Cognitive Discord Between Two Worlds!

When heading out, Lin Mo took a jacket of his own from the entryway cabinet and handed it to Ning Rongrong.

"Put it on."

Ning Rongrong took the jacket and looked it over; it was a navy blue athletic style with a faded logo on the chest, and the sleeves were long enough to completely cover her hands. She frowned: "Is this the clothing you have here?"

"It's cold outside."

"I'm not cold. The constitution of a Spirit Master..."

Before she could finish, Lin Mo had already pulled the door open. The morning breeze of March rushed in, carrying the dampness of the riverside, chilly and biting. Ning Rongrong, dressed in a thin pink top, stood at the doorway stunned for half a second before silently slipping the jacket on.

The sleeves were indeed too long. She flicked them, leaving only her fingertips exposed.

Lin Mo glanced at her, said nothing, and turned to head downstairs.

Ning Rongrong followed behind, looking around as she walked. The stairs of the old Western-style house were made of wood and creaked when stepped upon; the banisters were carved with intertwined floral patterns, now thick with dust. She reached out to touch the carvings, then looked at the wooden steps worn smooth and shiny beneath her feet, muttering softly: "This house... is even more dilapidated than the woodshed of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Lin Mo heard her but didn't look back: "It's an old house over a hundred years old, just make do."

"Over a hundred years?" Ning Rongrong paused, "Isn't that just a broken antique?"

Lin Mo smiled, offering no explanation.

When they reached the first floor, they happened to run into the old lady from the second floor heading out to take out the trash. The old lady's eyes lit up when she saw Ning Rongrong behind Lin Mo: "Oh, Xiao Su, whose girl is this? She's grown up so pretty!"

Ning Rongrong couldn't understand the Shanghai dialect and looked at Lin Mo with a blank expression.

Lin Mo said in Mandarin: "A neighbor."

The old lady leaned in to look at Ning Rongrong, smiling: "How old is the little girl? This hair is dyed so beautifully, pinkish-blue, all the young people like this nowadays..."

Ning Rongrong felt uncomfortable under her gaze and hid behind Lin Mo.

Lin Mo gave a perfunctory reply and quickly led Ning Rongrong out of the building.

The world outside the door left Ning Rongrong stunned.

When she arrived late last night, she hadn't seen clearly. Now it was early morning, the sunlight was just right, and the scene on the street was laid out before her: cement roads, metal boxes moving back and forth, pedestrians in strange clothes, and high-rise buildings she could see just by looking up.

Those buildings were too tall, absurdly so. She tilted her head back to look for a long time, her lips slightly parted.

"These... were these all built by the people here?"

"Mm."

"How were they built? Without spirit power, how did you move the stones so high?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment, not knowing where to begin explaining. He pointed to a crane parked by the side of the road: "Using that."

Ning Rongrong went over to look, circled the crane, reached out to touch the tires, and then squatted down to examine the chassis. Finally, she stood up, full of confusion: "There is no spirit power fluctuation... how does this thing move?"

"It burns oil."

"What is oil?"

Lin Mo was silent for two seconds, then gave up on explaining: "I'll tell you slowly in the future."

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips but didn't press further.

The two walked along the street. The morning light stretched their shadows long; Ning Rongrong looked left and right as she walked, finding everything fresh and new.

When passing a breakfast shop, she stopped.

A steamer was set up at the shop entrance, steam rising in billows, and the fragrance of white flour filled the air. Ning Rongrong sniffed, her eyes brightening: "What is this?"

"Baozi."

"Baozi?" She repeated the word, her gaze following the hand that lifted the steamer lid; that hand used tongs to pick up a few white, plump buns, placed them into a plastic bag, and handed them to a little girl in a school uniform.

The little girl took the baozi and took a bite, meat juices running down the corner of her mouth.

Ning Rongrong swallowed hard.

Lin Mo saw this, said nothing, walked over, and bought four baozi and two cups of soy milk.

Ning Rongrong took the paper bag containing the baozi, switching hands because it was hot, but she couldn't bear to put it down. She mimicked the little girl from before and took a bite.

The meat juice burned her tongue, and she hissed, sucking in cool air, but her eyes curved into crescents.

"Delicious!"

She didn't care about the heat, finishing one in a few bites before reaching for the second. It wasn't until the third one that she remembered Lin Mo, turning her head to look at him: "You... aren't you eating?"

Lin Mo was drinking his soy milk; hearing this, he tilted his chin: "You eat first."

Ning Rongrong lowered her head and whispered something. Lin Mo didn't hear it clearly, but he saw the tips of her ears turn red.

After breakfast, the two continued walking forward.

When they reached a crosswalk, the red light turned on. Lin Mo stopped, and Ning Rongrong followed suit, though she didn't know why they had to stop. She watched those metal boxes whiz past before her eyes and couldn't help but ask: "Can these things... hit and kill people?"

"They can."

"Then what about that fire truck you mentioned yesterday?"

Lin Mo paused, only then realizing she was asking about the siren from last night. He nodded: "That too."

Ning Rongrong was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said: "Where we are, spirit beasts can also hit and kill people. But they don't hit like this." She gestured: "Some spirit beasts are huge, like small mountains, and when they run, the ground shakes."

"Have you seen one?"

"I have." She said, her voice suddenly dropping low. "There are many in the Star Dou Forest. I went there once when I was little with Grandpa Sword, and I was almost trampled to death by a thousand-year soul beast. Grandpa Sword cleaved it in one stroke, and the blood splattered all over me."

Lin Mo turned to look at her. Her profile looked calm under the sunlight, but there was something in her eyes he couldn't quite understand.

The green light turned on, and the crowd surged forward.

Lin Mo tugged her sleeve gently: "Let's go."

Ning Rongrong snapped out of her trance and followed him forward.

