Chapter 1342: Simultaneously
At that moment, Audrey even suspected that the "arrangement of fate"
wasn't for her to head to Hartlarkh to investigate the dragon-worshiping
customs. Instead, it was to make her realize that something was wrong,
causing her to feel conflicted. It made her use a Virtual Persona in the
vicinity of Hartlarkh to secretly guide her two brothers into changing
their minds without realizing it. This would inevitably result in her
consciousness being specially related to Liveseyd to be discovered by
the mind dragon, thus attracting "Him."
Despite being the one that had been arranged, Audrey couldn't help but
feel a sense of awe. It had to be said that to achieve such an effect,
one had to have an extremely high level of confidence in the reactions
different people had. It struck fear into the bottom of her heart.
After all, Audrey, a Sequence 4 Manipulator, had felt that the
development of the matter was in line with her expectations. She had
completely fulfilled her wishes and wasn't alert at all.
The mind dragon retracted its huge wings and looked down at the
blue-cloaked Audrey.
"This is a dream maze formed by many minds. Even if the one who set the
trap personally descends, it will take some time to find this room.
Besides, I won't stay long."
Clearly, "He" had been wary of traps, but "He" believed that certain
matters were worth the risk.
*Dream maze... This is a Beyonder power of a Dreamweaver, or perhaps the
power after a qualitative change?* Audrey reined in her thoughts
and asked calmly, "What do you wish to know?"
The gigantic grayish-white dragon buzzed and said, "My name is Ariehogg,
one of the three remaining ancient dragons."
*"He" means that "He" is one of the three surviving dragons of the
Second Epoch, and the rare, known dragons are only descendants of the
dragons during the era of the ancient gods?* Audrey nodded
slightly and didn't interrupt "Him."
Behind her was a wooden door that stood without any support in the
plains filled with bluish-black weeds. It looked extremely strange.
Ariehogg didn't waste any time. After introducing "Himself," "He" asked,
"Where did you find Liveseyd?"
Audrey was already prepared as she answered frankly, "In a book named
Groselle's Travels. Rumor has it that it was personally created by the
Dragon King Ankewelt."
"Groselle..." Ariehogg clearly hadn't heard of this name before. After
repeating it, "He" pressed, "What kind of book is that?"
The blonde-haired Audrey gave a simple description:
"That's a book with a world that's almost real inside it. At the same
time, it can suck in people who meet the requirements or offer their own
blood to be sucked in by the book, allowing them to live in that world."
Ariehogg fell silent for two seconds.
"Is there a sea of collective subconscious in that book world?"
"Yes," Audrey answered with great certainty. "The City of Miracles,
Liveseyd, I saw was deep in the sea of collective subconscious in the
book world."
Ariehogg suddenly breathed harder.
"What did you see in that Liveseyd?"
Audrey recalled and said, "A city filled with towering pillars and
majestic palaces.
"In addition, I've also entered the residence of the Dragon King. That
place can allow every living being's inner thoughts to echo in the
surrounding area. I call it the 'Hall of Truth.'
"At the end of the Hall of Truth, behind the Dragon King's throne,
there's an ancient and mysterious bronze door. I'm not sure what's
sealed behind. In short, it's very dangerous and I didn't dare approach
it at all."
Audrey was speaking the complete truth; she just didn't mention the
speculations that Mr. World, Mr. Star, and she had come up with.
Ariehogg fell completely silent. It was unknown what "He" was thinking
of, or if "He" was analyzing the current situation regarding Liveseyd.
During this process, "His" head drooped down bit by bit, as though "He"
was going to fall from the top of a hundred-meter-tall pillar to the
ground.
Just as Audrey tensed up from this rather bizarre scene and was about to
ask a question, Ariehogg suddenly raised "His" head.
The golden vertical pupil in "His" eyes turned colder as "His" voice
once again resounded in the wilderness.
"Liveseyd..."
With a low rumbling of thunder, the things that were hidden in the dark
behind Ariehogg quickly became clear. In the gradually brightening
scene, their outlines appeared.
They were huge stone pillars that were more than a hundred meters tall.
They were either standing alone or collectively propping up numerous
majestic and ancient palaces.
These stone pillars and palaces were mainly grayish-white in color as
they landed on the island-like foundations. It was identical to the City
of Miracles, Liveseyd, which Audrey had just described.
No, this was probably the City of Miracles, Liveseyd.
Only then did Audrey realize that the ancient mind dragon, Ariehogg, was
squatting at the top of the thickest, tallest stone pillar.
At this moment, she could faintly feel a subtle change in Ariehogg.
