"Only twelve hours have passed?" Ye Pingjun frowned. "I thought it had already been days."

"Time inside this circus is chaotic. It speeds up and slows down without warning," Mo Bai said. "Let's move faster."

She took the lead and walked into the room next to Ye Pingjun's. She didn't know whether it belonged to Gu Tiandong or Ding Xun.

Seeing how decisive Mo Bai was, Ye Pingjun smiled to himself.

Mo Bai had regained her confidence. That meant he could go back to being a hands-off manager.

He was naturally lazy. Compared to making decisions himself, he much preferred being a follower who didn't have to think or worry.

Ye Pingjun hoisted the fake Ding Xun over his shoulder and tried to follow Mo Bai inside, but an invisible force blocked him at the doorway. No matter what he did, he couldn't step through.

"What's going on?" Ye Pingjun slapped the air and called to Mo Bai inside.

Mo Bai hadn't expected this either. Why could she enter, but he couldn't?

Was it because she had reconciled with herself and accepted her other half?

But Ye Pingjun had also come to terms with himself, so why was he still unable to enter?

Fortunately, sound could still pass through. "Could it have something to do with the fake Ding Xun you're carrying?" Mo Bai said. "Try putting her down."

Ye Pingjun set the fake Ding Xun aside and tried again. He still couldn't enter.

After thinking for a moment, Mo Bai stepped out, lifted the fake Ding Xun wrapped in the Black Tent, and encountered the same problem: an invisible barrier blocked her as well.

"What's going on? I can't get in no matter what I do. You can go in alone, but once you're carrying Ding Xun, you can't?" Ye Pingjun asked in confusion.

After a brief pause, Mo Bai said, "This is probably the room trapping Gu Tiandong. The thing blocking us is his ability: Keep Your Distance."

Ye Pingjun suddenly understood. "That ability that defends based on Appearance value, right? I get it. With my looks, there's no way I can break through Keep Your Distance, so I can't enter no matter what.

You can overcome it with your own Appeal, but once Ding Xun's appearance gets averaged in, you can't get through either.

This ability is way too insulting."

Mo Bai handed the fake Ding Xun back to Ye Pingjun and reentered the room.

Like her own, this room was covered in mirrors. The only difference was that these mirrors reflected no people.

All four mirrored walls showed nothing but the room itself. There was no one in the mirrors.

No Mo Bai. No Gu Tiandong.

Did the Gu Tiandong, who escaped from inside the mirror, sealed the room with his ability? Or did the real Gu Tiandong activate his power and sealed himself away?

Without any reference point, Mo Bai couldn't tell what had happened here.

She decided to set this room aside for now and go find Ding Xun. After all, she had already captured the Ding Xun from the mirror.

As Mo Bai stepped out, she felt someone tug at her left foot.

She stopped and looked around, but saw no one.

"Gu Tiandong," she said. "I want to save you. But if you've sealed yourself off, there's nothing I can do. The enemy in this room is yourself. We can only save ourselves."

At that moment, Mo Bai seemed cold and utterly indifferent, as if she didn't care whether Gu Tiandong lived or died.

She was once again the Mo Bai who had just entered Peach Blossom Land. Back then, when Gu Tiandong had shut himself away and even contemplated ending his life, her attitude had been: "Before you die, remember to transfer your points to me."

She wouldn't forcibly drag along someone who had given up on themselves. But she would never ignore someone who asked for help.

When the mirrors showed no reaction, Mo Bai turned to leave.

Just then, someone tugged at the hem of her clothes again.

This time, she watched the mirrors carefully. When her clothes were pulled, she clearly saw a hand reach out from inside the mirror and grab her again.

"Alright," Mo Bai said. "I understand."

She realized that Gu Tiandong didn't want to give up. He simply couldn't get out, and this was the only way he could try to hold her back.

If some force was trapping him, it had to be the combined effects of Keep Your Distance and Cold-Hearted.

