Lu Jingheng: You finally woke up

Consciousness, like a diving bell submerged ten thousand meters below the surface of the ocean, is enveloped in thick, viscous darkness and Nihility.

Time has lost its meaning, and space has lost its concept.

Only the absolute Tranquility of the "Sloth" power, like an eternal cradle, gently rocked his shattered soul.

Luo Li didn't know how long she had slept.

One year? Ten years? A century?

Perhaps longer.

So long that even I felt myself dissolving and dissipating in this warm, deathly silence.

Once the power of Sloth is unleashed upon oneself, its effectiveness far surpasses that against external enemies.

It is rooted in the deep-seated desire for "rest," and unless he himself is willing, even Xiao Hong, who understands him perfectly, cannot truly penetrate this most solid cage built by his own strength.

Why did he choose to wake up?

Has even that eternal tranquility finally grown weary?

Or is it that deep within the subconscious, that frozen flame called "resentment" ultimately failed to be completely extinguished?

have no idea.

He only felt that, at a certain moment, an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible crack appeared in the warm, thick "shell" that enveloped his consciousness.

It was as if something, from the outside, tapped him gently in a way he couldn't understand.

Then, like a chain reaction.

The cracks spread.

The warm darkness began to fade, and the absolute silence was broken by some distant, indistinct noise.

He "heard"... a sound?

Was it Xiao Hong's ceaseless, tearful cries, day after day?

No, it's not.

The sound was clearer, and... closer.

It sounded like... a conversation?

Is the data stream stable?

A calm, familiar male voice, yet carrying an indescribable, inhuman quality.

"Relax, relax, Xiao Hengheng, you can rest assured~ Our ' Veil ' can even temporarily fool the rules of the world~ But you, are you sure this won't blow up his pretty little brain?"

Another flippant, teasing male voice rang out, its tone familiar.

Who is it...?

These two voices...

Consciousness, like a rusty gear, began to turn with difficulty.

The heavy eyelids, as if bound by millennia of time, trembled slightly.

A faint ray of light pierced his long-unseen pupils through the gap in his eyelids.

The blurry vision gradually focused.

The first thing that catches the eye is still the familiar ceiling of that "special care ward," and the seemingly unchanging mountains outside the window, dyed golden red by the setting sun.

Then he saw it.

Two people.

I sat down right next to his bed.

It wasn't a doctor in a white coat, nor a nurse carefully carrying a tray.

The man on the left is wearing a well-fitting dark Zhongshan suit that seems to be exactly the same as it was many years ago, and he stands ramrod straight.

It's Lu Jingheng.

But his appearance...

Luo Li's pupils contracted slightly.

Lu Jingheng's appearance hasn't changed much; he's still young and handsome.

However, all around him, visible to the naked eye, were countless fine, shimmering, pale blue data streams composed of "0" and "1", like fireflies.

These data streams are not static; they are like living galaxies, slowly rotating around him, coming into existence and dying, and occasionally combining to form extremely complex, fleeting geometric shapes or unknown symbols.

His temperament has also undergone a dramatic change.

The Lu Jingheng of the past was calm, intelligent, and possessed a profound depth befitting a mastermind behind the scenes.

And now, sitting there, he seemed to be the embodiment of all "information" and "logic"! A kind of coldness and vastness, transcending the level of life and almost like rules, silently spread out.

Luo Li even had an absurd illusion—that Lu Jingheng's current "level" of existence, the power he contained, seemed to... far surpass his own, who had absorbed the origins of the Seven Deadly Sins and considered himself the strongest in the world?!

How is that possible?!

The person on the right felt both strange and familiar to Luo Li.

He wore a well-tailored, pure white magician's suit and a top hat of the same white color, the brim slightly pulled down to cover part of his eyebrows and eyes.

What's most striking is his hair—no longer the pure black of Remembrance, but a striking black and white parted in half on the left and right! Black as the eternal night, white as the first snow.

He leaned back lazily in his chair, and between his slender fingers, a deck of cards, like a living butterfly, danced, shuffled, unfolded, and closed at a dazzling speed, making a soft, rhythmic "rustling" sound.

Kong Yan'er?!

How did he get here? And why is he dressed like this... a magician?

