Although he had read this document many times, he did not mind reading it further, because the more he read, the more he could deduce from it.

"For the first time, the ending was annihilation. Including Ming Zhou, the Countermeasures Bureau, and An Jianxiu, no one survived."

Bai Ling leaned against the bed, his eyes calm. "I was unable to guess the ability of the Pale Lady the first time. I only concluded that it was related to 'contradiction'. Besides that, her location seemed to be in the middle realm between spirit and matter. After more than thirty attempts, I concluded that the weakest location of the middle realm was in the rooms of those photographers."

"In the afternoon, the meteorological disaster in Xinhai City will completely break out. It is preliminarily inferred that it is the sandstorm released by the pale lady and the hundred ghosts. The method is similar to that in Yanxia Mountain before, which is also to change the terrain and weather. Perhaps this time Xinhai City and 'Human Watch' are also involved?"

"No, it shouldn't be Human Watch. They can't protect themselves now, and various countries are trying to wipe them out. So, what other organizations are hidden outside of Human Watch? According to the special situation of Human Watch, it is Western Europe? In this case, maybe it is related to a Western European 'Emperor'..."

"The Ruler? Redbeard? Or... Lionheart?"

"Whoever it is, if it is related to Humanity's Watch, it may be due to 'Hermes'. After all, the fifth seat of Humanity's Watch, the alchemist, is a member of the Hermetic sect. So, could it be that when being surrounded, the alchemist tried to seek the protection of the Emperor? No, the Pale Lady should have been earlier than this, it is unlikely to happen at this time."

"The key now is what does the pale lady want? Why did she come to Xinhai City again? What is her purpose in bringing the Hundred Ghosts here..."

Bai Ling's eyes flickered.

He looked up at the dark ceiling, was silent for a moment, and began to write and draw in his notebook.

After writing a long paragraph, Bai Ling stopped writing, frowned and looked towards the room.

"The ring clearly sensed the spiritual fluctuations. Does this mean that Ms. Cangbai left the middle world and headed for the material world? In other words, did Xun Mo and Ming Zhou's people run into Ms. Cangbai?"

Thinking of this, Bai Ling put down the notebook in his hand.

He glanced at the time on his phone. It was 8:47 AM.

Putting the phone aside, Bai Ling took out a mask from his arms.

It was a wooden mask that looked like it was laughing and crying, and the two blue pupils in the eye sockets of the mask were particularly conspicuous.

After putting on the mask, he folded his hands over his chest.

"Cover up my scent," he said.

After completing this action, the ring on his hand lit up with pure white light.

As if a flashlight was shining through a mirror, the light from the ring seemed distant and secretive, gradually prying open the connection and shackles between the real world and the spiritual world, and forcibly pulling out a gap through the airtight door for Bering to "walk".

This should be a difficult thing for ordinary people.

After all, it is difficult for ordinary people to even understand the spiritual world, let alone enter such an abstract realm as the so-called "middle world between spirit and matter."

But Bering was able to do it.

On the one hand, it was because he had the assistance of the ring, and on the other hand, as the ruler of the sea of ​​consciousness, no one knew how to dive into consciousness better than him.

Right now, we are just slightly changing our strategies during the dive.

After a few brief seconds, when he opened his eyes again, the scene in front of him had changed from a gloomy house to an empty room with floating flames and frost.

Getting up from the bed, Bai Ling turned his head and glanced at the table beside him.

Sure enough, he saw Brother Long's camera lying on the table next to him, and it looked no different from a new one.

Reaching out and grabbing the camera, Bai Ling pondered and said, "It seems that the template is still in the material world, just like something printed out by 3D. This camera is probably a projection of an object from the outside world on this world, and it is not a real thing."

Putting down the dark and heavy equipment, Bai Ling gently stroked the frost on the wall.

"The temperature opposition... does this mean that there may have been people in this room before?" Bai Ling said in a flat voice. "According to what I saw in the photographer's memory before, the Pale Lady said that the photographer's fear would plant new seeds in the garden. So, can we say that all things that may present oppositions were originally human beings?"

"That's understandable. If this is really a special world between matter and spirit, then there must be something that serves as the foundation of this place. And the human spirit may really be used in places beyond the spirit and matter."

In other words, this world... is likely to be a pile of corpses made up of human spirits.

But it's all just speculation.

Bailing knew too little about the Pale Lady's abilities. Although he had found some information and clues through the photographer's memory, there were some things he still planned to see in person.

After all, the memories left by the photographer are only his subjective records, which to some extent cannot represent the real pale lady.

Bering took a step forward and left the photographer's room.

