Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian stood at the end of the tunnel, their eyes taking in the small city clustered around the towering spires and the staggering "living dead." The wind howled through the valley, across the streets, and between the buildings, creating an ear-splitting cacophony, as if a group of novices were clumsily tuning their instruments.
Du Heng, who had come here with them, had vanished like foam, dissolving and evaporating in the sunlight.
For Jiang Baimian, it was as if she were in a dream.
The next moment, she and Shang Jianyao simultaneously felt a stabbing pain in their heads, followed by dizziness, as if their souls were about to leave their bodies.
They were both experienced enough to recognize this as the precursor to "Heartless Disease."
And it was likely that a Ruling God or a powerful "New World" entity was trying to extract their consciousness!
Shang Jianyao didn't hesitate, nor did he have time to massage the temples beneath his helmet. His mind sank, his consciousness retracted, and he directly entered the "Mind Corridor."
He sprinted out of his "131" room, heading straight to "205," and pushed the door open.
The heavy, ethereal, deep black door stood silently in the dreamscape, unchanged, but no longer open.
Shang Jianyao reached out and pushed with all his might, and the door opened soundlessly.
As rays of light spilled out, Shang Jianyao, without bothering to examine what was inside, glanced at the towering spire and lunged forward.
............
As Jiang Baimian's headache intensified, blurring her consciousness, she was suddenly overcome by an indescribable calm.
The intense dizziness and extreme headache vanished completely, as if they had never existed.
If it weren't for the throbbing veins on her forehead, Jiang Baimian would have suspected she was experiencing another hallucination.
Considering that she had previously refrained from letting Shang Jianyao take out the "Life Angel" necklace, the "Six Senses Beads," and the jade Buddha out of concern for Du Heng's presence, and that this situation didn't seem to stem from the protection of a Ruling God, a thought struck her, and she turned her gaze to Shang Jianyao at her side.
Shang Jianyao stood there motionless, relying solely on the support of the military exoskeleton to maintain his balance.
Realizing that he had likely entered the "New World" and was providing her with some protection, Jiang Baimian immediately reached out, "pulled" Shang Jianyao's body up, and, carrying him, dashed out of the tunnel, into the valley, and to the outskirts of the small city.
This wasn't a case of getting lost due to her "directionally challenged" nature; rather, Jiang Baimian remembered Du Heng saying that he suspected that entering the "New World" only with one's spirit or consciousness had significant drawbacks, and that only a perfect "New World" entity could enter with both body and mind.
However, as the two of them stepped into the small city, Shang Jianyao's body didn't become lighter, vanish, or undergo any other changes.
And the "living dead" that were staggering out from different corners of the city all surged towards them.
It was only at this moment that Jiang Baimian truly saw their appearance:
Each of them had cloudy, bloodshot eyes and a slightly hunched posture.
"Heartless Ones!"
This small city, suspected to be the real "New World," was filled with "Heartless Ones!"
However, the expressions on these "Heartless Ones" weren't too distorted, and their gazes were vacant, lacking the hunger of wild beasts.
It was because of this that Jiang Baimian had initially mistaken them for the "living dead" from Old World entertainment.
Upon closer inspection, her heart sank.
Among the "Heartless Ones," there were dozens, even hundreds, whose clothes were newer and whose hair was smoother, standing in stark contrast to the greasy, worn appearance of their companions.
Could it be that the members of the Eighth Research Institute who hadn't left but had instead taken the elevator to the fifth level of the tunnel had entered this place and become "Heartless Ones"... the Eighth Research Institute's final "sacrifice"? As Jiang Baimian's mind raced, she saw that the "Heartless Ones'" eyes were gradually changing, filled with ferocity, hostility, and bloodlust.
It was as if an outsider had awakened the slumbering "gravediggers," who would now unleash their fiercest attack.
Jiang Baimian, assessing the situation, decided that it would be foolish to rely on the military exoskeleton and confront them head-on without knowing how many "Higher Heartless Ones" there were.
She planned to retreat temporarily and, after Shang Jianyao had gained a preliminary understanding of the "New World" and could provide some support or information, conceal her own human consciousness, use the military exoskeleton to infiltrate this place secretly, identify and "name" the threatening "Heartless Ones" one by one, and investigate the secrets of this small city, coordinating her actions in the real world with her companion's actions in the "New World."
