Chapter 493
Chapter 493 - 473: Change
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8 min read
The gray corridor was devoid of light.
Everyone, however, seemed to have gotten used to this strange situation.
Without light, or the perpetual night scene, it’s inevitable that people’s mood would be low. But mature professionals would often adjust their state, not allowing external factors to change their own conditions.
Professionals should have the ability to adjust. Even if it’s due to a disrupted biological clock, hormonal imbalance, leading to headaches, insomnia, irregular heartbeat, anxiety, depression...
"...So you’re saying that I’m overthinking?" Lu Ping’an’s smile was a bit subtle.
"Of course, it’s normal to feel uneasy before making an important decision. You just need to get used to it." Xia Qin patted the young man on the shoulder, her face expressing the sentiment of "I, the old colleague, have high hopes for you, so keep working hard."
"When I first became a captain, I had trouble sleeping and was constantly worried too. During my first large-scale arrest operation, I went wrong and accidentally stormed the neighboring mahjong room with a gun. I made it onto the afternoon news and almost lost my job right then and there. But, eventually, I got used to it. All young people go through this process." Xia Qin shared her own experience condescendingly.
Lu Ping’an remained silent as he tried to suppress his laughter. Are you sure that this hilarious news incident is a normal experience for newbies?
Seeing an opportunity to guide the still seemingly "anxious" Lu Ping’an, Xia Qin tried to comfort him with her own past experience of just two and a half years.
However, upon recalling her past and the many brothers in the team, she found that none of the familiar faces were left... which only made her feel even more downcast.
Being comforted by the old comrade like this only made Lu Ping’an feel more uneasy.
He always thought it was interesting to hear the captain’s self-exposure, but he wondered if he had forgotten something.
He remembered Damao’s "spirituality theory": "When you feel that you’re going to be unlucky, you’ll most likely be unlucky. When you feel that you’re going to get lucky? Bad luck will hit you first..."
Something seemed off, but the general gist was that those with strong perception, full Spirit Vision points, and favored by fate would always receive inexplicable hints before a major turning point.
"...Catherine, do you think we’ve forgotten something?"
The female knight opened her mouth, looked around at her new companions, and said with a strange expression,
"Maybe, haven’t you all forgotten about the man who fell down?"
"Xue En? Oh, he’s fine."
"Yeah, even during the World Apocalypse, he would still survive just fine... He might even be the one who brings about Doomsday."
"You haven’t heard? At our place, his family is as resilient as cockroaches. Their house could collapse, and the cockroaches still survive; then they move to another home and continue causing trouble."
Before Lu Ping’an could explain, his other teammates chimed in.
As they went on, even more personal grievances and complaints surfaced.
Some talked about how they almost resigned on their first day at work when they realized that someone from the Xue family was there. Others mentioned how their dormitory lost power and water on their first day with Xue En, and their sofa got chewed up by a dog.
Another story mentioned someone bringing spoiled food and burnt rice for lunch, only to end up losing their wallet when searching for a place to eat.
Then, all kinds of grievances flooded out: reports written incorrectly, being scolded for forgetting equipment, failing exams due to inadequate preparation... Various exasperating complaints all came out at once.
"Alright, so you’re saying everything is Xue En’s fault, huh?" Only then did Lu Ping’an realize that things could be played this way.
In response, he received unanimous nods.
So, it was all his fault?
"...For him to still be alive, he must be truly resilient. No, his entire family must be really strong."
This unique ability to automatically shoulder blame regardless of explanation from far off distances, could it be considered one of a kind?
Although the companions were just joking, once something unlucky occurred, they would instantly shift the blame remotely onto Xue En. And ironically, Xue En and his family couldn’t even explain themselves - most of the time, it was actually their fault!
But honestly, it’s quite suffocating. All sorts of blame landing on them while explanations go unheard, and all kinds of malicious treatment seeming quite reasonable.
At this moment, Lu Ping’an fell silent, having a vague premonition.
"There are some things that I’m not sure if I should say or not..."
"Then don’t say it."
"Tsk, just because you say not to say it, shouldn’t I? I have a feeling..."
Lu Ping’an looked up at the sky. It was flat, but he felt as if something was watching them intently from the distance.
"...That whatever we owe him, however we’ve wronged him, it will always come back to us."
"What does that mean?"
"It means... he probably, possibly pulled off something big."
As Lu Ping’an said this, he suddenly felt relieved, as his spiritual intuition was probably guiding him to that conclusion.
Suddenly, the entire underground palace began to tremble in a bizarre manner.
The next moment, at first, it was just a slight breeze, but soon, it spread to every floor, every corner, and every area.
Then, the entire maze started to shake mysteriously, frantically, and joyfully.
At this moment, the floor even tilted more than seventy degrees, but the strange thing was that no one fell despite the obvious incline.
Many people felt uncomfortable, making them doubt if there was a problem with their vision.
"Lu Ping’an?!"
Da Mao’s shout brought Lu Ping’an back to his senses.
He squinted his eyes and as he opened them again, everything had returned to normal.
Not to mention the vibration and tilting of the maze, even the small stone remained in its original place.
But everyone else was mysteriously frozen at that moment, only gradually regaining their ability to move at this time.
"Lu Ping’an? What happened? Why did you all stop moving?"
"In your eyes, did we suddenly freeze..." Lu Ping’an directly described his earlier experience, and Da Mao was shocked, quickly responding.
"Spatial dislocation? There are seven most common types, but currently, the most likely ones are... high-dimensional invasion, forced low-dimensional projection, or even worse, dimension deepening..."
Da Mao gave Lu Ping’an completely incomprehensible terms, but they obviously weren’t good news.
Just as Lu Ping’an was about to ask more questions, further strange changes occurred.
In Lu Ping’an’s eyes, the girls in the team began to transform! The weakest among them were instantly eroded by a mysterious force...
"Hurry, agree! Go in."
At that moment, it wasn’t a time to think too much, so Lu Ping’an quickly launched his backup plan.
"Courtyard" invitations were sent out one after another, and even he didn’t expect the situation to develop so quickly.
A minute later, the team members were significantly reduced... It’s worth mentioning that most of the Knights stayed behind, as their "sealed equipment" seemed to have considerable resistance to this force.
"After going in, the transformation stopped. It was a short time, and it’s reversible."
Such an answer was undoubtedly a sigh of relief.
But now was not the time for idle chat; since the abnormality had already occurred, they had to quickly probe the truth... or, rather, run for their lives.
Catherine was the first to run, rushing forward with a worried look on her face. She seemed to have already guessed something, repeating to herself over and over again.
"But it doesn’t make any sense, I can’t understand..."
But sometimes, when it comes to deities and fate, things really don’t make any sense.
Some things are destined to happen...
Another roar, and the feeling of spatial dislocation was even more severe this time. In Lu Ping’an’s eyes, it was skewed up and down, and flipped left and right.
Just a second ago, it was a normal passageway, but suddenly it turned into a sheer cliff from top to bottom. The body remained in place, but the consciousness seemed to plummet, and it was extremely uncomfortable.
"Damn illusions..."
However, with the sudden falling figure, it seemed that this was no longer a simple illusion.
— End of Chapter 493 —