From the fake Ding Xun, Mo Bai knew that the mirror version retained the original's memories and abilities. Perhaps after leaving the mirror, Mirror-Gu Tiandong sealed the room to prevent anyone from rescuing the real one.

But she could break that seal.

Mo Bai took in the surroundings, memorizing the room's appearance, then activated Environmental Rejection.

After fully merging with her other self, Mo Bai's Environmental Rejection changed.

As she used the ability, her hair lifted and fluttered. Countless web-like strands seemed to spill from her hair, spreading outward and enveloping the entire room.

These transparent threads intertwined into a spherical net, centered on Mo Bai, expanding in all directions.

Standing outside the door, Ye Pingjun clearly saw the net ensnare countless rays of light: the physical manifestations of Gu Tiandong's abilities. The web she released captured those energies.

Then the net tightened.

The light it had caught shattered instantly, breaking into countless specks that turned to dust and vanished into the air.

Ye Pingjun was familiar with Mo Bai's Environmental Rejection. The version he knew merely excluded harmful environmental factors temporarily. After some time, those factors would return.

But what Mo Bai displayed now was no longer exclusion. It was eradication.

Not a temporary banishment, but annihilation followed by sweeping away the remnants.

If her former ability left her enemies some leeway, the current Mo Bai radiated a sense of 'submit to me and prosper; defy me and perish.'

Ye Pingjun felt that this was the true power of Environmental Rejection.

Before, Mo Bai seemed afraid of something. She hadn't fully accepted herself as she feared her darker side. That fear prevented her from unleashing the ability's full strength. Only now, after facing her complete self, could she wield its full power.

Once Mo Bai cleared the room of Gu Tiandong's Keep Your Distance and Cold-Hearted, figures finally appeared in the mirrors.

To her surprise, there wasn't one or two people in the reflection, but three.

On the floor inside the mirror lay a corpse, its body covered in blistered burn marks, clearly a circus employee contaminated by Disease Town.

The wounds were from an explosion, identical to the way the monster outside Ye Pingjun's door had died. He had likely been killed by a blood bomb.

The other two figures in the mirror were both Gu Tiandong.

One was about 1.8 meters tall, with fairly handsome, gentle features and a prominent Adam's apple. Clearly male.

The other was about 1.7 meters tall, with silver hair and blue eyes, impossibly beautiful, and a pair of pure white wings sprouting from his back.

It was impossible to tell which one was the real Gu Tiandong.

"Can you talk? Which one of you is real?" Mo Bai asked.

Both versions looked delighted to see her.

The 1.8-meter Gu Tiandong said, "I'm Gu Tiandong. After he dragged me into the mirror, I turned into this."

The 1.7-meter one also spoke. "I'm the real Gu Tiandong. He dragged me into the mirror and opened the door to escape. I hadn't fully entered the mirror yet, so I grabbed him and pulled both him and the guard outside back in.

"The guard teamed up with him to kill me. I grabbed a handful of blood bombs and threw them at them. The guard was blown to death, but he wasn't hurt at all. The bombs were wasted."

Following his words, Mo Bai looked at the floor inside the mirror and saw shattered glass and bloodstains everywhere.

Mo Bai always threw blood bombs one at a time, but Gu Tiandong had tossed them by the handful. He really didn't mind the cost.

The 1.8-meter Gu Tiandong said urgently, "Mo Bai, don't believe him. I'm the real one.

You should remember. What I hate most is being part of the Observation Group.

After entering this instance, I discovered a version of myself in the mirror with chicken wings. I was especially—"

"Chicken wings?" the 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong snapped back. "These are angelic wings. The symbol of perfection. The ultimate evolution. They're—"

"Mm?" Mo Bai folded her arms and let out a faint, ambiguous hum.

The 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong immediately covered his mouth.

He knew he'd let something slip.

Just as the 1.8-meter version had said, Gu Tiandong loathed his identity as a member of the Observation Group.

