Chapter 128: The False World

The collapse of the city walls was merely the beginning of the catastrophe.

Hundreds of tons of massive stone blocks plummeted in thousands, triggering tremors equivalent to an earthquake of magnitude seven or higher. The once-level streets were torn apart by bottomless fissures. Countless fragments of stone flew through the air with kinetic energy rivaling that of rifle bullets; a single impact against a human body would result in a bloody hole the size of a softball. Even larger boulders, weighing nearly a ton, were launched violently by the force of the falling debris, scattering randomly within a radius of several hundred meters.

It was as if dozens of catapults had fired in unison, or a meteor shower had descended upon them. Xu Xiaoke, whose prowess surpassed that of a Spartan threefold, held Li Kangshan tightly around the waist with one arm, moving with the agility of a cat amidst the earth-shaking chaos to dodge the erratic falling rocks. The violent jolting during his sprint turned Li Kangshan’s stomach inside out. It was fortunate that the local rations were so unpalatable that he had eaten little; otherwise, he would have been in an even more wretched state, perhaps even choking to death on his own vomit.

Xu Xiaoke was doing Li Kangshan a favor just by carrying him along; he had no capacity to provide further care in this life-or-death moment.

Simultaneously, the grand cathedral in the city center suffered the same assault. This ancient structure, which served both administrative and religious functions, could not possibly fare better than the walls that had withstood the demonic race for ten thousand years. Before the invincible force of the stress bombs, it collapsed like a sandcastle. Countless shards of glittering glass exploded outward, and the support beams were twisted like taffy, leaving behind nothing but ruins.

Finally, after an indeterminate amount of time, this world-shaking man-made disaster concluded, leaving behind a scene of horrifying devastation. A significant portion of the city’s layout had been erased, and with humanity’s current capabilities, it would be impossible to ever repair these walls, which stood dozens of meters high.

The demonic race would now drive straight through the breach, wiping humanity from the map entirely.

This was the contingency plan of the Prism Squad: to destroy humanity’s vital strength. According to the rules of the Box Garden, one could return upon success or failure, though the latter would incur severe penalties. But as long as they did not die outright, the resources Prism possessed as one of the leaders of the Third District were sufficient to weather the crisis. Therefore, with victory no longer in sight, Prism’s best option was to force humanity to fail prematurely, accelerating the process of their return. Destroying the massive walls—the key to human defense—and the cathedral—the center of administrative and religious faith—was undoubtedly the fastest and most efficient method.

Such large-scale destruction, if not prevented in advance, could not be stopped instantly, even by a Level 6 Wyvern King.

Humanity was beyond saving.

Yet, Provence felt no joy, for the Box Garden had provided no notification of task failure or success. Having long since moved away from the blast site, Provence stood on a high platform with a clear view of the entire area. He ventured out from his safe location, flickering rapidly through the city to conduct reconnaissance.

A moment later, Provence wore an expression of sheer disbelief. "Damn it, we have a huge problem."

At that moment, Lin Zexi looked toward the dark, cloud-covered sky and the chaotic horizon. After a flicker of static crossed his vision, it cleared, only for him to see countless cold, golden eyes opening in the sky, on the horizon, and even in the countless shadowy corners around him. They stared at him with emotionless, fixed gazes.

"This is..."

He had just begun to shout a warning when his companions noticed his erratic state. Lin Zexi, however, felt as though he had been struck by a thunderbolt; he clapped a hand over his mouth and stumbled backward.

The faces of everyone around him had become smooth and featureless, save for a single, massive golden eye opening in the center of their paper-like visages, staring at him without a hint of emotion.

Lin Zexi let out a scream and bolted, only for his foot to sink into the ground. He fell headlong into an endless abyss, where countless demons and monsters clawed at the air, leaving behind nothing but a long, distorted shriek.

Suddenly, the scene shifted. Lin Zexi lay on the ground, his body convulsing. Ava, appearing perfectly normal, asked with a pale face, "What happened to him? Why did he scream like that?"

The few remaining companions looked over in terror; Lin Zexi’s scream had been bone-chilling. Just moments ago, he had gone mad, running as if he saw monsters before falling from the platform. Even after Provence’s spatial gate rescued him, he shivered like a half-frozen hen, his eyes rolled back, drool spilling from his mouth.

A medic manually checked Lin Zexi’s pulse, temperature, and pupils, then performed a simple scan with an instrument. "He has been frightened out of his mind," the medic concluded.

"Frightened out of his mind..." Provence turned his neck stiffly to scan the void. "If a psychic can be scared into madness, it only means..."

Psychics were acutely sensitive to various crises and traps—sensitive to a degree that could be self-destructive. It was like an ancient forest: the ignorant might stumble in blindly, while the experienced explorer would see countless venomous snakes, insects, and predators, even catching glimpses of hunting marks, which might stir an urge to retreat. The more one saw, the easier it was to be affected.

He who gazes into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into him.

"Does this mean we are standing in the middle of a lethal trap?" Ava trembled. "Why don't I feel anything?"

"Because this isn't the real world at all," Provence gritted his teeth. "All the wyvern knights and civilians have vanished. There is nothing here but us and these ruins!"

Those brave wyvern knights and those gaunt, malnourished civilians had all disappeared from the city. Above the empty ruins, the members of Prism shivered like trapped animals.

If reality had not been tampered with, then their memories had been altered!

Everyone’s consciousness had been dragged into a mirror world, leaving their physical bodies in the real world at the mercy of others. This was a false world, a malicious world. And Lin Zexi, as a psychic, was the only weakness in this reality, which was why he had been targeted first. It was precisely because they were all users of psychic power that the attraction and erosion between the essences of their powers were particularly intense; caught off guard, Lin Zexi had been defeated so miserably and so tracelessly.

Provence walked onto the ruins of the collapsed wall, his heart pounding. The unease in his mind had reached its peak.

*Damn it, why would a mere beastly Wyvern King suddenly possess such powerful psychic strength?*

Provence felt as though he had been misled from the start, leading to major errors in every decision, which had brought them to this state.

Just then, groups of white shadows suddenly appeared, wandering according to the layout of the former streets and passing through all the remnants of the walls. Provence cautiously reached out a finger to touch a white shadow, but it passed straight through without causing a ripple.

Looking closely, these white shadows had clear features and wore robes characteristic of a bygone era. They chatted and laughed in silence, as if attending a bustling market.

A sudden realization struck Provence: this was a glimpse of human life from tens of thousands of years ago!

This realization filled Provence with excitement; he felt he was very close to the correct answer.

But then, Provence suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and two streams of blood poured uncontrollably from his nose. He wiped the blood away fiercely and gasped in horror, "How is this possible? This monster is actually using brute force to tear apart space itself!?"

Provence’s expression shifted, and a hint of joy appeared. "Monsters should be dealt with by monsters... I leave it to you to break this cage."