Amidst a hazy expanse of gray fog, a giant hemisphere was suspended ahead, like a slowly rotating ancient dome.
Inside this massive spherical creation, as if it blocked the edge of the world, roads weaved between intricate buildings, and corridors paved with vintage tiles were lined with all sorts of artistic old mechanical devices.
{What is that?}
Inside an old room, a faint exchange of thoughts took place rapidly in the darkness.
{The forbidden Kinesis Field has continued to evolve over time. Is a collapse of that revered one’s \[Rank] underway?}
{That cannot be. It hasn’t been many years. You must be seeing things.}
Screens in the darkness, displaying various wavebands and data, began to tremble, then went black, as if merging with the darkness itself.
But soon, a blurred silhouette, like a snowy signal, flickered to life on the screens.
Monte, dressed in leather and sporting a rugged look, entered the room. He raised his stubbly chin, fixing his gaze on the ancient screen hidden in the shadows.
“A higher-rank being has invaded this Saint’s Lost-Frequency Kinesis Field.”
These screens seemed to have existed for untold years.
Whether the Lost Illusion Company brought them into being, or they gave rise to the Lost Illusion Company remained uncertain. Regardless, the objects in the room had stubbornly clung to a strange, enduring life throughout the long passage of time.
A screen displayed an ancient eye-like symbol drawn in simple lines.
{Within the Kinesis Field, there are no living beings. How can you be so certain? Or have the dead entered it?}
“Correct. There’s no living mental waveform inside, yet the world evolved by the Kinesis Field continues to sustain its vitality.”
{I lost my comedic streak long ago. Don’t crack jokes with me. How could such a thing happen?}
“I am not Montgomery. I don’t have a penchant for dry humor like he does.”
{So what you mean is…}
Monte said, “Which is why that higher-rank being is not a life form.”
Monte turned his head to look at the adjacent room and walked over to it.
“Who is Montong?”
An ancient screen asked.
“Made it up. Your bad joke cell really has been lost.”
……
Montai’s body passed directly through the dim glass wall as if transparent, appearing in the lively office.
Here, various mechanical sounds clattered, like a busy monitoring workstation. A grid of glowing miniature screens displayed data fluctuations, with whispered discussions buzzing everywhere.
“Montai Officer.”
A staff member clad in a uniform reminiscent of the industrial era stood up.
“Fortunately, you arrived in time; otherwise, we were already planning to report to the Administrator.”
Montai gave a hum and said, “Though rare, it’s likely that some ‘Ancient Gold’ grade information crystal has resonated at the same frequency as the psychic field. There’s a high probability it’s man-made. If not, oh well, it’s almost as if a comet hitting the Earth and wiping out the dinosaurs is unfolding right before our eyes.”
“As expected of Montai Officer, you saw through what’s happening at a glance. I just wonder which entity is behind this.”
“Don’t think about it, don’t speculate.” Montai shot a glare at the speaker. “Careful not to mentally sync with something bad.”
The person stuck out their tongue in reply.
“—Class A alert lifted; it’s not a premature collapse of the psychic field.”
Montai turned to look at the glass wall of the room he had just entered.
Aside from faint flickering background noise, the ancient room’s screen showed only the eerie figure, with no other reference data available. Pointing across the glass wall, Montai said, “Who was the last person to sync with the off-resonance field of the Saint ‘Asna’?”
Everyone immediately busied themselves. The person in charge of this out-of-sync mental field quickly retrieved the file and handed it to him.
“Yang Zicang…”
He looked at the paper in his hands.
— Yang Zicang, male, with a model count of 1+3, the five elements dominated by wind attribute, highly aligned with the first layer of the lunar realm and the frequency of the Chronos Temple.
He glanced through it and snorted, “He’s after the communication upgrade artifact.”
One person tore off another person’s profile that had just come from the typewriter and also handed it to Officer Montai.
“This person has also entered.”
“Got it. Register Yang Zicang as a low-level employee of the company. I want to personally monitor him entering the mental field and see what’s inside. If something has been implanted that could bring disastrous information that damages the out-of-sync mental power, I want to gain control early.”
“After all, this concerns such an out-of-sync thought of a Saint’s. Should this person’s information be reported to the Fate Track?” one person asked.
Montai was about to speak when a faint ring of light suddenly lit up on his chest.