Her green eyes darted about slightly, and the sound of a metal handle
being twisted sounded from behind her.
This... Audrey held back the urge to turn her head abruptly.
She turned her body warily to the side, allowing her gaze to fall
sideways.
The individual wooden door that had lost its external support slowly
opened, revealing the visitor's appearance:
A huge, white rabbit with wiggling ears that walked upright.
Above the gray fog, in the ancient palace, a figure was shrouded in
grayish-white fog. He sat at The Fool's seat at the end of the long
mottled table as he silently observed the crimson star representing
Justice.
Backlund, West Borough, 9 Bellotto Street.
The closer Wendel was to the end of the two weeks, the more he suffered
from insomnia. He had to rely on medication to fall asleep.
When he woke up, he was also restless and extremely anxious. He had lost
all interest in food and only forced himself to eat the three meals sent
by his colleagues to ensure his energy.
He didn't know what would happen on the date of the trial, nor did he
know if there would be an irreversible change in his body.
This kind of fear towards the unknown often made him feel stifled. It
was extremely tortuous.
Sometimes, Wendel would even think that it might not be a wise choice
resisting his return to Utopia.
Based on his limited experience there, if he obediently returned to
Utopia and testified in court, there was a high chance that he would
leave safely.
At least up to this point, Wendel hadn't heard of anyone dying or going
crazy because of Utopia. The people there were rather friendly apart
from being a little bizarre.
*I'm just going to help. They should be grateful to me instead of being
antagonistic...* The more he thought about it, the more he felt
that it would be more comfortable to face the danger.
Of course, he had no doubts about MI9's protective capabilities. If it
wasn't possible, he felt that he could only consider meeting the Lord of
Storms early.
Phew... Wendel exhaled and sat down on his chair. He casually
picked up a novel to pass time.
However, his frustration made it impossible for him to immerse himself
in the plot. He flipped through the pages more frequently and finally,
he snapped the book close.
He closed his eyes and prepared to take a nap.
In a daze, Wendel seemed to return to Utopia and arrived at the court.
However, the role he was in wasn't as a witness but a member of the
audience.
Tracey was deemed by the judge to have provided insufficient evidence to
support a claim for self-defense and had been transferred to the
criminal courts. He saw this lady tearing up in a daze, her smile
extremely miserable.
Wendel woke up and stared silently at the wall lamp in front of him. He
sat there motionless for a long time.
*If the problem is Utopia, and not the residents of Utopia, then me
avoiding it might end up killing a poor lady...* Wendel
retracted his gaze. His resolve had wavered slightly, but he was unable
to overcome the fear in his heart.
With his hands on the table, he stood up and walked to the door. He
planned to wander about MI9's headquarters to ease his mood.
After leaving the room and taking a few steps forward, Wendel suddenly
heard a colleague in the office discussing the related case of the
Utopia.
"Have you heard? The person who entered Utopia was a carriage driver. He
sent a merchant from Utopia to the dock area, and with just taking two
turns at a crossroads, he found himself somewhere unfamiliar."
"There's a need to warn all the carriage drivers in Backlund. Yes, it's
best to draw a parallel between Utopia and the spies, so that they can
understand."
"The way of entering and exiting Utopia is really frightening."
"Yes. Sometimes, I even suspect that the entrance to Utopia might appear
anywhere."
"There's definitely a limit to this. It's not as omnipotent as we
imagine... Otherwise, I might find myself in Utopia just by paying a
visit to the washroom."
"According to the current patterns we've figured, this is theoretically
valid."
When Wendel heard that, his blood vessels on his forehead began to
throb. He suddenly felt that even if he was in the headquarters of MI9,
he wouldn't be that safe.
*Unless there's a demigod watching me the entire time, it's very
difficult for me to avoid the fate of returning to Utopia. Perhaps,
after I wash my hands and open the washroom door, I'll discover that
it's the Irises Hotel outside... No, ordinary demigods might not be able
to stop such a thing. This doesn't seem like it's something humans can
accomplish. It's already extremely close to that of a deity...*
Wendel instantly panicked, unable to suppress the fear in his heart.
He returned to the room and took out the subpoena from the Utopian
court.
Immediately following that, Wendel entered the washroom and held the
document as he muttered in fear, "I'm willing to go to court to testify.
"I'm willing to go to court to testify.
"..."
After repeating himself a few times, he reached out to grab the handle
of the bathroom door.
At that moment, a black raven flew through the ventilation hole like a
ghost and landed in a corner of the washroom that no one would notice.
In the next second, Wendel twisted the handle, pulled the door back, and
opened the washroom door.
It was no longer his familiar bedroom but an unfamiliar lobby.