The world around Bai Lian had gone silent. Even the wind seemed afraid to breathe around her.
Her lips trembled. She didn't blink—didn't move—only stared at the words on the screen as if looking away would shatter them into a lie.
The stream chat exploded.
Yue Ci: WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY???? The tower just told me kill essence comes from killing monsters. Where or how the hell did he beat two or more monsters?
Mo Li: That's not the only thing weird about this guy. I tried putting in his player ID, but it only brought me to an empty tab with a notification saying I was blocked and his view broadcast had ended.
Xiulan: Why aren't we talking about what he said?
Bing Qing: I'm really blocked... Wait, isn't this guy the top of the floor? How did he reach the top player of this tutorial floor?
(7 more massages)
Bai Lian slowly lifted the screen closer, as if she feared something would reach out and take it away.
Her voice slipped out, small and raw. "If you're really Zhang Rui… then… then where have you been all this time…?"
A new message appeared.
(Player 17805) Zhang Rui: I'll explain. Just not here. Too many people are watching.
He paused. The next words felt deliberate—gentle, but unyielding.
Zhang Rui: Bai Lian, open your Live View and send me your Player ID on Liang Wei's page, or since you're looking at my username, just add me to a private stream. That way we'll talk privately. There are things only you and I should discuss.
Her fingers hovered uncertainly over the interface. She glanced at Liang Xiu and at the others seated across the pavilion. They were watching her with uneasy confusion—caution—fear.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
"I…" she whispered, frozen.
Another message came.
Zhang Rui: If you're scared, I understand. But I'm not here to hurt you. Not now, not ever. Think about it—would anyone else know what we went through? Would anyone else know what I told you about making friends?
Bai Lian's breath hitched.
Zhang Rui: 'If I can't make you happy, then find someone who can. If one friend isn't enough, make two. If two aren't enough, make ten. Keep going until the whole world is your friend…'
Do you remember me saying that?
Her hand shot over her mouth to stop the sob that tore through her. Tears spilled freely, shaking her shoulders.
Liang Xiu stepped closer, uncertain. "Bai Lian… Are you okay?"
She didn't answer him. Her hands moved—slowly, then with sudden desperation.
She opened her player menu.
She tapped Live View, she fidgeted with the main, and she broadcast.
A private stream window blinked to life, invisible to the public—only those she selected could access it.
Her voice cracked but held steady with resolve.
"Fine… I'll open it," she said. "But if this is a lie—if this is some sick trick—I'll kill y—"
Zhang Rui: Then I better not disappoint you.
She typed quickly, sending the request.
[Private Live View Invite Sent → Player 17805]
[Private channel established between BaiLian_01365 and Zhang Rui_17805]
A faint smile touched her lips—not happy, but hollow, aching, terrified—and hopeful in a way that hurt to look at.
Far away, Liu Yang—Zhang Rui—saw the notification appear.
He exhaled slowly.
Finally.
[Private Live View Connection Established]
"I'd like to spend half my Ruby Blood Coins to give us as much privacy as possible," he said to the Tower interface. I should have around fifty of those, assuming I got two per kill.
His gaze drifted back to where he had collapsed earlier. The stone floor was still littered with scattered Kill Essence Coins, Ruby Blood Coins, and two full bags of Essence and Lower Essence Coins.
[The Tower has heard your request.]
[Calculating the privacy available in exchange for 25 Ruby Blood Coins…]
[The Final Existence has granted you the highest form of privacy at a discounted rate as a first-time bonus.]
[Recalculating… First-time bonus: 15% discount applied.]
[Final cost: 21 Ruby Blood Coins.]
The Final Existence, huh? I see… she's been watching me too. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. I wonder if she's already looked through my mind and figured out her entire reality was once written on my keyboard.
Or maybe she already knows—and simply doesn't care. If Outer Gods are pouring in from different realities, then maybe I'm not that strange after all. For now she's probably just looking for the best way to protect herself… And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who brought me into this world.
But that doesn't make me special. He ruffled his hair as a soft blue light wrapped around him. Inthis Tower of Instability, no future is set in stone. It was made to be a true neutral ground—one that even she couldn't fully control. So even if she brought me here, I'm not her pampered pet. I'm just another variable—one that might or might not survive tomorrow.
Then there's only one way forward—take advantage of everything I can. Use what little I remember about the next trial's setup… and steal the protagonist's halo if I can~
His body dissolved into threads of light and vanished from the bronze bridge, reforming inside a floating cube suspended in a space-like void. Another figure materialized in front of him—and he smiled.
"Hello… Bai Lian."
Bai Lian stood before him in a sleek black qipao trimmed in gold, her long white hair falling in twin ponytails, violet eyes sharp and wary. She looked nothing like the trembling girl who once hid behind hospital walls.
Her gaze hardened the moment she saw him.
"…You're not Zhang Rui."
He chuckled softly. "You didn't look thirty sixteen years ago."
Her expression twitched. "I'm twenty-eight."
"And I'm eighteen now," he replied casually.
