Chapter 259 The girl prays 1

Assuming that number one really is the Dog (戌狗), how much help would this fact provide me? I began to calculate in my mind.

At this stage, my most pressing issues—the hostile Great Impermanence and the whereabouts of the soul in Chang'an—have nothing to do with this Dog. Judging from his hatred of Ying Lingyun, we might be able to unite on dealing with Ying Lingyun, but I have little interest in seeking outside help. Besides, compared to those urgent matters, Ying Lingyun is a secondary concern for now.

Since Number One doesn't want to reveal his true identity in the virtual realm, perhaps I could say something like, "You don't want others to know your true identity either," while simultaneously coercing him into doing what I want. But how much pressure could such a threat actually put on someone with the qualifications of a Great Impermanence? Verbal tactics aren't my forte, and if I'm not careful, I might just create another enemy at this stage.

However, even if I don't expose his true identity, I think he'll soon become the first person in the Void Realm to publicly reveal it. He's never hidden his desires from the other chosen ones, nor has he concealed his hatred for Ying Lingyun. Since I can deduce that he's likely Xu Gou, perhaps right now, someone like Number Five has already connected Number One with Xu Gou.

Based on this analysis, although Number One is highly wary of others, he is not good at hiding his true feelings. His true nature is likely to be more straightforward, meaning he is probably similar to me.

That said, he's using a woman's body now, right? I heard from a senior researcher that the female researcher who fell in love with him and saved him chose to sacrifice her own body to give him a new lease on life so he could have a healthy body. But his current physique doesn't have any feminine curves at all; he looks like a tall, thin man, and his voice is a deep male voice.

Could it be that he isn't actually a dog? Or is it that in the so-called "sacrificing his body to resurrect him in his complete form" theory, the female researcher's body was merely used as material, and he was ultimately reborn in his original form? Since the goal is to restore him to his complete form, it seems plausible that his body would revert to a male form.

Or perhaps in the dreamlike realm of the virtual world, we all appear in an image that conforms to our spiritual self-perception. Being a woman in reality does not prevent him from appearing in the virtual world as a man.

"...Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

Number One seemed unable to bear my prolonged stare. He took a half step back as if afraid of being targeted by a monster, and his attitude was very vigilant.

The second small bowl also looked at me with some confusion.

Just then, footsteps approached from afar, breaking the stalemate between me and Number One. We both looked over. Two figures emerged from the gray mist and arrived at the area with the rocky seats. Judging from their silhouettes, they were likely Number Four, Xuanming, and Number Six.

These two people who don't get along seem to have met in the gray mist first. Now they stand in two different places as if they can't see each other, and look at the Lord of the Divine Seal at the same time.

They are all impermanent beings, and they still give me the feeling of being enormous. Perhaps because my perception has improved a lot, I can now even distinguish the differences between them.

First, it can be confirmed that neither Number Four nor Number Six is ​​the hostile Great Impermanence that attempted to attack me and Asahi last time. Speaking of impressions, Number Four felt like an incredibly huge volcano, while Number Six was like a vast ocean formed of white light.

As for the previous hostile Great Impermanence, to be honest, perhaps because it wasn't its true form that descended, I couldn't discern it clearly, like looking at flowers through a fog. It was like gazing at distant mountains in the deepest darkness of night, only able to see a huge yet blurry silhouette. But upon careful reflection, there seemed to be a whiff of death about it.

At first, I thought it was because the other person was likely to bring me death, which is why I had that vague impression. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt that "death" seemed to be an inherent attribute of the other person.

Furthermore, perhaps due to past rumors, Xuanming's presence seemed subtly more imposing than Xuanming's, especially compared to Xuanming next to him. Was Xuanming truly an exceptionally powerful figure even within the Great Impermanence? I felt that even if I unleashed all my power, I might not be able to match him.

He and Number Six seemed to have diverted some of their attention to me, but neither of them rushed to speak to me. Instead, they observed me with a mysterious air. After a moment, Xuanming spoke first.

"Number Three, how exactly did you invade the Void Realm?" he asked.

"My method of entering the virtual realm is no different from yours."

