Chapter 578 Falling

Chapter 578: The Fall

"How could you... how could you..."

Jie Ying's voice grew strained, her hands trembling as she slowly clenched them into fists, her knuckles turning white from the strain, her fingertips nearly digging into her palms.

The power Su Bai had displayed had already surpassed anything Jie Ying could comprehend. That moment of thunder and fire intertwined, those beings descending from the void—it wasn't just beyond what "Deep Dive" could achieve, but far exceeded her understanding.

They were all human players, yet Su Bai had summoned... something that could almost challenge the rules themselves.

Was that really something an ordinary human player could control?

She finally understood why, from the moment they entered this nightmare, she had felt that Su Bai knew too much, was too calm, as if he had seen through everything from the very beginning.

Perhaps, from the start, he had already stood on higher ground than them.

But at this moment, she had no time to dwell on it. Only one thought filled her mind—

The three companions from "Deep Dive" were still here.

They were hidden inside those things called "fruits," sealed like specimens inside translucent, flesh-colored barriers, like a nightmare frozen in time.

In that state... even if they were still alive, they weren't truly "living" anymore.

"Their resting place can't be here."

She murmured under her breath, her steps heavy, she walked toward those "fruits," as if reaffirming it to herself, or maybe crying out in protest.

She suddenly hurled the cleaver from her hand—the heavy blade, like an extension of her obsession, infused with all her strength and emotion.

"Crack—"

The blade sliced through the barrier of the "fruit," like tearing through a thick layer of fluid. Several "fruits" were sliced open at once, and a clear liquid gushed from the cuts.

"No, don't—!" A sharp scream suddenly rang out.

That Jie Ying could break through the barriers might have been partly because "It" had its power spread thin by the puzzle pieces, but the force in that single strike of hers had undoubtedly surpassed most human players.

After several barriers shattered, the infants wrapped inside tumbled out. But before they could even touch the ground, they rapidly shriveled in the intertwined blue flames and electric light—their skin collapsing, as if all life had been drained out of them.

The next second, they turned into wisps of light ash, silently fading into the air.

It was like the final form of a life burned out—so light it had no weight, so quiet it made no sound.

"Ahhh—!" "It's" scream nearly pierced Su Bai's and the others' eardrums.

"Those children are very important to it."

Wu Hang stood motionless. Though he lacked the power of his original form, he could see many things that humans couldn't.

"I suspected earlier that, given its immense power, its attacks seemed too slow and hesitant. Now it seems it was channeling most of its strength into keeping those infants alive."

"Those children were never meant to live." Wu Hang shook his head. "It was draining its own life force and power, forcibly keeping them in the world."

"There is indeed some power leaking away."

Su Bai said softly, his gaze fell on the bracelet on his left wrist. He slowly raised his hand, and after the infants dissipated, the bracelet's color deepened slightly, clearly absorbing some of the scattered power.

"Mr. Su."

Jie Ying stepped forward, her voice noticeably lower, her tone more respectful than ever.

She couldn't hear what Wu Hang and Su Bai were saying, nor did she know which "fruit" belonged to her companions, but she knew there was only one thing she could do.

She lowered her head to Su Bai.

"I don't know where they are, but I beg you... let them all..."

She gritted her teeth, as if forcing out a pain that crushed her heart.

"Return to dust, return to the earth."

"I beg you."

"Don't worry," Su Bai said calmly, yet his words carried more weight than any promise. "I know what to do."

This was something he had to do.

Whether it was to safely leave this place, to gather more power for the Mist Shop, or to have an extra ace in the hole when facing the Red Moon Association in the future, Su Bai had no way back.

The next second, Wu Hang handed him a branch that was still relatively intact.

The end of the branch was cleanly trimmed, wrapped with white string to form a handle—that was Wu Hang's white string.

Su Bai took the branch with tacit understanding. With a flick of his wrist, it transformed into a sharp longsword—the power of the Ghost Umbrella could turn any suitable object into an indestructible blade.

The white string Wu Hang had specially wrapped remained at the hilt, likely serving some other purpose.

Holding the longsword, Su Bai stepped forward without hesitation, piercing the barrier of the "fruit" ahead, and casually tossed the cleaver on the ground back to Jie Ying.

Seeing Su Bai take action, the Ghost Umbrella and Xiao Huo also began targeting those "fruits."

Thunder and fire intertwined, the surroundings as if drawn into the core of some strange storm.

Though somewhat regrettable, Su Bai's most important task at the moment was indeed not fighting, but supplying energy.

When he had just been reborn, merely borrowing A Xi's power had pushed him to his limits.

During the anomaly in Qingliu City, he had already been able to summon multiple puzzle pieces at once. But back then, they were only facing some profit-driven players, and his consumption was relatively manageable.

Now, summoning multiple puzzle pieces—even if Xiao Huo and Ayao had to restrain their power—Su Bai could feel the energy in his body being drained at an alarming rate, emptied out.

Thinking back, the reason Granny Bai had wanted to act but was asked to stay in the puzzle piece was not just because she was old.

It was because Su Bai's power was still insufficient to support more energy consumption.

"My children!"

"My children!"

"You forced me to do this—!"

"It's" voice was not a plea, nor an accusation, but a true collapse.

"It" had finally torn off its hypocritical mask. No more gentleness, no more pretense—only a twisted obsession with new life and a distorted maternal instinct, weaving into a will to destroy everything.

"It" no longer attacked Su Bai and the others' bodies, but struck the ground beneath their feet.

BOOM—

With a deafening crash, the ground suddenly collapsed.

A wave of weightlessness washed over him like a tide. Su Bai turned on instinct, pulling Wu Hang's small body into his arms.

Then he calmly surrendered to the fall.

His original plan was simply to survive seventy-two hours under "its" watch.

But things had spiraled out of control.

But this wasn't an accident.

It was inevitable.

After all, from the very start of the game, "it" never intended to let them go.

Since that was the case, then let them turn the tables and devour this "Mother Tree of Life" instead.