As the morning light pierced through the clouds, Lin Yi stood steadily in front of the holographic projection table at the "Nest of Time and Space" base, arms crossed, leaning slightly forward and gazing intently at the glass surface.
The glass surface gleamed with a faint blue light, refracting the dark glint in his eyes into tiny starlight—marks left by the shadow energy during his fierce battle with the night owl last night. His brows furrowed slightly involuntarily, as if he was still pondering the battle of the previous night.
"Captain, Elder Bai and Chu Yao have arrived." A clear voice came from the communicator from team member Akai.
Lin Yi turned around quickly, his movements swift and decisive.
At this moment, the white-bearded man was leaning against the door, holding a fried dough stick in one hand and taking a big bite. Oil droplets dripped down the edge of the dough stick onto his snow-white beard, looking like a handful of sesame seeds.
He ate until his cheeks were bulging, and he made "smacking" sounds from time to time.
Chu Yao's projection hovered on the other side, her hair still carrying the data stream unique to virtual programs. She gracefully twirled in the air and waved her hands elegantly, clearly having just retrieved data from the server before arriving.
"Look at this first." Chu Yao raised her chin, confidently raising her hand. A set of purple spectral graphs immediately unfolded in the air. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes focused and bright. "The shadow energy that overflowed when Night Owl was sealed. I used a twelve-dimensional analyzer to cross-scan it." As she spoke, she extended her slender fingertip and lightly tapped it. The spectral graph suddenly exploded with countless small golden dots. "These are... the energy residue of Xuan Mingzi."
The fried dough stick in the white-bearded man's hand fell to the ground with a "thud." He was stunned at first, his eyes widening like copper bells. Then he quickly bent down to pick it up, not even bothering to wipe off the dust. He hurried forward, stretched his neck, and said loudly, "You mean, that old charlatan is colluding with the Shadow Clan?"
"It's not collusion." Chu Yao's hands flew across the virtual keyboard, bringing up another set of comparative data. Her eyes revealed professionalism and composure. "Night Owl's energy frequency is a chaotic dark purple, while Xuan Mingzi's fluctuations are... an inclusive black-gold." With a gentle wave of her hand, she overlapped the two sets of data, and the originally sharp purple peaks seemed to be gently enveloped by something. "It's more like... guidance."
Lin Yi pressed his knuckles against his chin, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
"Clever." Chu Yao's projection suddenly chuckled mischievously, a hint of human cunning flashing in the data stream at the ends of her hair. She put her hands on her hips and said smugly, "I've hacked into the game's mainframe firewall three times, and each time I was stopped by Xuan Mingzi's 'system notification.' But this time, there's a piece of code in Night Owl's energy that's in sync with his notification sound..."
Whitebeard slapped his thigh, the sound echoing in the empty room. His face flushed with anger, he shouted, "No wonder that old bastard was laughing like that yesterday! So he knew Night Owl couldn't cause any trouble, and was just waiting to see us perform!" He suddenly lowered his voice, leaned close to Lin Yi, and said mysteriously, "But Yi, do you think the mastermind behind this training ground is helping us or playing us?"
Lin Yi didn't reply, but his gaze was fixed on the corner of the holographic screen—where Su Qing's location record was displayed.
His eyes grew deep and worried. Since 10 p.m. last night, her signal had been completely blocked out in the southeastern part of the city, as if covered by a black cloth.
"Find Su Qing." Lin Yi quickly grabbed his coat, his movements crisp and powerful, and strode towards the door, saying loudly as he went, "Chu Yao, pull up the surveillance footage from the Southeast District for the past three months; Elder Bai, you're in charge of investigating the underground black market in the Old City. Su Qing mentioned the legend of the 'Bronze Gate' last time, which might be related to that place."
Three hours later, Chu Yao's communication suddenly rang, her voice tinged with anxiety: "Abandoned biological laboratory in the Southeast District! Su Qing's locator signal was last seen here, but it was deliberately removed half an hour ago."
The laboratory is located on the edge of the industrial area. A warning sign that reads "Xingyuan Biotechnology - No Entry" hangs on the rusty iron gate, but it has been melted into a charred hole by shadow energy.
Lin Yi was the first to rush in. He crouched down and cautiously observed his surroundings. The musty smell mixed with the stench of rotting rats hit him. He wrinkled his nose. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered, illuminating the broken glass on the floor and the half-melted experimental table.
