After walking for a long time.
Following Captain Mochiu's suggestion, the group arrived at the second basement level.
"Cough cough."
The bronze-masked man, who had barely spoken, suddenly coughed, as if trying to attract everyone's attention.
"When I first entered the second floor, that thing's power seemed to have been enhanced in some way. A hand grabbed me; it wasn't an illusion, it was something that materialized."
Everyone remained quite wary of the mysterious man wearing the bronze mask.
"Wasn't it said that it can't function at all in the dark?"
Zi Yan questioned.
Captain Mochiu screamed, "What kind of ability is this? That's because you don't know how terrifying it truly is! Our predecessors who broke in the first time numbered over thirty, but only two of them escaped!"
Everyone was speechless upon hearing this.
The atmosphere was oppressive, and everyone fell silent once again.
Sudden.
Reilo felt something gently rubbing against him from behind.
This feeling is like a fluffy tail gently tickling you.
Silently, Reilo activated the <1024 Nights> Guardian Shield, but the furry thing ignored his <1024 Nights> Guardian Shield and continued to scratch itself.
"How could it possibly ignore my 1024 Night's Guardian Shield?"
Reilo swung his hand sharply, but grabbed nothing.
"Just an illusion?"
A small hand suddenly grabbed Reilo, who was inside the <1024 Nights> Guardian Shield!
My hands are very cold, like a block of ice.
"Big brother, come play with me! Hehehehe!"
The innocent voice of a little girl reached Reilo's ears.
"Hiss..."
With an unbelievable and astonishing force, Reilo let out a muffled groan as he was pulled into an unknown place by this small hand.
"Big brother, let's play 'Statues,' okay?"
Um?
Once you reach the second level, will you still have this ability even without turning on the lights?
So...
Buzz.
The Flaming Dragon Roar Magic Wand flames and light as the dragon roared.
The flickering firelight instantly illuminated the enclosed room, and shadows swayed erratically with the flickering flames.
Beneath the X Mask, Reilo stared at the bizarre creature before him.
From the outside, it's clearly another version of myself!
The room was enclosed, the floor covered in thick dust. A few meters in front of me stood a figure wearing X Mask, wielding the Flaming Dragon Roar Magic Wand, and dressed in a black robe. The figure stared coldly at me, while constantly uttering the innocent voice of a little girl.
"Big brother, am I cute?"
Reilo felt as if he were being stared at by the cold gaze of an insect.
Glug, glug, glug...
My heart is pounding.
Reilo glanced at the wooden door of the room and asked in surprise, "A secret room?"
"Hehehe, big brother, play with me..."
The creature kept repeating the words, and under Reilo's gaze, it suddenly opened its mouth.
The X Mask seemed to be just a layer of skin. Its mouth opened wider and wider, splitting open at a 90° angle to reveal two rows of sharp, menacing teeth. Countless sticky substances stretched into strands, and its body gradually swelled up, becoming larger and larger until its head reached the ceiling.
Under the X Mask, Reilo looked up.
Suddenly, the room lights went out again, plunging the room into darkness.
Bang!
The 1024 Night's Guardian Shield was attacked by an astonishing force, and some cracks could be faintly felt. Reilo's body slammed into the wall like a ball, and with a "whoosh," he vomited some stomach acid.
"Did the protective shield work?"
Bang!
The <1024 Nights> Guardian Shield, but this time the attack was much weaker.
Then came the third and fourth attacks, and the thing's power gradually weakened.
A moment later.
Reilo felt a small, cold hand grab him again, ignoring his <1024 Nights> Guardian Shield.
"Big brother, play with me!"
"Entering darkness, then returning to a state where the energy shield is ignored? Could it be some kind of God Body? Is it interfering with my senses through mental interference?"
Hmph hmph hmph hmph...
A sinister laugh echoed in the small space.
However, this time it was Reilo who sent it!
"After 5 seconds of light, its form gradually changes from a spiritual ethereal entity to a physical form; after 5 seconds of darkness, it gradually reverts to a spiritual ethereal entity. Is this why it can ignore the <1024 Nights> Guardian Shield, grant itself tactile senses, and influence its perception?"
The development of spiritual science is extremely difficult, especially illusion.
Scholars possess extremely powerful insight; even the most skilled illusionist, when casting an illusion on another scholar, will perceive it as a flawed and illusory world.
Therefore, these illusionists can only cast spells on brute-force creatures with low perception.
In recent years, the mental studies at Willand Academy have gradually developed into an academic field that combines mental impact and telekinetic control, completely abandoning the traditional field of illusion.
Spiritual energy is quite unique, as it directly targets the soul, thus ignoring most physical energy defenses.
Rising to his feet, Reilo stood in the darkness.
The muttering was very calm.
"But how did you manage to pull me from the crowd into this small, confined room?"
He wiped the sour taste from the corner of his mouth and gave a Reilo smile.
