Room 196, Area B, 495th floor.
After listening to the hourly news, Shang Jianyao leaned back against his pillow and pinched his temples with his fingers.
His consciousness quickly entered the glimmering "Sea of Origin," and he swam in a randomly chosen direction.
As he swam, faint yellow-green mist once again filled the intersection of "sea and sky." Within the mist, a magnificent Old World city loomed indistinctly.
Shang Jianyao immediately adjusted his direction and swam towards the target with all his might.
But no matter how hard he tried, the yellow-green mist only slightly narrowed the distance and constantly shifted its position, seemingly impossible to reach.
Shang Jianyao stopped and, according to the planned strategy, divided his body into nine.
The nine Shang Jianyaos each set off in different directions, as if to weave a net, leaving the faint yellow-green mist nowhere to escape.
Within the vast "Sea of Origin," the Shang Jianyaos occasionally saw the target appear in front of them, but this quickly changed.
After an unknown amount of time, the nine Shang Jianyaos reached their maximum distance apart and had to stop.
The yellow-green mist remained at the intersection of "sea and sky," seemingly never having moved away.
The nine Shang Jianyaos simultaneously took a breath and merged back into one.
He sat cross-legged within the glimmering "Sea of Origin," entering a state of contemplation.
After only a minute or two, Shang Jianyao created a strip of black cloth and completely covered his eyes.
Immediately afterward, he took out two balls of cotton and stuffed them into his ears.
Thus, Shang Jianyao entered a state of being unable to "see" or "hear."
He swam randomly, with no idea of what was ahead or where it would lead.
When he was almost exhausted, Shang Jianyao stopped, took out the cotton from his ears, and removed the black cloth from his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the faint and thin yellow-green mist.
It was close at hand, within reach!
Shang Jianyao smiled, clasped his left hand over his right fist, and bowed to the yellow-green mist:
"The ultimate man is selfless; the New World is before us."
After completing this ritual, Shang Jianyao turned his gaze to the mirage-like Old World city within the yellow-green mist.
There, buildings tens or hundreds of meters tall stood, forming a magnificent architectural forest.
Their surfaces were bathed in reddish sunlight, so quiet that not a single sound was emitted.
Shang Jianyao did not rush to pass through the mist and enter inside. Instead, he swam quickly around the periphery.
The phantom city presented itself from different angles.
After a while, Shang Jianyao suddenly saw an arched tunnel exit, saw thousands upon thousands of glass curtain walls reflecting sunlight, and saw a street with dilapidated signs on both sides.
Shang Jianyao stopped and allowed his gaze to penetrate the thin yellow-green mist, falling on the street ahead.
The words "Second Sister," "Barbecue," "Convenience," "Hot Pot," "Foot Massage," and "Supermarket" came into view.
The shops corresponding to these signs were either dilapidated or covered in dust. The common point was that they were all deserted.
Shang Jianyao looked back and forth several times, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
He shouted loudly:
"Xiao Chong! Xiao Chong!"
He was too familiar with the images in the mist. It was the Swamp 1 Ruins, the place where they had been taken by Qiao Chu, the mysterious city where they had encountered Nightmare Horse and Xiao Chong!
The only difference was that it was not as dilapidated as Shang Jianyao remembered.
His voice echoed through the phantom city, but there was no additional reaction.
Shang Jianyao swam forward a few meters and passed through the faint yellow-green mist.
During this process, he felt nothing unusual.
The city ahead no longer felt like a mirage and was as real as those mind islands.
Shang Jianyao randomly found an unlocked bicycle on the side of the street, mounted it, and headed towards the depths of the city.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, he soon arrived at a high-rise building with its own courtyard. He did not encounter a single person or a single "Heartless." The entire city was nothing but deathly silent.
Shang Jianyao got off his bike and turned his gaze to the black marble plaque lying horizontally in front of the courtyard.
On the plaque, golden characters formed a name:
"City Intelligence Network Control Center"
This was exactly the same as what Shang Jianyao and the others had seen in the Swamp 1 Ruins.
Shang Jianyao ran, passing through the courtyard with lightning speed as if racing against someone, and entered the building where the "City Intelligence Network Control Center" was located.
He skillfully went down the emergency exit layer by layer and arrived at the underground machine room.
Then, with a flashlight in hand, he ran wildly down the dark corridor and found the room where he had met Xiao Chong.
As he pushed open the door, Shang Jianyao shone the flashlight inside and shouted loudly:
"Xiao Chong! Xiao Chong!"
The tables and chairs in the room were still there, but there was no sign of anyone. It was extremely quiet.
Shang Jianyao showed a disappointed expression.
At this moment, everything around him slowly began to fade and gradually became transparent.
In less than ten seconds, the city disappeared like a dream bubble. The faint yellow-green mist surrounding it also vanished, similar to the last time it ended.
Shang Jianyao returned to the "Sea of Origin."
He immediately felt intense fatigue and had no choice but to withdraw from the mind world.
…………
The next day, Room 14, 647th floor.
When Shang Jianyao arrived, only Jiang Baimian was there.
