Lin Qiye made a circuit around the factory but found no more useful information. Aside from dissection tools, most of the place was filled with radar-like devices, presumably meant to receive some kind of signal.
Just as he was about to leave the factory and continue searching for a way out, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a screen.
Lin Qiye paused. After hesitating for a moment, he walked toward the screen.
It was the monitor of an old-fashioned computer, its bulky body resembling an off-white television. The desktop displayed the most primitive blue-sky-and-grassland wallpaper, yet there was neither a mouse nor a keyboard in front of it—only a chessboard with several pieces casually arranged on it.
Why was there a chessboard in a place like this...?
If An Qingyu wanted to play chess, he should have returned to the Capital City Courtyard. Who could he possibly play against by placing a chessboard here?
As Lin Qiye pondered the chessboard, a pop-up window suddenly appeared on the computer's blue-sky-and-grassland desktop, drawing his attention.
--Leave now!
Lin Qiye froze when he saw those two words.
Immediately afterward, a second pop-up appeared on the screen:
--A Lovecraftian god is approaching! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!
The instant those words appeared, a thought flashed through Lin Qiye's mind. His pupils contracted slightly. "Jiang Er?! Is that you, Jiang Er?!"
Jiang Er was the first person Lin Qiye thought of who could interact with him in this manner! Not long ago, she and An Qingyu had completed a deal with the Gate of Truth, and this place was filled with signal-receiving devices... Everything seemed to point toward one conclusion.
An Qingyu had collected Jiang Er's magnetic field and used some method to reconstruct her consciousness!
--It's me.
The moment