“I wondered why the vessel I made for you was so short. Turns out humans are only this tall at 10 years old. I thought I was just getting old, squeak-gugugu~”
He Jiulu exhaled a breath of turbid, particulate gas and slowly thought to the Red Crow Rabbit:
‘Fine, fine. Can I go back to work now? I reckon the break time at the construction site is almost over. There shouldn’t be any problem if this kid delivers these Foreign Objects and the Anomaly to you.’
“No, you must deliver them together. As a rabbit, I am very cautious and serious about these matters. Otherwise, you can look forward to oversleeping at the construction site, squeak-gugugu,” the rabbit replied.
“Besides, this is for your own good. Once we have thoroughly researched this Foreign Object, if another one appears in the future, we will dispatch an Anomaly modified by the Gongjishi to handle it. It will reduce your workload.”
“Tch.”
He Jiulu showed an expression of impatience, though no one could tell what kind of face she was making in her current state.
[ALL RISE AND FLY]
As soon as the False Word was recited, Ginseng Fruit and Zhenyuanzi immediately floated around He Jiulu. Wherever she flew, they would follow.
He Jiulu ignored the passersby who had been watching from a distance and filming videos for some time now. She anticipated that the footage would be too bloody to be posted on normal video platforms. However, their recent actions would surely spread like wildfire on chat apps like Weitalk and Koukou, where there was no censorship.
Still, He Jiulu was currently too tired to care if she was being too conspicuous.
[FLY]
With a kick of her feet, He Jiulu soared into the sky in the blink of an eye, followed closely by Ginseng Fruit, Sui Luowen, and the unconscious Zhenyuanzi.
Looking down at the dense buildings passing below her, He Jiulu realized her previous concerns were somewhat redundant. She had worried about being too conspicuous while flying, which was why she walked to the park instead of flying. But at this speed, ordinary people could not even see what was zipping through the air.
It was no exaggeration to describe this flight speed as “crossing 3,000 miles with a nod, and covering 800 more with a twist of the waist.” If she wanted to fly across the entire city, it likely wouldn’t even take half a day.
Soon, they arrived at the Yulin City Branch of the Gongjishi. Those cubes were still operating according to an incomprehensible logic. One of the cubes seemed to sense their arrival and shifted away from the main structure. Small cubes moved out from one of its faces, gradually revealing a gap just large enough for two people to pass through.
These small cubes even took the initiative to form a platform below the gap for them to land on, even though they might not have intended to land there.
With the Anomaly and the Foreign Object floating behind them, He Jiulu and Sui Luowen plunged together into the pitch-black gap where they could not even see their own hands. The small cubes that had just formed the platform reshaped themselves into a rectangular block and slowly pushed into the gap.
At the same time, this cube returned to the main structure of the Gongjishi Branch, continuing its friction and shifting.
Feeling the rectangular block pushing forward behind them, He Jiulu and Sui Luowen flew steadily deeper into a section of the Gongjishi Yulin City Branch. The seemingly insignificant light ahead suddenly expanded.
They expected to see common metallic structures, but instead, they were greeted by a wave of warm, moist breath. Thick metal pipes were encased and entwined by dark red, pulsating fleshy veins, like some bizarre symbiote.
The air was thick with the heavy scent of rust and an indescribable metallic sweetness. Every breath felt like inhaling a greasy, living thing. In the distant shadows, massive structures expanded and contracted rhythmically—pistons composed of both metal and flesh.
Every downward stroke was accompanied by a low, inhuman groan, as if the entire cube itself were a living organism suffering through endless agony.
The Gongjishi Branch—this cube—was alive.
Researchers sent by the Mayor could occasionally be seen walking around, either holding documents or talking in low voices. They all shared a very distinct feature: the badge on their chests. It was a geometric pattern formed by the blending of the three characters “Gong,” “Ji,” and “Shi,” constantly proclaiming that they were personnel of the nation’s Gongjishi.
“Oh my~ that time was truly dangerous. You had a nuclear bomb seep into the World of Consciousness. Heaven knows what would have happened if the Gongjishi hadn’t discovered and recovered it in time.”
The Red Crow Rabbit was perched on a researcher’s shoulder, recounting some of its experiences.
He Jiulu immediately rushed in front of the Red Crow Rabbit. “The Anomaly is here, and the Foreign Objects are all here too, none missing. Now, can you let me the hell go back?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Your current appearance is truly miserable. I can hardly bear to look at you,” the Red Crow Rabbit said in a deliberately hypocritical tone. “But just bringing them here isn’t enough. You must seal them within a completely isolated Type-D Biohazard Control Unit. Only then will the World of Matter stop designating them as seeped-in Weirdnesses.”
“What should we do with that old Taoist? Does he need to be sealed too? Should I break his limbs first?” Sui Luowen wrote these words on the floor of mixed machinery and flesh using her wand.
“Of course we’re sending this old geezer back to the blessed land where he belongs. He’s a prominent figure there; if he’s gone, the order of that place will probably fall into chaos.”
“Blessed land? Another term I’ve never heard before,” Sui Luowen asked.
“A blessed land… let me use an analogy to help you understand, though it’s just an analogy and the principle isn’t that simple. Think of a blessed land as two mirrors facing each other, creating countless reflections. These reflections are the blessed lands. It’s just that their appearances and operating logics are bizarre and completely different; they can hardly be considered the same ‘reflections.’ The two mirrors are the World of Matter and the World of Consciousness. These blessed lands aren’t very stable either; some of them could suddenly collapse at any time. In terms of spatial size, the smallest blessed lands are comparable to a star, while the largest are comparable to a galaxy. We use these blessed lands as stepping stones to travel from the World of Consciousness to your World of Matter.”
“Stop talking and get to business!” He Jiulu roared hoarsely.
“Fine, fine, I know you’re in a hurry. However, you should be careful here. These cubes that make up the Gongjishi are alive and possess self-awareness. Be careful not to anger them when you’re sealing the items.”
“Where is the Type-D unit? Lead the way!” she urged. Her carbonized face showed no expression, but her raspy voice was filled with unquestionable urgency.