Chapter 122: The Bounds of Logic (Part 2/2)
Translator: Strivon
By the time the shock wave swept across one side of Fudong Main Street, Luo Nan and the others had just stepped onto a side street of Fudong Main Street.
Things were just as Zhang Yingying had expected. There were not any gunmen on the lower floors, so their journey down was leisurely and cheery. The total time they used did not exceed 100 seconds. They even had some idle time to think things over. They borrowed the shadow of the building to come quietly down, so they were not too conspicuous to normal people.
However, the activities of the Oblatum Knights above Frost River Reality made their cautious actions seem like a joke.
"What in the world are they up to?"
Thought Zhang Yingying when she saw the shock wave that exploded out from Frost River Reality and the figures flying out from it. Even her imaginative train of thought was unable to fathom it.
Several gunmen perished soon after opening fire. They were disposed of efficiently and neatly. There was nothing odd about this. They were not worth a fart when compared to the Oblatum Knights.
"I wish we knew that this would happen earlier. We even held ourselves back. It would have been better to just make a move! I'm positive that An Weng has some brain damage... TZZ!"
Zhang Yingying suddenly placed her hands on her ears as she winced in great pain.
Half of Luo Nan's brain had been knocked stupid a bit earlier than her. It was perhaps the most severe case of tinnitus he ever had in his life. The sudden bang made him suspect that there was someone opening fire by his ears.
He covered his ears as well and he could not refrain from grimacing with gritted teeth.
"What is going on?" Xue Lei had been enjoying the experience of successfully descending from high altitudes when he was given a fright by Luo Nan's bitter reaction.
Bai Xinyan glanced at the two and lowered her head to look at her wristband. She then shrugged. "There's a problem with the encrypted channel."
The countdown number was fixed at 97 seconds on the display of her wristband. It no longer budged at all.
"The Psychic Wave Network has crashed." Zhang Yingying staved off the initial blast and gave her ears a light pat. She had a baffled expression. "It has been a long time since this problem has occurred. Is the President doing some sort of extreme testing? Is this part of the mission..."
She suddenly became speechless halfway through her words.
At this time, Bai Xinyan's gaze was cast to the end of the side-road. Xue Lei hesitated a bit and uncertainly raised his head to look. In the end, Luo Nan shook free from the tinnitus state with great difficulty and blurted words that were most crucial.
"Where is everyone?"
It was at this very instant that the lustrous star river of Luo Nan's clairvoyance had its lights extinguished without a sound, becoming a sheet of nothingness. All that was left was a few dozen stars and nebula dust that were even harder to see into.
The contrast was so intense that it made Luo Nan simply stupefied on the spot. Zhang Yingying grabbed onto his arm at this time, ensuring that the two were a bit closer. She then locked gazes with Bai Xinyan with a glance and their small group started walking cautiously out from the side road.
The rain had yet to stop at this time. The police lights were lit, the street lights were lit, and a public transportation vehicle sped across the street; the lights inside were on as well. Only the connected building structure behind them was a sheet of pitch-black darkness. The contrast between light and darkness was intense.
But it did not matter whether it was bright or dark, for not even a trace of a human could be seen as far as their eyes could reach. The entire street. The entire building complex. Even the blurry city beneath the rain was completely empty. There was not even a hint of a human.
It seemed that the strong still existed, namely the Oblatum Knights that had crashed into the glass walls of the buildings just now. There was also Fairchild and Baze; sudden explosive shock waves were produced with open savageness. Last of all, there were those atop the large buildings, the First Oblatums and their underlings located in their respective dark clouds.
These people appeared within the plane of Luo Nan's mental clairvoyance in the form of constellations and nebula dust. The star river, when compared to its broadening and lustrousness from before, was so sparse that it made one very shocked.
"Oh dear, I made a bit of a mistake."
A voice inexplicably came through. Suddenly, a rich background noise returned to the world.
A ripple seemed to streak across the space before Luo Nan's eyes. He went, ‘Ah’. It was as if an electric current had run through his entire body. The sight before him was a flurry as concentrated starlight and deep darkness transformed back and forth several times in the void. Then it stabilized and his lustrous star river was restored to its ‘normal state’. However, there were some subtle differences.
Densely packed streams of people appeared out of nowhere on the plane of reality. They rubbed against each other's shoulders and followed in each other's footsteps as they made their way with haste. They submerged Luo Nan's team of four people within. Most of the people were keeping far away from this region. Occasionally, they would turn around and look at the pitch-black buildings. Expressions of bewilderment and apprehension appeared on their faces.
This was the scene that should be in reality, but the things that happened a moment ago, what was that about?
"Hey, do you guys see it yet? Those Oblatum Knights... They're gone." Zhang Yingying's voice suddenly turned into a whisper, it was a bit hoarse.
