Collapse Point Three: Conflicting Victim Profiles.
Three semi-transparent figures appeared on screen, overlapping but unable to merge—one with a warm smile, one cold and ruthless, one cowering in a corner and trembling.
Elder Mo: "The victim was simultaneously written as a 'good person,' a 'bad person,' and a 'pitiful person.' Triple contradiction—the character's very existence is disintegrating."
Yin Wuwang stared at those overlapping figures, his gaze darkening. In Power Over All Under Heaven, he and Xie Qingyan had played characters who'd collapsed due to the author's weak writing, and they'd been able to reshape those settings to fix the plot. But this time, the collapsed characters included not just the killer but also the already-dead victim—a character who could no longer speak to mend their own narrative. This meant they'd have to deeply understand this person.
"That's not necessarily a contradiction though."
Xie Qingyan and Elder Mo both turned to look at him.
Yin Wuwang mused: "A person showing different faces to different people is perfectly normal. The problem is the author lacked the skill to weave those faces into a complete person. Our mission is to find the thread that ties them together."
Elder Mo raised an eyebrow approvingly: "As expected of the Demon Sovereign! You'll need to properly repair this character—his cause of death and life trajectory are the formation eye of this modern crime world. Fix it poorly, and the entire world collapses. The next problem is simpler."
Collapse Point Four: Duplicate Forensic Reports.
Two reports appeared stacked together, the paper warping and distorting.
Report A: "Cause of death: Cyanide poisoning." Report B: "Cause of death: Mechanical asphyxiation (strangulation)."
Elder Mo: "Because this world has three simultaneous cause-of-death settings, the official documentation has become contradictory—two forensic autopsy reports exist at once, with completely opposite conclusions."
Xie Qingyan nodded: "This means we need to re-examine the body and clarify the actual cause of death."
"Correct." Elder Mo stroked his beard. "The final problem will require careful investigation."
Collapse Point Five: The Vanishing Suspects.
Three figures appeared on screen. The first was clear and complete. The second had only an upper body—its lower half was blurred static, flickering in blocks. The third was worse still, just a humanoid cloud of mist without even facial features.
Elder Mo: "The author originally set up three suspects but only finished writing one—the kind, soft-hearted one. The other two are half-finished—their storylines incomplete, their behavioral logic chaotic. Sometimes they seem like suspects, sometimes like random bystanders."
Yin Wuwang eyed that cloud of mist, his lips curling downward: "That thing counts as a person?"
Elder Mo shrugged: "Half of one, maybe."
Yin Wuwang more or less understood. The five collapse points could be summed up in one sentence: this author wrote without any structure whatsoever, making it up as they went, forgetting to fill every hole they dug.
"Mission objective." Xie Qingyan cut straight to the point.
Elder Mo nodded: "Solve the case correctly, repair the five collapse points, and guide the plot toward a reasonable conclusion. Once the world stabilizes, points will naturally follow."
"Understood." Xie Qingyan's response was brief.
Yin Wuwang crossed his arms: "What are our characters?"
Elder Mo smiled—a smile Yin Wuwang knew all too well. The old man had worn the exact same expression when dumping them into the ABO world.
"Character profiles. Downloading now."
Two beams of light simultaneously sank into their foreheads.
Information flooded in like a tidal wave—names, ages, occupations, daily habits, interpersonal relationships. Yin Wuwang scanned through rapidly, then stopped at one particular line.
Jiang Ye. Male. 28. Cloud City Public Security Bureau Major Crimes Unit Detective.
Partner: Shen Han (forensic pathologist). Dating for two years. Currently cohabiting.
Yin Wuwang's brain went completely blank for a full three seconds.
Partner. Dating. Cohabiting.
His gaze slowly drifted toward Xie Qingyan—who was clearly processing the same information.
Xie Qingyan's expression remained as calm as ever, betraying no ripples. But Yin Wuwang noticed his eyelashes tremble—so subtle that if he hadn't spent years watching Fuguang, he never would have caught it.
Xie Qingyan was indeed somewhat surprised.
Partner.
He swept an unobtrusive glance at Yin Wuwang. But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. A mission was a mission. He'd experienced the consequences of going OOC firsthand—he still remembered how the lightning strike had felt.
Yin Wuwang's heartbeat skipped, then accelerated wildly, then he forcibly suppressed it.
Calm. Calm. Calm.
This is a script. Character setting. Mission requirement. Has nothing to do with his personal feelings. This sovereign has absolutely no objections—purely out of professional respect for the work.
He cleared his throat, striving to make his voice sound as casual as usual: "Mm. A couple roleplay. Not impossible, I suppose."
Xie Qingyan turned his head slightly to look at him.
Yin Wuwang met his gaze with a perfectly composed expression. Flawless control. The dignified Demon Sovereign couldn't possibly lose his composure over a mere "couple" character assignment, could he?
