The Rule-Breaker of the Doomsday Game

The so-called "Sun in a Bottle" project was meant to completely restrain the sun using an unknown technology, all for the benefit of the upper class.

This would allow them to further control the middle and lower classes, ensuring that power would never fall into the hands of the common people. As the elite, they would forever enjoy the benefits of the sun, energy, and all related privileges.

Furthermore, the Sun in a Bottle was said to possess the power to grant eternal life and immense strength.

It was just like if praying to gods and buddhas actually worked; the lower and middle classes wouldn’t even be able to get a foot in the door.

"Seriously? You little runts couldn’t even make it off-world, so how did you come up with a plan to restrain the sun?"

"And you wanted to be kings of the universe..."

Qi Suian reviewed the contents of the file.

The whereabouts of the unknown technology for the Sun in a Bottle were missing. According to the file, the upper-class society that had intended to control the sun was ultimately overthrown.

The investigation revealed that after their plan failed, the members of the upper class activated the unknown technology directly, which ultimately caused the sun itself to change.

Even the stagnation of the Horizon Realm was connected to this event.

"What can I say... they were really asking for it."

And this Mantle Sanctuary was, in fact, also one of the outcomes of the Sun in a Bottle project.

"So, the question is, where did the unknown technology for the Sun in a Bottle come from?" Qi Suian asked.

The file described this unknown technology as non-human in origin, its source untraceable.

[Possible origins include cosmic deities, life from an Otherworld, a gift from a higher dimension, and so on.]

[They mastered a power far beyond their own level, but their ambition was not matched by their foresight. This ultimately led to the apocalypse.]

"If the Sun in a Bottle’s unknown technology actually worked, then why is the sun still there? Logically, it should have been restrained by now."

"Instead, it’s uncharacteristically providing ample warmth to everyone. It’s like it was activated but didn’t quite work completely."

Qi Suian spoke as he continued to look through other archival files.

"I suspect the so-called ’Sun in a Bottle’ might not be a technology, but is meant in the most literal sense," Qi Suian said.

[Are you suggesting that when the unknown technology was activated, the sun and the Horizon Realm were placed inside a bottle?]

"Exactly. The entire Horizon Realm and the sun might just be part of some sort of diorama," Qi Suian said softly.

[Your hypothesis is... interesting.]

The AI didn’t really agree with Qi Suian’s speculation, finding it far too absurd.

Qi Suian didn’t demand the AI believe him; after all, it was just a guess.

"Or, to be more blunt, the real sun was put in a bottle, and it’s now *in* the Horizon Realm, not in the universe."

[I find your previous theory, that the sun and the Horizon Realm were put into a bottle together, more plausible.]

[After all, that would involve a powerful entity, and such a being could certainly accomplish it.]

[But for a group of humans who couldn’t even leave the planet’s surface to somehow bottle up the sun as a collectible... there’s simply no logic in that.]

"Alright, you have a point."

"I was just thinking out loud."

"But if this Sun in a Bottle really exists, where do you think it would be?" Qi Suian asked.

[Within this Mantle Sanctuary.]

[According to the archives, this was meant to be a place to preserve the embers of humanity, gathering elites and skilled workers from every industry.]

"Right, here. But that’s only if the Sun in a Bottle was obtained by the people who overthrew the upper class."

"According to the plans and specifications, the Mantle Sanctuary should have been completely self-sufficient, in terms of both its ecosystem and its resources."

"And with the personnel it housed, surviving for a century should have been no problem at all."

"And yet, the humans on the surface managed to survive in such a harsh environment, while everyone in the Mantle Sanctuary died."

"Moreover, judging by the state of the dead, they were trying to flee the Mantle Sanctuary."

"This implies something was running rampant inside the Mantle Sanctuary, something that terrified them."

Qi Suian had deduced a fair bit of information.

[A coup, a power struggle, a plague... any of these could be the cause.]

"So, let’s head to the central control room. We’ll see if we can restore the old surveillance systems."

Qi Suian didn’t want to waste time guessing. If he could get the system running, he could see what happened for himself.

If he couldn’t, he planned to give the place a thorough search before leaving.

The extreme heat of the Polar Day World was definitely more complex than it seemed, especially with this ’Sun in a Bottle’ business.

It was like the zombie virus in the Profound World. If he hadn’t gone to Outer Space and seen the corpse of the Profound God, he never would have figured out the truth behind it.

’None of the Doomsday Worlds chosen by this ’Doomsday Game’ are ever straightforward...’

Qi Suian grumbled to himself.

’Then again, survivors only have to worry about surviving. A violator like me has to consider so much more.’

’Besides watching out for natives and other survivors, I also have to dig deep into the lore of each apocalypse.’

’Tch. I can’t even imagine how much value I’d be creating for the Doomsday Game if I were a regular survivor instead of a violator.’

After his bout of complaining, Qi Suian continued to follow the Tai Sui God, venturing deeper into the Mantle Sanctuary.

