As Guan Tong woke up, memories came flooding back the moment he opened his mouth, forcing him to swallow the words "What's wrong?" that were about to leave his lips.
He looked around and found himself inside a rocky cave.
"Troupe Leader... are you... alright?"
Uenoshi asked cautiously.
Ever since she'd found Guan Tong, she'd spent the past two days consumed by tension and worry.
She didn't think Guan Tong would die—when she'd found him, there were no wounds on his body, and his breathing and heartbeat were still present.
Yet Guan Tong had been in a coma.
Uenoshi had no idea why this was happening. She could only bring him to this unmarked location on the map and guard him without leaving his side.
As time slowly ticked by, her anxiety only grew.
Unable to determine whether such a prolonged coma would be fatal, she had already decided to seek someone out. But before she could act, Guan Tong suddenly woke up.
"I..."
Guan Tong sat up and reached for his neck, but his fingers found nothing.
He had been wearing a pendant—not a decorative piece, but an item obtained from a Doomsday Rule chest called the Life-Saving Pendant.
That item was now gone. Consumed.
After a moment of silence, he lowered his hand and looked up at Uenoshi. "I'm fine. Thank you, Ueno."
"Troupe Leader, what exactly happened? Why did you... what went wrong? Did the destruction of Bright Moon affect you in some way?"
Uenoshi hadn't contacted the outside world in two days. Afraid of being tracked and having Guan Tong discovered, she had destroyed all her electronic devices and tossed them into the sea. She had no idea what was happening beyond.
Hearing her question, Guan Tong recalled the broken rainbow-like beam of light. His voice was hoarse. "It was a laser. A laser fired from beyond my field of vision, aimed at me. If I'm not mistaken, this laser was powerful enough to breach the dual defenses of the Liu-Jin Guardian and my Mind Power protective shield. It had to have been fired by that array device."
At those words, a killing intent radiated from Uenoshi. "A laser... an array device... So it was the people from Suroma who attacked. They deserve to die."
Guan Tong opened his mouth to speak, then took a closer look at Uenoshi. "Ueno, you've broken through?"
"...Yes."
"Very good." Guan Tong then asked, "How long was I unconscious? And how did you find me?"
"It's been two days already," Uenoshi said. "After you were attacked, your tracking signal was lost, so I went into the sea to find you. It seemed almost impossible—the ocean is too vast... But after I broke through to the Second Stage of Ascension, it seems I awakened some additional bloodline abilities. They allow me to perceive things better within the sea."
"When I found you, Troupe Leader, you were floating on the surface. Though you were comatose, you had a layer of Mind Power shield around you, seemingly providing automatic protection so you wouldn't sink. I brought you to this uncharted nameless island on the map, and it's been two days since then."
After listening, Guan Tong had a fairly clear picture of what had happened.
After he destroyed the core of Bright Moon, Suroma had still activated the Carrier Array, but they changed the target, firing the laser at him.
The high-energy laser was so fast that his warning ability barely activated before the attack struck.
The power of a low-energy laser, combining the strength of eight thousand low-level Ascendants, was unimaginable. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to break through his multiple defenses.
But at that moment, he definitely didn't have the Shadow Armor protecting his body. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been broken through so easily.
The problem was the same as last time—after Shadow materialized to damage Bright Moon, he was completely destroyed by the terrifying mass of that enormous sphere. Completely destroyed.
As a result, when the high-energy laser came, Guan Tong hadn't yet resummoned Shadow, so he didn't have his usual Shadow Armor protection.
The consequence was that the laser had completely pierced through his chest, simultaneously destroying his tracking device, phone, and other items. It was just that the attackers weren't omniscient—they didn't know Guan Tong possessed the Life-Saving Pendant, a special protective item that could negate fatal damage.
Even so, Guan Tong couldn't feel any joy at all right now.
Regardless, he had indeed suffered a lethal attack.
Even if the item had saved his life, his consciousness had slipped into slumber due to its nearness to death.
If not for those voices—if not for Yelanka, if not for Shi Jingyi continuously calling out to him through the Mind Network—he didn't know how long he would have slept before waking.
