This time it's my turn
Yunxi's fingers tightened, the force with which she gripped Shixu's wrist betraying her disapproval. "Reckless," she commented, her voice still cold, but her sharp gaze sweeping over the unstable blue light surrounding him.
Her subtle concern only fueled the madness in Shi Xu's eyes, almost overflowing. "As long as it works," he said in a low, hoarse voice, with a kind of self-destructive pleasure. "He can afford to wait, but we can't."
Without further hesitation, the blue light igniting from his chest suddenly intensified, as if the very core of his divine being was being set ablaze. The light no longer merely flowed beneath his skin, but pierced through his body, transforming into countless fine, leaping threads of data, which shot fiercely into every corner of the "gap" space—the pulsating roots on the walls, the suspended crystal ball, the wildly spinning compass, the automatically turning pages of the books, the humming metal discs… even the ground beneath their feet and the dim "sky" above their heads.
The entire "gap" space emitted a low, guttural groan emanating from the realm of rules. The anomalies on all objects were forcibly amplified, accelerated, and distorted! The light from the roots flickered wildly, erratically, like a dying heart; the clouds within the crystal ball churned violently, and the projected image of Officer Zhou began to show snow-like noise and severe distortion; the compass needle completely lost its direction, spinning at high speed like a headless fly; the pages of the books turned so fast they tore through the air; the hum of the metal disc turned into a piercing shriek!
This space, which was already distorted in time, is now being forcibly transformed into an extremely unstable domain filled with chaotic time flows and paradoxical traps under the infusion of divine power that disregards the cost of time!
"You're accelerating the entropy increase of this space!" Yunxi immediately assessed the consequences and tried to stop her. "If this continues, this place will soon completely collapse, and we'll all have nowhere to escape!"
“No.” Shi Xu gasped for breath, but a smile played on his lips as he looked at the gap in the clouds. “The moment before the collapse… will be the moment when the noise is strongest in the ‘system’s’ perception. It will also be the moment when its defense logic is most likely to have a vulnerability.”
He raised his other hand and pointed to the violently fluctuating image in the crystal ball: "At that time... we can tear a crack, not to escape back to the reality he guards, but... to jump directly into the time turbulence!"
Jumping into the time turbulence is practically suicidal; even the divine being himself could get lost and be torn apart within it.
Yunxi instantly understood his entire plan—he wasn't trying to strengthen the defenses, nor was he trying to break through head-on; he was trying to turn himself and this "gap" into a bomb to be thrown at the "system," using the most extreme and insane methods to blast out a path to survival, even if that path to survival was also fraught with peril.
All of this was for survival. For her to have a sliver of hope, to escape the control of the "system" and Officer Zhou.
"You will dissipate." Yunxi stated the most likely outcome, his voice devoid of emotion, only his fingertips tightly gripping his wrist.
Shi Xu looked at her, her face pale from the rapid depletion of her strength, yet her smile was unusually bright, filled with the pure satisfaction of having completed a mission: "It was worth it to fight for you."
Just then, in the image projected by the crystal ball, Officer Zhou, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. He clearly sensed the rapidly escalating instability and the violent fluctuations of divine power within the "rift." He abruptly stood up, his hands forming hand seals at an even faster pace. A more powerful and icy force of order, like a tangible glacier, slammed violently against the entrance barrier of the "rift"!
boom--
The entire space shook violently, as if an 8-magnitude earthquake had occurred. Most of the root-like light sources on the walls went out instantly, and the remaining ones were like candles flickering in the wind. The piled-up items were scattered and tilted.
"He... is forcibly 'stitching' it together!" Shi Xu groaned, suppressing the blue-glowing droplets of energy that were about to spill from the corner of his mouth. The blue light around him dimmed for a moment, but then ignited in an even more frenzied manner.
"It's too late!" Shixu suddenly pulled Yunxi into her arms. "It's cold..." she murmured. But the sunlight still lingered, its faint warmth filling Yunxi's trembling body.
Without hesitation, Yunxi wrapped her arms around his lean waist and buried her face in his cold chest. His heart was pounding wildly and erratically, as if it would explode at any moment.
Shi Xu looked up at the spatial barrier, which was beginning to show spiderweb-like cracks due to the attack from both inside and outside.
"Now!"
A blinding blue-white light engulfed everything; sight, hearing, touch… all senses were stripped away in an instant. The “gap” space was like a balloon blown to its limit, reaching its critical point at the very moment—
Silently, it collapses inward, and then bursts outward!
There was no loud noise, only a piercing scream that tore space itself apart, sending chills down your spine!
Her body was thrown by an irresistible force, plunging into a bizarre and chaotic world. Countless images, sounds, and fragments of memory spun and cut around her like shattered lenses—she saw her innocent self, the distorted light and shadow of her parents' car accident, and countless images swirling and repeating in her mind.
A tremendous tearing force acted on her and Shixu's tightly embraced bodies, attempting to separate them. Shixu's arms were like iron hoops, encircling her tightly, his back bearing the most violent impact of the temporal turbulence. She heard his suppressed, extremely painful groans in his throat, and felt his body temperature rapidly draining away, as if his life force was rapidly disappearing along with the burning of divine power.
I don't know how long I'll be tossed about in the turbulent currents—perhaps just a moment, or perhaps forever.
Ahead, amidst the chaotic turbulence, a tiny, relatively stable "spot of light" suddenly appeared.
It exudes a warm and peaceful aura, completely different from the cold order of the "system" and the violent chaos of the time flow.
Time seemed to sense the point of light as well. With his last ounce of strength, he adjusted their direction in the turbulent current, and like moths drawn to a flame, they plunged headlong into that faint light—
"Bang!"
The expected pain of being smashed did not come; she landed on something soft.
The blinding light and the chaotic, tearing sensation vanished abruptly. The warm afternoon sun slanted down, the lush greenery swayed in the breeze, and the clear chirping of birds filled the air.
Yunxi suddenly opened his eyes.
What comes into view is a clear blue sky, drifting white clouds, and... the dense canopy of a giant banyan tree. Sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting dappled patterns of light.
She lay on a soft patch of grass.
Beside him, Shi Xu lay motionless, his face pale, his body dim, and his breath faint. His dark, gem-like eyes were tightly closed, his thick eyelashes casting serene shadows beneath his eyelids, as if he were simply drowsy in the early morning.
It was a success.
They escaped the "gap," escaped Officer Zhou's encirclement, and fell into this unknown, seemingly safe place.
Yunxi sat up, reached out, and gently probed Shixu's breath.
Faint, but definitely present.
She withdrew her hand and looked around. It seemed to be a quiet, secluded valley. Rolling mountains stretched into the distance, and a clear stream flowed silently nearby.
What is that point of light...?
She looked down at the unconscious Shi Xu, her light brown eyes filled with a complex and unreadable mix of emotions. She slowly raised her hand, but suddenly stopped, hovering above his cheek. In the end, she simply brushed away a blade of grass that had fallen on his hair.
“Idiot,” she whispered, her voice so soft it was almost carried away by the wind.
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