The countdown was about to end.

The sound of the end echoed between heaven and earth, striking the souls of every person.

As if deities from above the nine heavens were about to descend, frightened people did not know the meaning of the bell tolls; they were simply waiting for the countdown to end.

...

...

In a luxurious office building, a little girl with a violet skirt once again reached an agreement with Bai Wu.

But this time, Bai Wu took on the role of Cain.

Cain had deceived Violet and never returned to the Manor again.

Yet Bai Wu fulfilled his promise, enabling Violet to exact revenge on someone, completing an experience that would also be ’404’d.

But this time it was different, whether this world had a High Tower was still a matter for debate.

If there truly was one, heaven knows what a twisted and intensified version of the High Tower would look like?

Bai Wu was too lazy to embark on an adventure of the Doomsday Puzzle game 2.0 pro version again.

Even the few areas explored at the beginning had nearly cost him his life.

If there were a warped and enhanced version of the eight rulers, an upgraded version of Black Gold Island, Huangquan Island, Zao Lake Village, Denglin City... there would be no chance to play.

So he had no intention of delving deeper into this world, and it seemed there was no need to do so.

By the time Bai Xiaoyu in this world forgave Dandelion, when Violet began to redefine the rules...

Bai Wu had already undergone another transformation.

He was walking out of the Manor with Wu Jiu, preparing to head to Baichuan City.

It was at this moment that the mysterious sensation appeared again.

The city was filled with the ringing of bells.

This bell tolled as if it came from the sky, Wu Jiu looked up but saw nothing above the firmament.

But vaguely, he felt as though the bell was urging something on.

Whereas Bai Wu had a sensation of being omnipotent.

This feeling had appeared after receiving approval from Hong Yin, but now it was more distinct.

"Too slow, I want to go directly to Baichuan City."

"What?" Wu Jiu did not understand what Bai Wu was saying.

But as Bai Wu’s words fell, Wu Jiu was startled to find that the scenery around them was shifting rapidly.

In just one second, the two of them had arrived in the center of Baichuan City.

At this moment, the bell stopped tolling.

The countdown also ended at this time.

In the process that followed, people found that their identities had not changed, and inside there seemed to emerge a form of... resistance to their identities.

Although everyone was crowded into various subway areas of the city, a transformation was imminent for the city.

The mechanical beasts from the zoo also received the message and began to return to the zoo.

Bai Wu could sense that the bell was actually unrelated to Violet; it was a signal being conveyed.

The fifth layer of the Well World, the most core secret, was about to emerge. But he was also unclear how much time remained.

He looked at Wu Jiu, who said:

"What’s wrong?"

"Captain, it’s time you remembered."

A gentle phrase, like a key turning, unlocked a door.

The moment Bai Wu’s words ended, a flood of memories surged into Wu Jiu’s mind.

He finally freed himself from the state of judgment based on familiarity, as the reason for his closeness to Bai Wu was wholly presented through his memory.

Moments of life-and-death experiences shared between the two echoed in his mind.

After a few seconds of silence, Wu Jiu said in a low voice,

"Thank you. If I had been alone... perhaps I really wouldn’t have survived in this place. Over time, maybe I would have become one of those people bound by their identity."

Bai Wu smiled,

"Captain, you still don’t understand yourself well enough... On the contrary, I think that on this journey, you’ve performed the best. I might be changed, but you, Captain, you won’t change."

In the city center of Baichuan City at night, one could feel the massive crowd in the subway and the Evil Fallen, but at this moment, the city above ground was peaceful and quiet.

Only countless shadows and neon lights flashed, making the city appear like it was in the early stages of recovery from a serious illness.

Wu Jiu and Bai Wu were like two doctors who had treated the city.

Yet above the deeper expanse of the sky, a vast screen was still slowly appearing, revealing its withered edges.

"You... seem to have changed a lot now," observed Wu Jiu, noticing Bai Wu’s condition.

Bai Wu looked at his own hands, seemingly coming to understand the meaning behind the words "Dragon Slayer."

He was becoming the dragon, but whether he would become the next evil dragon to be slain or a symbol of comfort... remained unknown.

Bai Wu felt uneasy; he didn’t understand the meaning of it all.

This power was too terrifying. So terrifying that even he felt it shouldn’t exist in this world.

It was as if he could now "define" this world at will.

Human cognition, memory, weather, spatial dimensions, temporal dimensions... these deep-seated mysteries had become tangible tools he could manipulate.

