Chapter 260
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Chapter 260: Crown Bai Yan! The Increasingly Terrifying Power!
Three completely different ghostly figures surrounded Bai Yan.
Bai Yan couldn’t see their faces clearly, but he knew exactly who these figures were.
“They are me.”
Each one of them played a role: the mysterious and unpredictable “Savior,” the “Profligate” Moriarty, and the “Keeper of Secrets” Viscount Edmond.
Just at that moment, Bai Yan suddenly felt an incredibly strong force pushing the ghostly figures around him away from his body and into the air.
“Indeed, the moment has come. The true trial of the Crown Ceremony’s Fictional Enactment…”
The overwhelming force caused every shadow to retreat from Bai Yan’s body, rising into the air.
At that moment, Bai Yan felt as though the world itself was crumbling. The immense weight of the mental pressure overwhelmed him, causing him to lose consciousness, only to regain it moments later.
What just happened? Bai Yan was momentarily disoriented but quickly gathered his thoughts.
“Is this the Crown Ceremony? It’s certainly a greater challenge than I expected.”
It felt entirely different from before, in ways difficult to describe.
Bai Yan took a deep breath, shaking his head slowly. His vision blurred once more, as though he was seeing illusions materializing before him.
The shadows of his past, of “himself,” began conversing with him.
“Everything I do, I do to save the worlds that need saving.”
“I enjoy watching people struggle, unable to do anything, out of pure fascination!”
“You’ve done well, and I believe great things lie ahead for you.”
Bai Yan witnessed fragments of his past through the shadows—some calm, some chaotic, others peaceful. But one thing stood out: each shadow was merely another version of himself, no one else.
Even though the third Crown Ceremony was the best fit for him, it remained a significant challenge.
The main flaw of the Fictional Enactment was that if one failed, there was a high risk of a shattered mind and a fractured personality.
“Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh!”
The overwhelming mental strain sent a piercing pain through Bai Yan’s head. In this agony, it felt as if every cell in his body was being crushed and restructured.
Scenes of his acting experiences flashed before his eyes, as if they were about to explode from deep within his soul!
I am not anyone else; I am simply Bai Yan!
“Just as you said, I’ve become ordinary… more like myself.”
He muttered to himself.
In the blink of an eye, everything vanished.
The world around him turned completely blank. White. Nothing else remained.
He sat on an old chair, staring down. In the sky above, a colossal silver tower rose, reaching into the heavens.
The shadows silently stood behind him, present but still.
Bai Yan slowly raised his head and saw, directly before him, another person seated. Their face remained unseen.
That “person”… stirred a sense of deep familiarity and comfort in Bai Yan, a sensation he couldn’t place but recognized. Yet, he also knew he had never met this person before.
Who are you?
Even though they were seated face to face, Bai Yan couldn’t discern the true identity of the individual.
This “person” felt like a black hole—impossible to view clearly.
Suddenly, a thick, dark mist began to rise beside Bai Yan.
He sat motionless, unable to move.
The figure resembling a black hole began speaking.
Bai Yan heard several words, though they seemed directed at him, yet also not quite so.
“Whatever the result may be…”
“Your fate has already been sealed.”
“Our paths may differ, but our thoughts are aligned.”
“With everything on the line—past, present, and future—this grand game begins…”
As the shadow of the “black hole” rose, it moved swiftly toward Bai Yan. In an instant, they merged.
The illusions returned to Bai Yan’s body, overwhelming him entirely.
Slowly, everything faded from view…
Time passed, stretching for what seemed like an eternity. Bai Yan couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or if this was reality.
It felt as though the entire world had been reborn. No matter how many times things were destroyed and renewed, everything eventually returned to its original state.
“…”
When Bai Yan opened his eyes, he found himself back in the real world, lying peacefully on the magical circle of the Crown Ceremony.
The once precious Essence of the Void had long since turned to dust in his hands.
His mind was clouded, and he lay there for a long while before his thoughts began to clear.
“This Crown Ceremony is nothing like what was described… that white world wasn’t mentioned in any of the Fictional Enactment materials… It wasn’t even alluded to.”
What do those experiences during the Crown Ceremony truly mean?
I’m not sure…
Bai Yan closed his eyes, feeling his memories blur.
Perhaps that moment holds great significance.
Bai Yan recalled the vast silver tower, perhaps the true form of the Babel Tower. And who was that shadowy figure, like a black hole?
Were they speaking to him?
After some time, Bai Yan finally regained his composure and slowly stood up from the ground.
