Volume 4: Twilight Galaxy
After a moment, in the livestream chat:
“Report! Report! This squad has a hacker dumpling with them!”
“Hahaha! I think with the temper of this world’s consciousness, it’s probably about to blow a fuse!”
“As it turns out, judging by appearances usually doesn’t end well, hahaha!”
“So cool! When the dumpling spun mid-air in the square and slashed through the lightning, I was completely stunned!”
“No need to say more, the light shields on Lie Da and Gray are definitely the dumpling’s doing! I think whether you can clear this game depends entirely on whether you have a dumpling or not!”
“Did no one notice something strange about Gray’s shadow under the holy light? The screen changed too quickly, I didn’t have time to get a good look!”
“What’s strange? All I know is, the world’s consciousness is about to explode!”
“As it turns out, when the opponent isn’t a bug, Xun can amaze the entire world!”
“Gray’s shadow did look a bit strange, I’ll analyze the captured footage.”
In the live stream chat, apart from the viewers dazzled by Shu Xun’s performance, some people’s attention shifted to Gray. More than one person noticed that Gray’s shadow seemed abnormal under the holy light. However, everything happened too fast and no one caught any concrete evidence. Some players also tried to capture a 3D image of Gray’s shadow like Shu Xun, but due to the angle and timing, the results were unclear. Still, that didn’t stop them from suspecting something was off with Gray.
Suddenly, discussions about Gray surged on the official forums of “Dusk of the Galaxy”, especially after viewers uploaded gameplay footage and shadow analysis results. Gray quickly became the focus of attention, with all sorts of speculations flooding in.
“Maybe Gray just altered some of the game’s appearance settings, which caused this phenomenon.”
“But this game is entered with real bodies and Gray’s shadow in the footage is too blurry. Still, it looks really odd.”
“Don’t forget Gray is a dead leaf butterfly, unrivaled in disguise. Maybe it’s Gray’s camouflage talent that caused this effect. I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with Gray.”
“Let’s be rational, please. We’re not saying there’s something wrong with Gray himself, but isn’t it possible that the invaders also affect players? Maybe Gray was unknowingly invaded!”
“Impossible. Aside from the protective features of the game pods, with the dumpling around, if an invader showed up, the dumpling would definitely detect it. I hope Gray’s okay and that this is all just a false alarm.”
“You’re just deceiving yourself. The data is right there…”
“I have a chilling theory: Is Gray really Gray? Could he be an invader in disguise? Maybe the real Gray is still somewhere in Twilight Galaxy.”
“The divine punishment in Twilight Galaxy has turned purplish-red! No matter what’s going on with Gray, I just hope Shu Xun and the others are okay!”
The increasingly outrageous speculations fueled the audience’s imaginations, while the changing lightning effects on the game screen made everyone grow tense again.
In the game world, Shu Xun’s illusion array was already within sight. The range and power of the lightning falling from the sky continued to intensify as if it wouldn’t rest until it eliminated everyone. Dusk had already fallen, and night enveloped the world, but the cascading lightning illuminated everything, creating a curtain-like spectacle of descending light strands, shockingly beautiful in its own way.
Of course, Shu Xun and the others had no time to appreciate the strange sight. Although the lightning hadn’t posed a real threat so far, they could all feel that if this continued, their light shields wouldn’t be able to withstand the strikes much longer. Shu Xun had already blocked countless divine punishments, but if this persisted, exhaustion would inevitably set in.
A thick bolt of purplish-red lightning struck down once again, just as Shu Xun and the other three finally reached the boundary of the illusion array. Shu Xun swiftly activated the preset formation.
In the vast wilderness, the four figures vanished instantly, leaving no trace behind, as if they had truly disappeared into thin air.
The purplish-red lightning that had been descending suddenly screeched to a halt in mid-air, as if confused by the sudden disappearance of its targets, unsure where to strike. Moments later, the Twilight clan who had been pursuing them arrived, only to witness their normally decisive divine punishment circling above the wilderness as if lost.
After a while, the purplish-red lightning seemed to figure something out. It transformed into countless thin bolts, like strands of rain, descending from the sky to blanket the entire suspected area. The purple-red “rain” hit the ground, creating ripples of faint purple light across the black continent. The whole world was instantly bathed in purple light—dazzlingly bright, breathtakingly beautiful—but no one dared to step into it. Yet, when the purple lightning rain passed, everything remained as it was. Nothing out of the ordinary appeared.
However, the world’s consciousness in Twilight Galaxy seemed not only irritable but also terrifyingly persistent. The sky once again gathered bright purple lightning, hovering above where Shu Xun and the others had disappeared as if waiting to strike the moment they reappeared.
The Twilight clan pursuers naturally dared not enter the lightning’s range. They stopped from afar, watching the glaring purple lightning against the distant inky sky. After a long while, they finally began to retreat.
