Chapter 259: A New Adventure and Bai Yan Becomes a Crown!
Bai Yan alone can easily overwhelm "Purple" with no effort.
But for him, what was even more important were the rewards of the Babel Tower game.
Yes, both the rewards from emergency missions and the achievements within the Babel Tower game were something Bai Yan couldn't accomplish on his own,
You must have a Core Operator to be able to participate.
Although individually they certainly couldn't compare to Bai Yan's strength.
But you see, in some games, it's just impossible to play alone.
So, Bai Yan used the communication feature in Babel Tower to give his command to Fusion Slime".
It immediately rolled over through the Heart of Babel Tower. And when I say "rolled," I mean it quite literally, not as an insult.
Purple Light observed this scene and fell into deep thought.
"Let's get started, let's first kill half of the people in the villa!"
She took out a magic tool used for communication, issuing a command, wanting to prove that her threat was real.
The dozens of assassins brought by Purple Light were undoubtedly extraordinary individuals. Their powers were real and genuine. Moreover, they had managed to excel in the harsh training that had been going on for many years, which required them to constantly push themselves to the limit.
Normal people would absolutely be helpless against these terrifying assassins.
However, none of the assassins actually took any action.
Inside the entire villa, the dozens of assassins who were originally cold and heartless, and were supposed to obey orders completely, were now indifferent to their mentor's commands.
A situation that had never happened before!
"What is going on?"
Purple Light took a deep breath, finally losing her calmness, and felt a deadly chill.
The current situation made her feel like she was the "prey" in a desperate situation, instead of a cautious hunter.
The act of breaking into this mansion was just as foolish as a mosquito trying to assassinate a spider by flying straight into its web!
She was heading towards her own death.
Bai Yan looked at her calmly and said, "Surrender... but I won't spare your life."
The middle-aged woman stopped talking and immediately started acting!
Purple Light was a highly experienced top-tier warrior at the moment, and she was a remarkable individual at the Potential Crown level. Moreover, her innate powers were of a somewhat rare traditional kind.
The power of wind, known as Elemental Wind!
The air around him was instantly sucked away, and in an instant, the howling wind transformed into countless sharp blades, launching a terrifying attack towards Bai Yan!
But Fusion Slime descended from the sky, its massive body completely withstanding these attacks. Although it was slashed with several large wounds, they were instantly healed.
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle!"
Fusion Slime, who doesn't have the ability to feel pain, still sensed that it had been hurt and became a little angry!
A large number of tentacles shot towards Purple Light, each one possessing a deadly power.
But Purple Light managed to avoid every single attack, without even getting hit once.
The mighty power of the wind caused her body to instantly accelerate, even to a speed that was difficult to see. Fusion Slime's many tentacles desperately tried to chase after her, but they couldn't even touch her.
Every time Purple Light retaliated with the power of the wind, she destroyed everything in the master bedroom, and it even started affecting other rooms.
Bai Yan's comfortable bed, where he had been lying down recently, was completely destroyed by a swirling gust of wind.
He gently shook his head and calmly said, "I didn't really want to interfere, but if you continue like this, you might end up demolishing this estate."
Bai Yan, of course, was just making up stories. There was no way he would miss a chance to join a "righteous two against one" battle.
He wasn't someone who believed in principles or fought alone.
And so, in the next moment, Purple Light suddenly felt a strange sensation. Her body became a bit sluggish, making it difficult for her to move.
"What is this, what is happening?"
She finally realized the enemy this time was incredibly powerful and terrifying!
It must be, a powerful Crown-level warrior!
Even in the land of Annottales, where powerful individuals were plentiful, Crown-level extraordinary beings were not easily found. It was no wonder that Purple Light was amazed.
The outcome of the battle was decided in an instant. She could hardly move, and she was immediately ensnared by numerous deep blue tentacles. She was quickly pulled towards Fusion Slime!
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle!"
Fusion Slime became happy. Even though it couldn't understand why the enemy suddenly stopped moving, it had no idea that it had a powerful Crown-level assistant.
Purple Light looked at the unresponsive Kaluoer and confidently gave a command without hesitation.
"Help me, Hidden Azure!"
Kaluoer immediately nodded without thinking and tried to follow the command by making a move. However, she realized that she was also unable to move.
So she shook her head, indicating that she was unable to do it.
Purple Light's heart sank immediately.
The opponent's strength was far beyond what she had imagined. This time, she truly felt like she was going to be completely at their mercy.
"We can make a deal."
