Mo Bai held the small box in both hands and stood silently in the hall.

Xiao Qi couldn't sense Mo Bai's emotions and felt a little nervous. It spoke in her mind, "Player, don't be sad. Wipe away your tears and avenge Mo Xiangyou! Xiao Qi will find a way to pry into the main system's data, investigate Xie Xingchen's abilities, investigate the entire Avici organization, and together we'll wipe Avici off the map!"

"It's useless," Mo Bai said, shaking her head. Her voice was frighteningly calm.

"How could it be useless? You're so strong, Player! Once you reach the advanced level, you'll only become stronger. You can definitely do it!" Xiao Qi said.

Mo Bai replied,

"An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a piece of precious jade is a crime. As long as the rule that members of the Observation Group can be turned into cards still exists, people like Xie Xingchen and organizations like Avici will always exist.

Even if I kill every person in Neverland who has ever turned an Observation Group player into a card, new advanced players will continue arriving in Neverland.

Even if I establish an organization to protect the lives of Observation Group players, I still can't protect their hearts.

Xie Xingchen is indeed despicable and hateful. He deserves to die. But the problem isn't just him. The real problem is the rules that treat human beings as objects."

Mo Bai was deeply saddened and furious, yet she was more clear-headed than ever.

She understood that even if she killed Xie Xingchen and avenged Mo Xiangyou, there would still be no future waiting for her.

She, Gu Tiandong, and all the other Observation Group players would still continue living in constant fear.

Even if they initially had Combat Group players they trusted, the repeated deaths of Observation Group players would gradually drive them apart.

She was strong enough to protect herself. Qiu Xuerong was equally strong and could protect herself as well.

Mo Bai could already see that Qiu Xuerong's emotionally closed-off state was her own future.

Even if they managed to survive on their own, the environment would slowly erode them until they lost their human emotions.

"Unless the Observation Group ceases to exist entirely, tragedies like this will keep happening. People like Mo Xiangyou and Xu Qirui will continue to appear," Mo Bai said.

"Then we'll change the world's rules!" Xiao Qi declared, clearly far more audacious than Mo Bai. "Player, your ability seems like it was born for exactly that purpose. Become an Ultimate Player, assimilate the entire world, and change this rule!"

Its voice was bright and powerful, overflowing with confidence.

It reminded Mo Bai of herself during her chuunibyou years. Back then, she felt boundless energy and believed she could save the world.

"You really dare to dream," Mo Bai sighed.

"Why shouldn't I? Xiao Qi believes that a player's limits are determined by what's in their mind! As long as you dare to dream, set a goal, and work toward it, then..."

"Then you'll definitely succeed?" Mo Bai asked.

"No, it's: Then you'll definitely live happily!" Xiao Qi replied enthusiastically.

"Even if you don't succeed, as long as you hold on to hope and have unwavering faith and goals, then even if you fall before reaching them, you'll remain happy until your very last moment."

"Where did you learn this chicken soup for the soul?*" Mo Bai asked in surprise. (T/N: Motivational nonsense.)

Xiao Qi answered, "From you, of course. You've always been that kind of person. Xiao Qi grows by absorbing your thoughts. I've learned some bad things, but I've also learned plenty of good ones.

You can be troubled by emotions and lose your way temporarily, but Xiao Qi won't. I'll always remind you what a strong person you are!"

Its words rang with conviction, like a shot of adrenaline injected directly into Mo Bai's heart.

Mo Bai regained some strength, but one question still puzzled her. She wanted to know what Xiao Qi would think about it.

"If I die while pursuing my goal, and because I failed to achieve it, I die with regrets and resentment, then what?" Mo Bai asked.

Xiao Qi remained unwavering.

"Player, don't be upset. But in a situation like that, Xiao Qi thinks that you'd be grateful to be an Observation Group member.

If you fall on the road ahead, you'll become a card. You can choose a suitable successor and pass on the power that can change the world, along with your beliefs.

Maybe that successor won't fulfill your wish either. But until your final moment, you'll still be happy.

Just like Mo Xiangyou. He passed everything on to you. During the last moments of his life, you gave him hope.

Do you think the Mo Xiangyou who was giving his last words was suffering?"

Mo Bai shook her head.

"He had regrets, but he wasn't suffering."

Xiao Qi's words dispelled the dark clouds in Mo Bai's heart, sweeping away her confusion.

All the sorrow, pain, despair, and helplessness she felt stemmed from one thing: She had been standing still.

A towering mountain stood before her. She had been cowering at its base, fearing the road ahead, without realizing that every path is made by taking one step at a time.

Mo Bai's heart settled.

She said seriously, "I will keep moving forward. Even if I have to use the most extreme methods imaginable, I will continue."

Indestructible Diamond. Her tone was as resolute as the title the system had given her.

At that moment, Xiao Qi spoke again, "Xiao Qi thinks diamonds are just carbon, after all. They're hard, but fire can still destroy them.

You're not a diamond, Player. You're true gold tempered by fire. You're a precious element that can only be born from a cosmic explosion. You're a substance that won't disappear even if planets are destroyed."

"If the system gave me that title instead, would I turn into a golden Mo Bai when I reach the advanced level?" Mo Bai joked, feeling much better.

"That would be beautiful too! When has gold ever not been beautiful?" Xiao Qi said firmly, as always being Mo Bai's most devoted admirer.

Mo Bai put away Mo Xiangyou's ashes and walked into the manor grounds.

She looked at the rotting corpses that kept falling and rising again, and at the roses corroding the spider silk with their curse.

Then she made up her mind.

"I said earlier that I'd achieve my goal no matter how extreme the methods required. I'll start with this instance."

