Translator: SumTLMan
Number 01 had finally discovered the bloodline he had long sought after, but now faced a new dilemma.
He was unfamiliar with this magical creature.
Meaning, if he were to infuse this creature’s bloodline into himself, he would be venturing into unknown risks.
Bloodline wizards indeed possess various secret methods to mitigate the risks of fusion, but these are based on the premise of known bloodlines. Unknown bloodlines might render these methods ineffective.
Thus, if Number 01 were to truly integrate this magical creature’s bloodline, he might die instantly.
Even so, Number 01 did not hesitate. His desire for the bloodline filled him with immense confidence, believing he could indeed tame this bloodline.
As Number 01 had predicted, he succeeded.
However, he was unaware that this success marked the beginning of his nightmare.
The reason was simple: the magical creature was no ordinary being.
This creature was a third-class citizen of the City of Phantasm, which appeared in the coffin at the ruins because it was using a secret method to rest and advance in the coffin. Unexpectedly, it was ‘consumed’ by Number 01 while semi-conscious.
City of Phantasm, formally known as “Gruz De Weld’s City of Phantasm,” clearly indicates that the city belongs to Gruz De Weld.
The city is inhabited by many magical creatures, most of which were collected by Gruz De Weld from various worlds. Some sought refuge there. Gruz De Weld classified these creatures into three levels of citizenship, with first-class citizens at the pyramid’s apex, also known as superior citizens.
Though referred to as a city of magical creatures, outsiders more commonly perceive it as Gruz De Weld’s private sanctuary, hence the city’s poor reputation.
Despite its reputation, Gruz De Weld is incredibly protective of his citizens.
If a citizen is persecuted, Gruz De Weld will retaliate by any means necessary.
By consuming the bloodline of a third-class citizen creature, Number 01 inadvertently crossed Gruz De Weld’s red line.
For a while after, nightmares constantly plagued Number 01, as Gruz De Weld employed various methods to pursue him. Although Number 01 managed to escape every time, it was merely a game of cat and mouse for Gruz De Weld. He wouldn’t kill Number 01 outright but tormented him bit by bit, allowing him to glimpse hope before being crushed by an invisible dark force into the ground.
In the depths of despair, Number 01 considered joining a major organization to evade the pursuit of Gruz De Weld, but it proved futile.
Gruz De Weld, among the legendary wizards, belonged to the very pinnacle, his proximity to ringing the Miracle Resonance was within a hair’s breadth.
Facing such a powerful legendary wizard, no organization dared to confront him, especially since Number 01 was but an ordinary wizard who hadn’t even embarked on the path of true knowledge.
Eventually, Number 01 stumbled upon an opportunity to join the River Legacy Society.
Although the River Legacy Society lacked the power to block Gruz De Weld, its wide network of connections and acquaintance with certain special ‘spirit walkers’ allowed Number 01 to be sent away from the Source World to the distant Southern Region beyond the spatial-temporal distance.
Arriving in the Southern Region didn’t guarantee his safety, but at least for the short term, Gruz De Weld wouldn’t be able to find him.
Number 01 needed this ‘short term.’ In the Source World, where he was constantly hunted and toyed with, he had no way to improve himself or find a way to deal with Gruz De Weld’s pursuit.
He aimed to use this time to enhance himself or find a method to shield the ‘pursuit mark.’
Decades passed in this manner.
Number 01 thought he could make good use of his days not being pursued, but he overlooked a crucial point: he wasn’t a naturally gifted wizard. Indeed, his power had improved over the decades, but the efficiency of his progress was limited.
Moreover, the River Legacy Society meticulously ensured Number 01 remained cautious, not to cause major disruptions in the Southern Region that could affect experimental progress. This also limited Number 01’s room for improvement.
In the end, he achieved nothing. He was stuck before the path of true knowledge and hadn’t found an effective method to block the pursuit.
If he still had time to spare, perhaps there would be a chance in the future, but his intelligence network told him that his time was running out.
The one who kept in touch with Number 01 was an unknown entity temporarily referred to as ‘Beast Mark,’ due to the beast-shaped symbol on the envelopes of the letters sent to Number 01. Beast Mark seemed familiar with the City of Phantasm and had thoroughly investigated ‘The Lord of the City’ Gruz De Weld’s whereabouts.
