Chapter 395

"What do we say now?" Xing looked around. "It's a bit dark here, but it doesn't seem much different from the ordinary world... Are we really inside an Emperor's Scepter?"

At this moment, they crash-landed on a platform halfway up a mountain. Looking into the distance, they could see layers upon layers of peaks, all kinds of plants, and a faint glow on the horizon. In addition, the smell of soil and plants, as well as the mountain wind blowing by, were all so real that it was hard to imagine that this was a simulated world.

"The performance of the Emperor's Scepter far exceeds the limits of ordinary people's imagination, not to mention that this was a prototype that was once part of the body of the Boshizun," Dan Heng shook his head slightly, "Such computing power could easily destroy an entire star system, let alone just simulate a real world."

Unlike the "uneducated" gray-haired girl, Dan Heng has a high pursuit of knowledge. Not only did she learn most of the content in the process of managing the train think tank, but she also tried her best to collect various kinds of knowledge in every place she went.

He learned of the Emperor's Scepter's formidable reputation while on the Herta Space Station.

"That's true, but it's not just that," Ai Yue suddenly said. "This place is more than just a virtual space... Can you feel it? This rich Idrit."

"Idrit?"

Upon hearing this word, Xing and Dan Heng were both taken aback, but it was clear that even if they closed their eyes and tried to sense it carefully, they still couldn't detect anything unusual.

But one day they learned that rich Idrit could give rise to synesthetic dreams, just like Penacony.

"It doesn't quite reach the level of Pinocchio, but it can make this world more... vibrant," Ai Yue said with a slight sigh. "I think I know how that person conceived the Great Lord of Annihilation. How should I put it, it was really a bit arrogant."

"I don't understand." Xing scratched her head, her eyes looking innocent. "Could you explain it in more detail?"

"This isn't something you need to worry about right now," Ai Yue said, not one to readily discuss things he didn't fully understand, so he changed the subject. "Let's head that way first. I sensed some living people over there."

"Can the creatures in a simulated world really be considered living beings?" Xing asked a somewhat profound question, then looked around at the surrounding environment. "But then again, this place doesn't seem to be very advanced in terms of civilization."

On the very platform where they landed, there were many architectural remains. Judging from the style and form of these remains, this simulated world was probably in a somewhat ancient period of time.

"It's fortunate that civilization exists at all. At least we don't have to worry about not finding people to communicate with, although we might encounter language barriers here." Dan Heng seemed to have thought of something and shook his head slightly. Then he looked at the carriage next to him. "What about the train carriages? Are we just going to leave them here?"

"Let's leave it here; it'll give us another hiding place," Ai Yue said nonchalantly. "Although this thing can shrink, I think even if you carry it, you'll have a hard time finding an opportunity to unfold it."

"How did March 7th go?" Dan Heng nodded, then asked another question, "Will she be able to join us?"

"I'm afraid that won't work for now." Ai Yue sensed March 7th's location and frowned. "She doesn't completely exist in this world, but seems to have become a semi-upgraded being... Tsk, we still don't have enough information."

"It sounds a bit chaotic," Xing said with a worried look. "Won't she be in danger?"

"No, this state should theoretically be quite safe." Ai Yue shook his head slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face. "At least safer than you guys."

Although the scope involved was not large, he could vaguely sense that there were many powerful individuals in this world. Although their strength was not comparable to that of the Commander, it was enough to give the two of them a run for their money.

"That's alright, let's go ahead and cut it down, okay?" Hearing that things weren't entirely safe on his end, Xing actually showed an eager expression. "The real pioneering work only begins with swinging the first baton!"

"You guys?" Compared to Xing, who would get excited at the mention of a fight, Dan Heng was much calmer in his usual state. He keenly caught a key word and then asked, "Mr. Ai Yue, aren't you going to join us?"

He had wanted to ask this for a while now, since Ai Yue's current state as a white figure didn't seem normal at all.

"After all, we need to gather intelligence, so sometimes we might have to split up," Ai Yue smiled. "But that's not the point. Even if we stay together, the only ones in danger will be the two of you—given my current state, only the two of you can detect it."

"What? Brother Yue has turned into a male ghost?" Upon hearing Ai Yue's words, Xing naturally made the connection, then smiled, "So, does that mean I'm someone who carries an old man with me?"