"Here." The white-bearded man crouched low, carefully squatting in the corner, and gently picked up a piece of blood-stained cloth with the tip of his knife—it was the fabric of the moon-white cheongsam that Su Qing often wore.
His fingers tightened involuntarily, the knife tip sparking as it scraped the ground. His voice trembled slightly: "The blood hasn't dried yet, it was at most two hours ago."
Chu Yao's projection suddenly froze, the data stream at the ends of her hair flickered wildly, her body trembled slightly, and her hands moved rapidly in the air: "Abnormal energy detected!" She quickly performed a series of complex calculations on the virtual interface, her hands sliding rapidly, virtual beads of sweat seemingly appearing on her forehead. Then she raised her hand, and the mold on the wall peeled off as if blown away by the wind, revealing bronze symbols engraved underneath—the lines twisted like living things, each wrapped with tiny lightning bolts. "This is... extradimensional script! I need half an hour to analyze it."
"No need." Lin Yi suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against the wall. He closed his eyes, his body trembled slightly, and the unique spatial and temporal perception of a mythical-level profession surged forth like a tide.
His pupils contracted sharply, and a look of shock appeared on his face. The symbols formed a star map in his perception—completely overlapping with the trajectory of the invaders' home planet that he had seen in the spacetime rift three days ago.
"File!" The white-bearded voice came from the deepest part of the laboratory. His voice was tinged with excitement. He held up a charred metal box with both hands. The box was hot to the touch. He kept shaking it. The lid was barely opened a crack, revealing half a yellowed page.
Lin Yi strode over and took the paper. His fingertips were burned, and he frowned, carefully examining the writing. The words weren't handwritten; they were etched with some kind of high-temperature energy: "Warning: When the Shadow Tide encounters the Lord of Time and Space, the being behind the Bronze Gate will awaken. Su Qing, remember, you are..."
The writing stopped abruptly there, the rest of it burned to charred fragments.
"The Bronze Gate..." the white-bearded man murmured, his eyes somewhat lost. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he frantically rummaged through his old leather trunk, his movements hurried and anxious. Finally, he pulled out a yellowed copy of "Tales of Ancient Mysteries." "The book says that the Bronze Gate is the key connecting reality and the origin of the Trial Grounds, and only the 'Witness of Time and Space' can open it. Xiao Yi, could Su Qing..."
"She knows more than we do." Lin Yi carefully put the paper into his space-time ring, his eyes firm and decisive as he scanned the distorted symbols on the wall. "Chu Yao, can you pinpoint the energy source of these symbols?"
"Tracking." Chu Yao's projection suddenly became somewhat blurry. Her voice carried a hint of anxiety as she waved her hands haphazardly in the air. "But... something is interfering with my calculations. Like... a firewall from some advanced civilization."
In the laboratory, the group discussed the discovered clues and mysterious symbols.
The white-bearded man frowned, paced back and forth, and stroked his chin with one hand, saying, "This matter of shadow energy and the bronze gate might escalate into something even bigger." Just as he finished speaking, the laboratory's fluorescent lights went out with a "zzzz" sound.
In the darkness, Lin Yi reached out and groped for the symbols on the wall. Suddenly, he felt the symbols getting hot. The tiny lightning bolts formed a net of light, casting a blurry shadow in his palm—it was Su Qing's profile.
His breathing became rapid, his eyes were fixed on the shadow in his palm, and his lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something.
Her lips moved, but were interrupted by the sudden sound of an alarm.
"A large-scale fluctuation of shadow energy has appeared in the southeast region!" Akai's voice boomed from the communicator. "Coordinates sent, need support?"
Lin Yi looked up at the window, his eyes hardening. Suddenly, the sky darkened again, and dark purple light churned within the thick clouds.
He touched the fragment of the origin of time and space in his pocket, which was slightly warming with the rhythm of his heartbeat.
"Go to the scene." He shoved the paper into the white-bearded man's hand with a swift and decisive motion. "Chu Yao, continue analyzing the symbols; Elder Bai, check if there is any connection between the bronze gate and the witness in the 'Tales of the Strange'."
As he turned around, he noticed that the symbols on the wall suddenly lit up, casting a long, thin shadow on the ground—shaped like a door.
Beneath the experimental table, unnoticed by everyone, a blood-stained rag was slowly writhing, its dark patterns gradually forming the words: "Beware of Xuan Mingzi, he doesn't want victory..."
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