Purple Light thought for a moment and calmly said, "The person who wants to kill you is her. If you want, Mercury Ball can give you 'Hidden Azure' as compensation."
Even top-level assassins learn how to manage their expressions for many years, and she was no exception.
So, at this point, she still remained calm with a composed expression on her face.
As for the trade that Purple Light proposed on her own... well, the current situation is pretty much the same. She could tell that Bai Yan had complete control over "Hidden Azure" now.
The girl was no longer a powerful pawn of Mercury Ball.
What a pity.
However, Bai Yan completely ignored Purple Light's words, and he didn't even bother to glance at her.
He sat on the chair, calmly gazing at Kaluoer who was by his side. The girl kept staring attentively at the middle-aged woman wearing a purple dress.
Bai Yan said, "I know deep down you have a tiny bit of reliance on her."
"But that is not right."
Kaluoer remained silent, always gazing at her mentor.
Bai Yan calmly said, "She is a cruel and heartless person. For many years, she has used brutal methods to train numerous children in order to increase her own power. This has resulted in the deaths of many children and caused countless families to suffer... You are well aware of all this, aren't you?"
"Even though you have grown a little dependent on her due to long-term oppression and obedience, it is only an illusion."
He stood up and approached Kaluoer, leaning in slowly as he spoke, "It's because of the Mercury Ball that you and your sister haven't had a chance to reunite, isn't it?"
The password was correct.
Kaluoer's body started to tremble slightly. After several days without being subjected to the magic that deprived her of her emotions, the suppressed feelings within her gradually began to stir.
Every time she looked in the mirror, she would be reminded of her sister who looked exactly like her.
Even Kaluoer has started having dreams lately.
Kaluoer and Evie could have recognized each other much earlier, if it weren't for the Mercury Ball. Bai Yan's words were completely right.
It was because of the "ritual" they had given to Kaluoer that she remained hidden and unnoticed... The principle and effect were similar to the Thought Filter of the Babel Tower, which caused the people who were sent to search for Evie to always come up empty-handed... At least, this was one of the reasons.
Bai Yan, using the power of his mind, made his words appear in everyone's hearts at that very moment.
"For the Mercury Ball, you are just tools!"
He wasn't just talking to Kaluoer, but also speaking to all the assassins.
"What do you really want?" Purple Light suddenly shouted!
At this point, the middle-aged woman lost her calm and composure.
Bai Yan glanced at her and gently shook his head.
What does it have to do with you, anyway, when it comes to what I want to do?
[Kill her.]
The slime suddenly heard the voice of that person echoing in its mind.
Although it didn't know what exactly the "Savior" was or how it looked like, the slime knew that it had to listen to the Savior in order to get delicious treats!
"Smack."
"Oh!"
A cry of agony echoed out, and all the assassins quietly became aware of this fact.
Their mentor had already passed away.
Kaluoer remained the same as usual, with no expression on her face, calmly observing this scene.
That person had been training her relentlessly over the past few years, continuously subjecting her to pain. In the end, the woman she had come to rely on passed away.
She didn't know if she should cry or if she should laugh.
However, however...
Deep within Kaluoer's closed heart, it seemed like something had vanished and disappeared in that moment.
And then, something else emerged from within her soul!
Bai Yan suddenly revealed his true identity, standing alongside Kaluoer as he quietly lit a cigar.
"I am a member of the 'Babel Tower', an organization that saves the world. In the future, you may also become a member. The Savior I believe in greatly admires you, Kaluoer..."
"Um, you can call me the 'Keeper of Secrets'."
Keeper of Secrets, Viscount Edmond.
Regardless of his personality or appearance, this new "identity" was completely different from Profligate.
At this point, Bai Yan had completed the final step of creating the new character.
Babel Tower? Savior?
Kaluoer knew very little about these two concepts, but she also remembered a magical scene that had recently appeared in the newspaper.
The Babel Tower is definitely a powerful and mysterious organization, and their leader "Savior" is probably an incredibly strong and enigmatic god-like being.
Bai Yan gently tapped her head and smiled, saying, "The purpose of our organization is completely opposite to that of the Mercury Ball. They bring harm to the innocent and destroy beauty, but we are different. We aim to save all things that need saving, even if it means going against the unstoppable Outer Gods to protect the entire world."
Kaluoer remained silent for a while.
Save the world...
For her, this kind of thing was too vague and elusive.
It was completely unimaginable, and there was no sense of reality at all.
And so, Kaluoer simply asked a question without showing any expression on her face.
"Will you keep controlling me and forcefully making me stay, to be your tool?"
