Chapter 869: Chapter 869

Accompanied by the gentle melody of a hulusi,

a girl in a floral dress crouched in the corner of the passageway, carefully unfolding the five-yuan note in her hand, placing it in the slightly damaged iron bowl,

"Grandpa plays so beautifully."

She raised her hand and gave the elderly man in front of her a thumbs up.

"Chichi, what are you doing?"

A crisp female voice called from behind.

The girl turned around, stood up, and ran quickly to join the two young women who were arm in arm behind her.

"Chichi, did you just give that old man money?"

The young woman to the girl’s right looked out a bit to glance at the elderly man playing the hulusi in the corner, "I’m telling you, there are many swindlers around here, be careful not to get cheated out of your money."

"It’s just a few bucks, I can’t give much anyway,"

The girl giggled, looking at the intricate makeup of the young woman in front of her, "I know you’re looking out for me."

"You naive little girl, you’re so easy to deceive, I don’t know when you’ll get taken away by some bad guy."

The young woman reached out and tapped the girl’s forehead.

Then the three of them laughed and walked along the corridor, climbing the stairs to reach the ground level.

Lin Chichi glanced at the two women holding hands beside her, placed her hands behind her back, and carefully followed her companions on the pedestrian walkway scattered with patchy green shade.

It seemed like there was a sharp whooshing sound in the sky.

She looked up instinctively, barely catching a glimpse of a black brilliance streaking between the white clouds and the blue sky.

"Chichi, what’s wrong?"

The woman ahead walked a few steps forward, then turned around to look at Lin Chichi.

"Just now there was a loud noise; it seemed like something passed overhead."

Lin Chichi kept her gaze upward.

"A meteor? Was there one?"

The two young women also looked up, their eyes darting around.

But apart from the scorching sun, the clear sky, and the drifting white clouds, they saw nothing.

"Are there meteors today?"

The woman to the left took out her smartphone, her fingers with delicately polished nails tapping on the screen, searching quickly, "Doesn’t seem like it."

Then she shook her phone and looked at Lin Chichi, "We didn’t hear any sounds just now; maybe you saw it wrong?"

"Could it be a helicopter from a TV station?"

The woman on the right side also looked at Lin Chichi, speculating.

Lin Chichi also looked back, somewhat puzzled, and she quickly caught up with the pace of her two companions.

"Chichi seems a bit distracted today."

The woman on the left looked at the catching-up girl and smiled, "Where shall we go to have fun later?"

"Let’s go catch some dolls; a new arcade just opened near my house, they give twenty free tokens with a purchase of twenty."

The woman on the right suggested to the woman on the left.

"I just remembered there’s something at home; I might need to go back first."

Lin Chichi, half a step behind the other two, suddenly interjected.

"That’s fine, you go ahead and do what you need to."

The woman on the right smiled and said to Lin Chichi.

The woman on the left also waved to Lin Chichi.

Lin Chichi also raised her hand, smiling as she said farewell to the two women.

Then she stood under the shade of the trees, watching them arm in arm, laughing and walking towards the end under the sky.

The world was so silent, so ordinary, so normal.

After a brief pause, she looked away, glanced skyward once more, and ran towards the direction where the black brilliance had fallen.

Her floating floral skirt flapped in the wind, her fluffy hair flowing with each stride, and her clean, nimble legs crossed quickly under the bright daylight, reflecting a dazzling light.

After crossing several zebra crossings and nearly colliding with a few vehicles exiting the parking lot, the girl finally arrived at a shady park, gasping for breath.

Her heart pounded against her chest, and beads of sweat rolled down her fair skin.

She stopped, hands propped on her knees, panting rapidly as she lifted her head to look ahead.

In the very center of the park stood a small, circular flower platform.

At this moment, a large, pitch-black ’metal box’ was diagonally embedded into the flower platform.

People came and went all around, but it seemed that not a single person noticed the colossal metal box.

