Chapter 150: Nothing Has Gotten Better
Xu Zhi returned to the house she had in the city center. She first checked on Yu Shenwei to make sure there was nothing abnormal, then went back to her room, took out the game console, and asked:
“Why do I feel like these archbishops aren’t as powerful as you said they’d be?”
[That’s strange. These archbishops really are way too weak.]
[Don’t take Ye Yan’s corpse out of the warehouse just yet. I need to examine it later.]
“Is it because their power was artificially boosted too fast?”
[No.]
[…]
The Narrator was silent for a long time.
[The rules don’t allow me to say too much.]
[But even if their power was forcibly increased, an archbishop is still an archbishop. They shouldn’t be this feeble.]
[Something is wrong.]
[Also, once you capture Lust, don’t kill him immediately.]
Something was definitely off. Based on what the Narrator had said before, the archbishops were supposed to be extremely powerful. Ye Yan and the others were strong, yes—but they hadn’t given Xu Zhi the overwhelming sense of danger she was expecting.
There were troublesome and tricky moments, sure, but overall, it wasn’t as intense as the Narrator had made it seem.
“…There are a lot of things the rules don’t allow you to say, huh.”
“So, are the rules the reason why these archbishops seem so weak?”
[No. The rules don’t interfere in things like that. This is… an anomaly.]
“What kind of anomaly?”
[Anything that doesn’t follow the natural order—I call that an anomaly.]
[Ever since supernatural abilities reawakened, a lot of strange things have happened.]
[First of all, the fog gathering around Cloud City was already a bad sign.]
[The Midnight Rift wasn’t supposed to appear in the city center either.]
[And you acquiring an archbishop’s foundation—that was even more bizarre.]
[Because your attributes aren’t pure. Normally, the path of an archbishop wouldn’t choose someone like you. So, the anomaly had already begun back then.]
[At the time, I thought maybe it was just due to the unusual things you’d already accomplished.]
[But now, thinking back… it might not just be you. Even Cup might be acting strangely.]
[And then you managed to extract that foundation and give it to the lesser aberration without suffering any major consequences—that surprised me too.]
[The Cup attribute foundation is rooted in the soul. It’s the source of an archbishop’s power, their totem, even their very life. In a way, the foundation is their true self.]
[To remove it, even with a fragment assisting, should’ve come at a serious price.]
[I was fully prepared for you to have to tear your soul apart.]
[But it went… too smoothly.]
[And the foundations—yours, Yu Shenwei’s, even the lesser aberration’s—felt too insubstantial.]
[Unreal, even.]
There was something deeper hidden in the Narrator’s tone.
[Everything is out of place—nothing is the way it’s supposed to be.]
It felt like the Narrator wasn’t just explaining things to Xu Zhi anymore, but also voicing its own internal doubts.
[Is He plotting something…?]
He?
Xu Zhi immediately realized the “He” must refer to the supreme being of the Cup attribute.
The Narrator fell silent for another long moment, then slowly displayed a new line of text:
[I think I’m starting to piece things together.]
To Xu Zhi, that sentence felt unexpectedly heavy.
[I’m afraid this world is already shrouded in a fog that obscures the truth. If we can’t dispel it… everything might come to an end.]
[What I can say for sure is: You’re likely on the right path.]
[After all, He’s murderous intent toward you is definitely real.]
Then, surprisingly, the Narrator let out a very human-like sigh:
[Sigh.]
[I need some time to figure out what’s really going on. Hopefully, we’re not too late.]
[Perhaps even I am lost in this fog now, unfit to be the light that guides you forward.]
“What the heck?”
“Why are you suddenly so gloomy?”
“Just because those guys turned out to be weird?”
Xu Zhi sounded a bit annoyed, though not at the Narrator.
“If there’s a problem, then just kill them. And if more problematic people show up later, we’ll kill them too. Problem solved, right?”
She knew her words were overly idealistic, but now was not the time to spiral into despair along with the Narrator.
“Also, you sound like the world is already doomed. Aren’t you being a bit too pessimistic?”
[It’s not that I’m pessimistic…]
“Then what is it?” Xu Zhi pressed. “Is the world really going to end?”
But the Narrator didn’t answer directly.
[If you keep moving forward… one day, you’ll find out.]
“Ugh, the riddle game again.”
[Level up quickly. Something’s wrong with this world. We might not have much time left.]
Then, unexpectedly, the Narrator said something that sounded very much like Xu Zhi herself—something rare for it.
Normally, it was Xu Zhi who acted on intuition.
She hadn’t expected that solving the seemingly troublesome archbishop issue would actually open the door to a far bigger mess.
If the Narrator was telling the truth, then this world was seriously off-track. Everything had diverged from its proper course.
These so-called “archbishops” were likely just pawns He had used to eliminate Xu Zhi, the unstable variable. They looked like archbishops on the surface—but in reality, something about them was fundamentally wrong.
“Ugh, so annoying!”
Xu Zhi collapsed onto her bed in frustration.
“Can’t a proper novel protagonist show up to save the day?”
“Isn’t that how it always goes? When the world’s in crisis, some hero shows up to save it.”
[What if that person… is you?]
“No way. Absolutely not.”
Xu Zhi immediately rejected the idea.
[But other than you, which other Transcendentals in this world could do it?]
“I can’t either!” Xu Zhi protested, horrified. Saving the world was not part of her dream!
[What I meant was… you’re the strongest right now.]
“…Don’t say things like that!”
Too much responsibility…
“If I have to do that, then let the world end. Seriously.”
[Well, if you don’t want to die, maybe you should come up with a plan.]
“Why me? Why do I have to think of a plan?”
Xu Zhi was confused.
“If I come up with something, are you even sure it’ll work?”
[…]
[My plans all fall within the bounds of logic. But now that the world has gone off-track, I can’t guarantee they’ll still work.]
[So maybe your, um, ‘unique’ ideas will be more effective.]
Xu Zhi’s gray eyes were filled with dismay.
“You mean I don’t even get a break from thinking now?”
[That’s right. Good luck, girl. Your fate may be in your own hands.]
“Why’d you have to add ‘may’?!”
[Be good. Go play on your own. I’m busy.]
Xu Zhi: Anger intensifies!
Author’s Note:
Some readers have complained the archbishops are too weak. And yes—you’re absolutely right, they are weak.
As for why? Well, that’s because…
I can’t tell you yet.
Let the Narrator become the riddlemaster for now!
Once the end of Volume 1’s outline is revealed, you’ll understand.
For now, feel free to guess away~
