Life in the Wormhole

Two years ago, Li Banfeng left Medicine King Gully for the first time, passing through the border of Ma Bamboo Mountain.

While he was studying the border line, he saw a man in White Clothes riding Immortal Crane crash directly into the border line.

The Immortal Crane and the man, who claimed to have secluded themselves for twenty years and possessed abilities unimaginable to ordinary people, ended up turning to ashes when they reached the border.

At the time, Li Banfeng thought they had brain problems; who would have thought he would see them again today?

The man in White Clothes looked in Li Banfeng's direction for a while, but saw nothing. Then he lowered his head to look for food.

Li Banfeng couldn't see what food he was looking for, but he saw him picking up things from time to time and stuffing them into his mouth.

Bai He's attention was focused on Li Banfeng. He couldn't see Li Banfeng, nor could he touch him, but he could clearly sense Li Banfeng's location.

He couldn't afford to get entangled with them right now. This was Li Banfeng's first time traversing a wormhole, so he didn't dare linger and hurried along the path beneath his feet.

Bai He was left behind. Li Banfeng walked for less than a minute and then saw another gaunt man.

Li Banfeng had never seen such a thin person in his life. He had seen many people starve to Sea Eat Ridge, and those people who starved to death all had more flesh on their bodies than him.

The man lay on the ground frantically searching for food, Li Banfeng finally saw clearly what they were eating.

On the dark ground, some fluffy things grew, which looked like black moss.

Among these fluffy substances, there were some worms about the thickness of chopsticks and resembling earthworms. The man picked up all of these fluffy substances and worms and swallowed them.

The way he wolfed down his food reminded Li Banfeng of a friend whose eating habits were very similar to his own.

The white crane followed again from behind and asked the gaunt man, "Young man, don't rush to eat. Do you sense anyone approaching nearby?"

The man shook his head and remained silent.

The white crane then asked, gazing into the distance, "Young lady, can you sense someone approaching?"

A figure stood in the distance, also looking in the direction of Li Banfeng.

She seemed to sense Li Banfeng's presence, but remained silent.

Li Banfeng continued walking forward until the dusty road came to an end, Li Banfeng figure disappeared in the light.

The woman standing at a distance finally spoke, "That person seems to have already left."

1

The Immortal Crane sighed, turned its head, and looked at the gaunt man frantically searching for food. "Young man, try not to eat insects. You can't chew those insects properly, and once they enter your stomach, they'll just become tiny worms, making you hungrier the more you eat."

The gaunt man put down the moss and insects in his hands, fumbled for Simple Phone in his pocket, and dialed again.

Li Banfeng returned to Ma Bamboo Mountain and appeared about ten meters away from the border.

He successfully crossed the line, and the record player jumped for joy. "Husband, it's done! This time it's really done!"

Li Banfeng nodded, took out the boundary switch that the Old Train had given him, temporarily closed a small section of the boundary, and returned to his Wife's side.

"My lord, Little Slave am so happy!" The record player sucked Li Banfeng's head into the speaker and spun it around several times.

Li Banfeng was also very happy, but his mood was different from last night.

"Husband, what's wrong?" His Wife noticed that Li Banfeng was not in a good condition.

Li Banfeng picked up the record player. "My dear Wife, let's talk about this when we get home."

Once inside the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng recounted his experience. "My Wife, I saw a person in the wormhole. I've seen this person before."

The Wife pondered for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "It's hard to say in this situation—"

She took out a drawing, drew a river, a bridge over the river, and two doors on the bridge. She carefully explained the principle to Li Banfeng: "My dear husband, this river is the boundary."

This bridge is the hidden bridge we built; it has two parts, one real and one virtual, represented by two gates.

Without a bridge, crashing directly into the boundary line would result in matter and antimatter annihilation, turning one into ashes.

If we have the first real bridge, we can go into the wormhole and cross the boundary through it.

If there's a second virtual bridge, we can find our way through the wormhole and eventually find the exit.

However, this illusory bridge is built upon the foundation of the Lie Root Stone. As you walk between the real and illusory bridges, you may encounter an illusion created by the Lie Root Stone.

Li Banfeng said, "Does my Wife mean that the people I saw in the wormhole were all illusions?"

Even the record player couldn't say for sure, "It might not be an illusion; it could be real. Some people might have only found the real bridge and not the virtual one, and then rashly entered the wormhole, thus becoming trapped inside. But can a person really survive in a place like a wormhole?"

Is it an illusion, or is someone really trapped inside?

