Chapter 90: The Changing World, the Return of Fate's Line

Radiance was obscured.

As the bruised and swollen mailman resented himself, "Shadow" appeared in front of him silently and indifferently.

"Who are you?" the mailman asked hesitantly.

The Sequence Game had chosen him, and he had been granted the A-tier "Super Speed Regeneration."

"Shadow" squatted down with a smile, looking at him with great interest, and said, "A nameless individual with the aspiration to change the world, I came to help you kindly."

"Change... the world?" The mailman noticed the altered perspective, and the presence of the system became conspicuous. "...Help me?"

"Exactly. Let's start with rescuing your wife." "Shadow's" smile was mysterious and inscrutable.

"You..." The mailman frowned, seemingly skeptical.

But "Shadow" paid no mind to it and continued, "No one can see me, no one can defeat me, I don't exist in this world, but I will always observe your existence until fate ends..."

The daylight turned dim.

Torn newspapers continued to flutter around, and the mailman remained silent, trudging forward wearily.

numb crowd paid no attention to him.

...

...

Thus, "Shadow" became an existence known only to the mailman, becoming his wary yet admired mentor.

When life was difficult, "Shadow" taught him knowledge beyond his time, covering medicine, chemistry, physics, and all the knowledge that could keep him alive.

When he was extorted by local bullies, "Shadow" stood by his side, instructing him on how to deal with multiple enemies in combat.

When high-level players trampled on his dignity, "Shadow" would watch him with an expressionless face, teaching him the relationship between restraint and forbearance.

Therefore, when he prepared to infiltrate the military department to save his wife, he was not afraid because "Shadow" had always been there.

"Could I become a master like you in the future?"

"You cannot surpass me."

"Then in the future, can I see your true existence, Teacher?"

"Yes."

"I have always had a question, why do you want to help me?"

"Just a whim, who knows, you might resent me for helping you in the future."

"You are being cryptic again, Teacher."

"I enjoy it."

The brief conversation ended, and the mailman, now infiltrating the military department, was quickly surrounded by several players. The officer from the previous timeline was enjoying a cigar.

The non-existent "Shadow" silently directed the mailman, guiding him on how to deal with the inevitable predicament.

Resurrection points, self-destructive breakthrough, feigned death and reincarnation...

Under "Shadow's" guidance, the mailman quickly broke through the layers of blockade and reached the deepest level where his wife was imprisoned.

"You are so capable, how do you know more about Super Speed Regeneration than me..."

"Quiet, you are still in the military department's ambush."

Experiencing countless deaths and rebirths, the mailman finally rescued his unconscious wife and hid her in a remote village cabin.

"Collect the herbs I described, and they should be enough to treat your wife's injuries. Hurry."

"I trust you, Teacher."

The world constructed based on Death's Leader's memories was subtly changing again. The mailman wasn't as tormented as in the previous timeline.

But a false reality remained false, and when he awakened, everything would return to its original state.

Alister was always the observer, and the mailman always the subject of the experiment. No matter how they chose, reality would never change.

The mailman seemed to notice something, but he didn't seem eager to wake up.

"Teacher, you haven't taught me about social humanities and international politics for a long time..."

"No need, you won't need those things anyway."

"Who said that? When I get the chance, I want to become the Chancellor of Germany and establish peace!"

"Alright, alright, prepare your trump cards. Soon, you'll encounter a new enemy."

"Who? I will definitely take them down!"

"A-tier witch."

"Save me!"

"Get as far away as possible, I don't want to help you anymore, so good luck."

"Ah, ahhh—"

In a remote village cabin, the mailman shamelessly clung to "Shadow," but the intangible "Shadow" looked away with a disdainful expression.

"Will there be a future where I can't see you anymore?!"

"Don't worry about that, we'll meet."

"And when that time comes, will I still be your direct disciple?"

"If you think it's a direct disciple, then it's a direct disciple. Think whatever you want."

"When that time comes, we will change the world together, bring justice to all evil!"

"When that time comes, you will want to kill me."

"That's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"You will definitely want to kill me, that's something that cannot be changed."

"Care to bet?" The mailman displayed the aura of a new player. "If you're wrong, you have to take me along to change the world."

"No bets, too much trouble." "Shadow" sat down leisurely.

"You said you wanted to change the world back then." The mailman persisted, "You taught me all this time, but in the end, you won't take me with you?"

"Shadow" yawned, glanced at the unconscious woman on the bed, and casually said, "If I take you with me, what about your wife? She would die as soon as she gets involved in players' conflicts."

The mailman fell silent, his gaze slowly examining his wife.

"So, will you still follow me?"

In this world, ordinary people could not survive.

After several breaths, the mailman suddenly clenched his fists, speaking with high spirits:

"That's why this world needs to change even more!"

"Shadow" could tell the mailman was telling the truth, feeling moved as he watched him meet one of the conditions for promotion to A-tier, letting out a sigh for some unknown reason.

Alister left.

...

...

The world constructed from memories, because "Shadow" no longer interfered, fate's line reconverged astonishingly, and the ending returned to one of hardship.

The mailman's wife died, killed in a raid by remnants of the military department.

The mailman became an experimental subject of the witch again, bearing the Bloodthorn's Flower of Guilt that continuously drained his life through Super Speed Regeneration.

This timeline's mailman, though he didn't become the world's number one war criminal, still went insane, one reason being "Shadow's" sudden departure, and the other being his wife's death.

This painful world—Death's Leader resolved to join Perpetual Night's Lament.

As the wheel of time turned slowly, after the world war ended, Death's Leader arrived in City A and was suppressed by Qingxian, taking refuge in the research institute...

Finally, on the Friday when the great meteor shower descended, the moment arrived.

Breaking free from the containment of the research institute, manipulating the Seventeenth Bureau's inspectors, Death's Leader saw "Shadow."

The enigmatic and unknown existence, speculated to be S-tier in the Shadow system, with incomparable combat awareness...

Death's Leader was stunned. He looked at this world, and in an instant, it shattered like a mirror, everything returning.

Genuine memories from reality surged into his mind.

The teacher was "Shadow," and "Shadow" was the teacher.

—Creating a false world, the adversarial existence that accompanied him for half of his life.

Death's Leader understood everything, and thus, his dream disappeared. He opened his eyes, feeling a sense of inexplicable hatred.

...

...

In the dead of night, dim lights, a vast darkness.

Death's Leader lay in the ruins at the edge of the north district, having fallen from high in the sky. The impact created a vast and deep pit of flesh and blood on the ground.

Above the deep pit in the ruins, "Shadow" stood with hands in pockets, looking down at him expressionlessly.

Death's Leader smiled again, but he didn't get up. He raised his gun and aimed at "Shadow's" head.

He recalled the memory of the promise not to kill "Shadow." He knew that the mailman was merely a false construct, and he was the first-tier Death's Leader.

Therefore, Death's Leader's smile was benevolent as he bid farewell:

"It's time for you to die, Teacher."