Chapter 174 Cutting the Reality Demon Realm 2

"Cut reality?"

I analyzed this sentence in my mind. Does "cutting reality" mean cutting in the literal sense? Is "reality" something that can be cut?

Under my relentless interrogation and the effects of the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring, the senior researcher could only endure the excruciating pain of his limbs being torn apart and struggle to reveal the information he knew.

First, it needs to be made clear that this place is indeed a secret outpost of the Humanitarian Affairs Department, and it is indeed located in another dimension.

This alternate dimension was formed last year, on the very night after Lu Youxun escaped.

In the past, upon realizing that Lu Youxun was about to lead the Luoshan forces in a counterattack against the secret stronghold, the local Humanitarian Affairs Bureau immediately began organizing a relocation. Needless to say, they were no match for the Luoshan forces, and their only option was to escape as soon as possible. The problem was that they actually had no confidence in escaping the Luoshan forces' pursuit.

Based on the current outcome, I know that the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau's forces here have ultimately succeeded in relocating. However, unlike what Lu Youxun had previously thought, the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau did not escape through large-scale spatial transfer. While spatial transfer is certainly a powerful escape method and one of the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau's relocation plans, the Luoshan forces are not without the technology to continue tracking them. Lu Youxun was naturally well aware of this, but he couldn't think of any other way.

What truly turned the tide for the humanitarian authorities in this area was Ying Lingyun's trump card.

He did something earth-shattering.

He did not transfer the personnel and supplies inside the base, but instead cut "the reality in which the base is located" to "a realm outside of reality".

To go further, he separated the period from the real world from the time Lu Chan was captured by the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau until his escape.

This approach ensured that Luo Shan could no longer access the secret base, while also providing the base with an endless supply of Witcher test subjects—because this edited reality could be restarted indefinitely.

Once the number of experimental subjects inside the base decreases to a certain limit, Ying Lingyun will restart this independent reality space, reviving all the experimental subjects inside. These experimental subjects are all victims who were captured and brought into the base during that period. They do not remember anything before the restart, and each time they are revived, they believe they were just captured.

On one or two occasions, the test subjects painstakingly found opportunities to plan riots and escape, even massacring researchers and guards within the base. However, they ultimately could not escape this independent reality—because the outside world was not the real world, but a void. When the base restarted, they would all return to their original positions, and the researchers and guards would also be resurrected.

Unlike the test subjects, the researchers and guards could retain their memories—the latter aside, the former were there to conduct experiments, so they naturally needed to remember their experiences. Incidentally, Ying Lingyun also excluded the tools and equipment used for recording experimental data from the restart plan.

Perhaps the reason I feel this space cannot bear my power is because this is a "cut-out reality".

"Cut reality? Is it even possible to do something like that... How did Ying Lingyun manage to do it?" I couldn't help but be amazed.

"Ying Lingyun?" the senior researcher murmured.

Ying Lingyun's true identity seems to be kept secret from these researchers, but I have no interest in keeping his secret.

The senior researcher seemed to understand quickly and then said, "We don't know how Silver Mask did it either; he never explained anything to us. 'Reality cutting' is beyond the theoretical boundaries of our Humanitarian Division... Perhaps even the Great Impermanence of Luoshan couldn't do something similar."

He was someone with a knowledge level far exceeding mine, and his words carried considerable weight.

Beyond theory, beyond the realm of impermanence... In other words, is this a miracle achieved by Ying Lingyun through the skillful use of the fragments of the divine seal?

Perhaps this is an achievement that cannot be simply described as a miracle. This is a divine intervention.

"Then, what about Lu Chan?" I asked. "Was she also summoned by you through restarting this reality?"

"I don't know. Logically speaking, Lu Chan shouldn't be able to be recreated here."

The senior researcher was still bleeding profusely, and his voice was growing weaker, but he couldn't help but answer: "...Although the restart within this secret base can even resurrect the dead, it requires the 'materials' to be complete. That is, they must all have died here, with their bodies and souls remaining here, in order to be resurrected here."

“Once someone actually escapes, the subsequent restart within the base will attempt to recreate the event, but ‘data loss’ will occur. You can think of this restart as a kind of area-limited rewind; targets that have moved outside the area cannot be retrieved by rewinding.”

"If that's the case, then what about that girl, Lu Chan?" I asked. "After all, shouldn't Lu Chan be a man?"

