Perhaps it was Tang Nai’s nonsense that had distracted Su Mu, but her inner fear had dissipated slightly.
For a moment, she was no longer so nervous and even dared to open her eyes a crack to look at her surroundings.
The intense airflow buffeting her dragged her soft, long hair backward, creating a light pink trail in the sky.
As her descent accelerated, the trailing hair grew longer, appearing like a rainbow.
This rainbow intersected with another light gray trail, forming a beautiful double helix that extended downward.
From high in the sky, it pointed straight toward the ground.
After breaking through a layer of clouds, she saw the plaza again, along with that majestic statue that was completely unfaithful to reality.
This also meant that everyone in the plaza could notice her presence.
“We’re going to crash!” Su Mu couldn’t help but scream as she watched the ground rapidly enlarge in her field of vision.
This only drew another soft chuckle from Tang Nai.
“Ehe, it’s a pity I didn’t buy you insurance.”
“Even if you had, the beneficiary wouldn’t have anything to do with you!” Su Mu snapped in anger.
Hearing this, Tang Nai simply gave Su Mu a meaningful look before speaking with feigned gravity.
“Whoa, I’m really being looked down upon, aren’t I? As the one who wields the Authority of ‘Value,’ if I couldn’t even manipulate a tiny little financial contract…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
It was unclear whether Su Mu was telling Tang Nai to shut up or praying to the ground she was about to intimately contact.
Regardless, her sapphire-blue eyes were trembling incessantly, showing that their owner was currently scared to death.
Su Mu wasn’t afraid of dying or the pain; she was simply afraid of heights.
It was just like being on a roller coaster—even if she knew she wouldn’t die, the mere thought of it made her legs turn to jelly.
And so, in a somewhat pathetic state, Su Mu was dragged by Tang Nai as they plunged into the ground.
“Plop!”
The expected pain never arrived.
Instead, it was replaced by a viscous sensation, like plunging into the deep sea.
Her speed instantly slowed until it dropped to zero, but the familiar feeling of being enveloped prevented Su Mu from opening her eyes.
“Glub, glub, glub — “
Tang Nai mischievously blew bubbles in front of Su Mu, making the latter flinch.
“That’s enough!”
Su Mu was at the end of her rope.
Ever since Tang Nai’s hair had turned gray, the girl had become strangely familiar.
She was talkative, fast-paced, and incredibly annoying!
‘Think you’re the only one who can pick on people? You really don’t take me, the Genius Girl Irina, seriously at all. You dare to provoke me? You’ve got guts! Just you wait, I’m going to flame you to death — ‘
“You, m-mngh-wuah — “
As it turned out, Su Mu didn’t get her way.
The moment she opened her mouth, she nearly choked on water.
It took her a long time to recover.
Now she finally understood why Tang Nai hadn’t spoken and had only blown bubbles at her.
It turned out that the stuff in this transition zone was seawater!
It was salty and bitter.
“Pah, pah.”
After staying quiet for a good while, they finally emerged from the water.
The moisture clinging to their bodies vanished the instant they left the liquid.
Su Mu was about to unleash her frustrations on Tang Nai, but as if sensing her intent, the other girl pressed a slender index finger against Su Mu’s lips, stifling her thoughts of speaking.
“Don’t be in a hurry. We can talk later. We’re almost there.”
Su Mu was about to ask what she meant, but she froze slightly when she noticed the scene behind Tang Nai, her anger forgotten.
At some point, the silhouette of a magnificent building, second only to Naraku Tower, had appeared before them.
The shadow it cast was silent and terrifying, cloaking them from above.
However, its exterior was extremely monotonous.
It was just… a giant sphere?
The surface of the sphere was composed of countless hexagonal plates joined together, presenting a subdued silver-gray color and a distinct metallic texture.
It looked like the mysterious Research Institute of some evil organization.
To make matters worse, there were cameras acting as sentinels above the entrance.
Their faint, eerie glow flickered like snake tongues, making one feel inexplicably uneasy.
Tang Nai led Su Mu to the front of the door and looked up at the camera, her face as cold as frost.
“Are we going to break in?” Su Mu asked curiously, summoning her gloves.
Tang Nai stopped her and said, “No need. She’ll open the door herself once she sees us.”
After capturing the figures of the two girls, the camera twisted in an eerie manner.
It looked like an earthworm on a hook—its body was embedded in the hook, but its head kept squirming outward.
[Identity authenticated: Tang Nai]
After an electronic voice sounded, the thick metal door split open from the middle.
When it closed after they walked through, it was so seamless that not even a crack could be seen, making Su Mu marvel in silence.
“Is it that strange? This thing has nothing to do with high technology. It’s just a creation of Tang Yin’s imagination. Whatever functions she wants to give it, it will possess.”
Tang Nai led the way with practiced ease.
She didn’t hesitate for a second despite the winding path.
Clearly, this wasn’t her first time here.
“How do you know where she is?” Su Mu followed closely behind, looking curiously at various strange and intimidating machines.
Occasionally, her attention would be drawn to odd creatures soaking in suspicious culture fluids.
“If she isn’t here, then where else do you think we should look for her?” Tang Nai asked with a smile, leaving Su Mu momentarily speechless.
‘That’s true. No wonder Ye Wanqing told me to find Tang Nai. I have no idea where she’s trapped.’
Just then, Su Mu let out a sudden gasp and stopped in her tracks.
She leaned in to get a closer look at a certain culture vessel.
The creature soaking inside was a small lamb.
It was so young it couldn’t even open its eyes yet, yet it could already appear in the Three-layer Dream.
This made Su Mu marvel, but what really caught her attention wasn’t that.
It was the creature’s appearance, which reminded her of a certain goat-headed bastard.
Justice.
With that thought, Su Mu tapped on the glass wall.
The lamb inside didn’t move.
It was like a specimen, not even breathing.
It looked quite eerie.
“What? Did you see an acquaintance? That’s normal. Many of her creations go out to stir up trouble after being cultured. I suspect this fellow is no exception… Tsk, animals? She’s as idle as ever.”
“I’m not sure, but he looks a lot like him.” Su Mu frowned.
She hadn’t expected her doubts would likely be answered in such a strange way.
No wonder that guy appeared without warning and acted in a way that was completely contrary to a normal person.
It all made sense now.
“Do you like it? I have many more experimental subjects like this. I wouldn’t mind giving you one.”
Suddenly, behind Su Mu, a voice with a timbre extremely similar to Tang Nai’s but with a different tone rang out coldly, giving Su Mu a start.
Su Mu patted her chest and complained inwardly.
Ever since she met Tang Nai, she was always being startled.
ĺIt was all this girl’s fault.
However, before Su Mu could ask anything, Tang Nai snapped back in an even colder tone.
“Cut it out with your twisted sense of humor.”
Hearing this, Su Mu curled her lip and thought, ‘Do you really have the right to say that to her?’