My setting is above yours!

Chapter 85 "Return to the World" Version PV, New Manual Feature [Flowing Light and Shadow] (4k2)

Looking at the version update announcement in the Dimensional Update Manual, Ron fell silent.

He paused for a moment, then extended a slightly trembling finger and clicked the play button next to the speaker icon in the version update announcement—

Should we play the 4.004 version, the "Return to the World" PV?

Ron silently clicked "yes," and a new image immediately popped up on the screen:
Moen Ideal City, Block A, Top floor of the Tower of Babel, CEO's Conference Room.

In a huge conference room, there is a steel round table that is clearly divided into twelve sections.

In the center of the round table sat a giant hourglass, its sand nearly empty. On the glass wall of the hourglass, a date appeared as if projected holographically.

October 5th.

Around the round table sat nine clearly extraordinary and unusual individuals.

Some are majestic, some are mysterious, and some are noble;
Some were clearly in high positions, dressed elegantly, like gentlemen attending a banquet;

Some looked mysterious, wearing cloaks and covered in sparkling jewels, intently watching the crystal ball in their hands;

Some were wearing tattered lab coats, their clothes stained with various colored chemical reagents...

Oh, Ron knows this one, this is 404.

In addition, Ron saw a familiar face—Leonard of the Hall of Laws, the Lv.5 who held the authority over Artemis, was sitting opposite him in room 404.

Considering the twelve sections on the table, numbered sequentially...

Clearly, this is a meeting of the top management of Ideal City, reserved only for Level 5 members!

"Let's begin, we don't have time."

At this moment, Leonard, who was sitting in block [1], coughed lightly and said:

"Most of the smaller holes in the past were dealt with by the Magicians' Association, which successfully concealed the information, but this time the large hole that appeared in the D area can no longer be hidden."

"The Moen City government activated [Plan One], allowing the magician to emerge from the shadows, putting the entire Ideal City into a state of emergency."

"At the same time, the [Purification Patrol Team] has been fully mobilized and has temporarily brought the expansion of the Void under control... The [Clock Tower] and the [Golden Dawn] have also sent magicians into the Void, and the discipline inspectors have evacuated the citizens. Only the [Astrological Society] is left without assistance."

"What's the point? Are we just letting them go to their deaths?"

But the cloaked figure sitting in block [▆], looking mysterious, chuckled and mocked:
"Do you think you can save yourself by doing these meaningless showmanship?"

"You and I both know that this is power from the previous era, power from the gods... If we don't deal with that old codger who tried to dig up the grave and jump out, the entire city of Moen will be doomed!"

She glanced at the others at the table, her tone serious:
"Don't you have any ideas?"

"I have no idea."

Block [4], pointer 404, furrowed brow, looks very tired:

"According to the AI's analysis, it is a [mysterious] power, but the elements that triggered its return are not in the history of Ideal City. I have gone back to the very beginning, but I haven't seen any useful information."

"404... Haven't you thought about asking your 'master'?"

The cloaked figure's voice carried a hint of resentment:
"Your lack of ability doesn't mean He lacks ability... If you ask Him, you might be able to find a solution?"

“…I can’t do that.”

404 said in a flat tone: "[Hestia] is just a replica of that god's power, it doesn't really allow me to go back in time... At most, I can only go through everything that happened in the past like watching a videotape."

"Neither He nor 'α'...we have the ability to seek help from those who came before us."

"On the contrary, Elise, Athena imitated Mysticism. Can't you analyze its influence and find a way to counteract its destruction of the Anti-Mystic Equation?"

"Me? I can't."

Elise, who had covered her face with a cloak and looked mysterious, slumped back in her chair. "How can a counterfeit be as effective as the real thing?"

"In the end, without the Lv.5 of Prometheus, Hermes, and Zeus, and without enough people to fill this round table, we cannot contend with a god... nor can we even remove the slightest influence of Him."

"The sky is about to fall... The gods are returning. First, I need to find a way to go back to my hometown to tidy up and find a place for myself."

"I used to be Sequence 5 of the [Mystery] rank, and I still have a chance to switch to the [Trickery] rank. If I can pretend to be a normal superhuman then, maybe I can still survive..."

