Suddenly, the style of the story changed.
It was fine if the fantasy background turned into science fiction, but now it turned into a ghost story?
Wasn't this a bit too much?
The horror was like ice water, gradually seeping into his bones, but Huai Shi's mind began to wander, trying to divert his attention, even though he was panicking.
Especially when he flipped back to the Book of Destiny and found that there were ten people when they set off …
Since when did it become seven?
And since when did the seven subtract one from the seven, and it was still seven?
It was hard to understand what had happened.
The sudden change caused him to stiffen in place. When he lowered his head and observed the display on the arm of the spacesuit, he once again felt an impact that was not inferior to just now.
[Depth 0]
They still existed in the present realm and had not been swallowed by hell. However, everything had unknowingly changed beyond recognition.
"What's wrong, Huai Shi?"
Izzy noticed his abnormality and seemed confused, asking in the public channel, "Are you okay?"
"… No, I'm fine, just taking a breather."
Huai Shi answered calmly, holding the jet. Through the gloves of the spacesuit, he counted the number of safety ropes with the echo of his fingers:
"1, 3, 3, 2, 4 … 5, 5, 7."
It was seven people, there was no mistake!
"Try counting again." Tongi's voice sounded, with a faint smile.
"0, 1, 2, 10, 11 … 21."
Huai Shi's heart suddenly became more and more horrified, it was still 21 people!
Wait …
The counting in his heart paused for a moment, repeatedly comparing the records in the Book of Destiny, and realized what was wrong.
Why was the result different every time he counted?!
"Because reality has already been changed, Huai Shi." Tongi sighed in his ear, "To be exact, it has mutated under the radiation of Helios' secret instrument.
It has become something you can't understand … "
In the dead silence, Huai Shi was sweating profusely.
Everything in front of them was so normal, they were still slowly approaching Helios, about to reach the 'Kingdom Gate' that was several kilometers high.
But something had already changed, and they hadn't even noticed it …
"This is the 'philosopher's imagination'."
Tongi said, "Speaking of which, this really is a rare material. If we collected it and sold it to the Present Realm, each gram would probably be worth as much as a Third Transformation Origin Crystal, right?
Usually, only a soul that was filled with the essence of skill and wild imagination would produce such a deposit when it was burned. Who would have thought that it would be as vast as the sea here?
With such an exaggerated scale, if word gets back, it will definitely attract a lot of gold diggers, right? "
"Wait, you mean … burn?"
"That's right. Burning Origin Substances."
Tongi replied seriously, "In other words, you can think of those invisible things as the ashes of the dead on Helios. Only when so many outstanding alchemists and their obsessions are burning can it produce such an exaggerated scale, right?
The souls of those people were annihilated in the sudden upheaval, and the source substance was extracted and burned by Helios' engine. What remained were ashes that were filled with their own understanding and twisted fantasies, radiating in all directions … in the boundless space, they were looking for a release.
Wasn't that unlucky guy who spontaneously combusted just now the same?
Being affected and disturbed by them, immersed in their understanding, and unknowingly walked down the path of despair … The more obsessed you are with alchemy, the more you will be attracted by this kind of temptation, like a moth flying into a flame.
In the end, you were all burned to ashes in vain … in the end, you didn't understand that what you had comprehended was nothing more than a bubble! "
That was just the imagination of the deceased's Origin Substances.
It seemed to be a lie filled with philosophy.
It was like the principles and essence of a dream. It seemed incomparably precious, and you would do everything you could to remember it. But when you opened your eyes, you would only discover that what you had discovered was something as absurd as' the banana is as big as the banana peel '.
In fact, as long as you were even slightly contaminated by it, your cognition would become obstructed.
It was because of this that 'philosopher's imagination' was the main material used to strictly investigate all kinds of forbidden drugs.
Its biggest use was to brainwash.
It made people believe in something absurd.
"That includes what you just comprehended. Forget it as soon as possible," Tongi reminded him. "That was just a temporary obsession. It has no value at all."
After a long period of silence, Huai Shi asked dryly, "So I was just influenced by them? In fact, nothing happened at all? "
"No, actually, there were a lot of things that you didn't notice that had happened a long time ago. Huai Shi. It's just that some of them are worth paying attention to, while others aren't. "
Tongi laughed meaningfully. "What if I told you that compared to when we first set out, there aren't just one person missing, but two people missing?
Do you still remember who was the one who yelled 'don't look' in the beginning? "
"… …"
Huai Shi fell into a daze. He couldn't even tell if she was joking or telling the truth.
"This is the true essence of alchemy, Huai Shi. Through Origin Substances, through secret methods, and through calcining disasters and miracles, you can completely distort reality."
