Fang Qi unconsciously stopped in his tracks…
And then the soles of his shoes began to sink!
In just a second, a soft, yielding sensation crept up around his ankles!
“Master!”
His hand was instantly yanked by Liguang!
Ah…!
Fang Qi snapped back to his senses and hurriedly resumed walking!
He pulled Liguang along, continuing to pace in circles across this open ground.
But his gaze never left that patch of floor!
Lin Xiaoyou and An Lian, they…
Had been swallowed by that chaotic mess of mosaic.
…He had actually figured this out long ago.
This bizarre chaos devoured everything, and the two women had been lying on the ground the whole time—how could they not have been swallowed?
It was something he'd already anticipated.
But…
His breathing grew slightly rushed.
He hadn't dared to think about it before, because…
He didn't know the nature of these “mosaics”!
What if these mosaics were the same as the pitch-black void he'd seen during Gu Xi's sacrifice?
One touch, and matter would decompose into fragments of code, permanently deleted from the very foundations of the world!
If that were really the case…
He subconsciously tightened his grip on Liguang's hand!
If that were really the case, then An Lian and Lin Xiaoyou would have been completely…!
“Master, no need to worry.”
Liguang's voice suddenly rang out, cutting off Fang Qi's thoughts.
He gave a slight start, looking down…
The silver-haired girl was tilting her pretty face up at him, her amber eyes glistening, still dewy.
“These mosaics aren't the same as that previous void.”
She tilted her head slightly, a smile curving her lips:
“They're just… blurred matter, that's all! Like… um…”
She tilted her head again.
“Like quicksand?”
“You'll sink in, but you won't be annihilated!”
She tilted her head once more, thinking it over, then nodded firmly with determination!
“Yeah, that's right!”
“So Master…!”
Liguang lifted her head, her gaze resolute as she looked at him.
“Miss An Lian and Miss Lin just sank in and suffocated, that's all!”
Then she giggled again, winking at Fang Qi.
“Anyway, they had no awareness at the time, so they couldn't feel any pain!”
Fang Qi: “…”
…That was… not the nicest way to put it!
But still…
His wife did have a point, though!
He recalled the wall from before.
The wall's original appearance would suddenly show through during the flickering, which meant…
These strange “mosaics” had eroded the walls and the floor, but they hadn't destroyed these things like the void had!
The original wall was still there beneath the mosaics!
It was just covered over!
So An Lian and Lin Xiaoyou should be the same—just covered by the mosaics!
Mm…
Fang Qi stroked his chin.
If they'd merely suffocated to death, well…
There really was nothing to worry about!
His tensed shoulders slowly relaxed.
Good.
Suffocating to death was fine, then!
Not a big deal!
The only thing was…
They'd died again this time.
Even though they'd escaped the shackles of “fate,” they still hadn't managed to dodge destiny?
Tsk, tsk, it was…
A bit ironic, really.
He shook his head.
Oh well, no more thinking about them.
Right now, the main priority was to get out of here as fast as possible!
But…
Fang Qi turned to look at Liguang.
Wife, you're a bit off, aren't you?
The silver-haired girl was blinking up at him, her amber eyes both innocent and clear.
She looked a little ditzy.
Nothing seemed obviously wrong with her, though.
Her computing power was at rock bottom right now—she could barely even read the text on packaging slowly…
So how was she able to analyze the fundamental nature of the mosaics?
“Liguang.”
Fang Qi looked at the innocent girl before him, unable to hold back from asking:
“How do you know something like this?”
The silver-haired girl froze for a moment at his question.
“Eh…?”
She blinked again, tilted her head in thought, and even tapped her lips with her finger.
An air of pure, unadulterated denseness.
Adorable!
A little dim-witted!
Then she looked up, her expression somewhat puzzled.
“Master, Liguang doesn't know either…”
“I just know it, somehow.”
She looked at him with innocent eyes:
“I just felt like it should be that way!”
Fang Qi: “…”
What does “don't know but know” even mean?!
His wife, when she was being dense, couldn't even keep her logic straight!
And also…
He looked at Liguang with a suspicious expression!
Again with the feelings!
Again with the intuition!
But right now, Liguang's little expression was genuinely so innocent.
When he kept staring at her, she blinked, then looked a little wronged, pouting:
“Master, don't you trust Liguang…?”