This seems easy to verify.

Li Banfeng left Portable Abode, took out Simple Phone, and called Luo ZhengNan.

Luo ZhengNan was listening to the radio on the rooftop when a burst of static came through, which annoyed Luo ZhengNan.

He has been troubled by static lately. No matter day or night, as long as the antenna is plugged in, static will constantly surround him.

He changed the antenna, adjusted the frequency band, took some pills, and slightly improved his cultivation level— Luo ZhengNan tried many methods, but none of them worked. He really couldn't figure out what caused this.

After waiting for several tens of seconds, the static disappeared, and Luo ZhengNan continued listening to the radio:

"Listeners, our product is a household name in Pro State. What makes it so good? Let me explain. First of all, burying a body is indeed hard work, and you can't do it without a good shovel. Our shovel is specifically designed for burying bodies—"

Luo ZhengNan turned off the radio.

This streamer is disgusting; even his genitals are so awkwardly done.

Where did Ah Hui go?

As is customary, Ah Hui should be hosting a radio program all winter, but this winter is not even halfway over yet, and Ah Hui has not come for several days.

Luo ZhengNan was feeling unhappy when Li Banfeng called.

"Seventh Master, you wanted to see me?"

"Lao Luo, help me find out where Qin Tianjiu is."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Li Banfeng hung up the phone and waited for Lao Luo's message.

Inside the wormhole, he saw a gaunt man who resembled Qin Tianjiu based on his eating habits.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Luo ZhengNan called, "Seventh Master, we haven't heard from Ninth Master for several days!"

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "That bastard Shen Jinzhong, he didn't tell me again!"

"Shen Jinyin kept looking for him, and he thought that Ninth Master was angry because of the jewelry store matter."

"What happened at the jewelry store?"

"Shen Jinzhong opened a jewelry store, but it's been getting robbed a lot lately, and he's lost money. Shen Jinyin blamed it on Ninth Master, who has been keeping an eye on the jewelry store lately. He's probably a little angry about it."

Li Banfeng hung up the phone.

This wasn't just a matter of getting a little angry. Qin Tianjiu wasn't a petty person. The gaunt man from earlier was Qin Tianjiu himself; he had somehow entered the wormhole.

According to the Wife, ordinary people who cross the boundary will be annihilated by matter and antimatter, which means they will really turn into ashes.

People trapped in a wormhole certainly have a way to enter the wormhole, but they have no way to leave it.

That Immortal Crane, hailed as a master who had secluded himself for twenty years, was someone Li Banfeng had laughed at two years ago. But now it seemed he truly possessed abilities; he believed he had the power to cross boundaries, and indeed, he had demonstrated it through his own efforts.

They entered the wormhole without the aid of any external objects.

But what's wrong with Little Fatty?

The most urgent task is to rescue Little Fatty.

The Wife stared at the blueprints for a long time. "My husband, it will be very difficult for you to rescue them. This is like pulling a drowning person onto a bridge. If you're not careful, you might be dragged into the river with them. Please think carefully!"

Li Banfeng frowned. Who exactly sent Little Fatty into the wormhole?

Yuezhou, Jiacheng District, Yunsheng Road.

Boss Lu came out of the bookstore. He was wearing a yellowish-brown shirt with a double-breasted button closure and black trousers. As always, he had short black hair and a straight mustache, as if every hair had been carefully groomed.

He was holding a book in his hand, the seventh volume of the store's best-selling "Embroidered Frost Collection". He seemed to be walking at a leisurely pace, and the journey from Yunsheng Road to the Culture Palace, a distance of more than 20 kilometers, took him less than five minutes.

The Culture Palace is showing a gunfight movie today, and most of the people setting up stalls here are real estate agents.

Boss Lu found a seat in the back row and sat down. The snack vendor came over and asked, "Sir, what would you like to order?"

"Everything's included." Boss Lu handed over a stack of banknotes to the snack seller.

The snack vendor quickly put aside his business and led Boss Lu upstairs to see Lin Fojiao.

If it were anyone else, the snack vendor would definitely ask a couple of questions, but Boss Lu was a regular customer and an old acquaintance of Lin Fojiao. Boss Lu a secret signal, and the snack vendor immediately made arrangements.

Upon entering the office, Lin Fojiao was dozing off. The snack vendor poured Boss Lu a cup of tea and then turned and left.

Boss Lu gently tapped the table and handed Lin Fojiao a list.

Lin Fojiao squinted, looked for a moment, and then stretched. "These things are hard to buy."

