“HOLY SHT!!! THIS IS FING INSANE!!!”**

In the livestream—

Ayin’s scream pierced the mic!

And no wonder!

As a "variety gamer" streamer, Ayin had played just about everything. He'd seen it all.

But this—

When he grabbed the time-jump glove from the other half of Anderson’s corpse and flipped the switch—

He couldn’t stop himself from screaming!

Because what he saw was...

The floor shone like a mirror. The architecture looked newly built.

Swaggering down the corridor, Ayin passed through the research labs and stopped at a door with flashing red laser barriers.

In the past timeline, this place was off-limits—those red lasers were instant death.

But now—

Zoom—!

A squeeze of the glove! Time flipped!

The once-deadly laser gate was now glitching and deactivated.

Ayin walked right through, only to get blocked again—this time by a jammed electronic door.

Zoom—!

Another squeeze! Flashback to the past!

The door was as good as new. Ayin slapped the switch, and the pneumatic door whooshed open!

‘OHHHHHHHH—!!!’

The chat now fully grasped the glove’s true purpose.

This level—crafted by Lao Gou—took place in two timelines within the same facility.

In both the past and present, there were obstacles the Pilot couldn’t overcome alone.

So—what now?

Players needed to use the time-jump glove to switch back and forth between timelines, cleverly using each era to solve puzzles and fight their way forward!

Combat! And puzzle-solving!

This innovative level design? Like a technological explosion!

Because before this, no game had ever used this mechanic for environmental puzzles!

Shhh—

With the electronic door now open—

Two IMC soldiers walked straight toward him!

Their eyes met for just a second—

Then one of them reached for his gun!

RATATATATATA—!!!

Ayin knew the game was up. There was no pretending once you stormed a research facility with a gun in hand.

He acted fast—raising his own weapon and pulling the trigger:

“Didn’t see that coming, did you, bro?”

Bullets sprayed out!

The two soldiers were instantly headshotted!

At the same time, a loud alarm blared through the lab:

[ALERT! ALERT! Enemy Pilot detected! All security units, evacuate researchers and prepare to intercept!]

[Repeat: Enemy Pilot detected...]

Zoom—!

As the footsteps came rushing in, Ayin hit the glove again!

Time flipped!

Dead silence. The only sound left was the crackling of flames in the ruined, abandoned lab.

“HOLY SH*T!!!”

Ayin was genuinely blown away.

“This level is INSANE! What kind of galaxy brain does Lao Gou have to even come up with this?!”

It was mind-bending.

In this level, he was a time assassin!

Jumping between timelines, finding the best route for investigation and survival.

If—

The previous Blood and Rust mission was Golden Wind’s breakthrough in mech shooter gameplay,

And the Into the Void mission was their display of conceptual level design,

Then this one—Causality—

Was the peak fusion of mechanics and level design.

Swish—

Ayin crawled through a ruined lobby into a ventilation shaft.

No way forward in the broken future?

Zoom!

Everything was restored—crystal clear, wide open!

Blocked by spinning fan blades at the end?

Zoom!

Back to the ruined timeline. The fan was gone, replaced by shattered ductwork!

Flip—dash!

A visual feast unfolded before viewers and players alike!

Past and present flickered in contrast—chaos and calm, prosperity and ruin!

Ayin jumped between timelines like a phantom.

At one point, he even played hide-and-seek in an elevator hall, taunting the chasing IMC security forces!

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

With each shift, Ayin vanished and reappeared like a ghost—firing a shot, then disappearing to another time!

“Yang Mi asked for directions! Tied up!”

“Lu Da rocket launcher—!”

“Sis-in-law! Wu Song has something to say!”

“Yo! I’m back, bro! Where you looking?”

“Whoop—back to the past!”

“Here again! Hit me if you can, dummy!”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA—”

BANG!

Finally, on one of his troll-jumps, Ayin picked the wrong time and poofed right into the barrel of an IMC soldier’s gun.

Gunfire. Silence.

The stream burst into laughter!

“Serves you right!”

“Hahaha that's what you get for trolling.”

“Now I see how Anderson got clipped into the wall.”

“Streamer genius.”

“IMC: Never heard a weirder request.”

“He phase-shifted INTO the muzzle.”

“Resistance Fleet Safety Tip: Always follow time-travel safety protocols or die like Anderson.”

“HAHAHAHA damn…”

The unparalleled level design had every streamer on the platform losing their minds!

And as the story progressed, IMC’s grand conspiracy was finally exposed.

The Ark—was actually a massive blue energy core pulsing with unstable power.

No one knew where it came from, but IMC had discovered its power to fold space-time.

If weaponized—it could obliterate entire planets.

This lab was where IMC once studied the Ark.

The Ark had been moved, but BT could scan its location from the past timeline.

Once the players understood, they sprang into action.

But IMC had caught on, too—splitting forces to hold off Cooper and move the Ark!

[He’s over there! Fire!]

[Target sighted! Engage!]

[We lost him! He’s heading to the factory!]

[Target reacquired! Focus fire! Don’t let him through!]

Bullets flew!

Chasers closed in!

Zoom! Zoom!

Jumping between timelines, Ayin sprinted into a massive factory complex.

In the present, it was ablaze with roaring explosions.

In the past, fire chased him from behind—danger at every turn!

Under this dual assault—

Zoom!

He flicked to the present—

Zoom!

Then flicked back to the past!

In the present, the factory was burning—smoke and flame casting a searing orange glow.

In the past, the factory was freezing cold—ice blue fog seeped into every crevice.

The present was a fiery graveyard—exploding, but empty.

The past was a frozen battlefield—frigid, but filled with bullets.

Amid this sharp contrast, Ayin dashed through like a phantom in glowing blue armor!

