Lu Yuan did not immediately call out a second time.
He checked his own condition first.
After his consciousness was projected in, his sense of his body became faint. Standing on the Fragment Platform, he could feel its hardness beneath his feet, but its temperature and texture were blurred, as though separated by a layer of something.
He tried to activate Time Bestower.
His intent reached out but touched nothing.
There was no response, no vibration, nothing at all. Time Bestower had been fused with his body for so long that he had nearly forgotten it was fundamentally a physical Symbiotic Link. His body was still crouched in the Pipe Network passage, so Time Bestower was naturally over there as well.
He tried the Worm of Knowledge's Symbiotic Link again.
This time, there was a response.
It was extraordinarily faint, as though separated by an immense distance. He could barely grasp the end of a thread. The connection flickered on and off, and the sensations transmitted through it were so vague that they were nearly impossible to make out.
The Worm of Knowledge was outside, building a bridge to maintain the passage. Most of its power was pressed onto that bridge, leaving almost nothing for the Symbiotic Link.
You really screwed me over. This is your solution?
Lu Yuan cursed the worm inwardly.
Then he sensed deep into his left eye.
The Key was still there. That teardrop-shaped thing floated silently behind the worm's body, unchanged from before he entered.
Lu Yuan let out a breath of relief. As long as the Key was there, he could get out. He had witnessed this thing's deterrent power before. If even it could not protect him, then he probably had no hope of leaving.
He steadied himself and looked down.
The grayish-white