As in the past, the whole person was once again submerged in the water.

The cold sea water enveloped the whole body, and the stimulated body couldn't help but tremble, but after this slight movement, even if you want to move your body, you can't get any kind of feedback.

Gravity continued to pull Gu Wu into the depths of the sea, and he didn't feel the pain caused by the water pressure in the dark, but the violent tinnitus made him feel dizzy, as if his stomach was cramping and made people want to retch.

However, the nerves in his body did not completely convey such thoughts, and Gu Wu just felt a strange torture without doing anything.

At this moment, Gu Wu seemed to be looking at himself in the abyss of the sea from a 'third-person perspective'......

If you touch it with your hand, it will pierce through it like a ghost;

If you shout loudly, you will feel the pain of being choked in your throat.

Where is it?

It can be sure that it is in a dream, or it can be seen as a fantasy world, and at the same time, it is also a reality that only belongs to Gu Wu alone.

Recalling his previous experience, he tried his best to complete the final task of the system, but he was still calculated by Akihiko Kayaba, resulting in him not defeating the boss of the defending layer and being forced into a tricky situation of head-on confrontation.

Gu Wu was sure that his attack would be able to kill the defending boss at that time, but the problem was that the boss's HP was mostly locked by Kayaba Jinghiko, and the excessive damage would be 'ignored'.

The first blow had not yet reached the trigger stage, but the second blow triggered that kind of protection mechanism, making Gu Wu's 'Replication Ability Defeat Battle' end in failure.

From this point of view, Akihiko Kayaba seems to also have a 'gentle' side.

After all, he didn't completely lock the HP of the boss on the guard layer, and only activated that setting the second time Gu Wu succeeded, leaving some HP for Gu Wu to challenge when he returned to his normal state.

Did Akihiko Kayaba do it on purpose?

Gu Wu thought that it must have been deliberate, but it was just ...... Why?

If you see yourself as an outsider as a threat, why leave a chance?

Or is it ...... That Akihiko Kayaba saw the possibility in herself?

Maybe no one understands the idea of geniuses, and people like them are lonely and incomprehensible beings.

For this reason, Gu Wu was more concerned about what he was going to do next than to understand his thoughts.

Soon a slight sound sounded, it was the sound effect of the sinking Gu Wu's body after it hit the bottom of the sea, and Gu Wu, who had witnessed everything, approached his body like a soul.

I can't touch it, but I can feel the coldness......

Are you going to die?

Unlikely...... Because in the battle not long ago, Gu Wu can be sure that he cooperates well with the protagonists and will not do it alone.

What's more, Gu Wu thought that the boss at that time had already been defeated, so the threat that befell him had disappeared, and there would be no life-threatening things approaching him.

Wait, maybe that's why......

At the moment when the boss of the ninety-ninth floor, "Divine Ruler", was killed and the system prompted it, Gu Wu's tight string suddenly broke......

The reason for this is that -

Gu Wu's mission is to 'defeat the boss alone', which means that no matter how powerful his companion is, it is no different from a stranger to him.

The only one who can go to the end is Gu Wu, who has undertaken the 'final task' of the system, and the others are more like 'interference' than 'companions'.

After all, once someone messes into Gu Wu's battle, it is equivalent to indirectly announcing the failure of the mission, unless Gu Wu uses his strength to kill everyone, and then challenges again.

But how can it be that simple?

Gu Wu is not an evil demon king, nor is he an emotionless beast, although he will sacrifice the interests of others for his own interests, but it is almost impossible to kill everyone, including the protagonist.

At this point, Gu Wu may have another chance, but he will fight with Kayaba Jinghiko SOLO and defeat him, the difficulty of this task can be imagined.

And before that, Gu Wu, who violated the agreement and ignored the rules, may not have a next chance, as the GM Kayaba Jinghiko must know everything that happened, and it is likely that Gu Wu will be banned directly and take away all his rights.

Of course, those are also afterthoughts, and the most important thing for Gu Wu now is ...... He survived.

However, because the tense nerves suddenly relaxed, the whole person entered a state of detachment, and even his consciousness became blurred.

I see......

Gu Wu thought of the reason why all this happened.