Crossing the intersection, they entered a busier street. Shops on both sides had their doors open, selling clothes, mobile phones, and snacks; the signs were colorful and bright, some even flashing with light.

Ning Rongrong was captivated by a glowing sign. It featured a massive screen playing an advertisement, where a stylish girl stepped out of a car, tossed her hair, and flashed a smile.

She froze completely.

"There... there are people inside!" She pointed at the screen, her voice changing pitch.

Lin Mo glanced at it: "That's an advertisement, it's recorded."

"Recorded?" Ning Rongrong didn't understand, but she stared fixedly at the screen, watching the people inside talk, walk, and laugh; no matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem fake. "How did they get in there? Were they sealed? Do the people in your world get sealed into these glowing boards?"

Her barrage of questions left Lin Mo not knowing where to start. He thought for a moment, took out his phone, opened a video app, and randomly clicked on a TV show for her to watch.

Ning Rongrong took the phone, her eyes wide. She watched the people moving and talking on the tiny screen, completely bewildered. She flipped the phone over and over, trying to see if anyone was hiding behind it, then held it to her ear to listen and even gave it a sniff.

"Is... is this a Soul Tool?" she asked in a whisper.

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"A mobile phone," Lin Mo said. "Something used for communication, watching videos, and playing games."

"Communication?" Ning Rongrong caught the keyword. "Can it transmit messages?"

"It can. No matter how far away, it can transmit them."

Ning Rongrong fell silent, her gaze fixed on the phone becoming complex. After a long while, she said softly: "It's even more powerful than the communication Soul Tools of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

She returned the phone to Lin Mo and continued walking, but every few steps she would look back at the phone in his hand, her eyes full of curiosity and reluctance.

Lin Mo saw this and suddenly asked: "Want to try?"

Ning Rongrong paused, looking back at him. Her eyes lit up, but she immediately put on a stern face: "I... I don't know how to use it."

"I'll teach you."

Five minutes later, the two were sitting on a roadside bench. Ning Rongrong held the phone as if it were something fragile and precious, cautiously poking the screen with her finger.

Lin Mo taught her from the side: "Gently, you don't need to use that much force."

"Oh." She poked it, opened an app, and quickly pulled her hand back, terrified of breaking it.

The phone was playing a cartoon, with a few animated bears jumping around on the screen. Ning Rongrong looked at the bears, her brow furrowing: "Is this drawn? Not real people?"

"Yeah, animation."

"Animation..." She repeated the word, watching the clumsy movements of the bears, and suddenly smiled.

The smile was brief, but genuine.

Lin Mo looked at her and suddenly felt that if there were no Shi Nian, no collision of two worlds, just sitting on the side of the road soaking up the sun, it wouldn't be so bad.

But the system didn't think so.

His right eye suddenly stung, and a purple light screen popped up:

[Warning]
[The planar rift has expanded for the third time.]
[Target "Shi Nian" arrival time has been advanced again.]
[Remaining time: 28 hours.]
[Hint: The target has sensed the aura of the summoned character and is accelerating the tracking process.]

Lin Mo's expression changed.

Ning Rongrong saw his look and put down the phone: "What's wrong?"

Lin Mo didn't hide it from her: "Shi Nian has advanced again. There are twenty-eight hours left."

The smile on Ning Rongrong's face vanished.

She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly stood up and handed the phone back to Lin Mo: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to that training place you mentioned."

Lin Mo looked at her, somewhat surprised.

Ning Rongrong felt uncomfortable under his gaze and turned her head away: "What are you looking at? Didn't we agree? I help you, you protect me."

Her voice still held that haughty tone, but Lin Mo could tell—she was afraid.

Afraid, but not backing down.

He stood up and tucked the phone into his pocket: "Let's go. There's an abandoned construction site in the suburbs, it's perfect for practice."

The two turned and began to walk back. After a few steps, Ning Rongrong suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

Lin Mo looked down at her.

She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice, "That Shi Nian... will he really come to kill me?"

Lin Mo was silent for a second, then said, "He will."

"Then can you beat him?"

"I don't know."

Ning Rongrong stared at him and suddenly said, "You are quite an honest person."

Lin Mo didn't understand if this was meant as a compliment or something else.

Ning Rongrong let go of his sleeve and continued walking forward. After a few steps, she said without looking back:

"Honest people usually die very quickly."

Lin Mo was taken aback for a moment.

But she immediately added:

"Still, it's better than being a liar."

The morning light fell on her powder-blue hair, gilding it with a soft glow. She wasn't walking fast, but every step was steady.

Lin Mo watched her back, suddenly recalling how she had curled up on the sofa to sleep last night, the way she had clutched the token, and the way she had turned her head when saying, "I don't even know you."

And just now, when she said "I'll help you," that look of feigned composure.

He quickened his pace to catch up, walking beside her.

The two walked shoulder to shoulder through the bustling street, across the intersection, and through the pedestrians slowly increasing in the morning light.

Neither of them spoke again.

Back downstairs at the studio, Ning Rongrong suddenly stopped and looked up at the old western-style house.

"What's wrong?" Lin Mo asked.

She pointed at the window on the second floor: "There, I just saw a shadow."

Lin Mo looked up; the window was closed, the curtains drawn, and there was nothing there.

But his right eye suddenly throbbed with intense pain.

A purple light screen flickered frantically:

[Warning! Warning!]

[Abnormal aura detected approaching!]

[Source unknown!]

[Danger level: Unknown!]

Seeing his expression, Ning Rongrong instinctively leaned closer to him.

Lin Mo shielded her behind him, staring at that window, cold sweat seeping from his palms.

That curtain had clearly been drawn shut just a moment ago.

Now, a gap had been pulled open.

As if someone had been looking out from within.