As an experienced warrior, Jiang Baimian didn't hesitate; once she made a decision, she put it into action.
She once again "pulled" Shang Jianyao's body up and, before the "Heartless Ones" could reach them, retreated into the tunnel.
It was only because the tunnel was so close, visible to the naked eye, that Jiang Baimian didn't get lost.
As for whether this would affect Shang Jianyao's simultaneous entry into the "New World" with his body and consciousness, Jiang Baimian couldn't worry about that for the moment, because if she left Shang Jianyao's body in that small city, it would likely be eaten.
Truly eaten.
And she currently didn't see any difference in bringing the physical body into the real "New World."
Therefore, she definitely had to move Shang Jianyao's body out first, to ensure safety.
Once Shang Jianyao had gained a foothold in the "New World" and had gathered the corresponding information, she would make amends.
After returning to the tunnel, Jiang Baimian didn't panic and retreat to a more distant location. She calmly turned around and closed the heavy, iron-black double doors.
After doing this, she carried Shang Jianyao all the way back, and, after getting lost several times, finally managed to leave the main building of the Eighth Research Institute and saw the jeep belonging to the "Old Task Force."
............
"Pangu Biology," Room 14, 647th floor of the underground building.
Bai Chen and Long Yuehong, as they had done every time they returned, completed the standard procedures and returned to the team's office, waiting for the test results to come out.
Sitting in his seat, Long Yuehong looked around and said with a self-deprecating laugh:
"I actually feel a little lonely."
"With only two people left, it's bound to be a lot lonelier," Bai Chen said truthfully.
Long Yuehong quickly stopped him:
"You can't say that!
"It's too, too unlucky."
"Yeah," Bai Chen didn't get angry because of this, nor did he jokingly say "It's not like you said it." He nodded solemnly and said, "They will definitely come back."
At that time, they might not necessarily be returning to the underground building; perhaps they would meet on the surface... Long Yuehong didn't dare to say these words out loud.
He subconsciously wanted to discuss whether the special state that Teacher Du Heng had attached to that part of the memory was effective, but he rationally remained silent.
The room fell silent once again.
............
Around the tower that pierced the clouds were buildings with their lights on, arranged in rows, squeezing out streets.
Shang Jianyao, bathed in darkness, stood at the entrance of a street on the edge of the city, clicking his tongue and saying to himself:
"There are still many differences.
"The tower in reality isn't this tall, and there are no lights around. You can't see those 'zombies' here either..."
As soon as he entered the "New World," he didn't bother to observe the environment. He directly used the connection between his consciousness and body to let his spirit pierce through the barrier and return to the graylands, adding a layer of "protection" to Jiang Baimian's consciousness.
Only after completing this task did he have the time to examine his surroundings.
"Yeah, yeah," Shang Jianyao echoed himself.
He then stroked his chin and said:
"Sure enough, at the level of the 'New World,' you can directly extract human consciousness to replenish your own consumption.
"No wonder 'New World' entities can crush awakeners at the 'Mind Corridor' level even if they haven't fully returned..."
Speaking of this, Shang Jianyao suddenly became a little excited:
"I wonder if I can directly split into ten people in the 'New World' and act separately?"
He tried as soon as he said it, but after a series of grunts and groans, he was still just one person.
"I clearly feel like I can, but I'm restricted by some kind of force, and even materializing weapons has become very difficult..." The sinister and vicious Shang Jianyao looked again at the tower in the center of the city. "Do I need to obtain permission from certain beings first?"
The reckless Shang Jianyao urged:
"Are you guys planning to just stand here? Walk towards that tower. If we meet Wu Meng, Flora, or Barnard on the way, we can ask them in detail about the 'New World.'"
This time, his suggestion was approved by most of the Shang Jianyaos.
Shang Jianyao immediately took a step and entered the street ahead.
Silently, a streetlight beside the road lit up, casting a yellowish glow.
"Very friendly!" Shang Jianyao, who valued emotions and had the youngest psychological age, praised sincerely. "They turned on the streetlight specially for me because they were afraid I wouldn't be able to see the road."
As he continued forward, another streetlight suddenly lit up, while the one behind him returned to darkness and silence.
"What's this called? This is called saving electricity!" Shang Jianyao clapped his hands in praise.
At this moment, he saw a dim yellow light shining from a second-floor room in a three-story classical building with a slight Red River style.
But there was no sound there, only deathly silence.