The Era of Chaos

In the pitch-black night, in the deserted Hedong, a vast and unrestrained song echoed, as if all dangers and difficulties would flow away with the water and vanish with the wind.

Jiang Baimian gently hummed along with the melody, adjusting her state to its best.

After singing a verse, she turned her head to look at Shang Jianyao and asked with a smile:

"Why don't you use the small speaker to play it?"

"In this kind of environment, this song only feels right when you sing it yourself," replied Shang Jianyao, who was always striving for perfection.

He even offered suggestions for improvement:

"It would feel even better if you tapped your leg while singing."

Jiang Baimian imagined it and said:

"I'll try it later."

In front of the shrine, Zhou Yue, whose head, waist, and hands were covered in mirrors, looked at them and felt like she didn't belong.

"Is it really appropriate to sing at a time like this?"

"Forget it, forget it, everything is a dream, why take it seriously?"

These thoughts flashed through Zhou Yue's mind, eventually settling on her most familiar way of handling things.

Just as Shang Jianyao began to lightly tap his thigh again, about to hum the melody, the entire Nanke Temple suddenly became pitch black, as if all the light bulbs had instantly lost power.

Soon, under the faint light, Jiang Baimian and the others found themselves in a residential area shaded by green trees.

The buildings here were not too tall, and the warm lights reflected behind the glass windows made the night less lonely and desolate.

"The residential area where Jiang Xiaoyue jumped from the building?" Zhou Yue looked around and asked.

"It should be," Jiang Baimian gave a definite answer.

The three of them seemed to have been transported out of thin air, and everything around them was so real.

"Is the information that the 'Higher Mindless' wants to provide hidden in this illusion?" Zhou Yue was most concerned about this question.

Shang Jianyao nodded:

"Possibly, probably, maybe we need to explore it ourselves."

"The more you do, the more mistakes you make..." Zhou Yue still adhered to her philosophy.

Although they now appeared to be standing in the courtyard of the residential area, they should actually still be sitting cross-legged on their prayer mats.

As soon as she finished speaking, the environment changed. Just like last time for Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian, the three of them didn't need to do anything; they entered the corresponding building and arrived outside Jiang Xiaoyue's residence.

The individuals crowded at the door, eagerly peering inside through the cracks.

Zhou Yue faintly heard echoes of fear, despair, and collapse:

"Are you trying to force me to death... are you trying to force me to death..."

Then, she saw the interior of the house, saw the distorted faces plastered against the French windows, and saw Jiang Xiaoyue sitting on the railing.

The next moment, Jiang Xiaoyue jumped out of the window.

In the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Zhou Yue all felt their thoughts being swallowed by a vortex and their reason being submerged in darkness. Their consciousnesses were like falling catkins, swaying and unsteady.

When they broke free from this feeling, they found themselves still in the residential area shaded by green trees, no different from the beginning.

Following the well-known routine, they entered the house again and again, passed through the crowd of onlookers, entered Jiang Xiaoyue's home, witnessed her mumbling to herself and committing suicide, and experienced the painful feeling of their consciousnesses turning into a flickering candle in the wind and their thoughts being torn to pieces.

They seemed to be trapped in this period of time, unable to break free, unable to leave.

During the repeated iterations, Jiang Baimian's consciousness gradually became blurred, and she became more and more muddled.

Suddenly, the chip on her left arm gave her a preset signal.

This was a reminder that her overall state was wrong!

What's wrong... Jiang Baimian's thoughts instantly returned from chaos a little, and she realized that she was repeating a sentence.

That sentence was:

"Are you trying to force me to death... are you trying to force me to death..."

This... Jiang Baimian instantly became mostly awake and realized that she was standing on the railing, in front of her was the open glass window, and below her was the ground that looked much smaller.

She was about to jump!

And there was no blurred, fleshy body in the corresponding place yet.

Am I... become Jiang Xiaoyue? Truly entered this illusion? What will happen if I really jump? A series of questions flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind, and a feeling of fear rose in her heart.

She hurriedly turned her head to look at the place where Shang Jianyao should be.

Then, she found Shang Jianyao, wearing a dark blue short down jacket, also standing on the railing, one hand reaching towards his head.

During this process, Shang Jianyao endured the blowing of the night wind, always staring at the ground below, as if considering whether to jump or not.

"I'm awake," Jiang Baimian said.

"That's good," Shang Jianyao retracted his right hand.

Jiang Baimian asked with curiosity:

"You weren't affected? You didn't become Jiang Xiaoyue?"

"The me who was infected has already been dragged back; now it's the calm and rational me," Shang Jianyao replied calmly.

It can still be like this? Does mental illness have this kind of benefit? That's right, this is different from Qiao Chu's "forced charm"; it's not that you're hit as soon as you encounter it, but that you need repeated cycles to infect, switching personalities can indeed effectively get rid of it... Jiang Baimian nodded with some understanding.

Immediately afterwards, she thought of another person:

Zhou Yue!

"We may have to give Zhou Guanzhu a little stimulation," Shang Jianyao also said, pointing to the front side.

