Chapter 166: Dark Boundless Realm 21
Tang Guan hesitated for a moment before finally putting down his luggage, deciding to wait until morning to bid farewell to his parents and younger sister.
His mental state had been very poor for weeks. After returning from the Second World in the first week, he fell into a prolonged coma and slept for five days. During those five days, he was constantly entangled in a battle against the consciousness of monsters.
After graduating from university, he had distanced himself from his hometown and worked in another city for a year, during which he rented a place to live. In this unfamiliar city, he had no friends or relatives, and his colleagues were merely acquaintances. He was in a coma in the rental for several days, unable to be contacted by others, and nobody came to check on him. Finally, his family called and found that they couldn’t reach him at all, prompting them to take a high-speed train to his city in search of him.
His parents did not have the landlord’s phone number, so they called a locksmith to open the door, allowing them to enter the apartment.
His muddled consciousness heard his parents calling him, and he struggled to wake up from the pain of his soul being torn apart.
Tang Guan refused his parents’ request to see a doctor, reassuring them that he was simply exhausted from working overtime and had slept deeply. He was strong and healthy, and aside from his poor mental state, there were no other issues. His parents were skeptical but reluctantly believed his lies.
After five days of sleep, he lost his job and returned to his hometown with his parents after paying rent with his savings, where he saw his younger sister, who was still in elementary school.
His parents said to him, “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters to us. Work doesn’t matter, and money isn’t important.”
Seeing him return, his sister was overjoyed, then turned to ask, “Are you going to work in another city again? When will you be back next time?”
Tang Guan didn’t know how to respond.
His heart was filled with fear, and this fear made him retreat. The monster still chattered incessantly in his mind. He didn’t understand why this ghostly thing had followed him back to the First World and was even more afraid that he would wake up one day to find the monster had possessed him and killed his family.
He made excuses to go out looking for work, trying to minimize the time spent at home.
During this time, he gradually discovered that the monster’s influence on him in the First World was not so strong; it had been weakened.
The monster was clearly unhappy about this: “My spirit has been directly weakened by half, yet your spirit remains intact. Why?”
Through repeated conversations with the monster in the First and Second Worlds, Tang Guan learned that the monster had a name; it was called “Face Demon,” an intelligent xenomorph with an IQ comparable to that of humans.
When Tang Guan first learned this, he was shocked. The Face Demon mocked him: “There are many intelligent xenomorphs like me; some are even good at disguising themselves and blend into human society.”
This casual remark by the Face Demon undoubtedly shattered people’s perceptions of xenomorphs. Even in the Second World, people’s understanding of xenomorphs was extremely limited. Xenomorphs disguising themselves as humans to live in human society? What astonishing news!
“How about sharing information on your marvelous forum?” the Face Demon whispered enticingly in his mind. “Brave players love doing that, don’t they? United we stand, collective strength, as you put it, isn’t that right?”
Tang Guan remained silent, but the Face Demon understood his thoughts: “Hmm, I see… you’re afraid, afraid of exposing yourself and implicating your family. Well… I understand human emotions very well. It’s called self-preservation, but in reality, it’s selfishness and cowardice.”
The Face Demon had tightly bound its spirit to Tang Guan’s; it could read his thoughts. This symbiosis was extremely unequal, as the Face Demon was far stronger than Tang Guan. It would gradually overwhelm his spirit and consume him. But fortunately, returning to the First World slowed the Face Demon’s consumption process; its power was reduced to half in the First World, giving Tang Guan an opportunity to resist.
In the First World, the Face Demon could no longer appear at will; even when Tang Guan was asleep, it would be suppressed by him.
Tang Guan admitted his selfishness and cowardice. He had experienced a lot, knowing much about being imprisoned and experimented on by Mechanized Dawn, being brainwashed, and he even understood some insider information about the Kraken. However, he still lacked the courage to step forward and speak about these experiences, reasons as the Face Demon said—it was his fear of exposure.
He often felt tortured; carrying the burden of secrets was uncomfortable. He sometimes thought that if he stood up, he might help more people and prevent deaths.
Tang Guan dared not make posts disclosing information alone; it would be too conspicuous. He would only provide answers related to xenomorphs in response to questions posed by others, and he would do so carefully.
“Hypocritical,” the Face Demon scoffed at him. “You can’t help others; you’re just filling the void of your own guilt.”
For weeks he had been torn by guilt. He wanted to spend more time with his family but had to keep his distance. He wanted to do more but was hindered by his inner weakness.
It wasn’t until he received the “Dark Realm Arrival” mission and saw analysis and warning posts on the forum that he finally broke free from the torn emotions.
He told himself he had to do something.
