Lin Ye entered the tunnel again.

This time, he didn't need to go far; it was only a half-hour walk.

Lin Ye advanced through the tunnel with a fanatical look on his face. This fervor spread through his body like a virus, raising his overall body temperature by 2°C.

The high fever ignited his sanity, burning away what little remained. Crazed thoughts consumed his mind. If not for the uncompleted mission, he would have been tempted to slice off his own head just to see what it felt like.

Finally, Lin Ye stepped into the darkness. This time, he didn't leave. Instead, he took out the Abyssal Egg and raised it above his head.

At the same time, in the darkness on the other side, another Lin Ye also raised a fragmented Abyssal Egg above his head.

In the other two loops, the fragmented Abyssal Eggs grew in the darkness, gradually taking shape.

The ritual began. The Abyss connected to the tunnel, and the entire tunnel fell into the Abyss.

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Lin Ye also wanted to plunge into that void for an endless fall, but the anomaly had vanished and the mission was complete. Some force forcibly dragged him back to the surface.

Stepping out of the tunnel, it was all over.

…………………

【Simulation Complete】

【Simulations Remaining: 8】

【Obtained 8 Random Items from this Event】

【Obtained 1 Time Fragment】

【Obtained Title: Falling into the Abyss】

【Abyssal Residue Detected in Sanctuary. Processing...】

【Processing Complete. Obtained: Gate of the Abyss】

Lin Ye awoke in his bed. He wasn't fully conscious yet, feeling as if he had just woken from a very long dream, momentarily unable to tell where he was.

The red cat leaped onto Lin Ye's lap and nuzzled its head against his stomach.

'I'm... in the Sanctuary. The mission is over.'

Another half-minute passed before Lin Ye fully grasped the situation. Recalling the memories from the simulation, he couldn't help but shiver.

For him, the feeling of complete loss of control was terrifying. If the Sanctuary weren't absolutely safe, he would probably still be in that state.

"Whatever, I won't dwell on it. What's done is done. Let's see what I got."

Lin Ye glanced at the new, pitch-black door that had appeared on his room's wall and pretended it wasn't there.

He was lucky this time. It was hard to die in the tunnel, so with eight simulations remaining, he had obtained a total of eight items.

The eight items were laid out on the floor: a fully loaded pistol, a simple food pack, a basic first-aid kit, four somewhat familiar-looking Aberrant Organs, and a quail-egg-sized, pitch-black ovoid.

Lin Ye opened the System and submitted the four Aberrant Organs he had produced to the Sanctuary upgrade quest. The quest progress changed to (5/10).

Lin Ye sorted the other items and placed them in a corner of the room with the things he had acquired before.

He placed the Abyssal Egg outside the sliding door. Even though it was no longer dangerous, he still didn't want to share a room with it.

There were three new notifications on the System panel: the Time Fragment, the Gate of the Abyss, and the new title Lin Ye had obtained.

Lin Ye checked them one by one:

【Time Fragment】

【Can be merged with an Innate Ability to add a new effect.】

【Note: A precious fragment with a special function. It is highly compatible with your Innate Ability.】

【Merge Time Fragment with Innate Ability?】

"Yes."

Lin Ye checked his personal information again and found that his Innate Ability had changed.

【Personal Information】

【Name: Lin Ye】

【Gender: Male】

【Age: 24】

【Innate Ability: D-Level Personnel Simulator】

【Note: Savior, He Who Has Fallen into the Abyss】

【D-Level Personnel Simulator】

【Allows for the random simulation of one D-Class Personnel on a mission per day.】

【Upon death, time will be rewound for a single reality simulation (1/1).】

【Note: Why would anyone want to go looking for death?】

"Holy... shit!"

Lin Ye felt like happiness had struck too suddenly. The new effect from the Time Fragment was even more powerful than the Innate Ability itself. Although it was a one-time use, that was more than enough for him.

This was an insurance policy. Even if he died, as long as it wasn't an inescapable, certain-death situation, Lin Ye could use the simulation to come back alive.

Besides, if he could find more Time Fragments, he might be able to increase the number of uses for this ability.

Lin Ye then clicked on his new title.

【Falling into the Abyss】

【You once fell into the Abyss and escaped with the help of an external force.】

【Note: You have attracted the attention of certain existences within the Abyss.】

Lin Ye: "..."

【Gate of the Abyss】

【A passage connected to the Abyss. Opening the Gate of the Abyss allows you to invite certain denizens of the Abyss to your Sanctuary as guests.】

【Note: If you can prepare something that interests them, they will give you a satisfactory reward.】

Lin Ye looked at the pitch-black door and decided not to touch it for the time being.

The Sanctuary was indeed absolutely safe, but what if those so-called denizens of the Abyss decided not to leave?

The absolute safety only lasted for seven days. After that, Lin Ye would be the one in trouble.

Lin Ye glanced at the time. The simulation had only taken a few hours, and it wasn't even noon yet.

Outside the window, it was still foggy and nothing was visible. There were occasional noises from outside the door, but nothing could be seen through the peephole.

Lin Ye took out an energy bar and a bottle of mineral water, opened the communication interface, and started eating his lunch.

As soon as he opened the communication interface, Lin Ye saw a flood of messages with images. At first, he thought they were lewd pictures, but a closer look revealed they were all photos of physical aberrations.

"Check out my Kylin Arm! I feel like I could smash a Blood Corpse with one punch now. (arm_picture.jpg)"

"The Diamond Leg is still stronger. Kicked two zombies to death with one blow. (leg_picture.jpg)"

"Hey, experts, anyone have extra Aberration Cards? I'll trade food for them!"

"Looking for an arm card! Willing to trade a leg card!"

"Anyone have Red Liquid? Buying at a high price!"

"Where's Goose Leg Bro? Did you get an Aberration? Got any guides for it?"

"I got an internal organ Aberration. What's the use of this? (abdomen_picture.jpg)"

"Damn! A rare card! Though I have no idea what it's for either."

"You could cut it open and see."

"Big bros, I'm a student. Begging for an Aberration Card, preferably for a limb."

"The guy above must have a brain Aberration."

"Why isn't it dark yet? My Diamond Leg is getting restless."

...

The chat was filled with information about Aberration Cards. Lin Ye scrolled up and quickly found the reason.

A survivor had accidentally used one of those dark red cards, causing his right arm to undergo Aberration. He had freaked out and asked for help in the group, but it ended up sparking a craze for Aberration.

The method for using Aberration Cards was very simple. You just had to stick the card onto your skin. After a few minutes, the card would merge into the skin, and the Aberration would occur automatically.

Aberration Cards had different patterns, and cards with different patterns affected different body parts. The most popular ones right now were for arms and legs, which also happened to be the most common type.

However, the Aberration process consumed a large amount of matter and energy. That survivor had eaten everything edible in his Sanctuary to no avail, and only completed the Aberration after drinking a bottle of Red Liquid.