In the most recent letter, Beast Mark informed Number 01 that Gruz De Weld, at the latest citizens’ assembly, had mentioned the fugitive Number 01 again and had pinpointed his whereabouts.
Although Gruz De Weld didn’t specify his next move, Number 01 understood that his peaceful days were over.
He would return to that boundless desert of despair, barely surviving in the gaps between being chased and fleeing.
After enjoying decades of peaceful life, the thought of facing that dark period again drove Number 01… to madness.
Number 01 knew that with his power, fighting against Gruz De Weld was like a mayfly battling a great tree, utterly hopeless.
Even the River Legacy Society couldn’t contend with the vast City of Phantasm.
After realizing there was no escape and no way to live, Number 01 made a decision:
Since he was going to die eventually, he wanted his death to have value. He aimed to go out with a bang, making the lofty, arrogant, and self-proclaimed ‘Lord of the City’ Gruz De Weld feel the pain.
And he had a way to do this.
During his time in the Southern Region, although his strength had only increased marginally, it didn’t mean he gained nothing. He came across a secret piece of information related to Gruz De Weld.
——The Devil’s Sea was called a forbidden zone, not just because of the violent celestial phenomena, but also some inexplicable supernatural disasters. During his investigation of the Devil’s Sea, Number 01 discovered that the reason it became a forbidden zone due to these supernatural disasters was a mysterious creature.
This mysterious creature was named, Ziz.
It was the king of the skies, the ruler of the seas, and the disaster-bringing beast of calamity!
In the era when Ziz lived, it completely dominated the Devil’s Sea, to the extent that even the legendary wizards of the Southern Region dared not easily enter.
However, one day, Ziz suddenly disappeared.
Because of Ziz’s disappearance, the Devil’s Sea shifted from a closed state to its current semi-restricted state.
Regarding the reason behind Ziz’s disappearance, there were numerous rumors in the Southern Region, but no one knew the specifics. However, as someone familiar with the City of Phantasm, Number 01 guessed the truth behind it.
Although the City of Phantasm had three classes of citizens, upper, middle, and lower, each class was further divided. Among the upper-class citizens, those most favored by Gruz De Weld were awarded the title of “Diamond Citizens.”
And Number 01 happened to know that there was a Diamond Citizen named “Ziz” in the City of Phantasm.
Presumably, Ziz left the Devil’s Sea because it was “captured” by Gruz De Weld.
After learning that the City of Phantasm’s Ziz had left the Devil’s Sea, Number 01 became interested in Ziz’s nest. Considering Ziz was a powerful extraordinary being, he thought that perhaps he could find treasures in its nest that would enhance his own power.
In the end, whether he found any treasures or not, Number 01 did not mention, but he did find a sea beast cub.
Based on various clues and details, this sea beast cub was highly likely to be a descendant of Ziz.
At this point, Number 01’s intentions were clear.
Since he had no way out, he decided to destroy the lineage of a Diamond Citizen. Given Gruz De Weld’s attitude towards Diamond Citizens, it would surely pain him.
As more messages from the Beast Mark arrived, Number 01 learned that the pursuit team was closing in, so he began to take action.
Using the organs of Ziz’s cub as the pretext for his final research project, Number 01 gathered all his fighters and attacked the Nest.
……
After reading the messages from the Beast Mark and Number 01, Angel finally understood why Number 01 had suddenly become so aggressively radical and why he was outwardly compliant but secretly defiant towards the River Legacy Society.
Due to external pressures, he had no choice but to make this decision.
He could no longer care about the consequences.
He wanted to indulge in madness, using the forced hunting of Ziz’s offspring as an excuse to take a bite out of Gruz De Weld.
But does it actually work? Is all of this just a figment of Number 01’s imagination, and would Gruz De Weld actually care? The answer is unknown, but what is known is that Number 01 has completely thrown caution to the wind. Even if it’s just his imagination, it no longer matters.
Angel felt a slight sense of pity towards Number 01’s situation, but that was all.
After setting aside several letters, Angel opened the mental connection, ready to inform Nisi and the others about the situation here.