Inside the illusion array, Shu Xun set down the Twilight clan boy before swinging his sword again, dancing through the air to block the rain-like lightning. Thanks to the array, everything within its boundary was naturally concealed, preventing the Twilight clan and the world’s consciousness from detecting any abnormalities.
After fending off the lightning, Shu Xun, as graceful as the wind, slowly descended from mid-air. His fluttering robe swayed gently, his long hair flowing like silk and satin. The Twilight clan boy, standing on the ground, had this breathtaking scene reflected in his eyes.
However, in the next second, just before Shu Xun touched the ground, the elegant sword-wielding youth vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a fluffy, puffed-up dumpling. With a soft “thud”, the dumpling hit the ground, bounced twice, and then flattened out into a pancake-like form.
Twilight clan boy: ???!!!
The squashed dumpling lying on the ground let out a long sigh. “Oh my gosh! I’m exhausted!”
In the live stream chat: “…” This dumpling really knows how to instantly destroy a perfectly ethereal image.
Lie Yang, who also let out a long breath, glanced up. “Shu Xun, could you at least maintain some dignity?”
The little dumpling’s ears twitched, and its shiny black eyes blinked. Just then, it noticed the Twilight clan boy curiously staring at it. The fluffy dumpling sprang up from the ground, patted its little chest, stood tall, and transformed from a flat pancake into a proud, upright dumpling.
Twilight clan boy: “…”
The fluffy dumpling raised its tiny head, waddled over to the Twilight clan boy’s feet, and extended its chubby little paw. “Hello, my name is Shu Xun.”
The Twilight clan boy was stunned for a moment before squatting down and extending his little finger. Shu Xun grabbed it with his paw and gave it a small shake. The Twilight clan boy, who had previously shown no expression, suddenly burst into a radiant smile, his bright eyes sparkling like stars. It seemed this greeting method delighted him. In a clear and youthful voice, he said, “Hello, my name is Xing Kong. Thank you.”
The fluffy dumpling waved its paw grandly. “No need to thank me. It was nothing.”
Xing Kong simply sat down and, with great care, reached out to gently pat the fluffy dumpling on the head, which he considered to be quite majestic in appearance. Seeing Shu Xun squint his eyes comfortably, he boldly began to stroke his fur.
Not long after, the fluffy dumpling flattened out into a “mouse pancake” again.
Lie Yang immediately covered his face. “Shu Xun, your majestic image…”
Shu Xun’s response was a soft, contented purring.
Lie Yang: “…” Did he just fall asleep in an instant? Shu Xun’s sleep quality is ‘that’ good?
Gray pointed at the mouse pancake. “Shu Xun… is tired…”
Lie Yang nodded in understanding and quietly found a spot to sit down. Even though they were both powerful, the rapid escape had left both him and Gray exhausted. The fatigue wasn’t just from the high-speed flight and the impact of the lightning but also from the mental strain. After all, they never knew if the next lightning strike would shatter their light shields and force them to log out of the game. If they felt like this, then Shu Xun, who not only carried an extra person but also tried his best to block the lightning, must have been even more drained.
Lie Yang was genuinely surprised by Shu Xun’s performance today. He had always known that Shu Xun, who had grown up in the Perfect Time space, was strong. But he never expected Shu Xun to have grown to the point where he could rival the game’s world consciousness. His gaze shifted to the mouse pancake on the ground, snoring softly.
Lie Yang: “…” So, all that strength must’ve been an illusion.
As they sat on the wilderness plains, the persistent divine punishment above meant the surroundings weren’t entirely dark. A soft purple glow bathed the world, and Lie Yang glanced up at the night sky. He felt a sudden pang of discomfort, a toothache almost, for no other reason than the fact that directly overhead, the bright purple lightning was still stubbornly flashing. It had now gathered into a massive, thick, dragon-like shape. If not for his steady nerves, the sight alone would have been enough to make anyone panic.
The clouds in the sky gradually dispersed after such a long wait, but the purple lightning remained, hanging high above, seemingly determined not to leave. The stars in the night sky scattered across the heavens, creating a stunning scene against the backdrop of the purple glow.
That night, under the purple-lit sky, Shu Xun and his companions rested comfortably. Of course, Lie Yang and Gray still kept their guard up to some degree. After all, the Twilight clan boy, who called himself Xing Kong, had been identified as a transformed. Unless proven otherwise, it was likely that there was an invader hidden within his shadow.
Throughout the night, the Twilight clan boy seemed endlessly fascinated by the mouse pancake, tirelessly grooming Shu Xun’s fur. Lie Yang and Gray even wondered if Shu Xun would be left bald by morning. However, their concerns disappeared the next day when the fluffy dumpling yawned, stretched, and puffed back into a full, round ball of fur.
