Chapter 264 Triple Crown
A golden ripple flashed across the sky. The church's cube stood on the surface, and two vortexes, connected vertically, emerged around it. They trapped the cube in the middle, burying it in the shimmering sands of the "hourglass."
Boom, boom, boom.
Thunder suddenly roared, and the gray-black haze was swirling with golden lightning, occasionally mixed with some colorful starlight.
"What's going on?"
The stable space of the monitoring center was shaking. This shaking was not caused by a physical earthquake, but by the strange distortion of the part of it that was trapped in the abyss.
The degree of distortion was weakened several times by the power of rules, otherwise the people inside would have been twisted into mummies like towels.
Observers in other regions continued to faithfully transmit data, and shocking red and orange numbers appeared on the screen.
The energy value in the vicinity exceeded thousands in a very short period of time, and then quickly subsided like the vibration, returning to normal values.
The monitoring center stopped vibrating, and everyone did not evacuate or flee. Instead, they immediately sat back in their seats.
"What happened just now..."
During this period, Guanghui integrated a large amount of data and, based on previous analysis and cases, provided the most likely inference.
[That was a triple nested power ritual revolving around Chen Xiao'er.]
He transmitted a startling image: three nearly identical ritual formations overlapping one another, differing only in spatial significance. Like a triple crown, they interwoven golden, black, and white star rays.
The church imitates the abyss, and now the abyss imitates humanity.
After a moment, the expert group asked, "Is this a power ceremony based on Chen Xiao'er?"
[Glorious: No, this ritual is not based on returning to zero, but on devouring it.]
After hearing Guanghui's answer, everyone immediately understood.
The power ritual in the inner ring has been downgraded from the ritual itself to a core similar to a battery, while the ritual array wrapped in the outer ring should be the shell and cage built by Despair using himself and the Devouring Snake as the cornerstone.
They wanted to trap Chen Xiao'er inside, and then kill her with one blow and devour her completely.
"That's not right!" someone questioned. "If, in order to make it easier to kill Chen Xiao'e, her status was removed from the foundation, then Despair wouldn't be able to create a perfect ritual environment, right?"
The analyst sitting next to him pushed up his glasses. "Yes, but this ritual environment doesn't seem like a typical confinement zone, nor does it resemble the illusionary realm of last time. The various values detected nearby are similar to normal."
The person next to him thought for a moment and asked in confusion, "What does that mean? There's no enclosed area for this ritual... We're outside the ritual formation, so we shouldn't be affected."
The other party shook his head and pointed at the picture sent by Guanghui.
According to calculations, the influence range of the triple ritual array in the picture has been greatly expanded after being nested, and has already enveloped the entire United City!
And its edges are not smooth straight lines and angles, but a soft tentacle-like thing extends from each vertex.
This "tentacle" keeps wriggling, giving the illusion that it will stretch out and extend infinitely at any time.
After a brief exchange, the panic inside the monitoring center quickly subsided and everyone returned to their busy work.
The expert group is also analyzing the special circumstances of this ceremony.
The assistant piled the papers together and looked at the screen. "It's probably not the same re-settable illusion from last time. Is Chen Xiao'er really okay?"
The white-haired expert did not answer. She stared at the white star that kept moving forward on the screen, with golden, black and gray threads pulling in front of it.
After a moment, the expert picked up a pen and scribbled on the white paper, while loudly instructing: "Contact the students and elite school workers at all levels as soon as possible, and let them do whatever it takes..."
She looked up at the triple-nested ritual of power, squinting at the pale stars and the white hole-like core. "...Avoid direct contact between Chen Xiao'er and despair at all costs."
......
The energy hourglass slowly took shape, and Professor Milo, who was sitting inside the clock tower, looked up at the ever-expanding ceiling.
The originally cramped space inside the tower rose at least two meters in the second she raised her head.
The floor beneath her feet was also constantly extending. If she stood outside the tower and looked in, she would probably see not an old clock tower, but a skyscraper.
Is this an illusion?
[“This is reality.”] The devil explained kindly [“You can understand it as - a changing reality.”]
Milo did not ask any further questions. She could not see the three nested "crowns", but she could feel the familiarity of the multiple power rituals from the power filling her body and the devil's ever-approaching distance.
Here it comes again. Is it true that despair comes after hope?
[“Hmm, what are you going to do?”] The devil asked with interest, his tone as intimate as if fingers were touching lips.
I need to find number zero first.
Miroku replied calmly: Guanghui has relaxed the control over Zero's memory, but she herself has been reluctant to take that step. I want to give her a push.
Miroku actually doesn't like to interfere with other people's decisions, especially those related to relationships.
But now, whether for Chen Xiao'er or for the world, she would force Ling to fall into that pile of shattered memories and become Chen Xiao'er's reliable guardian again, even if she had to.
"Haha, are you too nervous? Just let things take their course." The devil said deliberately. "Don't humans believe in fate and destiny?"
Come on, everyone who's survived is a fighter. Those who just lay down and accept their "fate" have their bones weathered.