As she spoke, she started rummaging through her bag again, finally pulling out something that looked like a ring. "Brother Yue, do you think you can squeeze into this?"

"You really think I'm a ghost, huh?" Ai Yue said irritably, delivering a sharp chop to Xing's head, making him dizzy. "It's just a description. Because the Emperor's Scepter simulating this world doesn't know or understand the existence of the Power of Light, in this world, I'm equivalent to not existing. Understand?"

"That's just a ghost..." Xing muttered, but then put the ring away. "So, Brother Yue, you can't contact the people in this world anymore?"

"There are ways, but I'm quite satisfied with the current situation and don't plan to change anything for the time being." Ai Yue shook his head slightly. "So, I'll leave the negotiations with the locals to you."

"That's fine too. We're in the open, while Mr. Ai Yue is in the shadows. Maybe that will allow us to gather intelligence more effectively." Dan Heng nodded, then without further hesitation, "So, what is this?"

He was about to follow the path Ai Yue had pointed out to find a place inhabited when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Not far from them, a strange pink creature was floating in mid-air, looking in their direction.

It was an animal with long, animal-like ears on its head, but it didn't look like a rabbit at all. It had a bushy tail behind it, but it was quite different from a fox. Moreover, this strange creature had a clever glint in its eyes, clearly possessing a certain level of intelligence, and it was no ordinary creature.

Most importantly, at this very moment, it is gazing directly at the location where Ai Yue is.

"Brother Yue, who is this?" Xing glanced back and forth between the two, then scratched his head. "Someone you know?"

"Something's strange." He'd barely finished saying that only the nameless guest and his companion could see him when a small pink animal spotted him. The sudden revelation caught Ai Yue off guard, but he quickly noticed the animal's unusual features. "Let's go check it out!"

Since it was on their way anyway, Dan Heng and Xing naturally wouldn't refuse. However, the little pink animal was quite wary. As soon as it saw the two approaching, it turned and ran away. Not only was it very fast, but it could also disappear mysteriously, so the two of them couldn't do anything about it for a while.

Even more bizarrely, as they chased the small animals, the surrounding environment kept changing. Sometimes a wide and complete corridor would appear, and other times it would turn into ruins under the dark night, as if... time was constantly switching in this place.

However, when the two chased it all the way to the end, the strange pink creature simply vanished, as if its purpose in appearing there was merely to lure them in.

After leaving the ruins, the first thing the two saw was the huge city gate on the opposite mountain.

"What a magnificent city gate..." Xing strained to look out, then suddenly pointed upwards, "Ah, over there!"

Dan Heng followed her finger and saw a huge sphere appearing beyond the mountains on the left.

A giant sphere stands between heaven and earth in the distance, its top of the sky torn open... no, it's more like it voluntarily opened a circular rift, within which vortexes surge and churn, and the clouds periodically reflect golden streams of light.

"Mega-structures are everywhere. It seems that not only is the engineering technology advanced here, but there is also some kind of universal belief." Dan Heng strained his eyes, trying to see the part beneath the giant sphere, but ultimately failed. "No, it's too far away. I can't see the details."

"It's a pity A Qi isn't here; her analogies are so interesting." Xing sighed regretfully, but still took out a small blue camera from her waist. "Now even the photography job has to be done by me... A Qi, please don't mind my poor skills."

Since March 7th involves entering Onfaros in a form separate from the physical body, a camera was naturally not allowed inside. In order to preserve enough memories, she entrusted the camera to two of her friends, hoping they could record more of the customs and culture of Onfaros.

Seeing such an exaggeratedly large structure, Xing naturally wanted to take a commemorative photo for March 7th.

"Let's take a picture of that city gate too," Dan Heng added, then began scanning the area again. "I don't see Mr. Ai Yue. Did he not follow us, or...?"

"I'm here."

A faint voice came from behind the two of them, startling Xing so much that the photos were all blurry. The two turned around, but instead of seeing Ai Yue's glowing white figure, they saw a pitch-black humanoid figure that blended perfectly into the dim environment, so much so that they didn't even notice it.

"Don't be surprised, it's just energy-saving mode." A flash of white light appeared around Ai Yue, confirming his identity. "Be careful, enemies are coming."

Suddenly, the grayish-white humanoid figures that had initially appeared to be statues began to move. They lost their stone-like color and became... menacing.

