Chapter 177 Escape
I immediately quickened my pace.
At its maximum speed, the dragon could reach me in the blink of an eye.
Even though the roads to this secret outpost were intricate and complex, he couldn't go at full speed; at the slowest, it wouldn't take more than a breath.
Unfortunately, I am no match for him now.
I have more or less grasped the full power I am capable of at this moment, which is roughly equivalent to the level of the monster creators I have fought in the past. This is both the limit of the enhancement of my combat power by the Outer Path Impermanence Sword and the limit that this independent reality space can bear.
As I killed those strange figures, I once again felt the space around me swaying precariously. Even if the Heretic Impermanence Sword could be strengthened a fraction more, I couldn't actually use it to enhance myself. Doing so would only force me to log out of this stronghold again.
Even if I could now strengthen myself to the point where I could fight Chenlong, I would still be helpless against that cheating portal armor. My victory in the last battle was based on brute force, using a power density far exceeding his, to break through the portal armor. That method couldn't be based on merely being able to contend with him.
However, since this stronghold can only withstand power at the level of a certain level, why is Chenlong able to unleash mana fluctuations at the level of a great master?
Could it be that he has a "home advantage" here, and only outsiders like me need to worry about being logged out, while he can freely do whatever he wants?
Furthermore, based on his performance last time, he was clearly capable of using stealth skills that even I could hardly detect. Why is he now deliberately unleashing such a surge of magical power before moving towards me? Isn't this just a reminder for me to run away quickly?
Filled with intense doubt, I looked around, searching for a place to hide. I had no intention of returning to my original cell, the place where I had killed someone; hiding there was simply not a good idea. If I were to hide, I would hide in another cell.
However, the other cells were all locked, their iron doors tightly shut—and thinking of the "locked" part, I took out the iron key I'd obtained from the senior researcher. Judging from the keyhole, the iron key might be able to open this lock as well. Besides, the senior researcher had mentioned that this iron key was a "access card."
I stepped forward and tried, and the iron gate opened as expected.
How could the key to the cell's iron door and the key to the wooden cangue be the same? Yet the facts were undeniable. Without a second thought, I hid inside the cell and casually closed the iron door. The door locked itself. It just so happened that the cell was empty; it wasn't a coincidence, I had deliberately chosen a cell where no noise could be heard.
That wasn't all. I continued searching for other hiding places in the cell, and soon I saw the Iron Maiden in a corner, just as I had seen her in other cells before.
A normal person would never hide inside a torture device like the Iron Maiden, but my situation was different. I simply opened the Iron Maiden, crawled inside, and then closed the lid from the inside.
The countless knife-like spikes inside the Iron Maiden mercilessly pierced my flesh and blood, as if dozens of knife-wielding murderers were simultaneously stabbing me.
If this were an ordinary human, they would surely be either dead or maimed; they simply couldn't make such a choice. However, I am a fire aggregate, and my sense of pain and blood are mimicked; I can freely choose whether to turn the mimicry off. The knife-like spikes piercing my body not only didn't cause me any decent pain, but not even a drop of blood came out.
From entering the cell to hiding in the Iron Maiden, it might sound like it took a long time, but for my current mental processing and movement speed, it was only a matter of half a breath. Almost at the same time I closed the lid, Chenlong's magical energy surged like lightning to the corridor where I had just been, and then stopped moving.
Inside the Iron Maiden, it was pitch black. I silently held my breath, imagining myself as a cold-blooded animal lying in slumber.
Then, sounds came from outside the corridor as Chenlong opened the iron gate and checked the inside of the cell.
After a while, Chenlong finally entered my cell. There was the sound of the lock being opened, followed by the clunking of the iron door. Footsteps entered the room.
I didn't rashly use my senses to perceive the outside of the Iron Maiden. Instead, I peered out through the cracks in the Iron Maiden's lid. I could vaguely make out Chenlong's figure. He stood in the center of the cell, surveying the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Chenlong wasn't originally an enemy I couldn't match, but due to environmental factors, I had to hide like this, which made me somewhat unhappy. I had an urge to jump out and fight him directly.
