Shang Jianyao happily walked towards the classical building, intending to knock on the door and pay a visit.
He was always polite.
Just as he approached the door, a slightly shrill female voice rang out from the only lit room in the entire building:
"Don't come in!"
This was in Red River language.
The voice traveled far in the dark and quiet street, bringing out a sense of emptiness.
"Why?" Shang Jianyao asked, puzzled.
He stopped by the side of the street, raised his head, and looked at the lit window on the second floor.
On the stained-glass window, a dim yellow light quietly flowed outwards, but it did not outline a figure.
The slightly shrill female voice echoed again, but it was a little calmer:
"This is my home, I don't allow anyone to enter."
"Oh, oh, oh." Shang Jianyao was amenable to reason.
At this time, only the street lamp next to him and the second floor of the building in front of him had light dispelling the darkness.
"Then can I ask a few questions?" Shang Jianyao made a new request, "I'm new here, and I don't understand many things."
He was quite honest and didn't hide anything.
There was a moment of silence behind the window on the second floor where there was no figure, the woman neither agreed nor refused.
Shang Jianyao assumed that she had acquiesced to his request and asked:
"Is this the 'New World'?"
"Yes." The woman's voice passed through the window and entered the empty and silent street.
Shang Jianyao pressed:
"Then are you a 'New World' level Awakened, or a native of this place?"
The woman was silent for a few seconds:
"There are no natives here."
"Were they all exterminated?" Honest Shang Jianyao dug to the bottom.
This time, the woman didn't answer.
Shang Jianyao changed the subject and asked:
"Are the people here all as friendly as you?"
The woman's voice rang out again in the quiet "night":
"I'm not as friendly as you think, if you had forced your way into this house just now.
"In the 'New World', you have to avoid those who are starving, and don't touch other people's price."
"Doesn't the 'New World' have no hunger, no disease?" Shang Jianyao was shocked.
The woman's voice was silent for a moment and said:
"You've already entered the 'New World', you should know what I mean by starving."
"But I'm not hungry at all." Shang Jianyao expressed doubt.
The dim yellow light from the window on the second floor flickered, and the woman's voice then said:
"It seems that you still retain your body, and haven't encountered any Ruling Old Gods or the more powerful Awakened."
"So, retaining the body is a good thing?" Shang Jianyao raised his hand and stroked his chin.
"Not necessarily." The woman's voice did not give a detailed answer.
Shang Jianyao's mind jumped and changed the question:
"Is the core of this place that high tower?"
"Yes." The woman's voice paused and said, "The Ruling Old Gods all live there."
Her tone revealed an undisguised fear.
"I see." Shang Jianyao slapped his right fist into his left palm with a "pah", "Then I have to go to the tower to register."
At the window on the second floor, the light didn't shake, and no sound came out.
After a while, the woman's voice said, slightly urgently:
"Don't ask any more questions, I can't answer you any other questions."
"Who says?" Shang Jianyao retorted, "I still want to ask if your price is timidity or vigilance, don't you even know what your price is?"
At the window on the second floor, the light shook violently a few times, but still no figure appeared.
Shang Jianyao didn't seem to understand the other party's "eviction order" at all, and asked again:
"Then why don't you turn off the lights? That way no one will know you're hiding in the room.
"Could it be that without the light, the darkness will devour you?"
The woman's voice came from behind the window:
"The light is a reflection of your spirit and consciousness, it will only go out when you die."
Shang Jianyao suddenly understood, and once again clenched his right fist and struck his left palm:
"No wonder wherever I go, the street lights turn on, and all the previous ones turn off!
"I thought the Ruling Old Gods were both warm and hospitable, and saving electricity."
The woman's voice didn't respond.
Shang Jianyao asked again:
"Then what danger is hidden in the darkness here?"
"There's no danger at all." The woman's voice was becoming increasingly impatient.
Shang Jianyao said "Oh":
"Then is there daytime? It can't always be night, right?"
"There is no daytime." The woman's voice said quickly.
"Why?" Shang Jianyao asked, puzzled.
The woman's voice was shrill again:
"I don't know!"
She fell silent, only the light reflected on the window indicated that she was still there.
Shang Jianyao asked a few more questions, but the other party didn't answer any of them, so he had to wave his hand and say:
"Then I'll go to the tower, let's talk again later."