He could feel an immense, unprecedented power surging within him.
Bai Yan’s eyes once again shimmered like the vast universe, glowing with soft silver and black light, as if they were two different stars.
The extraordinary power had evolved to a new level.
The distinction between “Crown” and “Awakening” was far greater than the one between “Awakening” and “Origin.”
Bai Yan took a deep breath, sensing the changes within him.
“The person I am now is completely different from the one I was.”
Feeling the surge of power, Bai Yan made a startling realization!
“Oh, so that’s how it is… I never imagined this!”
Typically, extraordinary individuals gain sub-level abilities as they progress. Most commonly, they unlock abilities that provide extraordinary powers at lower levels.
But Bai Yan was different.
From the moment he became a Crown, his journey diverged from that of other extraordinary beings. Unlike others, he didn’t unlock sub-level abilities as he ascended.
Bai Yan nodded, glancing at his hand. “It seems that once I reach this higher level, I directly gain all the powers of that level.”
In other words, though Bai Yan had just reached the Crown stage, he had already unlocked all the abilities of the sub-levels—lower, middle, upper, and even the Potential Apocalypse—within the Crown’s extraordinary powers.
He could sense the tremendous amount of power now within him, unlike anything he had ever felt.
Bai Yan smiled and shook his head. “Now, I truly feel invincible beneath the Apocalypse level!”
Bragging about oneself might not be ideal… he suddenly realized this.
“Hmm, next time, I’ll find someone to cheer for me.”
He decided to work on curbing his tendency to boast.
Bai Yan possessed unique abilities that set him apart from others. He had two special powers called “Connection” and “Game.”
First, there was the “Connection” power.
Once Bai Yan’s “Connection” reached the Crown level, it improved significantly, building upon his existing abilities.
The first subset was still about “gathering information.” But now, instead of randomly receiving partial answers, he could directly connect with the information he needed.
Bai Yan took a slow breath and reached out, touching the walls of the room. Almost instantly, he saw vivid images of Sylve’s ancestors.
Those images appeared to burn with intensity, revealing how her ancestors had acquired “ancient magic” from a cult. From there, they survived by smuggling and illegal immigration.
However, when Bai Yan tried to touch his own face, hoping to gather related information, all he received were meaningless fragments. He also tried to reach for the “Babel Tower” with his fingers, hoping to uncover its origins, but found it ineffective.
“It seems it’s still not possible…”
Bai Yan shook his head. Deep down, he longed to understand what the Babel Tower truly was.
Perhaps he wasn’t powerful enough yet for his ability to work.
“And then… there’s this impressive ability to analyze.”
The second sub-ability of the Crown-level “Connection” talent was “Insightful Linking.”
As Bai Yan looked around, he effortlessly perceived the weaknesses, flaws, strengths, and connections between everything.
For example, when he saw fire, he immediately understood that “wind can help fire” and “water can extinguish fire,” among other insights.
Bai Yan recognized that this was an incredibly powerful ability, particularly useful when dealing with “strange” creatures, such as mechanical monsters.
Ordinary people need to guess and reason in order to understand the “strange” creatures’ patterns of behavior and attack methods. However, most of the time, these “strange” creatures attack immediately upon first encounter, leaving you with no time for trial and error.
“However, having the ability of ‘Insightful Linking’ is different. When facing all sorts of ‘strange’ creatures, you can directly see relevant clues and even the answers.”
There is no doubt about it, this is a tremendous advantage.
He nodded gently, a noticeably relaxed smile appearing on his face.
“It’s still the ability of intelligence gathering, but it’s very practical, especially when dealing with ‘strange’ things.”
Now, Bai Yan possesses extraordinary power of multiple Core Operators. It can be said that he has an abundance of strength for direct combat.
What he might need is perhaps an extraordinary power in gathering information.
The third ability under “Connection” is… a power that Bai Yan could never have imagined.
Perhaps, it could be called “The Arrival.”
“Oh, I see now! There is such incredible power! Let’s give it a try, right away.”
In the darkness, Bai Yan closes his eyes and stands still in the same spot.
But little did anyone know, he had already begun to gradually unleash his extraordinary power known as “The Arrival.”
Soon, in Bai Yan’s mind, some shadowy figures began to appear. It was like a series of different choices, and Bai Yan had to pick one in order to fully unleash “The Arrival.”
All of these shadows were actually the Core Operators of the Babel Tower.
He initially wanted to choose Mu Ling, but then he realized that at this time she must have already fallen asleep, so he changed his decision.
“Psychic Dancer”
Connection and Arrival.
