Chapter 255 Where to Go

Chapter 255: Whither Goest Thou?

Feng Ling found Su Bai utterly unfathomable.

Though outwardly modest, she had always been supremely confident in her own abilities. Even cut off from player forums and ranking boards in the Nightmare World, she never doubted her place among the top tier of players. Her organization, too, boasted numerous formidable players who would risk life and limb to clear levels.

In short, Feng Ling believed she had encountered every kind of powerful player, herself included, yet Su Bai’s existence defied all her expectations.

She had fought alongside Su Bai in Happy Community, recognizing him as a skilled player capable of wielding a tattered umbrella like a sword. But that was the extent of it.

So what was with that white python just now?

And the blue flame hovering beside him?

Then there was the black-haired, red-eyed youth who emerged from behind the python. His gaze was gentle when speaking to Su Bai, but the occasional glances he cast her way filled Feng Ling with dread. Not even the most terrifying ghosts she had ever encountered possessed such an unnerving stare.

Were these sudden appearances—the white python, the "person," and the blue flame—all part of Su Bai’s abilities?

Could a player truly command so many powers?

Feng Ling still recalled Su Bai’s fighting style in Happy Community. His umbrella movements didn't suggest any real-world swordsmanship training, yet that battered black umbrella was sharp enough to cleave through anything—undoubtedly a manifestation of Su Bai’s powers.

So what were those recent manifestations? Su Bai had mentioned his powers were suppressed in the mirror world. How could he still summon such entities?

He…

Was Su Bai even human?

Feng Ling even began to question it.

"I am human," Su Bai said, walking ahead, as if reading her thoughts. Yet his tone lacked conviction; sometimes, he himself harbored doubts.

From Su Bai’s perspective, revealing the existence of the puzzle pieces would, at most, make Feng Ling question the nature of his abilities and talents. This was far more palatable than directly exposing the existence of the Fog City. If Feng Ling were to follow him into the Fog City, this Phoenix lady might find it even harder to believe he was human.

"Let’s keep going."

After Grandma Bai and the others departed, the shattered blood-ice on the ground began to melt. The blood from the collapsed civilization stirred once more, but these blood ghosts seemed to understand the consequences of touching the blue flame. Though they made constant small movements, they kept their distance from Su Bai and his companions. Still, to conserve energy, Su Bai and Feng Ling needed to leave quickly.

Another reason for haste was the resurgence of side effects from the chaotic energy within Su Bai’s body.

Previously, that chaotic energy had been firmly suppressed by the power of the out-of-control anomaly. While it had cost Su Bai some combat effectiveness, his overall condition had never been better.

But as time wore on, the suppressed power of the Fog City Lord and other energies within Su Bai’s body began to fight back.

The "competitive nature" of the energies inside Su Bai’s body caused him to feel a faint ache once more. Considering this change began after Grandma Bai and Yao appeared, it didn't come as a complete surprise to Su Bai.

Relying on the blue flame’s deterrent power over the blood ghosts, Su Bai and Feng Ling meticulously searched the first-floor corridor and two rooms of the Mirror Apartment, including the security room and the main entrance. Everywhere lay in ruins, and some ghosts, eroded into gelatinous forms, attempted to attack them but were instantly incinerated by the blue spark.

"These guys are beyond saving," Xiao Huo, now a cluster of flames, remarked after burning the gelatinous shadows clean. "Only those who’ve forgotten who they are, even what they should be, turn into this state, right? Good thing I didn’t end up like this back then."

Su Bai detected a hint of sentiment in Xiao Huo’s usually boisterous tone.

Xiao Huo’s past experiences were indeed somewhat similar to these shadows. He had forgotten who he was, where he came from, and where he was going, endlessly burning the filth he encountered, as if he too would merge with the impurities.

But just as Xiao Huo was on the verge of losing himself completely, he encountered a pure-hearted wandering soul that couldn’t be consumed. Instead, he was forcibly fused with it. Now, Xiao Huo couldn’t tell whether he was the original wandering soul or the blue flame that burned impurities, but at least he retained his consciousness, had companions to bicker with, and someone he wanted to protect.

Xiao Huo possessed a strong aversion to impurities, and the mirror world Su Bai and the others inhabited had been steeped in blood energy for too long. Even the inherently impure blood ghosts thrived here, while other ghosts were so corrupted by filth and blood energy that they lost themselves, becoming less "appetizing" to the picky Xiao Huo.

After all, blood energy, malevolence, and decay had been trapped in this enclosed space for too long, like a bowl of delicious braised pork left in a trash can for a week—even the most delectable treat would turn sour and rotten, making it hard for Xiao Huo to enjoy.

But Su Bai’s safety was paramount for all the puzzle pieces, and personal preferences paled in comparison.

"We can’t keep searching blindly like this," Su Bai declared, standing at the main entrance of the Mirror Apartment’s first floor. Though called an entrance, there was no door—only a mirror the size of a door, swirling with blood energy, exuding an ominous aura at a mere glance.

Before ascending to the second floor with Feng Ling, Su Bai retrieved the small round mirror from his pajama pocket—the "item" that had appeared when he passed through the mirror.

When the administrator issued the commission, he had mentioned the item would appear when Su Bai crossed the "gap," and this small round mirror had appeared when Su Bai passed through the "mirror." When Luolimasi isolated the hotel from the outside world, she also created a false gap.

And between the real world and the Nightmare World, there existed a gap called the "Void Sea," from which the information about the administrator’s old friend had come. Did this mean that the "mirror" connecting the two spaces and the artificially created gaps were all part of the Void Sea?

Su Bai recorded this speculation into the clue puzzle, then toyed with the round mirror in front of the blood-energy-swirling mirror blocking the apartment entrance.

"Though I don’t know who you are, since you need me to deliver this, you could at least tell me the destination."

As soon as Su Bai finished speaking, a ghostly pale hand emerged from the blood-energy-swirling mirror at the entrance.