He continued forward along the dark and silent street, the street lights followed his footsteps, turning on one after another, and then turning off one after another, always keeping only one on.
Behind him, on the second floor of the building, the dim yellow light quietly illuminated that small area.
Shang Jianyao took a few steps and looked at the high tower, wondering what he was thinking.
Suddenly, he clapped his hands with a "pah" and "talked to himself":
"I still remember what the tower looked like from the place where Yan Hu was imprisoned…
"Analyzing it should be able to determine which floor of which building…
"Should I visit Yan Hu first? Listen to how he describes the 'New World'?"
Shang Jianyao was very proactive, and he immediately changed his route and headed in the general direction.
…………
On the mountain road outside the Eighth Research Institute, Jiang Baimian parked the jeep in a concealed spot by the side of the road.
She then looked at Shang Jianyao in the passenger seat and considered what to do next.
The most critical point at the moment was that she had to establish contact with Shang Jianyao in the "New World" as soon as possible and get the corresponding feedback.
Without that information, it would be difficult for her to determine the follow-up ideas.
As for how to "contact" Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian had a plan.
Back then, Shang Jianyao had some communication with the sleeping Yan Hu!
Jiang Baimian took a breath, extended her spirit, and connected with Shang Jianyao's consciousness.
Her eyes suddenly turned black, with only a few faint lights flickering in the distance.
The faint light gradually brightened, condensed into a street lamp, and Shang Jianyao in gray camouflage was standing under the lamp.
"Save me!" Shang Jianyao waved his right hand happily.
Jiang Baimian was startled:
"Why are you shouting that?"
Possibly because of the thick barrier between them, her voice seemed very low, so she repeated it again, increasing the volume.
Shang Jianyao smiled:
"I'm imitating Yan Hu."
"..." Jiang Baimian was silent for a few seconds and said, "Your mental state is not bad."
She didn't waste any time and immediately asked:
"Is what we speculated true?"
She didn't mention the specific things, worried that it would trigger "sensitive word" monitoring and cause Shang Jianyao to suffer harm.
--The "Salvation Army" those who tried to reveal the secrets of the "New World" did not have a good ending.
"Yes." Shang Jianyao nodded seriously.
When an Awakened reaches the "New World", they can draw on the human consciousness of the target to supplement themselves.
Jiang Baimian couldn't help but sigh and asked:
"Are there 'Heartless' in the 'New World'?"
"I haven't encountered any." Shang Jianyao answered truthfully.
So, those living dead-like "Heartless" are unique to the "New World" in reality? Then I can only sneak in and investigate myself later... Jiang Baimian frowned slightly and said:
"Where do you think the secret of the 'New World' is most likely to be hidden?"
"That high tower! The Ruling Old Gods all live inside!" Shang Jianyao answered excitedly.
The Ruling Old Gods live in the high tower in the "New World"... What about in the high tower in reality? Jiang Baimian's thoughts raced, without the slightest pause.
At this time, Shang Jianyao babbled:
"There are still many differences between here and reality, the tower is very high, there are lights everywhere, and the architectural style is not so unified, there are classical buildings in the Red River style, courtyards like those in the Old Ashlands, and high-rise buildings from the Old World…"
The small city in reality belongs to the style of ten or twenty years before the destruction of the Old World, but there are no high-rise buildings.
"Yes." Jiang Baimian doesn't know what to say about it at the moment.
Shang Jianyao took the initiative to say:
"Each lamp here represents the spirit and consciousness of the corresponding Awakened, unless they die, they will not go out."
Speaking of this, he slapped his right fist into his left palm with a "pah":
"I understand! Back then, Yan Hu only had a little bit of light, and the whole person was lying in the dark, because his consciousness was close to death!"
So that's how it is… Jiang Baimian also nodded.
Shang Jianyao continued:
"I plan to go find Yan Hu first, visit him, and see what he has to say."
Jiang Baimian frowned again:
"Yan Hu is locked up, aren't you afraid of angering the people who imprisoned him?
"That could be a Ruling Old God."
Without giving Shang Jianyao a chance to find a reason, she offered her own suggestion:
"You should first find friendly 'New World' powerhouses like Flora and Barnard, clarify the corresponding situation, and then consider what to do next."