Life Game In Other World
Chapter 725: The Unreachable Daybreak (Super-sized - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 725: Chapter 725: The Unreachable Daybreak (Super-sized Chapter for Monthly Votes)

Newland Airport

"Minister He!"

The young man with sharp features looked at the figure emerging from the airport exit with a backpack and hurried over.

"Hello, my name is Chen Lin. I followed Minister Wu Lan here from the Mat Islands,"

As he approached He Ao, the young man smiled and extended his hand while introducing himself.

"Hello,"

He Ao smiled and shook his hand, "He Ao. It’s late, you’ve worked hard."

"It’s my duty,"

Chen Lin smiled, then continued, "We’ve reserved rooms at Maple Leaf Hotel, I’ll take you there."

"Thanks for the trouble."

He Ao nodded slightly, then turned his head to look at the night sky outside the airport.

Under the brilliance of the stars and the bright moon, it seemed that daybreak was about to arrive.

——

Mat Islands

Sitting at the open-air seats of a small seaside tavern, letting the cold sea breeze flutter through his hair, He Ao’s clone Hao Yi was interestedly fiddling with a coin in his hand.

This coin was called Mirror Shadow, with a butterfly on its face and a blooming butterfly flower on its reverse.

It had an interesting characteristic: the coin’s faces were inverted in a mirror reflection.

The face with the butterfly, when faced toward the mirror, reflected the butterfly flower in the mirror.

And vice versa, the reverse side with the butterfly flower showed the butterfly’s reflection in the mirror.

The coin’s faces were not determined by the images, but by some kind of information directly imparted to the minds of the holder and the beholders; when people picked up the coin, everyone naturally knew which side was the face, and which was the reverse.

Beyond this fun reflective property, the coin’s main ability lay in spatial manipulation.

This was the Transcendent ability Wester used to ’abduct’ sacrifices.

All of the coin’s powers basically revolved around ’Mirror Space.’

Flip the coin with the face up and catch it, and it would inevitably show the reverse up. At the same time, if there were mirrors nearby, the holder could selectively pull a specified object into ’Mirror Space.’

The scenery in Mirror Space consisted of an overlay of all reflected images within a ten-meter radius around the holder.

Using this ability would drain a part of the holder’s energy as a price. He Ao estimated that only a true B-level could sustain such consumption. An ordinary C-level might be drained dry instantly.

Angels could not be pulled into Mirror Space, and the stronger the object being pulled in, the greater the energy cost required.

If one chose not to pay the price, the entire Mirror Space would collapse outright.

Previously, Wester seemed intent on using this method to pull He Ao into Mirror Space, then allow the space to collapse and perish together with He Ao.

Of course, the problem with this operation was that the casting took too long. The Mirror Shadow coin had to be thrown and caught for the effect to take hold.

In a real tense fight, it would be difficult to have such ample time, and once the coin was thrown, slipping from the holder’s control, it was also easy for others to snatch away.

For instance, as soon as Wester tossed the coin, it ended up in He Ao’s hands.

Furthermore, the coin’s effect activation was time-limited. If the coin didn’t return to the holder’s hand within its natural fall time, or it was intercepted by someone else midway, then the coin’s effect would not activate.

However, He Ao himself could utilize his ability to use ’Retrieve objects from the air’ and recall the coin immediately after it was thrown.

He had tested it. As long as the thrown coin was more than fifty centimeters away from his hand, he could use ’Retrieve objects from the air’ to recover the coin, and the coin’s effect would still trigger.

Of course, even so, this coin toss operation was still quite risky and not particularly suitable for combat.

Apart from having to pay a price for the existence of the space, the scenery in Mirror Space was not exactly the reflections depicted by mirrors.

He Ao had tested it. While the sky and horizon could exist in Mirror Space, they were more akin to game textures.

When reflecting a vast area, the maximum effective useable area of the entire Mirror Space was roughly a sphere with a fifty-meter radius.

If the reflections in the mirror did not cover such an extensive area, then the Mirror Space would be generated based on the images within the mirror; but if the mirror encompassed a larger scene, then this fifty-meter radius sphere was the actual limit of movement.

