After Saving The Universe A Thousand Times: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: All Gods’ Descent 2

Midnight had arrived, and the “Divine Selection” began.

Under the influence of the gods and demons, all intelligent beings in the seven selected universes simultaneously fell into a deep slumber. Their consciousness was instantly transported into the pre-arranged trial arenas.

When Dong Jin regained awareness, he found himself in a bedroom dominated by black and gray tones.

The moment he opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling, information about the room flowed into his mind through the “Eye of Truth.”

【Room 1001, Feng Mo ¹ Hotel: A standard business suite with a seven-day paid stay.】

Dong Jin got out of bed and quickly scanned his surroundings.

After filtering out most of the irrelevant information, he first picked up a newly replaced garbage bag from the trash can, extracting a crumpled piece of paper from the gap between the can and the bag.

Then, he walked straight to the nightstand and took out the notepad from the top drawer.

【Bloodstained paper ball: Left by the previous occupant. Overlooked by hotel housekeeping during cleaning.】  

【Standard hotel notepad: Something was written forcefully on this pad and later torn off. Faint imprints remain on the top page.】

Though Dong Jin had a mild case of germophobia, it wasn’t severe, especially considering his current situation, where he was hanging by a thread with only a short time left to live. So, without much concern, he unfolded the paper ball. Scrawled in frantic handwriting, it read:

“Madmen! Everyone in this hotel is a lunatic! I only came here to catch a big story, not to die. I have to escape, I must find a way out!”

“They’ve noticed me. I can’t get out now… Did I just see a man with a ram’s head? Not just a ram-headed man, there were winged demons too! So many creatures I’ve never seen before—why hasn’t anyone found them strange? Who’s really insane, them or me?!”

“No, what am I writing? Isn’t it perfectly normal for ram-headed men and demons to exist? There’s another explosion outside. So annoying, can’t I even die in peace?”

“How many explosions have there been today? What’s wrong with this city? Is its specialty bombs?”

“I understand now… That’s how it is. I have to go…”

The earlier part of the note was covered with scattered bloodstains, but it was still legible. However, the last portion of the writing was completely soaked in blood, rendering it impossible to read.

Dong Jin had played too many horror games before transmigrating, and he wasn’t fazed by such clichéd “unfinished business” tropes. Without hesitation, he grabbed the matching pencil from the notepad, quickly shading the first page at an angle.

Under the gray lead marks, familiar letters began to appear on the once-blank sheet.

Clearly, the crumpled paper from the trash had been torn from this notepad.

Dong Jin didn’t bother reading the identical content at the beginning and focused his gaze directly on the last sentence:

“I know now… That’s how it is. I need to close that door! They’re coming from the door. If I can close it, I won’t be reporting the news anymore—I’ll be the biggest story myself!”

As soon as Dong Jin saw those words, the cold mechanical voice that had announced the countdown for the “Divine Selection” rang in his ears again:

“Key clue discovered. Game panel activated.”

Immediately afterward, a panel glowing with luxurious effects appeared in the air:

【Instance Name: Gods’ Descent】  

【Instance Type: Solo Instance】  

【Instance Background: While on vacation in this city, you accidentally check into the “Feng Mo Hotel.” Upon entering your room, a bloodstained paper ball in the trash can catches your attention. You gradually realize that this hotel is far from ordinary.】  

【Main Quest: Survive for seven days.】  

【Side Quest 1: Don’t let them discover you.】  

【Side Quest 2: Find the “door.”】  

【Completion Rewards: Determined by your evaluation.】

This is way too flashy.

Dong Jin glanced at the newly appeared panel and couldn’t help but compare it to his own, concluding with a tinge of jealousy.

But the instance being called “Gods’ Descent” was quite intriguing.

Especially considering that, at this very moment, gods were truly descending upon the universe.

Interesting. What were those beings from the Highest Universe trying to convey by borrowing this name?

