# 2037
Chapter 2021: Welcome (Grand Finale)
Higher-Dimensional World!
"Damn it, we can't hold it back much longer!" Cao Yuan felt the gradually maddening flesh core, gritting his teeth as he spoke!
The six auras, under the scouring of the Power of Azathoth, were like flickering candles in the wind,随时都可能熄灭，就当所有人都拼死坚持之际，一道清脆的刀鸣响彻天际！
Ding—!!
A blade light that could nearly cleave the Higher-Dimensional World erupted from the asylum!
"Get out of the way!" The moment An Qingyu saw this blade light, her eyes lit up, and she shouted immediately.
Within the hundreds of millions of dream loops, the Power of Azathoth that Lin Qiye had assimilated was almost entirely poured into this single blade. The aura instantly suppressed the berserk Azathoth. As this blade light collided with Azathoth, a blinding white glare spread like an ocean, drowning the Higher-Dimensional World!
In the asylum courtyard, the little boy pressed into the blood pool suddenly felt his momentum rise steadily!
He let out a roar and directly flipped the [Chaos] that had been stepping on him. The surging aura knocked the red figure to the ground, and a trace of terror appeared in those hollow eyes!
The little boy's form flashed like lightning as he rushed to its side. A pure killing intent radiated from within him!
He gripped the void, and a Straight Blade woven from the threads of causality materialized in his palm. Using every ounce of his strength, he swung it toward [Chaos]'s neck!
"I am... Lin Qiye!!"
The little boy's voice rang through the asylum. As that white blade light drowned everything, the blade in his hand also swung down. Both his figure and [Chaos]'s vanished within the blade light!
...
Time unknown. Under the leaden sky, that scorching blade light finally dissipated.
Six crimson figures stood in the void, gazing at the flesh core that had been utterly annihilated, and exhaled:
"Has it finally ended..."
Creak...
A door-opening sound echoed from the asylum.
Inside Ward 6, Building 2, Lin Qiye pushed open the door and stepped out. He crossed the empty courtyard, and above him in the void, a progress bar shot upward.
"Lin Qiye Treatment Progress: 90%... 94%... 98%... 100%"
"Lin Qiye's treatment complete. Please exit immediately."
"You have obtained all abilities of the treatment target. This extraction is void."
Lin Qiye walked to the closed iron gate, pushed it open, and crossed the void to stand before the six crimson figures.
"Jialan...?" Lin Qiye recognized that familiar silhouette, his heart shaking. "You..."
Jialan's lips trembled slightly, her eyes already glistening with tears. She rushed into Lin Qiye's embrace without hesitation, holding him tightly!
"Over 112 million cycles... I've finally been waiting for you." Jialan's voice sounded in his ear.
Lin Qiye felt the warmth in his arms, momentarily at a loss for words. He simply held her tightly.
"Surprised?" Lingbao Tianzun watched this, the corners of his mouth curving upward. "A lot has happened... I'll explain the details later."
Lin Qiye's gaze fell on him. Instinctively he wanted to call out something, but in the end he simply said:
"Thank you... Lingbao Tianzun."
"Lingbao Tianzun? That's quite a mouthful." He laughed. "Perhaps you could call me... Pangpang."
Lin Qiye stood frozen, as if remembering something. Joy flickered in his eyes.
"... Welcome back to the team."
His voice hoarse, he spoke.
"Now that Azathoth is dealt with, Qiye has become the sole sovereign of the Higher-Dimensional World." An Qingyu smiled. "So perhaps we should consider how to recreate the true Fifth Universe."
"Speaking of which, where exactly is the Fifth Universe?" Cao Yuan asked, confused.
"... Here." Lin Qiye loosened his hold on Jialan for the moment, pointing to his own mind. "In my memories."
"Memories?"
"Don't forget, I am the will of the universe itself... I hold the original source data from the birth of the universe and the trajectories of all celestial bodies over hundreds of millions of years. As long as I recreate a universe and let everything replay according to the original Fifth Universe's trajectory, everything will return to how it was."
Shen Qingzhu contemplated this. "But wouldn't a universe created this way be an entirely new universe?"
"The universe might be new, but the people would still be the people from the original universe." Lin Qiye raised his palm, and a light cluster woven from countless causalities appeared within it. "All people from the Fifth Universe were sent by me into the 'Causeless Cause.' I will connect them with the new universe, and in this way, everything will remain as it was."
Lin Qiye raised his hand and gestured toward the asylum. The door of Ward 5 opened automatically, and the withered remnants of the Fifth Universe drifted out from within!