Beyond the edge of the Mirror Space, there was nothing but a void of emptiness.

This temporary Mirror Space formed by tossing a coin had a time limit; it could maintain itself for no more than half an hour and continuously consumed the energy of the coin’s holder, which He Ao referred to as the temporary Mirror Space.

There were two ways to leave this temporary Mirror Space.

One method was to toss the coin again with the tails side up within the space; it would show heads, and the coin’s holder could choose to take themselves and any specified people out of the Mirror Space.

Once the coin’s holder had left, the temporary Mirror Space would collapse without support, and the surrounding void would devour everything.

Besides the method of leaving by tossing the coin again, there was another way to exit the temporary Mirror Space, which involved another space referred to by He Ao as the ’fixed Mirror Space.’

Individuals holding a Mirror Shadow could choose to fix a temporary Mirror Space. Once selected, this Mirror Space would become the core of all surrounding Mirror Spaces and would continue to exist even after the coin’s holder had departed.

With the corresponding real-world point of the fixed Mirror Space as its center, any mirror within a fifty-kilometer radius inside all temporary Mirror Spaces would lead to this fixed Mirror Space.

However, the connection was one-way, only from the temporary Mirror Space to the fixed Mirror Space.

The ’Mirror Hall’ where Wu Lan had been confined was Wester’s chosen fixed Mirror Space.

Of course, this fixed Mirror Space could not naturally exist. To maintain its existence, it required either a cost from the coin’s holder or blood sacrifices.

After acquiring the coin, He Ao had already stopped making payments to maintain that fixed Mirror Space, but that space hadn’t dissipated and was estimated to persist for another day or two.

Entering the fixed Mirror Space through a mirror from the temporary Mirror Space was the second way to leave the temporary Mirror Space.

However, this method was ineffective if there were no fixed Mirror Spaces nearby.

Overall, the effects of this coin were not very suitable for direct combat with powerful enemies, but they were quite good as supplementary equipment.

In a certain sense, Mirror Space was a kind of ’special domain,’ where destruction caused within the Mirror Space would not reflect back into the primary world.

Clever use of its special abilities might achieve some interesting effects.

What somewhat surprised He Ao was that the Velora could not directly enter the temporary Mirror Space; operating the Velora in the usual way, he could only reach the real space corresponding to that of the Mirror Space.

If he attempted to forcibly pull the Velora into the Mirror Space using the Mirror Shadow, the entire Mirror Space would become severely unstable and collapse immediately.

It appeared that the Mirror Space was too fragile to withstand equipment like the Velora, which could cross spaces.

After all, in a sense, the Velora itself was an item that came with its own fixed space.

And if the Velora could crush the Mirror Space, then it might also mean that power exceeding certain limits could directly destroy this space.

He Ao looked down at the coin in his hand once again.

Having a clear grasp of the coin’s effects would allow him to better utilize the power of the coin.

"Sir, your drink."

A girl dressed in a white bodysuit with black tights in a bunny outfit came over with a drink and placed it in front of He Ao.

"Thank you."

He Ao nodded slightly, picked up the glass, and turned to look at the sea beside him, reflecting the lights and the moonlight.

The bunny girl tilted her head, glancing at the profile of her customer. She felt his face seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen him. Eventually, she put away her tray, shook her head, and left the seat.

He Ao, however, didn’t pay attention to the girl’s observation; he brought the glass to his lips and calmly observed the seascape outside.

This was the Mat Islands, the closest area to the Tia Empire within the Research Institute’s domain, housing the institute’s easternmost branch.

Wu Lan had already been sent to the hospital of the Research Institute by He Ao.

Until taking on the Newland task, this area had always been under Wu Lan’s responsibility—it was her traditional stronghold, so after being brought here, she could now manage many things on her own.

And He Ao had found a small tavern, ordered a cocktail, and sat by the seashore and listened to the night breeze.

The Mat Islands were a typical tourist destination, with various flashy entertainment facilities scattered across the islands, where people from all over the world cheered and drowned their sorrows.

