The alternate dimension, which wasn't very sturdy to begin with, collapsed due to the loss of control over the energy. The dark corridor and the eerie classroom shattered into pieces like broken glass. The scenery around us changed back to the rooftop of the building. When the normal night view appeared, the abnormal things rapidly took form in the air.
The shattered corridor and classroom didn't dissipate with the wind after they were shattered. Instead, they twisted and merged together to form new things: a several-meter-tall utility knife, a giant compass, a giant burning book, a black monster, and a gigantic human head rolling on the ground with dirty blood dripping from it. These images were all pieced together from the broken corridor. It looked like a colorful newspaper puzzle. A nearly four-meter-long compass flew past me, leaving a scratch on the concrete floor of the rooftop. This meant that although these things were illusory, they had the power to destroy reality.
Especially the gigantic head that was crying and howling. I didn't know which horror story this image came from, but the way it rolled on the ground and oozed pus not only destroyed reality, it also destroyed everyone's mood. Even the skeleton mages couldn't stand its disgust and waved their staffs to roast the meat.
Disgusting, strange, and destructive, but that was it. Compared to a group of surreal special forces, these gigantic creatures were nothing more than live targets. Twenty elite skeleton mages belonging to the Salvation Army began to release a dense rain of bone spears and shadow arrows, tearing these strange things into pieces. The death knights swung their swords, cutting through the monsters as if they were vegetables. Soul Dream and the other two girls, who hadn't had a chance to display their skills before, finally found a way to vent their anger. They began to bombard the area with bullets. I had to hold tightly onto the horn on Yi Chui's watermelon head. No matter how much he protested, I didn't dare to let go. I was really afraid that this powerful fellow would tear the building down.
It seemed like a grand battle, but in reality, it was an easy battle where the minority crushed the majority. In a short half a minute, the gigantic human head with surprisingly tenacious vitality turned into a puddle of jelly with a cold snort from Shallow Shallow. All the illusions finally disappeared.
The wreckage on the ground turned into black smoke and scattered with the wind, never to be reborn again.
"It's done." Lin Xue patted Shallow Shallow's shoulder and gestured for her to release her power. Immediately, the wreckage of the classroom in the ghost realm turned into scattered fragments. However, these fragments didn't turn into strange things like the corridor fragments. It seemed that they didn't have enough energy. After a few flashes, they disappeared.
More than a dozen male and female students in school uniforms lay unconscious on the ground. Not far from them were flashlights that had long been extinguished and some scattered snack wrappers.
I didn't expect us to be so close to them. It seemed that the ghost realm had interfered with everyone's senses. Of course, I didn't release my spiritual power either.
"Climbing up to the roof of a teaching building in the middle of the night to tell ghost stories. There are really all kinds of birds in a big forest," Lin Xue mumbled as she walked forward and breathed under a student's nose. "At least he's still alive."
When we destroyed the ghost realm, the metahumans were already on standby. When Lin Xue gave the signal to end the operation, someone immediately rushed up to rescue the students. At that moment, I finally had the chance to ask Lin Xue about the situation. She obviously knew more than me, but this girl just liked to keep people in suspense.
"Because it was just a guess. I never tell anyone anything that I'm not sure about, because I don't want to interfere with other people's judgment." On the way back, Lin Xue explained to me with a happy expression. "Those were the students who went missing for the holidays. They were all students who lived in the school. The school's surveillance showed that they were walking towards the middle school building and never came back. The school suffered a lot because of that. On the third day after the disappearance, the unlucky teacher found the ghost realm. That's why I linked the two incidents together. I've investigated the school a few times, looking back at what happened in the middle school building. In the end, I confirmed that the students went to the rooftop to have a ghost story meeting at night. There were two teachers and one student who died of a heart attack in the same classroom in this building. That's why many people said that evil spirits were lurking here. Maybe that's the reason why those naughty kids did all these things. You also know that the school is sometimes stricter during the holidays. They can't sneak out of the school, and they have nothing else to do. Other than hiding in the dormitory and surfing the internet, they can only fool around. "
I looked at Shallow Shallow and smiled. We both recalled the time when we came back to this school in the middle of the night to turn on the lights and spread the rumor of a ghost.
