Player Reload
Chapter 481 - 444: Collapse (4K) Part 2

Chapter 481: Chapter 444: Collapse (4K) Part 2

This kind of shocking statement, if disclosed on the player forum, would definitely cause a huge uproar.

The Side of Truth wasn’t concerned and continued: "If the Star Simulation Corridor of the Special Affairs Bureau and the Horn Room of GOC are those Hidden Rooms that are fully functional, well-operating, and one-click usable,

then there are still many small home appliances that are half-broken and need repair. This is the so-called half-hidden room.

The cardboard box you brought is one of them."

After speaking, he snapped his fingers with the palm hidden under the yellow robe, and the cardboard box placed on the desk immediately began to shake violently, emitting a piercing, inhuman multi-layered scream.

"In language that humans can understand, the function of the cardboard box is to purify souls and retain souls."

"Purify and retain..."

Li Cheng and Gray Rain exchanged a glance and vaguely understood.

Indeed, whether it was the Vietnamese woman they encountered above ground, the facial recognition transformation disorder patient, or the hooded man F covered in scars in the underground Inverted Pyramid, all fit the standard of deep resentment and injustice.

In a supernatural movie set, it could instantly brew up vengeful ghosts.

"If I’m not mistaken, the cardboard box, in its complete state, can contain the souls of the deceased, purify and transform them, allowing them to exist for a long time in the sub-dimension created by the box.

In fantasy terms, it’s the Divine Country where believers go after death.

In mystical terms, it’s a privately operated small Underworld, or a Human Emperor Banner."

This explanation was quite close to the speculation Li Cheng had before in the Secret Realm,

Li Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Then those anomalies inside the Inverted Pyramid, what are they? What is their nature? And where has the player essence taken from the White Horse Tombstone gone?"

"Those anomalies are likely spiritual bodies that have grasped some of the authority."

The Side of Truth spread his hands and said: "In the sub-dimension created by the cardboard box, the boundary between matter and will is not so clear, and will can influence and even determine matter.

Therefore, the more determined the will of the spiritual body, the stronger they can become. The strongest of these anomalies may not fully understand the nature of the Hidden Room, but that doesn’t stop them from competing with each other for control of the half-hidden room.

Their trap against the White Horse Tombstone and others might have been for this purpose—after all, players are special, possessing player essence allows better control over the Hidden Room,

eventually becoming deities in the sub-dimension, playing the role of an omnipotent God.

As for what the [Fork Weir] is... it might be a spiritual body aside from Meat Mountain L, Black-clothed Woman H, and hooded man F.

You must know that the killing field entities do not only connect to our Earth but also to other worlds. The [Fork Weir] might just be someone from a parallel world."

Most of the doubts were explained, but some parts were still incomprehensible.

If the ultimate goal of the anomalies is to trap players and seize essence, then when they first met, everyone should have been killed by the Black-clothed Woman H.

Li Cheng held a teacup, his brows still furrowed, and after a long while, he asked, "So how should this cardboard box be handled now?"

"The choice is yours."

The Side of Truth said: "The cardboard box, as half a Hidden Room, needs to be placed on the killing field entity to work, and it doesn’t have obvious offensive or defensive attributes.

I recommend three options.

First, you control the cardboard box yourself, abandon the previous power system, transform into a half-human, half-spiritual body, and walk the path of deifying faith.

The cardboard box basically acts as an entry-level economical version of a Divine Domain, and the spiritual bodies brought in are equivalent to your Prayers.

As long as you can provide sufficiently favorable conditions, even in the real world, many people would be willing to become your followers.

Second, you control the cardboard box, but do not transform yourself into a half-human, half-spiritual body, and instead reach an agreement with the spiritual bodies residing within it.

Let them fight for you in exchange for not having the cardboard box placed in your Backpack.

(The Backpack has a time stasis function, putting the cardboard box in it would also put the spiritual bodies within into time suspension)

Third, abandon the cardboard box, sell, or rent it to a large guild like GOC. Of course, you could also sell it to me, I guarantee a fair price.

These three options each have their pros and cons, depending on your development plans and your judgment of the future killing field situation."

