Chapter 387: The Clouds Part, the Moon Appears, and the Light Is Revealed

Chapter 387: Clouds Part, Moon Revealed, Glimpse of Heavenly Light

"Wu Yue: Why aren't you wanted?"

"Shen Que: Maybe because I had my face covered?"

Wu Yue had no words. With this bounty notice, she had practically become a walking bullseye. If she were from the White Tiger faction, she would have immediately sent someone to spread the news outside an instance and have her hunted down worldwide to be locked inside an instance...

Wait—locked inside an instance? That way, she wouldn’t be able to participate in the upcoming S4.

Wu Yue was delighted. Mom must really love her!

"Wu Yue: Mom must have deliberately put a bounty on me to keep me away from S4, afraid I’d lose it."

"Shen Que: ...Is there any basis for this line of thinking?"

"Wu Yue: She’s willing to spend 500,000 Iridium Amethyst Crystals to buy my life! Mom loves me!"

"Shen Que: Is it possible... just hypothetically, that you got blacklisted by the Order Realm’s instance system for blowing up the last instance?"

Shen Que’s words gave Wu Yue a new perspective. Even if her mother wanted to slip her resources, she couldn’t disrupt the balance of the entire instance.

In short, the instances were essentially running programs—data. Once the data was activated, her mother likely had no ability to interfere.

Her mother could adjust the drop rates of an instance to provide rare items, but who ultimately received those items was beyond her control.

Take the first instance, for example. The wind chime item had actually been obtained by Jian Suiyu, though Jian Suiyu claimed Blaze’s luck was always terrible. Of course, it was also possible that the item was originally meant for Shen Qingci or Su Mo.

This supported Wu Yue’s suspicion: someone in the Order Realm was colluding with forces here, and her mother was constrained by those powers.

It was entirely possible that the high-level ghosts weren’t avoiding her—but if they all gathered around her, her mother would be left stranded and defenseless in the Order Realm.

Fundamentally, the Order Realm existed to contain the ghosts and monsters that had once invaded the human world within a separate, self-governing system. Humans used instances to deplete and weaken these entities, preventing them from growing strong again.

Her mother’s move to the Order Realm was likely to guide and restrain its formation, maintaining balance while minimizing the risk of these creatures invading the human world again.

If her mother could follow the ghosts to the Order Realm back then, chances were that others—human or ghost—could do the same.

Wu Yue began thinking rapidly. Even from a distance, Shen Que could sense her mental energy spiking.

For the first time, Shen Que witnessed Wu Yue’s thoughts taking physical shape within his own mental core. Countless threads unfurled like shimmering stellar nebulae, expanding and branching endlessly.

Each flickering point of light represented a fragment of information. When logical reasoning hit a dead end or encountered a paradox, that particular chain would fizzle out instantly.

All the data points spread out, layering upward until only the most solid logic remained.

The entire deductive process was like watching a towering tree of golden light grow within his mental core.

Witnessing this golden tree take form left Shen Que awestruck. Finally, he understood why Wu Yue’s mental energy was constantly drained.

Every new branch and vein was fueled by mental energy. Completing such a complex logical deduction required an immense expenditure.

Wu Yue’s mind was like the world’s most sophisticated computer—but what she was doing could never be replicated by one.

Artificial intelligence could never replicate the human emotions and intricate motives woven into this kind of reasoning.

To ensure Wu Yue had enough mental energy, Shen Que swiftly moved toward the source of the surge.

When he finally caught sight of Wu Yue and confirmed she was alone, he sighed in relief.

"We need to get out of here—now."

Wu Yue looked at Shen Que, "If it’s about maintaining balance, whenever my mother wants to modify something, there’s always a trade-off to keep things stable."

Shen Que, "You thought of something?"

Wu Yue, "Puppet Dungeon: the no-win scenario and the angel relic;

Golden Crow Dungeon: the blackened Golden Crow and crystal reserves;

Plot Dungeon: the whitefish of the Bottom River and the night pearls, the golden trident and unlocking the crisis, the Bottom River resources and the Siphon Catastrophe...

In every dungeon, there's always a price to pay for what you gain."

So the question arises: What’s the catch with the Fox Spirit dungeon suddenly popping up?

The Fox Spirit dungeon looked too good to be true, but the more it appeared so, the more it concealed something terrifying lurking beneath.

Why did her mother suddenly test Shen Que in the Fox Spirit Dating Dungeon? Why, in the Order Realm’s final stage, did her mother go so far as to send both Luo Shen and Dylan after them to ensure she and Shen Que obtained the Fox Spirit artifact?

Her mother was the hero of the final war, but now she was trapped in the Order Realm, unable to escape.

Her mother responded to her summons, handing her the mission to save everyone—yet wanted posters were up for her arrest.

The Fallen Angel encountered in the Order Realm, the source of Vlad's vampiric power, and the three dungeons repeatedly mentioned in the memories of rebirth all indicated that the opposing side had long been preparing.

It was highly likely that her mother had been exposed, surrounded by enemies in the Order Realm. She was gambling everything—the coastal mining town was her final trump card.

Now, whether they could secure the resources depended entirely on her.

.....

Order Realm

Xiao Ni and Ambika simultaneously shielded Lu Ling from the approaching Order Guards.

Dylan, "Luo Shen, get our leader out of here."

Lu Ling, however, remained unhurried. She simply said:

"Might as well see how this plays out. I, too, want to see how my daughter and her boyfriend will get out of this mess and claim all the resources."

Propping her chin on her palm, she leisurely regarded the approaching figure.

"Chief Enforcer, you’re not that eager to kick the bucket, are you?"

The Order Commander departed, leaving behind a final warning:

"Lu Ling, once the dungeon concludes, for disrupting order and colluding with humans, you will immediately proceed to the pits of the Eight Frozen Hells to face punishment."

.....

Wu Yue told Shen Que, "Since they want to claim the bounty on me, just hand me over to them."

Shen Que disagreed, "What if they kill you on the spot? How about I just wipe out the whole northwest division instead?

Kill them all, then torch every bounty notice targeting you—we can still take the crystals."

Wu Yue, "How much time is left before the engagement begins?"

Shen Que, "Twelve hours left."

Wu Yue was rapidly analyzing the situation. "No more deaths. We’re out of chances."

From now on, no one else must die.

If those standing against us aren’t even human, then any further deaths would mean non-combat losses for them."

Shen Que felt his mental energy draining rapidly. Rapid logical deductions flashed through his mind at speeds thousands of times faster than normal; the strain was so intense he could feel a sharp throbbing at his temples from the sheer mental exertion.

By the time Shen Que sensed his mental energy reaching its limit,

a colossal, verdant tree had finally taken root in Wu Yue’s mind—and at its very crown, a fresh new bud sprouted.

The enemy’s meticulously laid trap, spanning fifteen years or even longer—their deep, pervasive infiltration, the hidden threads of manipulation, the constant baiting and countering—

her mother’s fifteen years of silent suffering, the relentless, exhaustive efforts of their predecessors—all of it was on the verge of being destroyed without them even realizing.

Only after completely shaking free from her childhood shadows and the invisible shackles of mental control,

through just two hours of extreme logical deduction,

did the fog finally disperse, the clouds part—finally letting the light break through.