Hmm, it seems like her basic emotions had already started to come back.
Bai Yan gently smiled, reaching out to play with the girl's icy blue hair tips.
"I will free you from all your constraints."
"You can choose to leave here, or you can choose to stay."
"This is your freedom, I won't stop you."
He was serious.
Kaluoer was indeed very pitiful, even though she would eventually work for Babel Tower, she will definitely not be able to run away... But there was no need for her to treat the other person like a "slave" and forcefully keep them by her side before she even joined Babel Tower.
Kaluoer stood silently in place for a long time.
"..."
It seemed like she was thinking about whether to stay or not.
Bai Yan stood calmly by the side, using his mental power to drive away all the other assassins.
The assassins held their heads and crouched down before leaving the Tulip Manor.
Kaluoer also left.
She walked out the door just like any other day.
Until the end, she never said "thank you".
She didn't sob and kneel down on the ground, thanking Bai Yan for saving her, giving her freedom. Nor did she vow to dedicate everything to him from that point forward...
Kaluoer simply quietly left.
She didn't even know what to do with herself right now.
"Oh no."
Bai Yan gently shook his head, sitting in his broken and messy home, murmured to himself, "It's a pity there wasn't a romantic twist where she would offer herself to me. Nonetheless, I've been living quite well during these days."
From now on, I'll have to do things like eating, drinking, and dressing myself.
After using magic to repair the rundown room, Bai Yan left his own "incarnation" here and continued to play the mature and responsible role of "Keeper of Secrets", Viscount Edmond.
And he, himself, returned to Tatsumi City through the "Heart of Babel Tower", transforming back into the charming and scholarly "Profligate".
--
"Phew, I'm back in Tatsumi City," he exclaimed.
Bai Yan stood on the rooftop of Sylve's mansion and let out a big yawn, basking in the cool sunlight and refreshing breeze of Tatsumi City.
Comparatively, Annottales became even colder and drier.
"The difference between the north and the south, you see."
In Sylve's backyard, a tremendously gigantic birch tree had grown.
How big was it?
Bai Yan stood on the rooftop and visually estimated that this tree was at least thirty meters tall.
And it continued to grow every day, drawing amazed passersby who snapped photos and gathered around to witness the astonishing growth of this tree.
"How tall can this tree grow?"
"Can you guys imagine, is there a chance for something to keep growing forever?"
"That would absorb all the nutrients from the entire city, right? By the way, would we be the nutrients?"
At this very moment, outside the villa, there were more than a thousand Tatsumi City residents gathered. They were all very curious about the sudden appearance of the enormous tree.
Demon Hunt Agency from Tatsumi City also got involved in the investigation, thinking that this thing was some kind of "strange" phenomenon.
But when they heard that this was something from the Babel Tower, they all pretended not to see it.
Now, the Babel Tower in Tatsumi City can be described as a towering presence that hides everything from sight. It has complete control over both the real world and the Otherworlds.
The Dark Light Church and the blood clan from before were no match at all.
Bai Yan could gather all the information about a person in Tatsumi City in less than fifteen minutes.
"World Tree, it looks like it will be ready in a little while, not bad."
He pondered whether he would be able to perform actions in the "Babel Tower game" that were previously impossible.
For example, he wondered if cutting off some branches and leaves from the World Tree would have any magical effects.
Bai Yan smiled and said to himself, "Hmm, let's give it a try when the time comes. Maybe with a flick, it will turn into a magical artifact."
Afterward, he unleashed a powerful force from within his mind.
[These people are so annoying]
[What should I do? They won't leave. Is that tree left behind by Mr. Moriarty?]
Bai Yan closed his eyes and sensed Sylve and her daughter's thoughts. He discovered that they felt uncomfortable with being watched by people every day.
So he unleashed his mind power and chased away all the people.
Bai Yan, using his special ability to "replace common sense," changed their desire to watch the tree into a wish to "exercise their bodies."
Whenever someone thinks about going to observe the giant tree, they will instead choose to exercise their bodies. It is likely that most people will give up halfway through.
"Well, exercising a lot is good for your physical and mental health. I'm doing this for your own good."
He went inside the villa and took a quick look at the mother and daughter.
But Bai Yan didn't go inside. He simply stood there silently, watching.
A few days later, Sylve, who had been in a good mood, seemed to have gained a little weight.
Luckily, she gained weight in all the right places.
For some time now, Bai Yan has been writing letters to Sylve, pretending to be Moriarty. He sends her letters twice a week, and every time Sylve receives a letter, it fills her with happiness.
