56: Chapter 56 What you fear isn't death, it's not being able to save me.

A bone-chilling cold and a scorching, intense pain erupted simultaneously behind Chen Fan. The Mirror Slave's attack showed no mercy. That light seemed not to be energy, but solidified despair, aiming to erode every inch of his bone structure into nothingness.

"Pfft—-"

A mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments sprayed out. Chen Fan's body violently arched. His Health Value flashed wildly in the corner of his vision, instantly dropping from 15% to 10%, and then, under the mandatory regeneration of 【Defense Critical Hit × 2】, it was dragged back to 12% in an even more agonizing manner.

His bones emitted a grating "kaka" sound in the cycle of shattering and rebirth, as if they could completely disintegrate at any moment.

"Did you see that? This is your destiny!" The shadowy figure of Old Horse Head, transformed from the heart nightmare, swelled opposite him. His laughter was sharp and piercing, filled with twisted triumph. "You can't save anyone! You couldn't save Old Li at the construction site, and here, you can't save her either! Every time you step forward, it's just to admire a feast of death from up close! The System loves watching a clown like you perform!"

Illusions surged into his mind like a tide. Old Li's desperate eyes when he was buried by the collapse overlapped with Su Shuang's faint cry of "Brother Fan... let me go..." just before she turned to ash in the mirror. This combined into the most vicious curse, intent on completely crushing his will.

Chen Fan's consciousness began to blur, but he gritted his teeth tightly, using the last trace of his strength to hold Su Shuang closer to his chest.

He could feel her body trembling, not from fear, but from accumulating power.

"Don't believe... don't listen..." Su Shuang's voice sounded from his embrace, faint yet firm, like a faint glimmer piercing the darkness.

On her fingertips, that weak Fox Fire was growing brilliant at an astonishing speed. A strange energy fluctuation was slowly transmitting towards him along their tightly pressed bodies.

This was the "Energy Delayed Transmission" mentioned in the System prompt!

Chen Fan roared in his heart, his mental power concentrating like never before.

He wasn't waiting to die; he was waiting for a moment—a moment to detonate all the despair, anger, and unwillingness!

"Wait for me—I'll blow up for you to see!"

He let out a hoarse roar, filled with endless ferocity, toward the laughing shadow of the heart nightmare.

This sound did not seem like something a human could produce; it was more like the final counterattack unleashed by a beast driven into a corner before its life is extinguished!

The heart nightmare's laughter faltered. It saw something in Chen Fan's eyes that shouldn't exist—it wasn't despair, but a madness ready for mutual destruction!

"A dying struggle!" The Mirror Slave's cold voice rang out. The light from the double-sided mirror intensified, preparing to deliver the final blow.

However, now was the time!

The five-second delay felt as long as a century, yet it abruptly stopped at this very moment!

Su Shuang's tightly closed eyes snapped open. Within those Fox Pupils, it seemed as if a river of stars was flowing, and the intent of enchantment soared to its peak!

She did not direct the power toward the Mirror Slave but poured the 【Charm Critical Hit × 2】 energy, driven to its absolute limit, entirely into Chen Fan's body before her!

"Brother Fan!"

A clear shout, like the cry of a phoenix!

Almost simultaneously, the power Chen Fan had long accumulated erupted like a volcanic explosion!

He felt a gentle yet domineering power surge into him from behind, perfectly merging with the violent critical hit energy within his own body!

This was not a simple addition where one plus one equals two; it was a qualitative transformation!

His fist, which was originally just flesh and blood, now seemed plated with a layer of shimmering, iridescent glaze. Su Shuang's charm power intertwined with his Rule Critical Hit power, forming an unprecedented new force!

【Cooperative Critical Hit + Rule Critical Hit Stacking】!

The System's prompt sounded in his ears, but Chen Fan could no longer hear it.

In his world, only the face of the Mirror Slave, frozen in astonishment, remained before him, along with the countless bronze mirrors behind it reflecting tragic endings.

"Shatter—for me!"

There were no flashy moves, only a simple, unadorned straight punch that contained the complete faith and power of both of them!

Where the fist swept past, space let out a mournful cry of being unable to bear the burden.

The air was compressed by extreme force, forming visible ripples, which then violently exploded!

