Free Web NovelChapter 768: Chapter 726: Labyrinth of Illusions
"Damn it, where are we?"
The red light dissipated, and Su Ming and Zheng Xian found themselves not in a cramped steampunk chamber but instead standing in a red wasteland.
The first thing Su Ming did was to look behind them, but besides the red sand swirling through the air, there was no trace of the path they came from.
His helmet retracted from his face, and Strangulation confirmed the area was safe; apart from the sound of sand grinding against the armor, it detected nothing threatening to the hosts.
While Zheng Xian laughed and remarked about seeing ghosts, Su Ming didn’t rush to answer his question but began inspecting their surroundings instead.
A small lizard ran by from not too far away, seemingly unafraid of the two; it watched them for a while before scurrying away.
The intense sunlight enveloped the two, making their skin temperature rise rapidly.
"We’ve hit a ghost wall." Su Ming said to Zheng Xian with a smile, taking out a cigarette and placing one in his mouth, feeling that everything around them was either real or good enough counterfeit that even he couldn’t tell.
But the illusion would need to fool Deathstroke, Strangulation, and the cloak all at once; that was simply unrealistic.
No matter where this is, leaving a mark here and then searching for landmarks to confirm our position will yield answers.
Zheng Xian took the cigarette, pulled out a lighter to light it, and drew in a deep breath, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
"I know you’re good at digging holes, but I never thought you came from a line of local scholars... we’re not tomb raiders, so why hit a ghost wall?"
Su Ming smiled lightly, holding the cigarette in his mouth, raising his head to gaze at the sky through the swirling smoke.
"Because I don’t know how this happened either, just making wild guesses."
"Could this be some kind of pocket dimension, or a sub-dimensional space?" Zheng Xian pondered aloud; he saw Deathstroke’s inspection earlier and had to admit, this place looked nothing like Earth.
"Hold on a moment." Su Ming leaped into the air, the cloak carrying him swiftly upward, breaking free from the planet’s gravity, and entering space.
The count of planets, stellar mass, and orbital position—all correct, though Earth had turned into a reddish-brown sphere where even the seas had disappeared.
Su Ming smacked his lips, returned to Zheng Xian’s side, and found Director Zheng fiddling with two pebbles he apparently had found during his exploration.
"I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad; which do you want to hear?" Su Ming sat beside him, casually driving the Nightfall Greatsword into the ground.
Zheng Xian twirled the stones in his hand, hiding in the shadow of a cliff: "Personally, I like hearing the bad news first, then the news offering a glimmer of hope."
"This is Earth’s future—or one of its futures on a certain timeline. The world experienced a nuclear war, humanity is extinct, the terrain has drastically changed, and there’s no water source left on the surface. I can’t determine our exact location."
Su Ming’s mask raised again—the air was terrible, filled with a pungent smell.
"And the good news?" Zheng Xian nodded, still smiling, seemingly unfazed, though a fleeting expression in his eyes suggested he might have momentarily wavered.
"The good news is, during my flight earlier, I saw city ruins not far from here, maybe there we can gather more information."
Su Ming retrieved the Great Sword, tossed the cigarette butt on the ground, and stood up.
If lost in the wilderness, it’s best to explore while your physical condition is still good, hence increasing your survival chances.
Zheng Xian held the Holy Spear like a cane to support himself, spinning the two stones in his other hand: "Then let’s go have a look."
Su Ming took off his cloak, both sat on it, and headed in the direction he spotted earlier.
.............
"Damn it, where are we?"
The red light dissipated, and Su Ming and Zheng Xian found themselves not in a cramped steampunk chamber but rather in an alley of a future city.
The first thing Su Ming did was to look behind them, but besides the messy, dirty black street, there was no trace of the path they came from.
His helmet retracted from his face, and Strangulation confirmed the area was safe; apart from the faint music drifting from next door, it detected nothing threatening to the hosts.
While Zheng Xian laughed and remarked about seeing ghosts, Su Ming didn’t rush to answer his question but began inspecting their surroundings instead.
The ground had flowing sewage, with buildings made entirely of metal towering around them—each building reaching tens of thousands of meters high, nearly obscuring the sky, only the dense stream of floating cars at varying altitudes visible.
Su Ming was examining these when a small mouse ran by not too far away, seemingly unafraid of the two; it watched them for a while before scurrying away.
"We’ve hit a ghost wall." Su Ming said to Zheng Xian with a smile, taking out a cigarette and placing one in his mouth, feeling that everything around them was either real or a good enough counterfeit that even he couldn’t tell.
But the illusion needs to deceive Deathstroke, Strangulation, and Cloak simultaneously, which is simply unrealistic.
