Chapter 160 142857 Alchemy has three unavoidable pursuits...
Such a large person disappeared into the pool, and there was no reaction on set. Everyone went about their business as usual, and the director had already obtained the footage of a stunt double.
The useless drinks were placed on a cart and the filming location was taken off. Xue Chao hid on the surface of the drinks and looked out at the city through the floor-to-ceiling window.
A small screen hanging in the corner of the corridor is broadcasting the news, reminding citizens that not only have there been frequent cases of animal abuse recently, but people have also gone missing, and reminding them not to go out unless necessary.
The city is much cleaner at night, and with no one on the streets, the background elements become more noticeable.
A strong sense of unease washed over him. The vast world crammed into his small perspective, and the swelling of his senses made him uncomfortable, but it wasn't just that.
Xue Chao noticed something had changed when he looked at the filming location through the bottle.
The lights of the tall buildings, shops, and streetlights outside the window... these lights that illuminate the night of the new era linger and then gradually recede, like the rhythm of life in these colossal structures.
Beverage carts were pushed into a huge warehouse, with all sorts of bottles and cups displayed on the shelves.
Besides the advertised products he had paid special attention to, including those for holding drinks and water, there were also many strangely shaped containers, like things found in a laboratory.
The warehouse door was closed.
Although the drink was colorless, it was very sweet. Xue Chao felt sticky all over. He waited cautiously for a moment before popping out. Were there little people in these bottles too?
He used the same shrunken rope prop to slide out of the bottle. He had checked the same batch of drinks before and there were no miniatures, so he swung the rope and swung to another shelf.
A shadow suddenly jumped out of the conical flask next to the wooden frame and mischievously tugged at his rope, forcing Xue Chao to crash into the frame. He quickly adjusted his angle, and strangely enough, he felt the wooden frame catch him.
He was somewhat surprised and uncertain, and slowly said, "Thank you... Mr. Wooden Frame?"
The wooden frame didn't move, and the lightest bottle on it didn't tremble, but Xue Chao felt an invisible ripple spread beneath his feet—it was responding to him!
It felt like suddenly realizing that the island beneath his feet was actually a whale. Xue Chao suppressed his guard, revealing an unguarded curiosity, squatted down, and gently stroked the wood grain of the shelf.
An ancient aura flowed along the veins of his spirit, resonating in his soul and swiftly leading him to experience this enduring life.
The shelf in the warehouse, if we look back in time, it was still a tree; if we go back even further, if it were buried in the ground, it was still a seed.
This is life. Xue Chao realized this deeply once again.
It was alarming enough, but it helped him. He felt a sense of compassion, not that life was inherently good, but that in the long run, everything would become more forgiving.
So Xue Chao wasn't surprised at all. Instead, he held onto the support of the frame and carefully looked outside.
The wooden shelf rippled again, like a public, gentle call, and the other shelves responded, with the shadows of tiny figures appearing from the bottle.
The little figure that had played the prank is now upside down at the mouth of the bottle, looking down and making faces at Xue Chao with a grin.
It has a nose and eyes, like a miniature human, but upon closer inspection, it has a non-human quality, like a laughing monster from legends.
Simply put, he's a hypocrite.
Thanks to this instance having internet access, the witch cartoon introduced the topic of refining gold, so Xue Chao searched for alchemy.
Alchemy has three inescapable pursuits: the Philosopher's Stone, which transforms base metals into precious metals; homunculus; and a panacea that grants immortality.
Let's assume the instance world they just entered is the original world at level 0, and extracting the gold is the inner world at level 1. The theme of that disc is the Philosopher's Stone, which in the story is a corpse.
These humanoid creatures that deconstruct and reassemble humans are the theme of the second layer of the inner world, corresponding to artificial humans.
Having watched so many DVDs, there are probably only three worlds that truly require in-depth exploration; the next one is likely a panacea.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" A crisp voice came from the little man's belly, his mouth didn't move, he just laughed.
It's like a doll with the wrong parts, talking through its belly button.
"We're all the same, why should I be afraid of you?" Xue Chao looked at him strangely. "Are you afraid of me?"
The little figure, just beginning to take human form, had probably never been challenged before. Its eyes widened, and it was speechless for a moment.
Xue Chao didn't give it time to react. He was more curious about these inanimate objects that had somehow developed consciousness than about the artificial little man.
"What are you?" he asked softly.
The wooden frame could not answer him, but it resonated with him. The two spiritual entities came into contact, and he felt its presence. Its presence was not uniform, but rather spread outward from a point.
He jumped to the center of the wooden frame, a sudden thought flashing through his mind: "Is this your heart?"
“Theirs are called ‘nuclei,’ kid,” the android scoffed. “You’re not the only ones who can call it life.”
“Animism certainly has its merits, and you’re right, you are life too.” Xue Chao coaxed the little man into a smile, then changed the subject, “You are a new life formed from the shattering and reconstruction of an old life, so is it too? Are you evolving through alchemy?”
The artificial human's face instantly contorted: "What kind of bullshit evolution is this!"