But the hand hidden in his sleeve had clenched until the knuckles went white.
Xie Qingyan withdrew his gaze, his tone indifferent: "If it's a mission, I'll cooperate. No different from playing any other role."
His face was calm as he said this, but internally a flicker of agitation stirred. He cultivated the Emotionless Sword Dao—forget having a dao companion, he'd never even had someone he liked. He didn't even know whether he was attracted to men or women. What were dao companions supposed to do? Exchange pleasantries? Live under the same roof? Be physically close?
He'd have to do all of these things, and do them "naturally."
He turned the word "naturally" over in his mind, examined it from every angle, then decided to stop thinking about it. Overthinking would only lead to mistakes. Worst case, he'd just follow Yin Wuwang's lead.
Yin Wuwang silently rebutted Xie Qingyan's words in his head. No different? This is playing LOVERS—how could that possibly be the same?! Fuguang is going to live with me! Maybe even sleep in the same bed! And in front of these mortals, he'll have to act caring and attentive toward me! Suddenly his blood surged and his whole body flushed hot.
"Yin Wuwang, what are you thinking about?"
A cool voice snapped him back to reality. Xie Qingyan was studying him with an evaluating gaze.
"Nothing." He answered with a blank expression.
Xie Qingyan didn't press further, turning instead to Elder Mo: "How do we handle cases in the modern world? Are there legal regulations?"
"Once you enter the world, your spirit assistants will provide basic life guidance and professional knowledge." Elder Mo explained. "This author may have written a terrible story, but they did research. All that crime investigation and forensic knowledge—the spirit assistants can access it. Same goes for daily life. Just ask when you don't understand."
He paused, then added: "However, regarding plot direction and the truth behind the case—even the author got confused, so the spirit assistants can't help you there. You'll have to investigate on your own."
Yin Wuwang snorted coldly. He remembered exactly how those two Little Deer Assistants had performed last time—one took three full seconds to report danger, and the other had suggested blood recognition to bind a mecha, which promptly exploded. Relying on them was worse than relying on himself.
At least in the previous story, those broken things had been reasonably useful for court etiquette and character relationships. Not completely worthless.
Elder Mo seemed to remember something and added: "One more thing. This world's rules don't allow spiritual energy, but this story involves a great deal of specialized mortal knowledge—forensic pathology, toxicology, criminal forensics... If you had to rely on the spirit assistants to teach you everything line by line, the world would probably collapse before you solved the case."
He raised one finger: "So I'm granting special permission—limited use of divine sense, for knowledge absorption only. Reading, memorizing information, running simulations in your mind—these are allowed."
The finger retracted, his expression turning stern: "But remember this—only on 'inanimate objects.' Books, documents, reference materials—those are fine. Probing people, external perception, using it in combat—absolutely forbidden. If an NPC detects it, that's OOC, and you know the consequences."
Yin Wuwang nodded dismissively. Merely using divine sense to read and memorize things—for a cultivator, that wasn't even entry-level technique. Still, Elder Mo's willingness to grant this much at least made things more convenient than the previous world.
Xie Qingyan, however, felt a stir of interest. Forensic pathology, toxicology—these were fields he'd never encountered. If he could use divine sense to rapidly absorb the material, building a complete knowledge framework before entering the world, he wouldn't be fumbling blindly during investigations.
Elder Mo dusted off his hands—though there was nothing there to dust—and lifted his chin to gaze at the city of towering buildings in the scroll.
"Alright. You can digest the character data once you're inside."
He waved grandly. The lone isle beneath their feet began to crack, cold white light spilling through the fissures.
"Oh, one more thing." Just as they plummeted, Elder Mo added with a beaming smile: "In that world, everyone in the police department knows you two are a couple. Don't go OOC now."
Yin Wuwang didn't have time to respond before the ground vanished beneath him.
He and Xie Qingyan fell together into the white light.
The light was blinding. Yin Wuwang instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes. Strange sounds mingled within the brilliance—piercing sirens, deep rumbling, countless voices woven together in a cacophony like an entire beehive exploding at once.
Everyone in the police department knows.
Dating for two years. Currently cohabiting.
Cannot go OOC!
From the moment they landed, he would be Jiang Ye—detective in Cloud City's Major Crimes Unit. Shen Han's lover.
And the cold, ethereal Sword Sovereign beside him, every inch radiating "stay away from me," would be his partner of two years—the person he came home to every day.
Yin Wuwang closed his eyes and, in that moment of weightlessness, allowed himself one instant of indulgence.
The corner of his mouth curved upward.
Then, in the last second before landing, he wiped that smile completely clean.
[End of V2_Chapter 02]
Next: Cohabitation Day One—the Demon Sovereign battles an induction cooktop, fries an egg for his "boyfriend," and learns that "nice heat control" might be the greatest compliment he's ever received.