After returning to solitude, I sat in my room, with Little Bowl's previous words lingering in my mind.

In the past, no matter how much I adventured, I generally took responsibility for my own life and death. Although there were battles fought to protect others, if I fell defeated and died, the fates of those I protected would be no better. However, this was the first time someone clearly told me that if I died, they would die with me. Such words brought an extra burden I had never felt before.

Instinctively, I wanted to find an explanation from another perspective that could ease my mind—although after my death, the stronger Mazao and Zhu Shi might also become a shield for Little Bowl, resisting the claw of Xuanming, Little Bowl wanted to achieve a happy ending for both Mazao and Zhu Shi, and I was an indispensable part of that.

In terms of results, her mission would then fall into an unattainable state, making her previous resolute attitude entirely understandable. To prioritize her mission, she would not hesitate to bind my life with hers.

However, remembering the strength of her embrace, her warm body, and gentle voice, I couldn't sense any hidden schemes or calculations in her words. I must admit to myself—there is no reason to seek a comforting explanation. What she showed then was her true heart. She wasn't thinking about obsessions, dreams, or missions, she was simply revealing her genuine feelings to me as Little Bowl.

Must I embark on adventures with such awareness? Yet seeking the world's doomsday where all life is ultimately destroyed as my goal, I cannot waver over these concerns. Regardless of everything, my next step remains unchanged—to venture into the Southern City and challenge Xuanming.

I closed my eyes, sensing the Barrier surrounding the Southern City and the thousands of "Fireflies" placed in the surrounding areas.

This attempted invasion of the Great Barrier was on its sixth day, with gradual progress emerging. I felt I was finally able to infiltrate it through the "Fireflies" seemingly brought in by Xiaoqiao from within the city.

Just a bit more… I felt like a marathon runner finally seeing the finish line, gaining some extra strength as my focus sharpened like never before.

After more than half an hour, I finally tore a crack on the surface of the Barrier, sufficient for part of my spirit to enter. I then transformed my spirit into a "tentacle," invading it in one go.

Immediately, I felt a strong resistance from within, forcefully pushing my spirit tentacle out. I couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment.

After a brief observation, I concluded the phenomenon.

Simply put, I had underestimated this Great Barrier.

Originally, I thought once I broke through the outer "wall," I could infiltrate the Southern City's interior, and although I did penetrate the "wall," turns out the inside is solid!

No wonder the Southern City's Great Barrier had been in place for over twenty days, and neither Fa Zheng nor Gua Tianshi could do anything about it. The Great Barrier's interior is filled with powerful forces preventing external incursions. Though not as strong as the outer layer, its sheer thickness or scale was immense, making it extremely difficult to fully transfer my spirit and power inside.

The Southern Mega City is the nation's largest economic center, with over twenty million permanent residents and covering more than six thousand square kilometers. With the power of Impermanence, it would be quite easy to obliterate it in a short time. However, filling such power and density inside, not even ten Impermanences could achieve that.

The mana within, based on my touch, undoubtedly originates from Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang… He possesses such incredible ability, could it also be based on the foundation of "Paradise"?

"Paradise" as a grand mana conglomerate, is indeed far greater than Impermanence. The super large-scale mana fluctuation Ying Lingyun summoned in the Human Bureau's final battle should originate from this… Can such feats truly be accomplished? It's my first time witnessing the superpower of "Paradise" directly manifesting in the real world.

Seems I must spend more time on this invasion work. This time, it won't take just five or six days; perhaps ten times more effort will be required… Spending so much time, surely Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang and Xuanming would have concluded their victory or defeat within, leaving me no choice but to focus on supporting Fa Zheng's campaign in the Post-mortem World.

Weichi's development of the Du Shuo Mountain Teleportation Array is estimated to complete in these days, followed by an advance into the Post-mortem World. I can't continue investigating how to invade the Southern City like with constipation but must march alongside Fa Zheng.

No choice but to take Little Bowl into the Post-mortem World to avoid Xuanming's sudden attack… In a few days, Zhu Shi is expected to finish her seclusion, but alas, Mazao's soul cannot be fully repaired, she may not be able to fight alongside me on the frontline, hence she will have to protect Little Bowl under the perilous conditions of the Post-mortem World…

I rearranged my plans in my mind and considered consulting Little Bowl later about them. Just then, something incredible happened.

A faint voice sounded in my ear.

It was a human voice, speaking words. I couldn't discern who it was but vaguely felt it was familiar, as if calling out to me. Despite that, I couldn't understand exactly what was being said. The voice was too weak and indistinct, only vaguely making out a few syllables calling my name.

The voice source wasn't nearby, not even within the mansion but transmitted from the Southern City's interior over a thousand miles away.

What's going on? I had just confirmed my inability to easily infiltrate the Barrier's interior, yet from within came a voice calling me... Moreover, within this call, I sensed a fragile connection.

If I rely on this connection, I should now be able to transmit my power into that city and also invade with my spirit. Judging by intuition, there didn't seem to be any trap or conspiracy scent.

Yet the intuition of Impermanence is not foolproof; it might be deceived, misled, or hidden, especially when the opponent is another Impermanence. Even I have experience hiding and stealthing under the danger detection of Huang Quan, and attempted with Liu Shuying to circumvent Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang's awareness. Now, this sudden call and connection make me feel skeptical.

What to do, should I step in and try?

If it were Ming Zhuo and Huang Quan, they'd turn around and flee without a word, let alone respond to a call, even taunts and insults could be ignored. On this aspect, I'm sadly unlike those two careful and cunning mature characters, being drawn to potential danger and unknowns, I find it hard to look away.

After weighing, I finally decided to follow this connection and try the invasion. To eliminate Xuanming's threat to Little Bowl's life and find a chance to completely restore Mazao's soul, this opportunity can't be missed. However, although I'm bold in deciding whether to take a risk, after formally entering the adventure, I strive to remain calm.

Perhaps it's also due to Little Bowl's earlier words, I don't intend to rashly put everything on the line at the start, but to initially send a small portion of power and spirit for invasion is the wise approach.

It's easier said than done. Relying on this fragile connection, I couldn't transmit all my power and spirit even if I wanted to; it's a compelled "caution."

After psychological preparation, following the connection, I conveyed my flame into the Southern City's interior, and my spirit followed the flame to invade.

The scene before me changed rapidly, like entering a narrow, wobbling dark tunnel with flickering mirage-like white light at the exit.

Originally, I aimed to teleport directly to the voice source, but the voice was too faint, the connection too vague, and most importantly, the substantial resistance within the city prevented me from locking onto the source's coordinates.

Continuing like this, teleporting to the source's position is dreamlike; even finding a foothold inside the Southern City seems impossible. With my perception, I explored around, eventually choosing another foothold coordinate—the position of a "Firefly" seemingly brought by Xiaoqiao inside the Southern City.

At least this way, I could first confirm Xiaoqiao's life or death for Zhu Shi. If she survived, I'll protect her and find a method to safely escort her out of the Southern City.

My view swiftly sped through the "dark tunnel," crashing into the "shimmering white exit".

When my vision cleared, I realized I was no longer inside the Luoshan Headquarters mansion, but in a devastated, abandoned fast-food restaurant.