The Side of Truth was honest and sincere, and a half-logistics-oriented Hidden Room has a bit of value to him, but not enough to make him violate his principles—although whether he is still human now, it’s really hard to say.

Li Cheng contemplated for a long time, waiting until the tea in the cup turned cold, then looked up and asked, "I still want to know first, is this an illusion." "Hmm, good question."

The Side of Truth did not become impatient, but leaned back in his monobloc chair, "From your description, the ability of that hooded man F is infinite fear, pulling people into an illusion difficult to distinguish between true and false.

This kind of illusion technique has three levels, the lowest level, where people cannot imagine things they have never seen or heard.

Just picking up a book one hasn’t read in the illusion can distinguish truth from falsehood.

You have already done the screening, so it can be ruled out.

A slightly higher level fully leverages a person’s imagination, creating the illusion themselves.

Just like in dreams, no matter how absurd the dream itself is, in the dream, one would not notice because of cognitive blindness, only after waking up do they realize something was off.

You said you had an Epic Quality item on you that could break the illusion. Therefore, this level of illusion technique can also be ruled out.

As for the highest level of illusion..."

The Side of Truth’s tone grew slightly serious, "It is no longer based on the workings of the human brain, but on the power of laws.

When falsehoods are true, truth is also false, where there is nothingness, there is also existence, and vice versa.

Harder to decipher than a brain-in-a-vat, infinitely extending, infinitely compiling, almost an alternate possibility of the real world, akin to the Dao.

In this situation, the illusion itself cannot escape the illusion."

Li Cheng subconsciously asked, "Including you?"

"Including me."

The Side of Truth spoke with a trace of amusement in his voice, "If Pifu, you are still in the illusion, then I am a creation of your imagination, combined with the power of laws.

Just like an online game, no matter how powerful or advanced the NPC data inside, it is still data. It cannot break free on its own.

However, I’m not worried about myself.

The imagined me in your mind should be just as confident as the real Side of Truth, never falling into self-doubt.

For me, life goes on as usual."

Gray Rain couldn’t help but ask, "So that means, we at the origin still cannot discern whether this is an illusion? Are the real us still in the Inverted Pyramid Secret Realm, about to be gouged in the eyes by the hooded man?"

"Hard to say."

The Side of Truth chuckled lightly, "But one thing is certain. In nature, creatures that evolve toxic glands are nowhere near the size and ecological niche of lions, tigers, or elephants.

If it’s a mechanism monster, its main body is often not very strong.

If this is still an illusion, then hooded man F would definitely wait until you completely gouge out your own eyes and fully submit to him before feeling assured.

In other words, you still have time to wake up. It could be a month, or it could be decades."

This answer did not eliminate doubts, Li Cheng and Gray Rain exchanged a glance, saw the worry in each other’s eyes, and silently got up, placed down the teacup, and bid farewell, leaving the Evil Science Alliance headquarters.

Back on the slum streets, the bustling sounds of people and giant screen advertisements were full of life.

Li Cheng took Gray Rain to several of the most expensive restaurants in the slum, ordered a pile of rare ingredients he had never eaten, and wolfed them down ravenously.

Taste, touch, smell, they were all so vivid.

If the whole world was based on his cognitive imagination, the deduction of the power of laws, it would indeed be more absolute than a brain in a vat.

This answer did not eliminate the doubt, and after returning to the street, Li Cheng and Gray Rain were filled with the bustling sounds of people’s voices and giant screen advertisements full of life.

Gray Rain couldn’t help but ask, "Doesn’t that mean, as the origin, we are still, in fact, about to be gouged out in the illusion?"

"It’s hard to say."

The Side of Truth chuckled lightly, "However, one thing is certain. If this is still an illusion, then hooded man F will wait until you are completely gouged in the eyes and fully submitted before he feels assured.

If this is still an illusion, then the hooded man F must be waiting for the moment when you are fully submitted to him, even if that takes a month, or maybe decades."

This answer did not remove the doubts. Li Cheng and Gray Rain looked at each other, and without saying a word, they soaked up the bustling sounds of life and advertisements on the huge screen filled with life experiences.

Returning to the slum, they ordered a heap of rare ingredients they’d never eaten before, and wolfed them down like a gust of wind sweeping the clouds.

"""