“?!”

Wu Wang had never imagined he would hear those two words from her.

The shock nearly made him plunge 【Xiaochuan】 straight into her chest.

But on the surface, he feigned nonchalance.

“What 【Undying】? You’re allowed to have life-saving items, so why can’t I?”

In response to his probing question, Zhuge Yue scoffed.

“Wan Shitong is my woman,” she said proudly. “Do you really think my understanding of item effects could be wrong?”

“When I first saw how many items you had, I also suspected you were just trying to wear me down with life-saving gear.”

“It wasn’t until those last ten seconds that I realized something was off.”

Her gaze shifted to the fragments of items littering the ground. They were the traces left by all the consumables Wu Wang had used, at least a dozen different kinds.

“You have a lot of items, but none of them are actually for saving your life.”

“In other words, you aren’t afraid of death at all.”

At this, Zhuge Yue looked down at her own palm, at the wound she had cut earlier to splash blood on his face.

In her near-death state, all the irrational parts of their battle suddenly connected in her mind. But the truth only brought her immeasurable sadness and pain.

Wu Wang remained silent.

Zhuge Yue continued, “I know how you erased my blood. It’s because we both have 【Repulsion】. You might not have even realized it yourself yet.”

“I am rejected by reality, and you are rejected by death.”

“You were right. You’re a monster, too.”

“A pathetic monster, bound to the loom of 【Fate】.”

This was the source of her sorrow.

The moment she realized Wu Wang might possess 【Undying】, she knew the future the researchers wanted was coming to pass. They had predicted she would die at the hands of the 【Person of Destiny】.

【That is the undying one, favored by the gods, yet also abandoned by Them.】

It was the last prophecy she had managed to learn before leaving the research institute. She had always dismissed the contradictory notion as nothing more than exaggerated nonsense.

After all, how could anyone truly be 【Undying】?

But now, seeing it with her own eyes, she understood.

The prophecy had been true all along.

All her past struggles, all her pain, now felt like a cruel mockery by 【Fate】.

She had never escaped hell. She had only escaped from the Pluto Research Institute.

What happens to Truman after he escapes the studio?

Perhaps he finds the woman he loves. But he might also get beaten black and blue by a world that no longer revolves around him, fading from a household name into just another face in the crowd.

Her gaze toward Wu Wang held no resentment, only pity.

“I’m about to die. In other words, I’m about to be liberated.”

“Now, the curse of 【Fate】 is yours.”

“How far can you run on this loom?”

Patak.

A small, USB-drive-like object fell to the ground. Zhuge Yue had taken it from her backpack, but she no longer had the strength to hold it.

She could only let it fall.

Seeing Wu Wang’s wary gaze, she spoke with sympathy.

“This contains everything I know.”

“For you, it is also a Pandora’s box.”

“The choice to open it is yours.”

“And don’t think this has nothing to do with you. Your 【Fate】 might have also had its end determined by that cold base, a place caught in an eternal winter.”

“Run! I’ll be watching your back from hell!”

“Let me see if even an undying person can outrun fate!”

As she spoke, her voice grew fainter and fainter. The light in her pupils gradually dimmed.

The flame of life was extinguishing within the shell that had shackled so many souls.

She had never felt so at ease. Her whole body felt light, as if she were lying on a soft bed, about to drift off to sleep. She no longer had to worry about any threats.

In a daze, Zhuge Yue saw three women of varying heights holding a little girl’s hand. They stood in the distance, waving at her.

They were all comforting her.

“You’ve already done so well.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to see the outside world.”

“You can rest now.”

“Big Sis Yue, let’s play hide-and-seek! This time, no one will ever find us!”

Oh… them… my other personalities?

No, not entirely.

After Zhuge Yue turned ten, she had always felt like she could hear people whispering in her ear. As she grew older, she came to understand who those voices were.

They claimed to be the products that preceded 【Irmyui of the Abyss】. In other words, her older sisters.

Back then, the experiments at the Pluto Research Institute were not yet perfected, and none of their bodies had survived.

But their souls had been secretly preserved by “Mother,” the mountain-sized monster of flesh and blood.

The reason Zhuge Yue knew they weren’t delusions was simple. They were the ones who told her the secrets of the Pluto Research Institute. Before she escaped, she verified their words countless times. Everything they said was true.

A person can’t just invent knowledge they’ve never had. She had never imagined she was the product of a pitiful experiment. Therefore, they were real.

And now, she could finally go and find them.

“Goodbye… this awful world…”

“Oh, right… tell Wan Shitong I’m sorry…”

“I really… can’t bear to leave her…”

Finally, Zhuge Yue closed the eyes she had never dared to shut completely, even in sleep. The nerves that had been taut for years at last went slack.

There was no pain on her face, only the tranquility of liberation.

Wu Wang’s hand, still clutching the 【Xiaochuan Broken Sword】, loosened its grip.

He slumped down beside her like a deflated ball.

“It’s finally over…”

He couldn’t help but sigh.

To be honest, if Zhuge Yue hadn’t developed a death wish near the end, could he really have stopped her? If she had chosen to flee with all her might during those ten seconds in her 【Soul Burn】 state, the outcome might have been different.

This battle humbled Wu Wang, reining in some of his arrogance. High-level players were far stronger than he had imagined.

He hadn’t even seen Zhuge Yue use a proper weapon. Her equipment and items were almost all for survival. If she had focused on offense, her destructive power might have doubled.

It was clear that external aids like consumables could only narrow the gap. To truly contend with players of her caliber, he had to improve his own strength.

【Undying】 was the perfect catalyst. With its help, he would soon catch up to the top-tier players in the truest sense.

Wu Wang turned his head, his gaze falling on the USB drive.

For some reason, Zhuge Yue’s final words made him think of 【Weeping Face Freak】 and the seductive woman on the walkie-talkie. His own situation felt eerily similar to hers. There were people out there who wanted to dictate his future and manipulate him.

His intuition screamed that the prophecy and the research institute she mentioned were somehow connected to the two people hunting for 【Undying】. Otherwise, she never would have known that word.

“A Pandora’s box, huh?”

Wu Wang smirked.

“I know this is your last little trick. You’re hoping my curiosity will make me open it and provoke this so-called Pluto Research Institute. A blatant scheme.”

He bent down, picked up the USB drive, and pocketed it.

“But your tragedy won’t be repeated with me,” he said calmly.

“Running away in fear only ends in failure.”

“The only way is to face them head-on and crush them.”

“I’ll open this box, just as you wished. But not out of curiosity.”

“It’s because I will win.”