In the fifth layer of the Well World, Wu Jiu’s memory was erased in Baichuan City, but Bai Wu could instantly restore Wu Jiu’s memory and even erase the memories of others.

This was not merely a power on the mental level; Bai Wu could even directly change the rules.

The pebbles underfoot suddenly turned into countless grains of dust, only to quickly reform into a new pebble.

They could even duplicate, forming another pebble of the same size. However, all of this went unnoticed by Wu Jiu.

Wu Jiu just felt there was an indescribable aura about Bai Wu.

Suddenly, Bai Wu remembered Jing Si’s performance in the Inverted Well Domain and casually pointed to the sky...

In the pitch-black night, a new star adorned the heavens.

He finally confirmed that to him, this world was more like a playground he could control at will.

It was almost like being a... god!

And the process of obtaining this power, though dangerous, didn’t actually involve him experiencing any fatal battles.

Everything seemed to have come too easily.

So much so that he was certain the journey was not yet over.

Only those who can make choices are human; the rest are mere slaves who blindly obey.

And that choice was about to arrive.

"It’s time to say goodbye, Captain."

"What?"

"You saw the boss lady here, didn’t you?"

Wu Jiu nodded,

"But that wasn’t the real Qingyun... This world, after all, is just..."

Bai Wu’s expression became serious, a rare occurrence as he interrupted Wu Jiu, earnestly saying,

"Yet she remembered you, and that is what resemblance is about. Captain, people like you... are just too honest, but actually, you have quite an impact on women. Go say your goodbyes. We don’t know what we’ll face next. I will erase the memories of those we have come into contact with afterward, but for now, go and say your goodbyes..."

Asking someone to say goodbye, yet planning to erase the memories of others seemed somewhat redundant.

But Wu Jiu understood the meaning behind Bai Wu’s words.

He didn’t want to leave with regrets; he hoped to speak the words in reality he had left unsaid to the people in this world.

The people of this world, when compared to those in the real world, ultimately belong to two entirely separate worlds.

Now, Bai Wu possesses a kind of divinity, this divinity... Wu Jiu felt as though he had seen it in someone before.

"The lady boss is a good woman, and although there are differences between the people of these two worlds, it wouldn’t hurt to tell her those words buried in your heart."

"Are you worried we won’t have the chance to return to the real world to say them?"

"Yes, I don’t know what will happen later. Maybe it will be good, maybe not, so at least get the words out now. If the future is fortunate, consider it a rehearsal. If the future is unfortunate, at least we’ll have no regrets."

Bai Wu snapped his fingers, leaving no room for Wu Jiu to refuse.

Now, he was almost omnipotent.

The scenery around them changed once again, and Wu Jiu and Ruan Qingyun were now in an apartment that was strikingly similar to the second floor of the High Tower.

Wu Jiu was astonished by Bai Wu’s current abilities, which were akin to those of a creator.

But when he saw the likewise bewildered look in Ruan Qingyun’s eyes... he suddenly understood that indeed, there were many things he wanted to say to the person in front of him.

In the sky above, a massive curtain of withered yellow slowly descended, visible only to Bai Wu.

Two shadows of chaos gradually revealed their contours, standing tall like giants from ancient times, as if the entire world was no more than their backyard...

Such a grand, magnificent sight, and only he could see it.

The phantom became clearer behind the curtain. No one else could see this, and Bai Wu had previously only sensed it faintly, but after he resolved all the bizarre tales, it became clearly visible to him.

He knew that his and the captain’s time was limited. It was an intuition.

Once that vast entity arrived, the journey on the fifth level of the Well World would come to an end.

But what was the new journey? Was it to return to the human world, or something much more terrible?

Bai Wu did not know.

All he knew was that Bai Yuan’s departure was due to an extremely important change that had occurred in the real world. And this change could only be Alpha.

The final confrontation had arrived.

He could also guess... with humanity’s current strength, facing Alpha, there was virtually no chance of victory.

No matter how many contingencies the High Tower Master had left behind, no matter what astonishing countermeasures Bai Yuan had, facing Alpha, everyone might fight desperately, but such a struggle seemed somewhat like a dying struggle.

It was like a group of uncompromising people, symbolically resisting.

Time was running out. He let the captain and Ruan Qingyun say their farewells, and in the next second, Bai Wu was outside Yan Jiu’s door.

At the moment when departure was imminent, Bai Wu thought of Bai Yuan again.

This perfect man had once deceived a girl, had met his own mother, Dong Nianyu, and many other versions of that girl.

