Bai Wan tensed up as if facing a mortal enemy, Su Lingling and the others were dumbstruck. Around them, everything seemed to have been muted.

What kind of terrifying paranormal entity is this? The Mountain God? But no—the aura of this thing feels different from the Mountain God. Just what sort of monster was this?

Another thing puzzled the hunters:

And…why the hell does this entity… look like Family? Are my eyes deceiving me?

Even so, though this entity was frightening, it seemed to be merely passing by, not moving toward them.

The group broke out in a cold sweat as they watched the way the surrounding flames shrank back, giving way wherever it passed.

What kind of monster is this…?

Bai Wan’s shoulders eased slightly as he saw his future self walk on. As much as he wanted to confront that future version of himself, the horde around them was too thick—and besides, he was terrified. If that “future Bai Wan” suddenly unleashed an Error Code, it’d all be over.

For now, since his future self had simply passed them by, Bai Wan felt a measure of relief.

Still…It feels surreal. In the future, will I actually die? How exactly do I die—is it really that mysterious Mountain God who finished him off?

An absurd thought flitted across his mind.

No way… is it possible… I’m the one who played myself to death?

And what about my future self—do I still have bugs then? If so, that means my future self must already be insanely strong.

Could it be… future me’s even more powerful than the Mountain God? How can we even fight something like that? Hopefully I’m just overthinking this…

“Retreat first!” Bai Wan shook the thought away and sprinted back toward the little wooden hut.

He had only fed the Sunflower Queen a medium-sized Sun Mushroom—her firepower wouldn’t last much longer. Already, the flames behind them were weakening, and some of the stronger entities were breaking through.

Jiang Zai and the others stayed close on Bai Wan’s heels, casting admiring glances back at the sunflower that was holding the enemy at bay for now.

Their respect for Bai Wan deepened. They all had their own ways to stall paranormal entities—but nothing nearly so effective as this.

That wall of flame was ridiculous, both in power and in range. The fire shot up two meters high, forming a blazing wall that barred the horde’s advance.

Still, without enough sunlight, the Queen’s attacks had gaps. Some powerful entities pushed through.

Su Lingling and the others prepared to strike back—when suddenly, the photo on Bai Wan’s back stirred.

Whoosh!

A pale-faced girl stepped out. An icy aura flooded forth from her body.

Thwip, thwip, thwip!

Ash-gray ropes dropped from the sky, dangling before the advancing entities. The entities’ heads jerked forward uncontrollably, each slipping into a noose.

“Urghhh!”

Their necks cinched tight, bodies hoisted upward. Struggling kicks slowed, stiffened, until their toes hung lifelessly above the ground. One by one, the ropes strangled the pursuers into suspension.

The hunters froze and confused, gripping their weapons.

But Bai Wan quickly waved his hands. “Wait, wait—it’s a misunderstanding! This is my little sister. Just a family performance, that’s all.”

Then he frowned in annoyance at Bai Xi. “Hey! At least be a little more graceful. You’ll scare my teammates. Do you have to look exactly like a hanged ghost?”

Su Lingling and the others glanced again at the pale girl with the ligature mark on her neck.

Not just “like”…this is a Hanged Ghost. This is Family’s sister…?

For the first time, they gave serious thought to the name “Family.” If his sister was a Hanged Ghost… what about the other relatives?

Their eyes drifted toward the family portrait. An involuntary chill crept up their spines. A frightening personal ability, paired with a whole household of paranormal relatives?

That… is some terrifying firepower. No wonder headquarters had made him captain. Maybe this isn’t training—maybe they actually believed he can lead.

Bai Wan ushered them all into the wooden hut.

“Isn’t this a dead end?” Su Lingling finally blurted. The entities were right behind them. Entering the hut seemed like suicide.

But Bai Wan said nothing. He merely led them into the toilet. Su Lingling clenched her jaw and followed.

Once everyone was inside, Bai Wan pressed a hand to the door—

Whoosh! The doorway vanished.

Wha…huh? The door?!

Su Lingling and Jiang Zai rubbed their eyes.

