Chapter 40

The majestic and authoritative voice echoed around:

"You must carefully consider why you were able to avoid the death that was destined for you, and then find the deepest thought in your heart."

"By finding that thought, your fate will begin to change!"

The voice fell silent.

In the air, the intense holy light, like a reverse waterfall, thunderously flew back into the depths of the clouds and disappeared.

The light was gone.

The void turned dark again.

Then, the heavy mist dissipated, and the entire wall of wishes vanished from Wu Xiaode's sight.

He found himself back in the room.

The Book of the Dead had a few new lines of icy crystal text:

"The other party provided the only answer, so a bit of virtue was taken."

"The commission is completed!"

"Current soul power: 0/8."

"Virtue points: 0."

The commission is completed!

This means the other party's words are true and reliable.

After all, his commission follows the law of cause and effect; if it were false, it wouldn't have taken his virtue!

Calm down.

This is the time to stay calm.

Since he knows the answer, he needs to carefully analyze what it means.

Wu Xiaode sat on the edge of the bed and silently recalled every word the other party had said.

—Yes.

After he returned, a series of events happened one after another, leaving him no time to reflect on everything.

Now, he finally had a moment to think about the whole thing.

"Yes, why was I able to avoid the death that was destined for me?"

What exactly happened back then?

Wu Xiaode closed his eyes and recalled the scenes from the Death Pit.

At one moment.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

"Actually, I should have been killed by the Cyclops's finger, but..."

But the little girl gave him a piece of scale armor.

The armor blocked the attack.

So he temporarily survived and didn't die in the Death Pit.

Also.

In the final moment, he slapped the Cyclops, which led to something happening—

"Many heroes, along with the little girl's guardian spirit, decided to take a bet on you."

Wu Xiaode suddenly stood up and paced around the room.

That's right!

He was able to return because "many heroes, along with the little girl's guardian spirit," bestowed their power upon the Book of the Dead!

If he had only awakened the Book of the Dead's ability, he definitely wouldn't have returned.

So.

Following the great being's hint—

What is the deepest thought in my heart?

Wu Xiaode stared blankly at the void, silent.

The scenes from the Death Pit kept flashing in his mind.

At that time—

The Book of the Dead issued a vague commission.

A lamb to the slaughter!

The commission's content was: "You must ensure the little girl stays alive, even if it's just temporarily."

This commission didn't guarantee any benefits for him.

Even the commission's description said: "This is your only chance to survive. The book cannot guarantee that this will work, but there is a faint, vague hope."

He didn't pay much attention to the description at the time.

But the little girl gave him a piece of scale armor, which helped him block the Cyclops's attack and saved his life.

In the final moment.

The Cyclops approached the little girl.

It was going to eat her.

In all of this, what was the deepest thought in his heart...

What kind of thought changed everything?

Wu Xiaode carefully recalled the scene.

"I remember..."

He muttered to himself.

Everyone was dead, leaving only him and the little girl—

At that time, he could have hidden in a hole in the wall to temporarily escape the Cyclops's slaughter.

But he didn't move.

He looked back—

The Cyclops was about to eat the little girl.

Why didn't he run away, but instead went out on his own?

Wu Xiaode's eyes were unfocused, his expression dazed, and he softly said, "No matter what, I have to repay her for the armor she gave me."

"I can't be so wretched!"

"I have to—"

"Save her and let off some steam!!!"

Wu Xiaode clenched his teeth, and a fierce aura suddenly emanated from him, as if he had returned to the Death Pit, to the moment he blocked the Cyclops.

But the next second—

He frowned.

For some reason, his back felt a bit sore.

In the underground shelter in the other world, his back had also hurt badly.

At that time, the three-eyed unicorn snake had used a bewitching technique, and he had fallen for it.

Thanks to that pain, he had regained consciousness.

But later, Xia Huilan had checked his back, and there was nothing there!

—But now, something seemed to be emerging from his shoulder blades.

This feeling was a bit eerie.

Wu Xiaode hurriedly reached back and touched a cold, metallic object at his shoulder blade.

What is this?

Wu Xiaode endured the pain and pulled hard.

The object was instantly pulled from his back and tightly held in his hand.

When he opened his hand, he saw a thin, translucent scale armor piece, shimmering with a faint light.

A scale armor piece...

Wu Xiaode held his breath.

Yes.

