Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

Lin Yu put away the communication talisman and leaned back on the sofa.

The mole's existence was like a thorn in his side, but he had no leads and no way to investigate.

He closed his eyes and used his divine power to recover.

The Blood Demon Cult did not suffer significant losses in the battle; their main depletion was of mental energy.

Purple energy flowed slowly from the Xuan Du Purple Mansion, nourishing the body along the meridians, and it recovered to its peak state in about half an hour.

Lin Yu opened his eyes, just as he was about to go to the small world to check on the Zerg's replenishment progress, when the apartment door was suddenly pushed open.

There was no knocking.

It was pushed open directly.

Lin Yu's pupils contracted slightly, and his hand was already on the hilt of the Demon-Slaying Sword.

There are no more than five people in the entire community who can walk in without triggering any warnings from the apartment building.

Then he saw Old Chen.

Old Chen stood at the door, his white coat crumpled, looking even more disheveled than the last time we met.

His gold-rimmed glasses were gone, and his left eye was bruised, as if he had been punched hard.

His hair was messy, there was dried blood at the corner of his mouth, and the hem of his white coat was stained with large dark red stains.

His breathing was rapid, his chest heaving violently, as if he had run a long way or just emerged from a fierce battle.

But what Lin Yu cared about most was Old Chen's eyes.

Those eyes no longer held their usual composure and calmness; only extreme anxiety and fear remained.

It was as if they had seen something extremely terrifying.

"Old Chen?" Lin Yu loosened his grip on the sword hilt, frowning. "What are you doing—"

"Listen to me," Old Chen interrupted him, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping against sheet metal, "You leave now, immediately, right now."

Lin Yu was taken aback: "Leave? Where to?"

"Anywhere is fine." Old Chen spoke very quickly, as if he were racing against time. "The divine world is fine, the small world is fine, I can even find a crack to crawl into."

In short, don't stay here, don't linger in this neighborhood, don't stay even a moment longer.

"What exactly happened?" Lin Yu stood up. "Where's the Balance Organization? Where have you been these past few days?"

"There's no time to explain." Old Chen's body was trembling, not from the cold, but from the physiological tremor caused by extreme tension. "Trust me this once, leave now. Take the people you care about, take the things you can take, and go."

"At least tell me—"

"Stop asking!" Old Chen suddenly roared, then, as if realizing he'd lost his temper, he swallowed hard and lowered his voice, "Lin Yu, I've never asked you for anything before. This time, I'm begging you. Go. Now."

Lin Yu looked into Old Chen's eyes.

The fear in those eyes wasn't feigned.

Who is Lao Chen? He is a high-ranking member of the Balance Organization, a legendary figure who has seen countless storms and is at the pinnacle of his power.

Anything that could terrify him to this extent must be no ordinary threat.

Lin Yu opened his mouth, wanting to ask what exactly it was.

But Lao Chen didn't give him a chance.

Old Chen's body suddenly became blurry—not because of spatial abilities, but more like a feeling of being forcibly pulled by something.

His expression changed drastically. He looked down at his hands, which were becoming translucent.

"Damn it...they still caught up..." Old Chen cursed under his breath, then suddenly looked up at Lin Yu, "Remember! Don't trust anyone! Don't—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Old Chen's body has completely disappeared.

It was as if it had been wiped out of this world by an invisible hand, leaving no trace.

The apartment door was still open, and the motion-activated lights in the hallway cast a dim, yellowish glow.

But Old Chen disappeared.

Lin Yu stood there, his brows furrowed.

He walked to the door and glanced down the corridor. It was empty. He activated his senses, scanning the entire building, but found no trace of Old Chen.

It was as if he had never come at all.

But Lin Yu knew it wasn't an illusion. Old Chen's aura, the smell of blood on him, every word he spoke—it was all real.

Don't trust anyone.

"Don't stay in your neighborhood."

"Anywhere is fine with me."

Lin Yu closed the door, returned to the living room, and sat down on the sofa.

His mind was racing.

Where has Lao Chen been these past few days? What exactly happened to the Balance Organization? What brought Lao Chen here, and then forcibly pulled him away when he was talking about something crucial?

"Don't trust anyone"—what does this sentence mean? What is Old Chen implying? Are there untrustworthy people around him? Or does it mean that there are untrustworthy individuals throughout the entire player world?

Lin Yu went through all the people he knew in his mind.

Red Demon, Overlord, and Liu Baiyu—allies, but their relationship isn't very deep.

Mr. Fang – the information provider, whose origins are unknown.

Brother Long is just an ordinary person in the management office; he poses no threat.

Old Chen said, "Don't trust anyone," but that was too broad a term for him to know who he was referring to.

But one thing is certain—Old Chen made him leave the neighborhood, and immediately.

