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 "We don't know when the monsters will come out. Let's think of another way."

Gu Zhan asked, "Where are the guild members now?"

Yu Ye Zhou replied, "Most of them are in the guild territory."

Gu Zhan said, "Since Chun Bai Cheng has lost order, supplies probably can't get through anymore, right?"

"Yeah." Yu Ye Zhou nodded. "Supplies stopped coming a couple of days ago. Before that, robots would still deliver the goods, but then Hai Chao blocked the roads, and the robots couldn't get through."

"Since that's the case, we'll treat this as a state of war and first try to seize a few supply bases."

"Supply bases?"

Yu Ye Zhou and Sang Yue exchanged a glance, and from Gu Zhan's words, they realized another possibility.

"Hai Chao is only causing chaos in Chun Bai Cheng right now, and their warehouses still have plenty of supplies. Everyone is focused on self-preservation, waiting for the system to take action, but no one has thought about standing up to Hai Chao."

"That's strange," Sang Yue murmured. "This is the system's territory, yet we're supposed to fight against the players here?"

Gu Zhan glanced at her and said, "They're no longer players."

"...Alright." Sang Yue lowered her voice. "Then I’ll follow your lead. But if we're going on the offensive, we’ll need a plan."

"Don't worry, I’ll take care of that." Yu Ye Zhou said, "Actually, there are a few other guilds like us, hiding in their territories, not taking action. I can contact them."

Gu Zhan sat nearby, rubbing his temples slightly.

Yu Ye Zhou noticed and said, "You should rest first. We'll handle things here."

"Alright." Gu Zhan nodded.

Partly because he was indeed tired, and partly because he wanted to check on his star space.

Moreover, this kind of alliance-building wasn't his strong suit; it was better left to those more skilled in it.

In the guild's territory, there was a room for him. Sang Yue led him there, and once inside, Gu Zhan washed up, changed into new clothes, and then lay down on the bed, entering his space.

Upon entering, the bustling voices startled him. He found himself standing on a familiar street, surrounded by people coming and going.

They wore black robes, some holding things, others empty-handed, most of them conversing with those nearby.

Suddenly, one person noticed Gu Zhan, paused for a moment, then kneeled before him, shouting, "Our Pope's Eminence!"

Gu Zhan: "..."

This seemed to trigger a domino effect, as people on the street began kneeling one by one. It dawned on Gu Zhan that this was the small town he had built in Mo Tuo's dungeon earlier.

Why... was it here?

Could it have been sent to the space as a reward? Or maybe Mo Tuo had forcibly placed it here?

Whatever the reason, Gu Zhan's main concern was where the people who originally lived here had gone.

He gestured for the kneeling person to stand and asked, "Do you know if there’s a building around here that looks like a hospital?"

The people were unfamiliar with the concept of a hospital, and they looked confused after his question.

Gu Zhan had to describe the appearance of a psychiatric hospital to them in detail.

After hearing his description, they suddenly understood and said, "Oh, you mean the Cathedral! Please, follow me."

The crowd parted, creating a path for Gu Zhan to walk.

Gu Zhan observed the scene and realized that everyone seemed to be leading him to the cathedral.

He quickly said, "You all go about your business. Just send one person to guide me there."

His gaze landed on the man who had spoken first. "You, come with me."

The man was overwhelmed with gratitude and almost knelt again. "It’s my honor!"

Gu Zhan stopped him, "No need for such formality, let's go."

The man stopped himself from kneeling and led the way in front of Gu Zhan.

As they passed through an alley, Gu Zhan saw a building at the edge of the town. It seemed to combine medieval and modern elements, with towering spires of a castle and low, hospital-like buildings.

The man said, "That’s the cathedral."

Gu Zhan was curious about what kind of strange storyline this dungeon had evolved, but finding the hospital was his priority. He breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the man before heading toward the cathedral alone.

The further he walked toward the cathedral, the quieter it became.

This quietness wasn't due to the absence of sound, but more like the cathedral and the town belonged to two different worlds.

Though he could still see the lively town behind him, with the man standing at the end of the road watching him leave.

It seemed the man understood something as he did not follow Gu Zhan to the cathedral.

Gu Zhan continued forward and soon reached the cathedral's door. The ornate archway was entwined with roses, and the slightly yellowed, decaying structure was further aged by the red roses.

The iron gate was already open, and Gu Zhan gently pushed it, hearing the familiar squeak of the hinges.

Once inside, he headed in the direction of the psychiatric hospital.

The path inside wasn’t too complicated, and it gave Gu Zhan a sense of familiarity. Soon, he arrived at the entrance of the psychiatric hospital.

Gu Zhan stood before the hospital's entrance, the faded red characters spelling out "Psychiatric Hospital" making him feel a sense of dissonance. The door was still intact, the sign still visible, but the reality of it all felt strangely disconnected.

Inside, Xiao Xiu and Sun Jingqiu had already sensed his presence and were waiting at the door.

When Xiao Xiu saw him, the furrow in her brow finally relaxed. She sighed in relief, "You’re finally here. I was about to go looking for you if you didn't show up soon."

Gu Zhan opened the door and walked inside. The hospital still looked much the same as before. As they reached the central square, he saw the statue of the fish-man from Mo Tuo’s dungeon standing proudly in the center of the fountain.

Xiao Xiu explained, "After we noticed the new town outside, we went out to take a look. But it seems like the people there can't come here. After some thought, we decided to stay here and wait for you."

"Mm." Gu Zhan nodded, still focused on the fish-man statue. It seemed to have changed subtly, no longer made of dry plaster but instead of translucent marble. The cheeks and fingertips even gave off a jade-like glow.