He followed the path the photographer remembered and made his way to the parking lot.

The road is not too far and it only takes a few minutes to get there.

In this place, he saw broken arms and limbs, as well as blood and bright red human organs pasted on the wall.

Looking down at the remains, Bai Ling thought: "He has been dead for a long time."

He kicked the broken arm on the ground, his eyes following the rolling arm. "I don't recognize any of these people. Does that mean they are not our companions? In other words, they are the people killed by the Pale Lady before us? This is good news. It seems that the Pale Lady has not yet escaped the shackles of time. This world in the middle also follows the laws of time."

It would be terrible if Bailing knew anyone here.

Because the bodies here have been dead for a long time, conservatively estimated to be several years. And Bailing and his team just came here yesterday. If the bodies yesterday showed signs of death for several years in this world... then it means that the speed of time in this world may be different from that in the real world.

This also means that the rule of "time", which restricts all living things, may not work in this world.

Even An Jianxiu's shadow and the aging creator god El had said in person that "time" was not a power that anyone could control, not even alien species.

Above the rules of "life", "death", "soul", etc., "time" is like the absolute emperor, ruling everything.

Bai Ling had previously suspected that perhaps the Pale Lady had mastered some of the abilities of "time".

Now it seems that this doubt can be temporarily eliminated. Although the Pale Lady's ability is strange, it is still bound by "time" after all.

This way, one of my doubts was resolved.

Nodding, Bai Ling took two steps forward.

This time he saw the sculpture that the photographer had lingered on for a long time.

Standing in front of the sculpture, Bai Ling looked at it carefully.

He did not feel the same "being spied on" feeling as the photographer did, perhaps because the pale lady was currently entangled in other things and had no time to look at him.

But it's okay this way.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ling stretched out his hand.

The next second, he hit the sculpture's belly hard!

The force of this punch was very strong, it was a punch from an adult man with all his strength. Under normal circumstances, this punch would not break the sculpture, but at least it would shake it a few times.

However, the moment his fist touched the surface of the sculpture, Bai Ling felt a wonderful...softness.

It's like a punch to a human body, without any of the hardness and heaviness of a sculpture.

This is……

Bai Ling's eyes flickered.

He withdrew his hand and looked up at the tall sculpture and the four eyes on it.

Soon, at the moment of eye contact.

He finally experienced the same feeling as the photographer before him, that of being watched.

It was as if something had crossed the vast distance, projected all the way from the other side, and landed on him. There was undisguised malice in his eyes, like a bone-biting poison, emitting a shimmering glow.

"I see," Bai Ling nodded slightly, "Is this a clone?"

"Or to be more precise, this is a part of your body, a beacon that you have inserted into this world."

Bai Ling turned his head and glanced at the broken sky: "This world is not made up of humans, or it was not made up of humans in the beginning. The human spirit cannot build such a huge world. It would consume too many lives. So - the cornerstone that is free from matter and spirit is actually you."

“你自身也有着‘矛盾’，而你利用这个世界分开了你矛盾的另一面，只留下眼下的你自己。所以，现在的你其实只是原本你的一半？”

“你来新海的目的，就是为了找回你的另一半？”

在虚空之中，苍白的身影打破了空间的桎梏，落在白令的侧边。

“就是你？”她的声音飘渺，又像是在人的耳边低吟，“你就是那个把人类送进来的家伙……我从你身上感觉到了熟悉的味道。”

“你，和‘赫尔墨斯’有什么关系？”

白令什么话都没有说。

他只是自顾自地说道：“你的样子看起来像是死了很久的人，但是灵魂却蕴含着生机。这种矛盾的情况，难道说你自身的矛盾是生与死？现在的你是‘死掉的生’，而被你分离出来的……是‘活着的死’？”

“真奇怪，生与死的规则不应该还在天渊之中吗？这应该不会被任何的异种所掌握才对，为什么你能够表现出来这样的对立，是因为你本身比较特殊……你是神祇？只有神祇因为‘神话扭曲’的特性，能够带出一些规则的力量。”

“生与死同时并立的神祇，难道说你是‘死亡女神’海拉？”

一半脸是明丽的小女孩，而另一半脸则是苍白的尸体，北欧神话之中冥界赫尔海姆的管理者——海拉。

但是不应该啊。

深渊之中是存在着的海拉的，这一点“人类守望”可以证明，此前西欧的学者老头在和自己那个弟子争执的时候，也提到了深渊的“海拉”是如何残暴的神祇。

明明已经有了一个海拉，怎么可能会出现第二个？

怀着这样的疑惑，白令抬头看了一眼苍白女士：“你身上似乎有很多的谜团。”

