The Truth Revealed

Ye Shengge’s eyes widened in utter shock as he stared in disbelief at the man lounging casually in the chair.

The face was still the one he knew so well, but the smile resting upon it was thoroughly hair-raising.

A deep, magnetic voice resonated through the room.

“Wen Jinshi” smiled brightly at him, greeting him at a leisurely pace: “We meet again, new classmate.”

At that exact moment, Ye Shengge even suspected that something was wrong with his own ears. His face grew deathly pale, and his body, nestled in the puppet’s embrace, couldn’t stop trembling. His slender eyelashes fluttered continuously.

What had he just heard?

New classmate?!

Why would the childhood friend of this dungeon address him by the title “new classmate”—a name he had only ever been called by someone in the previous dungeon?

Ye Shengge was certain that this was not a product of his own oversensitivity or paranoia. He wasn’t connecting this to the previous dungeon based on a mere form of address; rather, the contrast between his childhood friend’s past and present behavior was simply too vast. The man’s entire aura and state were identical to the merged dungeon boss from the previous world.

Moreover, the dungeon plotline had laid it out very clearly: although the age gap between the childhood friend and the Dollmaker wasn’t massive, there was still a four-year difference.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for his childhood friend to be in the same class as him, let alone call him a new classmate.

Only in the previous Death Red Envelope Group dungeon would someone address him, a transfer student, in that manner.

Yet now, the neighbor brother from this dungeon had undergone a sudden transformation in temperament, using the exact same speaking tone as the previous dungeon boss and calling him “new classmate.”

Even though Ye Shengge didn’t want to think too deeply about it, every single piece of evidence laid out before him told him one undeniable fact: the boss of the previous dungeon had possessed the childhood friend NPC of this world.

It was a mess; everything was a complete mess.

Not only had the timeline for the Puppet Bosses to break through their seals been derailed, but the character settings of this dungeon’s NPCs were thoroughly ruined as well. Influenced and disrupted by the previous dungeon boss, the golden-thigh Heavenly Master had been tied up to one side by the Puppet Bosses of this world.

Leaving the last dungeon had been a pure fluke. Could he truly escape from the clutches of the previous dungeon boss a second time?

The answer was undoubtedly a resounding no.

Setting aside the fact that the opponent could directly crush him with absolute raw power, how could someone who had been tricked once before fail to be on guard?

No matter what tricks he tried to pull now, the opponent would see right through them at a single glance.

Realizing this, Ye Shengge hurriedly called out to the system in his mind: ‘What on earth is going on here? Why is the boss from the previous dungeon able to jump over to this one?’

The system couldn’t figure out the reason either and was currently utilizing all its permissions to investigate. However, it maintained its composure and calm when speaking to its host.

After hesitating repeatedly, it chose to share what it currently knew with him: ‘This isn’t the first time he has jumped to another dungeon. Strictly speaking, this is the third time.’

The original home of this bug-like dungeon boss was a God-tier dungeon. The second dungeon he had infiltrated was the A-tier Death Red Envelope Group.

The system had originally assumed that as long as they left the previous world, the host would be safe. It never anticipated that this bug would actually follow them all the way to this dungeon.

Worse still, the main system had not yet replied to its inquiries. With its limited permissions, no matter how much it wanted to help its host leave, it simply couldn’t make it happen.

Under the crushing might of an Evil God from a God-tier dungeon, it was impossible for the golden-thigh Heavenly Master of this world to break free from the black mist and assist the player in sealing the puppet’s resentment.

The entire situation looked like an amplified, vicious cycle.

Unless the main system replied before that bug made his move, they were going to lose their lives in this dungeon today.

The progress of this dungeon had clearly reached this exact stage, leaving them just waiting for the golden-thigh Heavenly Master to seal the Puppet Bosses. It should have been such a simple matter—an absolute free win.

Yet, a metaphorical Chen Yaojin had crossed their path out of nowhere. This bug had not only reached a secret agreement with the Puppet Bosses but had also executed a dimensional strike against the golden-thigh Heavenly Master, rendering all their previous efforts entirely futile.

It was truly too frustrating.

Neither the system nor Ye Shengge was willing to resign themselves to or accept this kind of failure.

While investigating the specific cause of the dungeon’s collapse to send it to the main system, the system spoke to its host: ‘Find a way to stabilize them first. I’ll try sending another message to the main system.’

Ye Shengge did not utter any disheartened words, nor did he complain about the system. Instead, he replied with utmost seriousness: ‘Okay, I will do my best to keep them stable.’

Having weathered the trials of one dungeon, although Ye Shengge still couldn’t rid himself of his delicate and cowardly tendencies, his attitude and approach toward handling crises had shifted significantly.

He understood that since the event had already occurred, uttering complaints would only waste time and alter nothing. It was far better to put his energy into finding a way to save himself. Perhaps he could buy some time and secure more opportunities for the system to contact the main system for help.

Right at that moment, the conversation between them resumed.

“Why are you frozen? We’ve only been separated for a few days; can you really not recognize who I am?” Wearing the skin of Wen Jinshi, the Evil God smiled brightly at the little liar not far away. “If you can’t recognize me, I’m going to feel very hurt. And when I’m hurt, the consequences are very serious.”

As he finished speaking, his eyes filled with meaningful implication scanned the room.

What those serious consequences entailed naturally went without saying.

Ye Shengge’s entire focus was locked onto the Evil God. Even though he noticed the big dummy Heavenly Master’s bewildered gaze, he had no spare energy to care. He struggled forcefully a couple of times, trying to break free from the puppet’s embrace.