He remembered.

This was a piece from the scale armor.

The armor had protected him from the Cyclops's attack.

At that time, he had been thrown out, rolling several times and hitting the wall.

The scale armor piece must have embedded itself in his back then.

But why hadn't he sensed it until now?

Wu Xiaode looked at the Book of the Dead.

A line of icy crystal text silently appeared:

"This scale armor piece was hidden in your back."

"When you found your resolve, the armor sensed your will and reactivated, becoming your aid."

Much later, Wu Xiaode would realize how precious a piece of armor that could sense its owner's will was.

But at that moment—

Ding!

The scale armor piece lightly vibrated and split into two in Wu Xiaode's hand.

Ding ding!

Ding ding ding ding ding—

A series of metallic clinks sounded like a sudden rain.

Countless scale armor pieces appeared in Wu Xiaode's hand and eventually scattered on the ground.

They all jumped into the air, connecting, fitting, and embedding into a complete whole—

The armor!

It reappeared before Wu Xiaode.

"So you came back with me."

Wu Xiaode sighed.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the conversation with the little girl.

"It can protect you from being killed in one hit. Go, someone will cover you, maybe you can survive!"

"Why give it to me?"

"Save who you can, go!"

"I'm about to die, you run—If you survive, take revenge for me!"

Revenge.

The little girl believed he could take revenge for her.

Why?

She had clearly seen that he was just an ordinary person who couldn't even lift a spear.

Why did she believe he could take revenge for her?

Could it be because...

Wu Xiaode gazed deeply at the armor, recalling the Cyclops's words:

"That interesting armor... But what use is it? Its owner is about to die, and so will you."

The little girl would die, and he would die, but the Cyclops didn't mention the fate of the armor!

Was this a coincidence...

Or was there a secret he didn't know?

The black-covered Book of the Dead gently flew up, landed beside the armor, and opened toward Wu Xiaode.

A line of icy crystal text appeared:

"It hopes you will wear it."

Wu Xiaode, used to the strange occurrences, said, "Alright, I'll wear it."

He put the scale armor back on.

The armor suddenly emitted a magnificent glow, and elegant, mysterious characters appeared on the armor pieces.

At the same time, a line of icy crystal text appeared on the Book of the Dead:

"This armor has been gifted to you."

"You are its new owner."

"Your age has exceeded the minimum required to activate this armor."

"—The armor is about to awaken."

In a daze, Wu Xiaode seemed to hear a beautiful voice in his ear:

"I am the ruler of the Elven Kingdom, and with the power of all the elders, I have inscribed twelve divine techniques on this armor."

"Noble princess."

"When you turn twelve, you can activate the armor, learn the techniques, and become an incredibly powerful warrior!"

The voice disappeared.

Then, a deep male voice sounded:

"Nina, when you turn twelve, remember my words."

"Elves are reliable allies, but fairies are time bombs, always causing chaos, so I left this message to remind you to choose to fix this armor as an Elven armor."

This voice also quickly disappeared.

Wu Xiaode was puzzled when a group of children's singing suddenly echoed in his ears:

"Glorious human kingdom, descendant of the royal bloodline,"

"On the day of her birth, we offer our hearts,"

"Elves crafted this armor with exquisite skills, inscribing twelve Elven techniques on it,"

"Wait until she turns twelve, and she can activate the armor and inherit the Elven power,"

The singing suddenly became loud, and the melody became lively and cheerful:

"Elves want to challenge our armor-making skills,"

"But how could they know that things that can't change the past are garbage to us,"

"Friend, let me tell you secretly,"

"We inscribed—aha—"

"The truly exciting stuff on the inner layer of the armor!"

"This is the true gift, the supreme armor-making skill, now it's your time to choose—"

"Come on, this armor is quite interesting,"

"Either Elven garbage or Fairy power!"

The singing ended.

Suddenly, a particularly high and excited voice screamed:

"We calculated Nina's death date!"

"The armor will be destroyed by the backlash of fate, but Nina's life will have a glimmer of hope."

"The Elves didn't foresee the future, so we won!"

After this voice, everything seemed to calm down.

But the Book of the Dead quickly displayed a line of icy crystal text:

"The above is a message from the armor;"

"This armor has been fully activated, and its original owner has gifted it to you."

"It will possess either Elven power or Fairy power, and you must choose."

"Choose!"