Were they suggesting that, just like the monsters emerging from the door in the instance, they too were beyond resistance or comprehension, and that the trial participants should recognize this reality and obediently submit to divine power?

Meanwhile, Dong Jin’s livestream channel, filled with viewers from the first- and second-level universes, had become lively.

【Isn’t this the fastest any participant has triggered all the quests in this event?】  

【You can drop the “isn’t,” he is the fastest. Just like in past trials, everyone in the first stage is going through the same instance. But while others first exhaust all means to confirm the main quest before finding the side quests, he’s the first I’ve seen trigger the main quest by completing both side quests. Even the background info in his instance differs from everyone else’s.】  

【The name of this instance is pretty twisted though—wanna bet it’s the work of K, the God of Revelry?】  

【Is that even a question? Everyone knows K is all about having fun. Wait… what’s this Dong Jin doing? Did he hurt his eyes? If not, for the love of gods, please don’t cover them! I want to admire that face for a bit longer!!!】

What had Dong Jin done to cause the viewers to react so dramatically?

He had simply walked toward the mirror and slowly wrapped a bandage around his eyes from the hotel’s first aid kit.

The use of the “Eye of Truth” didn’t rely on his line of sight but rather on the act of “seeing.” So, even with his eyes covered by the bandage, Dong Jin’s field of vision remained completely unaffected.

The reason he deliberately covered his eyes was twofold: to create an aura of otherness, and because of Lei Ming.

In those thousand midnights of the past, Dong Jin had used various makeup techniques to disguise himself, never revealing his true face—except for brief moments when his heterochromatic eyes were exposed. Not that he hadn’t wanted to hide them; he just didn’t always have the right tools at hand.

Because the “Eye of Truth” specifically mentioned that “only special eyes can see special information,” Dong Jin had allowed his eyes to remain unchanged even as he continued to evolve genetically and otherwise.

Now, Dong Jin didn’t know how much Lei Ming had recognized, nor was he sure if anyone else was aware of his midnight endeavors. All he could do was physically cover his eyes while the dim lighting in the room kept their color black.

At least, it was better than nothing.

After covering his eyes, Dong Jin walked over to the heavy curtains in a few swift steps and pulled them slightly open, allowing information from the outside world to pour in.

Of that information, only two pieces were useful.

【Feng Mo Hotel: Built by the wealthy tycoon Issa, this year it switched to a reservation-only system and is no longer open to the public.】

【Qishi City: A city set to be bombed heavily this year, about to be blown to pieces.】

After sorting through all the clues at hand, Dong Jin had a rough idea of the instance’s storyline.

He speculated that the wealthy Issa had somehow created a doorway that connected to a higher-dimensional world. Due to some unknown reason, the evil beings summoned from the door were temporarily trapped within Feng Mo Hotel, where the door was located.

As a result, these beings used the hotel as a base to attract various followers, attempting to use them to bomb the city and free themselves from their confinement, allowing them to move freely.

If all went as expected, seven days later would mark the complete destruction of the city. Once the monsters were no longer restricted, not just this city, but probably the entire world would face its apocalypse.

Dong Jin didn’t have the time to worry about the instance world’s fate. His only concern was how to clear the instance with the highest possible evaluation.

The side quest that mentioned “don’t let them discover you” likely referred to not letting those who might be monster followers discover that he was an outsider. After all, if it referred to the monsters themselves, the text would have used “Them ²” instead.

So how could he avoid being discovered?

Should he hide the whole time or actively blend in with the followers?

No, both options were too passive.

He chose a third path.

Dong Jin rummaged through his luggage in the instance and pulled out a long black suit. However, he didn’t immediately put it on. Instead, he picked up the portable makeup mirror from the side of his luggage, tossed it aside in a plastic bag, and selected the largest and sharpest piece from the shattered fragments.

With the broken mirror shard in hand, he casually walked toward the full-length mirror in the hallway.