Zoom!

He leapt through the crimson inferno—

Zoom!

He landed in icy mist!

Zoom!

He soared through the fiery silence—

Zoom!

He dodged bullets in the frozen past!

Fire licked at his heels. Bullets nipped at his sides.

He raced through red and blue. He charged through fire and frost.

He ran along steaming walls, leaped off icy ledges—

In the narrow corridor of time, he danced—offering the game world a dazzling ballet of time travel!

BOOM!!!

As a massive explosion roared behind him, BT’s solid arm reached out. The cockpit hissed open!

[Switching to Pilot Mode!]

Amid the thunder of cannons, Ayin finally saw the Ark in the past timeline—

Within a dual-ringed mechanism, a blazing energy orb floated—a water-blue mini sun.

This—was the source of it all.

At this moment, Ayin wasn’t just a grunt—

He was the Proxy Pilot of BT-7274, heir to Lastimosa, the successor to Major Anderson’s mission!

“BT! We need to get to it!”

But now, IMC’s entire security division had hit the field!

Grunts, Reaper mechs, and enemy Titans rushed in!

There was no time—scan the Ark, now!

[BT: We need to lower the drawbridge to reach the Ark. I've marked the control room, Pilot.]

Looking up, Ayin spotted a white-walled red-roofed control room near the Ark.

“...Cover me!”

Leaping off BT, he dodged closed doors with perfect time-jumps, reached the console, and drew his data knife.

Ka-chunk!

He popped open the panel. The knife slid in. The handle displayed the decryption progress—

[Decrypting... 10%... 30%... 50%...]

The bar climbed—but enemy fire intensified!

BT held the line—cannons blazing, shields popping!

Explosions rocked the ground—Ayin’s ears rang!

The entire control room shuddered, about to collapse—

[Ka-chunk! 100%]

Decryption complete!

Ayin cheered, withdrew his knife—

Then—

Zzzzt—WHOOOSH!

A sudden missile scream!

Ayin turned—

A missile from an enemy Titan was flying straight at him!

BT’s shield—on cooldown!

Sh*t.

If it hit—he’d be vaporized!

At that moment—

WHUMP!

BT turned, kneeling in front of the door!

His massive body took the full brunt of the missile!

BOOOOOOM—!!!

Explosions and fire everywhere!

BT wobbled from the blast—

But didn’t flinch. He opened the cockpit.

[BT: Trust me.]

In that instant, every Pilot understood—

Why Lastimosa always called BT “he,” not “it.”

“F*ing legend! My guy!”**

Ayin gave a massive thumbs up and jumped into the cockpit!

He switched to Ronin Mode.

Cutting through the battlefield, enemies fell like wheat!

One last Titan blocked the bridge—barely holding on!

[Sword Core—Activated!]

SHINK—CLANG!

The alloy greatsword, once belonging to Ash and now claimed by Ayin, gleamed in the Ark’s light.

SWOOSH—!!!

The blade split the enemy Titan’s armor open!

One sweeping strike—

The sword cleaved the enemy clean through the waist!

Then—

BT stepped forward, raised the sword high, and drove it down hard!

SCREEECH—!

Metal screamed!

BOOM!!!

[Enemy Titan eliminated!]

Epic!

But—no time to celebrate.

The Ark was right there—they had to scan it!

Just as Ayin crossed the bridge—

The Ark began to tremble violently!

IMC chatter blared in his headset:

[IMC Scientist: Oh no! The Ark’s stability is collapsing!]

[Security Team: Evacuate! Everyone get away from the Ark now!]

[IMC Scientist: It’s overloading! Retreat! RET—]

ZOOOOOOOM—!!!

A flash of white!

Every sound vanished.

Only Ayin’s own breathing remained:

“Huff—huff—huff—”

When the blinding light faded—

“BT? BT? B—”

Ayin opened his eyes.

Ahead of him was the drawbridge. At its end—the Ark.

But now—

Everything was frozen in time.

Explosions suspended in mid-air.

The twin-ring structure disintegrating.

Missiles frozen mid-flight. Energy beams locked in crimson arcs.

Behind him, BT was caught mid-slide, charging forward through a wall of fire—scarred, yet unyielding.

Tap.

Ayin had no words.

Because this level—

Was too powerful to describe.

He stepped forward.

Footsteps echoed in frozen time.

He walked past IMC soldiers frozen mid-dodge, mid-death, mid-shout.

Debris hung in the air. Even shockwaves shimmered visibly.

At this moment—gaming had reached peak artistry.

Ayin soared upward, landing beside the Ark on a chunk of frozen rubble.

He turned back—

And saw a magnificent sci-fi masterpiece unfold before him.

Time distortions. Time travel.

Past and present—merged in perfect harmony.

Every streamer who reached this point—fell completely silent.

The chat? Dead quiet.

Meanwhile—

Thousands of kilometers away, Xu Xiaolin and Zhou Ting, in their own pods, stood up in unison.

Their eyes reflected the same feelings—

Awe. Confusion. Dread. Shock.

This moment—

Gameplay, design, artistry—

Three rivers flowing separately, now merged into one.

CRACK—

A clear snap echoed across everyone’s minds.

It was the sound of the game design ceiling breaking.

As frozen fragments fell, a new milestone rose.

After a long, long pause—

Xu Xiaolin trembled, barely whispering as he shook his head, trying to process what he'd just seen.

“This is…”

“The greatest level in gaming history.”

The next moment—

Time resumed.

A massive shockwave slammed the player backward—

And that force didn’t stop.

In the blink of an eye—

It spread from one sensory pod to another, from one stream to the next, engulfing the entire gaming world—

It exploded.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com