"The girl suddenly appeared after a certain reboot."

At this point, he also showed a bewildered expression: "We can't understand whether she's a bug that appeared after countless restarts, or whether this reality that was cut off from reality has finally started to haunt us. For some reason, all the resurrected demon hunters call that girl Lu Chan, but we have absolutely no idea where she came from."

"The only thing that can be confirmed is that the girl seems to be an unknown spirit, and the doctor and Chenlong seem to know something about her origins. Every time the system restarts, they imprison her in a special cell."

"Although we want to study her, firstly, our base doesn't have a need for research on spirits; secondly, research on unknown and strange objects always carries hidden risks. And both the doctor and Chenlong have asked us not to ask too many questions, so we won't interfere."

There are so many mysteries... that's what I thought.

I had hoped to get some information about the young girl Lu Chan from the senior researcher, but the image of Lu Chan became even more elusive in my mind.

It seems the only option is to meet them in person.

Although the young girl Lu Chan appears harmless, just as the senior researcher said, she is an unknown and strange being, and it's unclear what dangers might arise from rashly contacting her in private. And it is precisely because of this that I cannot suppress the urge to meet and communicate with her.

The senior researcher said that the girl Lu Chan is a spirit, in other words, something like a ghost? That's the first time I've ever seen one... No, thinking about it carefully, considering the nature of my flames, as a flame aggregate, I seem to be similar to a ghost? Doesn't that mean we've met like-minded people?

I asked the senior researcher about the location of that special cell, and he described the route I took after leaving that cell, based on his memory.

After writing that down, I asked, "So, in your opinion, what's wrong with me?"

"What?" He couldn't understand.

I asked carefully, "In your opinion, am I also one of the experimental subjects who have been repeatedly killed and revived in this base?"

“Of course,” he said. “You were the kid who was captured along with Lu Chan two years ago because you witnessed the incident, right? Although I don’t know why you suddenly pulled out Luo Shan’s Impermanence Sword, you’ve definitely been tested by us many times…”

"--That's not right, is it?" I immediately caught the contradiction. "Isn't this the first time you've encountered me? That's why Dr. Silver Mask was surprised by the appearance of this 'child' before. And this was also the first time you had my information. You even had a verbal conflict with Dr. Silver Mask because of me... Could it be that I've misremembered all of this?"

"ah?……"

He seemed to realize something was wrong at that moment. He was confused at first, then showed a headache, as if he wanted to raise his hand to touch his forehead, but he was too weak to continue because the muscles in his arm had been severed.

This reaction is really strange. It's as if I have some kind of halo of misunderstanding that I am here. Everyone who sees me will mistakenly think that I was originally supposed to be the test subject here. They will also fabricate a reasonable identity and background for me in their memories, and even produce corresponding written information.

Even when Chenlong saw me earlier, he seemed to be vaguely unsure of his memory, as if he really doubted whether he had seen me, an "accidental witness," at the scene of capturing Lu Youxun.

The only one who has never shown a similar reaction is Dr. Silver Mask.

In that case, the girl Lu Chan described by the senior researcher seems to have similar characteristics to me.

She bore absolutely no resemblance to Lu Youxun, yet upon her appearance, the demon hunters around her immediately identified her as Lu Youxun himself. Unlike me, the researchers seemed unaffected by this "halo of misunderstanding."

Seeing the senior researcher becoming increasingly confused, I grabbed his heart forcefully, forcing him to refocus, and then asked, "Next question, what's the deal with Dr. Silver Mask? Is he Ying Lingyun's 'possible clone'?"

"...As far as I know, he's probably a clone of Silver Mask, or rather, an alter ego," he replied. "Only, he's the complete opposite of the original. Silver Mask himself is the embodiment of evil and madness, forcing his researchers to conduct inhumane human experiments, driving us to our wits' end. The Doctor, on the other hand, is soft-hearted. Despite possessing unparalleled research capabilities within the base, he's always agonizing over things like not being able to harm pregnant women, not being able to harm children, and not being able to use excessively painful experimental methods..."

"However, he ultimately holds the authority to restart, and probably also controls the core lifeline of this independent reality. Even Chenlong obeys him, so we all call him the 'Supreme Authority'."

"Then where is Ying Lingyun himself?" I asked. "His clone is here, but where is he, and what is he doing?"

(End of this chapter)