Dimensional Limits

The next day was Sunday.

"Are you really going out with me?" Lu Yao looked at the girl before him.

"Demons are watching you, my lord. I must remain at your side at all times to ensure your safety."

Isabelle's tone was firm.

"Going out is necessary. We need to stock up on enough food and reduce contact with other suspicious people. That way, we can avoid demons using food to poison us or conduct Demonic Rituals."

She had fully stepped into the role of a guard.

Lu Yao also felt that she had a point.

However, taking Isabelle out with him would bring some other problems.

First was her strange attire. Though it was much better than the Black-Robed Blind Monk's outfit, it could still attract attention.

"I'll make up a simple backstory for you now. Remember it well."

"My lord, what is a backstory?"

"It's a description of your identity."

"I see. Yes."

"Alright. Your name will still be Isabelle, but you're from a small country. The elders in our families know each other, so we've been friends since childhood. You've also spoken Chinese since you were little."

Isabelle nodded.

"You're eighteen this year and came to this city for a vacation and a change of pace."

"I'm hosting you and taking you around. Outside, call me Lu Yao. If someone asks something you can't or don't want to answer, stay silent."

"Yes."

Once the preparations were complete, Lu Yao took Isabelle outside.

"First, I'll buy you a pair of shoes."

"Yes."

Isabelle's feet were too small for Lu Yao's shoes, so she could only go out in slippers, which made moving around inconvenient for her.

Lu Yao took her to the mall to try on a pair of canvas shoes, then wanted to buy her a set of inexpensive clothes as well.

Isabelle kept saying there was no need.

"My... Lu Yao, I can cut cloth and make clothes myself. That was how it was in the past."

"As long as I have leather and cloth, I can make shoes too."

"Or I can just cover my body with a whole piece of cloth. Then I won't feel ashamed, and it can serve as a blanket at night. It's very convenient."

Combined with Isabelle's earnest, straightforward face, those words made Lu Yao feel a little sorry for her.

Being away on missions all year round, an Apostle's life was not easy either.

When they reached the produce section, Lu Yao bought plenty of foods that could be stored, such as meat and potatoes, along with rice and noodles. He estimated that this haul would last half a month.

"Lu Yao."

Someone suddenly called out to him.

Damn, someone I know!

It was Sister Peng. She was pushing a shopping cart with a male companion, and it was filled with ingredients for hot pot.

Lu Yao could only force himself to greet her.

"You're out buying groceries too?" Sister Peng said generously. "This is my boyfriend—more accurately, my fiancé, Fu Chenggang. This is Lu Yao, the handsome young guy from my workplace I told you about. He's a great person."

Fu Chenggang was a tall, broad man with slightly dark skin. He wore a stiff jacket and had a square face and broad nose, looking very masculine.

"Hello." He smiled and greeted Lu Yao as well.

"Lu Yao, why don't you introduce the lady beside you?" Sister Peng asked with a grin.

"Isabelle. A friend of mine."

"Wow, she's a foreign girl. How did you two meet?"

"Our families' elders knew each other, so we've known each other since we were children."

Lu Yao kept a calm expression.

Meanwhile, Isabelle remained silent.

Sister Peng gave them a quick look and did not press further. "Then we won't disturb you."

Fu Chenggang suddenly said, "You live in the Locomotive Factory Dormitory in Jiuyuan Community, right?"

"I'm from the Municipal Criminal Police Brigade. There was an incident in the alley outside the Locomotive Factory Dormitory that day, and I went to the scene." He briefly explained, "But I was examining the scene. Other colleagues took your statement."

So he was a police officer.

Lu Yao nodded.

"What happened? Did the Locomotive Factory Dormitory case involve Lu Yao?" Sister Peng looked surprised. She apparently had not known about it.

"Lu Yao was one of the witnesses. He called the police at the time, and one of my colleagues went to take his statement," Fu Chenggang said succinctly.

Lu Yao took the chance to ask, "Officer Fu, have you caught that pervert?"

"I can't disclose that."

"You still haven't caught him?" Sister Peng did not care about that and could not help complaining. "That man was terrifying. He stripped people and hung them up like animals waiting to be slaughtered. The victims will have psychological scars for the rest of their lives. Lots of people online say he's a butcher with some kind of special fetish."

Fu Chenggang looked a little awkward. Bound by police protocol, he could not reveal the details, so he could only say, "We'll definitely bring him to justice. Wait for the announcement."

After parting with Sister Peng and Fu Chenggang, Lu Yao and Isabelle carried their bags of groceries and took a ride-hailing car back to the residential complex.

Little Fire handled the unpacking and sorting.

Lu Yao eagerly sat down at his computer desk and began operating God Simulator.

Isabelle sat beside Lu Yao, watching him click the mouse. She could not help softly marveling, "So this is what a Low Realm Dimension looks like from a High Realm Dimension."

"It's easy to understand." Lu Yao moved the mouse and gave an example. "When you look down from very high in the sky, every one of us looks as tiny as an ant. It's just a matter of perspective."

Isabelle looked thoughtful.

She sat ramrod straight, appearing to watch Lu Yao play a game. In reality, she was extremely alert, watching for any movement in the small apartment.

"By the way," Lu Yao voiced one of his ideas, "Isabelle, since I can summon you here, could I use the Temple to send other tribe members over too?"

"My lord, please do not do that. It is extremely dangerous."

With a grave expression, Isabelle said, "When life from a Low Realm Dimension enters a High Realm Dimension, it lacks the foundation and form needed to exist here and will be warped by Rule Power. Without the protection of a God's Flame of Faith, such life forms will undergo unpredictable, irreversible changes and eventually become grotesque monsters."

"Only Apostles, because they carry a spark of the Flame of Faith granted by a God within them, can remain in a High Realm Dimension for a short time. Even then, they will be affected if they stay too long."

Dimensional limits?

Lu Yao considered it. It seemed that the real world was the High Realm Dimension, while the Pixel World was the Low Realm Dimension.

He pointed at the Cactus busy working behind them. "What about it? Little Fire doesn't seem affected at all."

"The Cactus Follower is a special case."

Isabelle said calmly, "It was born in a High Realm Dimension and then placed into a Low Realm Dimension by a God. Also, it is an extremely simple life form and can adapt to many environments."

Lu Yao asked, "Then how long can you stay here?"

"The limit is around fifteen days. Please make sure to send me back to the Low Realm Dimension. Otherwise, I may be warped by the Rule Power of the High Realm Dimension, become very strange, or even turn into a monster."

"Then there won't be any effect if you go back and I summon you here again through the Temple?"

"No effect. But it would be best for me to remain in the Low Realm Dimension for at least three days. That will allow my foundation and form to synchronize with the Rule Power of the Low Realm Dimension again..."

Lu Yao understood.

It was a little like recharging, and a little like getting vaccinated.

If Isabelle stayed here for too long, she might mutate into a monster. But as long as she regularly went back to take her medicine, she could maintain her current stable form.