No matter where this is, leaving a mark here and then looking for a landmark that can prove the location will get us answers.
Zheng Xian took the cigarette, pulled out a lighter to light it for both, took a deep breath, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Even though I know you’re adept at digging holes, I never thought you were a local scholar... We’re not tomb robbers, so why is it like we’re hitting a ghost wall?"
Su Ming smiled nonchalantly, looking up, but still seeing nothing.
"Because I also don’t know how this came to be, just making a random guess."
"Is this a Pocket Space somewhere, or perhaps a Sub-Dimensional space?" Zheng Xian suggested, observing Deathstroke’s examination of the surroundings earlier. He couldn’t deny that this place didn’t resemble Earth at all.
"Wait a minute." Su Ming jumped on the spot, with Strangulation concealing his figure, Cloak quickly lifting him up, directly breaking free from the planet’s gravity into space.
The number of planets, the mass of the fixed star, and orbital locations were all correct, but Earth’s transformation into an entirely urbanized planet made it a giant city, shining brightly in the cosmos. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Various spacecraft navigated the cosmos, where projected ads alongside the routes formed bands of light.
Su Ming wasn’t the only one flying; many people traveled through the cosmos using Power Armor or Magic as if it were an ordinary stroll.
Su Ming clicked his tongue, returned to Zheng Xian’s side, finding that during his exploration, Director Zheng had somehow obtained two bottles of green drinks and was pouring one into his mouth.
"Two pieces of news, one good, one bad, which do you want to hear?" Su Ming leaned on him, casually inserting the Nightfall Greatsword into the ground.
Zheng Xian handed Su Ming a bottle of drink, which looked like apple-flavored Mirinda: "I personally like to hear the bad news first, then the message about a glimmer of hope."
"This is Earth’s future, or rather, one of the futures on a certain timeline. The world has undergone a vast transformation. Humanity stands within the cosmos, the whole planet fully urbanized, and we’re now somewhere in the lower layers of the Nest Capital. Look at these highly regulated behaviors around us; this is a dystopian future."
Su Ming took the drink, tasted it slightly, and unexpectedly found it had no taste. He glanced at the label, familiar with the black and yellow W, with a small line of text below it.
"Skywalker Pure Apple Juice Drink, Juice Content 0.00013%."
He rotated the bottle to find a large Chinese slogan on the back: ’The great Emperor teaches us, there are thousands of roads, but discipline is the first; if behavior is not standardized, tears will run down the cheeks of kin.’ ....
Su Ming disdainfully frowned: "What a mess, none of it rhymes."
"What about the good news?" Zheng Xian nodded, still smiling as if he didn’t take it to heart. But from the fleeting expression in his eyes, he probably had a moment of doubt as well.
"The good news is, this is the world I’m familiar with."
Su Ming smiled. Since Wilson Enterprises was present, he must have left something behind.
Zheng Xian wrapped the Holy Spear, using it like a cane to support himself, casually tossing the empty bottle deep into a nearby alley: "Then let’s go have a look."
However, before the two could move, dozens of police airships emerged from all directions, surrounding them. At the same time, numerous weapons, as if growing from the walls, aimed at them and started charging.
.................
"How strange... Wasn’t Wakanda supposed to Buddha love me, so how did it end up like this?" Su Ming circled a few times around the Black Panther statue in the pit, stroking his beard and muttering to himself.
At this moment, the Black Panther statue appeared filthy, covered with dirt and broken leaves. Based on the burial depth, it had been underground for at least a few hundred years.
Zheng Xian stood beside the pit, tilting his head to scrutinize the Black Panther statue. He had no knowledge of this place, but it seemed Deathstroke was quite familiar?
"What is this Wakanda you mentioned?"
"A country’s name; the entire nation are cat lovers. I’ve been searching for them for more than ten years, definitely not wanting to see Wakanda like this."
Su Ming flew out of the pit, dusting off the dirt on his hands, and sighed.
Zheng Xian looked around at the rainforest. Plants now ruled the Earth, and maybe he and Deathstroke were the only two Survivors left. But clearly, the two just entered the Celestial Divine Species, so how did they suddenly land here in the future? fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Even if Rome were closer to Central Africa, it would still be thousands of kilometers away; what exactly had happened to the two?
Zheng Xian nodded, unsure if he truly grasped Su Ming’s point: "So you have recognized the location now, have you made plans?"
"I have a rough guess, but Wakanda has many good things; let’s loot first." Su Ming smiled. Since the place was found, at least one thing could certainly be obtained.
Today’s Earth is a green apocalypse, with plants in charge, so the Heart-shaped Grass should be thriving, right?
With Strangulation’s help, finding a plant shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, Wakanda is just this small patch.