And then Bai Wan grinned, pointing at the toilet. “Alright, everyone hop into the toilet. That’s our escape route.”

“…Huh?”

“…What??”

The group stared, dumbfounded.

Without hesitation, Bai Wan put a hand on them—then dove straight into the toilet bowl. The others gawked in disbelief as their bodies shrank down, sucked into a long tunnel.

Whoosh!!!

They spilled out into Mario’s Coin Room.

Bai Wan beamed, gesturing proudly. “Welcome to Mario’s Sewer. Don’t be shy—grab whichever coins you like. If nothing catches your eye, just head-butt a brick block, you’ll find something you want.”

“…Th-thank you…?” Su Lingling blinked at the floating Mario coins, half-convinced she was dreaming.

Lin Baoyu’s eyes glittered with curiosity.

Is this another one of his abilities? That bizarre coin-drop hammer, the cannon-firing peashooter, the sunflower engulfed in apocalyptic flames, and now… the power to erase doors and dive through sewer pipes?

Every skill is absurd. Every one is terrifyingly strong.

So this is… the strongest rookie, “Family”?

Jiang Zai, too, found himself staring at the goofy youth, now bouncing along to head-butt the ceiling bricks.  Beneath that dopey smile lay unfathomable potential. No wonder headquarters had chosen him as a candidate for S-class captaincy.

In this nightmare crisis, he was actually keeping them alive—with nothing but sheer absurdity. Both his combat strength and survival tricks were outstanding. It was hard to believe this was just a rookie.

…

Meanwhile, outside, the pursuing entities had entered the hut. They sniffed the air around the vanished doorway, confused.

They had seen humans enter—so where had they gone?

Scratching their already dim wits, they puzzled over it… and gave up. Maybe the humans had been eaten by something else. Shrugging, they wandered off.

“I can’t feel their aura anymore—they really left?” Su Lingling exhaled in relief.

The vanished door, combined with the sewer escape, was an unbeatable combo.

Family is just too strong…

And yet… wasn’t that horrifying entity in the mist a perfect copy of him?

No one dared ask aloud. None of them wanted to see Bai Wan suddenly drop the act and admit: That thing was me.

“Ahem… so, what now?” Lin Baoyu was tactful enough to avoid probing.

Just the thought of the horde outside made his scalp prickle. Could the future really have fallen?

They had thought this was just another dangerous incident. Who would have guessed the domain hid something so terrifying?

“If the future has already collapsed, and these entities can invade the past, then the situation’s dire,” Su Lingling said grimly.

If even the future HQ had already fallen, what chance did a handful of them have?

“But don’t despair,” Jiang Zai said steadily. “If it were truly that unstoppable, Jingnan City would already be gone. For the anomaly to linger months without consuming the city, there must be limits.”

“Agreed,” Su Lingling nodded. “If it can only intrude into the past, then something must be holding it back.”

“But… what do we do now?” Lin Baoyu asked. There were way too many of the entities out there. Even with all their trump cards, sheer numbers would wear them down.

The group fell into thought, searching for a way forward.

Then Bai Wan suddenly spoke: “When that hunter in the mist died just now, I noticed something strange.”

“What was it?” Su Lingling asked quickly.

Bai Wan explained, “By coincidence, not far from him stood his future self, already transformed into a paranormal entity. But when he died, his future version vanished as well.”

He had double-checked at the time, watching carefully before concluding he wasn’t mistaken.

The others’ eyes widened.

“Right. If the present self ceases to exist, then naturally the future version disappears too. That means these future invaders need an anchor point in the present,” Jiang Zai said, eyes lighting up.

“So the only way to stop them… is to erase their present form,” Su Lingling concluded.

Everyone nodded—finally, a sliver of strategy.

But Bai Wan frowned. If it were only the Mountain God, maybe they had a chance. But what about his future self?

If that one cut loose with Error Code, how many of them would survive? Whose side was his future self even on? And… would a future version of white haired weirdo suddenly appear too?

He forced himself to stop speculating. With something as abstract and unpredictable as his own future self, conjecture was meaningless.

They’d just have to see it with their own eyes.

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