Chapter 49: Tower Climbing. Yuga: Welcome to the World Tree Observation Center…

Liu Luo let out a weary sigh, her head throbbing. “Believe in you? That Y004 fellow spends every waking moment prattling on about saving everyone. Hela and I thought he might actually pull off a miracle, but looking at it now, pushing you to his side hasn’t changed a thing.”

“Don’t be like that, Sister.”

Liu Ming, on the other hand, was in high spirits. “Want to bet? I’ll count down three, two, one, and that silly wolf will leap across cycles just to come charging in here.”

Liu Luo replied, “…No need to prove it. I can already hear his annoying footsteps.”

The Ice Goddess’s expression turned razor-sharp. No sooner had the words left her lips than shards of black glass tore through the fabric of space. Yun Zhou appeared, still dusted with the snow of the Seventh District and the grit of the Fifth District. Clearly, to reach the Fourth District as quickly as possible, he hadn’t bothered searching for a proper entrance within the Seventh Cycle. Instead, he had sprinted into the ruins of the Fourth District in other cycles destroyed by the Black Dragon, using those coordinates to anchor himself here.

“Liu Ming! Are you alright?!”

Yun Zhou ran straight over like a loyal wolfhound protecting its master. He thrust himself between Liu Ming and Liu Luo, glaring warily at the woman before him. He would never forget that even though she was Liu Ming’s sister, she was utterly unreasonable when she colluded with Hela.

“What are you trying to do to Liu Ming?!”

“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,” Liu Luo snapped.

Her face darkened instantly. This bastard actually dared to show his face and say such things to her!

“Pfft!”

Liu Ming couldn’t help but burst out laughing. His laughter shattered the confrontational tension, and the atmosphere suddenly lightened.

“It’s fine, Yun Zhou. This is my sister; she won’t do anything to me.”

Liu Ming patted Yun Zhou on the shoulder. “Relax, relax~”

“Eh?” Yun Zhou’s brain stalled for a moment. Wait, that’s not right. Weren’t we supposed to be on guard? Why is Liu Ming so happy to see her?

“Alright, let’s talk business. I have a way to end all of this. Do you want to hear it?”

Liu Ming finally managed to stop laughing. His expression turned serious, and with a single sentence, he drew the attention of the two rivals back to the matter at hand.

“What way?”

Yun Zhou’s eyes lit up. This was the first time since his identity as an Exile had been exposed that he showed such a goofy, earnest expression—the look of the “Yun Zhou” they knew.

“Tower Climbing.”

Liu Ming spoke those two words, and they carried the weight of a thousand jin¹.

Since Y002 was a former Dragon Attendant, then who would Y001 be—the one sitting at the very top of the Anomaly sequence?

The answer seemed obvious now.

Y001—The supreme Pitch-Black Cocoon, the Tower of Happiness. The incarnation of despair, the source of destruction, the Anomaly Dragon King—Nidhogg’s cocoon.

That tower, deeply embedded into the headquarters of the Tower and fused with it, which Y003 had mockingly dubbed the “Tower of Happiness” that would bring joy to humanity, was the very Pitch-Black Cocoon nourishing the Dragon King.

This was a fragment from the memories of Y002 Jormungandr. It couldn’t be wrong.

In the second cycle, Liu Ming had obtained the Anomaly Core of Jormungandr, who had died due to the succession of Dragon Attendants. The moment he gained those precious memories, he had resolved to formulate a perfect plan.

The Liu Family had already used Hela’s hand to secretly gather the power of all the Anomaly Kings. As long as they broke through the defensive mechanisms formed by the power of each Anomaly King and reached the summit of the Tower, he could use the authority and energy he had accumulated over seven cycles. By borrowing the power of the Black Dragon, he could destroy the giant cocoon, reverse space-time, and achieve a true return to the source.

Liu Luo was incredulous. “This sounds like a total fairy tale. Why do you think you can pull it off?”

Liu Ming shrugged. “Because the world has already cycled seven times. And because of Jormungandr’s Anomaly Core, I have died in countless ways and been reborn just as many.”

“So you know you’ve died that many times. Liu Ming, you really are a ‘good’ brother.”

Liu Luo gave a cold laugh. “The Liu Family always taught you to look out for yourself, yet here you are, trying over and over again to figure out how to kill yourself permanently. You want to strip away the Anomaly Core without the Black Dragon’s help, let time reset, and start the next cycle—did you think I didn’t know? Thanks to Y009 and her master, I can still remember exactly how every single one of your corpses died!”

She pointed toward a body near the edge of the cliff. Only then did Yun Zhou notice the dark mass below—a sea of Liu Ming’s corpses. He froze, utterly stunned.

“That one there—you tried to gouge out your own heart, which is why there’s a gaping hole in its chest. And that one—you didn’t even plan on leaving yourself a whole corpse.”

Liu Luo’s voice wasn’t rushed; she recounted the facts one by one. Yet even so, a cold sweat broke out on Liu Ming’s back.

Liu Ming never dreamed that even as a member of the Liu Family, he would one day experience the crushing weight of bloodline suppression from his own sister.

