The Malignant Shadow tried to dive back into the sea floor, but it was already too late.

{Ya~ Baba~ }

The Malignant Shadow’s final act was a furious throttling of Aqiang, whom it had ensnared.

Pat-pat-pat-pat!

Rings of crisp ripples spread across the sea as the kelp-like, flattened Malignant Shadow fractured into several segments. Even in its dying pieces, it still thrashed in a futile attempt to attack the “Older Man, ” who had swallowed a great deal of seawater.

Yang Zicang had already launched himself into the air, rocketing forward with a bizarrely contorted posture, like a human missile aimed at the precipice several dozen meters away.

｛Basic Corpse Jump activated.｝

｛I, the Great Quadrilateral, have mimicked a Corpse Jump for the last time.｝

In midair, his deployment ability kicked in for a second acceleration, and Yang Zicang plunged like an arrow into the water beside Aqiang, the Deity, who was being mauled by the demons. He swiftly turned around and supported the old man.

_”Hurry, accept my lifespan investment!”

Whoosh! The silver spear wrapped in a Gravitational Arc Light shot toward the serpent in the water with a crimson flare. With a churn, the parasitic demon that had already been torn into several pieces by bullets completely burst apart.

Aqiang spat out a mouthful of water and said bleakly, “So it was that ‘possibility’… Looks like I really won’t make it through tonight… It’s okay, I’ve already lived over a hundred and sixty years… “

“What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and accept my lifespan investment. “

｛I have gained the authority to transfer lifespan to the Deity.｝

The aged Aqiang gave a dry chuckle.

“You’re a good Crostrian. I spent all my Gloria, hoping to give it one last shot. They showed me… among countless blurry visions, the clearest one… was just this very sea… “

His eyes gradually lost focus.

｛I have transferred 100N to Aqiang the Deity.｝

With great effort, Aqiang shoved something into Yang Zicang’s hand—the feeling of a hard object. Looking down, Yang Zicang saw a small brass placard, much like an identity token.

“This is a temporary residence permit for the Foglands. It means you’re from Fogsville. There’s still a dealer of small missions waiting north of the lighthouse—you must seek him out… And also, don’t go randomly killing people using your abilities. It’ll… permanently cancel out your lifespans… “

“Hang in there. “

“It’s useless. I’m dying. “

His withered hand gripped the young man’s palm with a deathly hold.

“My last hope is to find… someone who can save more of my people… The vision of that possibility is blurry, and I know the world is hopeless… but at least… a few more children can be saved… “

The surface of the man in his arms suddenly twisted, like a large lump of gelatin losing its vitality. Even his face became flat, with no visible outline of features.

Then, like sliding glue, it began to seep little by little into this desolate, viscous sea surface.

｛I withdrew 99.999N.｝

Yang Zicang glanced at his damp hand—only this small token remained in his palm.

【Issued by the Mistlicent Debt Relief Division Bureau】

Below the Chinese characters were unfamiliar lines of foreign script, presumably the language of this world.

“Ferryman… “

Gurgle, gurgle—a few faintly whitish bubbles rose from underwater. Another round object made of a material like brass was pushed up by the strange seawater, floating before Yang Zicang.

“Aqiang! ” Liu Haichuan, who had only now swum over from the sea, was filled with shock in his eyes. “What do we do, Yang Zicang? How do we get to land? “

“The boat’s still here. ” Yang Zicang grabbed the brass object in front of him.

【 “Cheers Godwin Tavern ” identifies this as a membership credential for invited VIPs.】

Beyond that, there was no other information.

Liu Haichuan looked at the object and said, “Brother Zicang, I saw Aqiang use this before. It seems somewhat similar to that bell on the boat, though of course, I don’t know if it has any other uses. Also, there’s something I need to tell you. “

“What is it? “

Liu Haichuan said, “According to the boat owner, in this misty sea, we can exit, but entering it again is impossible. Only theCrossing Peoplecan navigate freely here. “

｛-Radiance: The Great Quadrilateral wishes to inject temporal order into ‘Cheers Godwin Arcade.’｝

｛-Radiance: ‘Cheers Godwin Tavern’ indicates that its signed users have lost their identity markers, and I do not have the transaction permission to use this channel.｝

｛-Radiance: I can no longer sense the presence of ‘Cheers Godwin Tavern.’ This object is now nothing more than an ordinary brass trinket.｝

Seeing Yang Zicang silent while clutching the block of brass, Liu Haichuan said, “Yang Zicang, let’s go together and seek out that thing that guy mentioned—the ‘Mist Sea Rime Ice.’ “

“There’s a saying: ‘Don’t delude yourself into trying to make money from things you don’t understand.’ I think it applies here as well. ”

Yang Zicang advised coldly :

“You don’t even know what that thing is, so why take the risk? “

“But from now on, we won’t be able to come back in here. Didn’t you see how that guy knew all that information the moment he arrived? Someone like Zhao Anlong who went back must have told him to seek the Rime Ice—this could be our only chance. “

Seeing that Yang Zicang was completely ignoring him, Liu Haichuan said, a bit agitated, “God Yang, I know you’re not short of temporal order crystals and are exceptionally strong. But I’m just a loser who was forced up here. I need a chance that could change my fate. “

The man seemed to have mustered all his courage, “If you’re not willing, please wait for me. I’ll try to go find that thing. “

｛An anonymous person wants to invest 1R in me.｝

Yang Zicang shook his head; this man was indeed quite stubborn. “Then go ahead. I’ll wait for you for three hours. If you’re not back by then, I’m setting sail. “

｛I invested 1R in Liu Haichuan.｝

“You… fine. Whether I find anything or not, I’ll be back within three hours. “

With that, Liu Haichuan swam towards the distant, towering wall of fog.