The puppet holding the beautiful Dollmaker glanced at the Evil God who wore Wen Jinshi’s skin. Only when he saw the Evil God nod did he reluctantly and gently set the beautiful Dollmaker down.

Although Ye Shengge hadn’t caught the puppet’s gaze shifting toward the previous dungeon boss, he did see the previous dungeon boss nod at the puppet holding him.

This tiny detail left Ye Shengge in utter disbelief.

He understood the sheer intensity of the puppets’ jealousy better than anyone else; one could easily catch a glimpse of it from the way the two resentful puppets had fought earlier.

Yet, how could these intensely jealous puppets be so obedient in front of the Evil God?

Why were the Puppet Bosses capable of summoning a black mist identical to the one used by the previous dungeon boss?

Don’t tell me the Puppet Bosses, much like the class monitor and the school bully from the last dungeon, were all split fragments of this dungeon boss?

Question after question intertwined in his mind, but no matter how much Ye Shengge racked his brains, he couldn’t guess the answer.

However, he knew that if the Puppet Bosses truly were split fragments of the previous dungeon boss, then the time when that boss had entered this dungeon might have been much earlier than his own.

If that were the case, the reason behind the collapse of this world’s plotline could finally be explained.

Ye Shengge found his footing, sizing up the previous dungeon boss seated in the chair without uttering a single word, his beautiful eyes filled with seriousness.

It was precisely this look of serious scrutiny that amused the Evil God.

Hearing the previous dungeon boss suddenly break into laughter, Ye Shengge assumed he had thought of some exquisite, wicked scheme to exact revenge on him, and instinctively took a small step backward.

However, the space behind him was tightly packed with large, towering puppets. With this single step back, he bumped directly into a puppet’s chest.

Much like the big dummy Heavenly Master, the puppets possessed proud statures. While not quite as exaggerated, they similarly possessed defined chest muscles.

Under these circumstances, however, Ye Shengge couldn’t muster any inclination to admire the puppet’s physique, staring warily at the dungeon boss who had jumped into this world.

“Do not fear.” Looking at the little liar before him whom he loved and hated in equal measure, the Evil God flashed a gentle smile identical to Wen Jinshi’s. Feigning a clean slate of absolute tolerance, he coaxed softly: “I know your previous departure from my side was because you were deluded by others. It wasn’t that you truly wished to leave.”

Once self-deceiving words found a beginning, they became impossible to halt.

As he spoke further, he almost managed to convince himself, his tone growing increasingly tender: “As long as you come over here, I will act as though past events never occurred.”

“What do you plan to do with me after I come over?” Ye Shengge suppressed the anxiety and unease inside his heart, making idle conversation to desperately buy time for the system.

“How can you call it ‘doing something’ with you?” The Evil God laughed, using that shell which Ye Shengge instinctively wished to draw close to as he spoke: “As long as you come over, I will take you to a place meant solely for the two of us. If you ever feel bored, I can split into many different individuals to accompany you. You can have them look however you want them to look, how about that?”

The more he spoke, the brighter his eyes became. He was incredibly satisfied with his own proposition, requiring validation as he looked at Ye Shengge with heavy anticipation.

Upon hearing this, Ye Shengge didn’t feel the slightest bit satisfied, let alone any desire to agree.

He hadn’t been deluded by others at all when he sought to break away from the last dungeon; he had actively sought a way out, continuously accumulating points, waiting for the moment he could return home to reunite with his older brother.

However, he hadn’t forgotten his mission to buy time for the system. No matter how much he wanted to curse at the previous dungeon boss, he had to hold it in. Like haggling over vegetables in a market, he bargained with the Evil God who had jumped into this world: “But I don’t want to stay in a place with only the two of us. And I especially don’t want to drink the blood from the tip of your heart.”

He hadn’t forgotten what had transpired at the very end of the last dungeon; he still held that grudge firmly.

The Evil God was highly intelligent, deflecting the heavy issue with a light touch: “Come over first, and we can discuss all of these matters slowly.”

Ye Shengge was no fool either. How could he fall for the Evil God’s tricks a second time and let himself be deceived without a single shred of defensiveness?

Yet, just as he refused to step forward, the dozen or so puppets behind him seemed to have suffered some sort of collective malfunction, unexpectedly pushing him forward in unison.

Although the pushing motion was incredibly gentle, it still propelled him forward.

As for the direction they were pushing him, it was naturally toward the location where the Evil God sat.

Discovering this, Ye Shengge felt entirely unaligned. Speaking recklessly to the Evil God, he said, “Didn’t you say you were going to take me to a place meant only for the two of us? Then what about these puppets you reached a deal with?”

He remembered very clearly that back then, the dungeon boss had told him that if the puppets wanted his assistance, they had to pay a price to strike a deal.

Although he didn’t know what price the puppets had paid, the deal had indeed been struck. Going by the dungeon plot, the contents of the deal most likely pertained to him.

“You speak the truth. These puppets are indeed a bit of a nuisance.” Upon hearing Ye Shengge’s words, the smile on the Evil God’s face expanded further as he let out a sigh of mock distress.

Ye Shengge’s eyes lit up.

With a slight smile, the Evil God continued, “However, they are merely split entities generated by me. If you dislike them, I will simply merge them back into myself. If there are no other issues, hurry along and come over.”

—They are merely split entities generated by me.

These few words struck Ye Shengge and the system—which was continuously scanning the details of the dungeon’s collapse—like a sudden bolt of lightning from a clear sky.