Huh? What do you mean your mother is one of the seven deadly sins?!

"As for your father..."

Liu Ruyan's voice became even lower, filled with immense confusion and worry.

"And my younger sister, my grandparents... I... I don't know!"

Liu Ruyan shook her head painfully, her bloodshot eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

"I didn't see them when I was pulled into this world!"

"I don't even know if they were attacked at the same time as me!"

"I always thought... I always thought I was the only one caught up in this disaster, that they... they were still on Earth, still taking care of you..."

Liu Ruyan's voice choked with emotion; the immense guilt and shock of learning the truth left her almost speechless.

"Until just now...until you told me...they all disappeared too..."

Seeing the pain in her mother's eyes, Lin Xia nodded heavily, her voice strained.

"The police investigated for a long time but found no clues. You just vanished into thin air. Later, all sorts of secret realms began to appear, the world fell into chaos, and nobody investigated anymore..."

A deathly silence fell over the palace.

Liu Ruyan remained silent for a long time.

Then he exhaled softly, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue, yet he tried to remain relaxed.

"Xia, don't worry, perhaps... they, like me, have been swept into another world?"

Liu Ruyan raised her hand, wanting to rub her son's hair like she did when he was a child, but she paused in mid-air and finally just gently patted his shoulder.

Lin Xia nodded. Although the explanation sounded like a fantasy, with her mother as a living example, even the most outlandish explanation became somewhat believable.

However, the heaviness in my heart did not lessen much.

Lin Xia and Liu Ruyan tacitly refrained from pursuing the topic further.

The joy of reunion was like a thin veil, temporarily covering the sharp pain and unknown fears, which neither of them wanted to pierce on the very first day.

Liu Ruyan pulled Lin Xia to sit down on a low couch covered with a soft star-patterned carpet. The small table next to them was now filled with exquisite pastries and fruits that smelled of exotic fruit, their colors tempting.

Liu Ruyan picked up a crystal-clear, grape-shaped fruit and placed it in Lin Xia's hand, her tone filled with lingering fear and concern.

"Eat something first. Xia, tell Mom, how did you end up here?"

"Didn't I tell you to stay put on Earth?"

"It's too dangerous here! What if you..."

Liu Ruyan didn't finish her sentence, but the worry in her eyes was almost overflowing.

Lin Xia held the slightly cool fruit, feeling the lingering warmth from her mother's fingertips.

Lin Xia remained silent for a moment, organizing her thoughts, her voice low but clear.

"Mom, after you disappeared, it was the country that took care of me and raised me. Food, clothing, daily necessities, schooling... all were provided by the country. Without the country, I might not be alive today."

Lin Xia raised her head and looked directly into her mother's deep, bloodshot eyes.

"So when the country needs someone to step up... I stepped up, and I felt it was my duty."

Liu Ruyan was stunned.

Looking at her son's young yet resolute face, and at the composure and responsibility in his eyes, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.

It was heartache, it was bitterness, but more than anything, it was an indescribable sense of relief.

Her child has really grown up.

She was no longer the little one who needed her protection.

"...Good boy."

Liu Ruyan's voice was a little hoarse. She blinked hard to suppress the rising moisture in her eyes and tried to curve a gentle smile at the corners of her mouth.

"You've grown up, and you're even braver than your mother imagined."

With her mother's affirmation, Lin Xia seemed to relax a little.

Lin Xia immediately asked the question that had been pressing on her mind.

"Mom, do you know how to complete this world? Before I came here, I heard that this world has already swallowed up many worlds, and it seems to know a lot about Earth?"

Lin Xia thought of the apathetic residents of Soto City, of old man Robin's words, and of the Blood Demon Guard's ferocious face.

The gentleness on Liu Ruyan's face faded, replaced by a deep solemnity.

She hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I can tell you how to clear the game. But as for the other merged worlds... Mom can't say right now."

She noticed the fleeting look of confusion in Lin Xia's eyes and quickly added.

"It's not that Mommy wants to hide it from you, Xia."

"It's a rule, a rule that binds all powerful beings in this world. Forcibly revealing certain core information will bring... unpredictable trouble, and may even affect you."

Liu Ruyan's tone was serious and left no room for argument.

Lin Xia's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately nodded.

"I understand, Mom. So what are the conditions for passing the test?"

"The way to clear this world is completely different from the way you previously understood clearing secret realms."

Liu Ruyan leaned forward slightly, her blood-red eyes locking onto Lin Xia.

"This is not a simple copy space, but a complete real world that has been running for countless millions of years."

"If you want to pass the level, you first need to survive here for a full year."

"When the year is up, the world's rules will temporarily release you, allowing you to return to Earth to recuperate. But remember, you only have one day. After that, no matter where you are, you will be forcibly pulled back to this world, appearing at the location where you last left."

"A year? And then you can only go back for one day?"

Lin Xia frowned; this was far from what he had imagined.

Liu Ruyan noticed her son's confusion, gently shook her head, and continued:

"The real breakthrough... Xia, when you first arrived, you must have felt the plight of humanity, right?"

Immediately, images of those sallow-faced, emaciated figures with empty, numb eyes flashed before Lin Xia's eyes, along with the final, ferocious, and greedy face of old man Robin.

"Yes, the raiding party reports that the gods are waning in this world, and humans are... food raised by demons."

"The decline of the gods? Blood sacrifice?"

Liu Ruyan suddenly let out a very soft sneer, carrying a hint of mockery, as well as a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"Xia, when looking at things, you can't just look at the surface, and you can't just listen to one side's voice."

"Who says... a demon is necessarily evil? A god is necessarily merciful? Labels are often attached by the victors."

Liu Ruyan looked at Lin Xia, but did not delve deeper into this dangerous topic, and immediately changed the subject.

"The way to clear this world is—to hunt down a god!"

"What?!"

Lin Xia looked up abruptly, almost thinking she had misheard.

Hunting...the gods?

Liu Ruyan met her son's shocked gaze, her eyes remaining unwavering, and continued:

"Yes, kill God! Then, seize His divinity, occupy His throne, and become the new God!"

"Only this way can I consider myself to have cleared the game!"

After saying this, Liu Ruyan also held Lin Xia's somewhat cold hand tightly.

"But Xia, don't worry. This road may be difficult, but Mom will help you."