From the beginning of the mission, he had only one idea, and that was to 'fight alone'.

It was true that he cooperated with others to complete the exploration task together, but in the end, Gu Wu was the only one to solve.

You can't rely too much on others, you can't trust the strength of others, this is not arrogance, nor is it looking down on those excellent fighters, it's just Gu Wu's means to remind himself.

The strength of others has nothing to do with himself, after all, Gu Wu can only be considered a success of the mission if he defeats the boss alone, and other situations will be regarded as failures.

The road ahead is very wide, and Gu Wu is the only one who can step on it and fall on it.

How to defeat the enemy alone, how to complete the task alone, these are all questions that Gu Wu has been thinking about.

The results are now......

He suddenly became no longer fighting alone.

With someone behind him, a companion on the side, and a strong supporter on the front to attack the enemy, Gu Wu's pressure dropped sharply, and it suddenly became much easier.

Now, maybe you don't have to work so hard.

Thereupon...... It was as if the propped up body had lost its ability to move, desperate to get some rest.

This reminded Gu Wu of his previous days as an agent.

He does like to be behind the scenes, and he doesn't really like to show himself in front of the stage, but judging by what is happening at the moment, another thing he liked at the time was that he had people he could trust.

The talented Eiri and Kasumigaoka will not disappoint, and the strong beliefs of Allen and Kaneki will not give up halfway.

Because he has a strong enough companion, he can stay behind the scenes with peace of mind.

As an agent, Gu Wu is supporting them at the same time, but also being supported by them.

That's what defines 'people' – supporting each other.

However, if it is placed abroad, this kind of chicken soup does not seem to be of much use.

There was also Gu Wu, who had a lot of fun, tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were as heavy as iron, and Gu Wu continued to be imprisoned in the empty darkness.

There was the sound of water running and bubbles floating.

Can I move?

It's time to move, right?!

Mobilizing the limbs of his body, Gu Wu used all his strength to move everywhere, obviously at the bottom of the sea, but he felt that sweat soaked his whole body.

Sure enough, in a dream, it has such a fantastic feeling.

Suddenly, Gu Wu shook violently.

The tinnitus that had disappeared before also announced its return, stirring the eardrums and covering all sounds from the outside world.

It's just that the sound that seems to hit the bones gradually reaches the ears.

Bang——!

Bang——!!

Finally, there is the shaking that shakes the world!

Gu Wu, who suddenly opened his eyes, breathed heavily like a drowning man.

Once his breathing had calmed down, he looked near him.

It's familiar players.

"Where's the boss?"

"Was this the first thing I said when I woke up? The boss has been defeated by everyone! ”

The person who answered Gu Wu like this was Ayaka Terasawa, who still had a fifth of her HP left, and it seemed that she had won in a rather dangerous situation.

"Obviously, Mr. Gu Wu also participated in the battle."

"I'm sorry, my memory is a little blurry."

Hearing Terazawa Ayaka say this, Gu Wu couldn't help but knock on his head, and this action was quickly stopped by the girl beside him.

"Anyway, just think about it later! Next, a few high-level players in the strategy group are going to celebrate, and Mr. Gu Wu's appearance is estimated to be ......"

"Well...... I'll go back and rest. ”

"Then I'll send ......"

"No need, Miss Terazawa, I'll be alone."

Terazawa didn't insist, she was a direct and straightforward person, after hearing Gu Wu's refusal, she said a few more words to pay attention to safety and rest, and then stepped aside.

In other positions, Asuna breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Gu Wu wake up, and Kirito on the side smiled as she carried her sword.

"Mr. Gu Wu, let's take a break, we'll talk about the details later."

"Thank you for ......"

Gu Wu then thanked Asuna, Klein and the others one by one, after all, with their support, Gu Wu was able to survive.

Mission failure is failure, Kirito is not wrong with what they did, it is not that they need to be reprimanded for their actions.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Gu Wu left the boss room and teleported from the portal on the hundredth floor to the block of the temporary residence on the ninety-ninth floor.

Walk through familiar neighborhoods, walk past NPCs you've seen a few times, and fend off the hotel.