Something resembling tiny ice crystals seemed to be floating on the sea surface there.

After watching him swim away, Yang Zicang silently invoked the “Ground-Haze Bedchamber ” in his mind. With a booming sound, a folded line flashed into being, outlining the image of a stone coffin. Blasting through the water’s surface, an energy-formed stone coffin emerged.

It rapidly transformed into genuine rock, half-submerged, floating atop the viscous sea.

Yang Zicang looked at the scene inside the stone coffin, feeling as though a sharp blade was twisting in his heart.

“Hong Haocheng…! “

Seeing the two people in the coffin sleeping peacefully, face to face, his voice was choked with rage, as if suffocating. That bastard had only gone to the Second Fate a short while before him, perhaps hiding somewhere in this very sea.

He would have to hunt him down to the ends of the earth!

In his overwhelming fury, Yang Zicang now fully understood the purpose of that phone call from the future. It was to allow the current Hong Haocheng to obtain future his power and information!

And the price… was to devour Moli’s soul!

At the thought of this, the young man gripping the sarcophagus twisted his face into a ferocious grimace.

｛Black Rose felt a gunpowder-like fury, eagerly anticipating the firing chamber.｝

A series of wind-and-forest tidal illusions echoed in Yang Zicang’s mind, the explosive emotions calming considerably within seconds.

He looked at the various items arranged inside the sarcophagus.

There were over a hundred Ability Spheres, spare clothes and water, a Chrono Weapon, a box of bullets sent along with Black Rose, and lastly, a set of… a well-fitted overcoat embroidered with rose dark patterns, rushed over by Little Machao.

Li Sumei’s words lingered in Yang Zicang’s heart.

— “The rose buttons on this coat’s cuffs have Miss Rose’s attached willpower protection. That thing cost her a considerable amount of timeline to exchange. You… see for yourself. “

— “And also… Miss Rose said that she can’t come with you to the new future, but the memory of your existence will always accompany her into hers. She hopes this coat, sewn by her own hands, will help you go further… and she hopes you find happiness. “

Yang Zicang gently stroked the rose-shaped cufflinks with his fingers. He could sense the willpower trigger—attached with the abilities of others. There were two of them, both single-use.

More faces flashed through Yang Zicang’s mind.

Although they had known each other for, at most, half a year, their bonds were etched as deep as letters carved into rock, impossible to wash away. Many people crossed paths with him, but in the end, not a single one remained by his side.

“This world… “

Yang Zicang felt as if he were trapped in a whirlpool.

Standing still seemed harmless, but the moment he struggled, an immense force blocked his every move.

He looked up, staring at the full moon in the darkness. “I’ve come. I want to see just what you really are. “

In the middle of the night, Liu Haichuan crawled back onto the boat with great difficulty. When Yang Zicang fished him out, the man had more breath leaving him than entering, and there was no trace of that “Rin Ice ” anywhere on him.

“I almost… died… “

Liu Haichuan murmured softly before lying down on the deck, slipping into a relaxed sleep. Yang Zicang dragged him into the cabin, dumped him on the floor, found half a bottle of Aqiang’s yellow wine, poured himself a cup, and drank.

A thought from the system rang in his mind.

｛Connection with the investor severed. I have lost 1R of timeline investments.｝

｛This is just a small loss.｝

Yang Zicang looked down at the man lying motionless in the cabin. Liu Haichuan had gone completely still.

“Dead? “

He crouched down and felt the artery, then quickly flipped the man over, pressing on his chest to try to revive him. But in the end, he couldn’t save this life.

After a long and fruitless effort, Yang Zicang stood up. Outside the cabin, the sea was calm, mist drifting slowly overhead.

Taking a deep breath, he began bustling around the iron-plated wooden boat, powered by a boiler, attending to various tasks.

After fiddling for a good while, with the help of the model’s auxiliary capabilities, Yang Zicang finally managed to start the unruly vessel, steering it crookedly towards the northwest coast on the nautical chart inside the cabin.

After bouncing along for about four hours, just as Yang Zicang was dozing with his head on the table, the hanging clock chimed again with a “Dang Dang ” sound.

The sea breeze blew through the cloth curtain into the cabin, rustling the pages of the notebook left behind by Aqiang, which hung from its string.

The hand on the small dial of the hanging clock once again glowed with a faint, fluorescent light, began to rotate, and pointed towards a direction.