147: Chapter 147 Many Children, Many Blessings: All Materials Complete

The sunlight dispersed the night, but it could not dispel the haze in Li Taiping's heart.

Like an emotionless robot, he mechanically repeated the motions of bending over and picking things up.

One piece of loot after another, shimmering with a faint blue light, was stored into his personal space.

[Excellent Grade Fuel Filter]

[Excellent Grade Power Engine]

[Excellent Grade High-Precision Nautical Compass]

...

These were all core components necessary for the Many Children, Many Blessings to promote to a Rank 5 battleship.

Before entering this dungeon, he had worried about these things, even venturing into the Abyssal Sea Region to search for hidden dungeons.

But now, these treasures he once dreamed of were piled up before him so easily.

A lot had dropped, a great deal.

Li Taiping didn't bother to count them carefully.

He just took a cursory glance; there were more than ten of every core component.

It was enough.

Everything was there.

It even far exceeded the amount required for the promotion.

This meant that as long as he could leave this damned dungeon, the Many Children, Many Blessings could immediately be promoted to a Rank 5 battleship.

This meant he could unlock four new crew slots—four girls with vastly different builds, looks, and personalities.

This meant there were four brand-new Talent blind boxes full of infinite possibilities waiting for him to open.

many children, many blessings.

His core Talent, the foundation of his existence, could finally achieve another qualitative leap.

However.

Li Taiping couldn't feel even a shred of joy in his heart.

He numbly stored the last item into his space and then just stood there, stiffly, staring blankly.

The sunlight shone on him, casting a very long shadow.

Within that shadow, there was an indescribable sense of loneliness and desolation.

Did he win?

Looking at the results, he had won.

Not only had he completed all his objectives for entering the dungeon, but he had even over-delivered on the tasks.

His personal strength had also, through a blessing in disguise amidst this intense emotional upheaval, broken through to the half-step epic grade realm in one fell swoop.

Whether it was his personal combat power or the future development of his team, everything had reached a brand-new level.

But he always felt as if he had lost.

Lost utterly and completely.

He had lost something that all the treasures in the world could not buy back.

Time passed, second by second.

On the system panel, the cold dungeon countdown ticked away mercilessly.

[08:13:45]

[08:13:44]

...

Li Taiping was like a puppet whose soul had been extracted, showing no reaction to any of this.

He didn't want to move, nor did he want to think.

He just wanted to stand there like that, until the end of time, until this damned dungeon kicked him out.

However, just as his heart was as cold as ashes and he was ready to give up completely.

Pop—

An extremely faint sound, like a bubble bursting, quietly echoed in the deepest part of his soul.

Immediately after, a mysterious and indescribable sensation spread through his entire body.

That was a leap in the level of life.

It was a sublimation of breaking shackles and shaking off chains.

There was no warning, no earth-shattering phenomenon, not even a ripple of energy.

Just like that, abruptly and calmly,

the bottleneck that could trouble countless peak Excellent Grade experts, like a natural chasm,

was simply... broken.

epic grade, achieved!

Normally, such a long-awaited breakthrough would have been enough to make Li Taiping jump for joy.

But now, there wasn't even a ripple of emotion on his face.

He merely raised his hand, looked at his skin which had become more translucent as if it contained a sea of stars, and then let it drop weakly again.

“I've reached the epic grade...”

He murmured sorrowfully to himself, his voice filled with endless fatigue and desolation.

“So what?”

“What's gone can never be recovered.”

“Missing it... means missing it forever.”

Yes, missed.

If he could have believed her a bit sooner, if he could have discovered her extraordinariness a bit sooner, if he could have said “I believe you” to her a bit sooner.

Would the ending have been different?

But there are no “ifs.”

“The dungeon is fake, but the feelings are real.”

Li Taiping smiled bitterly.

He finally understood the weight of those words.

Su Jie might just be a string of data in this dungeon world.

But the flutter she gave him, the guilt, the heart-wrenching pain—those were all very real.

In a sense, perhaps... he was lucky.

Li Taiping, you are truly lucky.

At least, in this cold and cruel Survival World, he had once received a love so pure it was untainted by any self-interest.

Even if this love only existed within a fake dungeon.

Even if this love was as brief as a brilliant firework display.

Li Taiping slowly closed his eyes, preparing to accept this cruel reality.

However.

At that moment.

A voice identical to his own, yet carrying a hint of mockery and playfulness, rang out behind him without warning.

“Do you want to see your wife?”

...