After she finished speaking, she turned into a thick fog and then disappeared as if erased by an eraser.

Everyone at the table sighed and began to discuss quietly, but their voices were barely audible. In the end, they all hurriedly left and disappeared.

At this moment, the perspective of the version PV widens, shifting from indoors to the entire Ideal City, and then to the sky above Ideal City—

A thick fog enveloped the entire planet, and on the horizon, the dim, bewitching red moon seemed to be breathing, its light flickering on and off...

A grand, illusory gate was rising above the crimson moon, slowly opening a crack towards the Ideal City—

Within it, endless, dense threads form a net, with viscous paint flowing over them. If one looks closely, it seems that one can see the myriad aspects of human life and all living beings in the reflection of this viscous paint...

This is the mysterious Sequence Zero...

That deity who attempted to return from the spirit world to the human realm!
The version PV ended abruptly, leaving Ron deeply moved and unable to calm down for a long time.

What the hell is this?!

He almost swore, and his expression immediately became unpredictable.

"……what happens?"

An Hui, who was standing to the side, noticed that Ron's expression was off, and her eyes immediately showed a hint of concern:
"You're in such a bad mood... How about I treat you? Since you care so much about Thursday, let's skip Crazy Thursday and go eat at full price!"

"What happened? We can talk about it while we eat. Just tell me what's wrong, and I can help you out..."

'Sharing...this is something that small fry like us can't handle...'

"Nothing... I just suddenly remembered some things."

Ron felt a pang of bitterness in his heart and shook his head:
"I need to go back to my dorm to take care of something... You go eat first, Huihui, see you in class later."

After saying that, Ron turned and left, leaving An Hui standing there, watching his back with worried eyes.

Soon, Ron found a quiet place, sat down in a chair, frowned, and tried to calm himself down and think about whether there was any chance to salvage the situation. But he found that he couldn't calm down.

'Are you kidding me...? A [mysterious] god? He's resurrected and about to return, and even these Lv.5s are planning to run away?'

'How are we supposed to fight this now?'

After all, he never imagined that what he did would cause such a big change in the world!

Ron was well aware that his actions during the "Potion Age" might have some consequences. For example, taking Idrila's clothes meant that she would inevitably die in the main storyline of Evening Bell City, "Dragon Quest: Drama".

But... that's all there is to it.

At most, things within the "Potion Era" will change due to Ron's influence—

After all, in the "Superpower Era," there was an "omniscient and omnipotent" individual who hacked into the "Anti-Mystery Equation" for the world. With the power of the equation, he erased all mysteries, burying them all in the dust of history...

But who could have imagined that simply saving Idrila in the main storyline of Evening Bell City would lead to an unknown being successfully granted the opportunity to ascend to godhood and become a deity in charge of the [Mystic] sequence due to some unknown butterfly effect?

He also added a number to the world... a number that was added out of thin air between "3" and "4"!

No wonder He was able to break through the power of the [Anti-Mystic Equation] after awakening and return...

His influence is etched into these most common numbers; countless mathematical theories and formulas are built upon the numbers he forged.

If there really is a god who adds a false number to the world out of thin air, what would happen to the physical theories and mathematical formulas of reality the moment He removes that number?
It's like everything has returned to how it was before He influenced the world...

Or will the edifice of science suddenly collapse, and human civilization lose many of its previously derived theories because of a conceptual number that once existed but suddenly no longer exists?

The "Superpower Era" belongs to humanity and to technology...

But if even the most basic science, mathematics, is affected by a false, mysteriously constructed number, then does the foundation of this era belong to humanity and science, or to gods and mystery?
After all, it's all truly built on "mystery"... on a fabricated number constructed by "mystery"!

The operation of the Anti-Mystery Equation also relies heavily on the Central Intelligence. If even a supercomputer like the Central Intelligence is built on "mystery" because of this problem, how can the Anti-Mystery Equation "anti-mystery"?

Thinking about it this way... this deity is about to easily break through the blockade of the [Anti-Mystic Equation] and return from the spirit world!
'Is there any way for me to solve this problem... to go back to the [Potion Era] and directly kill the god who will one day rule the [Mystic] sequence?'