Lin Chichi took several deep breaths to slow her panting and stepped towards the circular flower platform.

She gently lifted her leg over the edge of the platform, stepped into it, and approached the metal box.

The metal box was roughly rectangular in shape, pitch-black in color, and plunged vertically into the flower platform.

Overall, this metal box somewhat resembled a ’coffin’?

A black coffin that had fallen from the sky?

Caught in brief contemplation, Lin Chichi closely examined the ’coffin’ before her and faintly saw intricate yellow lines weaving through the black exterior.

These patterns intertwined, embedded in the black surface, enigmatic and profound, deep and lofty.

The girl gazed at the coffin before her as if she were staring into the vast, immeasurable emptiness of the universe.

A deep pull of attraction emanated from within the depths of the coffin, reaching into the depths of the girl’s soul.

She faintly felt some ’familiarity’ with the coffin, yet, no matter what, she couldn’t recall where this feeling originated.

She reached out her hand to touch the surface of the coffin.

Those profound yellow lines flickered beneath the black surface, and a vast and lofty song echoed in her ears.

"Sacrifice... Grace..."

Her hand jerked back as if shocked, staring blankly at the coffin before her.

She stepped back twice, exiting the platform and stepping onto the ground.

It was only now that the people around her seemed to notice her presence, but their glances were brief as they continued on their way.

Lin Chichi stared dumbfounded at the coffin before her, with the sacred, distant song still resonating in her ears.

She glanced down at her fingertips, where a bit of the black coloration had adhered, quickly fading into her fair skin.

She looked up again, her gaze returning to the coffin.

The coffin stood quietly in the midst of the flower platform like a tightly closed door awaiting her push.

The girl’s heart pounded rapidly, but she couldn’t tell if this was due to the intense physical activity or some silent pulsation.

Ripples seemed to form in her ordinary memories.

The bright sunlight on her hand somehow felt cold.

She took a deep breath and stepped back several paces.

The clear sound of her cell phone rang from her small shoulder bag.

She pulled out her phone, glanced at the screen, and quickly answered the call, "Dad, I’m hurrying back now, yes, I know; I’m not a child."

She hung up the phone and looked up at the sky.

The sky was blue, and the clouds scattered.

A cool breeze rustled the green leaves and lifted her long, floral skirt.

The girl took one last look at the coffin standing silently in the center of the flower platform before turning around and running out of the park.

Waves lifted the boat up and down with their strength.

The man with the bandaged head leaned back in the helicopter cockpit, gazing out of the window.

A warrior clad in silver-grey armor was currently piercing the chest of a skinny man with a pristine white bone sword.

No, I have to get out of here.

Gripping the helicopter’s control stick tightly, the only thought in the man’s mind was to escape, or else he was doomed.

Just then, the armor on the silver-grey clad warrior began to disengage, signifying that his adversary was losing the ability to control the skies.

The storm lashed the deck while the ship in the tempest rose and fell incessantly.

The man clenched the control stick, starting the helicopter.

He knew he had to flee immediately, or he might never have another chance.

But for some reason, there seemed to be a voice in his head reminding him that escaping would lead to a quicker death.

His hands trembled as he watched the young man who had been clad in armor reveal his face.

But if he didn’t run now, he would genuinely be dead.

The rapidly spinning propellers beat against the torrential rain, producing a fierce howling, and the man’s hand was on the helicopter’s collective control stick. But just as he was about to pull the stick and take off, his body suddenly stiffened.

A brief nesting of orange and gray rings flashed in the man’s pupils.

Countless memories flooded in.

He Ao let go of the collective control stick and looked ahead.

The downpour, the ocean, the coal transport ship.

He turned his head, looking through the window. A young man dressed in black was quickly approaching him through the heavy rain.

To be precise, it seemed to be a ’copy’ of him created by this space.

He withdrew his gaze.

Indeed, he had returned to the moment when he had killed Hu Wen.

Could this ritual trigger the transparent planet’s ability, pulling the ritual holder into some past illusion?

