Heaven and Earth Reversed

Fortunately, this state of forced exhaustion did not last too long. After a while, Ximu returned to normal, and Ruixia's frown finally relaxed.

With such restrictions in place, they did not dare to act rashly for the time being.

Relying on years of experience in mechanical engineering, Ruixia fumbled around in the lobby, and from time to time she looked up to observe the details of the dome and walls. Her expression was subtle, and no one knew what she was thinking.

"...That place is a bit strange."

Ximu looked in the direction he pointed and saw some decorations half-embedded in the wall where the dome met the wall below. However, this strange style also appeared in other places, so at first glance, there was no obvious clue.

"What's strange?" she asked, turning around.

"It's just... a sense of disharmony, as if something is misplaced."

The black-haired boy touched his chin and squinted his eyes. It was obvious that this distance was beyond his normal vision.

"I really have to look closer..."

As he spoke, he was about to take something out of his pocket, but before he could find it, a sharp response came from beside him.

"good."

——“Good” what?

Before he could react, someone suddenly grabbed his back and legs, and with a pull and a hug, he was instantly lifted off the ground. In a few seconds, he was brought to the bottom of the dome, but not to the maximum height that would trigger the restriction.

"I can't go any higher... Is this okay here? Can you see clearly?"

It was not until the girl's breath and words blew away his hair that Ruixia realized clearly what was happening.

He, he was carried up? !

——Ximu just carried him up sideways ahh ...

Not to mention her heartbeat, Ruixia almost didn't even care to breathe at this moment. She froze in Xi Mu's arms, staring at her blankly, with a look of helplessness on her face.

Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, Ximu felt strange. Before she could ask, she heard the whistles and cheers from others below.

What's going on?

Not understanding why Morina suddenly became so excited and grabbed Sorens and shook him wildly, Ximu looked at Zhui'en, who was leaning against the wall with her arms folded, in confusion. The latter just raised his eyebrows at her and smiled meaningfully.

No... Is there anything wrong with that?

It was Ruixia who said that she wanted to get closer to take a look... With his limited fighting skills and the weight of his equipment, there was no way he could climb up. Someone must help him.

Why is he so stiff... Is he scared?

Recalling the falling incident that happened in the workshop before, Ximu immediately hugged the person tightly and even said comfortingly: "It's okay, I'm prepared this time, I won't let you fall."

"I'm not...ah."

After mumbling a few incoherent words, Ruixia finally covered her red face helplessly and silently took out the things in her arms.

——Mechanical insect?

So Ruixia wanted the bot to get closer so she could send back the image for a closer look?

Only then did he realize that he had misunderstood his meaning, but Ximu did not feel embarrassed at all. After all, the mechanical insect might not be able to pass through the restriction safely. If it didn't work, wouldn't he still have to come up and see it in person like this?

"So...are you still watching?"

“…Look, we’re already here.”

After trying hard to clear his confused mind, the young man forced himself to concentrate. Taking into account the surrounding environment, he carefully observed the strange place again and suddenly had some new ideas.

"Perhaps, this hall itself is a huge mechanism..."

She finally recovered to the state where she could think normally, but when Ruixia and Ximu's eyes met at close range, she suddenly felt uncomfortable again.

But he was in the other person's arms at the moment, and if he struggled he was afraid that both of them would lose their balance. He really didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

It’s too close.

Ximu's breath hit his forehead so softly, and it seemed as if he could kiss him directly if he just lowered his head.

—Ahhhhhh what was he thinking! How could he have such blasphemous thoughts about his comrades who had fought side by side with him all this time!

In fact, thanks to his sister, Ruixia is not the type who is easily shy when interacting with the opposite sex. After all, his sister with a good figure but a hot temper often pushes him to the ground and beats him when they disagree with her.

But, this... is different.

Although both are intimate contacts with women, the feeling of being hugged by Ximu is completely different from being hugged by one's mother or sister.

Xi Mu probably didn't have any other intentions, after all, her eyes were very frank... Even if she misunderstood and directly hugged him, it was just that her execution was faster than her brain.

No, my heartbeat has started to quicken again... I have to go down quickly, otherwise I won’t be able to speak normally!

"...It's almost time, let's go back."

Compared to Ruixia's usual volume, these words barely sounded like a murmur.

Fortunately, Ximu had excellent hearing. After nodding, he held the person in his arms tightly, jumped back the same way, and safely returned to his companions, all of whom had inexplicable smiles on their faces.

The moment Ruixia left his arms, it seemed as if she took away the warmth that had been accumulated during their previous snuggling.

