Deep in the Living

The Outer God returns, descending into the deep pit at the same time.

A mass of mist swiftly sneaks away from the quarry, first arriving outside the pit where Mr. Question Mark is held, gathering into a bloated form, with the head still obscured by mist.

It is indeed Joke.

But his entire right arm, along with a portion of body fat, is gone.

This kind of soul-level destruction is different from simple limb damage; it cannot be healed by any means, and even attempting to use prosthetics as a replacement is impossible.

Concept-level deficits will render any structure related to the right arm unusable, and forcefully installing substitute prosthetics would only harm the body.

However,

Joke has barely adapted to this loss, maintaining his body's balance.

He tiptoes, leaning forward as much as possible, to look towards the bottom of the pit, using some method to ascertain the situation below.

Soon, he confirms that Luo Di is down there, along with a sticky, damp presence, as if a tongue were licking the surface of his body.

With a shiver,

he decisively abandons his actions against Luo Di, transforming back into mist and heading to the edge of the island.

He blows out a balloon ship and leaves alone.

"The current situation is beyond what I can intervene in; I'm just working for free, not worth getting myself involved.

I'll sneak back once that frog kills all these monsters.

As for Luo Di... when the Corner is fully compromised, he can only retreat to the human side. At that time, just like when his entire family was slaughtered, I'll secretly kill him.

It's exciting! Such heavy damage has furthered my understanding of the mist... hehe!"

Although Joke has no intention to repair the arm, faintly, some mist could be seen surrounding that area.

...

[Bottom of the Deep Pit]

The unknown Outer God's return does not interrupt Teacher Guo's arm rotation; he continues to destruct the pit's structure.

He also looks up to observe the other party, as it's his first time truly seeing this [Outer Realm visitor].

Observing up close, Teacher Guo confirms something, something meaningful.

"Although the essence of the Corner is dead, the rules and restrictions remain here. This guy, skilled in the passage, arrived on our side ahead of time; his [Divinity] is constrained.

Moreover, the City of Sin's attack squad proves this entity can be injured.

There's a chance to win..."

Teacher Guo slowly stops rotating his arm, leaving spiral patterns imprinted on the entire bottom of the pit.

A sound comes from above, a language that can be understood regardless of its form, able to drill holes on the surface of the brain.

"Insignificant natives, your combat strategy is peculiar... those provoking my attention in the City of Sin, several of them are quite capable.

The opportunity they fought for with all their strength only results in you alone here destroying the [passage].

Even if you successfully destroy it, it would only delay construction by a month... what purpose does your action serve?

Do you really think a one-month delay can prevent extinction?

One thing is certain; the plague explosion you initiated on the island has been effective, causing heavy casualties among my offspring.

But this can also be resolved with time, in about a week I can birth replacements to fill the gap.

You seem like a relatively smart native, yet you can only come up with such a foolish plan.

After I kill you, I'll go back to deal with those troublemakers in the City of Sin... I must say, my patience is running thin with you guys.

According to my plan, the passage's opening and your race's extinction should be synchronous; now I'll have to advance the extinction plan."

A webbed hand makes a downward motion.

Buzz!!

Teacher Guo feels completely bound by something, unable to teleport or escape, pressed by an unseen force, making him kneel with shattered kneecaps.

The back bearing the pressure reveals many hole structures, and the special combat uniform is on the brink of rupture.

Crucial moment,

Teacher Guo suddenly raises his hand, twists forcefully!

The towering arm throne shatters directly, the bones used as material all twisted and deformed, collapsing entirely.

Divinity's voice resonates again:

"Is this all you can do? Only in the face of imminent death, exhaust everything, to destroy my throne? So insignificant, why continue to struggle?

Nevertheless, it's good this way, I'll personally devour you."

Splat!

The Outer God descends,

lands elegantly.

The suppression from the hand persists, as if a hundred-meter webbed hand is pinning Teacher Guo down; he cannot lift his head or gaze upon the opponent's form.

Only able to see a black flipper slowly approaching, standing before him.

The rank disparity is too vast, making it impossible to see it as a confrontation between two people, but rather a one-sided erasure.

The voice continues to echo within his mind:

"As a local native, the system of abilities you've touched upon is quite unique, encompassing both time and space... If you were given some time to develop, allowing you to grasp divinity, you might pose a certain threat to me.

But now, you're quite suitable to be my food."

The webbed hand approached closely,

Teacher Guo could clearly feel the impending crisis. Once touched, he would die instantly.

Even so, he maintained a calm mindset, with both hands pressing on the ground, precisely touching the vortex formation he had painstakingly constructed.

The traces of the vortex covered the entire bottom of the deep pit.

The entire island had become Teacher Guo's main battlefield due to the spread of the plague.

However, he had no intention of confronting the Outer God. There was only one thing he needed to do.

[Space Teleportation]

A presence that had been resting in Vortex Town was directly teleported here.

And simultaneously... crack!

A shattered rock layer at the top of the deep pit suddenly collapsed, and a stone block with a diameter of over ten meters fell. Although it was a normal free fall, it felt like the acceleration had increased tenfold, and sparks ignited at the bottom.

Like a meteor,

it happened to fall toward the position where the Outer God stood.

"Hmm?"

Crack crack~

Dozens of hand-like limbs, resembling both human and frog, suddenly grew between the unknown Outer God's body holes. The palms were smeared with mucus, extended ten meters, and securely caught this anomalous falling stone.

It was at this moment of distraction.

Teacher Guo suddenly broke free from the suppression of divinity, pulling back by a full hundred meters.

Not only that,

there was now another person in front of Teacher Guo,

a man with a blond hair wearing a bowler hat,

his left ring finger adorned with a family crest ring, his yellow scarf covering everything below his nose, currently sitting in a wheelchair.

The putrid black eye sockets of the Outer God were fixated on this local monster,

With the information gathered surprisingly containing [Danger].

Even including all the monsters it had seen before in the City of Sin, none had ever made it truly feel danger... Of course, it was only a slight danger anyway.

"Hmm?

Such a small lower world, yet it has such an existence? Involving the root of causality... This power isn't one you can control; you might even be swept up in it yourself."

With just a glance, this unknown Outer God discerned Maximus's core abilities, while simultaneously devising a response method in its mind.

At this moment,

An anomaly occurred.

The swirling patterns inscribed by Teacher Guo at the bottom of the deep pit suddenly began to rotate.

And Maximus's position, precisely at the vortex's center.

"Time... Flow..."

In an instant,

Teacher Guo's temples turned gray, wrinkles appeared on his skin, and he seemingly aged from thirty to seventy.

Conversely,

Maximus's body reverted from old age to middle age, maintaining his current sense of fear and regaining his prime form.

He stood up from the wheelchair,

tore off the scarf, removed the tall hat.

A handsome blond face was revealed, bearing some resemblance to Lebeite.

Teacher Guo's aged voice came, "Cough~ Teacher Ma, the next step is up to you... Let these arrogant beings from the Outer Realm experience so-called fear."

Maximus began stretching his muscles and bones, raising his right hand above his shoulder as if to make an "OK" gesture.

Unexpectedly, just as he raised his hand, he lost his balance and fell, his entire face mangled... Yet he maintained a bizarre smile.

Because Maximus saw something he hadn't seen in the past,

something filling the entire world like a flowing stream, known as the "flood of disaster."

He grabbed at it.

Suddenly, he fell.

Misfortune killed him, and he immediately emerged from a new location.

Teacher Ma also began to falter,

suddenly his regeneration encountered issues, a question mark appeared on his skin surface.

Amidst the battle,

Joke rowed away alone,