This ’clone’ of He Ao was evolved from Hu Wen’s body. For both the original and the clone, the most emotional moment was when Hu Wen ’died.’

So when He Ao made the phone call, the memories were from this point in time, and the number he dialed could reach Hu Wen at that time.

With each successive thought, his consciousness grew clearer.

He looked at his palm. The Multicolored Ring was still on his hand. With a thought, the Shadowless Sword appeared out of thin air.

It seemed his body was still that of the clone, but all memories ’after becoming a clone’ had been obscured or twisted by some force.

Thus, he was repeating the scene of Hu Wen’s death here.

In fact, the moment the clone entered the transparent planet, He Ao felt a distortion of his own strength.

Although the ’soul’ controlling the clone was twisted, He Ao’s original body, possessing the Eye of Truth, was not affected.

After the Velora entered the shuttle tunnel, he directly followed the connection and brought his original soul into the clone’s body.

The Tablet of the Eye of Truth had not come along with the soul. Although it seemed to lack a specific shape, it was still a physical object, albeit one that was phasing out behind He Ao, sparing a storage space.

Strictly speaking, the Tablet of the Eye of Truth was similar to the bone sword placed in the Pirate Treasure Box, belonging to He Ao’s personal items, and not like Super Memory and Divine Sense, which can move with the soul.

Although unable to bring the Eye of Truth, its influence on him was transmitted to the clone through the link between his original body and soul.

Despite significant loss, it still allowed He Ao to quickly ’see through’ certain things, tearing apart the distorted memories and will of the clone, and he could also see some more ’fundamental’ things.

For instance, the ’ship-sea space’ before him was filled with extraordinary power.

In a sense, this space seemed entirely composed of extraordinary power, and the enveloped area was actually not large, only surrounding the ship.

Just like the Mirror Space, the edges of this ’ship-sea space’ were likely just illusions made from ’textures.’

Moreover, on the whole, this space appeared to be newly constructed and seemed structurally unstable.

So, what was the method to break through this space?

He Ao shifted his gaze to the ’himself’ who was approaching.

This fake He Ao had a cold expression, carrying immense pressure as he moved forward step by step.

He Ao pushed open the door, stepped down from the helicopter, and eyed the young man approaching.

The transparent planet pulled people into an environment where they had once experienced significant emotional turmoil, it was unlikely that it was meant to compensate for regrets.

It probably desired those intense emotions.

Fear, despair, anger.

He Ao recalled the ritual that the artificial intelligence A02 wanted to conduct on the Navigator, using the homesickness of those who entered by mistake to construct coordinates of the Main World.

Only that time, the ones located were Transcendents, whose lives and emotions were excellent supernatural materials, hence more effective.

Although ordinary people were weaker, maybe if there were enough of them, they could be ’used’ as well?

So was the transparent planet actually pulling those ’disappeared’ into their most desperate moments, continuously draining their emotions?

So, what was ’Hu Wen’ most desperate and afraid of?

He Ao gazed at the increasingly closer young man with cold eyes.

At this time, he remembered, he should just be D-Rank...

Such a strong sense of oppression...

He was clearly kind, even speaking softly and gently; even killing didn’t leave pain. This transparent planet must have misunderstood him.

He Ao cast his eyes downward, watching the young man who looked exactly like himself.

At this time, his Super Memory and Magician powers should both be D-Rank, and the only offensive Extraordinary Item he had was the Miracle Wand.

Besides that, there was the Adam Type-1 Mecha that could exert B-level strength for a short duration, but it probably didn’t have much battery left now.

How much would the transparent planet replicate?

If the despair this transparent planet sought to create was shattered, would this space change in some way?

As he pondered, the young man before him suddenly charged forward.

At this moment, in the "youth’s" mind, "Hu Wen" should have been grievously injured and on the brink of death, so he could dash forward with reckless abandon?

He Ao raised his hand, and the Shadowless Sword transformed into a shadow and shot out of his grasp in an instant.