A sense of loss of unknown origin suddenly enveloped his heart. Ximu looked at Ruixia's back as he was explaining something to others. Somehow, he felt the urge to hug him again.

There were so many strange lumps of metal hidden on his body... but when she touched it, the boy's body temperature was transmitted through his clothes, making her feel as if she was hugging a ball of light, and she felt inexplicably attached to him.

Moreover, she always felt that Ruixia had a very faint fragrance, which she had to get very close to smell.

Is it the incense on the clothes? I haven't really noticed it before...

Although the uncontrollable thoughts in his mind had turned countless corners, Ximu still heard Ruixia's instructions clearly while daydreaming. She said that there might be mechanisms in certain places and asked everyone to search for them together.

Ximu was not assigned any specific task, so he naturally followed Ruixia and walked towards a place similar to a well pavilion in the lobby.

It is called a well pavilion, but the object underneath is not a well, but a small water platform with exquisite design for people to wash their hands.

They walked around one after another, observing whether there were any irregularities in the space, and knocking on it from time to time to distinguish the real from the fake.

After some investigation, Ruixia seemed to have some idea. She adjusted a figure decoration near the water outlet in a certain order, and suddenly a "clicking" sound of bearings came from inside the water platform.

The originally continuous trickle of water was suddenly stopped, and the position of the water platform above automatically moved to the side, revealing a hidden internal space.

Looking at the inconspicuous groove in the middle, the two immediately reacted -

Right here!

This size and width almost perfectly matches the handle position of a hand mirror!

Without further ado, under Ruixia's affirmative gaze, Ximu took out the hand mirror that she had entrusted to him for safekeeping, and after comparison, he inserted it accurately into the groove of the water platform.

When the other three heard the noise, they gathered around unconsciously and stared at the mirror curiously.

A moment later—nothing happened.

"Could it be that... this is just a cover?"

The unwillingness in Morina's tone was almost tangible, but Ruixia did not give up. After touching the edge of the groove, he seemed to realize something. He suddenly reached out and turned the already inserted hand mirror to the side 90 degrees!

"Click".

A short popping sound came from nowhere. After a moment of silence, the entire lobby area suddenly shook violently, the sky spun around, and began to flip over from top to bottom!

The moment the ground beneath his feet tilted and rose, Ximu grabbed Ruixia immediately. Seeing that Molina and Sorens were also lifted up by Zhui'en one by one, he felt relieved and quickly changed his footing in the upside-down space to avoid being smashed into pieces.

Fortunately, this terrifying process did not last too long.

As the smoke and dust kicked up by the activation of the mechanism gradually subsided and the huge rumbling sound stopped, the lobby turned upside down, the roof became the ground, and the pavilion rose high into the sky - but if someone who didn't know came here, they might not find it too abrupt, because from an architectural point of view, no matter which style it was, it looked very coordinated with the overall design of the dormitory building.

As the building turned up and down, the restrictions originally located at high altitude seemed to disappear as well.

"Oh my Gods... Is this a staircase?"

The lobby's overall orientation has changed, but some of the details that were once fixed to the walls haven't been simply rotated, but rather twisted and reconnected. What once seemed like simple decorations have been combined to create a staircase on one wall.

At the end of the stairs, the place that Ruixia had always felt "should not be like this" was now suddenly open, and it was obvious that there was another world!

--Very good!

This place can only be opened with Millianna's hand mirror. Even if it is not her bedroom, it must be a place related to her!

The investigation progress that had been stagnant for a long time finally showed some signs of improvement. Everyone was very happy. Molina wanted to go up excitedly, but was pulled back by Ximu and the team was rearranged.

This staircase along the wall is not wide and can only accommodate one person. Once there is someone blocking the way in front, it would be bad for the teammates behind to follow too closely.

After discussing it, everyone finally decided to proceed as usual, with Ximu taking the lead, followed by Ruixia, Morina and others, each keeping a distance of two body lengths from the teammate in front, and Zhui Neng being in charge of the rear.

"This staircase looks new. It doesn't look like it's often used."

As Molina walked and observed, she couldn't help but feel a little confused.

"That's perfectly normal. The princess usually uses the teleportation spell on her hand mirror to go back directly. This route is probably just a backup plan just in case."

While making reasonable guesses, Ruixia bypassed Ximu and released the mechanical bug, wanting to explore the truth at the end first.

But before the robot insect could send back a rough image of the interior, the signal on the screen was suddenly interrupted.

The young man's expression froze, and he quickly reached out and patted Ximu's shoulder.

The girl understood, drew out the dagger and held it in her hand, then lowered her footsteps and walked to the end of the stairs little by little and silently.