According to his route, the next destination was the central control center.

After a bit of maintenance, he managed to temporarily restore power.

[Surveillance archives restored. However, due to some form of electromagnetic interference, the footage cannot be played back in its entirety.]

"I bet it’s the protagonist’s plot armor acting up. After all, the hero always has to deal with cryptic nonsense."

[Attempting repairs...]

"Good thing I have you to conquer the impossible for me. Otherwise, I’d be running around looking for fuses like I’m in a horror game." Qi Suian’s tone lightened when he saw the AI could fix it.

Soon, the surveillance footage was restored.

After watching it, Qi Suian’s expression was strange.

"I can see these people were being chased, and from their behavior, I can tell something was pursuing them."

"But where *is* it?" Qi Suian asked.

[The special organism possesses some form of shielding, preventing effective observation by electronic equipment.]

[However, it is certain that said organism has not left the Mantle Sanctuary.]

[There is a thirty percent probability that the organism is a former member of the upper class who mutated via the Sun in a Bottle technology.]

[There is a thirty percent probability that it is the being that provided the Sun in a Bottle technology.]

[There is a thirty percent probability that it is a creature mutated by the Sun in a Bottle.]

[There is a ten percent probability of other possibilities.]

"So, there’s a chance the reconnaissance network and satellites can’t detect these special creatures." Qi Suian’s heart sank.

It was the first time he’d encountered such a tricky enemy.

Information superiority was Qi Suian’s key to success.

Combined with the similar capabilities of his Shadow Navigator unit, his advantage was usually overwhelming.

But now that his enemy shared that same advantage, things had just gotten a lot more troublesome for him.

[No anomalies currently detected within the reconnaissance network’s range.]

The AI couldn’t be certain either; the reconnaissance network was one of its primary means of external perception.

If the network showed nothing, then the AI couldn’t detect anything either.

"Keep fast-forwarding the footage," Qi Suian said.

The surveillance system had a three-day recording loop, so he wasn’t too worried.

"These special creatures appeared suddenly and across a wide area. The sanctuary’s defenses collapsed almost instantly."

"But they came and went quickly. One wave was enough to destroy the entire ecological balance and resource chain within the Mantle Sanctuary."

"This ultimately led to a food crisis."

"From the looks of it, there aren’t many of these special monsters, and they’re quite intelligent."

"This looks more like an act of revenge. AI, that increases the probability of your first hypothesis," Qi Suian analyzed aloud.

"But how did these monsters get in, and how did they get out?"

Qi Suian had no idea where these special monsters came from, or where they eventually went.

It was as if they had appeared out of thin air, only to vanish just as suddenly.

[Mimicry and camouflage, quantum observer effect collapse, spatial teleportation... all could achieve the same result.]

"The first one is possible. You can probably forget the other two."

"If these monsters had that kind of power, they wouldn’t have used these tactics. They could have just wiped the entire Mantle Sanctuary from existence," Qi Suian stated bluntly.

’Isn’t that overestimating these monsters a bit?’

’All that power just to pull off such a low-level stunt? It’s a waste.’

"If it really is mimicry and disguise... could I scoop out their brains and use them as a module?" Qi Suian thought of his Tai Sui God’s ferocious appearance. It was truly an eyesore.

A different look would make it easier to approach humans in other Doomsday Worlds, which would make surprise attacks much more convenient.

A ferocious, towering, and burly Armored Man versus a nondescript passerby—the latter obviously has the advantage when it comes to a sneak attack.

The former would draw stares just walking by, let alone inspire anyone to lower their guard.

[A module for mimicry and disguise is feasible. However, given the Tai Sui God’s size, it would require a corresponding spatial module to fold its form and adjust its weight.]

[Otherwise, attempting to mimic or disguise the Tai Sui God’s form would produce greatly diminished results.]

The Subspace Stable Pocket was indeed a spatial module, but it was more like a Storage Ring. Its capacity was limited; a dedicated module with the right effect was needed.

Otherwise, even with mimicry and disguise abilities, if its massive body couldn’t be shrunk, the effect would be severely compromised.

"Tch, that’s a pain. A module like that is hard to come by, just like the Energy Shield module I want."

Qi Suian had always wanted an Energy Shield, but lacking the relevant knowledge, he had all but given up and shelved the idea.

Recently, though, he’d had an idea. He had been occasionally studying the Low-level Poison Element Attachment Technique, and its Enchantment Array involved energy applications.

He just never had the free time, so progress was slow.

"Whatever, I’ll worry about it if I catch one. Who knows if I’ll even run into one of these monsters."

"And even if I do, I might not be able to catch it. If it’s too strong, I’ll just have to kill it." Qi Suian didn’t dwell on it.

Without hunting Desolate Beasts for fuel, the Tai Sui God’s progress would be slow.

Exploring the Mantle Sanctuary would take him at least a month. He was even considering not leaving at all and using it as a base of operations.