Unleash!
Gradually, Bai Yan started to see some completely different scenes and hear completely different sounds.
He gained a new perspective.
A TV that occupied a large part of the wall, along with a soft pink bed. There were quite a few snacks around the face, and not far away on the ground were freshly taken off white stockings. The sound from the TV was very loud, even deafening, and from time to time you could hear the laughter of a young girl…
“Hmm, is this the little one’s first-person perspective?”
Bai Yan pondered for a moment and spoke to Maryse in his mind.
[Psychic Dancer.]
Something important is about to happen, and a difficult future awaits. It must be shattered by the strongest and most resilient.
He spoke a meaningless but seemingly meaningful “riddle.”
For the sake of it, it was just to test his own abilities.
In reality, Bai Yan felt a surge of emotions.
“The power that can be used directly is completely different now…”
Although he could do similar things using the Babel Tower app on his phone, like speaking in their minds, this time it was completely different.
It was something he accomplished by avoiding the Babel Tower app on his phone!
“What on earth is happening? My powers, can they really affect the Babel Tower?”
In a dark room, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and fell into deep thought.
Maryse was actually quite happy today.
She found a movie that she really enjoyed, and then bought a huge TV screen. So, late at night, she relaxed on her bed, snacking and watching the movie.
“That’s so funny, hahaha!”
Maryse had a big smile on her face as she lay on the bed, swinging her little legs. She picked up a cold cola and started drinking it eagerly.
Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo!
“Burp!”
That feels absolutely amazing!
Maryse rolled over a few times on the big bed, planning to pick another new movie to watch.
Although the Doomsday Crisis seemed like it was about to happen soon, the closer she got to the critical moment, the more she wanted to relax and have fun. She couldn’t control herself at all.
“Anyway, even if I slack off for a while, nothing will happen.”
Just at that moment, she suddenly heard a familiar and chilling voice in her mind.
[Psychic Dancer.]
[Something important is about to happen, and a difficult future awaits. It must be shattered by the strongest and most resilient.]
Damn it!
Savior!
Maryse, who was lazily daydreaming, was startled and trembled all over, her smile frozen on her face. She immediately sat up straight from the bed.
“What, what is this? I didn’t slack off, I will quickly do the training on my own!”
She couldn’t quite understand the meaning of what the “Savior” was saying, but she felt it must be some kind of prophecy.
Is the important thing referring to the Doomsday Crisis? Could it be that the Resilient One is referring to herself?
She couldn’t understand it.
Hmm, well, the Savior must have his own careful plans and strategies, that’s for sure.
At the same time, Bai Yan happily observed Maryse’s various reactions.
“Sure enough, it worked! Now I can play the role of a ‘Savior’ in their hearts anytime and anywhere, even when I’m not actually there… I won’t have to take out my phone to pretend to be the ‘Savior’ and speak.”
Bai Yan didn’t constantly stare at Maryse. Calmly, he switched to the personal perspective of each Core Operator.
As expected, when Bai Yan looked through Mu Ling’s perspective, everything was pitch black. It seemed she was wearing a sleeping mask and sleeping peacefully.
Then, surprisingly, none of the Core Operators except Mu Ling had gone to bed early.
“Fist of Duel” was secretly drawing a map of the room, while Alan was still writing documents in his office. The Scarlet Moon was taking a bath with her otter, Amy was communicating with the hacker organization she had built, and even the Slime was crazily eating.
Above, those were all the new powers Bai Yan had discovered about “Connection.”
Although none of them were directly related to combat ability, Bai Yan was already very satisfied.
He believed that these powers would provide him with many unexpected advantages.
“Unfortunately, the power of the ‘parasite incarnation’ didn’t improve at all.”
Bai Yan shook his head gently, but he didn’t feel too regretful. The current “incarnation” was already completely sufficient for his needs.
Then, there was another special power.
“Game.”
Most people only have one special power, but Bai Yan had two.
This was a very strange thing.
In the beginning, the “game” had only two powers: “improving game skills” and “Digital World.”
If it weren’t for Bai Yan having the “Babel Tower,” which made it useful, the former could have been the worst extraordinary power… That’s what he initially thought, but later realized that the so-called “game” is a broad category, and even rituals can be considered games.
And the latter allowed Bai Yan to turn the things he saw into digital data.
At that moment, the ability to “improve game skills” evolved into a magical effect known as “games becoming rituals.”
He looked at the enchantment beneath his feet and thought, “If only I could have another Crown Ceremony, I would definitely complete it much more easily.”
