Chapter 504: Fate
Chapter 504: Fate
Before Wang Xiaokai could observe further, a suffocating sensation overwhelmed him.
His head throbbed as if struck, ears filled with buzzing noise while his vision turned completely white. His limbs floated unnaturally, feeling like invisible hands choked his neck.
This lasted about ten seconds.
With sudden clarity, Wang Xiaokai regained sight – but the world had changed. The office building beneath him became a ruined wasteland with crumbling temples and fluttering rags. Most terrifying stood a blade-fingered monster bearing two glowing words above its head:
‘Ominous’
‘Death’
So this was Fate?
The realization struck Wang Xiaokai. He’d repeatedly asked Wang Feng about Fate, only receiving vague answers about evil god’s pollution. Now he understood – this monster clutching him was fused from two corrupted evil deities!
He’d never seen them before because they existed in deeper reality layers. Just as real world residents couldn’t perceive these creatures, the monsters couldn’t “see” humans either – until now. Tainted by their pollution, Wang Xiaokai got dragged into their spatial layer, becoming visible to both sides.
Crack…
Before he could process this, pain exploded through his skull.
Looking up, Wang Xiaokai saw two new words materializing above him – Mediocrity!
His Fate.
Mediocre Fate!
Tears welled as despair deeper than monster-induced terror gripped him. His lifelong Fate revealed itself… only to be stolen. The monster’s blade-fingers shredded his Mediocre Fate as the Ominous and Death glyphs flickered, preparing to overwrite his destiny.
‘So that’s how the corridor woman died…’
Darkness swallowed Wang Xiaokai’s consciousness.
Outside.
The ink person ignored the drama. It stomped Long San’s corpse, black essence melting into the dead body. Soon, the corpse twitched violently before slamming a revitalized palm against ground.
Long San stood reborn.
Rotating his neck, the revived man scanned surroundings with the ink person’s trademark eerie grin.
“This will suffice for now.”
Long San – or rather, Zuo Meng possessing the corpse – flexed his new vessel. This world’s defenses proved maddeningly thorough. Countless attempts finally revealed a crack in the Star Realm Barrier, allowing his covert entry.
‘Hmm… Unlucky Fate?’
Sorting through Long San’s memories, Zuo Meng’s eyes narrowed. A Fate-driven world was novel.
Every resident here followed preset destinies like programmed automatons.
‘Gang abandonment at 23… Three-year imprisonment… Becoming Fate Wanderer at 26… Constant life-and-death struggles… Wait.’
‘Only three students dispatched for this Extend Life mission?’
Extending Life was the term the school used for their group of Fate Wanderers. As people affected by the school’s influence, they had to renew their lives at fixed intervals. This tradition led some to claim the school’s protection wasn’t a blessing but a curse – for the institution itself was an apex Fate, the most potent contamination zone of an evil god.
Only a superior evil god could inspire fear in others of its kind.
The same applied to Fate.
“The short-skirted girl who died in the corridor, homeless Wang Feng, and Long San himself… Then who’s that black cat?”
Zuo Meng immediately identified the inconsistency.
Extending Life wasn’t merely evading Fate’s pursuit, but discovering and avoiding dissonant points within destiny itself. Old Man Wang might’ve been the fastest and most skilled veteran, but even he couldn’t withstand Fate’s Extraordinary Power.
“Fate Replacement?”
After brief consideration, Zuo Meng discerned the black cat’s true nature.
This Fate differed from the direct threat of Fateful Death or the passive burden of Poor Fate. It shapeshifted endlessly, replacing people with anyone from one’s perception – even fabricating nonexistent individuals. Most crucially, these replacements felt completely natural, escaping everyone’s notice.
Darkness enveloped
the storage room.
Having avoided Fateful Death, Wang Feng dashed down three flights of stairs. Elevators weren’t an option – Fate disrupted electromagnetic fields, disabling all electronics. Escaping the building proved impossible anyway; his Fate expiration demanded he remain here tonight to renew his life, as per school rules and Wanderer common sense.
“What’s the time?”
Even seasoned veteran Wang Feng showed strain.
Constant pursuit since entering had pushed him to his limits. Survival this long testified to his experience.
“Three twenty.”
The black cat sat beside him. Strangely, while this robust old man struggled after repeated escapes, the female black cat showed no…
Wang Feng froze mid-thought, cold sweat beading.
Past?
When had this person joined the school? Why couldn’t he remember?
“Thinking of something, Brother Wang?”
The black cat’s hand dropped onto his shoulder. Her voice flattened into emotionless synthetic tones.
Cold!
Wang Feng’s body numbed as freezing corrosion spread. The hidden Fate above his head manifested visibly. Recognizing this, Wang Feng abandoned recollection.
True destiny only surfaced during Fate’s assaults.
“Damn you!”
With final strength, Wang Feng flung pocket sand at his attacker.