Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

Shen Zhen whispered her findings and speculations to Su Mingyuan, Ye Zhiqi, and other core members.

"You can... disrupt the rules of this cycle?" Ye Zhi Qiu's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"It's not interference, it's that we might be able to find its weaknesses or vulnerabilities," Shen Zhen said in a low voice.

"Next cycle, I need to get closer and see more clearly!" Of course, he wouldn't reveal the secret of the power of despair.

We've reached the tenth cycle, and it's almost time for the third quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

The delegation members lay in ambush around the clock tower.

Shen Zhen adjusted herself to her best condition.

Su Mingyuan, Ye Zhiqi, Qiu Zhengnan and others surrounded him, ready to do their best to assist him and deal with any possible counterattacks.

when--!

The dull tolling of the bell rang out, and the world instantly began to distort.

"Now."

Shen Zhen unleashed his full power of despair through fusion.

This time, he "saw" it more clearly.

At the very center of that network of rules lies the green lamp atop the clock tower!

Countless regular threads spread and converge around it as its core.

He concentrated all his energy, guiding the merging power of despair towards the weakest point connecting the network of rules and the blue lamp.

"laugh!"

A very faint sound, like a thread breaking, rang in Shen Zhen's perception.

At the same time, he felt that he had absorbed a small fragment of rules containing more complex information.

boom!!!

The entire spacetime of Qingwu Town suddenly trembled, the distortion far exceeding that before.

The blue lamp on the top floor of the clock tower flickered wildly, its flame dancing erratically, while the blue mist that enveloped the entire town surged violently.

A mutation ensued.

Just as Shen Zhen successfully "stole" it.

A vast, ancient torrent of will, composed entirely of pure sorrow and obsession, erupted from the green lamp and instantly swept across the entire Green Mist Town.

This will has no concrete voice, nor does it have a formed language.

In the perception of the Fourth Squad, Su Mingyuan, Ye Zhiqi and others, there was only an indescribable sense of sorrow and weariness that froze their minds, crashing against their consciousness like a tsunami.

Their eyes glazed over instantly, and they were about to fall into a deep sleep without any resistance.

However, in Shen Zhen's perception, it was completely different.

He directly "heard" the fragmented echoes contained within this torrent of will:

An endless, blood-red sky, a non-human wail echoing through heaven and earth... seemingly a yearning for stillness, peace, and unchanging eternity...

"Peace...sleep..."

"This...is...eternal..."

These messages were not in language, but rather concepts directly imprinted on his soul.

"What...is this?!"

Shen Zhen's eyes were bloodshot with rage. Under the impact of this vast will, his consciousness was as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind.

He could feel the newly stolen fragment of rules within his body frantically absorbing this energy of will.

Just when he was about to give up,

That "echoing" will seemed to instinctively "notice" his unusual existence, which could "steal" and "accommodate" its power.

A purer, more profound sense of sorrow and eternity surged towards the newly formed spatial power within him, as if seeking a home.

hum!

Shen Zhen felt a roar deep within her soul.

The originally weak spatial power suddenly grew several times stronger after merging with this wisp of will energy.

It also possesses a strange quality that can imprison and solidify the surrounding space.

With this sudden surge of power, he managed to stay conscious amidst the torrent of will.

He saw the surrounding blue mist gathering, as if it were forming some kind of eternal confinement according to that will.

A chilling sense of fear instantly gripped Shen Zhen.

All around, Su Mingyuan, Ye Zhi Qiu, Qiu Zheng Nan, Gu Cheng Ye... and all the members of his four squads, even the arrogant Feng Yu and his guards, all had their eyes unfocused, silently slumped down, and fallen into a "sleep" no different from the townspeople.

Only him.

Relying on the spatial power within him that had just been fused with the will energy of "Fragmented Echo" and carried a trace of solidification, he stood firm like a stubborn rock in the torrent of will.

"Wake up!"

Shen Zhen shouted in a low voice, trying to wake Zhao Huaijin, who was closest to him, with his voice imbued with mental power.

But it was useless.

This dormant power is at the level of rules, directly affecting the origin of life, and cannot be awakened by ordinary means.

He instantly realized: the problem must be solved at its root.

Otherwise, he would face this unknown terror alone.

His gaze pierced through the thick, impenetrable blue mist, trying to see through the flickering blue lamp on the top floor of the clock tower.

At this moment, the green lamp seemed like a sorrowful heart, each beat bursting forth with suffocating despair.

"We have to... go up!"

He pushed that newly generated spatial power to its limit.

This power was still very weak and could not be used for attacks or long-distance movement, but he discovered that he could concentrate it around his body, especially his feet.

He tried to take a step forward.

As his foot landed, the surrounding space seemed to freeze slightly, as if he had stepped on an invisible, void staircase, which slightly pushed away the all-pervasive "sleeping" will.

Although it was extremely taxing, it gave him the ability to move within this "dormant force field"!

He was like someone going against a raging torrent, each step incredibly heavy.

A blue mist swirled around him, and illusions arose:

He saw his mother, Lin Wanru, smiling at him, her body covered in blood; he saw his sister, Shen Xuan, weeping silently; he saw Lu Renjia collapse before him once more...

These were his deepest fears and guilt, amplified infinitely by that "echoing obsession," which sought to undermine his will.

"It's fake...it's all fake!"

Shen Zhen's eyes were bloodshot, and with his unwavering willpower, he forcefully shattered the illusion.

The mental power within him, infused with despair, had become his best armor, giving him extremely strong resistance to this type of mental attack.

Finally, he stepped into the clock tower again with great difficulty.

Inside the building, the light of the blue lamp became extremely unstable, sometimes surging and sometimes shrinking.

In the lamplight, the outline of a distorted, sorrowful face, whose gender was indistinguishable, could be vaguely seen.

It has no specific consciousness, but constantly emits waves of obsessive thoughts of "peace...eternity..."

Shen Zhen "saw" countless clearer and more violent threads of rules gushing out from the blue lamp, frantically trying to reweave and stabilize the cyclical cage that he had repeatedly "stolen" from, which had become shaky.

We must not let it complete the loop.

Shen Zhenfu was inspired.

He realized that forcibly attacking the lamp might lead to even more terrible consequences. His advantage lay not in destruction, but in "stealing" and "assimilation."

Shen Zhen came up with a crazy plan:

He intends to use this newly acquired power of spatial confinement to weave an "eternal dream" of his own for this out-of-control "echoing obsession"!

"Didn't you want forever?"

Shen Zhen murmured to himself, staring at the distorted face reflected in the lamplight.

"I'll give it to you!"