As he nonchalantly held the shard next to his face, his own information quietly appeared before him through the mirror and the bandages:

【Dong Jin: Male, adult human. A reckless madman driven by gambling.】  

【He has a pair of miraculous eyes and a face evolved to the extreme.】

【One glance at him and you know: he is expensive, extremely, *extremely* expensive. Without a doubt, the priciest person in their entire universe.】 

【If you encounter him, my only advice is—run.】

The “Eye of Truth” functioned differently when observing people than when examining objects.

The more familiar Dong Jin was with someone, the less energy it consumed when looking at them, and the more detailed the information he received.

At this moment, since he was looking at himself, there was no energy consumption at all.

Dong Jin ignored the words floating before his eyes, which seemed to be both praise and mockery, though he did briefly linger on the word “expensive.”

Of course, he was expensive.

If he weren’t expensive, he wouldn’t have been able to trade for his talents 20 years ago.

If he weren’t expensive, he would’ve died countless times in those thousand midnights.

If he weren’t expensive, the will of his universe wouldn’t have sent him a daily “love letter” carefully written, word by word, after the countdown for the “Divine Selection” began.

Of course, these weren’t love letters in the traditional sense.

They were merely motivational messages that the universe’s will sent to its chosen contestants, following the customs of other universes, as a form of encouragement before battle.

But what did the letters say?

The very first letter went like this:

【You are the day, the night, the silent universe that knows no day or night.】

By the fifteenth letter, it read:

【You are ice, you are fire.】  

【You are a star forged from ice and fire, a beauty that no amount of gold, silver, or diamonds could ever match.】

As time went on, the letters grew longer, and the content became more and more subtle.

By the thirtieth and final letter, this subtlety had reached its peak, for it said:

【You grow wildly on the edge of death,】  

【Recklessly in the midnight theater.】  

【Dearest, you are my day-and-night desire,】  

【The one and only ultimate fantasy of an endless era!】

At first, he thought the universe’s will was just using generic motivational rhetoric to trick people into fighting to the death in the Divine Selection.

That was until he saw what other players who had received encouragement letters were sharing—their letters were full of cliché phrases like, “Your talent is extraordinary,” “Your strength is unmatched,” and “Your wisdom has no equal.” Yet, each recipient seemed to take it well, with some even feeling proud of it.

In such stark contrast, if Dong Jin hadn’t known that the universe’s will had no emotions and cared only about the universe’s survival, he might have mistaken these personalized letters for genuine love letters.

Since they weren’t motivated by emotions, the reason for this treatment was clear—it was because he was worth it.

He was, without a doubt, the most valuable person in their universe, valuable enough that the universe’s will was willing to go to great lengths for him.

The “Eye of Truth” always spoke the truth.

He *was* expensive, extremely expensive, undeniably the most expensive one in their universe.

And in this situation, what did his remaining seven days of life signify?

As he thought about this, Dong Jin paused his actions in front of the mirror, settling on the angle for his next move.

Without hesitation, he pressed the shard of mirror against the left corner of his mouth and swiftly sliced upwards with precision and force.

As the audience was abruptly stunned, he switched hands and made a perfectly symmetrical cut at the right corner of his mouth with the same force.

With blood dripping down, the torn corners of his mouth, soaked in red, coupled with his pale skin, formed a sinister and grotesque crimson smile.

【Aaaah! I won’t allow this!!! What are you doing to that god-given face of yours!!!】

If a few audience members had been rattled when he covered his eyes earlier, now that Dong Jin had truly gone for his face, it caused a whole wave of beauty-obsessed fans to collectively break down.

As Dong Jin stepped into the bathroom and lowered his head to wash away the blood, his stream’s viewership skyrocketed, and the barrage of comments flooded in.