Since he had already paid for many days, Gu Wu had always had the privilege of the innermost room on the second floor.

Gu Wu, who was physically and mentally exhausted, let out a sigh on the stairs, and stared at the moonlit night outside for a while as he passed through the corridor, before opening the door to his room.

And the moment you open the door......

The first thing you feel is the wind.

The completely open windows were blown up by the wind, and when the night breeze that poured into the house went around and was about to go out, Gu Wu just opened the door, causing them to find a vent and immediately gush out of the door.

Listening to the howling of the wind, Gu Wu closed the door after entering the room.

On the north side of the round table in the center, a person sits on a chair near the window.

The man was facing Gu Wu, but because his back was to the moonlight, his face was covered by shadows, and he couldn't see his face, so naturally he couldn't see his expression.

Is it anger? Is it curious? Is it a worry? Is it dissatisfaction? Or is it the least likely to be happy?

Gu Wu, who was thinking, walked forward, even if he was physically and mentally exhausted, he adjusted his form by taking deep breaths.

Naturally, there is no need to describe in detail who the person who can come here, after all, it is impossible for ordinary players to have such permissions.

So Gu Wuye sat down on the only chair and stared at the man across the table.

"Good evening, Mr. Akihiko Kayaba."

Ayn Grant's GM Kayaba Akihiko appeared in front of Gu Wu.

"Hello, Outsider."

Akihiko Kayaba, who had finished responding, did not stop speaking

"You broke the agreement, that is...... I'm not going to let you go on any longer. ”

Looking at the man in front of him, Gu Wu knew that the worst had happened......

————

The only thing left in the room where the night breeze swept through was the sound of air currents.

However, the uninvited guest, Kayaba Jinghiko, quickly broke the silence, and he continued to talk about his thoughts in the face of Gu Wu, who did not answer.

"The Ninety-Ninth Floor should never have been attacked so easily, and you are the main culprit in this situation; Surely you haven't forgotten your promise, right? I won't use the 'ability' to modify the damage stat again, which is the only reason I let you stay in this world, and now you've broken that promise and torn up our agreement. ”

After saying this, Akihiko Kayaba did not forget to raise his doubts.

"I didn't find any anomalies in the database, and I didn't receive feedback from the system, how exactly did you interfere with the world? If someone from outside is connected through your terminal, the flow of data is something that is impossible to hide, after all, you need a 'bridge' that assumes that the two are connected. ”

Akihiko Kayaba is a game developer, and he is also a programmer, so he is not curious and unlikely about the abnormal power that Gu Wu possesses.

"Since I don't know how you modify your own data, I added 'damage correction for you alone' to the boss, and when the target is you, the damage settlement will be reduced by the normal value, but my judgment is still a step slower."

"Not only did it modify my damage, but it also locked my blood, right?"

"It's just locked the most basic HP, and it's more for your individual weakening, so tell me...... How exactly do you do that? ”

Hearing this question, Gu Wu explained

"Just as Mr. Kayaba created this fantasy world, in my world, there are forces that do not belong here."

"What do you mean by the transfer of data? But the original system is definitely different, and I want to reproduce the ...... of different databases."

"No," "I didn't find any anomalies in the database, and I didn't receive feedback from the system, how exactly did you interfere with the world?" If someone from outside is connected through your terminal, the flow of data is something that is impossible to hide, after all, you need a 'bridge' that assumes that the two are connected. ”

Akihiko Kayaba is a game developer, and he is also a programmer, so he is not curious and unlikely about the abnormal power that Gu Wu possesses.

"Since I don't know how you modify your own data, I added 'damage correction for you alone' to the boss, and when the target is you, the damage settlement will be reduced by the normal value, but my judgment is still a step slower."

"Not only did it modify my damage, but it also locked my blood, right?"

"It's just locked the most basic HP, and it's more for your individual weakening, so tell me...... How exactly do you do that? ”

Hearing this question, Gu Wu explained

"Just as Mr. Kayaba created this fantasy world, in my world, there are forces that do not belong here."

"What do you mean by the transfer of data? But the original system is definitely different, and I want to reproduce the ...... of different databases."

"No,"