Her eyes narrowed. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I know," he said, his voice gentler than before. "But still… I'm glad you're alive. And I'm glad you're not as broken as you used to be."
A shadow crossed her features. "Don't change the subject. If you're really Zhang Rui—what happened to you?"
He met her eyes without flinching.
"I died," he said. "And recently… I was partially brought back to life. As a teenager."
"I don't really know how," Zhang Rui admitted. "But I have a pretty good guess on why, ever since I started regaining my memories a week ago."
He gave a small, almost tired smile and glanced down at himself. "If you're interested in what happened before that, then you'd be bored out of your mind. There wasn't much of me left then."
"I can't… I c-can't believe you're really here," Bai Lian whispered. Her voice trembled, as if she was afraid he would disappear if she spoke too loudly.
"Well," Zhang Rui tilted his head, "do you remember what I told you about the voices inside my head?" He lifted his hand and pointed two fingers to his temple like a gun. "If what the Final Existence told us is true… then I'm pretty sure I finally know what they are."
"Wait—are you saying you—"
"I still hear them, yes," he murmured, cutting her off. He began pacing in a slow circle, as if the motion helped him think. "I started hearing them the moment I entered the Tower. They whispered in my ear, giving me orders… urging me to climb."
Her expression tensed as he stopped pacing.
"They want me to reach the top," he said quietly. "Which means they're after the Final Existence—and the ultimate treasure she's guarding."
"Ultimate treasure? You mean the Highest Essence?" Bai Lian stepped back slightly. "Didn't that Final Existence goddess say only the Outer Gods were after it? If the voices in your head want you to clear this Tower… doesn't that mean—"
He nodded solemnly.
"I'm an evil god's puppet—brought back to life to help them invade and consume this world. I'm nothing more than a vessel for entities that can give or take my life whenever they want."
Bai Lian stared at him, mind reeling. Her hands rose to cover her mouth. "That can't be… you can't—" She wanted to deny it—but deep down, a part of her already knew. He had always been different. Always burdened by something no one else could see.
Tears welled in her eyes. "Isn't there a way to get free?!"
Zhang Rui looked at her for a long moment—then slowly nodded.
"There is," he said. "I told you about it a long time ago—back when we were just kids."
She froze.
"Happiness," he said softly. "The happier I was… the quieter they became. And the happier the people around me were, the weaker their voices got—almost like joy itself burned them."
Bai Lian stared at him, stunned, memories flashing across her expression.
"But they knew that," Zhang Rui continued bitterly. "That's why… when I was at my weakest—far from anyone who cared—they possessed me and tore my soul away from the one place it was finally free. They dragged me back from that happy space."
His voice had gone hoarse. A storm churned in his eyes—but beneath it, there was a desperate, lingering hope.
He took a slow step toward her.
"I think… it could work here too," he said. "Even in this Tower."
She wiped her tears and straightened, resolve burning through the softness of her features. "Then tell me what to do. I'll help you—with anything."
"Anything?" he asked quietly.
"Yes."
"Even if what I ask… is too much?"
Her gaze didn't waver. "Yes."
His hand moved slowly, almost hesitantly at first. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. For a heartbeat, neither of them spoke.
Then Zhang Rui leaned in—and kissed her.
Her breath caught as his lips pressed against hers—soft at first, almost uncertain, as though he feared she might run away if he held her too tightly. But Bai Lian didn't pull back. Instead, her trembling fingers rose and clutched the front of his shirt, clinging to him with a desperate sort of hunger—as if she had been waiting years for this moment without knowing it.
The kiss deepened.
Her pulse fluttered wildly, emotion surging through her like a broken dam. Memories and buried feelings collided inside her—loneliness, fear, and the warmth of a boy who once found her in the dark and made her believe she wasn't broken. She felt that same warmth now—only fiercer, rawer, and sharpened by time and pain.
Zhang Rui's hand slid to her waist, pulling her closer. He exhaled against her lips, a low sound escaping him—relief, ache, longing. And for a brief, fragile moment, the world outside of them simply… stopped existing.
No Tower.
No death.
No gods.
Just them. Just now.
But he was the one who broke the kiss.
Slowly, he drew back, though his fingers lingered at her waist as if reluctant to let go. His dark eyes opened—and the calm inside them was gone, replaced by a quiet storm of emotion and something far more dangerous.
He looked at her like a starving man seeing food for the first time—like she was something sacred.
"Bai Lian…" he said quietly, breath unsteady. "Back then, I told you happiness could silence the voices."
She swallowed, still catching her breath. "Yes…"
"But I never told you the truth." His thumb brushed the edge of her jaw. "Happiness isn't enough anymore. Not for me. Not for what's coming."
Her heartbeat quickened. "Then what is it?"
His gaze didn't waver.
"I want to taste it," he said. "Not the illusion people chase, not the cheap imitation people settle for—I want the real thing."
He leaned closer again, voice low and intense.
"I want to taste true love."
The words lingered between them, heavy and electric—dangerous in a way that made her chest tighten.
Because in that moment… she wasn't sure if he was confessing something beautiful—
—or declaring war on her soul.