Chapter 2407 Strange News <TOC> Chapter 2409 Frost Mist
Translator: SumTLMan
“Curiously strange energy fluctuations are present, and from the traces, it seems they were left recently.”
Upon arriving at the site of the abnormal energy, Angel meticulously observed and discovered anomalies in the material world. However, the energy at this location was particularly odd.
He was certain that this energy was distinctly different from that of the magic formation. The uniqueness of the magic formation ensures that the energy flowing within it is extremely pure, but the residual energy here was notably mixed and bizarre.
This energy was not only complex but also had an eerily strange aura. Angel had never before sensed anything similar.
Yet, within the non-primordial energies, he still identified some familiar remnants.
“Space energy.” Although it was very diluted, Angel could confirm it was the residual energy from some form of spatial travel… somewhat like the remnants of space after teleportation.
Could it be that someone had used a form of spatial teleportation to arrive here?
But with a magic formation covering the entire level, how could it be possible to teleport in from the outside without suppressing the magic formation’s spatial block?
Or perhaps, did someone teleport within the interior? For example, from the east side of a level to the west side. But, is such teleportation… necessary?
Angel was puzzled, shaking his head to clear the thoughts.
Speculating now might not lead to any accurate guesses, especially since this laboratory was inherently odd. It wasn’t necessary to delve deeply into everything. Perhaps, it was just someone’s idea of a prank.
Bypassing the point with residual energy, Angel continued with his prior task. By observing the runes of the first level and calculating the guidance of multi-level control nodes, he confirmed the main control location.
This method proved to be incredibly efficient.
As he nearly finished surveying a large area of the first level, the progress of his search increased rapidly in an unprecedented manner.
After a while, Angel finally stopped in front of a grand door.
This was the exhibition room of the first level.
According to his calculations, all the directions pointed by the runes, as well as the points where energy converged the most, were inside the exhibition room.
If everything was as he calculated, the main control node’s location information could be found in the exhibition room.
Angel walked up to the exhibition room’s grand door, realizing that entering by “face recognition” with Reynolds was unlikely. However, having broadly understood the runes of the entire level, he knew that entry and exit could be managed through the suppression and guidance of the runes in most spaces here.
This might have been a backdoor left by the creator of the magic formation… or perhaps it was the creator’s confidence. Confident that no one would be able to decipher it.
Angel extended his hand to touch the door, and as the runes began to emerge, he quickly altered their paths in a self-consistent manner of energy flow. This alteration neither changed the overall system nor took a long time but suppressed the door’s runes in the short term, resolving the issue of entry.
Upon entering the exhibition room, a level of security immediately floated out, flashing red lights.
This was not a warning specifically for Angel but a caution to all visitors that the time allowed in the exhibition room for the day had been exceeded.
The reason for the overrun was the dawdling of Nisi and others there before.
Typically, exceeding the time limit would trigger the Hunt and Kill Numbers, but since the Hunt and Kill Numbers of this level had turned to ash, the security’s warning had no substantial effect.
However, the prolonged flashing of the security’s red light could alert other levels. To prevent any trouble, Angel temporarily weakened the connection between the security and the magic formation through some means.
This weakening would not last more than a quarter of an hour, meaning that Angel could only stay in the exhibition room for a maximum of a quarter of an hour.
Walking among the metal platforms, Angel paid no attention to the various organs displayed on them. All his energy was focused on finding clues to the main control node.
As the runes of the exhibition room appeared before Angel’s eyes, he became more convinced of his speculation.
He had used the security to observe the exhibition rooms of the second and third levels, where the complexity of the runes was significantly lower than that of the first level.
The complex runes hidden within the walls were even comparable to the Mirror Corridor but not as dangerous. Judging by the complexity of these runes, the first level’s exhibition room must be hiding some clues.
Minutes later, Angel stood in a corner of the exhibition room, closely observing a certain intersection of runes.