Even in the darkness, his seemingly rational eyes couldn't conceal the fervent excitement beneath Reilo's facade.
"In the light, it possesses a physical form; in the darkness, it transforms into an ethereal entity. After five seconds of light, its strength begins to increase continuously; after five seconds of darkness, the physical form reverts to a Mental Power entity. So, in other words, as long as one seizes this 10-second window of opportunity and repeatedly alternates between light and darkness, one can dissect and understand you?"
Hmph hmph hmph hmph hmph!
With a "whoosh," flames erupted from the tip of the wand.
Opposite Reilo, another version of himself was crouching in an extremely distorted posture, his monstrous eyes gleaming with a chilling, terrifying light.
Through the protective shield, it kept getting closer to Reilo, slowly turning its head to meet Reilo's eyes.
Its mouth slowly opened, revealing a constantly wriggling scarlet tongue, as if it wanted to lick Reilo's face through the protective shield and enjoy Reilo's fear.
"Big brother, play with me!"
The monster continued to make the little girl's voice.
Beneath the X Mask, a terrifying, cruel smile suddenly appeared on Reilo's lips.
"OK!"
With a loud "bang".
Suddenly, Reilo reached out his left hand and grabbed the thing's neck tightly, plunging the room back into darkness.
"Ah..."
The room erupted in chaos, accompanied by violent struggles and terrified screams.
Four seconds later, the room lights came back on.
At this moment, Reilo was pressing the thing to the ground and taking out a rope. Under the X Mask, he excitedly said, "Come on, brother will play with you for a while, hehehehe!"
Just as Reilo had guessed.
During the 10 seconds between light and darkness, this thing is almost as small as an ordinary person.
While binding the object, Reilo looked up, searching for something in the room that could be used as Dissection Table. He spotted a stone platform and the room fell into darkness again.
A few seconds later.
The room lights came on again.
At this moment, Reilo neatly placed the bizarre biological specimen on the stone steps. His hands, now covered in milky-white rubber gloves, chuckled beneath his X Mask, and he expertly arranged a row of exquisite scalpels and anesthetics on the corner of the Dissection Table with an air of artistry.
Seeing the monster struggling in terror, Reilo smiled and reassured it.
"Sweetie, didn't you ask me to play with you? Well, let's have some fun! Don't be afraid, this dissection game is a lot of fun..."
The room fell into darkness again.
A few seconds later.
When the room lights came on again, Reilo had already administered anesthesia to the specimen, but only to the body; he remained conscious.
With a terrified look in its eyes, it watched helplessly as Reilo picked up the scalpel and slowly sliced it across its body.
"Huh? Like those black whiskers, is it a manifestation of some kind of energy? Look, although it looks like me, and even its internal organs are the same, it doesn't have a single drop of blood."
The room fell into darkness again.
The room lights came on.
"Wow, you can survive even after having your heart removed?"
With his hands, clad in white rubber gloves, Reilo cradled the heart and placed it before the specimen, whose consciousness remained intact.
Reilo could clearly sense its fear.
"It seems your life characteristics have absolutely nothing to do with these organs; it's merely a simple imitation? What kind of life form are you, really?"
From darkness to light.
"Hehehehe, your vitality is so strong, I should be able to study you for a while!"
That's it.
In the cramped room, Reilo repeatedly cycled between light and darkness, keeping the specimen in its physical form, unable to escape Reilo's control, for his dissection and research.
Sen Sen's excited laughter continued unabated.
On the other side.
In the darkness.
The Mochiu Squad and the explorers clearly sensed the eerie silence around them; the thing had been quiet for quite some time, which even made them feel somewhat uneasy.
But no one thought much of it, simply regarding it as some kind of strategy employed by that thing, a suppressed silence.
Everyone can hear their own heavy breathing and heartbeat.
Much later.
Even after confirming that the energy core hub had been shut down, an eerie silence remained, and everyone sensed that something was amiss.
That thing seems to be truly gone.
"It seems like we're missing one person."
The speaker was Weaver Peshmit, his voice stiff and emotionless.
"X?"
There was no response.
"Killed by that thing?"
Ice Roar Bai Qi was stunned.
"So silently, how could I not have noticed!"
Runfeng of the Guyue Family was startled, then reassured himself, "However, among us, he's probably the weakest. It's not surprising that thing chose him."
The Destroyer Kui chuckled.
"So those feelings from back then were real?"
The crowd could almost hear him stroking his bald head.
"About fifteen minutes ago, not long after we entered the second-level space, I suddenly felt some unusual energy fluctuations. It felt like a wall had suddenly come to life. At the time, I thought it was a hallucination, but now that I think about it, that guy must have had his accident around that time, right?"
"It's been that long?"
Weaver Peshmit calmly said, "Without a light source, it would be difficult to even find the body. I think the Magic Props on him were quite good; it's a real pity."
Hehehehe!
Kui laughed loudly, "Isn't that simple? When we get to the place I sensed earlier, we can just search carefully, right?"