What also shocked Luo Li was the aura emanating from Kong Yan'er. Although it wasn't as cold and rule-like as Lu Jingheng's, it was equally profound and unfathomable, carrying a strange and powerful quality that seemed to manipulate reality and control fate. Its strength... was also beyond Luo Li's reach!

These two guys... what the hell...

How did they get in? This mental hospital is heavily guarded, arguably one of the most heavily guarded places in Longxia and even the world.

Just as Luo Li's mind was in chaos, trying to understand this unbelievable situation, Lu Jingheng, sitting on his left, seemed to notice his awakening.

Those eyes, filled with the glow of data, turned and calmly landed on Luo Li's face, showing no surprise whatsoever.

The corners of his mouth even curved into a very faint smile, as if it had been calculated in advance.

"You're finally awake, Luo Li."

His voice remained calm, but beneath that calmness lay an all-knowing indifference.

Luo Li opened her mouth, but her throat was so dry that she couldn't make a sound, only a hoarse, breathy noise.

He wanted to ask, "What exactly happened? How did you get here? How much time has passed? How did you all become like this...?"

Too many questions were stuck in my chest, but I couldn't utter a single word.

Kong Yan'er also stopped the playing cards flying in her hand, snapped the deck together, and elegantly adjusted the brim of her hat with her white-gloved fingers, revealing her heterochromatic eyes (black on the left and white on the right?) with a mischievous smile.

"Oh~ Sleeping Beauty has finally decided to open her eyes? She's been sleeping for quite a long time. We've been waiting for Xiao Hengheng for so long, the flowers have withered and bloomed again, bloomed and withered several times over!"

His tone remained flippant, but deep within his eyes lay a barely perceptible... seriousness?

Lu Jingheng ignored Kong Yan'er's teasing and slowly stood up.

As he moved, the surrounding data streams seemed to be drawn in, becoming more active.

He didn't explain anything, nor did he answer Luo Li's silent question; he simply raised his right hand.

At his fingertips, a point of silvery-white light—not the power of Spacetime and time, but something purer and more primordial—began to condense.

Then, he lightly drew a line across the empty space in the center of the ward.

Sizzle--!

It sounded like cloth being torn.

He conjured up a "channel" out of thin air, not made of energy, but of countless flowing, starlight-shimmering runes and data chains.

At the other end of the passage lay not any known scene, but a constantly shifting, vibrantly colored void, seemingly woven from countless possibilities... a chaotic void!

"There's no time to explain."

Lu Jingheng withdrew his hand, looked at Luo Li lying on the bed, and spoke with an unquestionable determination.

"Come with us."

He paused, then added in a low, serious voice, "Whatever happens or see afterward, don't be surprised."

Kong Yan'er also stood up, patted off non-existent dust from her clothes, and noticed that the playing cards in her hand had disappeared at some point.

He gestured for Luo Li to enter, his face still bearing that nonchalant smile, but his eyes had become serious.

"Come on, buddy. The real 'stage' has only just begun."

Lying here as a spectator the whole time, how boring!

Luo Li gazed at the portal, constructed of data and runes, leading to the unknown, and then at the two "old acquaintances" before her, whose auras and strengths had undergone a complete transformation.

My mind is a complete mess.

The despair of the system's disappearance, the confusion of years of slumber, and the disbelief at what was happening before his eyes were all intertwined.

But he had no choice.

Or rather, the flame of resentment deep within him was rekindled upon witnessing this incomprehensible scene.

With difficulty, he used his almost unresponsive arms to support his body.

The bones, which had not been used for a long time, made a faint cracking sound.

He glanced at the seemingly unchanging sunset over the mountains outside the window, then took a deep breath, took a step, and staggered slightly as he walked towards the passage that shimmered with unknown starlight.

Lu Jingheng and Kong Yan'er followed behind him, one on each side.

Just before stepping into the passage, Luo Li subconsciously turned around, trying to find the red figure that had always been with him.

"Xiao Hong, she..."

"Don't worry~ The little one is fine, already waiting 'over there'."

Kong Yan'er interrupted him with a grin.

Without further hesitation, Luo Li stepped into that flowing chaos composed of information and possibilities.

Lu Jingheng and Kong Yan'er followed closely behind.

After the three figures completely disappeared into the passage, the "door" made of data closed silently, like erased code, leaving no trace.