Given Old Chen's personality, he wouldn't have used that tone and expression to say such things unless the situation had become extremely serious.

Lin Yu closed his eyes and carefully weighed the options.

Leaving the community world means giving up everything here—the defensive perimeter, the players, the territory, and all the layouts.

He abandoned everything he had spent so much time and effort building.

But if they don't leave, they might face the very thing that Old Chen fears.

That thing that could terrify the legendary Old Chen to the point of trembling, that could forcibly drag him away halfway through his sentence.

Lin Yu is not a gambler.

In situations where information is insufficient, he tends to choose the safer option.

Moreover, Old Chen said "anywhere is fine," including the Divine Body World. This means that he doesn't need to completely abandon his power system—the Divine Body World contains the Zerg, the Netherworld Emperor, and everything he established.

You can take your little world with you.

The only thing we need to give up is the community world itself, and the players within the defensive perimeter.

Players...

Lin Yu thought for a moment.

He didn't have a deep relationship with those players.

His decision to establish a defensive perimeter and relocate players to a smaller world stemmed more from a desire to avoid seeing so many people die than from a sense of responsibility.

He doesn't know, nor can he control, what will happen to those players if he leaves.

In this chaotic world, everyone can only rely on themselves.

Lin Yu opened his eyes and made a decision.

"Listen to Old Chen. Let's go."

He stood up and began to act.

First, contact the queen worm.

"Queen, prepare to evacuate. I'm transferring the connection between the apartment and the mini-world; we're leaving the mini-world."

[Understood. Master, what do you need me to do?]

"The portal to the small world will remain open for now. I need to move everything I can carry from the apartment inside. Also, notify the Zerg on the divine body's side to prepare for takeover."

【clear.】

Then, contact Red Demon, Overlord, and Liu Baiyu.

Lin Yu thought for a moment, then instead of saying "I'm leaving" directly, he sent a short message: "Something big might happen soon, so be careful. If things don't look good, evacuate immediately. Don't try to fight it out."

The Red Demon replied, "What's the big deal?"

"I don't know. Just be careful."

The overlord replied, "Understood."

Liu Baiyu replied, "Brother Lin, have you heard any rumors?"

"A friend warned me. I don't know the specifics, but in short, be prepared to evacuate."

After sending the message, Lin Yu put away the communication talisman.

He didn't tell them he was leaving.

It wasn't a lack of trust, but rather an unnecessary one. He was gone; they could decide for themselves whether to stay or leave. Besides, Old Chen had said, "Don't trust anyone." Although Lin Yu wasn't sure what he meant by that, in this situation, the fewer people who knew his whereabouts, the safer they were.

Next, I packed my things.

There's not much you can take from the apartment—Xuandu Purple Mansion is an apartment facility and cannot be moved, but the True Lord statue inside can be stored in the storage space.

Pure spiritual springs, the heart of the nightmare world, dragon veins, the arena of life and death... these apartment facilities are all bound to the apartment and cannot be taken away separately.

But Lin Yu had a solution.

He can "move" the entire apartment into his little world.

The small world is his independent space, which can theoretically hold anything.

If he can "separate" the apartment from the spatial framework of the community world and put it back into the small world, he can preserve all the facilities of the apartment completely.

However, this operation is complicated and takes time.

In the past, Lin Yu definitely wouldn't have done it, and he couldn't have done it, but things are different now. The system is gone, so why bother with anything else?

Lin Yu first entered the Xuandu Purple Mansion and put the True Lord statue into his storage space.

As soon as the statue left the Purple Mansion, the concentration of the purple mist immediately dropped, but the Purple Mansion itself continued to operate—it was an apartment facility, bound to the apartment, not to the statue.

Then he walked to the entrance of the small world, where a golden vortex was slowly rotating.

"Queen, I'm going to detach the apartment into the small world. You need to prepare to receive it there. A space within the small world that matches the apartment's structure needs to be created."

[Understood. Space creation in progress... estimated time: ten minutes.]

Lin Yu nodded and began to use his spatial abilities, attempting to separate the apartment from the spatial framework of the community world.

This process is delicate—he needs to gradually sever the apartment's connection to the outside world along its boundaries while maintaining the stability of the interior space. Rushing it could cause the apartment's interior to collapse, destroying everything.

Lin Yu calmed his mind and focused intently on the operation.

Time passed by, second by second.

About five minutes later, the apartment was halfway through the stripping process.

Just then—

The Queen's voice suddenly echoed in his mind, carrying an unusual urgency and gravity:

[Master! Alert! The small world is under attack!]

Lin Yu paused.

"What?"