面对白令的疑惑，苍白女士轻笑着说道：“看起来你很疑惑？”

“你是猜不到的，人类又如何能够理解我们的伟大？”她从空中落下，停在白令的面前，“你们是渺小宛如蚂蚁的生物，抬起头的时候连繁星都会感到敬畏，被无用的情感劳锁、却以伟大妄议自身。作为智慧生命而言，你们丑陋而充满缺陷。”

她那骨节凸出的手轻轻盖在白令的脸上：“不过你倒是人类之中比较特殊的一个，我能够从你的身上感觉到‘死亡’的气息。你是一个活着的死人？有意思，如果不是因为我知晓我半身的所在，或许我都会以为你才是我的另一半了。”

“这样吧，如果你愿意告诉我为什么你会有赫尔墨斯的气息、我就告诉你我的一部分秘密，你说如何？”

她的手很粗糙，或许也很冷，就像是她现在的笑容一样。

这只是一句玩笑一般的嘲弄，苍白女士自己都没把这句话放在心上。

然而出乎她意料的是。

“好啊，”白令说道，“成交。”

他抬起头看着苍白女士，眼神平静而淡漠：“我可以告诉你赫尔墨斯的信息，也可以告诉你如何找到祂、甚至还可以告诉你祂是如何盗取‘灵魂’的。但是与之相对的，你需要告诉我对应的秘密。”

这句话着实让苍白女士愣住了。

尽管她的脸上满是白骨，但是白令还是从她的眼神里看出了她现在的错愕。

大概从来没有人这么直截了当地想要跟她谈条件。

在沉默了好一会儿之后，她忍不住发出了低沉的笑声。

这个笑声听起来很瘆人，仿佛用指甲刮着黑板一样，带着让人不寒而栗的尖锐。

“有意思，”她说道，“我对你是越发好奇了。你这种盲目的勇气，究竟是从何而来？”

在笑声中，她那错乱分布的五官开始一张一合：“没问题，我会问三个问题，而你也可以提问三个。”

只有三个？是因为她只需要三个答案？ 白令心中如此想着。

看着苍白女士，他平静地说道：“你先问吧。”

苍白女士微微颔首，直接抛出自己的第一个问题：“你身上为什么会有赫尔墨斯的气息？”

面对这个问题，白令也一点不含糊。

他直接亮出自己的手掌，然后对着苍白女士说道：“赫尔墨斯派的最新研究，你知道的、他们对精神很在行。”

目光停留在白令的手指上，苍白女士微微一怔。

很快，她就微笑着说道：“原来如此，赫尔墨斯的后辈，还真是疯了。好吧，第一个问题结束了，你该询问了。不过事先说好，我不会告诉你关于我自身的任何情报。”

她很谨慎，哪怕答应了白令、也在之后迅速打上了补丁。

不过白令也没打算就这么询问苍白女士自己的信息。

从自己嘴巴里说出来的，完全没有办法验证其真实性。

事实上他想要问的是其他的内容。

看着苍白女士，白令淡淡地说道：“我的第一个问题是，你知道‘红蜘蛛’吗？”

红蜘蛛……

听着这个名字，苍白女士眉毛的地方有了些许松动。

她大概是在蹙眉，然而她错乱的五官让她很难做出这样的动作来。

过了好一会儿，她才说道：“如果你说的那个‘红蜘蛛’，跟我认识的那个人是同一个的话，那么我大概是认识的。”

“他是个由人类当作核心的疯子，将其它人的精神也纳入自己的精神之中、以为通过这样的方式可以登临王座。但是很明显，他现在还没有成功。”

得到了答案之后的白令微微颔首。

按照苍白女士的说法，红蜘蛛的人类核心、或许是他能够成就“王座”的原因？

而“王座”，如果不出意外的话、大概就是“起源”了。

所以说，尽管现在还没有成功，但是不久之后、红蜘蛛就会成为这个世界上第一个“起源”级的异种……

他是怎么做到的？ 怀着这样的疑问，白令朝着苍白女士说道：“第二个。”

看着干脆利落的白令，苍白女士的笑意越发浓郁：“我发现我是越来越喜欢你了。”

“好吧，第二个问题就是，赫尔墨斯他……是怎么盗取的‘灵魂’？”

面对这个问题，白令脸上的面色没有丝毫变化。

他几乎是张口就来：“规则。他自身的规则。”