Jiang Baimian looked intently and found that Zhou Yue was in another similar room, also standing on the railing, grabbing the window, and preparing to jump.

Her black hair was scattered and disheveled, her eyes were dull, and she muttered to herself, repeating two sentences:

"Are you trying to force me to death... everything is a dream, why take it seriously... are you trying to force me to death... everything is a dream, why take it seriously..."

She seemed to be struggling a lot, and she hadn't made up her mind to jump yet.

Seeing this, Jiang Baimian didn't care whether the other person's correct position had been distorted by the illusion or not, and directly stretched out her left hand, opening her five fingers in Zhou Yue's direction.

A silver-white arc of electricity leaped out, crackling and illuminating the surroundings.

In an instant, the arc of electricity fell on Zhou Yue, causing her body to tremble.

The next moment, the open window, the faces plastered on the glass, the brightly lit room, and the residential area shaded by green trees became extremely illusory and soon disappeared without a trace.

Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and Zhou Yue were still sitting on their prayer mats, surrounded by the shrine and pillars.

"The illusion just now was a little strange..." Zhou Yue shook her numb hand, "I can still feel the electric shock."

"Everything is a dream, why take it seriously?" Shang Jianyao replied.

Jiang Baimian discovered a problem from Zhou Yue's exclamation just now:

"It is indeed a little strange."

"Why were our consciousnesses affected, and we felt like we became Jiang Xiaoyue?"

Shouldn't the illusion abilities of that "Higher Mindless" focus on distorting environmental information, replicating the target's state, and other external areas?

When could he directly affect the target's consciousness?

Hearing Jiang Baimian's question, Zhou Yue widened her eyes:

"That's right, our area's 'illusion' can't do this; at least, the 'Corridor of the Mind' level can't do it..."

As she spoke, she stopped and showed a slightly embarrassed smile.

She had slipped up again!

Jiang Baimian politely skipped over this point and thought about it, saying:

"He got magical items from other areas within the 'Corridor of the Mind'?"

"It's possible," Zhou Yue agreed.

"There's another possibility," Jiang Baimian continued.

Her expression became quite serious:

"It's not that 'Higher Mindless' who's affecting our consciousness, but the illusion itself."

"The illusion itself?" Zhou Yue was a little confused.

Jiang Baimian explained:

"He should have replicated the encounter at the time, creating this illusion."

"And since it's a replication, maybe he copied some of the weirdness of Jiang Xiaoyue's mental world as well, and it produced an effect."

"In other words," Shang Jianyao helped Jiang Baimian summarize, "It's not that 'Higher Mindless' who's affecting our consciousness, but Jiang Xiaoyue's mental world."

Zhou Yue shrank her body:

"It sounds a bit scary..."

Then, she nodded slightly and said:

"Theoretically speaking, this possibility exists."

"Jiang Xiaoyue's mental world is a strange place indeed..." Shang Jianyao expressed what the two ladies present were feeling, "No wonder that 'Higher Mindless' developed an obsession."

While secretly agreeing, Zhou Yue raised a question:

"Didn't you say that he wanted to enter Nanke Temple and inform us of important information?

"Why doesn't he come in and just creates illusions for us?"

"This is just a guess," Jiang Baimian was a little speechless.

At this time, Shang Jianyao shook his head and said:

"Because you're not polite enough."

"Uh?" Zhou Yue looked at the tall young man in confusion, "Do we have to stand up to welcome him?"

Shang Jianyao pointed to the inverted mirrors in front of him:

"There are too many mirrors here; how can you let him in?"

"That's right!" Zhou Yue suddenly realized.

Jiang Baimian also immediately understood the key point.

She and Zhou Yue looked at each other, took a breath, and turned over the mirrors on their bodies and around them one by one, with the backs facing outwards.

In the howling wind, the branches of the trees in the Taoist temple's courtyard swayed in the night.

After only two or three minutes, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Zhou Yue simultaneously turned their gazes to the entrance of the main hall.

In the darkness, a figure stumbled out. He was an elderly man over sixty years old, with messy gray-white hair draped over his shoulders, wearing all kinds of clothing, and his eyes were turbid and bloodshot.

As he walked, he looked back at the rear, and faces protruded from the void, their expressions distorted and their eyes red.

This "Higher Mindless" walked faster and faster, and finally ran, but he couldn't get rid of the countless faces that shone through the surrounding night.

Gradually, a section of half-height railing and an open glass window appeared in front of him.

This "Higher Mindless" climbed onto the railing, muttering to himself with a dazed expression:

"Are you trying to force me to death... are you trying to force me to death..."

This voice was soft and erratic, completely unlike it came from a man, but rather from a woman somewhere far away.

At this moment, the Nanke Temple's shrine was reflected in the pupils of that "Higher Mindless", reflecting the giant dragon symbol made of fragments of mirrors.

He suddenly stretched out his hand, his throat making a hoarse sound, as if a dying beast was struggling desperately.

Shang Jianyao, Zhou Yue, and Jiang Baimian each took a few steps toward this illusion, and finally heard the words squeezed out of the chest of that "Higher Mindless":

"Five, zero, three."