【I don’t understand, why self-harm? Isn’t it better to stay beautiful?】

【Is this a desperate attempt to generate heat ³? If you’re really going down this dark path, you might as well protect that face of yours. Let me tell you, we face dogs would eat that shit up!】

These were still the more polite comments—some less reasonable ones had already started ranting on the spot.

By the time Dong Jin tossed aside the towel and lifted his face again, the tidal wave of frantic comments had somewhat subsided.

【Wait a second, don’t rush to criticize; something seems off…】

【Is he trying to disguise himself as one of those mutants? And you know what… you really can’t deny it, with that face…】

While the comments buzzed with speculation, Dong Jin had already finished changing into a three-piece suit by the bedside and walked back to the full-length mirror.

【Why censor this? What could us noble viewers possibly be forbidden from seeing? If you’re not going to show it, fine, but please, darling, don’t go back to that mirror. I’m seriously scared.】

【Ugh… I’m not wondering how his face healed so quickly; I’m wondering why, after those two red marks appeared on his face, he somehow looks even better?! His face may not be as terrifying as those mutants, but in terms of beauty, it absolutely wins! Who wouldn’t be confused seeing this? Who believes humans can look like this?】

Dong Jin couldn’t see the chaos erupting in his live stream.

At the moment, he was gently rubbing his already healed lips, now marked only by two crescent-shaped red lines. After confirming the feel of it, he even experimentally licked the area.

Hmm, no scars, no lingering blood.

Rather than wounds, the marks looked more like a carefully chosen totem tattooed with the brightest red dye.

This face, already so inhumanly beautiful due to its extreme evolution, now appeared even more otherworldly, with the black hair, pure white bandages, and crimson lines adding to his alien aura.

The inspiration for these cuts came from the most memorable villain Dong Jin had ever seen on Earth.

When it came to ultimate evil, the first name that popped into Dong Jin’s mind was none other than the Joker.

If there had been other colors of suits in his luggage, he would have even put on something more unique to further enhance his eerie presence.

After glancing at the mirror a few more times, Dong Jin once again picked up the shard of glass, this time pressing it against the length of his hair at the back. However, after hesitating for a moment, he put the glass down, deciding against it.

He didn’t particularly care whether his hair was long or short.

Previously, the reason he had let his hair grow this long was because, while in isolation, every part of his body, including his hair, was considered hazardous material and couldn’t be cut casually.

Now that he was out of prison, Dong Jin, the practical man that he was, naturally considered cutting it short since long hair would surely get in the way during battle.

But in this instance, long hair seemed to create a far more effective image than short hair.

So, after some thought, he decided to keep it.

After roughly addressing his appearance, Dong Jin adjusted the finer details in front of the mirror.

The reason his wounds healed so quickly just now was because he had made a deal with the universe’s will through an equivalent exchange.

In exchange for one day of his lifespan, combined with his naturally quick recovery abilities, his injuries had healed in an instant. In fact, if he hadn’t deliberately cut deep earlier, there might not have been any scars left at all.

This was his solution.

His remaining seven days of real-life span—now down to six—meant endless possibilities.

After all, the time inside the instance was independent of reality.

In the real world, time was currently at a standstill, and after each trial in the “Divine Selection,” the victors were rewarded with all-around enhancements, including extended lifespans.

So even if his real lifespan was reduced to just one second through these trades, he would still survive once he left the instance.

With nothing holding him back, of course, he would go all out.

With that thought, Dong Jin made one final adjustment to his solid black tie and walked towards the door.

Perhaps due to a unique design style, this room had three full-length mirrors in a row.

As he passed the final mirror near the door, he raised his eyes and slowly flashed a smile at his reflection.

【Cold and crazy, but still sharp… My people, I think we’ve found this season’s FMVP ⁴.】

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Translator Notes

1. Come across evil spirits/ Supernaturals.[↩]
2. 祂们 – Third person term for a divine being while the one in the statement is 他们 – for humans. Both are ta men [↩]
3. Popularity[↩]
4. Final Most Valuable Player[↩]