[Councilor 41 communicating with me.]
{Leave him be.}
Upon hearing this Councilor’s voice, Montai, who had taken the files, breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s fine. Just wait and see. As long as the mental field doesn’t collapse, it’s okay.”
“Should we still recruit Yang Zicang? After all, he’s suspect.”
“Yeah, just follow the procedures.”
Montai relaxed and placed the paper containing Yang Zicang’s profile down on the desktop.
“Just want a channel-upgrading tool, nothing major. If you can pass, then come in. Xiaoqian, are you free tonight?”
“Sorry, Officer, I already made plans with Xiaotian.”
“What a heartbreaking way to address me.”
“Mengxi left, and this order was quickly transmitted to another department. However, since they weren’t essential invitees, they didn’t need to take the initiative to appear in the Out-of-Frequency Zone.”
“In an unnoticed corner, the trend line of Yang Zicang’s fortune on the small screen—which hadn’t been switched off after the previous chart—began to rise slightly again after its downward trough.”
……
“Within this sphere-shaped building, a few minutes ago in a nearby area, Zorro stepped out of a room.”
“Zorro looked around and saw the office area cleverly divided into multiple tiers and a maze of corridors. Without guidance, turning carelessly here would lead to getting lost.”
“A girl in her twenties, with fair skin and delicate features, passed by the doorway and looked at him as she spoke:”
“Zorro, have you used up all your work hours for today? Want to go to the Literature Department with me to relax?”
“Nothing would please me more.”
“Along the way, they saw some people hurrying toward a certain passageway. Zorro stopped under a brass sculpture and looked toward the majestic and dignified large door at the other end of the corridor.”
“It seems something happened over there,” Zorro said.
“I’ve never seen such a tense atmosphere before. I suspect there might be an issue with some kind of mental field.”
“Oh? What are they monitoring inside that room?”
“The woman looked reverently at the imposing door:”
“Over there, the monitoring equipment is capturing the lingering mental wavebands of powerful beings from this world that have yet to dissipate after their sacrifice.”
“This…”
“Although the strong have passed away, their proud and magnificent spiritual energy can still endure for a long time, guiding our growth from the void and providing us with training experiences to handle various crises. This is their final tribute. Thus, we call them the Sages or the Wise.”
Zorro silently pressed his palms together in the direction of that place, closing his eyes respectfully for a few seconds before opening them again.
The woman turned her head to look at Zorro and said gently:
“Let’s go to the archives. Later, I will teach you how to select suitable items from the old world for those ‘world echoes that can be synchronized’.”
“Sure, thank you, senior.”
“Hee hee, calling me that makes me sound old, you know? I’ve only been chosen to enter the Lost Illusion for a year now.”
“Wow, in just one year you’ve become this beautiful—your spiritual rank must have advanced very quickly.”
……
When they arrived at the “Historical Documentation Department,” towering bookshelves extended all the way to the ceiling.
The archives were vast in area, adorned with technological elements from different eras alongside vintage furniture, as well as carvings, paintings, and works of art.
These were all testimonies of history, harmoniously placed together without any sense of incongruity, much like an ancient library and museum combined.
“I suggest starting here. These are books and records about the composition of plants and minerals in the lands of the former continent, though there are no place names—those are forbidden. I’ve already finished reading these, so I’ll head over to that area—you take your time here. If you need anything, you can borrow them.”
Zorro glanced over the countless bookshelves. “Thanks.”
After the girl left, Zorro let out a soft sigh and reached up to touch the bookshelf beside him. It was lined with yellowed books, ancient scrolls, and precious film reels. Beyond, the quiet figures of distant travelers paused beneath various shelves, or rode ladders to consult volumes.
[I am urgently searching for that ancient bookshelf mentioned in the “superfluous memories.”]
The voice of thought suddenly sounded unbidden.
[I wonder if I can find its traces today. Dozens of task acceptors have contributed their fame to bring me here…]
Perhaps it was the excitement of a long-concealed goal finally within reach.
[And I don’t want that field to be forever hidden from the common people.]
[Perhaps I can find it right away.]
“Shut up!”
Zorro had to forcefully restrain the murmuring in his mind.
Moments later, he whispered tenderly within himself…
[But I know too: this cannot be rushed.]
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