As time ticked by, Angel’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
When the time for the security’s suppression was about to reach its limit, Angel extended his finger towards the energy-rich area at the intersection of the runes and lightly tapped.
A wave-like fluctuation, resembling a wisp of light smoke, flickered in the nearby space.
The “light smoke” struggled for a moment before dissipating like ripples, leaving behind a pitch-black passage.
This passage appeared somewhat unstable, as if it might close at any moment. Without hesitation, Angel took a big step and entered.
After he stepped in, the passage behind him vanished like smoke.
At this moment, Angel was standing in a corridor he had never seen before.
Without even moving forward, just feeling the terrifying number of runes in the corridor and the dense energy conduits within the runes, he was certain.
He had found the main control node.
However, the final step was still ahead. To reach the main control node, he must pass through this corridor.
Stripping away the perspective of energy, to the naked eye, this appears as a blood-red corridor, at first glance resembling the fleshly passage of some beast. However, upon closer inspection, one can discern that this blood hue is merely a reflection of energy, the corridor itself is still composed of metal, unrelated to flesh and blood.
The corridor seems **dangerous, but imagining a mirror image of the corridor reveals that stepping incorrectly in a segment control node’s corridor could result in backlash. Here, being so close to the main control node, the force of the backlash from a misstep is likely to be even more terrifying.
However, for others, this type of corridor is synonymous with danger. For Angel, it’s merely a problem of real-time computing magic runes.
Since the landing point could change at any moment, it’s impossible to calculate in advance. Thus, Angel ** doesn’t stay in place but steps directly into the corridor.
Upon entering the corridor, he immediately felt a difference.
Because, he started to float.
More accurately, he found himself hanging upside down, the ‘ground’ he saw from outside the corridor had now become the ‘ceiling’.
This superficial reversal of space, in practice, multiplies the computing power needed to calculate the next step.
This is actually a trap.
Some magic rune wizards who think they have reached the threshold proceed forward only to find that the actual situation is completely different from what they saw. With the sudden increase in computing power required, they fail to pass, inevitably leaving behind their… last words, or rather, they can’t even leave last words.
Angel’s computing power, as it stands, is qualified, but to prevent ** any, if there are more strange places that increase the computing demand, he might **. Therefore, Angel does not hesitate to activate super computing mode.
In super computing mode, Angel’s emotional module is significantly reduced, all energy supply is dedicated to serving the super computing mode.
At this moment, in Angel’s vision, ** distinction of energy, only data floating before his eyes.
These data rapidly arrange and combine themselves, projecting the path ahead clearly.
The second step, the third step, up to the fifteenth step, are all hanging from the ceiling. But at the sixteenth step, the landing point returns to the ground, yet the force of inversion has not ended. To land on the sixteenth step, one must overcome the corridor’s imposed inversion force.
This tests the energy level of the intruders.
Angel does not know what power level is normally required to pass, he simply took a shortcut. With Toby’s gravity lines activated, he broke through the inversion force, returning to solid ground.
After returning to the ground, the need for computing power seemed to gradually decrease.
But this is merely a balance, because a more terrifying area is ahead.
When Angel stepped from the sixteenth to the twenty-first step, he noticed the footholds ahead began to change rapidly.
At the twenty-first step, each foothold could last at least half a minute, but the footholds ahead wouldn’t even allow for a second, some disappearing even before one could blink.
Angel paused to think on the spot and then decisively abandoned the idea of proceeding as usual.
This path could perhaps be conquered with computational power and reaction speed, but Angel felt he wasn’t up to the task. Even for someone like Sanders, passing this way might be challenging.
The normal path had come to an end, but this did not mean there were no other routes.
After arriving here, Angel, who is extremely sensitive to changes in runes, immediately noticed something: the sense of spatial constraint here disappears for a while every few seconds.
This means, if one finds the right moment, they could use their spatial abilities to teleport.
This appears to be a solution, but in reality, it eliminates ninety percent of wizards because it requires two prerequisites: having the ability to teleport and being able to cast it instantly.
