Chapter 173 Cutting Through the Magical Realm of Reality 1
It was indeed completely different from the operating room scene I had just hallucinated.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that room that resembled a torture chamber.
His body had shrunk back to the size of a twelve-year-old, his wrists firmly bound by wooden shackles. He was barefoot, forced to stand on the slightly warm wire mesh floor, the air thick with heat and the stench of blood and decay. Occasionally, sounds that appeared to be human screams could be heard in the distance.
It was hardly a flattering scene, yet it was precisely this dangerous and terrifying atmosphere that captivated me, making me feel that this was the place I should be exploring.
The thought that this place might be a "space that doesn't belong to reality," like the basement on the fifteenth floor, made me even more eager to go.
I turned my head and glanced at the room next door to my right, my senses penetrating the wall. The witcher I had freed was there, but now he was nowhere to be seen. The remains of the researcher I had burned to death earlier were also gone; I wondered if they had been taken away by our own people.
Let's activate our superpowers first.
Last time, I was forced to log out of this place while activating my superpowers, so there might be some kind of causal relationship between "activating superpowers" and "being forced to log out".
I raised my handcuffed hands, held up my right index finger, and a small flame appeared above the fingertip like a lighter.
Immediately, a feeling of imminent collapse washed over me. Although the wire mesh floor beneath my feet appeared perfectly normal, I felt as if the ground I was standing on was about to crumble.
This one test, combined with my previous experience, made me realize the truth.
—This space can't even withstand my power!
Right now, I feel like a guest in a paper house, merely existing here. If I do nothing, the floor of this house can barely support my weight; but if I try to do anything strenuous here, the floor will immediately break and collapse, and I will fall into the void, or somewhere else I don't know.
In fact, this space was originally too small to support even my weight.
The evidence is my current body... I was confused before, but it turns out that the reason my body shrank is because I instinctively adjusted my "scale of existence" in order to take refuge here. My body is a fire aggregate; in my nineteen-year-old form, just standing here would burn through space, while in my twelve-year-old form, I am still within the limits of space.
In this light, Asahi's speculation is probably correct; this place really is an "alternate dimension."
This situation would never occur in the real world, and the assumption that "this is two years ago" can be discarded. Even if it's a different time, it's the same space, and the spatial strength two years ago shouldn't be so much weaker than it is now.
Since this is "now," and Chenlong is here, it means that Chang'an was likely captured here as well.
In my current state, where it's inconvenient to use my powers, it's not ideal to explore this treacherous place any further. However, from another perspective, this is exactly what I wanted. Although my escape route isn't completely cut off, it certainly increases the challenge. I'm forced to consider other combat methods, and at the same time, I'm pleased with this situation of being "forced to think."
Just then, the iron gate was opened from the outside, and a somewhat familiar figure sneaked into the cell.
It was the senior researcher who had spoken to me before.
He casually closed the iron gate, then saw me, paused slightly, and asked, "How did you get off the restraints?"
"It was Dr. Silver Mask who put me down," I replied.
"He actually... Could it be that he's planning to let you go later? That hypocrite..."
The senior researcher said dismissively, and looked at me with an attitude of utter lack of urgency.
I couldn't sense any of the aura typical of combat personnel from him, yet he showed no fear or tension in front of me. Even though the experimental subject was freed from restraints, he remained so relaxed; perhaps he saw me merely as a twelve-year-old child with his hands tied.
Even without any combat training, with the strength and weight of an adult, it would be easy for them to overpower me at this moment.
He said in a commanding tone, "Go back to the restraints."
"Are you planning to conduct human experiments on me?" I asked, pondering my hand. "Dr. Silver Mask has already forbidden you from doing this. It wouldn't be easy to explain going against his will like this, would it?"
"You can easily come up with a few reasons afterward. Do you think he would punish me for a kid like you with no background?" he sneered. "Stop asking so many questions. You're just an experimental subject. Why are you asking so many questions? Let the guards come and help you hold you down before removing your vocal cords. Anyway, the following experiments won't require your voice."
As he spoke, he took out something that looked like a car key from his pocket, which seemed to be a tool for summoning guards.
At that moment, I also launched my own counterattack.