"So, you're sure that the students are hiding on the 'seventh floor' of the middle school building?"
"I'm not sure. It's just a guess." Lin Xue shook her finger at me. "First of all, we've searched the entire school and didn't find the students. Second of all, if we link the haunted incidents to the students' disappearance, the most likely place to be haunted is the place where people are hiding. In fact, after summarizing so many paranormal incidents, I've already discovered a pattern. Now that I've seen the ongoing paranormal incidents in this place … Hmm, especially those classrooms and Compass's books, I'm even more convinced … that the so-called paranormal incidents are caused by the heart. "
Shallow Shallow and I expressed our hope that Lin Xue could converse with us in Chinese.
The missy rolled her eyes at the two guys who didn't want to use their brains. However, since she was in a good mood, she patiently explained, "To put it simply, a nightmare has come true. Remember the pattern I've mentioned before? All the paranormal incidents happen in places where people gather. No Man's Land has never had any supernatural incidents. This means that the paranormal incidents are related to people. Also, all the paranormal items that are associated with the paranormal incidents have a pattern. Although they can survive on their own, when they're created, there must be someone beside them. For example, the palm-sized Sadako and the pair of porcelain dolls were created when there was someone around them. Even if they left the person, they could still survive on their own. And this time, the large area of the ghost realm has confirmed this pattern. Instead of saying that the students are trapped in the ghost realm, it's more accurate to say that the ghost realm was created next to the missing students. Moreover, the shape of the ghost realm is also very eye-catching. The huge classroom, the mountain-like textbooks, the Compass, the blood-red formulas, the scary corridors, and the ghostly images that are popular among the students. These are the things that the students come into contact with the most on a daily basis. These are the things that give them the most psychological pressure. "
"In other words, the thing that they're afraid of has become reality?"
Youyouzi, who had been sitting quietly in the back row of seven hundred billion and listening to our conversation, suddenly spoke.
Although the plan to bring Youyouzi out to catch the ghost was not used, she was quite familiar with this kind of thing. She saw through the mystery in one sentence.
"It should be like this. To put it simply, it's born from the heart." Lin Xue nodded. "The thing that people are afraid of in the spiritual world appears in the real world. Although it sounds unbelievable, but …"
"We should have brought Red A over." I looked up at the sky. "We should have let that guy fully understand the horror of China's pirated village: how a bunch of uncles, aunties, and little kids copied his life's achievements."
Should I say that the pirated village saved the world? Such a ferocious mass-produced fantasy materialization. I guess Gong Shi Langjun of the Heroic Spirit Guard would see the ferocious fake? Inherent enchantment? After the second half of the third year of junior high school, he would definitely be deeply touched. Maybe one day, he would be like Hercules, who was dejected in front of a popsicle a few days ago, looking at the class schedule of No.2 High School with tears in his eyes.
"This is different … Forget it, whatever you say." Lin Xue glanced at me. "Anyway, it's true that the things in the spiritual world are gradually becoming reality. And this time, it also proved one of my conjectures: the number of participants determines the scale of the spiritual materialization, and it strengthens geometrically. A single person could only create some supernatural items, and at most, they could create a haunted room. However, a group of people could create an entire floor of a haunted realm, and it contained countless terrifying scenes. Of course, the price is also quite high. They almost died in there … "
I already understood what Lin Xue meant, but there was still one thing I didn't quite understand. "You said that the 'fear' in the human subconscious became reality. Then how do you explain the uncle who sold the porcelain doll? He didn't look like he was afraid of ghosts at all. That kind of ferocious guy. "
"But his wife was afraid." Missy knocked on my head. "If my hypothesis is correct, the two porcelain dolls were actually 'imagined' by the strange uncle's wife, and the uncle was just a middleman. When I go back, I have to reorganize the people involved in those cases, and then lock onto their social circles … Ah, it's time to get out of the car."