[An extremely terrifying energy is attacking the outer barrier of the small world! Cracks have already appeared in the barrier! The energy's characteristics... are void energy, but its purity is extremely high, far exceeding that of ordinary void creatures!]

Lin Yu's brows furrowed sharply.

The small world has been attacked?

The small world is his independent space, attached to the apartment, and under normal circumstances, it will not be directly attacked by the outside world.

Unless—the other party has the ability to locate the spatial coordinates of the small world and has enough power to break through the barrier of the independent space.

How many are on the other side? What is their strength?

There is only one, but its energy level... Dominator, I suggest you come and see for yourself.

My data cannot accurately assess its strength, but the sense of threat it posed to me surpassed that of any enemy I had encountered before.

It surpasses any enemy.

This includes Ice Nightmare, Blood Demon Elder, and Bai Wuhen.

Lin Yu's face darkened.

He stopped the apartment dismantling operation and turned to walk towards the entrance to the small world.

"I'll go in and take a look."

[Master, be careful! The enemy is still attacking the barrier. At the current rate, it will be breached in fifteen minutes at most.]

Fifteen minutes.

Lin Yu took a deep breath and stepped into the golden vortex.

In the tiny world, dark golden fungal carpets covered the sky and the earth.

But unlike usual, the entire little world was trembling slightly.

In the sky, countless dense cracks appeared on the dark golden spatial barrier, like glass that had been smashed by a hammer.

With each vibration, the crack widens a little more.

The queen's projection appeared above the main nest, and upon seeing Lin Yu enter, she immediately came to greet him.

[My Lord, you have arrived.]

Where is the other party?

[Directly above the small world, in the void, it is ramming its body against the barrier of the small world.]

Lin Yu raised his head and looked up through the cracked spatial barrier.

Then he saw it.

That was a giant beast.

A true behemoth.

Its body was so enormous it was suffocating—the part that was exposed outside the barrier was already larger than the entire small world.

Its body is dark purple and covered with a thick layer of scales that resemble both rock and carapace, each scale as large as a building.

Pure void energy surged within the gaps in the scales. The color of that energy was a deep purplish-black, as if it had compressed the entire void together.

The behemoth had no eyes, or rather, its entire head was just a giant mouth.

That mouth was now firmly gripping the barrier of the small world, and with each bite of its sharp teeth, it left new cracks in the barrier.

It is trying to swallow the small world.

It's like eating an egg.

Lin Yu's pupils contracted slightly.

He sensed the other person's presence.

Legendary peak.

Moreover, it wasn't just any ordinary legendary peak—its aura was already infinitely close to that of a demigod.

The feeling was like standing in front of a threshold, just one step away from crossing it.

Legendary peak, half-step into demigod.

An existence of this caliber would be a dominant figure in any world.

"What is it?" Lin Yu asked.

[Unidentified.] The Queen's reply was straightforward: [Its energy signature is not in any known database, but judging from its behavior, it appears to be a void creature that feeds on space.]

To it, the small world might just be a relatively large meal.

They feed on space.

Lin Yu's brows furrowed even more.

He had never even heard of this creature. He had seen many creatures in the void—void distorters, ice nightmares, and all sorts of other oddities.

But this was the first time he had ever seen a behemoth that fed on space and was large enough to swallow an entire independent world whole.

Moreover, its strength is at the peak of legend, half a step towards demigod.

Under normal circumstances, Lin Yu, at the initial stage of Legendary Realm, could defeat mid-level opponents and barely contend with high-level opponents.

Legendary peak? Two realms below, he's no match for you under normal circumstances.

There are only two options to fight it.

First, leverage external resources.

After using the True Spirit to borrow power, he can become invincible within the legendary realm and rival even demigods.

We should be able to fight, and even win, against the behemoth that is half a god.

Second, release all the legendary Zerg units in the small world. The eighteen legendary Zerg units will swarm in and overwhelm it with sheer numbers.

However, eighteen legendary-level beings have little chance of winning against a half-step demigod, and the losses would be extremely heavy.

Lin Yu quickly weighed the options.

Leveraging external resources is the safest option.

However, leveraging external resources can only be used once a day, and its duration is limited. If it's used here, and other dangers arise within the day, there will be no other options left.

However, the current situation is this: the small world is under attack, and if this behemoth isn't dealt with, it will be devoured. The small world contains Zerg, a divine portal, and the 12,000 players he transferred there. If the small world is gone, his foundation will be gone.

Therefore, this behemoth must be dealt with.

But before leveraging this opportunity, Lin Yu had one more issue to consider.

The colossal beast was in the void.

What is the void?

After the system crashed, countless worlds were merging, and the fragments of those worlds that had not yet fully merged were all crammed into the void.