How should one launch an attack when it is inconvenient to use superpowers? Normally, one should use one's own fists and feet directly, but I have other cards to play, namely the "Unpredictable Sword of the Heretic".
With a thought, the Heretic Impermanence Sword was summoned. I barely managed to grip the hilt with my handcuffed right hand and poured my own magic power into it.
My flame teleportation allows me to carry external items. Last time, I left my original body at the Humanitarian Affairs Office, so I didn't bring many things with me; this time, considering the inconvenience of using superpowers, I intentionally brought some items. Although the Outer Path Impermanence Sword is usually hidden by my side, it can also be directly decomposed and reassembled through flame teleportation, a fact I had already confirmed.
In an instant, just as the density of my own flames increased, I clearly felt that my physical fitness had been comprehensively improved.
During this process, I did not fall out of this space. Perhaps it is because the Unstable Sword of the Outer Path is an external object, and the pressure it exerts on this space is calculated separately from my own.
However, although I had anticipated this outcome, there were still some things I didn't understand. Even if this approach failed, it would be within my acceptable range, because in the end, it was still my own magic power that drove the Unstable Sword of the Heretic Path, and the enhancement effect also applied to myself. It would be perfectly reasonable to calculate it as "the pressure I exerted on the space increased".
Filled with doubt, I had already reached the senior researcher and swiftly swung my longsword diagonally. There was no swordsmanship technique whatsoever, the posture was utterly improper, merely a flash of speed. The sword light swept past, and blood erupted. The severed hand and the summoning artifact fell to the ground simultaneously.
The senior researcher took two steps back, slumped against the iron gate, and stared at his bleeding wrist. After three or four seconds, he finally opened his mouth. I wondered if I should cut his vocal cords as he wanted to do to me, but I still had so many questions for him, like about the "young girl Lu Chan." After that pause, a blood-curdling scream erupted from his end.
Would his screams summon the "jailers"—or rather, the guards? In a place like this, screams were practically the most common sound. Even if the guards heard them, they'd probably assume it was the experimental subject making the noise.
Ignoring his screams, I went forward and severed the tendons and muscles in his hands and feet. Then I searched his body and found an iron key.
The key looked similar in shape to the keyhole on the wooden cangue. I tried using it to open my cangue, and it worked. The cangue broke into two pieces and detached from my wrists.
It's not impossible to cut the wooden yoke with the Heretic Impermanence Sword, but Dr. Silver Mask said that it would trigger an alarm if it were hit hard. Although I'm curious how a wooden yoke would trigger an alarm, it's better to keep a low profile for now.
"You, you actually..." The senior researcher stared at my actions in shock, "You actually used the access card to unlock the magic seal? How is that possible? That's not a tool for that purpose at all... Ah..."
The unbearable pain in his limbs drowned out his subsequent words.
The access card... This iron key doesn't look like a "card" at all. Is it true that what others see is different from what I see?
I became even more interested.
First, I hid the Unpredictable Sword of the Heretic, then took out the Black Rope Heart-Locking Ring, put it on my left hand, and then squatted down in front of the senior researcher and grabbed his chest.
The left hand, now in phantom form, plunged straight into his chest and grasped his beating heart.
"Ugh—" He suddenly became unable to move.
Now he can only answer my questions and can no longer remain silent.
I'm actually quite curious about what it feels like to be forced to tell the truth. While it's said that you can force someone to tell the truth by grasping their heart, grasping your own heart is useless; at most, you'll feel your heart being touched. The ring's effect doesn't seem to activate on the ring's wearer.
"Where exactly is this place?" I asked.
He stared at me in horror, as if he wanted to ask me other questions, but under the ring's effect, he was forced to answer: "This... is the Humanitarian Division, our base."
"That's not what I'm asking about," I said after thinking for a moment. "What year and month is it now?"
“In October of the second or third year,” he replied.
The time, which is the same as in the real world, is "now".
"But the way those witchers acted before was just like they did two years ago. What's going on?" I asked.
"Because... this is the kind of space we have been in since it was formed, and it has been cycling endlessly..." He seemed unsure of how or from what angle to answer me for a moment.
"To put it simply, what kind of space is this?" I asked.
He paused, then said, "This is a reality cut off by the silver mask, a reality outside of reality."
(End of this chapter)
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