They were all women hurt by Bai Yuan, but deep down, what pained Bai Wu the most was actually Xiaoyugan.

She was just a clone, an existence discarded by Bai Yuan once she had served her purpose. Yet, the first surge of sorrow that Bai Wu felt was because of this clone.

She had waited for Bai Yuan for seven hundred years, because Bai Yuan and K had both said that they would come back.

What an obvious lie, but she still clung to it, believing that there might be a chance in the future.

Bai Wu did not wish such a tragedy on a second person.

And so, he knocked on Yan Jiu’s door.

"It’s me, Bai Wu."

"Bai Wu, you’re back! That’s wonderful!"

Yan Jiu was very happy, even failing to realize that this happiness was something she shouldn’t possess.

Because at this moment, the incomplete her was made whole by Bai Wu.

Now, Bai Wu seemed capable of anything.

She still remembered her promise with Bai Wu, that only when Bai Wu knocked on the door was she allowed to open it.

Perhaps she wouldn’t wait seven hundred years like Xiaoyugan, but she really would wait a long time, hoping that Bai Wu would come to knock on the door.

So in the last moment, Bai Wu fulfilled Yan Jiu’s deficiency and satisfied Yan Jiu’s wish.

"I thought... I would never see you again. I was still glad that my identity hadn’t changed! And then there was chaos outside, and I worried about you, but luckily you finally came back!"

"Are you hungry? I’ll go make you some food!"

Yan Jiu was somewhat excited. Bai Wu gently stroked her hair on her forehead, and at that moment, Yan Jiu trembled slightly, then calmed down.

"How could I be? I told you, didn’t I? If I said not to open the door for anyone but me, that means I will definitely return."

"However, I might have to go away for a while. I still have many things to do, remember what I told you? Some things can only serve as a goal, not yet as a promise."

"But I will come back to see you after I finish this task."

Her smile suddenly froze, and deep sadness welled up in Yan Jiu’s eyes:

"So... you’ve come to say goodbye to me?"

Bai Wu looked into those eyes, and numerous faces flashed through his mind.

"It’s only temporary. When I return to Baichuan City, I will come to see you."

"Alright then. Take care."

Fortunately, it was just a brief separation, and Yan Jiu’s heart leaped again.

She still remembered Bai Wu. Regardless of whether her identity had been reset or not, she seemed to still be Bai Wu’s wife at present.

And that conversation just now – was Bai Wu expressing his reluctance to part with her?

Yes, right? Yes, right? Her emotions seemed to be moved only by one person. She could be happy because of a single sentence from Bai Wu, or she could become instantly sad because of another.

She was happy now, even though she still didn’t know what the future held.

But when Bai Wu left, her smile remained on her lips, yet her eyes held a moment of emptiness.

A great number of memories related to Bai Wu were instantly removed.

She tearfully stood in a daze, her heart aching yet feeling empty, not knowing why it hurt.

...

...

Bai Wu slowly walked out of the neighborhood, recalling the only act of rebellion in Yan Jiu’s life,

It happened on the third floor of the High Tower – the delicate girl vented her dissatisfaction to everyone, resisting that marriage.

The usually timid girl had shown an unprecedented stubbornness, and all of that was for him.

If he never returned... she would probably keep waiting, wouldn’t she?

Just like Yan Jiu in Baichuan City in the real world, who should still be waiting for him to this day.

Bai Wu truly hoped to see things through to the end, but he didn’t know what the future would hold.

So, he could only seemingly superfluously make promises, yet erase the memories.

...

...

Dawn was breaking, but the night had not yet ended.

In Wu Jiu’s eyes, the night was still just that, as he had just said farewell to Ruan Qingyun and was preparing to embark on the next adventure with Bai Wu.

In Bai Wu’s eyes, the other side of the city was obscured by a massive, withered curtain.

The second adventure through past scenes had completely come to an end.

Next, the true visage of the fifth level would come to light. Perhaps the answer about the Well lay beyond the massive curtain.

It was like a drop of ink had fallen onto the withered drawing paper, the stain gradually spreading across the curtain, eventually and inexplicably taking the shape of a person.

"The bet is no suspense; I won."

From behind the curtain, a meticulous voice emerged.

Everything was strikingly similar to the scenes in the dream.

Bai Wu’s heartbeat sped up by several notches because at that moment, he finally felt an incredibly familiar presence...

Well Water.

(I might take a day off tomorrow to sort out the final plot, or I might not.)