If the speculation of “Seven Days of Blood” arriving was true, then his hometown was in grave danger. Evading would lead to no outcome. When the mountain collapses, one person cannot bear the weight alone. If he fled in weakness, when the mountain fell, everyone beneath—including his family—would be crushed to dust.
Having been injured and cruelly treated in the Second World, he could draw warmth and strength from his family upon returning to the First World. But when disaster arose there as well, where could he escape to? There was nowhere left to retreat.
So the next morning, Tang Guan had his last breakfast with his family, took his sister to her interest class, and found a suitable excuse—he had found a job and had an online interview, and now he needed to head to work.
His parents were somewhat puzzled, not understanding why he left in such a hurry, but seeing his resolute attitude, they nodded in agreement.
On the August morning, the sunlight was slightly glaring.
Tang Guan pulled his suitcase and glanced back at the old-style apartment building behind him before silently leaving.
……
“Xin Xin, you’re not paying attention,” Su Rong said. “This is the first time I’ve seen you distracted during class.”
Kui Xin was taken aback and apologized, “I’m sorry, I affected you.”
“I understand; after all, what happened last night was very significant,” Su Rong said, her expression serious. “I’m constantly checking the forum, afraid of missing any information. This world is changing too fast. If I woke up tomorrow and saw news broadcasting the end of the world, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
“We’re not at the level of the end of the world yet,” Kui Xin responded.
“But it seems like it’s not far off,” Su Rong said, looking down. “I’m thinking of whether I should persuade my parents to move away from Tonglin City, but I don’t have a reason to convince them. I’m just a kid in my family with no voice… If I told them about the game, they might believe me, and I could even show them my superpower.”
The Shadow Double silently rose from beneath Su Rong’s feet and poured a glass of water for Kui Xin.
“Maybe telling them isn’t a good idea because they can’t help,” Su Rong said, “but I want to tell them. I feel so useless; I can’t bear it alone and just want to cry in their arms. Sometimes, experiencing all those things isn’t so bad, but just seeing my parents brings the feeling of grievance rushing back. Luckily, I have you, Xin Xin… it’s like someone is sharing the weight on my shoulders.”
Kui Xin thought for a moment, “You saw the posts on the forum last night, right?”
“I did,” Su Rong replied. “That’s why I feel so useless… The mutation happened right in Tonglin City, and I just want to run away. I see many players on the forum saying they want to come to Tonglin City to investigate. They aren’t afraid of death. Compared to them, I feel like a loser. I’m ashamed.”
Kui Xin quietly watched her, offering no comments on her inner turmoil.
“But then I thought, you said I need to be a valuable person,” Su Rong said, covering her face. “At that moment, I made up my mind to be a valuable person. But then when that incident occurred last night, I thought of escaping again. Isn’t that going back to square one? I can’t do that.”
“It’s good that you have thoughts in your heart; just follow the path you choose,” Kui Xin said.
“Xin Xin,” Su Rong said seriously, “this is the last time I’m going to tell you these things; I won’t say them again… I will take action.”
Kui Xin smiled, “Then let me see it.”
Today’s class ended earlier than usual. When Kui Xin started her journey home, it was only 5:30 PM. She lingered a bit outside, watching the phantoms appear in the sky, timing herself to take a video before heading into the subway to go home.
In the morning, Kui Xin was busy because a large number of players expressed their intent to come to Tonglin City to investigate the “Dark Realm Arrival” incident, which would turn it into a gathering place for players. So she took the opportunity to connect to the facial recognition system using data manipulation to record data on incoming personnel in Tonglin City to screen players.
Players coming to Tonglin City used only planes, high-speed trains, trains, and buses. Even if they avoided these means of transport, they still needed to travel by highways and various roads, unable to escape surveillance cameras. To take it a step further, even if they took country roads without cameras, they would still need to shop or find accommodations upon arriving in Tonglin City, making it impossible to avoid the city’s monitoring network.
Kui Xin believed that those who dared to come to Tonglin City had a certain confidence in their own strength and likely already awakened their extraordinary abilities.
And she had the Investigative Eye, enabling her to instantly recognize who had awakened as a player.
On the subway ride home, Kui Xin was contemplating which sections to connect to with the cameras.
At that moment, during rush hour, the subway was packed.
When the train stopped at the train station, a young girl in fashionable attire wearing headphones and chewing gum entered the subway with her suitcase. She was slightly shorter than Kui Xin and appeared to be only a few years younger.
However, the moment Kui Xin looked up, she noticed a line of text displayed on the girl.
“Extraordinary ability…” Kui Xin’s heart rate quickened slightly, “Language Incantation?!”
