The Illusion Shattered

“Is it over?”

Investigator Liao emerged from the chaotic ruins, muttering to himself.

He gazed at the scorched earth and broken timber stretching beneath his feet, as if they were medals of his power.

‘Is this truly the end? So this is… the feeling of power, so… wonderful.’

Even now, a profound sense of unreality clung to him. Only yesterday, he had been an ordinary Investigator, ostracized by colleagues, timid before his superiors, afraid to even utter a word.

Now, however, a powerful conviction surged within him. Even his Bronze-tier superior, if pitted against his current self, would likely meet a bitter end then and there.

Yet, the lingering taste of victory and the sigh of relief at the perceived end were abruptly shattered by reality after only a moment’s pause.

The flow of time, reversing, had not yet ceased.

“No, I’ve been played!”

His face instantly turned ashen.

“The one wielding the Authority… wasn’t that Paladin. It was that Goblin!”

And she was still alive!

Realizing this, Investigator Liao abruptly pulled out the Goblin tracker issued to him, specifically designed for Liuxia, from his tactical pack.

Sure enough, a bright arrow on the device pointed relentlessly towards the south of the city.

“Damn it!”

Investigator Liao didn’t hesitate; he still didn’t understand the implications of this time reversal, or what might happen next.

He only knew that until that Goblin, possessing such formidable Authority, was dead, he would never find peace.

With agile movements, he sprinted onto the street. Leveraging his Bronze-tier physique, far surpassing ordinary humans, he lightly sprang onto the roof of a car moving in reverse.

Then, amidst this reverse current of steel, his legs moved like lightning. He continuously leaped from one car roof to another, harnessing the speed of the temporal flow to accelerate himself wildly.

Gradually, the arrow on the tracker glowed with increasing intensity.

At the farthest reach of his vision, he finally caught sight of a tiny black speck clinging to the roof of a distant car.

“Found… you!”

The black speck was indeed Liuxia.

At that very moment, she felt an inexplicable connection growing stronger, prompting her to involuntarily glance back.

A single glance was enough to drain the color from the young girl’s face.

“He… how did he catch up?! How did he know which way I was going?!”

Her panic lasted only an instant. Thanks to the incredibly acute senses she possessed as a Goblin, Liuxia quickly found the answer.

Her gaze, even sharper than Investigator Liao’s, clearly discerned a compass-like object in his hand, its arrow pointing directly at her. The sense of connection she felt originated precisely from that device.

Liuxia’s quick mind raced, and a bold hypothesis formed within her. Investigator Liao could move freely amidst this temporal reversal, just like her, because he was moving against the flow of time. The key lay in the object he carried.

‘This is crucial intelligence!’

Liuxia hastily pulled out the ‘Spring Creation’ that Li Chunsheng had made for her: a jet-black carving knife and a smooth, black clay tablet.

Since Li Chunsheng’s “Golden Particle” creations could currently only appear black, she had to resort to this rudimentary method of recording to ensure her future self could read the information.

Otherwise, black ink on black paper would be utterly foolish!

‘I’ll carve, carve, carve, carve, carve—!’

Enduring the fierce wind rushing against her, the girl furiously etched the crucial intelligence she had just acquired, stroke by painstaking stroke, onto the clay tablet.

“He’s at it again! But!”

She glanced back in alarm. The terrifying figure moved across the car roofs as if on solid ground, relentlessly closing the distance between them at a visible pace.

Moreover, she could sense that the Authority’s limit was rapidly approaching.

The world’s time reversal felt like a fast-forward button had been pressed, accelerating relentlessly, as if all things were eager to cease their backward flow.

If this continued, not only would she fail to shake him off, but she might also be unable to escape safely due to the escalating speed of the vehicles!

Liuxia swallowed hard, steeled her resolve, and with her arms covering her head, leaped from the roof of the rapidly retreating car.

Fortunately, having undergone Paladin reserve training, she executed a perfect roll upon landing, dissipating most of the impact. Although her entire body ached, the injuries were within the scope of her self-healing abilities.

From a distance, Investigator Liao unexpectedly raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Is she giving up the struggle?”

However, Liuxia’s next action infuriated him to the point of nearly cursing aloud.

The girl scrambled towards the roadside, grabbed a heavy sign that read “Subway Construction: Detour Please,” and with considerable effort, dragged it across the center of the lane in his direction.

But she wasn’t finished. She lifted her small face, flashed a meaningful smile at Investigator Liao in the distance, then turned and ran towards the roadside, gesturing as if to drag two construction workers sitting there onto the road.

If Investigator Liao allowed the oncoming traffic to surge forward… those two innocent workers would surely be crushed to pieces!

“That’s utterly shameless! The height of depravity!”

Investigator Liao cursed, having no time to consider if it was a trap. His sense of duty as an Investigator compelled him to act instinctively.

He leaned into the car window, reaching to help the driver press the brake.

But it wasn’t enough; the vehicles behind were still surging forward. He could only leap again, lunging towards the cars behind, repeating the same action.

His Bronze-tier physical prowess made his movements incredibly swift. Fortunately, during this off-peak commute, the traffic in his lane heading towards the outer ring was already sparse, allowing him to quickly avert the potential for a catastrophe.