After his title was upgraded to Lonely Sufferer, he no longer had wings. If he saw himself sprouting a pair of angel-like wings, he would never describe them favorably. "Chicken wings" was far more in line with what he would say.

Mo Bai could already imagine what had happened after Gu Tiandong entered the mirror.

Seeing a more beautiful version of himself with wings, he must have felt utterly disgusted.

Trapped in this room with no way out, forced to confront a self he refused to accept, his mentality gradually destabilized until he released the mirror version.

Mirror-Gu Tiandong pulled the real one inside and took his place. And the self Gu Tiandong had once idealized was probably the 1.8-meter version from when he first entered the game. So inside the mirror, he reverted to that original form.

"Who killed the guard?" Mo Bai asked.

"He did." The 1.8-meter version pointed at the 1.7-meter one.

"I did." The 1.7-meter version cast Mo Bai a pitiful look.

"You had blood bombs?" Mo Bai asked the 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong.

The 1.8-meter Gu Tiandong explained, "After he switched places with me, all the cards and items on me became his as well."

"And you were the one who used the abilities?" Mo Bai looked at the 1.7-meter version.

He nodded vigorously.

Mo Bai reconstructed what must have happened after Gu Tiandong was dragged into the mirror.

After stepping out of the mirror, the 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong hadn't fled. Instead, he opened the door, lured the guard inside, and dragged him into the mirror as well.

He used blood bombs to kill the guard, then activated Keep Your Distance and Cold-Hearted, sealing both himself and the real Gu Tiandong inside the room.

The truth had become clear, but Mo Bai still didn't understand the 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong's motive.

Wasn't he a mirror being created by the magician? Why kill the guard? And after gaining freedom, why not leave? Why lock himself back inside?

"What was your goal in doing all this?" Mo Bai asked.

The 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong blinked his beautiful blue eyes.

The 1.8-meter version said impatiently, "He wanted you to rescue him!"

The 1.7-meter Gu Tiandong hurriedly added, "Mo Bai, I'm more useful than him. He hates his own identity and abilities. I'm different. I can help you better. I'm your best teammate."

"Then who was the one tugging at me just now?" Mo Bai asked.

"It was me," the 1.7-meter version said indignantly. "He wouldn't let me see you."

The 1.8-meter Gu Tiandong snapped, "I was afraid he'd walk out of the mirror again, so I kept stopping him. I was also afraid he'd trick you. I held onto him the whole time to keep him from getting out. I didn't expect I still wouldn't be able to stop him from reaching out to you for help."

Mo Bai rubbed her temples as she gradually understood everything.

Just like the black-clad Mo Bai in the mirror, the Gu Tiandong in the mirror was the self he despised.

But the despised self was still a self.

Gu Tiandong hated his abilities, his title, and his weakness. He even hated the version of himself that had to rely on Mo Bai. The mirror version was exactly that side of him.

He was weak. He couldn't leave the mirror on his own. He needed Mo Bai, and he wanted to be needed by her.

So the mirror Gu Tiandong had staged this entire drama, trapping both himself and the original here, waiting for Mo Bai to rescue him.

He hoped she would take him away as the "real" Gu Tiandong, completely replacing the original.

Ye Pingjun, who had quietly entered the room after the abilities were lifted, said:

"It seems the mirror versions aren't enemies. They're the other half of the 'self.'

As long as they're our teammates' 'selves,' they won't harm us. They just want to replace the original and leave with us."

Earlier, the fake Ding Xun didn't try to hurt them either. She only wanted to earn their trust.

Ye Pingjun patted the mirror wrapped in the Black Tent and said with a slight headache, "This is troublesome. They're both our teammates, just split into two halves by the mirror. Like you, they can only merge through their own strength. Reconciliation of the self can only be achieved by the self. No one else can help."

Mo Bai looked at the two Gu Tiandongs in the mirror. "Are you willing to make peace and merge back into one?"

"Impossible. I'm the real one. Why should I merge with him?" they said in unison.