Milo opened the door and tried to find the way to the top floor in the maze-like corridor.
The easiest way, of course, was to find Chen Xiao'er, who had entered here. Just following her would definitely lead them to the top floor. However, a premonition, either human or demonic, made her unwilling to do so.
[“Okay, okay, I have to admit~”] The devil’s tone was like a gambler who cheated without being caught but had to show his cards to his friends.
"You don't even need to look for her."
Why?
Miroku didn't think so. Zero's previous education and the blank experiences that were constantly being reset were established facts.
Even though she would fall in love with Chen Xiao'er at first sight every time, she would not make some incredible but necessary breakthrough moves for this love.
They need time, and the world is running out of time.
[“Haven’t you always suspected that I was doing something secretly?”] The devil sighed and unfolded his hand of cards.
Yes, but you don't stand a chance.
Miroku replayed her conversations and actions with the demon every day, fearing it would find a way to trip up others. She was extremely cautious every time she used the demon's power, staying as far away from people as possible. How could it possibly have the chance to "do something" to Zero?
Could it be that contact at the water plant?
I gave it two minutes of free time. Maybe this devil would do something in that time.
Or that time near the gestation pond, when it almost hit zero.
"Oh, congratulations on eliminating two incorrect answers."
The devil lowered his voice, coaxing me. ["Think carefully, this is my only chance to act completely freely. And who on earth would put Chen Xiao'er's safety above the Church of Light?"]
Milo automatically ignored the distracting words in the second half of the sentence. She immediately locked onto the obvious hint: the freest free action, could it be that—the image of a high school teacher pulling the trigger at an intruder emerged in her mind.
It is the power ceremony of the Devouring Snake, where you have ample opportunities to come into contact with Ling and Chen Xiao'er!
【“bingo~”】The devil laughed happily.
Miroku withdrew his legs from the steps and walked towards the hall with a sullen face.
......
Zero opened his eyes in the darkness.
She moved her fingers and slowly stroked the fabric of her clothes: it was a long silk dress with many embroidery, dark patterns and raised gems on it.
It doesn't look like my usual clothes, but more like a stage costume.
She slowly stood up with the help of a chair, then felt up and down the wall and soon found a plastic switch.
Zero pressed it down hard.
Click.
The room was lit up with a warm yellow light, illuminating the gorgeous and intricate furnishings around it.
However, although these ornaments are beautiful, there are a few crudely made and inferior products mixed in, like fish eyes mixed in with pearls.
The exquisite "pearls" next to them were also placed in a corner in a disorderly manner. Judging from the way they were placed, they did not look like antique treasures in a museum, but rather props that the drama club students hurriedly put away after the performance.
"Xiao'er..." Ling rubbed her nose. Her memory was still stuck on the scene of her walking into the house with Chen Xiao'er.
Then—then there seemed to be a fire? The memory was blurry, and she wasn't sure.
After waking up, Zero's life experiences of the past 20 years became very vague. It seemed that there was nothing worth talking about except the days when he met Chen Xiao'er and searched for his missing family together... No, there was also a memory that appeared out of thin air.
This memory is even paler than 20 years of experience, and a lot of fragments are unreadable like erroneous data in a computer.
She only remembered that she and Chen Xiao'er were going to perform an ancient fairy tale at the school festival, and some lines from the script, but she couldn't remember anything else.
The slight headache quickly dissipated, and Ling's brows relaxed after she finished recalling the past: she was willing to believe that this memory was real. Because Xiao'er and she were both here, and they were in a relationship, just on the verge of breaking up.
Break up? Impossible.
I won't let you take risks alone, Xiao'ai.
Zero stood in front of the mirror and smiled slightly, and the mask of the ice beauty was shattered by this smile.
She turned around, imitating the movements of Chen Xiao'er that she remembered. However, the goddess of love's long skirt was too tight, and the hem stuck to her legs and could not be untied.
Zero stopped indifferently and subconsciously searched the room for the queen's crown.
Because according to the script she remembered, she would stand with the actress who played the princess to meet Xiao'e, and then crown the "Queen" in front of everyone.
There's also a strange scene later in the film where the queen, moved to tears, gives up her throne, declaring her intention to cultivate with the god of love and her sister. This scene was added later, as if someone emphasized that "Chen Xiao'er had to be persuaded to act this way."
Who is it? It doesn't matter.
Zero continued to look for the crown. Anyway, Xiao'er could act however she wanted. It was just a performance at the school festival. As long as everyone had fun, that was fine.
And whether she is happy or not is the most important thing.
[It would be great if Xiao'e could play the princess.] Even if it's a fake wedding, I'd be very happy.
This thought flashed through his mind, and Ling quickly put it aside: The Queen is the protagonist of this play, and Xiao'er should also want to play the protagonist, right?
Ling wandered around this neat "warehouse" for a long time but couldn't find the crown for the coronation ceremony.
Strange, where is it?
She looked at the dozen or so messy boxes, took a deep breath, and put on plastic gloves expressionlessly: It's okay, I'll start from the beginning.
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