A Bizarre Way to Cross a Hundred Years

The 【Day of the Twisted】 vanished.

But it didn't seem to be gone completely.

The moment it turned black and shattered, Wu Wang felt a searing heat burn the inside of his wrist.

It was a familiar feeling.

Even without rolling up his sleeve, he knew exactly what was happening. The Abyss God's Mark was feeding.

It went without saying what it was eating.

The power left behind by 【The Twisted】 had become sustenance for the Abyss God's Mark. Wu Wang wasn't happy about this; in fact, he was a little worried.

This meant that after the Instance ended, the 【Vision of Truth】 would very likely evolve again.

Who the hell knew what new tricks would appear?

What if the ultimate goal of the 【Yan Shuangying】 account was to possess him?

Sigh… all he could do was take it one step at a time. This thing was like a dragon's treasure hoard, offering endless wealth but filled with danger and thrills.

Wu Wang sighed and walked toward the skeletal figure kneeling at the bow of the ship. As he drew closer, he saw the true price the nun had paid during the confrontation.

Her black and white habit was now a deep, blackish-red, as if it had been dyed with every last drop of her blood.

Not a single patch of intact skin remained on her body. The only place with any flesh left was her flawless face.

From the neck down, there was only white bone. Not a single trace of her internal organs could be seen within her chest cavity.

She seemed to hear his footsteps and raised her head with difficulty to face him. She managed to force a smile.

"Wang, did I save everyone? Is that red sun still hanging in the sky? Are the Townsfolk safe?"

Although she still had flesh on her face, her eye sockets had long been empty.

Wu Wang nodded.

"You are Aiguyi Town's greatest high priestess. You did not disappoint them. The red sun has fallen, and the wheels of history have begun to turn."

The nun's tense, skeletal frame suddenly relaxed.

"That's wonderful. I'm a little tired… I think I'll rest for a bit..."

She had already offered her all to 【Suffering】.

Wu Wang strode forward, steadying her body before it could fall apart. He leaned close to her ear and spoke softly.

"You can't rest now. The Townsfolk are waiting for you to lead them in rebuilding Aiguyi Town."

Thump, thump! Thump, thump!

As soon as his voice fell, the sound of a strong heartbeat rang out. The nun opened her dazed eyes.

She could see again.

Her eyeballs had, at some unknown point, returned to their sockets. The heart that had vanished from her chest had reappeared, beating powerfully.

The nun turned her head to look behind her.

Hundreds of Townsfolk were kneeling on the ground, praying in her direction. Every one of them was injured to some degree.

The deck of the Mary had been dyed blood-red.

Their current desire was singular. They wanted Lilith to live.

No one was willing to watch the daughter they had seen grow up die so miserably.

The 【Miracle of Desire】 had fulfilled their request.

The promise the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 had made to Wu Wang was also coming to pass, with the interest being collected from this group of Townsfolk.

As for the specifics, Wu Wang had no way of knowing.

The nun survived.

After the dust settled, the first thing Wu Wang did was search for the path to the holy land where the other players had gone.

Unexpectedly, the nun told him the truth.

"The Suffering Holy Land is the town ruins."

She continued, "Every time the infinitely looping Day of Extinction destroyed Aiguyi Town, another set of ruins would be born. I could never go there; I could only remain here and endlessly experience Suffering."

"That land has completely devolved into ruins ravaged by mysterious powers. The Outlanders all go there. They fight against the residual mysterious powers and experience death and Suffering, just as I did."

"Only a few Outlanders can leave alive. Most of them perish, leaving behind the taboo items they carried, which then serve as part of the restriction on the red sun."

Wu Wang was stunned by her words.

So the ruins, baptized by the power of Suffering for over a hundred years, had truly become the Suffering Holy Land.

The place where the 【Relic Scramble】 players went was those very ruins.

The items and equipment left behind by the players had actually become part of the seal. No wonder the 【Day of the Twisted】 hadn't escaped after all this time.

So, all this time, a group of players had been barging in every year to "help" reinforce the seal!

He felt a surge of gratitude that he had asked the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 to spare the nun's life and the illusory prison.

If this prison had completely collapsed, the ruins within would have ceased to exist. All the 【Relics】 the players had dropped would have dissipated along with the Instance.

"Wait… then how do we get to the ruins? I'm quite interested in those little things the Outlanders left behind."

The nun simply smiled at his confusion.

"There's no need to leave. Since the red sun has fallen and the town wasn't destroyed, the ruins don't exist anymore."

"The items they left behind will naturally return here. I imagine they're already starting to appear throughout the town."

Wu Wang's eyes widened.

This 【Lord of Suffering】 is actually a pretty nice guy.

He set up an auto-loot system for me? Delivered the 【Relics】 right to my doorstep?

"Will those Outlanders come back too?" he asked, suddenly curious.

If all the players returned here, he would have to hurry back to town and loot the 【Relics】. He couldn't let them get a huge haul for free!

The nun shook her head.

"No. The other Outlanders will appear here in a hundred years. By then, perhaps the town will have become prosperous once more."

Wu Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Good. Then no one would be competing with him for the 【Relics】 right now.

Wait a minute… Something wasn't right.

"Then how do we get back and find them?"

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the nun gave him a matter-of-fact look.

"By waiting a hundred years, of course. Then you'll be able to find them, won't you?"

Wu Wang fell silent.

I'm screwed! I have to stay here for a hundred years?

Who could stand that?

With his 【Undying】 ability, living that long was no problem. His appearance probably wouldn't even change. He had long since discovered that ever since gaining 【Undying】, he had stopped aging. Even his beard had stopped growing.

Most people who met him for the first time thought he was a teenager, since he still had the face of an innocent college student.

But who would want to waste so much time in a place like this? Wasn't there some way to just sleep and wake up a hundred years later?

Mary seemed to understand what Wu Wang was thinking.

She quietly came to his side and spoke softly.

"Sir, I have a way for you to sleep and arrive a hundred years in the future. Time will not linger on you."

Under his astonished gaze, she led him to the floor where the 【Hongmen Club】 had once been.

Opening the main doors, Wu Wang saw an extremely luxurious crystal coffin.

Mary spoke with pride.

"This is my coffin. Its power can preserve your body and let you sleep eternally. I will wake you in a hundred years, sir."

Holy shit! Is she introducing her coffin like it's a hotel suite?

Sleep in a coffin?

I guess I'm a vampire now, too.

Although it was a bit inauspicious, Wu Wang didn't care.

He was already unlucky enough as it was.

My dear players, as soon as I'm done looting all the 【Relics】, I'm coming for you! As the Saint Son of Desire...