Chapter 84: I Wake Up and the Version Has Updated?

Qiong saw that Chen had woken up, but she didn’t speak.

Instead, she tightened her arms with a sudden, desperate force, pulling Chen even deeper into her embrace. The strength she exerted was astonishing, nearly making Chen’s already fragile breathing hitch to a complete stop.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her shoulders trembling violently, uncontrollably. It was a raw, explosive release of emotion—a chaotic blend of relief from surviving the disaster, a deep, simmering anger, and the near-feral intensity of reclaiming something precious that had been almost lost.

She held him so tightly it felt as if she intended to knead him into her very flesh and blood, as if the moment she loosened her grip, the faint warmth in her arms would be extinguished like a final ember scattered by the wind.

“It hurts…”

A muffled groan escaped Chen’s lips, his voice crushed by the constriction. His consciousness, already blurred and frayed by his grievous injuries, began to scatter once more. He could feel the tremors racking Qiong’s body and the scalding wetness of her tears dripping onto his neck.

He wanted to say something, anything, to comfort this little gray-haired girl who seemed to have been frightened out of her wits.

But a fresh wave of exhaustion and sharp, lancing pain surged through him, quickly drowning what little consciousness he had left.

His eyelids fell, heavy as lead.

The last thing he sensed was Qiong’s near-suffocating embrace.

His vision plunged into absolute darkness.

A few days later.

Chen struggled to peel his eyelids open.

What met his eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling.

He turned his stiff neck, a dull ache protesting the movement, and looked around. This appeared to be a hospital ward. He was lying on a bed, tucked under thick, heavy bedding.

On a small stool by the bed, a figure was slumped over in sleep: March 7th. He looked haggard, with faint dark circles smudged beneath his eyes. At the moment, he was resting his head on his folded arms, sleeping fitfully.

Fragments of memory slowly, painfully, began to piece themselves together. Everwinter Hill… the Father of Falsehood… the ice spear piercing through his chest… Qiong’s contradictory yet dazzling light… Mr. Cocolia falling… and… that embrace that had nearly snapped his bones.

“You’re awake?”

A calm and gentle female voice came from the doorway.

Chen shifted his gaze and saw Dr. Natasha walking in, carrying a tray. She wore a clean white coat, her face holding its usual professional composure.

“I…” Chen tried to speak, but his throat was a desert, and only a dry rasp emerged.

Natasha set the tray aside, poured a cup of warm water, and carefully helped him sit up. She held the cup to his lips, feeding him a few sips. The warm water flowed down his throat, bringing a measure of relief to the parched tissue.

“You were unconscious for three days,” Natasha explained succinctly. “Your injuries were extremely severe; it’s a miracle that you survived at all.”

She paused, adjusting his pillows. “It’s thanks to that Miss Qiong. Her power stabilized your life force long enough for me to work. That, combined with the best medicine to be found in both the Overworld and the Underworld, and of course, my medical skills.”

“Qiong… how is she?” Chen asked, his voice still a weak croak, but filled with anxiety.

“She’s fine, just exhausted. She’ll recover after some rest,” Natasha reassured him. “She has hardly left your side these past few days. Miss Dan Heng just had to forcibly drag her off to get something to eat.”

Natasha’s expression softened slightly. “Supreme Guardian Bronya has also been making time to visit you every day.”

“What about… those robots? And the Overworld?” He was more concerned about the current situation on Belobog.

“It has all settled down.” Natasha’s tone carried a evident sense of relief, the calm after a storm finally brought under control. “After Supreme Guardian Bronya succeeded to the position, she immediately used decisive measures to integrate the Silvermane Guards and stabilize the panic in the city above. At the same time, she announced the abolition of the Restricted Zone Decree, formally lifting the isolation between the Overworld and the Underworld.”

“And the ancient robots…?”

Natasha walked to the window and gestured for Chen to look. Through the simple glass pane, a corner of the Underworld’s streets was visible. Traces of battle and demolition still scarred some areas, but most of the debris had already been cleared.

What was most striking, however, were the ancient-looking robots now dotting the roadsides and open plazas. They stood silently, like forgotten sculptures, the ominous dark red glow in their optical sensors completely extinguished. Motionless, covered in a thin layer of fresh snow or dust, they looked as if they had truly become nothing more than harmless piles of scrap metal.

“After the intense fluctuations of the Stellaron temporarily subsided, they gradually ceased all activity,” Natasha explained. “According to a joint analysis by Ms. Svarog and Mr. Serval, these robots seem to have finally found what they were looking for. Or rather, they completed some kind of triggered core command. Then, they collectively entered a deep sleep. Now, they are just historical relics that take up quite a bit of space.”

Natasha turned back from the window and looked at Chen. “Currently, both the Overworld and the Underworld are busy with reconstruction and integration. There is much to do, but it is also a time full of hope. It’s good that you’re awake. Get some rest; your body still needs a long time to recover.”

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Bang!

The door was pushed open with a roughness that bordered on frantic.

Qiong stood in the doorway, a half-eaten piece of bread still clutched in her hand. Her eyes locked onto the now-awake Chen on the bed, and she froze for a split second.

Then, without a second thought, she casually stuffed the bread into the hands of a surprised Dan Heng, who had followed her in, and rushed to the bedside in a few quick strides.

This time, she didn’t wrap him in a suffocating, bone-crushing embrace.

She simply stood by the bed, leaned down, and reached out a trembling hand.

She carefully, gently, touched Chen’s cheek.

Qiong’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only pursed them tightly, her jaw set. Then, without a word, she slid down to sit on the floor by the bed. Leaning her back against the bedframe, she took one of Chen’s hands that lay outside the covers and gripped it tightly in both of hers.

She held on as if terrified that the moment she let go, the person before her would vanish again.

Dan Heng stood at the door, offering a slight, relieved nod to Natasha and Chen, the tension finally easing from his eyes.

The commotion had also awakened March 7th. Rubbing his eyes, he saw that Chen was awake and immediately let out a delighted “Wow!” before his eyes started to turn a bit red again.

Chen felt the unusual, anchoring warmth from Qiong’s grip. He looked down at the silent, incredibly stubborn, gray-haired girl by his bed. Then he looked out the window at the world of ice and snow, which had returned to a temporary calm and was already brewing with new life.

The wheels of the plot, it seemed, had—during the few days he was unconscious—crashed through a major milestone in a swift and brutally efficient manner.

Mr. Cocolia was dead, Bronya had taken power, the Overworld and Underworld were merging, the robot crisis was resolved… and he, the transmigrator who was supposed to be a prophet…

…had perfectly missed every single key event due to an unexpected, debilitating injury.

‘Seriously…’Chen complained silently in his heart.’I take one nap and the entire version updates? Did my save file just skip a few main quests?’

But as he looked at Qiong holding his hand so tightly, and felt the vitality in his own chest—painful, yes, but undeniably real—he thought that… maybe this wasn’t so bad either.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]