"Can we take both of them out?" Ye Pingjun asked.

"Impossible. Only one of us can exist outside the mirror," they replied again in perfect sync.

"Gu Tiandong, be reasonable. We still need to clear this instance together," Ye Pingjun said.

Hearing this, the 1.8-meter version seemed to put the bigger picture first. He looked at the 1.7-meter version with obvious disgust, but still opened his arms.

Seeing Mo Bai watching him expectantly, the 1.7-meter version endured his discomfort and embraced the 1.8-meter one.

But they did not merge.

Recalling how she had merged with her black-clad self, Mo Bai said, "It won't work. The heart can't be forced. As long as there's even a trace of grievance left, they can't merge."

This wasn't something Gu Tiandong could control by willpower.

He had to love himself enough to accept even his flaws. And love wasn't something that could be achieved through sheer effort.

"So what do we do? Time's almost up," Ye Pingjun said.

Mo Bai looked at him. "In their current state, this counts as a negative condition. It should be curable with a blessing-type card."

"Blessing of the Puppets?" Ye Pingjun took out an A-rank card.

Mo Bai nodded. "Ye Pingjun can lend you this card, but once you recover, you have to return your own blessing card to him."

All four of them had obtained Blessing of the Puppets at the Count's Castle. They couldn't let Ye Pingjun waste such a life-saving card.

The 1.8-meter and 1.7-meter versions exchanged a glance and nodded.

Both Gu Tiandongs agreed.

Mo Bai couldn't help but smile.

"Whether you're the original or the mirror self, you both want to fight alongside your teammates. You're both unwilling to take advantage of them. Whether it's strengths or flaws, each of you has something lovable, don't you?"

Hearing this, the two Gu Tiandongs looked at each other thoughtfully.

Ye Pingjun activated Blessing of the Puppets. Hundreds of puppet phantoms appeared in the air, Manipulation Threads dangling from their hands. The threads extended into the mirror and wrapped around the two Gu Tiandongs, binding them together.

A brilliant golden light burst from the mirror.

Mo Bai and Ye Pingjun raised their hands to shield their eyes.

When the light faded, a 1.7-meter-tall Gu Tiandong with a pair of wings on his back stood in the room. The surrounding mirrors had shattered across the floor.

"Why does he still have wings?" Ye Pingjun asked in confusion, "Did the 1.8-meter one get purified by the blessing card? Is there even a card that purifies the original?"

"No," Mo Bai and Gu Tiandong answered at the same time.

Gu Tiandong raised a hand. "I think… I might have leveled up."

"Me too," Mo Bai said.

When she had merged with her black-clad self, she had already realized this. During that fusion, she had likely activated the power of Environmental Assimilation.

She had indeed accepted herself, but being able to merge so quickly had also been related to that ability.

The wings on Gu Tiandong's back were also a sign of leveling up.

"What changes occurred to your abilities?" Mo Bai asked.

After sensing them for a moment, Gu Tiandong said, "Keep Your Distance and Cold-Hearted now have a confinement effect in addition to defense. I can seal an enemy within a space. As long as their Appeal value is lower than mine, they can't escape the cage.

"Also, the title Sufferer has gained another effect. Once the Sufferer has endured an ability once, that same ability can't affect the Sufferer a second time."

"Those two abilities together are incredible," Ye Pingjun said. "You can draw all attacks to yourself, and once something hits you once, you're immune the second time. That's practically absolute defense!"

Mo Bai frowned. "I already used Environmental Rejection on you once. Does that mean I won't be able to reject your abilities again next time?"

Gu Tiandong nodded.

In a gentle tone, he said, "Why do you look so troubled? Isn't my ability upgrade a good thing?"

"Yes… it's a good thing," Mo Bai said with a bitter smile.

An ability upgrade meant that both she and Gu Tiandong had stepped into the threshold of high-level players. In an instance that included advanced players, she couldn't tell whether this was a blessing or a curse.