The Girl Who Spent Her Entire Life Trying to Escape Fear

"Get away!"

A flicker of fear, almost imperceptible, mingled with the killing intent in Zhuge Yue's eyes.

Her shout seemed aimed at Wu Wang, but the raw fury behind it was directed at the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】.

Following her roar, a strange ripple of energy pulsed out from her body.

Wu Wang, standing right beside her, had no chance to dodge. He was thrown back as if he'd struck an invisible wall of air, flying dozens of meters in an instant before plummeting off the edge of the skyscraper.

This had to be some kind of ability that forcibly repelled all nearby targets, an effect that even a Wan Shitong wouldn't recognize.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhuge Yue glared viciously at the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】 hovering in the air.

She had to deal with this thing, and fast. She couldn't bear to recall those unbearable memories.

She could be any version of Zhuge Yue, but she would never again be that pathetic freak with only a serial number for a name.

"Purification… I need a purification item."

She gritted her teeth.

"This thing is some kind of 【Curse】!"

Zhuge Yue rummaged through her backpack for a useful item, but before she could begin the purification, she saw the figure of 【Yan Shuangying】 rocketing toward her.

Her 【Peter's Tingle】 hadn't reacted to his previous, inexplicable attacks, but it was now screaming a warning about the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】. This gave her a single chance to lock onto 【Yan Shuangying】.

He could fly?

"I have a sword, its name is Xiaochuan," Wu Wang shouted, suddenly shooting back into the air after having fallen from the skyscraper.

"It specializes in dirty deeds! Eat my sword!"

He stepped on his own right foot with his left, executing a double jump that launched him high above the building. He then brought his sword down in a powerful overhead swing.

Having experienced it firsthand, Zhuge Yue knew his bizarre attacks were some kind of rule-based skill or item effect. Abilities like that usually required locking onto a target before activation.

So, the instant she sensed 【Yan Shuangying】 ascending, Zhuge Yue split into five identical figures on the skyscraper's roof.

【Shadow Clone Technique】!

This way, he wouldn't be able to lock onto her true body.

Bang!

But before she could find cover to purify the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】, she watched in shock as Yan Shuangying also multiplied in the air.

【Special Effect 1 (Ghostly Shadow Trail). Take seven complete Big Dipper steps to form seven temporary illusory bodies. The illusions possess 50% of the main body's maximum Spirit and Stamina.】

It was an active effect from his 【Cloud-Stepping Steps】, which had evolved into the 【Big Dipper Seven Star Steps】.

BOOM!

To her fury, despite shouting about his sword, he descended with his palms pointed downwards. Each of his illusions targeted one of her clones and unleashed the 【Heaven-descended Palm Technique】.

Every version of Zhuge Yue was forced to raise a palm to meet his attack.

Wu Wang knew the power of this skill well. He had used it to eliminate the 【Yin Fate Great God】. Its power increased with altitude, with no regard for whether the user's own body could handle the strain.

Just as he expected, the backlash killed him again. His bones fractured and his organs ruptured, and each of his illusions exploded from the strain, disappearing into nothing.

In contrast, Zhuge Yue's clones were merely weakened. Not a single one was destroyed by the impact.

It was a testament to the madwoman's strength. Even her clones possessed power far beyond that of an ordinary player.

But Wu Wang had already achieved his goal.

The moment their palms met, he had identified the real Zhuge Yue. As their palms clashed, her true body had revealed a bell-shaped purification item in her hand.

【Soul-Summoning Bell (Epic)】

When used on other targets, this item inflicts a curse that continuously impacts and weakens their mental power. When used on oneself, it can purify abnormal statuses and break curses. Requires ringing the bell for three seconds.

"You don't even have the courage to face the Six-Eyed Flying Fish?" Wu Wang said sarcastically.

He never would have expected it. In this battle to the death, the most effective weapon had turned out to be this cursed item.

From the things Zhuge Yue had unconsciously blurted out, it was clear her past was filled with secrets.

But that wouldn't change his determination to kill her.

The instant Zhuge Yue began to ring the bell, Wu Wang pulled a new sword from his backpack. It was an incomparably noble blade, fit for a king.

【Sword of Promised Victory · Slash (Epic)】

Swing this sword forward to unleash an incredibly destructive wave of Sword Qi.

【Note】 Excaliblast!

Although it looked like a piece of equipment, it was actually a consumable item. Its effect description was extremely brief, which only served to prove its incredible power.

After all, for an item with no other special properties to be designated 【Epic】-grade meant its single effect had to be immense.

Swish!

A pillar of light shot into the heavens before roaring down toward her.

She sent her clones forward to block, but the wave of Sword Qi obliterated them with a mere touch.

Zhuge Yue's eyes went blank.

Time itself seemed to freeze. A little girl in ragged clothes appeared before her, looking as if she had just crawled out of a garbage dump.

The girl smiled.

"We're going to die today. He might be the monster the researchers were looking for. Perhaps this is our fate, too."

Zhuge Yue broke down, retorting.

"To hell with fate! No one can kill us!"

"We escaped the Pluto Research Institute. We fled through the sewers like rats and fought dogs for food in beggars' dens. We even survived a Nightmare-level Instance where death was all but certain!"

"All that suffering proves how strong we are!"

Faced with Zhuge Yue's madness, the little girl's eyes only filled with pity. She slit her wrist, watching the bright red blood flow out.

She sighed. "Don't forget, we were meant to die from the very beginning."

"ZG2233, we're a freak. A monster created from an Instance Creature, the institute's biotech, and countless items."

"Due to the differences between Instances and reality, every previous product couldn't adapt and died within twenty-four hours. We are the only successful experiment."

"They used that rundown weaving machine to calculate our fate. They determined we would die at the hands of the 【Person of Destiny】 they were searching for."

"We were created to be a tool. A compass. Nothing more than pawns to be discarded by 【Fate】."

Zhuge Yue's rage boiled over.

She roared, "That's why we have to struggle! We have to survive and prove them wrong!"

"That's why we deceived Wan Shitong for so many years! We pretended to like her just to get her powerful life-saving items, didn't we?"

The little girl smiled at Zhuge Yue's loss of composure. She poked at her heart with her bleeding hand.

Her tone was desolate.

"You can't fool me, because I am you."

"Was it really just an act? You broke up with her because you realized you'd actually fallen for her!"

"But after years of running from the institute, you don't dare to trust anyone."

"You're always worried it's all a conspiracy. That you're living in some kind of Truman Show, and one day you'll wake up and discover everyone around you is just an actor sent by the institute."

"All to make you go out, meet the 【Person of Destiny】, and die at his hands."

At this, the little girl started to cry again. She sobbed, her whole body trembling.

Tears and snot streamed down her face. "That's why we have such a deep obsession with other people's secrets!"

"We're always clinging to the ridiculous idea that if we know all their secrets, we can figure out if we're in the Truman Show!"

"But we're also terrified that learning a secret will reveal they really are from the Pluto Research Institute."

"Because that would mean we never escaped."

"Our entire lives, we've been trying to run from the fear of this absurd persecution complex!"

Yes, it was true. Her attempt to modify the novice Instance, her goal of obtaining an item with that person's aura to become a 【Game Admin】… wasn't it all just to escape her fate as a discarded pawn? To be free from that crippling fear?

She didn't want to die.

Crack!

The 【Soul-Summoning Bell】 in her hand shattered.

Zhuge Yue's consciousness snapped back to reality.

Above her, the 【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】 shrieked and vanished. It was purified.

The Excaliblast slammed into her.

This time, she did not dodge.