Since no one would believe me anyway, I told the truth: "Obtaining the fragment of the Divine Seal, binding it to it, and then being inexplicably pulled into this dream... I'm just a 'victim' who goes with the flow."

“‘Victim’, humph…” Number Six let out a distrustful laugh.

Little Bowl Number Two approached me silently and took my left hand. Perhaps she could sense the immense size of Xuanming Number Four and Number Six, and thus wanted to gain some sense of security from me—that's what I thought, but Little Bowl Number Two seemed to have other motives.

"Mr. Number Three, can you hear me?" Her voice appeared directly in my mind.

Is this telepathic synchronization? No, it seems to be just a simple transmission of thoughts.

"I can hear you." I tried speaking to myself, "How about you over there?"

“Okay,” she said.

She had mentioned before that her ability to communicate with plants and animals included the ability to initiate mental communication through thought... I continued in my mind, "Can your ability be used in the virtual realm?"

"I was just giving it a try. It seems that, just like my ability to see through lies, my telepathic ability can also be used normally here."

As she spoke, she sighed, "Actually, this ability is useless in the real world. Due to the influence of the pervasive madness, the gap between minds has become enormous, and my voice is always difficult to accurately convey to others."

"Due to madness"... I'm a little concerned about that statement.

What's concerning isn't the madness itself, but rather that Number Two Little Bowl seems to know exactly how her abilities would perform in a normal world before the apocalypse. Logically, since she was born in the apocalypse, even if she understands her abilities can't function normally, she shouldn't be so clear about what she could achieve in a normal world. Yet, she seems to possess that knowledge. Is this something she's learned through her superhuman intuition, defying logic?

Or did she actually experience a peaceful era? Considering that the flow of time during the apocalypse varies in different places, Ma Zao even said that some survivors believe that the apocalypse has only just begun. So maybe Little Bowl No. 2 was actually born and raised in a peaceful era. Although she has forgotten it, she has not lost her experience.

It's also possible that she is a patient with amnesia, and her soul traveled from my time to the post-apocalyptic era... If that's the case, why can't we find her information on the amnesia list?

As I pondered, I asked, "You specifically used telepathy; is there something you want to tell me?"

If there's anything she wants to tell me, she can just speak. Since she's specifically using telepathy, she probably needs to keep it confidential.

“Yes, Mr. Number Three. Actually, I’ve been observing and pondering this from the very beginning, and now, after observing the others, I’m finally certain. There is indeed some kind of connection between us and this virtual realm. And I can vaguely see this connection,” she said.

"The 'connection' you're referring to, is it the factor that affects my activities in the virtual realm?" I asked.

“Yes. Based on your past experience, the deeper your connection with the Void Realm, the easier it is to pass through the fog here; while if the connection is shallow enough, it is difficult to even have a physical body here... This is my speculation.” She said, “In my opinion, you are the person with the shallowest connection with the Void Realm here. If we are 'ten', you may not even have half of 'one'.”

"And then, do you remember what happened before the last Void Realm ended?"

"The Lord of the Divine Seal inflicted extremely intense pain on you through some means... right?" I said.

“The Lord of the Divine Seal made me experience a vision of death, and others may have had the same experience. In fact, I don’t even think it was just a vision; he has the power to make it real at any time. Perhaps we did experience a real death at that moment, but he immediately turned it into a fleeting dream,” she said.

It sounds like Silver Moon's power to "turn illusions into reality," but Silver Moon's ability itself has attributes similar to an "omnipotent wish-granting machine," and she can fulfill most human wishes with just a thought. The Divine Seal, on the other hand, is a genuine wish-granting machine, and the master of the Divine Seal naturally exhibits properties that evoke a sense of déjà vu.

From the perspective of power relations, it is more accurate to say that the Silver Moon resembles the Lord of the Divine Seal than that the Lord of the Divine Seal resembles the Silver Moon.

“The current Lord of the Divine Seal cannot leave the Void Realm, nor can he influence the real world, but he can manipulate our lives and deaths at will. If nothing unexpected happens, the source of the problem should be this ‘connection’,” said Little Bowl Number Two. “It’s a noose around the throats of all of us.”

(End of this chapter)