The void is now countless times more dangerous than usual—everywhere there are floating fragments of the world, out-of-control spatial rifts, monsters twisted by void energy, and various powerful beings that have escaped from shattered worlds.

Entering the void to fight this behemoth means that he will not only have to face the behemoth, but also various dangers in the void.

But if he doesn't enter the void and fight in the small world, he can only passively defend—the behemoths are biting at the barrier outside, while he can only watch helplessly inside.

We have to go out and fight.

Lin Yu took a deep breath and made a decision.

"Queen, how long can the barriers of the small worlds hold?"

At the current attack frequency, it will last a maximum of twelve minutes.

"That's enough," Lin Yu said. "I'm going out to deal with it. Before I get back, reinforce the barrier and hold out for as long as you can."

[Understood. Overlord, do you need support? I can send legendary Zerg units to fight alongside you.]

Lin Yu thought for a moment.

Taking a few legendary Zerg out can help restrain the behemoth at crucial moments. However, the void environment is complex, and the combat effectiveness of legendary Zerg in the void will be reduced, and it may also attract other dangerous entities in the void.

"Take two of them," Lin Yu said. "The rest stay in the small world for defense."

【clear.】

Lin Yu turned around and walked towards the barrier of the small world.

He needs to open a temporary passage in the barrier to enter the void.

This operation was very dangerous—the barrier was already riddled with cracks, and opening another passage could cause the entire barrier to collapse. But he had no other choice.

Lin Yu placed his hand on the barrier, activated his spatial abilities, and carefully opened a passage wide enough for one person in the area where the cracks were least dense.

Beyond the passage lies a deep void.

The purplish-black void energy surged like a boundless ocean.

In the distance, countless fragments of the world, large and small, floated—some were complete continents, some were broken islands, and some were just clumps of distorted energy.

On those fragments of the world, one can vaguely see the outlines of various buildings and creatures.

After the system crashed, these world fragments, now unprotected, drifted aimlessly in the void like kites with broken strings.

They will constantly collide, merge, and devour each other, eventually forming a new world.

And now, the void is the battlefield for these fragments of the world.

Lin Yu took a deep breath and stepped into the void.

At the same time, two massive female beetles, each as large as a mountain, followed closely behind.

In the void.

As soon as Lin Yu came out, he felt an immense pressure.

Void energy surged in from all directions, like countless hands pulling at his body.

If it weren't for the protection of the Void Walker and the defense of the Heavenly Armor, the pressure from the void alone would have injured him.

He looked up at the giant beast.

Up close, the beast appears even larger than it does from behind the barrier.

Its entire body coiled around the small world, like a giant python coiling around its prey.

The dark purple scales gleamed with a cold light in the void, and with each breath, they spewed out bursts of purplish-black void energy storms.

Its head, or rather its mouth, was firmly biting against the barrier of the small world, and with each bite of its sharp teeth, the barrier groaned under its strain.

Lin Yu's arrival attracted the attention of the giant beast.

It released its grip on the barrier and slowly turned its head.

It has no eyes, but Lin Yu can sense that it is "seeing" him.

An extremely ancient and primitive consciousness locked onto him.

That wasn't the gaze of an intelligent being, but rather the instinctive lock-on of a predator when facing its prey.

In its eyes, Lin Yu might just be a relatively small piece of food.

The giant beast opened its mouth.

That mouth was so big it could swallow a mountain whole, and inside were countless, layered teeth, each one like a mountain peak.

The purplish-black void energy surged deep within his throat, forming a rotating energy vortex.

Then, it exhaled a breath of void energy at Lin Yu.

The breath was over a hundred meters in diameter, and wherever it passed, it corroded the void, creating a deep trench.

The few small fragments of the world along the way didn't even last a second before being dissolved into nothingness by the void energy.

Lin Yu's pupils suddenly contracted.

He didn't take the hit head-on.

The Void Walker's spatial teleportation activated instantly, leaving an afterimage in his original position before his true form appeared five hundred meters away.

The breath grazed past his afterimage and struck a distant floating fragment of the continent.

"boom--!"

That fragment of the continent, along with all the living beings on it, was instantly swallowed and dissolved by the energy of the void, turning into nothingness.

The power of that single strike was terrifying.

Lin Yu stared at the vanished fragment of the continent, his eyes turning cold.

This behemoth must be dealt with.

Otherwise, not only will the small world be devoured, but countless world fragments floating in the void will also become its food.

It will grow stronger and stronger, and may eventually grow into a true demigod, or even higher.

Lin Yu took a deep breath.

"The true spirit lends its power."

He meditated in his heart.

This time, he chose—the True Lord.

Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun, Erlang Shen.

A golden beam of light traversed space and landed on Lin Yu.

Golden divine power surged within him, like a giant dragon awakening.

His aura began to surge.