She pressed one hand against her chest and let her consciousness sink into the deepest recesses of her mind, recalling the process of merging with Black-Clad Mo Bai in the Smiling Circus instance.

Mo Xiangyou had told her to use players' lives to neutralize the negative flow within her heart, but Mo Bai knew that wouldn't work.

Most of the players in this instance were her companions. The only outsiders were the two members of Six Paths and Xie Xingchen.

Debts should be settled with those responsible. Six Paths had never provoked her, and she would not slaughter innocents indiscriminately.

The positive flow from a single Xie Xingchen was nowhere near enough to deal with an Ultra-Star Rank monster.

The only thing capable of confronting the Ultra-Star Rank monster that was about to be born was the other half of the power that was sleeping within her.

She was going to borrow a little of that power.

Mo Bai knew how to borrow the power of an Ultra-Star Rank monster: by using her ability, Environmental Assimilation, to assimilate her internal environment.

Once the ability activated, Mo Bai's consciousness saw what seemed to be an energy black hole spinning endlessly within her body.

She could feel that the black hole was filled with negative emotions.

Fear. Grief. Despair. Greed. Jealousy. Rage. Depression. Anxiety. Suicidal impulses. Violence. Death...

And malice.

Malice born from the fusion of every negative emotion.

It would dominate the user's mind, turning them into a slave of malice who would spread more malice and create more tragedies.

That was the nature of a monster controlled by malice.

If Mo Bai wanted to borrow this power, she had to maintain an unwavering conviction. Without it, she would be consumed by the malice.

She couldn't assimilate all of the power, but only assimilate a small portion of it. Otherwise, she would inevitably lose herself.

Her consciousness sank into the energy black hole.

While resisting the erosion of malice and preserving her sense of self, she carefully controlled the range of Environmental Assimilation, like someone reaching into a fire to retrieve a burning coal.

She isolated only about five percent of the black hole's area and attempted to bring that portion of the power under her control.

She stood motionless in front of the villa with her eyes closed.

Time passed minute by minute.

No more ants emerged from the Ant Nest. The rotting corpses, now stripped down to white bones, broke free from the ants' restraint and slowly shuffled toward Mo Bai.

The spider silk had also been corroded by the power of the curse, turning into limp black strands that drooped onto the ground.

The roses grew wildly as their thorn-covered vines spread all the way to Mo Bai's feet.

Every monster in the garden gradually surrounded her.

Outside the domain, Du Heng held a pair of binoculars and was so anxious that he nearly shouted.

The binoculars were an A-rank item card, an upgraded version of the Prying Lenses. Their viewing range exceeded one hundred meters, and they could see through domain barriers. They also possessed the Hard to Wear Out trait, allowing them to be used more than five times longer than ordinary A-rank cards.

It was also the last card Du Heng had.

"Move! Hurry and dodge! What is Mo Bai standing there for?" Du Heng cried anxiously.

"Let me see!"

Sheng Yan snatched the binoculars and looked toward the Plague Garden. When he saw Mo Bai surrounded by monsters, he nearly had a stroke from panic.

"Sister Xue, please... please save Mo Bai!" Du Heng pleaded, grabbing Qiu Xuerong's sleeve. "I'll do anything you say. Please save her!"

But Qiu Xuerong replied coldly,

"Before I entered this instance, the captain gave me a mission."

A sense of dread rose within Du Heng.

"What mission?"

Qiu Xuerong unfolded a snow leaf, creating a barrier around them so that no sound could travel outside. Only then did she answer:

"If Mo Bai fails to fully master her advanced-level power in this instance, kill her and bring her card back."

"What did you say?!"

Du Heng roared in anger, his voice cracking.

A faint smile appeared on Qiu Xuerong's icy face.

"You're not even in the Observation Group. I haven't gotten emotional about it, so why are you so upset?"

"What is the captain thinking? Mending Heaven's principle is to never treat players as objects and never trample on life! Those are rules the captain established himself! How can he break his own rules? And you're an Observation Group player too, Sister Xue. How can you accept an order like that?" Du Heng demanded.

Qiu Xuerong said, "Because Mo Bai is different. Misfortune follows her wherever she goes. Ever since she came to this world, death has surrounded her.

If she can't control this power, then she isn't qualified to become Nuwa*, and if she lacks the qualifications to become Nuwa, then someone else will inherit her power." (T/N: Recap: the goddess of Chinese myth who created humankind and repaired the heavens after they were broken. Her legend of mending the sky is the namesake of the organization.)

"Mo Bai is the Nuwa we've been searching for all this time? The captain already knew? Then why didn't he say anything when I mentioned her to him last time?" Du Heng asked, bewildered.

Qiu Xuerong replied, "Your captain is not a kind man. He has hundreds of faces. Showing the right personality to the right person is an ability he was born with. The righteous and compassionate captain you see is only the version he wants you to see."

"B-but..." Du Heng looked as if his entire faith had collapsed.

Qiu Xuerong continued, "I know exactly what he's really like, and I still chose to join Mending Heaven, because among the countless lies he has told, there is one thing that is true."

"What did he say?" Du Heng asked.

Qiu Xuerong answered,

"He said that this world is wrong, and he intends to correct it, and if it cannot be corrected, then he will destroy it. There is no reason for something fundamentally wrong to continue existing."

"H-how can he think like that?" Du Heng muttered as he sank to the ground.

He felt as though he had been cruelly deceived.

Qiu Xuerong said coldly, "That's the kind of person he is. Cultured, gentle, approachable, and yet cold-blooded, ruthless, and willing to do whatever it takes.

"That is the captain of Mending Heaven, Xing Shuo."