You... Big Boss

The sight of the little boy in front of her brought the face of that man from Tian Xiaotian's memories into sharper focus.

She couldn't quite believe it, widening her eyes as she stared at Ye Chuan.

"You are... you..."

"What? Can't even recognize me anymore?" Ye Chuan said nonchalantly. "You certainly weren't like this back when you had that mushroom cut and were crying your eyes out, begging to follow me through the dungeon."

"I didn't speak earlier, so I won't fault you for not recognizing me."

"But now that I have, what should you call me?"

Tian Xiaotian shivered, her voice trembling slightly. "B-Big Boss?"

"My dear Big Boss!!" Tian Xiaotian dropped to her knees before Ye Chuan with a thud.

"Heh, looks like you aren't stupid after all."

Tian Xiaotian's reaction left everyone present scratching their heads. Only Zhang Ya wore a look of shock; after all, she had gone through the Aphasia Academy dungeon with Tian Xiaotian and had witnessed Ye Chuan's power firsthand.

But this little boy in front of them...

They hadn't seen him in decades. It was one thing not to age, but how did he shrink?

How did he turn into a little boy?!

The other players felt a sense of dissonance seeing the usually mature and steady Tian Xiaotian acting like a little girl seeing her parents.

It was as jarring as seeing a two-meter-tall muscular man suddenly put on a maid outfit and start singing "Sorry for Being So Cute."

However, they also noticed that the oppressive aura weighing down on them had vanished.

"He's not a monstrosity; he's an incredibly powerful player," Zhang Ya spoke up at this moment. "He single-handedly swept through the Aphasia Academy dungeon and even carried us to an S-rank clear."

Aphasia Academy?

Seriously?

They had heard the infamous name of Aphasia Academy plenty of times; it was a dungeon with an extremely low clear rate. Yet Tian Xiaotian and Zhang Ya had cleared it with an S-rank?

And this kid was the one who carried them?

Was that right?

That couldn't be right, could it?

"Boss, is it... is it really you?" Tian Xiaotian looked at Ye Chuan. To be honest, during her adolescence, she had held feelings for him. However, with the passage of time and years of slaughter, those emotions had gradually faded.

But seeing Ye Chuan again, Tian Xiaotian never expected him to turn into a lo... no, a little boy!

"But how did you end up looking like this?"

"It's a long story. I exhausted my power to save the world and turned into this. I'll be fine after a while," Ye Chuan said casually.

Was that true?

Yes, yes it was.

He really had been reduced to this state by Lilith for the sake of saving the world.

Saving the world...

Those words carried a different weight in Tian Xiaotian's ears.

"It's been thirty years... Boss, I've really missed you. You are my benefactor," Tian Xiaotian said.

Thirty years?

Ye Chuan paused for a moment.

Hadn't it only been a month?

The time dilation between you and me seems to be getting wider.

No wonder Tian Xiaotian was so surprised; it wasn't just because of his appearance. Ye Chuan looked at Tian Xiaotian and was surprised to find she had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.

Interesting.

It seemed she had been through a lot over these years. To break through to the peak of Foundation Establishment without anyone's guidance meant she was actually quite a promising talent.

"Looks like you've had a hard time these past years," Ye Chuan said.

That single sentence made Tian Xiaotian's eyes turn red. "Boss... Boss!"

She immediately hugged Ye Chuan tight.

Tian Xiaotian didn't actually like being the one others relied on. On the contrary, her true nature was the same as it had been back then. It was just that living in this world of horrors, one couldn't survive without being tough.

But Ye Chuan's simple acknowledgment of her hardships instantly shattered her emotional defenses.

In this twisted world, Ye Chuan was truly the only person she could rely on and show her vulnerable side to.

"Let go. Why does everyone love hugging so much?" Ye Chuan was being squeezed breathless. He struggled for a moment before finally going still.

Forget it.

After a good while, Tian Xiaotian realized her behavior was inappropriate. She immediately reigned in her emotions and feigned calmness.

"Boss, how did you end up in this dungeon?"

"I was short on materials, so I came in to farm a bit, but I'm not clear on the situation of this dungeon yet," Ye Chuan said.

"Short on... materials..." Tian Xiaotian actually knew that Ye Chuan came from another world—a world that seemed to be safe. Thinking of this, a wave of envy rose in her heart.

But soon, she said, "I've cleared the Death Train once before. Boss, I can tell you whatever you want to know."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Ye Chuan recounted what had happened on the Death Train.

When she heard that Ye Chuan had appeared directly on the train, met those people, and even saw some turn into monsters, Tian Xiaotian's expression became a bit strange.

"Boss... that..."

"What is it?"

"Those people you met probably weren't real humans..." Tian Xiaotian said. "They were likely a type of monstrosity, because there are no living humans on the Death Train."

However, she didn't doubt Ye Chuan's words. She simply continued,

"Although I don't know why you appeared on the train upon entering the dungeon, players like us always spawn near the Silent Hospital." Tian Xiaotian went on,

"We have to retrieve certain data to qualify to buy a ticket and board the train."

"..."

"Is that so?" Ye Chuan said. "Where do I buy a ticket?"

"After clearing the Silent Hospital, the Death Train will appear," Tian Xiaotian explained.

Did it need to appear?

Ye Chuan looked back in the direction he had come from. It was already shrouded in mist, and indeed, the Death Train was nowhere to be seen.

So the people he met were monstrosities?

If they were monstrosities, why would monstrosities kill other monstrosities?

"That works too, I suppose." Thinking of the person he had blown away, he added, "If they really were monstrosities, then killing them was appropriate."

Beside him, Tian Xiaotian spoke up. "What?"

"Nothing, I just said I casually killed a few monstrosities." Ye Chuan shook his head. "That thing possessed someone and wanted to post me on Little Red Book. I'm guessing there are quite a few mimics there."

Ye Chuan didn't really care, though. It was just a monstrosity, after all; killing it didn't matter.

Now that he had Tian Xiaotian's intel, what he needed to do next was much simpler.

"If I just blow up that hospital, it'll be game over, right?" Ye Chuan pointed at the nearby Silent Hospital, already conjuring a ball of light in his hand.

"W-Wait, Boss!" Tian Xiaotian cried out immediately.

"The item we need is still inside!"

Judging by Tian Xiaotian's reaction, she didn't doubt for a second that Ye Chuan could blow up the hospital. It was just that they still needed to retrieve the quest item from inside.