Strange things happen, and I drive the evil god mad by chasing debts.

"That's why this level is difficult!" Shen Qingchan's eyes were firm. "It uses its mind to shake you, then uses its physical strength to harvest you! A two-pronged attack!"

Immediately following behind, a black sedan silently sped up, its headlights suddenly flashing a blinding white high beam, locking onto the two people's positions, determined to ram them.

A pincer attack from both sides, a desperate situation with no way out.

Fang Yue, watching the approaching headlights and hearing the rapidly approaching, damp footsteps behind him, gritted his teeth and said, "Sister Qingchan! We're doomed either way! We have to take a gamble! How?"

Shen Qingchan's gaze swept quickly across the entire rainy night street, her pupils suddenly contracting.

Locking onto a distorted patch of light and shadow at the end of the street: "See that swaying, misaligned afterimage over there? That's the gateway to the next level of spacetime!"

"As long as we rush into the spacetime rift and escape the fourth layer, the pursuit by the two monsters will be abruptly terminated!"

Fang Yue's eyes lit up instantly: "That means! Running there means survival!"

"Yes!" Shen Qingchan shouted in a deep voice, "Sprint with all your might! Don't look back, don't be tempted, don't linger in any illusion! To truly return home, break through this false path!"

"good!"

No longer caring about the pursuers behind them, the two ran with all their might toward the end of the street.

The ghostly spirit behind him let out a sharp and mournful wail, the sound of rain was violent and explosive, and countless dark rain lines turned into sharp claws that grabbed at the sky.

The black sedan sped off at full speed, its headlights blindingly white, gripping the backs of the two men tightly.

As we get closer to the crack, the light and shadow become clearer.

Ten meters!

Five meters!

Two meters!

Just as the dark claws were about to grab Fang Yue's clothes and the car was about to hit the two of them, they leaped into the distorted light and shadow!

Om-!

The entire long street in the rainy night instantly froze, blurred, and collapsed.

[Successfully escaped the fourth level on the rainy night's return journey!]

[The fourth layer of spacetime illusion has been successfully broken!]

[Current dungeon progress: 4/7!]

[Unlock the fourth hidden rule: Obsession-based mysteries rely on the survival of human hearts; severing greed will break the pursuit and lock-on.]

Fang Yue landed on his feet, staggered, and grabbed the wall for support. He was panting heavily, his body soaked in sweat and covered in cold sweat.

He looked back at the dissipating rain and was still shaken: "My God... this floor was even scarier than the collapse and chase in the teaching building."

The voice was so realistic, so real, that I almost willingly turned back to my death.

Shen Qingchan was also slightly out of breath, but her eyes became increasingly clear: "This is the terrifying aspect of the remnants of time and space."

It never gives you an unsolvable deadlock through force, but it always gives you a deadlock you willingly accept.

Fang Yue nodded and clenched his fist: "I understand."

In the first few levels, I was still shaken by the illusion, but now I am completely awake.

No matter how realistic a lie seems, it's still a lie. Only by clearing all seven layers of illusion and gaining the right to choose where to return can you truly go home.

Shen Qingchan turned her head to look at him and nodded slightly: "That's right."

Four levels have been passed; only the last three remain. The closer we get to the core…

The distorted light and shadow spread out completely before my eyes, and the dizzying feeling of weightlessness vanished in an instant.

When my feet touched the ground again, the noisy rainy night fell completely silent, and the biting damp cold was replaced by a deathly still coolness.

The long street on the fourth floor, shrouded in rain, completely collapsed and vanished, and a brand new scene slowly took shape.

[System notification: Entering the fifth level of the spacetime illusion—the desolate old city.]

Current dungeon progress: 4/7.

[Fifth-tier exclusive plaintext rules refreshed:]

[1. There is no living person in the entire old city area. Do not look for anyone if you hear familiar footsteps.]

2. Never look directly into the reflections of shop windows on either side of the street.

3. When the thought "I should stay" arises in your mind, you must immediately stand still and hold your breath for five seconds, and refrain from moving.

[High Risk Warning: This layer is the core interlayer of the Time-Space Ruins. All illusions are drawn from the player's deepest memories. These eerie illusions can directly invade the mind and consciousness; they have no physical attack but can directly devour the heart.]

[Warning: The longer you survive in this layer, the deeper your obsession will erode you, eventually leading to assimilation by fragments of spacetime and becoming part of the illusion.]

The two slowly raised their eyes and looked around; the entire city was eerily quiet.

It was still the familiar 21st-century urban scene they knew: smooth streets, rows of shops, bright shop windows, and neat rows of trees—everything perfectly replicated the city they remembered most.

The sunlight falls softly, and the sky is clear and transparent—the peaceful, sunny sky they miss most during countless days and nights.

The entire city was deserted, with not a single pedestrian in sight for miles around. There were no cars, no human voices, and not a trace of smoke.

Beneath the glamorous exterior lies boundless desolation and emptiness, a suffocating feeling that makes one's chest tighten.

Fang Yue subconsciously looked around, a wave of bittersweet melancholy washing over him. Even though he knew it was an illusion, he still couldn't control his fluctuating emotions.

He knew every blade of grass and every tree here too well, he knew the milk tea shops on the street, the traffic lights at the intersection, and the alleyway leading home.

Countless times in the dead of night during the apocalypse, he relied on memories of this scene to get through the despair, but when he was actually there, all that remained was a chilling emptiness.

"The fifth level is the Empty City Illusion," Fang Yue said in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of barely suppressed exhaustion. "It's more real than the previous four levels, so real... I almost thought we had really escaped."

It's not the visual realism that's so powerful, it's the deep-seated sense of belonging that's driving me crazy.

This land is etched with his life trajectory of more than a decade, and it is the destination he has strived to reach with all his might.

Shen Qingchan's fingertips curled slightly, and a faint, fleeting look of disorientation crossed her eyes, so quick as to be almost imperceptible.

Her state of mind was more reserved than Fang Yue's. Having experienced the battles of the apocalypse, she had long been accustomed to calmness and self-control. However, the familiar old city scene before her still easily pried open her long-sealed softness.

She recalled the way home from school, the peaceful and uneventful daily life, those ordinary days without fighting or struggling to survive, which were the most luxurious desires in the apocalypse.

But in an instant, all the softness vanished, leaving only a chilling sense of vigilance.

"Don't let the scene lull you into a false sense of security." Shen Qingchan suppressed the surging obsession in her heart and spoke in a steady tone, "The system has clearly warned that this level doesn't involve physical pursuit, but rather mental assimilation."

The first four levels were designed to kill us; this level is designed to force us to stay.

Fang Yue took a deep breath, forcibly dispelling the melancholy in his heart, and nodded vigorously: "I understand."

I've already learned my lesson from that rainy night incident; I will never fall into that trap of obsession again.

I memorized these three rules: don't listen for footsteps, don't look at reflections, and hold your breath the moment a distracting thought arises.

He deliberately took a slow step forward, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, deliberately avoiding the brightly lit shop windows on both sides.

The more realistic and stable the situation appears, the more deadly the hidden killing move will be. He absolutely cannot afford to fail at the last moment.

The two walked side by side, the entire old city deathly silent, with only the faint sound of their footsteps echoing through the streets.