Boss Lu smiled and said, "If it's easy to buy, I certainly won't bother you."

"For such large-scale purchases, a company is needed to back it up; individual buyers won't get equipment from manufacturers, so there will be additional costs involved."

Boss Lu took a sip of tea and flipped through the "Embroidered Frost Collection" in his hand. "Old friend, there's no point in saying such things. When have I ever fussed over such trivial matters with you? Just name your price."

Lin Fojiao took out a calculator, pressed a number, and showed it to Boss Lu.

Boss Lu nodded slightly. "Approximately when should the goods be delivered?"

"It will take at least two weeks."

"Then it's settled, two weeks." Boss Lu got up and left. Lin Fojiao glanced at the book "Embroidered Frost Collection".

Hansong opened his sleepy eyes slightly.

"You like reading?" Boss Lu smiled. "I have some in my shop. I'll send you a set tomorrow."

Not long after Boss Lu left, Lin Fojiao called over the snack vendor, "Did Tang Changfa just buy a batch of scientific research equipment?"

The snack vendor checked the ledger, nodded, and said, "Their business scope includes scientific research, and they also have people who are good at negotiating. Their business is going very smoothly."

"Let's discuss it. I also need to buy a batch of scientific research equipment. I'll use his company as a safety net and give him a 3% commission."

"Chairman Lin, we also have similar companies."

"The company is easy to deal with, but it's hard to find someone who can negotiate well. Let's ask them what they think first."

"Isn't a three percent commission too low?" Yan Cuier pouted, not entirely satisfied with the price.

The snack vendor didn't say much to Yan Cuier; he knew the girl wasn't very bright. He only asked, "When are Tang Changfa and Yan Hong coming back?"

"He went out to buy supplies; it'll probably take him at least an hour!"

The snack vendor turned and left. Two hours later, Tang Changfa and Yan Hong'er returned. Before the newly arrived goods were even put into storage, Yan Cuier told the two about the previous business.

"I don't even want to deal with them. They only offer a 3% commission; who would want to do business with them?"

Tang Changfa poked Yan Cuier with his finger. "Fool! You've been in this Outer State for so long, how come you can't even do basic accounting? Do you know how much research equipment costs? It's a ten million deal, and we're only offering three hundred thousand."

Isn't that enough?

Yan Hong was also angry. "We're doing business on their turf, and you don't even give them any face? Don't you have any sense of propriety?"

Yan Cuier pouted, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "You all know how to bully me. Tomorrow we'll go to the shopkeeper to settle this."

Upon hearing this, Tang Changfa silent. Yan Cuier was very favored by the shopkeeper.

Yan Hong wasn't about to give in. "Let's talk to the shopkeeper! We'll go right now and reason with him. I don't believe the shopkeeper doesn't understand right from wrong!"

Tang Changfa advised, "Alright, I'll go ask around and find out what kind of business it is."

He proactively approached the snack vendor and agreed to do business with him.

Back in the private room, Tang Changfa looked at the list and paced back and forth several times.

Yan Hong asked, "What's wrong? Is it hard to buy things?"

"Buying them is easy, but I don't know if we can actually buy them." Tang Changfa showed the list to Yan Hong.

Yan Hong, with her sharp eyes, immediately spotted the electromagnetic device. "Isn't this the thing the shopkeeper told us to buy before?"

Yan Cuier looked at it and said, "Perhaps it's just that the name is similar, but it might be different from the one we bought."

"It's not just the names that are similar!" Yan Hong looked closely. "This line of text says 'model number,' and it's the same as what the shopkeeper bought."

Yan Cuier scratched her head. "I guess this thing is just like elixirs; if the shopkeeper wants to buy it, others want to buy it too. It's not anything new, is it?"

Yan Hong shook her head and said, "That's not how it works. This is completely different from elixirs!"

Tang Changfa quickly took out his phone. "We need to tell the shopkeeper about this immediately. What if the shopkeeper doesn't allow the purchase?"

Even if we admit we won't do business here, we'll still sabotage his business.

Li Banfeng was still in Pro State when he received a call from Tang Changfa and listened to a brief overview of the equipment list.

Li Banfeng was familiar with all of these devices because his Wife used them.

Some people are studying boundaries.

"Shopkeeper, is this business even viable?"

"Do it, do it properly for him, and try to find out one thing: who bought the things from Lin Fojiao?"

It's okay if you don't understand. Just do everything you can to avoid offending Lin Fojiao. Make sure you can maintain this connection and don't let it break down.