But Bai Yan had a strange feeling.
Even though Sylve and he grew closer, she couldn't enter the gacha of the Babel Tower.
"Maybe, Alan was just an exception."
Yes, Bai Yan has been pondering the reason ever since he discovered that Alan has become a member of the gacha in the second playthrough of the Babel Tower.
He speculated that intimacy might be the reason for Alan entering the gacha, but now he can infer that it's likely just one of the reasons.
Sylve probably didn't enter the gacha of the Babel Tower, Bai Yan couldn't be certain, but he had this feeling.
"What is the possibility of saving the world...?," he gently shook his head.
This matter is very important.
If Bai Yan can understand how Alan enters the gacha and the principle behind becoming a "Mysterious Magic," there is a chance to manually create Core Operators.
"Making good use of the game's glitches is, of course, part of playing the game."
Bai Yan smiled, and suddenly he felt his phone vibrate again.
After taking out his phone, his eyes lit up with excitement.
Game tip: A new game event has been released in Babel Tower.
Bai Yan had been waiting for the new event for a long time.
Now, the relatively long waiting period has finally come to an end!
"New activity!"
"Deadly Mail!"
Bai Yan was a little surprised. He always thought that the new activity would happen in Annottales, but he never expected... it actually happened in Tatsumi City instead.
"Why on earth is this happening...?"
Bai Yan quickly realized that the "Deadly Mail" was a completely new activity he had never encountered in any of his previous playthroughs.
"By the way, could it be the preliminary activity of the Doomsday Crisis?"
Bai Yan glanced at the countdown of the Doomsday Crisis, deep in thought. Many of the activities before the Doomsday Crisis were somehow connected to it.
Why is it that every time the beginning of 'Babel Tower' is set in Tatsumi City?
Because, in every occurrence of the First Doomsday Crisis, it would always happen in Tatsumi City.
Although regular people and ordinary superhumans couldn't sense it, the truth was that the spatial barrier in the area of Tatsumi City was the weakest in the world.
In other words, this is the place where Outer Gods are most likely to launch their attacks!
Bai Yan gently clicked on the mission description of "Deadly Mail".
"Deadly Mail: A frightening and bizarre mail begins to spread throughout Tatsumi City, causing people to die or disappear one by one. However, the source of this strangeness cannot be found."
"Task 1: Please send Core Operators on a mission to solve four strange incidents happening in Tatsumi City."
"Task 2: When all the strange events are resolved, please help the player to piece together the complete solution based on the collected clues and find the source of the deadly mail."
"Task 3: Defeat the strange source."
"Requirement 1: In the four strange incidents, the fewer the number of victims, the higher the final evaluation and reward."
"Requirement 2: The fewer number of deaths among Core Operators, the higher the final evaluation and rewards."
"Requirement 3: The faster you solve the mystery, the higher the final assessment and reward will be."
Bai Yan noticed, this time, the enemy wasn't a cultist, but something strange.
In a way, strange things are the most difficult to deal with.
But they could also be the easiest enemies to deal with.
As long as you find patterns and weaknesses, even the most powerful strange beings can be easily defeated. But if you can't find them, some strange beings are almost invincible... though they're only invincible to some extent, being completely invincible is impossible.
A supremely powerful extraordinary force can indeed destroy everything.
A low-level strange creature with the ability to be immune to all damage that is not caused by light cannot truly withstand the attacks of top-tier powerful beings.
Or, you could say, a strange creature with the ability that states "as long as it maintains eye contact with a target for five seconds, it can obliterate them," cannot instantly eliminate deities using this power.
Unlike physical resistance and magical resistance, "special resistance" comes from the "Plane" rather than the power level.
A Plane is a special realm that determines the abilities of extraordinary beings. If the power level of an extraordinary being is high enough, they can completely resist the effects of rule-based abilities. It is similar to how certain beings, such as Psychic Dancer, can resist the powers of the mind.
Bai Yan clicked into the new activity and noticed that there was no "mysterious reward" among the rewards for this time's activity. He wondered if there were any "special privileges" instead. Suddenly, he remembered something.
"When I last summoned, I think I forgot to use the 'regret card' ability."
Bai Yan's face quickly turned terrible.
Even though Bai Yan didn't use the three re-summons, it felt as if three cards had been swallowed by him!
"Ah, forget it."
Before starting the new "Babel Tower" activity, Bai Yan had to do something very important.
And that is, to reach the Crown level!
Since Kaluoer left, he had gradually started to feel that he was capable of attempting the final step of the Crown Ceremony, known as the Fictional Enactment.