At the same time, his body quickly leaped to the side.

The dazzling Thunder Flash struck where he had just been standing, ripping a giant mouth in the big ship.

This was a C-level ability of the Miracle Wand.

It seemed the Miracle Wand had been replicated.

While thoughts flickered through He Ao’s mind, the youth opposite him had already jumped to the side.

Clearly, his earlier charge had been a feint.

Could he act so well?

However, He Ao had actually anticipated this, and the Shadowless Sword, now a shadow, flickered and appeared in front of the youth in an instant.

As He Ao steadied his footing, searing flames erupted beneath his feet.

With a brief use of fist technique to stimulate strength, He Ao soared backward, further increasing the distance from the youth.

This was the second C-level ability of the Miracle Wand, with another, Silence Concealment, used to hide objects.

These three miracles had a total use limit of three times a week; Silence Concealment must have already been used by now, and after these two miracles, there should be no more uses left.

To add more uses, one would need to kill three D-Ranks, and there weren’t three D-Ranks for the youth to kill here.

The progress bar for the B-level miracle Mountain Collapse Tsunami hadn’t filled up yet either.

It was in this instant that He Ao felt the youth in the armor rush through the flames, brandishing a bone sword and suddenly charging in front of him.

The explosion that had just occurred, was it really ’Blazing Flame Burn’?

During these fleeting thoughts, He Ao raised his hand, and the Shadowless Sword instantly pierced through the youth’s heart from behind.

At the same time, his body leaped to the side.

Violent flames suddenly erupted beside him, the firelight reflecting the youth’s slightly surprised expression.

He Ao glanced down at the first pit of flames and saw a few broken fragments beneath it.

The first explosion wasn’t actually from Blazing Flame Burn, but from the youth using Retrieve objects from the air to place the remaining voltage-compressed batteries of the Adam Model 1 under the deck beneath He Ao’s feet and detonated them.

This explosion didn’t actually possess significant lethality; the youth’s goal was to ’deceive’ He Ao into thinking that he had used Blazing Flame Burn.

During this brief exchange, his opponent had already guessed that He Ao knew about the ’Miracle Wand,’ and exploited this ’knowledge’ to design a mental trap.

The last charge was actually a lure to distract He Ao, with the real killer move being the close-proximity explosion of Blazing Flame Burn.

If the Blazing Flame Burn had truly hit He Ao, he might have been wounded here.

With a D-Rank’s strength, making full use of the limited props, his power was maximized.

The performance of this ’replica’ was indeed commendable.

The Shadowless Sword completely turned invisible and severed the youth’s body.

Unfortunately, anything that this guy could think of, He Ao could also think of.

Moreover, although the Miracle Wand had been replicated, some information hadn’t been ’replicated.’

If He Ao himself had been in the same situation, with the same D-Rank strength, facing an absolutely unbeatable B-Rank suspect enemy, in a situation where death was certain, he wouldn’t have made so many moves.

He would delay time and then use Retrieve objects from the air to construct an Array, and simply call over a good friend for assistance.

However, the replica in front of him hadn’t done this, perhaps because it hadn’t thought that far.

It was also possible that in his mind, he had no knowledge related to He Ao’s ’friends.’

If that were the case, was it impossible to replicate anything related to Divine Beings, even if it’s just partial ritual knowledge?

Perhaps, all memories related to Divine Beings were missing.

He Ao watched as the body of the youth before him decayed in his field of view, turning into a distorted mass of flesh and blood.

This counterfeit was real, but not completely real.

He Ao lifted his head, looking up at the sky.

Theoretically, this ’replica’ was the source of despair for "Hu Wen" in this space.

And now, that source of despair had been ’snuffed out.’

The howling wind brushed against the rolling ship, and the furious waves, like the palms of giants, reached up from the sea bed.

Under the influence of the Eye of Truth, the numerous Extraordinary Powers that made up the entire space began to violently disrupt.