It pointed excitedly to its own heart, then to the wooden frame, the ceiling, and the floor: "She threw us into her territory, filled her wasteland, and played God, making everyone play games with her. Which of these bricks and stones is her own? She is a despicable robber!"
The dark clouds just happened to disperse, and beautiful starlight fell into the warehouse, but it aroused panic among all living beings.
"Which idiot opened the curtains?!"
"Aaaaah, close it quickly! Her Majesty the Witch hates stars the most!"
The curtains were quickly pulled up by the little figures swinging on the curtain cord together, but Xue Chao's memory was still of the mysterious incantation on the wall when the starlight shone in.
Xue Chao sensed life in all things that were theoretically inanimate, not just wooden frames.
This is the witch's territory; she seized the warehouse, and the little people are toys she captured, extracted the cores from, and then reassembled.
Is it displayed as a decoration, or does it serve another purpose?
His mental strength was strong, and after turning into a small person, he became even more sensitive, as if all his nerves were exposed to the outside of his body, making it impossible for him to ignore the mental fluctuations that came his way.
Xue Chao's eyes flashed, sensing a deeper meaning.
This wasn't a randomly chosen copy; it was yet another attempt to guide him, and this was the message the other party wanted to convey.
Pu Fengchun, Sheng Hong, Ming Yang, Hurd, Subhuti, Li Changying, Boss Tang... one link after another, where exactly are they trying to lead him?
"Are we a grain reserve?" He raised an eyebrow.
“She’d rather eat us than eat us,” the little man sneered. “We’re just decorations, but she has no shortage of decorations. She’s fickle and easily bored. Our fate is to gather dust in a corner.”
Xue Chao probed a few more times, so the witch just thought it was fun and kept them as collectibles, but she hadn't been here for a long time. She always had new toys and couldn't remember them. Some of the little people had never even seen her before.
Some bottles had necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry hanging on them, as if a witch had just put them there and used them as jewelry racks.
"Where is she?" Xue Chao asked with perfectly timed disappointment. "I forgot, you haven't seen her much either. How could ornaments possibly know their owner's whereabouts?"
"Who says I don't know! It's just that she's not here!"
Xue Chao grasped the key point: the witch wasn't here, anyone could see that, so "here" didn't refer to the warehouse.
Not in this world?
He immediately ran up, tied the bottles together with ropes, secured them to the shelf to increase gravity, and suddenly darted into the curtains. The wind from the open window almost blew him away, and the little bottles, grumbling, helped him hold them up so that their bottles wouldn't be pulled over.
The building was so tall that even a normal human would feel dizzy looking down at it, let alone someone as small as a finger. Xue Chao tried to ignore everything else and just stared at the building's screen.
The entire building seemed to be breathing slowly, but this screen was cold and lifeless, like a vacuum had been carved out.
A new advertisement is playing; it features a beautifully designed, European-style bottle of liquor, brewed over a century, called "Dionysus's Wine."
The name is unique, but it still involves water and a bottle. Moreover, Dionysus is the god of wine in ancient Greek mythology, and the concept of the little man in the bottle can be traced back to ancient Greece. The advertisement should still be within the scope of this world.
Xue Chao waited patiently for the new theme to appear on the screen.
However, he was wrong. After the commercial ended, he suddenly returned to his normal size. The sudden increase in gravity caused him to fall rapidly. The wooden frame was dragged towards the window, and the swaying little figures clung to the bottle and cried out.
He swiftly grabbed the fluttering curtain, pulling his body upwards. With his other hand, he reached for the edge of the window, but the curtain, like a ribbon without a fixed anchor, was easily pulled off and he fell with it.
Inside the warehouse, a tiny figure, leaning precariously, had squinting eyes; a flash of scarlet light appeared briefly.
Xue Chao quickly changed his strategy. While the frame was stuck by the window and the rope hadn't broken yet, he slid down and smashed through the glass, rolling into the room on the next floor.
This is the storage room; his phone, which he dropped into the pool, is right here.
He set up a timed send, containing his speculations about the copy, including alchemical information, and set multiple time intervals.
The closest time is now, he deduced based on the time it took for the players to reach the same world level as him for the first time.
The players' progress reported by the camera was about the same; they should have already reached the second layer of the disc world, but the message transmission failed again.
So he has already entered the third layer of the world?
Is the panacea related to that wine?
As they ventured deeper into the building, the number of people increased. Xue Chao disguised himself and infiltrated, but unfortunately, he was forced to do some work. By the time he finally left the building, it was already past midnight.
But the sun did not appear; it was still night, the clouds dispersed, and the stars shone brightly.
The androids said that the witch didn't like the stars, so there would be dark clouds at night.
Jiang Ming also hates stars. Xi Bei Mountain is always shrouded in dark clouds, and the starlight from the infinite world can never reach his mountain.
What do stars represent?
By the way, players mentioned that universities and science museums organize stargazing events, which might provide clues.
When Xue Chao stopped at the entrance of the science and technology museum, he suddenly remembered something and checked the panel.
The host's identity is grayed out and awaiting unlocking.
In the second layer of the world, he was one layer ahead of the players, but his host identity was never unlocked. Was it because he entered the third layer too quickly?
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