"We didn't do anything, did we?" Xing put away his camera and took out his baseball bat. "And what's with these guys?"

"Don't overthink it, focus on the battle." Dan Heng also unleashed his Strike Cloud. "There's a cliff behind us, a dead end. Falling off would be disastrous."

And so, a battle began... only to be swiftly ended by an unexpected visitor.

It was a white-haired man who descended from the sky. He held a long sword, and with each swing, a dazzling ice-blue light shone. With a single blow, he destroyed all the human figures, raising a cloud of dust.

But this is not the end.

Just as the two nameless men were cautiously assessing whether the other was friend or foe, he sheathed his weapon and charged at them with such speed that the girl didn't even realize what was happening until the baseball bat was snatched from her hand by brute force.

Wow, so fast! And so much strength!

"Careful!"

Dan Heng issued a warning, but it was too late. However, he also brandished his spear at the same time, thrusting it towards the white-haired man who was closing in.

However, with a casual swing, the baseball bat slammed into Strike Cloud's gun, the terrifying force transmitting to Dan Heng's arm, almost causing him to lose his grip on his weapon.

"Oh?"

Seemingly surprised to find his first strike had failed, the man struck again with a blow.

This time, Strike Cloud finally broke free and spun as it pierced the ground beside him.

"Don't misunderstand, this is for everyone's safety."

After disarming the two men, the man took a few steps back to distance himself from them, then said with a smile, "In a place like this, carrying a weapon is considered provocation. These soldiers are the henchmen of 'Conflict,' and they always ruthlessly exterminate any enemy."

"If you continue to wield your swords, not only will you become prey yourselves, but you will also bring their blades upon the innocent."

I can understand it.

Xing and Dan Heng exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

Then, Dan Heng frowned and glanced at Strike Cloud not far away. "You could have just spoken to him, instead of using such an extreme method."

"You two appeared so suddenly, it's still unknown whether you're friend or foe. Besides, even if you're unarmed, you possess considerable strength..." The white-haired man shrugged. "Perhaps I'm the one in danger? I can't afford to be careless."

Can he sense the power within us?

Upon hearing the other party's pointed remark, both Xing and Dan Heng frowned. Xing possessed a hidden star core, and although Dan Heng had relinquished the Dragon Lord's Power, he had received another power from Ai Yue as "compensation." How had he discovered this?

"Interesting."

This time, it was Ai Yue who spoke. He looked at the white-haired man in front of him and smiled slightly, "This kid... is incomplete."

Chapter 100 Nicadori: What do you mean you're here to negotiate?

Xing and Dan Heng were unaware that this simulated world, which appeared no different from reality in their eyes, was a completely different scene in Ai Yue's eyes.

In his eyes, the sky, the earth, even the huge sphere in the distance or the palace ruins in front of him, all flickered and shimmered.

They would disappear from time to time, leaving only a blurry outline, while at the same time, countless dense data flowed within them, showing Ai Yue the true face of this world.

Even the man who appeared before the nameless man and his companion at this moment was, in his eyes, just a blurry outline filled with data.

However, the data within his body appeared fragmented and incomplete, which is why Ai Yue said those things.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the world is riddled with flaws and prone to frame drops and stuttering. On the contrary, if the ones who come are the Black Tower and Screwllum, then even if the two of them join forces, it will be difficult for them to cause any substantial damage to the world.

Unfortunately, this world is facing Ai Yue's eyes—in his view, this seemingly perfect world is no different from an old car that has been driven violently for ten years. Therefore, he can see through this world in the process of "operation" and thus be able to explore the underlying operating logic.

Although only a fraction of the program can be seen from here, as Ai Yue explores every corner of Onfaros, he will eventually be able to grasp its complete content.

Of course, the two nameless guests were unaware of this part of the story; they only learned one thing from Ai Yue.

That is, the white-haired man in front of them is "incomplete".

"You are incomplete?"

The outspoken gray-haired girl blurted out those words in an instant, while also impolitely glancing at the other person's lower body. Although Dan Heng wouldn't be so offensive, his gaze became strange.

Since Ai Yue hadn't specified what part was incomplete, the two of them naturally thought of physical disabilities.

"What are you saying?" Whether startled by the words or taken aback by the gray-haired girl's direct gaze, the white-haired man instinctively took a step back, about to shake his head, "I'm a perfectly healthy adult male..."