The raucous sounds could stretch from the dusky evening until daybreak.

People danced to the music, noisy and loud.

It was one in the morning, the peak of nightlife.

"Look at the sea! What is that?"

"Is it a fish?"

However, as He Ao just took a sip of his drink, a series of surprised shouts rang in his ear.

The tavern-goers sitting behind him seemed to have spotted something strange.

He Ao followed their pointing gazes towards the sea.

There, reflecting a faint glow on its slowly undulating surface, a massive shadow was rapidly emerging.

It looked like a giant fish floating on the ocean, moving towards land at a terrifying speed.

The little tavern where He Ao was situated was built along the coast. From his seat, he could even clearly hear the sound of the waves lapping against the pebbles below.

Not many paid attention to the shadow, for it was too fast, and almost invisible against the night sky. In the blink of an eye, it reached the people nearby.

The enormous shadow eclipsed the moon and stars, with damp seawater flowing over the open-air wooden decking.

It wasn’t until then that people began to make out the true form of this ’giant fish’.

It was a ’creature’ over ten meters tall, drenched all over, with a head and upper body similar to those of a human, but its arms and legs were writhing tentacles resembling those of an octopus.

It stood where the sea met the beach, looking down at the people sitting in the tavern.

A hoarse voice came from its mouth, "Chaos... killing... revenge..."

"Ah!!!"

Piercing screams filled the crowd.

"Monster!"

Those who had been tipsily muddled seemed to sober up instantly, and scrambled into the tavern in a frenzy.

The terrace in front of them lay behind the tavern. To leave that spot, one had to pass through the tavern’s main hall and exit through the front door.

"Everyone, don’t crowd! Keep order! Be careful not to trample each other!"

The girl dressed as a bunny girl, holding a tray, was also squeezed into the crowd, being pushed towards the interior of the tavern.

In the midst of this chaos, the girl suddenly realized that the figure seated at the outermost table had not moved, but was sitting where he was, silently sipping his drink.

She hesitated for a moment, struggled through the crowd, and went against the stream of people to the seated customer at the edge, "Sir, don’t stay here, hurry!"

She reached out to pull the customer, but a shadow was faster than she was.

The slender tentacle slashed through the night, arriving before her in an instant, intending to coil around her entire body, lift her into the air, and tear her to pieces.

She stiffened, and in that very brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

So death was this close, taking only an instant.

Yet the death she had anticipated did not come. The strong and terrifying tentacle, just before reaching her body, seemed to be slashed by some invisible force, fracturing instantly into numerous segments in mid-air, scattering in all directions.

He Ao set down his cup and sheathed his Shadowless Sword, looking at the girl in front of him with some puzzlement.

Her reactions were fast, far beyond those of an ordinary person; she must be a Transcendent.

If he remembered correctly, the Transcendents in the Mat Islands region should all have been recruited by the Research Institute; it seemed this girl was also a staff member there.

However, his attention wasn’t really focused on the girl before him. After dealing with the tentacle that had reached out towards the bunny girl, he redirected his attention back to the giant monster.

It was a powerful creature. Although it hadn’t reached B-level, it had arrived at the peak of C-level, making it a formidable enemy anywhere.

He Ao felt something about the monster that reminded him of Wester; it seemed both had received some sort of ’Grace of Chaos’.

What puzzled He Ao, however, was the energy within the monster. It was extremely chaotic, like a product forcefully shaped under some twisted power.

The moment the monster missed its attack, it glared at He Ao, its eyes bulging as it roared with a rasping voice, "Enemy of Chaos, revenge!!! Revenge!!!"

Numerous tentacles obscured the starlight and moonlight, sweeping towards He Ao in a covering wave.

At that moment, the girl who had just narrowly escaped death stood behind He Ao. She had just come back to her senses, still shaken with the surprise and fear of a near-death experience. She watched the dense mass of tentacles spreading across the sky like a curtain, suppressing the trembling of her body, she reached out, trying to pull the young man in front of her to retreat.

Then she saw the young man ahead of her slowly raise his hand and gently wave it.