Angel just so happened to possess such an ability——the Gateway of Fantasy.
Seconds later, when Angel emerged from the Gateway of Fantasy, he had already left the crimson corridor.
Seeing the grand doors not far away, Angel relaxed a bit. Here, computational power was basically useless. Based on his previous experiences with other sub-control nodes, the current test should be about visual acuity.
From the first to the third level’s sub-control nodes, each grand door has its trigger points, which initiate the Hunt and Kill Numbers hidden within.
Logically, this place might have its trigger points too.
However, if the Hunt and Kill Number’s first five numbers cover the sub-control nodes from the first to the fifth levels, what number would be inside the main control node?
Hunt and Kill Number 00?
Or is it not the Hunt and Kill Numbers, but the legendary Number 00?
Regardless of the dangers inside, it’s best to prepare for them in advance and deal with the rest upon entering.
Angel set aside his wandering thoughts and began to look for any trigger points near the door, but after a thorough inspection, he was certain there were no trigger points here.
The absence of trigger points didn’t surprise Angel too much.
Anyone who could find the location of the main control node and successfully pass through the crimson corridor, if they were still to be hindered by such trigger points as those in the sub-control nodes, would be underestimating the intruder’s abilities.
If Angel were the arranger of the magic formation, he likely wouldn’t set any trigger points here either.
Since there were no trigger points, Angel simply pushed open the grand doors.
With a creak, the doors slowly parted to either side.
Inside, a tumbling expanse of ghastly white frost mist obscured any clear view of the situation.
As the white frost mist gradually dissipated outward, visibility within started to increase. Concurrently, a humanoid silhouette appeared before Angel’s eyes.
Is there someone inside? Is it part of the Hunt and Kill Numbers?
While Angel speculated with caution, the frost mist continued to vanish until none remained.
By this time, Angel had already seen the figure clearly.
Contrary to his expectation of encountering a Hunt and Kill Number, it was a person encased within a cylindrical glass cabin.
This cylinder was identical to those found in the third level medical center, with the same design, the same chilling fluid, and similarly, a person inside. However, while the cabins in the medical center generally contained the deceased, whether this individual was dead or alive, Angel could not ascertain.
The person within the cabin had indistinct features, their long black hair obscuring their face. Only faint traces of a number could be glimpsed through the strands.
Behind the cylinder, a dazzlingly intricate cluster of runes unfolded.
Undoubtedly, that was the core control area of this magic formation.
…
Stepping into the room, Angel’s footsteps echoed in the vast space, along with Dangros’ timid bass voice.
“That person looks a bit scary, and it’s quite cold here. How about we just stay outside… we can see the magic runes from outside too.”
The trembling voice did not resonate through the mental connection but directly in the ear. Since Angel had left the sub-control node, he could no longer suppress information transmission, rendering the mental connection temporarily inoperative.
Before Angel could respond to Dangros’ words, a gurgling sound emanated from the direction of the glass cylinder.
It quietly looked over and discovered that the person in the cylinder seemed to move slightly due to the noise from the outside world.
Whether it was Dangros’ voice that affected the person submerged in the cold liquid or not, what can now be confirmed is… this person is not dead.
Angel stopped and carefully observed the person in the cylinder.
He was a man, shirtless on the upper body, revealing a lean physique. Below the waist, he wore gray pants, which appeared somewhat ethereal in the cold liquid.
As for his face, it was obscured by his hair and couldn’t be seen clearly at first.
However, with the initial movement, his range of motion became increasingly significant, evidently waking from a deep slumber.
When he opened his eyes, the surrounding cold liquid swayed even more, causing the hair covering his face to sway in the liquid.
Angel finally saw his face.
It was a rather handsome face, but as his eyes opened, a sinister aura emerged.
Also, the number on his face was not the 00 Angel had speculated.
On the left side of his face was marked “x,” and on the right side was a single number——0.