Li Banfeng hung up the phone and pondered the connections behind the incident.

Is the person who bought the equipment related to Qin Xiaopang's situation?

The record player took the pendulum and Dream Virtue to the laboratory. Whether they could cross the two hidden bridges and pull Xiaopang out of the river depended on the Wife's research.

At midnight, a martial arts film will be shown at the Culture Palace, and weapons will be sold on the Black Market today.

The snack vendor was doing business when a puff of smoke drifted over, drew a circle in front of his eyes, and then disappeared.

The snack vendor turned around and saw a man wearing a red plaid shirt sitting in the back row smoking.

This man was his regular customer, He Haisheng.

The snack vendor walked up to He Haisheng and gave him a bottle of water.

He Haisheng took the water bottle and saw that it read "216".

After sitting in the lobby for a while, He Haisheng went to private room 216. After waiting for a few minutes, the snack vendor came in.

He Haisheng lowered his voice and said, "I heard that you recently took on a big deal to buy a batch of scientific research equipment."

The snack vendor didn't say anything.

He Haisheng understood what he meant: the snack seller wouldn't reveal any information until the price was agreed upon.

He took out a check and wrote down a number.

After inspecting the snacks, he accepted the check, took out an equipment list, and handed it to He Haisheng.

After reviewing the list, He Haisheng asked, "Who authorized you to purchase this equipment?"

The snack vendor has fallen silent again.

He Haisheng then took out another check and wrote down a number.

After looking at the snacks, the vendor took the check and handed a copy of "Adding Fragrance Lyrics" to He Haisheng.

He Haisheng flipped through the book from beginning to end, and on the last page, he saw the bookstore's stamp.

Lu Family Bookstore.

He Haisheng nodded, took the list, and left the Culture Palace.

At 8 p. m., Lu Family Bookstore closed early, as Boss Lu had important business to attend to that evening.

He checked the accounts, organized the books, lit an incense burner, brewed a pot of tea, and set out eight small dishes of candied fruit. By candlelight, he took out the copy of "Jade Fragrance Records" that Zhang Xiuling had given him.

The book is expected to be published in twenty-six volumes, and eleven volumes have been published so far. Boss Lu opened the first volume and slowly began to read it.

This book, "The Jade Fragrance Records," was co-authored by two talented women from Pro State Zhang Xiuling and Shen Rongqing. Others might assume that these two women wrote essays, poems, or elegant novels, but they are all wrong.

The book "Jade Fragrance Records" is surprisingly explicit. According to book lovers, it is the only work in the last hundred years that can rival "Embroidered Frost Collection".

Boss Lu did not have high hopes for "Jade Fragrance Records" at first. In Boss Lu opinion, female writers were relatively conservative in some aspects.

After reading one volume, Boss Lu realized that his understanding was seriously flawed; the "Jade Fragrance Records" and the "Embroidered Frost Collection" were not comparable.

Regardless of scale, depth, or scope, "The Jade Fragrance Records" is clearly superior.

It seems there's more than one level above...

"How is this possible—" Boss Lu's hands trembled slightly. The book he was holding was the first edition revised by Zhang Xiuling. Only thirty sets were sold at the time, and Zhang Xiuling reserved a set for Boss Lu. The contents of the book were almost unedited, making it extremely precious.

If it weren't so precious, Boss Lu would have torn this book to shreds.

"Hahaha!" Yu Yaoming laughed heartily as he walked down from the second floor of the bookstore. "Boss Lu, with this batch of equipment, I estimate that in less than a month, I'll be able to—"

"What? This is a study! A quiet place for scholars, don't you know any manners?"

Yu Yaoming was stunned for a long time. He had known Boss Lu for so long and had never seen him lose his temper before.

He quickly went upstairs, not daring to say another word.

Boss Lu frowned, his face grim, and continued to flip through "The Jade Fragrance Records".

As night deepened, Boss Lu put down his book and went back to his bedroom to rest.

Around four o'clock in the morning, the door to the bookstore was opened.

A man in black quietly entered the bookstore, first circling the second row of bookshelves, then passing through the aisle between the third and fourth rows of bookshelves.

The man in black went up the stairs and arrived at the door of the warehouse on the second floor.

He heard snoring inside; Yu Yaoming had just finished his experiment and fallen asleep.

The man in black took a ring out of his pocket and put it on his right index finger. He swiped the ring across the crack in the door, and the lock opened, but the door didn't open.

