In a land shrouded in hazy gray mist, a colossal hemisphere floated ahead, like an ancient dome slowly rotating.
Inside this giant spherical structure that seemed to block the edge of the world, roads wove through intricate buildings; on both sides of the corridors paved with vintage tiles stood various old mechanical devices full of artistic flair.
{What’s that?}
In an ancient room, faint mental voices exchanged rapidly in the darkness.
{The forbidden mind-field time continues to evolve. Is this the collapse of that one’s [Rank]?}
{Impossible, it’s only been a few years. You’re seeing things.}
The screens displaying various wavelengths and data in the darkness began to tremble, then went black, as if merging into the dark.
But then a blurry silhouette, like a snowy static signal, lit up on the screen.
Mengxi, dressed in leather like a tough guy, walked into the room, raised his stubbled chin, and fixed his gaze on the ancient screen hidden in the shadows.
–A high-ranked being has invaded this saint’s frequency-lost mind-field.–
These screens had existed for who knows how many ages.
Whether their existence was due to the Lost Illusion Company, or the company was born because of them, remained unknown. Regardless, the things in the room had stubbornly continued their uncanny life throughout the long years.
An archaic eye symbol outlined by lines opens within a screen.
{There are no living beings inside the psychic field. How can you confirm that? Did a dead person go in?}
–Right, there’s no living human’s mental wavelength inside, yet it can keep the world evolved by the psychic field alive and active.-
{I lost my sense of humor long ago. Don’t tell me jokes. How could something like that ever happen?}
–I’m not Meng Dong. I don’t tell lame jokes like he does.-
{You mean…}
Meng Xi said: –So that high-order entity is not a life form.-
Meng Xi turned his head to look at the adjoining room and walked over.
{Who is Meng Dong?}
An ancient screen asked.
{Made up. You really have lost your sense of humor.}
……
Meng Xi’s body turned transparent and passed straight through the dim glass wall, appearing in the bustling office.
Here, various mechanical sounds clicked away like a busy monitoring workstation. Rows of small glowing screens displayed data fluctuations, and the air buzzed with murmurs.
–Comrade Meng Xi.-
A staff member wearing a uniform typical of the industrial era stood up.
–Fortunately, you arrived in time. Otherwise, we were about to report this to the supervisor.-
Meng Xi gave a grunt: –Though it’s rarely seen, this must be an ‘Ancient Gold’ level information crystal resonating with the psychic field. It’s very likely man-made. If it’s not—heh—that’s basically the equivalent of a comet hitting Earth and wiping out the dinosaurs, happening right before our eyes.-
–As expected of Officer Mengxi, spotting the situation at a glance. But I wonder which entity is behind this.-
–Don’t think about it. Don’t speculate.- Mengxi shot a glare at the speaker. –Be careful not to mentally sync with something dangerous.-
The speaker stuck out his tongue.
—-A-level alert lifted. It’s not a premature collapse of the psychic field.-
Mengxi turned to look at the glass wall of the room he had just entered.
On the screen inside the ancient room, there was only that eerie figure and the faint flickering noise—no other reference data. Pointing across the glass wall, Mengxi asked, –Who is the person most recently synchronized with the lost-frequency field of Saint Asna?-
Everyone immediately set to work. The person in charge of that lost-frequency field quickly retrieved the file and handed it to him.
–Yang Zicang…-
He looked at the paper in his hand.
—Yang Zicang, male. Moxel count: 1+3. Five elements: wind-dominant. Matches the first layer of the Moon Realm. Highly compatible with the frequency of the Chronos Temple.
He flipped through the pages and snorted. –Going after the Up-Freq item.-
One person tore off another person’s profile that had just come out of the typewriter and handed it to Officer Mengxi as well.
–This person also entered.-
–Got it. Register Yang Zicang as a low-level employee of the company. I’ll personally watch him enter the psychic field to see what’s inside. If some disastrous information has been planted that could damage the lost-frequency psychic power, we need to control it early.-
–After all, it concerns the frequency-lost thoughts of that kind of saint. Should this guy’s information be reported to the Fate Track?- one person asked.
Meng Xi was about to speak when suddenly a faint ring of light lit up on his chest.
