Chapter Fifty-Six: Jiawen Tu

Cave No. 102, within the villa.

Fang Tang sat expressionless, reading the newspapers. There were two, but the information on them was not synchronized.

On the man’s newspaper, only two or three people were speaking on the public channel—and even those messages were from several days ago.

How could this be?

Fang Tang blinked, wishing his eye would offer him an explanation. But the eye remained silent.

He rubbed his brow and sighed. Best to wait for the woman to wake up.

A faint hum sounded. Fang Tang immediately looked up to see the woman was awake, their gazes meeting.

Startled, she quickly checked her clothes and, finding them unchanged, breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Tang: ……

“The bandage only works after a meal… Wait, how has your wound healed?” Fang Tang looked at her in surprise.

The woman slowly unwound the bandage from her abdomen, revealing smooth, fair skin.

Fang Tang fell silent.

Why had he needed to eat before his injury would heal, while she did not? Was the bandage somehow discriminating by gender?

The woman stammered, “A… a level one healing… item. Needs… energy… to heal the wound.”

Fang Tang: ???

So she hadn’t spoken before because she stuttered.

Yet her demeanor was cool and elegant, strikingly beautiful, the very image of an aloof goddess. Yet once she opened her mouth, the discord was jarring.

Noticing Fang Tang’s expression, her eyelashes fluttered and she fell silent.

“Needs energy… Are you an Evolver?” he asked.

“Mm,” she replied coolly.

Fang Tang cheered inwardly: Now that fits your image!

“My name is Fang Tang. May I ask your name?”

“Tu… Tu Jiawen.”

……

“You own a level six residence. You must have been in this cave for a long time, right?” Fang Tang asked.

“Mm.”

Fang Tang was pleased. “What’s your evolution level? Do you have a pass?”

“Level two…” Tu Jiawen rolled up her sleeve, revealing a string of green numbers. “This is… the pass.”

Fang Tang leaned closer, grasping her arm. The green numbers seemed branded into her skin.

00:20:56:08.

00:20:56:07.

A countdown?

He looked at her, questioning.

Tu Jiawen said, “I have two… one day left… then I can go… to the Cradle.”

Fang Tang pondered, then asked, “My newspaper and the man’s are on different channels. Why?”

Without speaking, Tu Jiawen pulled the papers over, identified his, and picked up the other. On the first page, she lightly touched some small print above the headline, and a string of code appeared.

D0021c0009.

“What does this mean?” Fang Tang was even more confused.

He checked his own paper: D0023z0093.

“Area code!” Tu Jiawen enunciated each word, her stutter gone at last.

Fang Tang understood and pressed on, “What’s the Cradle world like? Are there many Evolvers? Have you entered the Gate of Evolution?”

Tu Jiawen looked at him with puzzlement and replied slowly, “You… know… so… much… why… ask…?”

Fang Tang scratched his nose. “I ran into a level two shop and traded element stones for information. Cost a fortune!”

Tu Jiawen nodded slightly. “Don’t… trade element stones… for information. Element stones… are… precious.”

Fang Tang frowned. “Can you type instead?”

Her frosty expression finally shifted, a hint of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

“Mm.”

Tu Jiawen began to type: “Element stones are extremely valuable in the Cradle. They can be used to buy advanced weapons from the Church of Technology, or to purchase longevity at the Hall of Immortality.”

A new force caught Fang Tang’s attention.

The Hall of Immortality!

He now knew of four powers within the Cradle: the Cave Store, the Church of Technology, the Gate of Evolution, and the Hall of Immortality.

“Are there many factions in the Cradle world?”

Fang Tang’s curiosity about the Cradle was insatiable. He’d finally found someone who had entered it, and couldn’t help but bombard her with questions.

But Tu Jiawen didn’t know much more.

Her answer disappointed him.

“My strength isn’t enough to stay in the Cradle for long, and my speech defect makes it hard to gather information. I’ve only entered the Gate of Evolution once—it’s terrifying in there!”

“Terrifying?” Fang Tang frowned and pressed on. “You must have element weapons, right? Why didn’t you use them?”

Tu Jiawen replied, “We both have sequence talents. Level two tech is useless to us. Only spirit-bound items or high-level tech can harm an Evolver.”

Fang Tang understood. He straightened, eyes dropping to the newspaper on the table.

“You saved me, and I’m grateful. I have some food left—may I offer you a meal?”

Fang Tang waved her off. “No need, I’ve already eaten at your place.”

Tu Jiawen’s beautiful eyes flicked toward him with a hint of cool disdain.

This man was certainly not shy.

She typed on the newspaper and pushed it toward him: “How long has your world been in the caves?”

“Our world?” Fang Tang was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Tu Jiawen explained, “It’s said the Twisted Rule keeps devouring worlds. Once one is consumed, it seeks another. The cave rule draws everyone from the new world in and scatters them among the caves.”

“Six days,” Fang Tang answered. “Are you saying there are people from different worlds in the caves? Why have I only seen you and your people after all this time?”

A shadow of sorrow flickered in Tu Jiawen’s eyes. “They’re all dead—perished in the twisted world inside the Gate of Evolution.”

Fang Tang fell silent, patting her shoulder. “Since we’re here, we must fight to survive. Our own lives matter most.”

Tu Jiawen glanced at him, then typed: “If you go to the Gate of Evolution, don’t trust technology. Spirit-bound items and sequence talents are your true means of survival.”

Fang Tang gestured to the mechanical claw arm on his back. “Even level three tech?”

“Any element weapon below level five is useless. The Twisted Rule restricts technology too much. Worse… some element weapons can even turn against you.”

At the last line, Tu Jiawen’s eyes filled with tears.

Fang Tang handed her a tissue. “As long as tech weapons work in the caves, that’s enough. Who says the caves are safe, anyway?”

Tu Jiawen silently wiped her tears and slowly went upstairs.

Fang Tang sat alone in the living room, gazing at the joyous chatter on the public channel of his newspaper, his heart heavy.

Perhaps these people, like those from Tu Jiawen’s world, would never return after entering the Gate of Evolution.

He thought for a moment, then placed his hand on the newspaper and began to type.

“Breaking news: Six days from now, a large number of Corrupted will appear in the caves. They possess many strange abilities—think of them as superpowers. Ordinary weapons are useless against them; only element weapons and your own strength will suffice.”