Chapter 7: Congratulations to the Player on Unlocking the Anti-Regression Mystery Box!

“Trust people?”
“Or trust the time?”
A faint, ethereal voice seemed to strike directly at the depths of her soul!
This simple maxim precisely cut through the fog, jolting Su Liu awake from her fear of humanity and wavering on her path!
“Ah—!!!”
A scream, mingled with pain, anger, unwillingness, and final resolve, erupted from her chest!
The confusion in her eyes, born of weakness and emotional shock, was instantly consumed by a blazing fire! Only an undeniable sharpness and determination remained!
Trust people? The human heart is unpredictable; the bloody lessons are etched deep!
Trust time? Time is ruthless; the hourglass in her palm is cracked!
But to trust them... must she accept this damned “fate”?!
An unprecedented power—not from her attributes, but a fierce eruption born of betrayal, suppression, and desperation—a profound yearning for “self-determined destiny” surged through her body.
She did not reach for the tempting yet perilous Alteration Pen.
Instead, she suddenly raised her hand, fingers clawed, and fiercely seized the pen floating midair, shimmering faintly—the key core of the Observation Station!
“Destiny?!”
Crack—!!!
Not the sound of physical breakage, but the explosive rupture of established rules! The Alteration Pen shattered in her grasp!
At the same moment, facing the three massive, oppressive illusionary trees ahead, Su Liu summoned every ounce of strength and roared with unyielding determination to sever all chains:
“No—! The success I define is called ‘freedom’!!!”
Her voice, like an invisible divine judgment, pierced through the future illusions, echoing within the shattered Observation Station!
As the word “freedom” resounded, the three immense, twisted illusionary trees shattered like stones thrown into a mirror-like pond—
Boom—!!!
Centered on the broken Alteration Pen in Su Liu’s hand, the scene collapsed wildly like falling dominoes!
Fragments of shattered light and shadow resembled countless shards of sharp temporal mirrors, reflecting her resolute figure, frozen in defiance and self-definition!
The entire future Observation Station trembled violently and disintegrated under the power of this declaration! The core’s dark chaotic region collapsed inward frantically!
Just as everything was about to be swallowed by the ultimate darkness—
A faint, pure star-blue radiance lit up in Su Liu’s palm.
The residual divine power after Phase Two restoration, her own will to resist, and the shattered fragments of the Alteration Pen coalesced into a silver-blue temporal vortex, fiercely enveloping her body!
Su Liu felt herself being violently pulled away by immense temporal power. Her last sight before everything vanished was a fleeting, ethereal smile—both approving and weary—on a beautiful face within the collapsing core’s dark chaos, accompanied by a whisper fading into the storm:
“I am Chronos, the Goddess of Time. You have broken free from the ‘predestined path.’ Well done...”

“I have chosen you as my representative. Remember, always move forward, discern carefully with your heart, cherish time. When I awaken, you will have the answers you seek.”
“The stars of time will shine eternally for you!”
The hourglass of the present time continuously shrank before her, finally landing in Su Liu’s palm.
Confused, Su Liu was transported out of the instance, marking the end of the “Time Maze” instance.
[Congratulations, player acquired Transport Fragment x1, Time Evolution Stone Fragment x1, Game Currency x10]
[Congratulations, player acquired &%##*% item Present Hourglass x1, Anti-Overwork Protocol x1, earned title [Time Management Master]]
The system broadcast was intermittently garbled; Su Liu nearly thought it had malfunctioned.
Yet, recalling the final female voice, perhaps it was the power of a deity?
But how could there be gods in this world?
Pah, pah, pah. Su Liu shook her head. With beast-taming survival games appearing, gods wouldn’t be so strange after all.
Still, she had never heard of a deity’s representative before.
It seemed her information had been too outdated.
Opening her player status panel, Su Liu noticed a new title glaring at her: [Time Management Master].
[Time Management Master]: Representative of Chronos. Input a general goal, and it automatically generates the optimal daily time management plan. Cherish time, survive efficiently.
Thinking this over, Su Liu took out the Present Hourglass for a closer look—
“Heavens! This is powerful!”
[Present Hourglass (Dormant Version)]: A divine-level item containing a slumbering fragment of a deity’s soul.
Active Skill ‘Balance’ (Level 1):
Can be activated on any player or item to autonomously select acceleration or deceleration of time flow by 3 times, but total time must remain balanced, with allowed acceleration-deceleration deviation within 10 hours.
This was practically a divine skill!
Su Liu thought, slowing time in forward progression or certain limited “service” zones would mean gaining triple benefits in normal time!
Moreover, future upgrades to vehicles, weapons, and skills require time. Accelerating these processes while maintaining time balance would yield results faster.
Her heart burned with excitement. An item harboring a fragment of the Goddess of Time’s soul—it was unimaginable how strong the deity’s full power would be!
She glanced at the upgrade requirements and was immediately drenched in cold water.
Setting aside the endless experience bar, the materials required were things she’d never even heard of.
Time Crystal x3, Rift Sandgrain x5.
What were those?
Never mind, she would look at the other acquired items.
Su Liu summoned another strange item—the Anti-Overwork Protocol.

[Anti-Overwork Protocol]: Oppose overwork; start with myself.
Upon signing, daily leisure time must not be less than 10 hours, and wishes can be drawn from a random blind box according to leisure duration.
If leisure time falls below 10 hours, random player attributes will be deducted.
Counting of leisure time begins the day after signing (includes but not limited to sleeping, eating, skincare, etc.).
“Sign! Absolutely sign!”
With the Present Hourglass in hand, she could balance strength and blind box rewards!
Su Liu thought of others risking future exhaustion, laboring tirelessly to rush and fight monsters.
Yet she not only had an automatic optimal time management plan ensuring maximum efficiency every second,
She could also use her leisure time to draw random blind boxes for extra gains.
Her excitement was beyond words; she could hardly imagine how wonderful life would be from now on!
[Ding! Congratulations, player has bound the Anti-Overwork Blind Box!]
A dazzling blind box machine instantly appeared before her eyes.
“Hey! Hello, Sister Liu. I am the Blind Box Sprite—Present Hour!”
With a lively voice, a small sprite waving a silver-blue staff appeared atop the blind box machine.
“Present Hour... you are the Goddess of Time’s...”
“That’s right,” Present Hour jumped down from the machine, a faint sadness flickering in their eyes, “Lady Chronos created me.”
“A calamity seems to have caused many gods to fall into slumber. Before her last moment of sleep, Lady Chronos sent me here.”
“She told me you are her representative, capable of ending this absurdity.”
Su Liu looked at Present Hour in bewilderment, wondering how many secrets lay behind the chance to start anew.
“Present Hour, what exactly happened?”
Present Hour shook their head apologetically, “Sorry, I’m only a divine creation and don’t know the details.”
“But since Lady Chronos retrieved you from the river of time, surely time will give you the answers you seek.”
Time, always time.
Pressing her aching temples, Su Liu resolved to strengthen herself and keep moving forward step by step. Eventually, light would break through darkness!
No longer fixated on the past, Su Liu turned to Present Hour and asked how to use the blind box machine.