“…Sister, don’t forget, my authority is the endless cycle. The more times I cycle, the more power I obtain.”

He quickly found an excuse. Or rather, that was his true goal. Liu Ming’s brows furrowed, but the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. Even though he was being scolded, he looked genuinely happy.

He spoke each word with emphasis: “Power enough to subvert the Black Dragon’s cocoon.”

Actually, his original plan was to let Yun Zhou cycle tens of thousands of times himself. But that guy was too slow; he had no efficiency at all. So, during the first six cycles, Liu Ming had no choice but to add “mini-cycles” within the Great Cycle.

His methods had been a bit messy, resulting in this massive pit of ten thousand corpses. It did look rather terrifying.

Liu Ming’s lip twitched. He had intended to explain that part too, but seeing Yun Zhou’s dazed, goofy expression, he decided against it. Best not to scare him; the guy was already a bit slow, no need to make him worse.

“…Liu Ming, I just didn’t expect you to be this ruthless. Grandfather was right after all… You are the most suitable successor for the Liu Family.”

Liu Luo sighed. “It’s just that you’re the complete opposite of what the public imagines a Liu Family member to be.”

This brother of hers acted like he cared about nothing but profit, yet he was willing to risk his life to save Izayoi Ame, a senior he’d only met once.

Liu Ming showed no sign of feeling insulted. He continued to smile brightly.

“Sister, I’m happy. At least you truly treat me as your brother. And from what you said… it seems Liu Chuan really considers me his brother too. That makes me even happier.”

So, he did have family ties after all.

His words were tinged with melancholy, causing Liu Luo to lower her eyes, unsure of how to comfort him. But Liu Ming wasn’t affected by the sentiment for long. His voice remained calm.

“So, Sister, tell us. The path to the Tower of Happiness. You must have a way, right?”

Liu Ming took the opportunity to ask for what he wanted.

Liu Luo sighed. She didn’t nod or refuse; she simply handed him a translucent green branch.

With that, he knew he had the final piece of the puzzle.

Yun Zhou opened the passage. The three of them—no, the three Anomaly Kings—appeared under the cover of night in a small conference room at the Tower’s headquarters.

“Are your coordinates off? Didn’t I give you that branch? You still can’t find that old tree’s hiding spot?”

Liu Luo snorted, snapping at Yun Zhou irritably. Unfortunately, Yun Zhou was equally bewildered. “That’s not right. Theoretically, my positioning shouldn’t be wrong.”

“His positioning isn’t wrong. He was simply intercepted.”

The sound of a gun being cocked rang out alongside a chilling female voice. The three spun around to find a dark shadow standing in the quiet corridor at the entrance of the conference room.

Black Swan had appeared silently, her gun aimed directly at Liu Ming’s heart.

“Council Chairman…”

Yun Zhou truly hadn’t expected that the person who would ultimately stop them from entering the Tower of Happiness would be Black Swan.

Three days had passed since the incident in the Fifth District. The Council Chairman, who had gone there to handle the aftermath, had returned to headquarters. However, she hadn’t expected that the moment she stepped back into the building, she would sense that the seal on the “Tower of Happiness” fused within the Tower had been tampered with.

Someone was trying to break into Y001.

“This is already the best script possible after the corrections. Stop struggling.”

So spoke Black Swan.

Her voice was flat, every syllable and tone devoid of variation. Black-gold threads extended from behind her. Y003, who had been lurking within this high tower, finally couldn’t hold back. He chose to stop pretending and appeared before his three colleagues in his true form.

“You three should just follow the script and keep moving forward. Do not stop the true King from awakening.”

Controlled by the Plot Strings, Black Swan wore a grotesque smile. Liu Ming instinctively prepared to use T231 to erase the Plot Strings on her, but the speed of opening the T231 panel was not faster than the speed of Black Swan pulling the trigger.

“Bang!”

The bullet, infused with the black-gold corruption of the Plot Strings, streaked through the air, its trajectory aimed straight for Liu Ming’s heart. Yun Zhou and Liu Luo lunged forward, desperate to intercept the lethal round.

But someone was faster.

The branch Liu Ming had kept in his pocket began to grow and spread, rapidly taking root and sprouting. Within the small meeting room, a translucent, juvenile version of the World Tree flourished.

“Oh, stop fighting! Stop fighting!”

A familiar voice rang out. In the next second, the furnishings of the Tower headquarters began to melt and fade away, revealing the true Tower of Happiness to everyone’s eyes.

It was a massive tower constructed of giant black bones, soaring toward the sky, ten stories high.

At the very base of the Tower, a young man dressed in robes like a Western-style fantasy bard sat on a simple chair, watching video recordings labeled with different cycles.

Dian Zhu stood beside him and made a face at Liu Ming as a way of greeting. Nearby stood Du Shui and Ying Huo, both looking somewhat dazed by the situation, along with a frowning Hela.

The bard-like youth spread his arms wide.

“Welcome to the World Tree Observation Center!”

Liu Ming recognized his voice. It was Yuga-Dian Zhu’s teacher and the former close friend whom Black Swan had killed with her own hands.

Translator’s Notes