wife, his eyes moist as he looked at Lori. "Are you really Li'er? It’s impossible; we saw her die with our own eyes..." He then turned sharply to Zheng Zha. "Zheng kid, you didn't hire someone, did you? Tell us, what in the world is going on?" By the end, he was practically shouting.

Seeing Lori begin to cry and perhaps prepare to speak, Zheng Zha quickly patted her small hand and said, "Uncle Luo, no matter how much I joke, I would never joke about Li'er... I swear here, she truly is your Li'er, your daughter Lori. As for other matters, please forgive me, but I truly cannot say more."

Before the middle-aged man could respond, Zheng Zha's father boomed, "What can't be said? What is this? Do you think it’s company secrets? Or the phone numbers of your women? This concerns life itself! I am your father, and if I tell you to speak, you speak!" Zheng Zha shook his head with a wry smile. "Dad, how could I not understand what you're saying? But I truly cannot speak—if I do, Li'er and I will die. Just know this: I swear she is your Lori..." Zheng Zha's father was about to press further when his mother intervened. This middle-aged woman still retained an undeniable elegance; she must have been a great beauty in her youth. She smiled cheerily. "No matter what, it’s a blessing the child is back. If she really returned from... there, then perhaps his inability to speak about it is true."

The four middle-aged people instantly understood. There? Of course, they meant the Underworld. People of their generation often held strong beliefs in such matters. Seeing their daughter, dead for ten years, suddenly appear—her looks, demeanor, and speech—all identical—and hearing Zheng Zha, who brought her back, stammering and unable to explain clearly, they connected the dots to the supernatural realm. Lori’s mother resumed hugging her and sobbing hysterically.

Zheng Zha let out a huge sigh of relief internally. What he feared most was being unable to explain Lori’s reappearance clearly. The elders' guess, while a misunderstanding, provided the perfect explanation for everything, and he was happy to play along with their confusion.

"Dad, Mom, Uncle, Auntie, Lori and I are only staying temporarily for one month. After one month, we must leave again," Zheng Zha said with a smile once all four elders had quieted down.

Zheng Zha's mother trembled violently, tears welling in her eyes. "Son, surely you haven't... surely you haven't already..." Zheng Zha quickly supported his mother. "Mom, no, I haven't died! I am alive and well. Feel my hand, isn't it warm? Heh heh. I meant that Lori and I have to leave... for a year or two because there are some things we haven't finished. In one or two years, I will bring Lori back with me, and then we will never leave again."

Zheng Zha's mother pinched his hand through her sobs, and Lori’s mother’s weeping grew even more mournful. The two middle-aged men exchanged glances, and they began consoling their respective wives. Lori’s father even said, "That's right, it’s good she’s back! Why cry? It’s only a year or two. We survived ten years; this year or two will pass in the blink of an eye. Stop crying..." As the atmosphere grew increasingly sorrowful, Lori looked at her aged parents and began crying uncontrollably herself, hugging them so heartbrokenly that she looked ready to collapse.

Zheng Zha sighed, walked to the window, and drew the curtains. Then, channeling internal energy, he opened his storage ring and dumped its contents out in one sweep. A cascade of clear metallic sounds filled the room as three-inch thick platinum ingots rolled across the living room floor, their silvery light almost blindingly painful. Besides the gold bars, there were also submachine guns and daggers. The elders stared at him, utterly stunned.

Zheng Zha picked up one of the platinum ingots and smiled. "Please don't worry. I will definitely bring Li'er back. These platinum bars are local specialties from that place... the place Lori and I have to return to. This stuff is dirt cheap there. Uncle, Auntie, you’ve struggled all these years; Lori deserves credit for this too. You take half. But wealth should not be displayed openly; these things are extremely valuable. Be careful when selling them; one gold bar at a time should be enough."

Compared to his words, the floor covered in platinum ingots was far more shocking. The entire living room fell silent, broken only by Lori’s soft sobs. At this moment, no one noticed the bottom of the hilt of the high-vibration particle cutting dagger lying on the floor, where a tiny black dot flickered with a faint emerald light for just an instant. Then, it immediately reverted to the dull, rubbery black of the handle, as if it had never flashed at all. No one noticed any of this...