I stopped the 700 billion on the side of the road and smiled at Lin Xue. "You only go home at two or three o 'clock in the evening for a mission. Don't tell me your parents never suspected you?"
Missy was silent for a moment, and then suddenly smiled. "Since I was young, I can't remember being with my parents after dinner. Living in that kind of huge family, there are many ways to 'disappear'. Not to mention, I have grandpa to cover for me. Well, speaking of which, my dad has been quite angry recently. Blockhead, when my family doesn't want me anymore, I will have to freeload at your place for a long time. "
I wanted to say something, but in the end, I revealed a faint smile. "It's as if you don't come to freeload every day. Go back and have a good rest. Tomorrow, if any of the students wake up, the truth might come to light. "
Tonight's mission caused us to return home at three o 'clock in the morning. The house was already very quiet. I sent the yawning Shallow Shallow back to her room, and at the same time, made a lot of promises to get Soul Dream, who was a troublemaker, to return to the City of Shadows. After that, I went to the large cabinet in the living room.
Anveena usually didn't need to sleep, but she would take a rest in the dead of the night. She was on top of the cabinet in the living room. I didn't know how to describe it. In reality, the girl had built a crow nest on top of the cabinet. She was a crow, a spirit, and a holy spirit. Now, she really treated herself as a bird.
I lightly knocked on the cabinet, and the big black crow fluttered down. In a flash of holy light, it turned into the pretty maid. Anveena hurriedly lifted her skirt and bowed. "Ah, Master, you're back. This time, Anveena wasn't able to welcome you at the first moment. What a failure. "
"Don't mind it. Be quiet. Don't wake up the others." I let the spirit sit beside me. Since it was already so late, I might as well not sleep today. "Anveena, there's something I want to ask you. It's related to spirits. Do you still remember how you became like this? "
Anveena didn't know what I wanted to say, but she still nodded. The experience of turning into a spirit was definitely the most unforgettable experience of her life, both before and after death. Although it wasn't a pleasant memory, it was all over now. She could calmly recall those memories.
"Spirit, it should be the process of spiritual power turning into a physical body, right?" I looked at Anveena's body. Although she was a spirit, she could make herself appear in a physical state. In that state, apart from her low body temperature, she was exactly the same as a normal girl. Yup, soft, cough, cough …
"Oh, it's a little similar. Azeroth's Necromancers' explanation for the phenomenon of spirits is that after a creature dies, the soul, due to various reasons, doesn't dissipate. Instead, it gradually reaches a new balance with the natural energy of the outside world. In the end, it stabilizes. But in the end, after spiritual power leaves the body, it gradually becomes a 'real' existence that can resonate with the outside world. I didn't know about this knowledge in the past. This was what Lord Sylvanas told Anveena when he came. "
"Then, does turning into a spirit require a lot of power?" I organized my words and tried to make my question as clear as possible. "Or something else, to move from the spiritual world to the real world, does it require a lot of power?"
"Turning into a spirit doesn't require much power. Did Master forget? Anveena was just a normal girl when she was alive. She lived in that kind of small rural area and didn't even see real Mages a few times. Turning into a spirit requires a few conditions to be fulfilled, but it doesn't require a lot of power. As for making something from the spiritual world appear in the real world, if you just 'appear' and the conditions are met, then it's very easy. For example, small tricks like Arcane Illusions can make something from the spiritual world appear in the real world. But ultimately, these things are still fake. They either can't last long, are easily destroyed, or can be seen at a glance. "
Listening to Anveena talk about this knowledge, I gradually revealed a surprised expression. "So, you're actually so knowledgeable? This knowledge shouldn't be part of the maid's rules, right? "
I definitely didn't believe that the nobles of Azeroth were so cruel that every maid in their house had reached the level of a Dalaran graduate!