Over a hundred million universe remnants orbited around the seven of them. As Lin Qiye closed his eyes, they all ignited simultaneously!
These dream universes that Lin Qiye had personally created began to rapidly merge in the void. As hundreds of millions of dreams overlapped, a small point symbolizing the origin of a universe gradually took shape before them!
What Lin Qiye intended to create was no longer a dream... but a Fifth Universe that truly existed within the Higher-Dimensional World!
The billion burning dreams illuminated the entire sky until it blazed like embers flying beside a bonfire. Under the gaze of the seven crimson figures, a universe rapidly expanded within the void!
"You may enter now." Lin Qiye focused his full attention on this growing universe as he spoke.
"Won't you come with us?" Jialan asked, puzzled.
"You're all ascended beings too. If we all entered together, we'd crush this newly created world... So we can only enter one at a time." Lin Qiye smiled. "Besides, I need to stabilize this universe after you enter, so I can only be the last."
The group exchanged glances. Cao Yuan was the first to nod: "Alright, then I'll go first."
Cao Yuan stepped into that universe and vanished. A visible ripple rippled across the universe's surface, nearly tearing it apart. Fortunately, Lin Qiye acted in time and stabilized it.
"I'll message you all once we've arrived~"
"By the way, I'm almost out of cigarettes... I need to buy more when I get back. I'm going too."
"Remember to have a reunion dinner when you get back! I think I own a six-star hotel with pretty good food..."
"Qiye, I'll wait for you in the new world."
"I'm leaving too. Don't be late."
After Cao Yuan came Jiang Er, then Shen Qingzhu, Baili Pangpang, Jialan... As An Qingyu finally stepped in, the entire Higher-Dimensional World held only Lin Qiye alone.
Lin Qiye stood alone before the universe, gazing at a certain quietly turning star within that vast cosmos, as if lost in memory.
When that star had completed half an orbit around its sun, the entire universe finally stabilized, sufficient to bear Lin Qiye's power.
He took a deep breath and slowly stepped into this massive universe. A voice echoed from within:
"Hello... new world."
...
Lin Qiye slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing the familiar ceiling above him, Lin Qiye first froze, then a sense of having returned after a lifetime washed over his heart...
"How did I end up back here?" Lin Qiye sat up from the bed. The ancient frame creaked shrilly. He looked around, his eyes filled with confusion.
This was his home.
His home in Cangnan.
Lin Qiye rubbed his weary temples and got out of bed, pushing open the door directly.
The moment he pushed it open, the familiar aroma of home-cooked food flooded his senses. The sizzling sound of a wok echoed through the cramped dwelling. Seeing this scene so achingly familiar, so many times it had appeared in his dreams, Lin Qiye stood rooted to the spot.
"This is..."
As if hearing the door open, a figure hurried out from the kitchen.
"Qiye? You're finally awake?" His auntie saw Lin Qiye emerge from the room, joy lighting up her eyes. She quickly wiped her greasy hands on her apron, about to come over, when a burning smell wafted from the pot in the kitchen...
She yelped and rushed back to the kitchen, calling out hastily:
"Wait... the food's burning!"
Watching that busy figure in the kitchen, Lin Qiye's pupils contracted slightly...
Auntie?!!
"How is this possible?" Lin Qiye stood there like a stone statue, murmuring to himself.
When he had created the Fifth Universe, he had followed the predetermined trajectory completely; otherwise, the countless causalities within the [Causeless Cause] could never have returned to the right track. Logically, everything should have returned to the time after they had killed the [Key to the Gate]... Could it be that during his return, he disturbed the timeline and directly regressed to ten years ago?
Lin Qiye didn't know what had happened. He gazed at that familiar figure, his eyes misting over... He gave up trying to figure it out and simply walked into the kitchen, tightly embracing that figure he had dreamed of day and night!
"Auntie..." Lin Qiye's voice trembled. "I'm... I'm back."
Auntie turned and looked at Lin Qiye, a tender light appearing in her eyes... She stroked his hair and said softly,
"What are you doing, child... Auntie's almost done with the cooking. Go rest outside for a bit."
"...Alright."
Lin Qiye took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen.
His heart felt heavy...
The return of auntie was certainly a good thing, but if time had truly regressed to ten years ago because of his arrival, did that mean... none of the past ten years had happened?
Those friends and comrades who should have known him... would be strangers now.
All trajectories would have been disrupted by his arrival.