After all, Number 01 was planning to hunt Ziz’s offspring. If Gruz De Weld really would be furious about this, they better leave this place as soon as possible and absolutely not get involved.
Angel opened the long-blocked mental connection, and immediately heard voices coming from it.
But it wasn’t the usually talkative Nisi, but… Reynolds.
“It’s that feeling again, moving… Huh, seems like it ran above us.” Reynolds said.
“Above us, you mean the first, second, third levels?” Nisi exclaimed.
“Seems like it.” Reynolds: “How could it move on its own?”
“Could it be Angel who took it away, since Angel was on the fifth level before?” Canter said.
Nisi: “Possible, let’s ask Angel. Toby, are you there? If you are, call Angel…”
Before he could finish, Angel spoke: “I’m here, what’s happening?”
“You were here? Didn’t you hear?” Nisi was surprised.
Canter: “Let me explain, it’s about Reynolds, he suddenly deepened his perception of his own body and felt like his body was moving. Initially, it was on the lower fifth level, but now it seems to have moved up. Angel, did you take his body?”
As Canter finished speaking, Angel’s mind was suddenly flooded with thoughts he had previously overlooked, now bursting forth all at once.
Yes, Reynolds’ body!
He had always felt like he was overlooking something, and now he realized it was Reynolds’ body!
But why had he overlooked it?
Angel frowned, putting that question aside for the moment. What he needed to think about now was what happened to Reynolds’ body.
Before coming to the fifth level, Angel had thoroughly checked the main control node and hadn’t found Reynolds’ body.
Moreover, apart from that Shadow Demon, there are no other living beings on the fifth level… No, that’s incorrect, there is another, the misty shadow.
The misty shadow can possess bodies.
Reynolds also mentioned that his physical body moved from the fifth level to the first.
Angel suddenly realized… Reynolds’ physical body might have been occupied by the misty shadow.
“Hu——” Angel couldn’t help but gasp for air, thinking he was worry-free after killing the Shadow Demon, believing the misty shadow couldn’t find another body to possess. He had forgotten about Reynolds.
Reynolds’ body was still viable, hence considered alive, allowing the misty shadow to fully possess Reynolds!
“I made a mistake.” Angel massaged his temples, sharing his speculation.
Nisi said, “You, you actually forgot about Reynolds’ body?”
Angel was also puzzled, wondering how he had suddenly overlooked this matter.
Canter said, “That’s not important. Now that the misty shadow has possessed Reynolds, we need to find a way to locate it quickly.”
Nisi added, “The tricky part is, the misty shadow seems capable of causing cranial explosions at will. Didn’t it explode the skull when it possessed the Fire Scale Familiar? Even if Angel finds Reynolds, the opponent might still cause an explosion, killing Reynolds’ body even without escaping.”
Nisi pointed out a critical issue, causing Reynolds’ complexion to turn pale.
Seeing Reynolds’ distressed expression, Nisi cheerfully said, “But, it doesn’t matter if the body dies, the soul is the real beginning. Follow me, and I’ll show you what a soul’s climax truly is.”
Ignoring Nisi’s jest, Angel said, “As for how to solve the issue of cranial explosions, let me first find it. I’m heading back to the main control node of the first level right now.”
He paused, “Oh, and I have something to tell you. I found some letters in a hidden room in room number 01.”
Angel was about to share the content of the letters with them while heading back to the first level.
However, as Angel mentioned the “letters,” his gaze unintentionally fell on the envelope, which was placed on a lab bench… The next second, his eyes were drawn to the lab bench in front of him.
In the middle of the lab bench was an empty rectangular space, with the letters swept to the side.
This empty spot… could it precisely fit a person?
When this thought emerged, Angel recalled another detail. When he entered this hidden room, a large amount of white frost mist drifted out, making the room extremely cold.
And in Maya’s prophecy about the whereabouts of Reynolds’ body, it was explicitly mentioned that the location of Reynolds’ body was extremely cold.
Considering that he didn’t find Reynolds’ body while monitoring the fifth level from the main control node, and the only place unobservable on the fifth level was this hidden room, the answer seemed clear.
Reynolds’ body was actually always in the hidden room, precisely placed on this lab bench!