"Boom—!!!"

A massive sound—not the sound of impact, but the tearing sound of space being directly pierced through!

Chen Fan's fist pierced through the first bronze mirror without any obstruction.

In the mirror, the image of Su Shuang turning to ash instantly froze, then twisted and shattered like a stone cast into a water surface!

The remaining force undiminished, the punch wind, like a dragon, pierced through the second bronze mirror.

In that mirror, Chen Fan's solitary figure standing atop the Starlight Tower instantly collapsed!

Next was the third mirror!

The tragedy reflected in the third mirror—the couple retreating to live in seclusion only to be purified by a pillar of heavenly light—also turned to dust under this single punch!

"No... Impossible! This is the rule of the Abyss's bottom..." Fear appeared on the Mirror Slave's face for the first time. Its body was constituted by the rules of this space; if the mirror shatters, its body perishes!

It tried to retreat but found its body rigidly locked by an invisible force, forced to watch as the fist, which had merged the seductive light of the Nine-Tailed Fox with the destructive power of the critical hit system, magnified in its pupils.

"Crack... crack..."

Cracks spread from the Mirror Slave's chest, instantly covering its entire body.

"Ah—!" The heart nightmare's miserable scream echoed from within the Mirror Slave's body. The shadowy figure shaped like Old Horse Head was violently stripped out of the Mirror Slave's body, torn to shreds by the raging punch wind, finally turning into a wisp of black smoke that fled into the depths of the distorted space with a scream.

Following the heart nightmare's escape, the Mirror Slave completely lost its support and shattered into countless light specks with a crisp lament.

All the surrounding moving bronze mirrors, as if having lost their core, simultaneously froze, cracked, and then chained-shattered one after another like dominoes.

【Ding!

The Twin Critical Hit Module has initially synchronized; the shared energy transmission delay has been increased to 1.2 seconds.】

【Warning: The Mirror Core of the Abyss's Bottom has shattered; the current space is about to collapse!】

The cold System prompt pulled Chen Fan back to reality.

He panted heavily, his body swaying precariously, but he still managed to stand firm.

He slowly lowered his arm and turned to look at Su Shuang in his embrace.

Su Shuang's face was as pale as paper; it was clear that the previous strike had exhausted all her strength, but her eyes were astonishingly bright.

The two looked at each other, seeing the relief of surviving a disaster and an unprecedented level of trust in the other's eyes.

Just then, the last fragment of the dissipating mirror reflected their current figures.

In that image, Chen Fan was still Chen Fan, and Su Shuang was still Su Shuang.

But behind them were two huge, indistinct phantom figures.

One was an iron fist burning with crimson flames, filled with an overbearing power capable of destroying heaven and earth; the other was the elegant and sacred shadow of a Nine-Tailed Fox, whose swaying fox tail seemed capable of bewitching all living beings.

Fist and Fox, Power and Charm, Hardness and Softness, were perfectly merged at this moment, forming a breathtaking tableau.

However, this moment of tranquility did not last long.

With the complete demise of the Mirror Slave, the entire space began to tremble violently.

The solid ground beneath their feet started to become illusory and transparent, as if a thin sheet of ice was rapidly melting.

The sky above was no longer hazy gray but revealed a deeper, more heart-palpitating vortex of darkness.

"Not good! This place is going to collapse!" Chen Fan grabbed Su Shuang's hand, his gaze scanning their surroundings warily.

The collapse was accelerating!

Countless shattered mirror pieces were sucked into the dark vortex above, emitting wails of being crushed.

The ground beneath their feet had completely vanished, replaced by an unfathomable, pitch-black void.

A massive suction force came from below, pulling them down into the fall.

The two instantly lost weight and plummeted straight toward that unknown abyss.

A harsh gale whistled past their ears. All around was complete, pure darkness, with not even a trace of light.

This place seemed to be the bottom of the Mirror Lake World, a void untouched even by light and rules.

Falling, endless falling.

Just as they were about to be completely swallowed by the darkness, Chen Fan's critical hit system vibrated once more without any warning.

A line of scarlet text, entirely different from any previous prompt, suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

【Detecting resonance with 'Abyss Seed'... Attempting connection...】