Hearing this, the ghost maid lowered her head slightly and smiled embarrassedly. "Master often goes out to fight, so I found some books about the World of Azeroth to read. Because my family was poor when I was alive, even though I could read, I didn't read much. And when Master isn't around, I always feel a little lonely, so I need to find something to do. "
As the little maid spoke, her face revealed a shy expression, as if admitting that she was afraid of loneliness was a very shameful thing. I reached out to rub her smooth flaxen hair as I pondered.
Making something from the spiritual world appear in the real world. The key word here was the word 'appear'. It didn't need to rely on corrupting the real world to make something from the fantasy become a real thing. Just making it appear in the real world didn't require much power. It could even be said that it didn't require any power at all. Any ordinary person could do it.
According to the data we gathered, the spiritual power of ordinary humans in the World of Azeroth was about the same as that of the people on Earth. It wasn't because the people in that world had a strong physique, so the 'it was easy' that Anveena said could be applied to the people on Earth.
Currently, various supernatural incidents had erupted in K City and the surrounding cities. I had personally experienced three of them, and Lin Xue had come into contact with even more. The latter's current guess was that the things from the spiritual world of humans were gradually invading the real world. Originally, I thought that the biggest question was whether the spiritual power of humans was that strong. But now, it seemed that the spiritual power of humans was completely sufficient to cause such a phenomenon. What we should really investigate was why the conditions for such a phenomenon appeared on Earth.
Ghosts in the World of Azeroth were a common phenomenon because of the existence of the Magic Net. Furthermore, that world had a high degree of recognition towards supernatural phenomena. This second point was the most important. In a world where everyone believed in ghosts, ghosts were more likely to appear. However, it was the opposite on Earth. This planet didn't have an orderly system of supernatural powers, and it didn't have an atmosphere for the occurrence of supernatural phenomena. So, what could have caused the supernatural incidents under such circumstances?
Anveena sat quietly next to me. She sensibly adjusted her body to a low-light state so that I could think about things in peace. Although I wanted to complain about how she adjusted her body's brightness while measuring with a lumen meter, I refrained from making a sound.
After thinking about it for a while, I still couldn't make any headway. I was still confused about how a group of people living in an atheistic environment could unconsciously produce spiritual illusions. However, I seemed to understand something else.
Why did all the supernatural incidents happen to avoid the eyes of the agents we had sent out and Lin Xue?
In the beginning, we had thought too much of this matter. We had always thought that the unidentified 'enemy' had power that far surpassed the Empire's intelligence department. 'He' could even reverse engineer a prophet's prophecy. However, the truth was so simple that it made people not know whether to laugh or cry. It was because the source of the supernatural incidents was too weak!
If the source of all supernatural events was the subconscious mind of ordinary people (let's temporarily call the subconscious mind of ordinary people the source of occurrence), then these supernatural events could be easily interrupted when they were happening. Any psychic power that exceeded the source of occurrence could overpower the process of psychic communication, just like how a stronger interference signal could overpower a normal signal. Moreover, any agent we sent out had stronger spiritual power than an ordinary person. When they carried out their mission, they would use a lot of detection equipment. What kind of energy interference was that? Countless supernatural incidents that could have happened were actually stifled in their mother's womb!
As for the prophet's vision, it was needless to say. Even if she divided her power to observe the entire city, the strength of her spiritual power was enough to strangle every supernatural incident. Tonight's ghost domain was also an example. The ghost domain created by dozens of humans at the cost of a deep coma was instantly destroyed after I released my spiritual power. This was only the materialization of my spiritual power. If the ghost domain was still happening, I was afraid that Lin Xue's vision would have been enough to destroy it.
As for the supernatural incidents that had already 'happened', they could be spiritual items like the porcelain doll. They might have already appeared in the real world and didn't need the support of human spiritual power. Instead, they wouldn't be affected.
After sorting out these things, I had some gains. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was already past four o 'clock. Anveena had to start working at this time. However, she still cared about me first. "Master, is it really okay not to rest?"
"It's okay. You don't know my physique. It's fine even if I don't sleep."
"That's not what I meant." The maid moved closer with concern. "You should go and see Master Mercury Lamp. I'm afraid she's still waiting for you!"
"… You should have reminded me earlier!!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