The ground beneath their feet was starting to soften again.
…They couldn't stop.
Fang Qi quickly took Liguang's hand and quickened their pace.
Forget it!
No time to dwell on this now!
Anyway, his wife would never hurt him!
He glanced at the empty patch of ground ahead.
The gene door was gone.
An Lian and Lin Xiaoyou had been swallowed by the mosaics.
But at least they hadn't been deleted.
That was good enough.
So…
“Let's go. There's nothing left to see here. We keep moving!”
“Yes, Master~”
Liguang took his hand and followed along.
Fang Qi looked at her from the side. She really did seem to be in good spirits.
“You look pretty happy about this?”
The silver-haired girl tilted her face up, her eyes curving into crescents.
“Hehe, as long as I'm with Master, everything makes me happy!”
…
The two of them left the mosaic-eroded open ground behind.
Fang Qi held Liguang's hand, the ground beneath his feet still soft and spongy.
Pixels still writhed under his soles.
Turning a corner, another fork in the road appeared up ahead.
Here we go again.
A maze junction.
Fang Qi slowed his steps, narrowing his eyes as he studied the two paths.
The left path…
The mosaics on the walls had already merged into large, sprawling patches of color, their writhing frequency dizzying to look at.
On the ground, the pixel swamp was frighteningly dense too!
As for the right path…
The erosion was clearly much lighter.
Scattered specks of light flickered in the cracks of the walls.
The ground was also mosaic, but the color blocks were larger and squirmed more slowly.
That should still be the kind where stepping on it feels almost like solid ground.
One path heavily eroded, the other lightly eroded…
According to their previous reasoning, choosing the heavily eroded path would give more chances to spot “doors” and flaws.
But…
Fang Qi stared at the two paths, a thought suddenly striking him!
Wait a second, this might be…!
His feet started sinking again.
Ah…!
Fang Qi had no time to think it through!
He immediately pulled Liguang and veered into the right path—the one with lighter erosion!
He didn't continue choosing the heavily eroded route this time!
“Huh?”
Liguang was yanked into a little jog.
“Master, aren't we… continuing to explore the heavily eroded areas?”
She tilted her head at Fang Qi, a small look of confusion on her face…
Then it shifted into mild realization:
“Is Master tired? Do you want to rest for a bit?”
“No.”
Fang Qi shook his head, then squeezed her hand gently.
“I've got plenty of energy. It's just that…”
He furrowed his brow slightly.
“I suddenly thought of something. About… this erosion!”
Liguang obediently kept pace beside him, her pretty face blank with puzzlement, waiting for him to continue.
Fang Qi pulled her along, then asked Liguang a question:
“Liguang, what do you think caused this erosion?”
The silver-haired girl paused, blinked once:
“Is it those… azure-blue fragments?”
“Exactly!”
Fang Qi nodded immediately!
Azure-blue fragments!
Those things were the culprits!
"Do you remember, Liguang, that open space in front of the gene gate..."
He squeezed Liguang's little hand.
"That's the 'crime scene' where I tore apart those two collars!"
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Back then, the debris there was so thick it was like mist!
Liguang's amber pupils flickered slightly:
"Does Master mean..."
"What I mean is, we were heading in the direction of heavy erosion earlier, and in the end, we ended up at the gene gate!"
Fang Qi immediately came to a conclusion:
"Because that's where the debris concentration was highest, so it's the most severely eroded!"
Liguang's expression was dazed, as if she were thinking.
A bit clueless.
Adorable!
"Think about it the other way..."
Fang Qi couldn't help but raise his hand and pinch her little cheek again:
"The supply storage area we went to before—the erosion there wasn't that bad."
"The top half of the shelves was still intact, and the cans and water weren't swallowed up."
"Because..."
He looked at the end of the corridor before him, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"The supply area is on level B1, far from the gene gate, so there's less debris, and thus less erosion!"
That's why the supplies were preserved!
That was the sudden thought he'd just had!
So...
He looked at the silver-haired girl beside him.
Liguang's expression was still dazed, and then...
Her amber left eye slowly lit up, showing a look of sudden realization!
"Then Master, our safe house...!"
Fang Qi raised an eyebrow!
His wife was really smart!
"Right!"
He gave her hand a firm squeeze.
"Our safe house is almost completely untouched by erosion! So if we follow the direction of lighter erosion..."