[Councilor No. 41 communicated with me.]
{Don’t worry about him.}
Hearing the councilor’s voice, Meng Xi, who had taken the documents, breathed a sigh of relief.
–It’s fine, just wait and see. As long as the psychic field doesn’t collapse.-
–Then should we still recruit Yang Zicang? After all, he’s suspicious.-
–Hmm, follow the procedure.-
Meng Xi, now relaxed, pressed the paper with Yang Zicang’s information onto the desk.
–Just wants an Up-Freq prop—nothing major. If he can pass, let him in. Xiaoqian, are you free tonight?-
–Sorry, Executive Officer, I have plans with Xiaotian.-
–What a heartbreaking title.-
Meng Xi left, and this order quickly transmitted to another department. However, since he wasn’t a required invitee, they didn’t need to actively appear on the frequency-lost land.
In an unnoticed corner, on the small screen that hadn’t been switched away yet, the fortune curve belonging to Yang Zicang saw its downward peak begin to rise slightly again.
……
Inside this spherical building, in a nearby area, a few minutes earlier, Zorro had walked out of a room.
Zorro looked around: the office area was cleverly divided into multiple levels and maze-like corridors. Without guidance, taking any turn here would lead to getting lost.
A fair-skinned girl in her twenties with delicate features walked past the doorway and looked at him, saying:
–Zoro, have you used up today’s work hours already? Want to come with me to the Literature Department to unwind?-
–I’d love to.-
Along the way, they saw some people hurrying toward a passage. Zoro stopped, stood beneath a bronze statue, and gazed at the majestic, solemn gate at the other end of the passage.
–Looks like something’s going on over there,- Zoro said.
–I’ve never seen such a tense atmosphere before. I’m afraid some psychic field must be malfunctioning.-
–Oh? What is being monitored in that room?-
The woman looked reverently at the imposing gate:
–Over there, they monitor the psychic wavebands of the powerful beings in this world—waves that have not yet dissipated after their sacrifice and death.-
–This…-
–Though the powerful have passed away, their proud and magnificent spiritual energy can still endure for a long time, guiding our growth from the void and providing us with training experience to face all kinds of crises. This is their final offering. That’s why we call them saints or sages.-
Zoro silently pressed his palms together toward that direction, closed his eyes respectfully for a few seconds, then opened them again.
The woman turned to look at Zoro and said gently:
–Let’s go to the archive. Later I’ll teach you how to select suitable items from the old world to place into those ‘residual world shadows that can be synchronized.’-
–Mm, thank you, senior.-
–Heehee, calling a girl that makes her sound old, you know. It’s only been a year since I was chosen to enter the Lost Mirage.-
–Wow, in just one year you’ve become this beautiful, your mental level must have improved really fast.-
……
Arriving at the –Historical Documents Department,- towering bookshelves reached straight to the ceiling.
The archive was vast, decorated with technological elements from different eras and vintage-style furniture, along with carvings, scrolls, and artworks.
These were all witnesses to history, harmoniously placed together without any dissonance, like an ancient library and museum combined.
–I suggest you start here. These are books and records about plants and minerals from the former continent, though there are no place names—those are forbidden. I’ve already finished this section, so I’ll head over there. You can browse on your own. If you need anything, you can borrow them.-
Zoro glanced at the countless bookshelves: –Thanks.-
After the girl left, Zoro let out a soft breath and raised a hand to touch the bookshelf beside him. It was filled with yellowed books, ancient scrolls, and precious films. In the distance, quiet figures paused under different bookshelves, some climbing ladders to search.
[I urgently seek that ancient bookshelf mentioned in the –Surplus Memory.-]
The voice of thought suddenly rang out unbidden.
[I wonder if I’ll find it today. Over a dozen mission acceptors have contributed to my reputation, allowing me to come this far…]
Perhaps it was the excitement of having a long-suppressed goal finally within reach.
[I also don’t want that kind of force field to remain forever unknown to the masses.]
[Maybe I can find it right away.]
–Shut up!-
Zorro quickly suppressed his inner dialogue.
After a few seconds, his mind softly whispered…
[But I also know that this can’t be rushed.]
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