Chapter 170 A Step into the Void 2

The "stepping into the void" phenomenon I experienced was not a physical stepping into the void, but rather a psychological experience.

It's like being lying in bed sound asleep when suddenly you feel a sharp, inexplicable sense of loss, and then you wake up with a start. This phenomenon is rare, but almost everyone has experienced it at least a few times.

When I came to my senses, I was no longer in that cell filled with bloody torture instruments, but had returned to the reception room of the Luoshan office.

In my memory, I should have been standing before entering that twisted secret outpost of the Humanitarian Department, holding hands with Lu Youxun. Now, however, I was sitting on the sofa. Ma Zao sat close to me beside me, while Zhu Shi stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, watching the corner of the room with a watchful gaze.

Following Zhu Shi's gaze, I saw Lu Youxun sitting in the corner. Unlike me, who was comfortably sitting on the sofa with the beautiful girl, he was bound with ropes, his hands behind his back, and a helpless smile remained on his face.

Regardless of why he was tied up there, the moment I saw him, I unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that I felt uncomfortable with the other female student form of Lu Chan, but I just found the original Lu Youxun more pleasing to the eye, which made me not need to overthink things.

But why did I suddenly return to the Luoshan office? I can return anytime, anywhere, but I didn't use fire teleportation just now.

Ma Zao noticed my movement and said happily, "Zhuang Cheng, you're awake?"

"Senior Brother Zhuang?" Zhu Shi also looked over.

Lu Youxun, who was sitting in the corner, let out a heavy sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I told you it was nothing."

"Was I just unconscious?" Then, I immediately realized, "Oh, no wonder Lu Youxun was tied up there..."

As I spoke, I checked the "fireflies" placed on the three of them.

After several minor upgrades, the current "Firefly" system now has the function of storing memories. Simply put, it can review monitoring records, and I was able to retrieve information about events that had occurred previously.

It turns out that the moment I entered the secret base of the Humanitarian Affairs Department, the body I was in at the Luoshan office suddenly "crashed".

Although both this body and the me who entered the secret base are essentially flames, or rather, aggregates of my own spirit, it doesn't mean that both sides can think normally. My consciousness is centered on one side, and that side can think and act like a human. Therefore, when I enter that side, this body is merely an aggregated flame, or, in other words, a "giant firefly."

Perhaps in the future, fireflies can be upgraded to creatures with a certain degree of self-discipline and intelligence, but not now. They suddenly become dazed and can do nothing but stand there dumbly.

As soon as Ma realized something was wrong, she rushed over, hugged my body, and backed away, while looking at Lu Youxun warily. Zhu Shi also picked up the Yama Sword and placed his right hand on the hilt, ready to draw it at any moment.

"Wait, I didn't do anything!" Lu Youxun immediately raised his hands.

Ma Zao also seemed unable to understand Lu Youxun's reason for ambushing her, but she immediately seized on a possibility: "...Did Ying Lingyun brainwash you? You were imprisoned and studied by the Humanitarian Department for eight months. Since Ying Lingyun can brainwash Chenlong, he can certainly brainwash you as well."

In reality, this possibility is very low.

Because Lu Youxun was captured and tortured by the enemy for eight months, Luo Shan would be even more suspicious of his loyalty than we are. There are countless ways to test whether he has been turned by the enemy. Since Lu Youxun can now serve as a patrolman in charge of intelligence work, and even hold a position overseeing intelligence in Xian Shui City, it proves that his stance is credible.

Besides, if he truly harbored even the slightest hostility towards me, problems should have arisen during the connection between our minds. No, before that, he wouldn't have risked his life to accompany my Humanitarian Division in their infiltration operation. After all, if I showed him even the slightest hostility, he would undoubtedly die.

“Don’t worry, I’ve used ‘Mount Buzhou’ to examine Lu Chan’s words and actions several times before, and he certainly doesn’t have any problems in that area,” Zhu Shi said.

“Yes, Luo Shan also checked me, so you can rest assured… Hmm?” Lu Youxun hesitated for a moment, “Speaking of which, Zhu Shi, don’t you usually not use ‘Buzhou Mountain’ on your own people? You really don’t consider me one of your own?”

Zhu Shizhen said in a deep voice, "Who told you to bypass me and contact Senior Brother Zhuang in private before!"

"So you hold a grudge about that incident so much?" Lu Youxun asked in surprise.

Afterwards, in order to show that he was harmless, he restrained himself and accepted Zhu Shi's surveillance.

Asa tried to use the power of blessing to restore my condition, but perhaps because the burden on my soul had not yet subsided, the power that could be squeezed out was not much, and there was no effect.

Until I "woke up" on my own.

Then, I turned my attention away from the historical information about "fireflies".

“That’s how it is…” Lu Youxun said, “Can I be untied now?”

"You should get up first," Zhu Shi said.

Lu Youxun shuddered, and the ropes seemed to untie themselves, scattering on the ground. He stood up, pressing against the wall, and did some stretching exercises.

"So... what exactly happened on your end?"

"It's like this..."

I gave a brief description of the scene I entered, but for a moment I didn't know how to describe the girl Lu Chan, especially in front of Lu Youxun.

"...The place you entered should be a secret outpost of the Humanitarian Department, but it looked like a crazy and terrifying factory, and the people around you seemed to be from two years ago, except for Silver Mask and Chenlong?" Lu Youxun sat down on the sofa opposite me. He listened to my account and was indeed confused. "Your own body has shrunk to the age of twelve, and no one else seemed to find your presence suspicious. You even had your own identity and background in that place, and there was even verifiable information about you?"

“There, I felt like I was still a student at the New District Experimental Middle School, but the junior high school I attended before wasn’t in the New District either,” I said.

This is also one of the pieces of evidence that led me to conclude that the person I am there is not the person I was in the past.

“…This needs to be investigated,” Zhu Shi suggested.

Lu Youxun nodded and summoned the garrisoned detective, instructing him to investigate the information of other people in Xianshui City who shared the same name as him.

Looking at Lu Youxun, whose expression was serious and who was clearly in work mode, I couldn't help but think of the young girl Lu Chan again. In the end, I decided to bite the bullet and speak out my doubts.

"Lu Youxun, did you undergo gender reassignment surgery by the Humanitarian Affairs Department before?" I asked very seriously.

Lu Youxun: "...Huh?"

(End of this chapter)