Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 865 - 616 Deprivation_2

But it doesn't matter. As long as I'm willing to search, as long as I keep searching, there will always be a day when I'll find them.

I brought them out of the planet; I can't just leave them behind.

But first, I need to possess the ability to search for people across the vast universe...

In the distant void, the Spiritual Energy beacon continues to flicker—that's the rendezvous point for one of the players.

If I can find him, I'll be able to establish contact with the Star of Origin and figure out a way to return.

Once I have a foundation, there's no need to struggle on my own anymore.

Bai E's gaze turned icy as he began to channel his Spiritual Energy, attempting to move closer to the beacon's location and prepare for an escape from this bizarre space.

However, an immense, sky-splitting tornado suddenly began to rise from the distant reaches of this domain. Understanding the destructive force of a high-dimensional storm, Bai E had no intention of confronting it a second time.

The storm roared forward, massive and overwhelming.

It descended abruptly, ominously.

But regardless of the sinister origins behind its appearance, Bai E had no choice—he must decide!

The swirling currents exceeded even the malevolent void of this space itself. Now, aside from the vague concept of "turmoil," Bai E could perceive nothing else—not a shred of information.

He must escape immediately!

Every nerve in Bai E's body bristled with urgency.

'Do I really just have to gamble on my luck?'

The random departure point—who knows where it might lead in the material universe. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

The center of a Star? Deep within a black hole?

Or... perched atop someone's toilet?

But either way, faced with the choice between confronting the high-dimensional storm or gambling on the randomness of an escape, Bai E chose the latter.

Unless he encountered those infinitely improbable events, even ending up in a vast, empty corner of the universe wouldn't faze Bai E.

Worst-case scenario, he'd spend more time seeking out alien civilizations and, once familiar with them, use their power to help him return to the Star of Origin—or at least establish contact.

Watching the distant streaks of light fade away, Bai E clenched his teeth silently.

'Wait for me!'

[Side mission triggered—The Wandering Traveler.]

A mission triggered at this moment could not afford to draw even a sliver of Bai E's attention.

With a single thought, Bai E began channeling his Spiritual Energy, bridging the boundary between high-dimensional space and the material realm.

The turbulent space before him, rippling like water, once again came into view, familiar yet foreboding.

Bai E plunged into it headfirst, as though diving across the surface of an actual ocean.

In the instant of crossing, Bai E felt his body sink—as though submerged in water... or perhaps some medium with a density even lower than water.

Empty, weightless.

Suspended within it, he could neither see starlight ahead nor the high-dimensional void behind.

It was as if he had arrived in the interstitial layer between the material realm and the high-dimensional space—a world of unfathomable emptiness.

And within this ethereal void, a mocking voice deliberately mimicked a stiff electronic tone, reverberating from all directions into Bai E's perception—

"Side mission triggered—The Wandering Traveler."

"Side mission triggered—The Wandering Traveler."

"Side mission triggered—The Wandering Traveler."

"..."

Repeated endlessly, accompanied by grotesque laughter akin to a sinister clown.

The voice grew increasingly distorted, morphing from the monotonous system sound into an unsettling cacophony of joyous mockery and jeers.

In this relentless repetition, Bai E began to hear overlapping phrases between the rigid and mocking tones inside his head—

"You silently observe your surroundings, realizing this is a completely unknown world..."

"You silently observe your surroundings..."

"Main mission activated—Survive!"

"Main mission activated..."

"??? (Human) (Ally)—Drops available upon killing with 'Lucky Strike'..."

"Drops available upon killing with 'Lucky Strike'..."

From the first awareness he had of this world to every piece of unique information he had received since—all of it twisted into warped words, repeating amidst the clown-like ridicule.

This unthinkable encounter momentarily left Bai E's mind blank.

Were these... gaming system messages?

This was a secret he had never revealed to anyone.

So how could it now, at such an unsettling moment, be exposed in such a humiliating manner?

"Who... are you?" Bai E's voice carried an unprecedented weight of vigilance.

This mysterious entity had completely touched upon his deepest buried secret.

"Who am I?" The voice boomed, crashing across the void from every direction.

Full of scornful mockery, it replied, "You tell me—who am I? I'm your gaming system! Hehe, isn't it fun? Playing as a human's system is just soooo amusing!"

The voice burst into laughter, "How is it? My acting's pretty decent, isn't it? Supporting your growth all this time, feeding you hope, but now... I don't want to play anymore."

The voice turned icy and cruel, "I've decided... to take back the power I gave you."

It spoke lightly, and instantly a deadly weakness washed over Bai E's perception.

At that moment, an unprecedented sense of helplessness engulfed Bai E's entire sense of self.

Muscles weakened, trembling; Spiritual Energy shrunk, withdrawn.

It felt as though he had regressed to the very instant he first arrived in this world.

Except now, even the faintly glowing blue panel—the thing that previously affirmed his state—had vanished completely.

No matter how Bai E called for it, the panel refused to reappear.

Gone... truly gone...

The system, the panel... and all the power derived from them.

Everything, in this moment, had disappeared completely!

Once again, he had reverted to being that newly awakened artificial soldier—or something far worse.

For the first time in ages, Bai E felt a flicker of genuine panic from the depths of his heart.

"Hah~"

A suffocating pressure suddenly swarmed him, prompting Bai E to instinctively close his eyes and breathe.

Upon reopening his eyes, chaotic noises suddenly surged into his mind.

"Trainable dark elf slaves, only 800G—take one home today!"

"Dwarven-forged battle-quality blades, 50 apiece—honest pricing for all!"

"AiHua Technology's bionic prosthetics: durable, reliable, adaptable to extreme environments—on sale now! On sale now!"

Bai E steadied himself, turning to look around.

Neon lights flickered in the distant horizon, their reflections masked by the shadow of a towering steel jungle.

Figures of all shapes and sizes hurried through the streets before him, everyone moving quickly with purpose.

Further away, the Star radiated a milky glow, piercing the canopy of mechanical spires as well as the steel beams beneath his feet.

This was... a mechanical city floating in space.

'Not bad luck—directly arrived at an alien civilized society.'

Bai E thought this instinctively, only to feel a sudden chill creeping down his back.

As his hand reflexively reached behind, it found damp clothes soaked with sweat.

His forehead itched for attention, and as he wiped it, beads of sweat dripped down.

'Leaving the high-dimensional space—I think I had a nightmare.'

Bai E mused, realizing that the Spiritual Energy he released instinctively to survey his surroundings wasn't extending as he intended.

In fact, it wasn't expanding at all; even the concept of Spiritual Energy now felt distant and unfamiliar.

Unease began pulsing through his mind again.

Bai E attempted to summon the panel instinctively.

No response from the panel.

He scrutinized the faces of others nearby, but the familiar loot-rate text atop their heads was nowhere to be seen.

Clenching his fists tightly, Bai E found them frail and powerless.

Even a rusty half-piece of metal beneath his hand seemed impossible for him to distort with his current strength.

"..."

The nightmare began to replay vividly in Bai E's mind.

'Everything that happened before—it wasn't fake?'

'My system—it was given to me by someone.'

'And now, they've grown bored of their game... leaving me in this pathetic, weak state again.'

'I've always been nothing more than a drifting speck in the tide.'