“Alan is right, the essence of a ceremony is like a kind of game… Now, I can truly understand.”
At this very moment, Bai Yan had a brand new understanding of the essence of the ceremony.
From then on, whenever he used a certain ceremony, he would become more relaxed and feel safer.
Even Bai Yan could find ways to repair, complete, and improve some broken ceremonies.
Then, a whole new set of abilities was unlocked.
“The game becomes real.”
This is a very interesting ability.
Bai Yan found wooden chopsticks and an iron plate in the villa. After activating the power of “game becomes real,” the wooden chopsticks turned into “pieces of wood” and the iron plate turned into “a block of iron” in his eyes.
Then, he used his power of “game becomes real” on both of them.
They merged together!
In Bai Yan’s hand, an iron axe suddenly appeared!
“A genuine and reliable iron axe, oh!”
Hmm, theoretically speaking, this axe is indeed made up of wood and pieces of iron.
But even young children understand that it’s absolutely impossible to create it in the real world by combining “wooden chopsticks” and “iron plates.”
“I can replace the underlying logic of the real world… Interesting.”
After gaining the ability of “game reality,” Bai Yan could even activate his own “health bar.”
As long as his “health bar” isn’t empty, he cannot die, even if his head explodes.
The final new power is the upgrade of the “Digital World.”
Now, Bai Yan can see more numbers. He is not only observing the surface-level “digitized” world anymore.
An even higher level of the “Digital World”… It has unbelievably strange effects.
Bai Yan quietly entered Sylve’s bedroom.
On the big bed, a girl dressed in pajamas was fast asleep, with a subtle smile on her lips.
Bai Yan looked at Sylve and stayed silent for a long while.
He muttered to himself, “Hmm, there aren’t any other subjects nearby for now, Sylve. Besides, you’re quite familiar with being experimented on, so let me have a little playtime.”
Bai Yan took a deep breath and gazed at Sylve, beginning to unleash the very first ability of the Digital World.
The whole world changed before his eyes.
Everything appeared in a game-like way, with numbers and values.
In Bai Yan’s eyes, Sylve revealed various kinds of numbers, and these numbers were more comprehensive than the ones displayed when Bai Yan was only at the “awakening” level.
Bai Yan sat at the edge of the bed and silently watched the young girl, his expression going through noticeable changes.
“This… This is… I can’t believe it! It’s a completely unexpected situation…”
His pupils slightly contracted, feeling a sudden shock at that moment.
The numbers that appeared on Sylve were something he was very familiar with!
They floated silently in the air, resembling subtitles made up of countless dots, continuously fluctuating and twinkling.
“The person to contact:”
“Title: ???”
“Gender: Female”
“Plane: Material Realm”
“Level: Original point (medium)”
“Race: Human species.”
“Milestone: None”
“Primary Attributes:”
“Physical Strength: 12 (a little bit stronger than an average adult)”
“Intelligence (INT): 14 (almost no intelligence)”
“Tip: Skill Level 18 (considered excellent compared to the average person).”
“Secondary Attributes:”
“Charm: 8 (She is undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in school, no one can compare to her)”
“Loyalty: 8 (She can do most things for you)”
“Feeling: 8 (The girl started to dive into that kind of emotion gradually)”
“Trait:”
“She has a sensitive body (drinking milk will make her have diarrhea).”
“Ability: Some basic magic spells”
“Secondary information:”
“Height: 158cm, bust: 79cm, waist: 58cm, hips: 80cm.”
“Likes: rewards and praise, a certain man.”
“Disliked: the person I used to be, pain.”
“Items: Protective Green Stone, Star Reversal.”
“Description: She is the heir of the Helen family. She used to be mean, but then she changed and became a good girl.”
Although there are some differences in the details, the character card and the Core Operator card are almost the same in format!
For some unknown reason, Bai Yan felt an overwhelming sense of horror deep within his heart at this moment.
Bai Yan wasn’t foolish. It was clear to him that everything about the Babel Tower had intentional patterns and designs.
He didn’t know who the person behind all these designs was. Were they meant to be kind or malicious towards him? Or perhaps, the person who designed the Babel Tower was himself all along?
“What on earth is going on? It seems like my extraordinary powers and the Babel Tower are indeed from the same source. Could it be that this thing was sent to me from my future self?”
At this point, Bai Yan was completely certain.
The Babel Tower and Bai Yan’s special powers were deeply connected and couldn’t be separated.
And the special powers were a manifestation of the essence of his soul
…”
Bai Yan pondered for a while, shaking his head softly.