On the other hand, I actually quite enjoy this game of hide-and-seek. Why? Because right now I feel like the protagonist in a horror game, hiding in a closet to avoid monsters. This kind of "role-playing" can probably only be experienced in this kind of situation.
As for the idea that "circumstances are stronger than people"... while this reason may indeed be important from an objective point of view, it is actually a little less important in my mind at this moment.
Perhaps Chenlong can not only sense my thermal energy, but also inexplicably sense my gaze, thus discovering my hiding place. Hmm, I should take this opportunity to think about what my entrance line should be when he discovers me, and also decide on the method for jumping out of the Iron Maiden as soon as possible... I don't know if it's due to the influence of my twelve-year-old body, but I can't help but let my mind wander.
Despite my thoughts, I decided to temporarily shut down the simulation of my breathing, heartbeat, and other physiological activities. After all, I didn't need breathing or a heartbeat, and blood flow and endocrine function were unnecessary; those physiological activities would only be detected by Chenlong's extraordinary perception.
It's uncertain how effective this effort will be, since Chenlong can still sense fluctuations in magical power. However, if he can truly find me this way, then when he first saw me in this stronghold, he should have been able to detect that I wasn't an "ordinary twelve-year-old child" through the fluctuations in magical power. Perhaps my "misunderstanding aura" at this stronghold can hinder his perception?
It's possible that Chenlong, with his extraordinary vision, could see me directly through the cracks in the Iron Maiden's lid... However, while this device appears to me as the Iron Maiden, it might be some other sophisticated instrument suitable for scientific experiments to others. The same goes for the cells here; they might not actually be perceived by others as easily emitting screams, but rather as highly soundproofed laboratories.
The scene I saw in Lu Youxun's vision was originally a neat operating room, not a messy prison cell.
"..."
Chenlong seemed to possess some mysterious certainty, perhaps related to his sixth sense, amplified by his "Full Enhancement" ability. He probably felt I was in this cell, and that's why he'd been staying here for an unusually long time. Like a loner terrified of cockroaches meticulously inspecting their home after encountering an escaped one, his expression was unusually tense, visible through the cracks.
However, he never came to open and inspect the Iron Maiden.
Even if he truly believed my hiding place was an impenetrable barrier, he shouldn't have failed to inspect it. The common sense that "an impenetrable barrier cannot be used" is simply not applicable to people of our world. It was as if, in his view, my hiding place wasn't a mechanism that could be opened. Even the most skilled hider wouldn't hide inside a bare clothes rack—that was his attitude.
After a long while, he seemed to finally give up and turned to leave.
I didn't leave the Iron Maiden rashly. A moment later, he reappeared, quickly entering the cell and checking everywhere for any signs of alteration. Of course, there were none. He stood up with his back to me and left again with regret.
A long time passed, and after I was certain that he would not return, I opened the lid of the Iron Maiden and stepped out.
We can consider it a narrow escape.
Moreover, this should be enough to confirm it.
My perception here is not only "what I see is different from what others see", but it can even have the effect of "what you see is what you get".
It's said that dogs can distinguish fewer colors than humans, therefore the world appears different to them. However, we can't say that the world humans see is correct and the world dogs see is wrong. We can only say that the worlds perceived by each are presented in different ways.
Even if the objective world differs in the subjective perceptions of both parties, it should not apply double standards in actual interactions. Even if a drunk person mistakes a man for a woman, it is impossible for the mistaken person to actually become pregnant.
However, my situation was clearly different. The iron key, which should have been a "door card," could open both the iron gate and the wooden yoke; what Chenlong might see as a useless hiding place, I saw as a hiding place.
Does that mean what I see is the correct world, and what they see is wrong? I can't think that way. This is their territory, even a field where scientific research activities must be based on correct understanding. There's no reason why what I, an uninvited guest, observe is the truly correct one.
There may very well be two contradictory "correct" statements existing simultaneously here.
Why would such an inexplicable phenomenon happen to me?
When I present them with a contradictory "correctness," how do events actually appear in their eyes? Just thinking about it is bizarre and surreal, like worms crawling in my veins, making it hard to distinguish between horror and curiosity.
I moved silently to the door of the cell and peered into the corridor outside.
(End of this chapter)
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