In that instant, the whole world seemed to grow quiet, and the fleshly wave of tentacles that blocked everything was cleaved apart by an invisible brilliance, creating a massive gap. Splashing blood dyed the moon and stars crimson beyond the gap.

Immediately after, the behemoth that resembled a small hill widened its eyes, and blood laced with red gleam spurted from its chest. A colossal wound cleaving through its immense body became visible as the blood flew. The creature’s body then thunderously collapsed backward, its upper and lower halves splitting apart, plunging into the dark sea.

Under the quiet moonlight, blood colored the surface of the water.

Only after confirming that the monster was thoroughly dead did He Ao retract the Shadowless Sword, allowing it to transform into a shadow and hover around him.

This attack was a skill he had pondered over after the battle on the Velora.

The Shadowless Sword possessed the ability to turn into an illusion, and when in this state, it could be controlled by He Ao through the air, but it lacked the ability to inflict damage while being an illusion.

However, He Ao had accidentally discovered that being in an illusory state did not affect the original kinetic energy of the Shadowless Sword.

He would throw the Shadowless Sword, let it enter an illusory state, and then restore it; regardless of how far it had traveled or how long it had moved, the speed or, more accurately, the kinetic energy of the Shadowless Sword would not diminish.

Meanwhile, he could alter the Shadowless Sword’s trajectory while in the illusory state, allowing the sword to fly sideways, diagonally, or vertically.

Based on this discovery, all he needed to do was to apply a strong initial kinetic energy to the Shadowless Sword, then continuously adjust its trajectory in the illusory state to manipulate it into attacking in midair.

For instance, he could control the Shadowless Sword to trace a huge fan-shaped attack zone in the air, or even execute an S-shaped pattern back and forth to fill the fan shape, achieving an effect similar to a wide-range ’sword qi’ attack.

But this was still his first time putting this maneuver into practice.

Strictly speaking, this was science.

After retrieving the Shadowless Sword, He Ao turned to glance at the bunny girl behind him, nodded gently at her, and then took a step forward.

The Velora emerged from the void, taking his figure with it.

Upon seeing that rumbling old-fashioned train crossing through the void, the girl finally realized who the man before her was.

The mysterious C-level, Hao Yi, who had set half the skies ablaze with fame on the Research Institute forum.

Although she didn’t frequent the forums much and was indifferent to the articles promoting Hao Yi, she had to concede to the description used by the blogger nicknamed ’Dusk Delayed’ to characterize this C-level:

He was like the sun held aloft by rosy clouds, powerful, dazzling, mysterious, yet also offering warmth.

Um... and very handsome.

Although not as blatantly handsome as Minister He, he seemed to emanate a unique charm of mystery as if he had experienced countless years.

She suddenly understood why so many people liked Hao Yi.

...

Velora

He Ao sat in the dining car, briefly discussing the recent incident over the phone with Wu Lan and reminding her to arrange for people to deal with the aftermath.

"So, that monster is a remnant of the Church of Chaos? A creature cultivated by Wester?"

On the other end of the phone, Wu Lan asked, somewhat confused, "This place is nearly ten thousand kilometers away from the Newland City-State, how could it attack here?"

"I’m afraid it was after me."

He Ao looked at the moonlight outside the window, his gaze deep.

"That monster is a bit... stupid to come after you..."

Wu Lan trailed off, suddenly realizing something, "Are they trying to confirm if you really are here?!"

Then she abruptly woke up to the danger, "The Newland City-State is in trouble!"

"I’m afraid it’s already too late."

He Ao watched the moonlight outside the window, his expression calm.

——

Newland City-State·Maple Leaf Hotel

He Ao’s true body pulled back the curtains, gazing out at the landscape.

A pale stretch of dawn extended from the end of the sea, hinting that daylight was on the verge of breaking.

He lifted his phone to check the time.

It was now half past seven in the morning.

At this time of year, the sunrise time in Newland City-State should be at half-past six.

The stars and moon still hung high in the firmament, at the edge of the horizon, where the approaching sunrise and daybreak seemed to have paused.