He looked once more at the eroded corridor ahead.
"Maybe we can navigate our way back to our little safe house!"
Liguang opened her small mouth slightly.
She tilted her head and thought for a few seconds, then...
A look of admiration spread across her pretty face!
"What Master says makes so much sense!"
Her tone was delighted and full of admiration!
"Master is so smart!"
"Much smarter than Liguang!"
Heh heh!
Fang Qi immediately raised his chin!
Puffed out his chest, and smugly swung their joined hands back and forth!
"Flattery will get you everywhere!"
His steps became noticeably lighter too.
The emotional validation his wife gave him was top-tier!
But...
The idea of returning to the "safe house" wasn't just a wild guess!
During yesterday's exploration, they'd kept picking routes that looked safer, and as a result...
They'd taken a big detour and ended up right back at the safe house!
That's right, they'd tested it out!
And the results happened to match his theory perfectly!
So...
Fang Qi pulled Liguang along, quickening his pace!
"Hurry up, let's verify this theory!"
If they really could navigate their way back to the safe house, then at least they'd have some kind of security!
And...
He took a deep breath.
Verify the results first, then worry about the rest!
The silver-haired girl was tugged along, shuffling her little steps beside him.
In her other hand, she carried that bulging woven bag, with the cans and notebook softly clinking against each other inside.
"Yes, Master!"
The two began to jog down the corridor!
The mosaic tiles beneath their feet sank into shallow depressions with each step, then quickly restored themselves.
Hand in hand, they ran side by side down the gradually returning corridor.
Liguang's small hand was tightly clasped around his fingers, her palm giving off a cool, soft touch.
She wasn't looking at the road—she was looking at him the whole time, a slight smile on her lips, his face reflected in her amber pupils.
"Why are you looking at me? Watch the road, don't trip!"
"No way, I just want to look."
"...Then hold my hand tight."
"Hehe! Okay, Master~"
At the second fork in the road, the mosaic on the walls had already retreated into the cracks, and the walls began to flicker again.
At the third fork, the floor no longer sank when stepped on.
At the fourth fork, the fifth fork...
At the end of the passage, a door.
Fang Qi looked at the door before him and slowly came to a stop.
A complete doorframe, no pixelation.
The door panel was not warped.
Compared to the flickering walls around it, this door...
Was like an entrance to another world.
He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The soft, steady light of the laboratory, the screen of the core calibrator still flickering.
On the floor, the yoga mat was just as they'd left it.
The empty package of compressed biscuits they'd eaten earlier was still on the edge of the lab bench.
...Ha.
Fang Qi stepped inside.
His foot landed on the metal floor.
Solid, stable, no sign of sinking at all.
He took a deep breath.
They were back.
They were really, truly back!
His theory had been correct!
"Master is amazing!"
Liguang was looking at him with that adoring expression again!
"We really made it back!"
And Fang Qi...
He couldn't hold back his excitement anymore!
If the theory was right, then...
This pattern wasn't just useful for getting back to the safe house!
The supply area was on level B1, and the living area was also on level B1!
The erosion levels in both places should be about the same!
They could use the erosion levels to navigate back to the living area!
The charging pod that could charge Liguang was there!
The supplies in the supply area hadn't been eroded, so...
The charging pod should still be usable!
"Whew...!"
Fang Qi let out a long breath!
With a direction in mind, he felt much lighter overall!
What a relief...
No more wandering around like a headless chicken!
He raised his hand, grabbed the bun of hair gathered at the back of Liguang's head, and gave it a gentle shake!
"Liguang, show me how much charge you have left!"
It shouldn't be a problem to hold out until they found the charging pod!
"Oh, oh."
The silver-haired girl obediently lowered her head, reaching back to lift the silver locks at the nape of her neck.
The small display window was glowing faintly.
[Battery Remaining: 21%]
Fang Qi stared at the number and let out a long sigh of relief.
21%?
It was 20% when they left, wasn't it?
Hm, only a 1% difference, barely any consumption.
At this rate, they'd definitely last until they found the charging pod...
...Wait.
Fang Qi blinked.
Hold on...
How much?
He looked down, staring at the back of Liguang's neck.
[Battery Remaining: 21%]
The text was still flickering.
Fang Qi: "...?"
...Huh?
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
