The Finale (Part 1)

A month later.

In the afternoon, the warm autumn sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, softly illuminating the living room of the old house.

Luo Wei leaned back on the sofa, sipping tea while skimming through the newspaper.

The front-page headlines were the same as usual.

Her Majesty the Queen’s coronation ceremony would proceed as scheduled next week. The Church had dispatched envoys, and diplomatic relations between the two nations had resumed. The Continental Magic Association would hold a free public lecture in Saint Callen, aiming to dispel public fears...

All of it was related to those three women. Even the news about the police chief cracking another major case was relegated to a tiny corner of the page...

After finishing the front page, Luo Wei set the newspaper aside and slumped back into the sofa, bored out of his mind.

The living room was empty, save for him and Helena, who had dozed off while leaning against him.

So boring...

After returning from the Black Forest, the lively family gatherings he had imagined in the old house never materialized...

Because all of them were incredibly busy, rarely even coming home.

Compared to them, he was practically idle, with nothing to do...

[System is undergoing maintenance updates. Please wait patiently...]

Ever since Chapter Five concluded, the system had been in maintenance mode, showing no signs of reactivating...

“Sigh...”

“When I was fighting for my life, all I wanted was a break. Now that I finally have one, it’s just dull...”

Luo Wei felt like he was cursed with restlessness. After finally experiencing a few peaceful days, he found himself utterly unaccustomed to it...

“Brother... what’s wrong?”

His sigh roused Helena, who drowsily opened her eyes.

“Nothing.” Luo Wei ruffled her hair. “If you’re sleepy, go to bed. You might catch a cold out here.”

“No...” Helena murmured, yawning sleepily before shifting into a more comfortable position, using Luo Wei as a pillow.

Luo Wei watched her helplessly, then gently draped a thin blanket over her.

As autumn deepened, the air grew colder.

But just as Helena drifted back to sleep, a violent explosion jolted her awake again.

The furniture in the old house trembled, and both of them turned their gazes upstairs.

No need to guess—it was definitely the witch conducting another experiment in her room.

Helena merely blinked once before nestling back into Luo Wei’s lap, unfazed.

By now, they were all used to it...

Only after the explosion did Luo Wei belatedly remember that he and Helena weren’t the only ones home—Tilis was here too.

But the witch was just as busy as the others. The increasingly terrifying explosions were proof enough that she had reached the most critical phase of her research.

As he pondered this, a teleportation circle flared to life before him.

A gust of frigid northern air swept through the room as Evelyn hurriedly returned, looking travel-worn.

“Huh? Where is everyone?” Evelyn set down the local specialties she had brought from the North and glanced around the empty house.

“Weren’t we supposed to have a family meeting today?” she asked, puzzled. “Luo Wei, what’s this about? Is it dangerous?”

“Uh... well...” Luo Wei chuckled awkwardly. “I just thought it’d been a while since we all had a meal together, so I called you back...”

“That’s it?” Evelyn’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, yeah.” Luo Wei patted his chest proudly. “And today, I’ll be the one cooking! Guaranteed to satisfy you, Teacher!”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “I thought something major was happening... I rushed all the way here for this...”

Luo Wei grinned sheepishly.

Despite her exasperation, Evelyn still sat down beside him on the sofa.

She eyed the tea and newspaper on the table, then shot Luo Wei a look. “Don’t just sit around drinking tea and reading newspapers all day. You’re acting like an old man! If you’re really that bored, come stay at my Thornflower Castle!”

“You don’t understand!” Luo Wei said with mock seriousness. “As an outstanding investigator, Saint Callen’s top detective, I must stay informed about every little thing happening in this city. You never know—the key to cracking a case might be hidden in these seemingly trivial lines of text!”

Evelyn leaned in, skeptically scanning the newspaper.

“So... is there some major case brewing?”

“Not really.” Luo Wei shook his head.

“Ugh.” Evelyn sighed. “Just admit you’re killing time. Why make up all these excuses?”

“Teacher, I think I’m about to be unemployed...” Luo Wei lamented. The police chief hadn’t contacted him in a whole month...

“Then come with me. I’ve got something fun at my place~” Evelyn flashed a mischievous grin before grabbing his hand. “Let’s go—home, now!”

“Wait, what about dinner tonight...”

“Forget dinner! It’s been so long since we—”

“Brother, where are you going?” Helena finally stirred, rubbing her bleary eyes as she stared at the two of them.

