Endless Debt

Chapter 1253 - 68: Knitting a Scarf

After a period of comforting, Furya fell asleep, full of exhaustion, but from her sleeping expression, a faint smile could be detected. After so many years of arduous support, she finally awaited the arrival of rescue.Bologue flipped through Furya’s notes, which were filled with her various speculations and guesses about the Ruins District, serving as a good aid for Bologue.

The following actions have been formulated, but before the action, they all need some time to rest. Bologue didn’t plan to sleep; a brief meditation was enough to shake off the sense of fatigue.

In the silence, he closed Furya’s notes, gaining a clear general understanding of the current situation in the Ruins District.

Just as Mamo calculated, over the years, the space in the Ruins District has continued to distort and change. The initial invasion by Overlord Xilin seems to have been just a trigger, breaking the balance of the Cultivation Room, causing it to collapse on its own.

Like shattering the foundation of a skyscraper, no further action is required; its terrifying weight will lead to self-destruction.

"The employees imitate everything that the Order Bureau originally had, as long as you integrate into this role-playing, it will be very safe, but be warned, some areas’ role-playing can be very dangerous."

Bologue recalled Furya’s words in the notes, where she marked several danger zones with a red marker, which included the Forge Furnace Volcano.

In addition to dangerous role-playing, Furya also wrote numerous performance insights, such as the subtle differences in uniforms across various areas, the empty and numb dialogue formats between employees...

Although Furya appeared outwardly as an easily crying "crybaby," her inner strength was unexpectedly strong. She was quite the master in performance; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to mingle among the employees for so long.

Besides marking dangerous areas, the map also featured many green points, all of which are safe doors, leading to the core hub Void Lump. In Furya’s records, employees never ventured into the safe doors or the areas behind the Void Lump.

Blue points indicate locations with survival supplies that Furya relied on over the years. Of course, these supplies weren’t entirely food; there were also weapons, equipment, medical drugs, etc.

Furya also marked some areas with large question marks, all unexplored due to insufficient permission levels, and Furya was unsure of what lay inside.

Like morning light, golden paint outlined several circles — these areas are habitable shelters, completely sealed off, not subject to the prying eyes of the hazy light. Currently, Bologue is residing in one such shelter.

"As the space distorts, the shelters are diminishing one by one." Furya once wrote anxiously in her notes.

The displacement of buildings connected many enclosed shelters with the outside world, as eerie, hazy light falls like a giant eye onto the surroundings.

Furya has moved multiple times, and the available shelters have become increasingly scarce.

Bologue took a secondary target list for comparison, judging that some of the shelters Furya marked were safe houses left by the Order Bureau in earlier explorations.

After organizing intelligence, Bologue checked Furya’s collection; she was only a First Stage Condenser, and many Alchemy Armaments she couldn’t use, but Bologue was different; the power of a Negative Power User allowed him to control most Alchemy Armaments — if one exceeded Bologue’s control permissions...

That would be quite the gain.

For Bologue, a Negative Power Tier user, the Alchemy Armaments he can currently access are those born from the substance after qualitative transformation, yellowing, and White Level Alchemy Armaments after Purifying White.

Above the white qualitative transformation are yellowing transformations corresponding to the Defender and red transformations corresponding to the Seeker of Glory.

Theoretically, Bologue has the ability to cross tiers to control these high-tier Alchemy Armaments, but unfortunately, even the Order Bureau’s stock of these high-tier Alchemy Armaments is scarce, mostly controlled by employees corresponding to each tier, or sealed for unknown reasons.

Bologue’s achievements are already quite impressive, but under multiple interfering factors, it’s still difficult for him to apply for a high-tier Alchemy Armament easily. In the end, it’s the bizarre Contract Object that’s most compatible with Bologue.

"Well, you said it, Mamo, let me choose first whatever is obtained."

Bologue isn’t that greedy; even with more Alchemy Armaments, his Ethereal Amount is limited, so he prefers to select ones that suit him.

But after a period of searching and examining, Bologue left the collection room disappointedly, as most of Furya’s collected Alchemy Armaments weren’t high-tier, and their specific effectiveness wasn’t ideal, hardly helpful to Bologue.

The few Pure White Level Alchemy Armaments were also damaged to varying degrees; this was likely caused by Xilin’s invasion, and since Furya herself wasn’t a Scholar, she couldn’t repair these complex Alchemy Armaments. With long storage, most had been significantly damaged.

In other words, Furya collected a pile of junk.

Alright, after careful selection, there were still some usable ones. Bologue naturally couldn’t use them, but they could help arm Furya, increasing her chances of survival in the upcoming actions.

In this eerie place, Bologue couldn’t be confident in protecting Furya well.

Several hours later, Furya emerged from the bedroom looking well-rested, in high spirits. In the living room, Bologue had already prepared bags, even redrawing a map.

"If you’re ready, we can set out."

Bologue didn’t turn his head as he spoke, "But I still hope you consider it carefully. This journey will be very dangerous; you might end up dead."

"I... I’ve thought it over," Furya said resolutely, "Destiny is in one’s own hands. I want to leave, unwavering."

After confirming again, Bologue nodded, handing over selected Alchemy Armaments to Furya, mostly one-time consumables.

"You have quite the stash," Bologue was surprised by the stockpile of these consumables, "Have you been using them sparingly? Or did you raid some armory?"

"Accumulated over time," Furya fiddled with the consumables, mostly various Alchemy Grenades, "Every one used is one less, so I’ve kept collecting, thinking they might come in handy someday."

"Sounds like a squirrel hoarding for winter." Bologue joked.

Furya also laughed along, a hint of concern flashed in her eyes, noticed by Bologue.

"You’re still worried," Bologue inquired, "What are you afraid of?"

"Hmm... trivial worries about nothing."

Furya self-mockingly laughed, "I’ve been wondering: if I really manage to escape, how will I face the outside New World."

She continued, "I’ve been isolated from the world for years; I don’t know how my family, friends are now, let alone..."

"The perception distortion brought by the Inverted World."

Bologue immediately saw Furya’s concern, "Even if you leave the Ruins District, the outer world, those people, will still appear as hideous monsters in your eyes."

"Like escaping from one Hell to another Hell, albeit a less dangerous one."

Furya sighed longingly; even now, she has difficulty accepting Bologue’s Evil Spirit form. What about returning to the human world, walking down a bustling street?

Countless monsters brush past, like being part of a grand, bizarre parade.

"My suggestion is to solve the present problems first, then consider future ones."

Bologue consoled, "I know several good psychiatrists who may help you."

"You want me to talk to a group of ’monsters’?" Furya asked.

"Is there a problem?" Bologue continued, "Next, you’ll have to fight alongside monsters to break through."

Furya laughed; Bologue’s poor sense of humor finally played some role, seeing this, Bologue pursued, continuing speaking.

"I have a friend who had a similar experience."

"Tell me about it."

"Due to an accident, he lost his human form and turned into a... um? Beastman?" Bologue recalled Hart’s appearance.

"And then?"

"Then he accepted himself in this furry form," Bologue replied mercilessly, "He even weaves scarves using the hair he brushes off from himself, giving them to friends."

This time Furya laughed out loud.