And what upset him most was that this attack had happened right after he'd eliminated a Doomsday Rules threat for the world.
At that moment, he had still been thrilled by the destruction of Bright Moon's core, never imagining that at the exact same time, someone would want to kill him.
He struggled to calm his emotions, speaking to Uenoshi one word at a time. "You've worked hard."
He knew Uenoshi's words sounded simple, but leaping alone into the boundless ocean to find him—how much courage and determination did that require? How many people in this world would be willing to do that for him?
"It's nothing." Uenoshi shook her head.
She hadn't considered whether it was worth it. From the day she joined the Trace Origin Travel Troupe, she knew this was a place that wouldn't abandon its own. So she wouldn't abandon anyone else here either.
"But in that vast ocean, how did the enemy know your coordinates, Troupe Leader? Could it be an internal leak, or..."
"It could be an internal issue, or the enemy might have detected me," Guan Tong said softly. "It doesn't matter. Everything will be investigated thoroughly."
"I'll help."
"Mm... Ueno, why do you think this happened? What did I do to make others want me dead? Or am I just too weak, making people dare to treat me this way without fearing the consequences?"
"..."
Uenoshi didn't know what to say. After a long silence, she spoke firmly. "It must be someone else who's wrong, not the Troupe Leader. And they will pay for what they've done."
She had already decided—if Guan Tong truly couldn't wake up, she would avenge him in her own way.
But now that he was awake, she would follow his commands.
"No. It's not just others who are wrong." Guan Tong took Uenoshi's hand and spoke seriously.
"I was wrong too. I thought that as long as I kept getting stronger, completed the rules challenges one by one, and helped others along the way, I could maintain my own path while earning others' recognition... I thought that by not participating in certain competitions, I could focus on exploring the truth with just my team members."
"But I was completely wrong."
"I forgot that no one can exist in complete isolation. I forgot how deeply the quota theory affects so many people. And I forgot that from long ago, even if I did nothing—even if I simply existed—it would make some people restless and unable to find peace."
Uenoshi listened silently. She knew Guan Tong didn't need comfort right now. He wasn't even really confiding—he was just organizing his thoughts.
"When an individual grows to the point where others can't ignore them, even doing nothing won't keep them safe. It's like Bright Moon in this rule... it simply existed, and its very gravity changed the entire sea. Such a simple truth—I shouldn't have only realized it now."
With that, Guan Tong stood up and walked toward the cave entrance.
Uenoshi followed.
Outside was a shallow beach. This nameless island sat at the edge of the Lanyang Ocean. Night had already fallen, and nothing could be seen on the sea surface.
Guan Tong silently stared at the pitch-black ocean. The sea breeze lifted his hair and the corners of his clothes. Uenoshi stood beside him, only able to see his dim, shadowed profile.
"...Troupe Leader, do you want to contact everyone?" she asked. "I haven't had any contact with the outside in two days. Someone must be worried about you."
After Uenoshi found Guan Tong, her mind was in chaos. She brought him to the island and considered using items to contact others, considered taking Guan Tong to Beixing. But the more she thought, the less she knew who she could truly trust.
Maybe Yelanka, Silver Fox, Chen Na, Black Star, White Star—all of them could be trusted. But she didn't dare gamble. If something went wrong entrusting a comatose Guan Tong to any of them, she would never forgive herself.
The only person she'd considered and nearly decided to seek out was Shi Jingyi. Not because she trusted Shi Jingyi, but because she knew Guan Tong trusted her deeply. But before she could act, Guan Tong had woken up.
Now she wouldn't have to think about all that anymore.
Guan Tong nodded slightly at her words and murmured, "It's so dark. Can't see anything."
Uenoshi paused, then turned to look at the darkness-shrouded sea.
The Doomsday Rules shifting endlessly without pause, inexplicable malice and attacks, enemies lurking in the shadows, trust that couldn't be guaranteed... Layers upon layers interwoven, like a massive net entangling a person, making even breathing difficult.
"...Yes. It's too dark."