Xiao Xiu curiously asked, "So, all these changes outside... are they related to you?"

Gu Zhan nodded and briefly explained his journey to Mo Tuo's dungeon. Since Xiao Xiu and Sun Jingqiu knew who Mo Tuo was, he felt comfortable telling them more than he had shared with others like Yu Ye Zhou.

Xiao Xiu quickly understood what the changes in Gu Zhan’s star space meant. She gasped, covering her mouth, "You... turned into a monster?"

Gu Zhan glanced at the watch on his wrist and replied, "I don't know."

He still had access to the system and could go to Chun Bai Cheng without any signs of his SAN value decreasing... so was he a monster?

But players couldn’t have a dungeon space this vast, could they?

Yes, the watch—his dungeon.

The green dial on the watch still ticked steadily.

He had always assumed the watch was a reward for clearing his first dungeon. But now he wondered... maybe, just maybe, it was something that had always been with him.

"Doesn't matter whether I'm a monster or not," Gu Zhan said, lowering his arm. "I’m still me. Nothing’s changed."

Xiao Xiu sighed deeply. Gu Zhan had a calmness about these matters that others simply didn’t have.

Gu Zhan then said, "You all stay here. You can check out the cathedral nearby. As for the people from the town... when they come, just tell them they’re servants of the Pope. They shouldn’t give you any trouble."

Just as he finished speaking, he felt a subtle shift in the air around him, as though the once-still space had been disturbed by a light breeze.

From the direction of the town, faint sounds of movement reached them.

Xiao Xiu glanced toward the town. "I never understood why they couldn’t come here before. But now I think I get it—without the dungeon master’s permission, the NPCs can’t move freely. But now that you’ve said they can come, I suppose they really can."

Gu Zhan could already feel that many people were heading their way.

He said, "You can guide them to the cathedral, but keep them away from the hospital area."

Xiao Xiu nodded. "Understood."

Gu Zhan had no intention of going out to meet anyone, so he assigned Sun Jingqiu and Xiao Xiu to take care of the town's people at the cathedral. He stayed by the fountain, his hand lightly brushing the fish tail of the statue.

"Come out," he said softly.

The statue remained still, but Gu Zhan made no move to leave. He stayed seated, quietly watching.

After a while, the white sculpture began to shift, its hard marble texture turning into soft, pliable flesh.

Mo Tuo, in his fish-man form, plopped lazily onto the base of the statue, flicking his tail to stir the water in the fountain. He looked up at Gu Zhan and asked, "What did you call me out for?"

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes. "Did you send your dungeon to me?"

"Impossible." Mo Tuo raised an eyebrow, a mischievous thought crossing his mind. He slid off the base, swaying his tail as he approached Gu Zhan.

He adopted a playful, coy expression, resting his chin on Gu Zhan's lap, his face tilted upwards with a grin. "That’s your own power. Power is precious to monsters. I wouldn’t part with my dungeon so easily."

Gu Zhan reached down and stroked Mo Tuo’s face. The sight of Mo Tuo in this position was unusually endearing.

He always seemed to act this way—playing the charming, obedient role when on someone else's turf, but fiercely domineering when on his own.

Gu Zhan’s hand traced down Mo Tuo’s face, along his neck, his back, and finally to the fish tail submerged in the water.

He paused, his hand resting on the roundest part of the tail, and whispered, "What’s going on outside in Chun Bai Cheng? Don’t you plan to do anything about it?"

Mo Tuo lazily swished his tail. "That’s the system's business. What does it have to do with me?"

Gu Zhan instinctively felt that Mo Tuo wasn’t being entirely truthful.

The system had little power to fight back. To deal with Hai Chao and the others, they would need the monsters to intervene.

And the biggest monster in front of him was clearly slacking off.

Gu Zhan pulled him closer, his voice low. "You’ve become a mermaid. You have no legs anymore. You must be useless by now. I remember you told me in the dungeon that if you were no longer useful, I could find someone else..."

"You dare!" Mo Tuo bared his sharp teeth, leaping at Gu Zhan, knocking him off balance and into the fountain. The clear water splashed all over Gu Zhan’s face, and Mo Tuo’s arm dragged him just beneath the surface.

Mo Tuo laid on top of him, propped up by his fish tail, grinding his teeth. "Don’t even think about it! You humans... have no sense of decency!"

Gu Zhan had only been testing him, not expecting Mo Tuo to react so fiercely.

He couldn’t help but laugh. "No sense of decency? Didn’t you tell me that yourself?"

Mo Tuo's expression froze, realizing what Gu Zhan meant. He had been teasing, but now it seemed his boldness had caught him off guard.

Gu Zhan, not letting himself be distracted, looked at him with a blank face. He didn’t want to engage in this moment, knowing the underlying tension between them.

Mo Tuo, realizing that his usual playful nature had failed this time, let out a soft sigh. He paused for a moment, letting the silence stretch between them.

"You're too serious," Mo Tuo muttered, a bit of a pout tugging at his lips as he shifted away slightly.

Gu Zhan didn’t answer right away, instead looking at Mo Tuo with a measured calmness that he often carried in such situations. "I told you," he said slowly, "We are world aparts."

The words were simple, but carried the weight of their shared history—complicated, intertwined, and yet, still distant.

Mo Tuo didn’t respond at first, the air thick with unspoken thoughts. He was clearly thinking of the past, of what had been said in moments of weakness and need.

But Gu Zhan was resolute, pushing his feelings aside to focus on what mattered now.

It was as if, despite everything, they remained two worlds apart, even if their proximity suggested otherwise.

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