If the Babel Tower was most likely created by himself, then there was no need to be afraid of it.
He began testing his final new ability on Sylve.
Actually, this is the upgraded power of the “Digital World.”
To put it simply, it can be referred to as the “Real Digital World.”
The method he used was tapping.
Bai Yan reached out and gently tapped Sylve on the head.
The values he wanted to observe were not limited to just the surface.
In the next moment, something magical occurred.
Sylve, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly shattered into pieces.
She appeared like a toy building block that had been forcefully scattered, transforming into dozens of tiny fragments that twinkled and floated in mid-air.
Inside Sylve’s body, many long strips of light floated around. They were covered in countless symbols, and there were also numerous wavy lines of movement.
Bai Yan had no understanding of what those symbols meant.
“Wait a moment, let’s give this a try…”
Connection, Insightful Linking!
Bai Yan focused on the many long, pale blue glowing strips floating in mid-air. Gradually, he began to understand the meaning of the symbols on them.
“If, if, if… What do these words mean?”
Bai Yan counted and realized there were a total of twelve pale blue glowing strips. Each strip contained something different inside.
“On December 13th, at 9:39:28, if I decided to leave at this moment, I wouldn’t have eaten lunch at home. Or if I chose to take a shower at this moment, I would have eaten lunch at home. Or if I…”
Bai Yan quickly realized that Sylve had many possible choices at this moment, and they kept adding one after another. It seemed that the number of “or” options would continue to increase.
In theory, she should have an unlimited number of choices.
He even encountered some incredibly unbelievable choices inside, which were astonishing to see. But clearly, they also held the potential for “possibility”!
Bai Yan was completely speechless.
Oh dear, today is… Today is December 12th!
In the Real Digital World, insight is no longer just about surface things, but about destiny itself!
He was certain that this was not the power of an ordinary supreme ruler, but the terrifying power possessed only by those who are “Potential Apocalypse”!
This glowing ribbon here shows “everyday choices,” while the glowing ribbon over there shows “emotional choices.” And look, this glowing ribbon displays “life and death choices”…
Bai Yan couldn’t resist and reached out his hand, eager to touch those glowing ribbons.
INT had already told him that doing so wouldn’t harm Sylve, otherwise, he wouldn’t have touched it recklessly.
At the next moment, Bai Yan was filled with astonishment!
On the ribbon, there suddenly appeared black letters that said, “No access, changing forbidden!”
A thought crossed his mind.
So, what if someone, or let’s say there exists some extraordinary being, who has the ability to modify them?
“Will everything in the future become different?”
Bai Yan understood very well that these things were simply a manifestation of his extraordinary powers, presented in a form that humans could understand.
If Bai Yan were an alien who had no knowledge of Earth games and computers, the various scenes in front of him would not be presented in this way.
The magical sights made him unable to resist the temptation to see more.
But in the next moment, Bai Yan felt an intense headache, and his vision became blurry.
His mental power was already being exhausted…
Bai Yan knew this feeling very well, and then he completely passed out.
In the past few months, perhaps only today, Bai Yan had been frequently losing consciousness completely.
“Um… My head still hurts a lot.”
When he woke up again, he noticed that the sky outside was still dark.
And Sylve, who had been “broken” before, had returned to her original state.
Bai Yan could feel something: not only had he exhausted his energy, but his lifespan had also greatly decreased.
He could sense that his lifespan had decreased by about a hundred years. If he were an ordinary person, he would likely pass away on the spot.
“Gazing into fate does indeed come with a price… This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but luckily for me, at this moment, I can still bear this cost.”
Bai Yan’s mind was still stuck in the scene from just now, unable to calm down for a long time.
“By the way, this ability shouldn’t only be useful for people, right? The ordinary ‘Digital World’ can also be applied to objects. So what if I use it on objects, or let’s say, ‘that’?”
He suddenly had a very bold idea!
Bai Yan took out his phone, took a deep breath, and gently tapped on the game “Babel Tower.”
“So, what will I see?”
He took a deep breath and tapped on the phone in his hand once again!
Activate, the Real Digital World!
Nothing happened… Several seconds passed, but still, nothing happened at all.
Bai Yan fell silent for a while, wondering if it was because he didn’t have enough power.
“If I become stronger, will I be able to see the hidden secrets about the ‘Babel Tower’?”
Just then, Bai Yan felt a sudden burst of inspiration, as if something was about to arrive!
“Hmm?”
In the next moment, countless black ribbons suddenly emerged from the “Babel Tower”!