However, when he could finally redirect his attention back to Liuxia, he discovered that the Goblin, Liuxia, had not actually dragged anyone onto the road. Her previous actions had merely been a feint.

By now, Liuxia had long vanished without a trace.

Undeniably, he had been tricked!

He could even picture the cunning Goblin hiding in the shadows, gloating as he made a fool of himself, before sauntering away.

“f*ck!”

Investigator Liao cursed again, then looked down at the tracker. “As expected, she’s already off the road?”

“No matter! Even on two legs, you won’t escape my grasp!”

With that, he was about to jump from the car and pursue on foot. But at that very moment—

The entire world seemed to be pressed into pause by an invisible hand.

The temporal reversal had ended.

****

On the bustling street, Investigator Liao stood atop a car, his gaze distant and bewildered.

“Huh…”

“What… am I doing? Why am I on a car roof?”

His confusion receded like a tide, as segments of “perfectly natural” memories swiftly filled the void.

“Oh, right. I’m here to eliminate those two scoundrels who have their eyes on my daughter.”

“The original plan was to first abduct that fake woman favored by the Paladin, but an urgent matter arose, forcing me to change plans and head directly to their meeting point to lie in wait.”

“So, I flagged down a car on the way and asked the driver to give me a ride. The morning air is wonderful, perfect for sitting on the roof. Truly invigorating.”

Thinking this, Investigator Liao comfortably settled onto the car roof, leisurely waiting for the vehicle to restart and carry him to his destination.

Cars streamed past, and many noticed the peculiar man sitting on the car roof. Yet, strangely, almost no one found his behavior odd; it seemed perfectly natural for this man to be on the roof, and he himself felt the same way.

Soon after, the car slowly approached a park in the outer ring.

An inexplicable intuition told him he had arrived.

He stood up, lightly tapped the car roof, and floated gracefully to the ground, then turned and bowed to the driver inside the car.

“Many thanks, citizen, for the ride!”

The driver, taking it completely in stride, nodded in acknowledgment and drove off without a word.

From his perspective, what was so strange about someone hopping off his car roof? Just giving someone a lift!

‘What a beautiful bond between officer and citizen!’

Investigator Liao was deeply moved, and turned to walk into the park.

At this moment, the other two also awakened from the Authority’s influence, just like Investigator Liao. Liuxia found herself somewhere in the inner ring of the city’s south, while Li Chunsheng awoke within a “battle relic.”

Standing up, he surveyed the scene. The park was littered with charred vegetation, cracked pavement, and furrows of varying depths.

Li Chunsheng, however, paid it no mind.

“It’s an outer ring park after all; a slightly rugged style is perfectly normal… as long as it doesn’t interfere with my date with Miss Liao.”

“This leaning tree must be some kind of trendy landscape art, rather unique-looking.” He folded his arms, keenly appreciating the unconventional scenery.

During this period, he had experienced Liuxia “borrowing” money from him, and successfully meeting up with Miss Liao Xinyi.

Next, they would stroll through this “unique” park.

“Oh dear!”

A delicate cry came from beside him. Li Chunsheng turned to see that Liao Xinyi had accidentally tripped over a shallow furrow on the ground.

He smiled as he stepped forward to help her up, asking gently, “Miss Liao, did you hurt yourself? Look at you, how could you be so careless?”

Liao Xinyi awkwardly patted the dust from her knees, her small face flushed with embarrassment.

Making a fool of herself in front of the Paladin young master she admired was truly an inauspicious sign.

‘The date spot Young Master Li chose is certainly quite distinctive…’

She looked at her surroundings, attempting to change the subject. “Xinyi has never seen a park quite like this…”

“Oh, really? Let me tell you about it then. That scorched patch of bushes over there is a popular gardening style in other dioceses, called ‘Charred Landscape’…”

“Ah, is that so? Young Master Li’s knowledge is so vast, Xinyi truly admires you~”

Not far away, Investigator Liao, who had witnessed it all, watched with deep-set eyes, his teeth grinding audibly.

‘A man who harbors ill intentions towards his daughter is utterly despicable! Choosing such a dangerous place for a date, causing his daughter to almost injure herself, his intentions are truly damnable!’

He remained utterly oblivious that this “dangerous terrain” was, in fact, his own handiwork.

“Damn you, Li Chunsheng… if everyone wasn’t here yet, I’d blast you to smithereens right now!”

Investigator Liao squeezed out a voice thick with murderous intent from his throat.

Soon after, Liuxia and Liao Xinyi’s conflict escalated, eventually turning into a full-blown adult brawl.

When Liao Xinyi cried and ran off, only to stumble clumsily into the mud, her tear-streaked face covered in dirt, Investigator Liao’s inner killing intent completely boiled over.

After watching his daughter leave the park entirely, Investigator Liao’s eyes instantly turned icy, and his awakened Authority roared to life.

Endless darkness spread from within him, rapidly enveloping him in a grotesque black cocoon.

From the darkness, his hollow gaze locked onto the distant direction, and he let out a roar suppressing boundless fury:

“Li Chunsheng! What have you done to my daughter, you scoundrel?! Go to hell!”

To him, this voice was the thunderous judgment of heaven itself.

Today, he would blast every discordant element threatening his happy life into oblivion!