Chapter 113: The SS-Rank Dungeon Descends
Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...
Suddenly, the phone in Luxian’s pocket vibrated repeatedly.
She instinctively glanced down.
The moment she saw the message, her eyes widened.
Stateool City Defense Department
Emergency Meeting
Conference Hall
Report Immediately
Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...
Almost simultaneously, Shen Yu, who was still shopping, and the long-haired female participant both received the same notification.
Without hesitation, the latter grabbed Luxian by the arm and practically dragged her toward the elevator.
As for Shen Yu...
He quietly found a secluded corner.
With a flash of pink light, he stored all the shopping bags inside his Heart Space before walking toward the elevator with a thoughtful expression.
"...Something isn’t right."
"I spent an entire day in the archives."
"Nothing happened."
"But after returning to this timeline..."
"...and choosing to go shopping instead..."
"...an emergency meeting suddenly appeared."
He frowned.
"So this is the butterfly effect."
Even the smallest decision...
Could completely alter the future.
The elevator descended deeper than usual.
-10
The doors slowly slid open.
Stateool City Defense Department
Emergency Conference Hall
This underground level was normally sealed off.
It was never opened to ordinary personnel.
The moment it was activated...
It meant only one thing.
A crisis severe enough to threaten the entire city had appeared.
Only Ho Yong and officially registered dungeon participants were permitted inside.
The enormous metallic conference hall was eerily quiet.
Five people were already seated around the circular conference table.
Besides Ho Yong...
There were four dungeon participants.
Two men.
Two women.
Luxian was naturally among them.
The other woman was the long-haired participant he had seen monitoring him.
The remaining two men were unfamiliar.
From their calm expressions and the scars covering their bodies, Shen Yu could immediately tell they were veteran dungeon survivors.
After giving everyone a brief nod, he casually chose a seat near the corner.
No sooner had he sat down than he felt two unusually intense gazes fixed upon him.
Luxian.
And the long-haired woman.
"..."
Shen Yu looked between the two of them in confusion.
Why are they staring at me?
After a brief moment of thought...
He suddenly remembered.
...Could it be because I rejected Lucian?
Or...
Did they somehow find out about all the shopping I’ve been doing these past few days?
He quietly rubbed his forehead.
This...
Was one of the few flaws of Perfect Timeline.
The ability was powerful.
Ridiculously powerful.
But it carried an unavoidable paradox.
For Shen Yu...
Every day effectively lasted forty-eight hours.
For everyone else...
Only twenty-four hours passed.
How did that work?
It was actually quite simple.
If, during the first twenty-four hours, Shen Yu spent his time studying dungeon records in the archives...
Then activated Perfect Timeline...
The world would rewind to that morning.
His memories remained intact.
The archives had already been memorized.
Now, during the "second" twenty-four hours...
He could accompany Yang Jin and Yun Han shopping, watching movies, or doing whatever they wanted.
When the timeline finally settled...
Only the last version of the day remained.
To everyone else...
Shen Yu had simply spent the entire day shopping.
The hours spent buried inside the archives had effectively vanished from reality.
Because of that...
From everyone else’s perspective...
Aside from his very first visit...
Shen Yu had spent the next five consecutive days wandering shopping malls.
Even he had to admit...
That looked rather suspicious.
Leaning lazily against his chair, Shen Yu simply ignored the curious looks from the two women.
A few minutes later—
Ho Yong finally stood up.
With a solemn expression, he activated the projector.
A document slowly appeared on the large screen.
The title alone caused everyone’s breathing to stop.
SS-Rank Dungeon Approaching
"..."
The entire conference room fell into complete silence.
Even Lucian’s normally relaxed smile disappeared.
SS-Rank.
Those two words carried a weight unlike anything else.
If S-Rank dungeons represented near-certain death...
Then SS-Rank dungeons...
Were an entirely different level of despair.
The gap between them wasn’t merely one level higher.
It wasn’t as simple as one plus one equaling two.
It was the difference between surviving by a miracle...
And having no miracle at all.
Throughout the history of Stateool City...
Almost everyone who entered an SS-Rank dungeon...
Never returned.
Ho Yong remained silent for several seconds before speaking again.
"Before discussing today’s matter..."
"I would like everyone to observe one minute of silence."
"...For Conrad Yuan Tao."
"He was killed while assisting with an SS-Rank dungeon operation in Jingnan City."
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
After a long silence, Ho Yong continued.
"With his death..."
"Stateool City now has only..."
"...five registered dungeon participants remaining."
His voice echoed through the silent hall.
Five.
An entire city’s final line of defense...
Reduced to only five people.
The expressions around the conference table gradually darkened.
Even the veteran participants unconsciously clenched their fists.
They all understood.
The next SS-Rank dungeon...
Might very well decide whether Stateool City continued to exist.
The conference room remained deathly silent.
After a long pause, Ho Yong finally broke the silence by knocking lightly on the table.
"Everyone..."
"I know exactly what an SS-Rank dungeon represents."
His voice was unusually heavy.
"According to every dungeon record gathered since the Cataclysm..."
"SSS-Rank dungeons descend once every year."
"SS-Rank dungeons appear once every six months."
"There’s a pattern."
"They never miss their schedule."
He looked around the room.
"There are only three days left."
"Does anyone know where this SS-Rank dungeon is expected to descend?"
A young man sitting across the table swallowed nervously.
"...It..."
"It can’t be Stateool City... right?"
Ho Yong shook his head.
"No."
"It’s predicted to descend in Shaunan City."
A collective sigh of relief escaped several people.
Luxian immediately frowned.
"Then..."
"What’s the decision from headquarters?"
Ho Yong pressed his lips together before speaking.
"The nation’s only SS-Rank talent is currently occupied with another SS-Rank dungeon in Ying Bay City."
"He cannot be recalled."
"So..."
"The central government has already completed the evacuation of every civilian in Shaunan."
The long-haired woman abruptly stood.
"They’re..."
"They’re giving up on the city?"
"No."
Ho Yong slowly shook his head.
"They’re preparing for the worst."
"When there is no participant capable of matching an SS-Rank dungeon..."
"...evacuating civilians is the correct decision."
He activated another slide.
A world map appeared.
"According to historical records..."
"SS-Rank dungeons function differently from ordinary dungeons."
"They select participants from multiple countries."
"Each country’s representative competes against the others."
"If your country’s participant clears the dungeon..."
"Nothing happens."
"But if they fail..."
"The dungeon descends upon that participant’s designated city."
He pointed toward Shaunan.
"Our analysts estimate there’s a ninety-five percent chance that Shaunan is this cycle’s target."
"The country cannot simply surrender."
"So..."
"The National Defense Bureau has decided to use a Dungeon Binding Card."
"It will designate one person from the National Team’s reserve roster to participate."