Tongi said mockingly, "Everything has to be given up. If you want to extract miracles, then you will have to create an equivalent amount of disasters. But whether it succeeds or fails, it will still destroy common sense.
When Helios's engines begin to distort, this destruction will begin to spread and spread.
Right now, you are only experiencing the effects on your perception. Perhaps later on, even mathematics itself will become a ternary system. Perhaps people will even grow three eyes and four hands, or even become barrel-shaped, or even become lost in non-Euclidean space … … "
"It's exactly because of this that we can create a genuine 'hell' without changing the depth."
At that moment, Huai Shi was standing next to the jet, staring at the heavy door that was as large as a plaza.
They had already landed on a large platform that was so empty that it made one's heart flutter. Right at the end of Helios was the only path in front of them.
This was the real 'Hell's Gate'.
Huai Shi had already given up on counting the number of his teammates. That was meaningless.
Through Tongi's words, he had already understood one thing.
— — That was, there was no such thing as' trust 'in others here.
Except for himself, no one could judge whether the state and mental state of others were normal, or whether they were still his companions. Perhaps even he himself would unknowingly become an unexpected person.
Everyone had to fight alone.
Even if they were a so-called team and were close to each other … …
"Do you understand? Huai Shi, here, anything can be changed, and anything can betray you … … "
Tongi reminded him seriously. After a pause, she suddenly changed the topic and became cheerful. "But on the bright side, you can always trust me!"
As she said that, she whistled with joy. "This is a great opportunity to spend time alone with your big sister, increase your bond, and unlock new benefits on the ship. You have to know how to cherish it ~"
It's over.
Huai Shi was not moved at all when he heard that. He only felt that his heart was getting colder and colder.
The world was so cold.
Only the puppy in his arms had some warmth, but the puppy looked disdainful and looked down on him … …
Imagine, when you were in a Nightmare Level dungeon, the team leader did not do anything, the teammates were unreliable, and even smoked and slacked off. Who knew how many of them could still breathe?
The worst thing was that they had to succeed in one exploration, and there was no chance to revive and start over.
The only companion he could rely on was a bad woman with no conscience. It was still a lousy dog that wanted to eat and bite everything … …
He could almost see the crematorium waving at him enthusiastically.
Huai Shi's tears almost rushed out.
If he had known that there was no good in heaven, he would not have come!
In this frighteningly empty square, at the front of the team, Garland Deon's disciple, the alchemist from the Stonecauldron Society, had already taken out a brass oil lamp from the satchel beside him.
He raised his sleeve and rubbed the kettle of the oil lamp twice.
Then, in the vacuum, a bean-sized flame ignited out of thin air. Like a phantom, it scanned the surroundings and released strands of wandering light.
In the end, the projection from the Leviathan's Son appeared.
It was dim and flickering.
It was like a video call when the signal was not very good.
The old man with the cane raised his eyes and appeared in front of them. He looked around, using the light emitted by the border relics to explore everything around him.
"As expected, the Kingdom Gate is the furthest away from the Central Engine. The situation here is normal —"
His voice paused for a moment, and the blurry projection suddenly turned around and looked at them. His sharp eyes swept across them.
As if he was trying to distinguish something that did not belong to the team.
In the crowd, Rachel's expression stiffened and became more and more uneasy. "Grandmaster, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing, Rachel."
Garland Deon slowly retracted his gaze and only said, "You can continue forward. There should be a safe area behind the gate. You can rest for a while."
So, the disciple leading the team nodded and controlled the jet. He took out his beacon from his pocket and slowly floated towards the closed gate.
Like a special effect in a low-quality fantasy TV series, it disappeared in the rippling water.
Soon, a signal came from the other end of the safety rope that all was safe.
Everyone held onto the same safety rope and slowly moved forward.
They brushed past Garland Deon's phantom.
One, two, three …
Until the end of the team, a member who had no sense of presence suddenly stiffened when he passed by, and his footsteps became staggered.
He fell to the ground silently.
It was as if he had collapsed.
The helmet that was riddled with holes fell off from the spacesuit that had long been broken. The withered bones shattered from the cold vacuum, and only the broken skull was still rolling stubbornly.
Continuing the obsession from a long time ago, he longed to step into the territory of Helios.
Finally, he stopped in front of the gate.
The last dim flame extinguished from his eye sockets.
He was dead.
Because he had seen too much …
.
And in the space behind the gate, Huai Shi raised his head and stared at the bloody and tragic scene, and the scarlet everywhere.
Huai Shi widened his eyes.
He took a long breath of the oxygen in the spacesuit that was neither cold nor hot.
Then, he began to doubt from the bottom of his heart. Was there something wrong with Garland Deon's brain because of his age?
What kind of f * cking 'safe zone' was this?
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