He was halfway through his sentence when, for some unknown reason, his expression froze, and even his head-shaking motion stopped.

However, at this awkward moment, a childish voice conveniently entered the conversation, easing the tense atmosphere—although there seemed to have been no tension at all since that last sentence.

"Noob--!"

Along with the sound, a little red-haired girl came into the three's view. She was so small that the term "little girl" could only describe her size, yet her tone was so mature. Addressing the white-haired man, she spoke in a lecturing tone, "You're causing trouble again! Running so fast and getting into trouble on your own?"

As she spoke, she put her hands on her hips, but unfortunately, no matter which angle she looked from, she didn't exude any authority; instead, she appeared even more adorable.

Even so, the man called Xiaobai still showed respect to the red-haired girl. He lowered his head and said sincerely, "I just want to solve the problem in the safest way."

"This is not safe at all!" the red-haired girl huffed, then turned around and addressed Xing and Dan Heng in a gentle tone, "My two strangers, please relax, relax, and relax some more. We're all human; there's no need to make things so tense."

Xing and Dan Heng didn't reply, but instead turned their gaze to the white-haired man beside them, their eyes clearly revealing that he was the one who had orchestrated all of this.

"Little White is worried you're bad guys from heaven, but I don't think you mean any harm." The red-haired girl was speaking when she suddenly realized, "Ah, we need to introduce ourselves first. We are Tibao from Anusapolis, and this is... Little White, apologize quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Xing and Dan Heng exchanged a glance—the girl who called herself Tibao had directly said "from the sky," which meant that their forced landing had been witnessed by the other party. This also meant that it would be difficult to hide their origins from the other party.

Since it can't be hidden, then it's better not to hide it at all. Using one's identity to gain the trust of the locals is also a viable option.

"Since Teacher Tibao has said so..." Faced with Tibao's urging, the white-haired man scratched his head and finally handed the bat back. "I'm sorry, you two landed in a dangerous area, and your entrance was so unusual. I was being overly cautious."

"That's understandable." After the two apologized, Dan Heng's tone softened. "We come from outer space; we are 'pioneers' who have landed on this world."

Then he saw the expressions on the faces of the two people opposite him change.

"Wow, this is even worse..." Tibao covered her mouth, looking surprised. "My friends, thank goodness you encountered something that happened to us."

Dan Heng and Xing were both stunned, clearly not expecting such a reaction from the other party after they revealed their background.

What's going on?

Based on past experiences, when locals learn that the nameless group came from outer space, they often react in two ways: one is that they know there are other worlds beyond the heavens, and thus show a reaction of sudden realization or relief; the other is that they do not believe there are other worlds beyond the heavens, and thus become more vigilant and suspicious.

But this was the first time Dan Heng had ever seen Tibao and the other person react with such a subtle mix of realization and reverie.

It felt as if they had always known there were heavens beyond heavens, but had only treated it as some kind of myth or legend and never paid any attention to it, while Dan Heng claimed to come from beyond heavens, as if he had walked out of a myth or legend.

However, Tibao and his companion did not give Dan Heng a chance to continue asking questions. Instead, they quickly changed the subject and invited the two of them to come along.

During their subsequent conversation, the two nameless travelers finally understood why they had come to this desolate place. It turned out that they were escorting refugees from the wilderness to a city called "Holy City Ochema" for refuge. It was precisely because the refugees were powerless to resist the crisis that the white-haired man repeatedly confirmed their attitude.

Incidentally, the white-haired man calls himself "Bai E" and comes from a place called "Ailishe".

Of course, whether it's Ochema or Ailishe, it makes no difference to the nameless guests now.

However, Xing and Dan Heng understood that Bai E was being so cautious to protect the unarmed. After all, their appearance was indeed a bit strange, and if they put themselves in Bai E's shoes, they might not have done any better.

"So, what do we do now?"

Faced with Tibao's invitation from Bai E, Dan Heng and Xing postponed their response for the time being, citing the need to think about it, and then gathered together.

They had intended to take this opportunity to discuss things with Ai Yue, but they discovered that Ai Yue had disappeared without a trace, which meant that the decision-making power had fallen into their own hands.

"Since Brother Yue isn't here, why don't we just make our own decisions?" Xing scratched his head. "I think we can trust these two. Besides, if we just leave now, wouldn't it be pointless for us to have revealed our identities earlier?"