What about Jialan and the others? Would they be affected?
Just as Lin Qiye was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, a voice rang out from the balcony.
"Brother."
Lin Qiye snapped back to reality and turned. A young man sat in the sunlight, cradling a wheezing mangy dog in his arms, smiling as he looked at Lin Qiye.
"A Jin??" Lin Qiye saw that face, his heart growing ever more complicated.
This A Jin had yet to awaken his memories and become Yang Jian... which meant the Great Xia Heavenly Court hadn't appeared yet?
"Brother." A Jin pointed downstairs. "Your friends are waiting for you."
Lin Qiye was stunned.
Friends?
At this point in time, what friends could he possibly have?
"Go on, Qiye. They've been waiting for you for a long time." Auntie's head poked out from the kitchen. "Remember to bring them all back for dinner later!"
Lin Qiye felt bewildered, but he still opened the door and walked down... Passing through the old, familiar hallway, sunlight finally fell before Lin Qiye's eyes. He saw six figures leaning against a car, waiting, and his body jolted!
"Qiye, you're late." An Qingyu, dressed in casual clothes, checked her watch and said helplessly, "Late by half a year."
"Do you have any idea what the past half year has been like for us?!"
Cao Yuan couldn't help but say, "This guy Pangpang keeps dragging us to eat seafood and oysters. I'm practically sick of it... No, Qiye's back today. We absolutely must have a big bowl of porridge!"
"You曹贼! The captain's finally back and you're gonna treat him to porridge? Qiye! Tonight we're having a full-course imperial banquet!"
"Imperial banquet?" Jiang Er blinked her eyes. "So, you're not planning to include Jiang Er and Sister Jialan?"
"Uh... that's not what I meant..."
Watching the group banter before him, confusion filled Lin Qiye's eyes...
"Late by half a year? Isn't this ten years ago?"
"Ten years ago?"
Baili Pangpang raised an eyebrow, as if remembering something. "Oh I get it. You've already seen auntie and A Jin, right? It's not what you think... Do you remember the Heavenly Court collected all the souls of those who perished in the Cangnan incident, wanting to resurrect them?"
"After the battle with the Cthulhu Faction ended, we cultivated a large number of artificial bodies. All those people who disappeared from Cangnan ten years ago are now back... As for that kid Yang Jian, he voluntarily left the Heavenly Court later, saying he wanted to come look after his mother."
Lin Qiye remembered now...
Before this, the Heavenly Court had indeed collected all the souls of those who vanished in the Cangnan incident, preparing to resurrect them. But then the Moon battle happened, and the entire mythology fell into slumber... Now, they had all returned.
Wait!!
A thought suddenly flashed through Lin Qiye's mind. He turned to look toward the end of this street!
If the victims of the Cangnan incident from back then had all returned...
Then what about him?
"So yeah, we still need something light to eat!"
"Fine, fine. Let's let the captain decide. I'm fine with anything..."
"What do you think, Qiye?"
Hearing their calls, Lin Qiye came back to his senses and said immediately:
"Wait here for me a moment!"
The words fell, and his figure vanished from the spot!
Under the puzzled gazes of everyone, Lin Qiye crossed several kilometers in an instant and arrived before a small shop by Peace Bridge.
The shop wasn't large, its exterior somewhat worn. To its left was an extremely festive wedding company, to its right a funeral services shop draped in white banners. This storefront sat quietly between "birth" and "death," unremarkable.
Above it hung a bright red sign reading:
— Peace Office.
Lin Qiye now stood before the door, his eyes filled with deep emotion.
Ten years.
This was where everything began, where the dream started.
The ten-year promise had been fulfilled as promised... But had the man who had initiated all of this因果 returned?
If he had, what should Lin Qiye say when he saw him?
"Hello, I am Lin Qiye, the seventh commander-in-chief of the Great Xia Night Watch... Sorry, you're not as handsome as me."
"I've guarded your world for you. We're even now."
"Long time no see... Welcome home."
"I..."
Lin Qiye stood at the door, testing out a few lines in his mind, each one being rejected... He was like a wanderer who had left home to make his fortune, about to meet a long-seen relative. His heart was filled with anticipation, yet also nervousness...
After an unknown time, he sighed.
He looked up again at the office door. The glass reflected his silhouette clearly... as if he had always been on the other side of that door.
He smiled.
Like shedding all burdens, returning to that original boy,
He stepped forward lightly, grasped the door handle, and pushed...
"—Ding Dong!"
"—Welcome!!"
...
...
(The End)