The man in black knew there was a mechanism on the door. He ran his fingertips along the door for a moment and seemed to have found the key to the mechanism.

He pinched the door open with his index and middle fingers, releasing the mechanism, and then a single word emerged from the crack in the door:

?

The word "Word" was divided up and down, pulling the man in black's lips, forcing the man in black to speak.

The word "" turned into a short cross and stabbed into the chest of the man in black.

The word "" turned into a hunting net, tying the man in black to the stairs.

The man in black used his ring to cut open the Hunting Net, freeing himself from the word "speech" on his mouth, but he couldn't shake off the word "person" on his chest.

This character "" interacted with the man in black for a while. He took a book from the bookshelf and used a trick called Mo Xunxing to summon a field of words and surrounded the man in black.

This was something the man in black couldn't understand. Ink Counting and Line Following was a technique of Wen Xiu, not something new. But the problem was, the one who used the technique wasn't Wen Xiu, but a single character.

This is not a complete character; it is part of the character "".

With limited space on the stairs, the men in black were surrounded and attacked.

He immediately jumped down to the first floor, about to pass through the bookshelves. The books on the shelves unfolded one after another, and the text on them quickly detached from the pages.

The character "" that had previously cornered the man in black on the stairs has now come up behind him. Despite fighting the man in black for so long, this character has only suffered minor injuries and his fighting strength has not been diminished.

Before the man in black, thousands upon thousands of words awaited him, each word possessing a combat power far exceeding that of...

Below the character".

The man in black looked around, looking for an opportunity to escape, but the bookstore, which didn't seem very big, offered him no way out.

Just as the man in black was about to die, a man wearing a long robe and a bamboo hat with a row of Copper Coin hanging from the bottom of the hat entered the bookstore, grabbed two books from the bookshelf, and threw them at the man in black.

The two books opened and closed intermittently, resembling a pair of large hands that grabbed a piece of text and tossed it aside, repeating this process repeatedly as they flew through the bookshelf, creating a path.

The man in black and the man in the straw hat fled the bookstore along the road.

Upon arriving at a money exchange, the two went into the back room. The man in black removed his veil; he was none other than He Jiaqing, the owner of the money exchange.

The man wearing the straw hat is Master Kong Fang.

Still shaken, He Jiaqing drank an entire pot of tea and, after catching his breath, said, "I never expected Boss Lu to be so powerful."

Master Kong Fang smiled and said, "You are really reckless. You dare to go to his territory and play tricks all by yourself? Do you know that even the Scholar Cultivator Ancestor might not be able to defeat him?" He Jiaqing brewed another pot of tea and poured a cup for Master Kong Fang. "Yu Yaoming is in his hands. He is using Yu Yaoming to study the boundary. I estimate that things will be done soon."

"What's the rush? If he can do it, why can't we?" Master Kong Fang took a sip of tea. "My subordinate is back. He basically knows everything Yu Yaoming knows, and even if there are things he doesn't know..."

Based on the equipment Yu Yaoming bought, he could roughly deduce what had happened.

Even if we're a little slower than Zhou Badou, it's not a loss. As long as we find a way to break the boundary, we'll have the resources to dominate Pro State. Don't bother Zhou Badou again; he spared you this time out of respect for me.

Next time, you might not be so lucky.

Boss Lu put on his clothes, went to the hall, picked up the books scattered on the floor, and put them back on the bookshelf.

The snoring from the second floor continued unabated. Boss Lu sighed, "That heartless person, he sleeps so soundly!"

Boss Lu returned to bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He picked up "The Jade Fragrance Records" and "The Collection of Rusty Frost."

He took it out and compared it several times. As dawn approached, he saw the words between the lines: the whole book was filled with the two words "crush them all!"

"The Collection of Rust and Frost" was completely crushed!

"This young man is arrogant!"

Boss Lu sat down at his desk, picked up his pen, and wrote a line of text.

"The Collection of Rust and Frost, Continued".

Cui Tike stood atop Knife Ghost Ridge, watching DaoLao Ghost prepare for the New Year's celebration.

He received a message from Du Wenming, who knew that He Jiaqing was researching ways to break the boundary and had also gained the support of Snowflake Port.

"Breaking the boundaries is great! Without boundaries, no one can stop us!" Cui Tike looked at the rising sun and straightened his red suit.

He was pondering a serious question, "What should we call the second technique?"

P. S.: I must write out "Xiu Shuang Ji", "Jade Fragrance Records", and "Adding Fragrance Lyrics" and present them to all of you readers. These three books are truly wonderful!