“What... are you two up to?”

“Why does she always wake up at the worst possible moment...” Evelyn muttered under her breath. She had been so close to succeeding...

“Hmm?” Helena narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Alright, alright...” Luo Wei forced an awkward laugh and stood up to pour Evelyn some tea.

“I’ll start preparing the ingredients soon. Teacher, you should stay for dinner. A family feast wouldn’t be complete without you.”

“Oh? You’re going to show off your cooking skills again?” Evelyn’s eyes sparkled as she glanced toward the kitchen. “Let me help. I’ve actually improved a bit lately. Do you need—”

“No.” Luo Wei shut her down immediately. No matter how persuasive Evelyn was, he would never let her near the kitchen.

After all, a kitchen with Evelyn in it was just as hazardous as Tilis’s room.

Evelyn pouted.

“Fine, be that way. Hmph, some gratitude...”

“Oh? Evelyn’s back?” Tilis trudged downstairs, sporting two massive dark circles under her eyes.

The witch’s haggard appearance startled Evelyn. “Did you pull another all-nighter?”

“All-nighters are her default state,” Luo Wei teased. “You should be asking which day she hasn’t stayed up late.”

“Luo Wei... I think this body’s about to keel over...” Tilis sighed as she approached. “Could you keep an eye on my lab? I need to die real quick and swap to a new body. I’ll be back soon.”

“No way am I going near your lab...” Luo Wei’s face was a picture of terror.

Her room was packed with highly volatile explosives, not to mention unspeakable black magic curses. Spending time there was no safer than lingering in the lair of an eldritch god...

"Alright then, it seems my experiment will have to be put on hold for a while..." Tilis slumped onto the sofa in frustration. "When will the energy conversion finally stabilize? This is already the 1,625th trial..."

"Let me take a look at your updated design schematics?" Luo Wei asked curiously.

The witch instantly teleported upstairs and then reappeared beside him.

"Here!"

"Hmm... I can't offer any advice on the magical structure—you're far more skilled than I am in that regard..."

"But this part here," Luo Wei pointed, "what if you try using primordial energy instead of mana for the next trial? After all, that’s the source of magic, the miraculous force of the world’s essence..."

"Primordial energy?" Tilis blinked in surprise. "Where would I even find that?"

Luo Wei pointed at himself. "Me. Just wait until my next repair mission."

"That could take ages..." Tilis flopped back onto the sofa dejectedly.

"Don’t rush it..." Luo Wei reassured her. "If this succeeds, you’ll be the world-changing pioneer written on the first page of textbooks! We’ve got plenty of time—a few more days won’t hurt..."

"That’s easy for you to say, but I can’t wait any longer..." Tilis lifted her head. "Wait, actually—why haven’t you had any missions lately? I’ve been waiting every single day!"

"Yeah?" Evelyn chimed in, equally curious. "Luo Wei, what’s going on? Didn’t you say you were supposed to travel the world fixing anomalies?"

"Well..." Luo Wei sighed and glanced at his system panel again.

[Undergoing maintenance update. Please wait patiently...]

When the hell will this update finish?

It’s already been a month—just how massive is this new version...?

...

The group continued chatting idly in the living room while Luo Wei headed to the kitchen to prep ingredients.

But just as he chopped off a fish head—

The system panel flickered, then underwent a series of changes.

[Anomalous Species Containment Facility]

[Version 3.0 Update Complete]

[Upgraded to Calamity Containment Facility]

[Loading data packages. Please wait...]

[Loading complete]

[Basement Levels 1, 2, and 3 have been renovated. Containment cells will gradually become available]

[Proceed to anomaly sites worldwide to repair breaches. If uncontrollable areas are difficult to manage, activate special containment protocols to detain, control, or imprison malevolent deities causing world destabilization]

[To maintain the stability of the converging worlds and restore normal operations, your continued efforts are required]

As the lengthy system notification concluded—

Deep beneath the old mansion, violent tremors erupted, startling everyone.

"An earthquake?" Evelyn gasped.

"That came from the basement!" Helena immediately turned to Luo Wei. "Brother? What’s happening?"

"Something’s wrong—I’ll check it out!" Tilis, sensing the disturbance below, vanished on the spot.

Luo Wei motioned to the others.

"Come on, let’s go see!"