"Including Fairchild and Baze." Bai Xinyan's gaze was cast toward Frost River Reality. The dangerous shock waves from the battle over there had oddly disappeared. Not a trace remained. All that was left was the ramshackled outer walls of the building.
Luo Nan mentally added, "It even includes the three First Oblatums atop the buildings. They're on the other side."
Bai Xinyan muttered to herself in thought for a few seconds before whispering, "It's like the legendary power of spatial manipulation, spatial rifting. A section of space and time is cut out and duplicated. Or perhaps it’s a 'projection' of the world... I've only heard in rumors that some Extraordinaries who call themselves gods possess this sort of nearly incomprehensible space-time ability."
"Spacial rifting?" Zhang Yingying knew of this famous term quite well, but mostly in fantasy works. She could only shrug helplessly. " Right now, the only Extraordinary out in the open in the entire metropolis is the President... Eh?"
The two beauties, each with their own special characteristics, locked gazes. Zhang Yingying touched the lobe of her ear subconsciously. The encrypted channel had yet to be restored. The mess with the Psychic Wave Network still remained. However, all they wanted to do was understand the situation. They could use their wristbands, old technology.
Zhang Yingying began to make a call; she wanted to clarify things.
"A rift?"
Luo Nan stood by the side. He naturally heard the dialog between these two women. He blinked and his consciousness flowed, diffusing through the void.
The lustrous star river of his clairvoyance remained just as it had been before. There appeared to be no anomalies. However, after having that experience just now, having no anomalies was the biggest anomaly of all.
The Oblatum Knights, Fairchild, the three First Oblatums and other characters of the Order of Justice were all engulfed within the spatial rift the moment it appeared. These people no longer existed in the plane of reality.
Regardless of whether or not it was the President as they guessed, this change should have appeared within Luo Nan's mental senses. It should be like when they first entered into the spatial rift; the instant change in his senses should have been the same.
But the current situation was different. Regardless of it being Fairchild's magnificent and dazzling constellation, Baze and the other eight Oblatum Knight's nebula dust, and the dark clouds manifested by the three First Oblatums, they all continued to exist on Luo Nan's star atlas. There was just an additional ‘layer’ to them that was hard to explain.
There was a reason for this. Though Luo Nan's body had come out from the spatial rift, a portion of his consciousness still remained within the spatial rift. This portion continued to do the work that was a walk in the park for him.
Observing!
Luo Nan was using his clairvoyance on two different worlds at the same time. They were independent of one another and overlapped with each other. A whole new dimension was opened in what could be seen as a 3D structure. This sort of heaven-defying experience was a feeling that could only be grasped intuitively and it could not be conveyed through words. It was infinitely strange yet wonderful beyond compare.
Most notable was that these two viewpoints appeared to be completely identical. When the vastly different worlds folded upon each other in reality, Luo Nan gained a new perspective of observation. It was enough to make what had once been a chaotic unclear mass of dust clouds much clearer. Though it was still hard to extract a constellation-like Life Sketch from them, it was possible to draw an approximate outline. When compared to a dust cloud, such a drawing would have a higher degree of identification.
By now, the dark clouds that affected his observations were gradually being diluted and were dispersing. The true identity of the three First Oblatums of the Order of Justice was coming out into the open. Soon, Luo Nan was able to find the highest ranked among them.
He was an old man wearing loose robes. He stood in the center of the landing pad of Building A. He had a withered figure and was quite elderly. Needless to say, this was An Weng.
Though An Weng was trapped in the spatial rift, he had no thoughts of worry. He just spoke emotionally with a subtle smile, "Normal people can't do such things. Only the extraordinary can. Ouyang, I really am just a useless old man compared to you."
"I'm not worthy of such praise, An Weng."
As they spoke, a middle-aged man dressed in a tuxedo appeared on the rooftop where An Weng was located. His clothes were as if he was attending a dinner party. They were a dozen or so meters away from each other, and this middle-aged man gave a slight bow to the centenarian An Weng, showing some etiquette.
"This world I have established is called 'Logic'. Though there are quite a few inconsistencies with it. Any idea can form an experiment. Any result can be obtained from a laboratory. All as long as a few iterations are done. Since today I have this chance, I ask An Weng and all my guests for some valuable criticism."
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Chapter Synopsis:
It is now Luo Nan's group's perspective. They make their way down the building to a side street when suddenly a loud ringing happens in their ears. There appears to be a problem with the Psychic Wave Network. The group then finds themselves alone in the city. Only the strong remain, namely the powerful members of the Order and the Society.
President Ouyang Chen realizes he had made a mistake and the ability user society members return to reality. Luo Nan sees the crowds of civilians once again.
This ability of Ouyang Chen is called spatial rifting. The members of the Order no longer exist on the plane of reality. They are now trapped in Ouyang's rift. However, Luo Nan can still observe what is going on there, part of his consciousness still remained within.
The perspective shifts to An Weng and Ouyang. Ouyang states that he calls his world 'Logic'.