"Xiao Hong didn't come with you?" Jiang Baimian looked up and asked with a smile.
Shang Jianyao sighed and said in a heartfelt tone:
"Old World entertainment materials are harmful."
"He indulged in it last night?" Jiang Baimian asked, finding it somewhat amusing.
Although she also felt that Long Yuehong's self-control was not yet that strong, she also thought that he wouldn't be like this on the first day.
Shang Jianyao shook his head:
"His parents, his younger siblings, and his neighbors are addicted."
Hearing this, Jiang Baimian couldn't help but raise her hand, pressing it against her mouth, and chuckled.
Shang Jianyao continued:
"It shouldn't be like this again."
"Why?" Jiang Baimian asked curiously.
Shang Jianyao explained:
"When I passed by their house this morning, I heard his dad wailing: 'How could we have used so much electricity? This month's energy quota is almost gone!'
"His mom was also a little distraught and seemed to be saying to Xiao Hong, 'Son, what exactly did you bring back? This is too harmful!'
"Xiao Hong reassured them, 'I'm d5 now; my energy quota is about the same as the two of you combined. It's not a problem to make it to the end of the month.'"
Shang Jianyao imitated the tone of the Long family of three in a very lifelike manner, making Jiang Baimian laugh uncontrollably.
"So, you didn't wait for him?" Jiang Baimian asked, calming down a bit, in a tone of conjecture.
Shang Jianyao nodded:
"I think they won't finish talking for a while.
"I have something to ask you."
"What is it?" Jiang Baimian sat up straight. "Is it about the yellow-green mist?"
At this time, Bai Chen also entered the office and happened to hear the second half of the sentence.
She looked at Shang Jianyao in slight surprise:
"You solved it so quickly?"
Shang Jianyao shook his head:
"I found it, but I didn't solve it."
"Tell me the details." Jiang Baimian disengaged from the state of listening to gossip and jokes, and her expression became very focused.
Shang Jianyao described how he found the yellow-green mist, how he entered inside, and what he discovered, all from beginning to end.
The more Jiang Baimian listened, the wider her eyes became:
"Are you sure it's the city ruins where you met Xiao Chong?"
"Unless there's an identical layout somewhere else," Shang Jianyao replied very calmly.
Jiang Baimian's brows furrowed:
"This feels very terrifying, and very complex and mysterious..."
Her tone gradually gained a little excitement.
"What are you guys discussing?" Long Yuehong entered the office, looking left and right in confusion.
After Jiang Baimian repeated the matter simply, Long Yuehong blurted out:
"How could that be?"
What was wrapped in the bit of influence left by "Coward" was actually the "Swamp 1 Ruins" that he and the others had been to?
He immediately had an explanation, looking at Shang Jianyao and saying:
"Could it be that your own part of memory combined with the yellow-green mist?"
"Why not other memories?" Shang Jianyao asked in reply.
Just a coincidence... Long Yuehong was too embarrassed to say those words.
Shang Jianyao continued:
"I have *Divine Eye*, and I can confirm that it's not my memory."
You should have said so earlier... Long Yuehong muttered in his heart.
Jiang Baimian sat in her seat, her mind racing, and said thoughtfully:
"The yellow-green mist comes from an Awakened who explored the depths of the *Mind Corridor*, and it is a bit of his remaining aura...
"This is likely what Yan Hu obtained when exploring a room in the *Mind Corridor*...
"Song the Informant said that each room corresponds to a mind world, and only those belonging to Awakened at the *Mind Corridor* level can be opened normally...
"What appears in those rooms may be the original owner's dream, or it may be some of the fear islands that he has broken through. Well, according to this logic, what appears may also be scenes intertwined with some of his memories..."
Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian naturally gave a guess:
"The image of that city ruin comes from a certain memory or dream carried by the yellow-green mist?"
Bai Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as she listened:
"Did the original owner of *Coward* go to the Swamp 1 Ruins?"
"It is also possible that he embarked on the journey from there," Jiang Baimian offered another possibility.
An even more chilling possibility for Long Yuehong.
Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and said:
"If that's the case, finding 'him' in the dream city should completely eliminate the remaining influence..."
"That's right, the dream owner is the most special in this kind of scene." Long Yuehong thought for a few seconds and agreed.
He then raised a question:
"But where should we look? Where would he be in that dream city?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian answered in unison:
"That lab!"
The mysterious lab that Qiao Chu destroyed!
Jiang Baimian then smiled at Shang Jianyao, meaning that everyone really had a tacit understanding.
The next second, she saw Shang Jianyao extend his right hand to her.
Jiang Baimian's smile froze for a second, and she puffed out her cheeks slightly. She also extended her right palm and gave Shang Jianyao a high-five.
After withdrawing her hand, she quickly asked another question:
"How did you think of going to find the yellow-green mist with your eyes covered?"
Shang Jianyao explained very seriously:
"Since I am an Awakened in the *Zhuang Sheng* domain, I should try a go-with-the-flow approach."
ps: Asking for monthly tickets during the double period~