"The speed of becoming stronger seems a bit too fast, and it feels a bit strange."
If there really was something called "awakening level" in the real world, Bai Yan believed that the rate at which he was accumulating an awakening level was probably several times faster than others.
Of course, he still remembered that he awakened extraordinary powers and became an extraordinary being in less than a day.
In the history past, only a few people awakened so quickly, but they still remained unknown in their lives. Unlike them, he kept getting stronger rapidly and never encountered any obstacles. Looking at the known history of the Noah world, there has never been a similar case before.
"Rather than calling it awakening, it feels more like a "recovery"... The speed at which I become stronger is even unsettling for myself."
He talked to himself and then chuckled silently.
No matter what, he could never give up on becoming stronger, could he?
"I can't just give up on getting stronger because I'm getting stronger too quickly... For now, it's pointless to think about random things when I don't have enough information."
Crown Ceremony.
"Fictional Enactment"
By using various details and hints that they created themselves, they made many people believe in the existence of multiple non-existent 'people'. The more non-existent 'people' there were and the greater their differences, the higher the success rate of the ritual... The Carta ritual would take place at midnight, accompanied by the 'Essence of the Void'.
At this moment, Bai Yan revealed the prepared "Essence of the Void" in his hand.
This is a completely see-through pearl. Inside it, there is no substance at all. Within the "Essence of the Void" exists pure emptiness.
That was "nothingness."
"If this bead were to explode, the immense power of the energy within it could possibly destroy half of the street once it escapes into the material world."
Then, Bai Yan calmly waited inside the villa.
After finally finding some free time, he, for a change, didn't try to adjust to his extraordinary powers. Instead, he took out his mobile phone and started flipping through the journals of all the Core Operators.
Every single one, Bai Yan would click on and watch in "video mode."
Only then, he can truly understand the actions of the operators and get to know them better.
This was a very important matter.
"The Scarlet Moon has become much more obedient. After experiencing happy memories, her loyalty has also increased to 5... but then dropped to 4. Is it because she got beaten up too badly in the training simulation?"
Bai Yan gently shook his head, knowing that the Scarlet Moon's temper needed time and patience to be managed properly.
When he finished reading all the diaries, the sky slowly started to darken.
He went onto the forum, using the name "Profligate," and sent a new message to "Cybertyrant" Amy.
"Profligate asked, 'Did you find any information about that old man?'"
"Mr. X said, 'Hmm, I have recently discovered some information about him. It's hard to believe, but this ordinary old man is actually a legendary retired assassin.'"
"Profligate said, 'I don't have time to go there right now, so could you please help me keep an eye on his granddaughter... There will be a tragic murder in the next month, resulting in the death of his granddaughter.'"
"Mr. X asked, 'A tragic murder... since it's not a planned murder, how do you know it will happen? Does Mr. Profligate have some special ability to predict the future?'"
"Profligate said, 'It's a secret, you see. If you took my things to the task at hand, it's best not to ask too many questions.'"
"Mr. X said, 'I understand. Actually, even if you don't give me anything in return, I still wouldn't ignore innocent people who might die.'"
Bai Yan naturally knew that Amy was not lying. Despite her strong desire for control, this girl still had a side to her that can be described as "pure-hearted and caring like a saint."
"Hidden Azure" and "Psychic Dancer" paid no attention to the bigger picture, while "Cybertyrant" and "Fist of Duel" believed that the greater good was more important than individual desires.
Recently, he had been secretly reading Amy's diary as Cybertyrant and he actually saw what she had been up to.
Amy has been actively reaching out to the "w" sect, the followers of the God of Cyber. Just like herself, she wanted to create a disguise and become a mysterious puppet master.
The disguise she chose was... the God of Cyber.
That was something that people had believed in the Night Union for as long as the world of darkness existed.
"There were two people in an organization who liked to work behind the scenes, which was quite strange. If we count the witch, then there were three..."
However, I am the ultimate puppet master behind other puppet masters, you see.
Putting down his phone, Bai Yan took out a special chalk and skillfully drew a complex magic circle on the ground, waiting for the arrival of midnight.
"Alright, let the Crown Ceremony begin," he said with a sense of excitement.
Standing at the center of the magic circle, Bai Yan took a deep breath. He tightly held onto the Essence of the Void and slowly recited the enchantment for the Fictional Enactment Crown Ceremony.
The Essence of the Void began to shine brightly!
In the next moment, several ghostly figures swiftly materialized from within Bai Yan's body, each one possessing a completely different appearance!
