“You have cleared the instance—Land of Origin!” As the system’s notification sounded, the entire grid space began to collapse. The bodies of the six bosses and Han Ming rapidly broke apart, dissolving into sparkling particles.

Sky God’s body was in ruins. Only her head remained, floating in midair, but she still had a faint trace of consciousness. “Even if you’ve defeated me, you still can’t return to the world you came from. We’ll meet again!”

Everything crumbled and faded away. Han Ming’s consciousness slowly grew hazy, and he had no time to think carefully about Sky God’s final words…

……

Han Ming opened his eyes. He was still lying in the nutrient pod that kept his body alive, but the nutrient fluid inside had long since run dry. He had no idea how much time had passed.

He opened the pod. Everything around him was dark and dilapidated, covered in dust and cobwebs. No one had been here in a long time.

“Where am I?” Han Ming climbed out of the pod. Everything around him was completely unfamiliar. No matter how he looked at it, this didn’t seem to be his home.

Only after leaving the pod did he realize he wasn’t wearing a thing. He was completely naked, and this place seemed to be a basement.

There were no light sources at all, yet somehow Han Ming could see everything around him clearly. He searched the area and found only a loose-fitting white lab coat. This seemed to be a laboratory, though it had been abandoned for a long time.

“Has my hair really gotten this long?” He wiped a grimy, cracked mirror clean. His reflection had dark circles under his eyes, a vacant stare, and hair that nearly reached his waist. He looked more like a girl.

First, he had to figure out where he was. Han Ming found the basement door and gave it a gentle tug. The whole door came off. “This thing’s way too flimsy.”

The moment he opened the door, a blinding light struck Han Ming’s eyes. The upper level had already been reduced to ruins, strewn with rubble and overgrown with brambles and weeds.

“What happened?!” Han Ming stared at his surroundings in disbelief. Was this still the real world? How long had he been in the game world? Why had everything become like this?!

Han Ming wandered aimlessly through the streets. The entire city lay in ruins, with weeds over a meter tall. There wasn’t a single person in sight—only endless desolation.

This scene made Han Ming wonder if he’d stayed in the game world until the end of the world. He remembered Sky God’s final words. This world had changed beyond recognition. It was no longer the world he knew!

“Huh? Something’s coming!” There wasn’t a sound around him, yet Han Ming heard approaching footsteps before they arrived. His senses had become incredibly sharp.

Before long, a pack of strange-looking, huge dogs came pouring out of the streets and alleys. Han Ming found them oddly familiar.

“Bristlehide Direwolves? Aren’t those monsters from Infinite Fantasy?” Bristlehide Direwolves were level-five monsters. Their one special trait was that they liked to call for reinforcements. If you couldn’t kill one in a single hit, it could quickly summon dozens, even hundreds, of direwolves. They were one of the monsters beginners hated most.

To Han Ming’s surprise, the Bristlehide Direwolves had their levels and health bars displayed above their heads. It was exactly like the system in Infinite Fantasy!

He couldn’t help wondering if he’d simply been transported to a map he’d never visited before. But the heat of the sunlight and the feel of the breeze were just too real.

While he was distracted, more and more Bristlehide Direwolves gathered. Before he knew it, there were over twenty, all glaring at Han Ming.

Han Ming instinctively opened his inventory. It really did pop up, but it was completely empty. Then he opened his status screen.

『Name: Han Ming | Class: Godhunter (Third Advancement) | Level: 100 | Strength: 9999+ | Intelligence: 9999+ | Stamina: 9999+ | Agility: 9999+ | Spirit: 9999+』!

In Infinite Fantasy, the highest attribute value the status screen could display was 9,999. Anything higher was represented by a plus sign. That didn’t mean 9,999 was the actual limit; the excess was simply hidden. Two players whose attributes both showed 9,999+ could still have a huge difference between them.

He really did have a level in this world, and his stats were exactly the same as they’d been in Infinite Fantasy World. He was still at max level!

The Bristlehide Direwolves charged at him, drooling, eager to tear him apart. But they moved incredibly slowly in Han Ming’s eyes. Without thinking, he grabbed one by the tail and swung it like a weapon, beating the other direwolves with it.

It wasn’t exactly a proper weapon, but the level gap was enough to instantly kill every direwolf he hit. The system registered the damage as a basic attack.

“Just as I thought. Like in Infinite Fantasy, any attack that isn’t a proper skill gets counted as a normal attack.” By the time he finished thinking, dozens of direwolves had been wiped out. But Han Ming was already max level, so he couldn’t gain any more experience.

After the direwolves died, several white circles automatically floated above their bodies. Each one contained an item: wolf meat, fangs, or pelts. They were all basic materials.

Out of a player’s habit, he collected all the materials. He’d probably need them later.

“Whatever. No matter what’s happened to the world, I should first see if I can find any survivors. That way, I can get some information.” Han Ming quickly composed himself. Whether this was another game world or the real world, all he had to do was clear it.

Han Ming wandered around the city, hoping to run into some survivors. But apart from a few monsters that looked vaguely familiar, he found nothing else.

“The drop rates really are just like in the game world. I’ve been at it this long and haven’t gotten a single piece of equipment.” He’d collected plenty of materials, but hadn’t even picked up one lousy white-tier item. His nickname, “Unlucky God of War,” really was well deserved.

As Han Ming sat down to rest on a patch of concrete, a commotion erupted not far away and caught his attention. Was someone fighting?!

A rush of joy surged through Han Ming. He hadn’t seen another real person in so long. He desperately wanted someone to talk to.

Han Ming raced toward the sound of the explosions and quickly reached the battlefield. Sure enough, a fight was underway. A three-person team seemed to be fleeing from a giant direwolf covered in black spikes, and they were steadily losing ground.

The levels of the three people appeared automatically. None of them were above level ten, while the giant direwolf chasing them was level fifteen. They had no chance of taking it on.

“Damn it! How can there be a monster this strong? Are we really going to die here today?!” A man wielding a greatsword of fine steel stood at the front, shielding the two girls behind him. His health was already below half, and he could fall at any moment. “Mo Li, An'an, forget about me. I can only hold it off for a little longer. At this point, whoever can get away should run!”

The two girls were reluctant to leave, but they knew that if they wasted time hesitating now, they’d all die here. The girl named Mo Li handed An'an an item glowing blue. “An'an, take this equipment and run. Xue Yun and I can buy you enough time!”

An'an wanted to say something, but the two of them were a couple, after all, and she was just Ivan’s third wheel. What reason did she have to stay?

“It’s just a big dog. Do you really have to make such a grand sacrifice?” At some point, Han Ming had appeared on the brick-paved ground nearby. He held a hollow brick and hurled it at the spiked direwolf.

The simple brick toss hit the giant direwolf. Its health bar emptied in an instant, and it was killed outright without even a yelp.