“祂是盗贼的保护神，从神话之中扭曲诞生而来的祂继承了神话里的盗贼特性，再加上缜密的布局以及其他神祇和规则异种的帮助，祂最终盗取了部分‘灵魂’的规则。”

还真是这样啊。

尽管苍白女士没有说话，但是先知却看出了她眼神的意思。

这个答案是一个“不算对”的错误答案。

其实白令也不知道赫尔墨斯到底是怎么做的，但是他知道、苍白女士是怎么想的。

根据苍白女士自己的想法，赫尔墨斯也必然是利用自己的盗贼特性，盗取了部分“灵魂”的规则。

这个时候只需要顺着她的想法说下去，那么白令的回答就算不是对的、也会被苍白女士认可。

现在看来，效果还不错。

苍白女士嘀咕着说道：“呵，卑劣的小偷神……”

摇摇头，她继续看着白令：“第二个问题，你问吧。”

得到了应允的白令没有丝毫犹豫。

他将自己这次最重要、最渴望得到回答的问题询问了出来：“你说的‘王座’，就是‘起源’吧？”

“起源它，到底有着怎样的权力？”

话音落下。

苍白女士的脸逐渐有了些许变化。

挂在白骨上的五官开始松动，就像是听到了什么有意思的东西一样，她的眼神里满是嘲弄和乐趣。

“哈哈哈，竟然是这个问题？”苍白女士嘲笑地说道，“有意思，看来你知道的比我想象中的要多。”

“好吧，正好这个问题这个世界上除了我之外、大概也没有多少人能够回答了。作为你给我带来乐趣的奖励，我就告诉你答案。”

她低头看着白令：“你知道，异种最畏惧的是什么吗？”

最畏惧的……

白令没有回答。

他知道，苍白女士会自己说出答案。

果然，下一秒钟，苍白女士就自言自语道：“是‘时间’。”

“我不知道你们人类能不能够理解，但是事实就是，哪怕是‘神祇’、也对时间无比畏惧。而那些从概念之中扭曲出来的怪物，更是对这个东西恐惧不已。”

“而‘起源’，其目的就是为了战胜‘时间’！”

苍白女士的声音逐渐高昂：“没错，‘时间’是君临一切的主宰，而‘起源’、就是要将这个主宰牢牢踩在脚下的叛逆者！登临王座之人，将会从时间的枷锁之中超脱！这个世界，甚至于是世界之外、都将成为祂的乐园！”

As she spoke, she pulled her neck viciously: "Even if we don't want this world, there is no one who doesn't want to be the 'Origin'! Time is like a rope around our necks, binding us tightly and making us unable to move! As noble creatures, no one is willing to be a prisoner!"

"This is the meaning of 'Origin'. Those who can achieve Origin will become the new king who can step on time and compete for the throne!"

"So far, most of the people who have tried have failed. However, failure does not mean nothing is gained. At least, the 'Abyss' is the product of the failure of the Origin of Promotion. It has broken free from the shackles of time to a certain extent, but in the end it was entangled more deeply..."

Listen to her words.

For the first time, a wave appeared in the prophet's calm eyes.

So this is the "origin"...

He thought of the "abyss" that the witch had opened before, and the fact that his abilities had no effect on the abyss.

"Sure enough, the purpose of the origin is to transcend time and become the only one," he sighed, "Perhaps this is good news. So far, no origin has been born."

Hmm? Looking at Bai Ling, the pale lady's originally high-spirited attitude gradually cooled down.

She narrowed her eyes and whispered, "What are you talking about?"

Unconsciously, there was a hint of caution in her tone.

Bai Ling just shook his head: "The second question is over. Let's stop here for today."

He looked up at the pale lady and said, "Thank you for your answer. Thank you very much. I can say that your answer this time has given me a lot of inspiration. Regardless of anything else, just this information alone makes my second visit not in vain."

What is he talking about? Listening to Bai Ling's voice, the pale lady became more and more surprised.

She always felt as if something terribly wrong was going on.

With her eyes flashing, she didn't hesitate for a moment and attacked Bai Ling like lightning!

This hand pierced through Bai Ling's chest and directly grasped his stopped heart firmly in his hand.

And Bai Ling just said calmly: "It's useless."

"I have found the answer, but you are still sinking," he said, "but it doesn't matter. After all, soon, you will forget everything that happened and still be lost in the darkness."

"Goodbye, then."

After saying this, Bai Ling closed his eyes.

Wait until he opens his eyes and wakes up again.

He was already in Brother Long's room.

Turning his head to glance at his phone, Bai Ling's eyes were fixed on the seconds on the phone screen.

8:47, not more, not less, exactly twenty minutes.