The Former Site of the Ring Research Institute

The weather was hot, and cicadas could be heard chirping in the distance.

Rust City No. 03 was deserted and very quiet.

Dr. House and Qin Yiguan slowly walked out of the apartment.

They boarded the aircraft that Dr. House had prepared long ago.

"Dr. House."

Qin Yiguan stared at the rapidly receding scenery. "What is the Dream General's ability?"

Dr. House recalled, "That time, the Child ate a lot of candy, was very satisfied, and also seemed a little tired. He fell asleep in my chair, and after he drifted off to sleep, the Dream General began."

From a disease perspective.

"One of the triggers for ' Dream General ' might be sleep."

"But those Dream General only appear briefly."

"It introduced itself to me, saying that it was born from the Ring Research Institute, and that it was currently controlling a vast dream and couldn't stay here any longer."

"Then, your current personality awakened."

"The whole process took about 10 minutes. You switched between three personalities in my clinic."

Dr. House looked at Qin Yiguan, "I know almost nothing about Dream General either."

At this moment, Qin Yiguan frowned in thought, gently tapping the spiderweb-like scar on his temple with his fingers.

Dream General...

Dream general?

General in a Dream?

Dream...

Is my ability to enter the Metaverse while sleeping related to my Dream General abilities?

This incident.

The connections are increasing, and it's getting more and more interesting!

Hopefully, once we arrive at the Ring Research Institute, everything will become clear, and we can fully enjoy the thrill of solving the mystery!

Qin Yiguan's eyes flickered as he gazed at the vast, distant land.

In the old days, the Physical Earth was considered enormous by humankind. But now, thanks to technological advancements from the Metaverse, spacecraft on the Physical Earth have made tremendous progress, and circling the Earth takes only a few hours.

Qin Yiguan looked down at his feet.

This is a vast, primeval forest.

The forest is lush and vibrant with life, but the massive trees obscure the true nature of the land, giving it a mysterious feel, as if it were a monster ready to devour you at any moment.

Qin Yiguan clenched his fist slightly, his eyes narrowing into slits.

The aircraft's navigation system indicates that it is now less than 5 kilometers from its final destination.

"Don't be so nervous about your Yiguan."

Dr. House said, "I've already investigated this place. It's been abandoned for a long time. The current Ring Research Institute is just a dilapidated building hidden deep in the primeval forest, completely unknown to anyone."

"Oh?"

Qin Yiguan's eyes gleamed.

Did they evacuate, or were they destroyed?

In the distance, a huge white, spherical building can be vaguely seen among the dense trees.

However, there was no open space below, so the aircraft could not land.

Dr. House opened the hatch, very gentlemanly straightened his shirt, picked up his briefcase, and jumped 10 meters into the air before landing directly on the ground.

Qin Yiguan paused slightly. He already knew that Dr. House had a very strong physique and had once destroyed two puppet machines with his bare hands.

In retrospect, he wasn't strong, he wasn't even human.

This ability wouldn't be difficult to understand within the Metaverse, but in reality, the scene is surreal, almost like an illusion.

Looking down at the ground ten meters below.

Qin Yiguan also leaped into the air.

For a few seconds in mid-air, the image of the Boundless One flashed through his mind. It seemed to bring Qin Yiguan's powerful body from the Metaverse into reality and lingered for a few seconds.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, but Qin Yiguan couldn't control this 'time travel'; everything was passive.

Boom!

The Boundless One boundless!

Qin Yiguan's body landed straight on the ground without bending his knees, and then he slowly raised his head.

Dr. House turned around, clicked his tongue, and said, "We ordinary people only have the Separation Rate after the Fusion Rate exceeds 100%. You, on the other hand, were born with it. It's true what they say, people are different..."

Regarding the Separation Rate, Dr. House once explained that 'detachment' means that the ability still exists after leaving the Metaverse!

Dr. House walked slowly forward.

But the white buildings were actually a complex of buildings, with the spherical building being the main building, surrounded by some low white rooms.

The outer perimeter is surrounded by an iron mesh wall, which used to be connected to high-voltage electricity, but now the power has long been exhausted, and the iron mesh is rusty and covered with green vines.

The series of surveillance cameras in the corner were all out of power and hanging limply.

Qin Yiguan looked around at the scene, as if he had returned to his hometown in a dream.

This is it.

His eyes widened slightly, taking in the white building, the surrounding plants and trees, and the barely visible path...

When I was six years old, that was my personality, Black Calamity, I escaped from here and fled into the wilderness, where I encountered the white-clad female corpse.

That's it.

My nightmare-filled childhood was spent here.

Too many unpleasant memories surfaced.

Qin Yiguan clenched his teeth, a chilling resentment flashing in his eyes.

A rusty plaque hangs at the entrance of the research institute.

It was a distinctive symbol: a gray ring on a white background, but with a notch directly below the ring.

A feeling arose in Qin Yiguan's heart. "That circle that could repeat Infinity seemed to have been severed at some point."

Below the logo are several large characters.

--Environmental Ring Research Institute.

Qin Yiguan's heart inexplicably quickened as he slowly stepped into the overgrown courtyard.

All the lights were off, and even the main entrance of the white building in the distance, which was originally secured by an electromagnetic lock, was now partially ajar due to the lack of power.

"Currently, almost no one is active in the real world."

Dr. House looked around and said, "So, it must have been more than a decade since any outsiders came here."

Immediately.

Dr. House pondered further, "Judging from the building's technological level, it would have been considered very advanced a decade or two ago. Why did they abandon this place?"

The Qin Yiguan also raise many questions.

As you push open the doors of the circular building, sunlight streams in.

A damp, rotten smell immediately filled the air.

Aside from the dark green moss spreading near the entrance and the gray mold that was everywhere, this place was relatively clean and tidy.

Bypassing the unidentified spores that were slowly drifting in front of him, Qin Yiguan looked into the depths of the room.

There were many complete notices on the wall, and the materials on the desk in the distance were also neatly arranged.

There was a water glass on the table, and a moldy white lab coat draped over the back of the chair.

"It doesn't seem like they've moved away."

"It doesn't seem like they fled in a panic."

Qin Yiguan frowned, carefully observing his surroundings. "They should all be working normally, but for a moment, they all suddenly disappeared, or rather, after leaving work normally one day, they never came back."

Dr. House nodded slowly.

The two continued walking and came to a huge open space, but the curtains were all closed, and the light was dim.

"Someone's there!"

Dr. House gave a low growl.

Qin Yiguan squinted and saw a desk by the window in the farthest distance. A figure sat quietly at the desk with his back to him, his hands resting on the computer keyboard, as if he were working.

Qin Yiguan stepped forward quietly and ripped off the moldy, rotten curtain, revealing the true face of the figure.

He had turned into a skeleton.

Qin Yiguan looked down at the skeleton. "It's been dead for at least ten years. There are no external injuries on the bones. It's in a working posture, only the head is slightly tilted, as if it died without any warning."

Qin Yiguan possessed the memories and knowledge of Poison Master. The moment he entered the room, he carefully sniffed the air and confirmed that there was no strange smell or chemical residue in the air. There must be no poison in the room now, and the probability of it being poisoned more than ten years ago is also very low.

"It looks like poisoning, but based on my deduction, it shouldn't be."

Qin Yiguan glanced at the nameplate on the man's chest again—'Logistics Team Level 2 Staff Member—0255'.

"This is a well-established research institute."

Qin Yiguan looked around in confusion, "But where did everyone go?"