'No, no... Even if they hadn't become gods in that era, they were definitely close to being gods, otherwise how could it be considered an opportunity for them to become gods?'

'If I can't kill Him, I have to find a way to ruin this opportunity... What exactly caused Him to be given the chance to become a god? Could it really be because I saved Idrila?'

'That doesn't make sense. Idrila is only a Sequence Seven, what could she possibly have to do with anything? I feel the problem lies with the Silver Knight and the [Trickery] Seed...'

'But that's not right... It was clearly the spark of a 'trick,' so why did it fall into the hands of a mysterious person, granting them the opportunity to become a god through 'mystery'?'

Ron pondered for a long time, but couldn't help feeling a headache coming on, unable to come up with an answer.

There is far too little information about him; everything he experienced during the "Potion Era" is too vague, and many things were within the Silver Knight's control...

He doesn't even know the Silver Knight's goal yet, so how could he possibly figure out the deeper reasons that led that god to truly ascend to the [mysterious] throne?

Thinking of this, Ron couldn't help but grit his teeth:
'If I could do it all over again, I'd try to figure out the Silver Knight's purpose and the secrets behind it. Maybe then I could avoid this huge pitfall that made "mystery" a god!'

If only I could do it all over again…

But in reality, there aren't that many second chances or opportunities to start over.

Ron sighed, closed the version PV on the Dimensional Update Manual, and prepared to return directly to the "Potion Era" once again to see if he could find any opportunity to save the world there...

But before he could do anything, he discovered that even after the version update announcement finished loading, things didn't stop.

New text is generated on the screen—

The main storyline "Drama: Hero Quest for the Dragon" in the small map Evening Bell City in version 3.172 has been completed. Players have saved their progress and the [Fleeting Light] feature is now available.

[Tracing the Flow of Time]: Wandering through the long river of time, picking up the pearls lost in the vast ocean. Regrets are everywhere in life, but we still have room to make amends.

Enabling this feature allows players to access their current save file from their personal panel, allowing them to revisit the story, complete unfinished side quests, and unlock game achievements.

This function does not affect the player's physical condition while in use. If a player loses the ability to act for any reason, they can choose to start over (but their settings will wear down normally). Once the player achieves their desired main storyline ending, they can use the "Fixed Image" function to anchor it to a new world line.

[Note! You can only obtain one "Fixed Image" opportunity for each main storyline completion.]

[You can now add this to your save file:]

1. "[Version 3.172] Evening Bell City Main Quest - Drama: Dragon Quest".

Ron was stunned when he saw the words on the screen.

He carefully read the instructions in the dimensional update manual several times. After confirming that his understanding was correct, he couldn't help but smile and relax.

—The chance to start over, here it is!
As long as Ron can re-anchor to a new ending timeline, and avoid stepping into the trap that made "mystery" a god, the door to "mystery" will not open...

The number “▆”, which appears out of thin air, would not exist.

At this moment, Ron had already secured victory, and Ideal City was no longer likely to suffer this catastrophic disaster!
After all, if he simply re-anchored to a timeline where he did nothing and didn't try to save Idrila, the "mysterious" god wouldn't appear, and the Ideal City would naturally avoid this crisis again...

However, Ron did not like this outcome.

He disliked the trolley problem; there was no such thing as saving one side at the expense of the other…

Ron only seeks to achieve his goal and is absolutely unwilling to suffer any loss!
With the help of the Dimensional Update Manual, even if the Silver Knight couldn't see the full picture and faced numerous difficulties, Ron was confident that he could achieve a win-win outcome!

and……

It's not just about saving Idrila and the ideal city that was about to crumble under the influence of the "mystery".

Ron himself must have benefited greatly from this.

After all… putting everything else aside, just consider the [Trickery] spark in the Silver Knight's hand—

Ron had long coveted such a powerful containment object and potion ingredients that pointed directly to the throne of God.

But if we can find a way to contain it through countless attempts...

This might be Ron's chance to seize the [Trickery] Seed!

(End of this chapter)