Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 177 - 168 Stepping into Empty Space 1_2

Chapter 177: 168 Stepping into Empty Space 1_2

Of course, I had no intentions of letting Dr. Silver Mask go, and sooner or later, I would definitely destroy this secret base of Luo Mountain’s forces. It’s just that everything must be done in proper order, with investigation being the priority right now.

I continued to pretend to be an ignorant little boy and launched a probe, "Who exactly are you, and why do you do such excessive things?"

"The less you know, the better," said Dr. Silver Mask with a hint of pity. "Besides, in a little while, you will forget everything about this place."

"Do you mean to... let me go?" I asked.

"Yes. But you must not mention this to anyone," he said. "During this time, I will do what I can to keep you away from the other researchers’ clutches. You just need to quietly stay in this room, and eventually, everything will end."

As he spoke, he stepped forward to untie the rough hemp ropes binding my hands and feet.

I was freed from the cross, and my feet touched the ground. At this moment, I was only wearing a white restraint suit with no shoes, standing barefoot on the slightly warm iron wire mesh floor, feeling a little pain as the grid scratched the soles of my feet.

Suddenly standing on my own feet, I was unaccustomed to the sensation and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, he reached out in time to steady me.

However, there was another reason I almost fell. Apart from the ropes, something else was still restraining me, and that was the wooden yoke.

Simply put, it’s a plank of wood with holes for hands and feet to pass through, a device equivalent to ancient handcuffs; "yoke" refers to this kind of object. Usually, a yoke locks both hands and the neck together, but this yoke only bound my hands, preventing me from maintaining dynamic balance through my arms as I landed.

Why would a base engaged in dark scientific research use such an ancient form of handcuffs?

"This is a Magic Seal Lock, capable of sealing a demon hunter’s Mana. Though you are not a demon hunter, it wouldn’t hurt to remove it, but removing this requires a rather complex process and procedure. For now, I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with it," Dr. Silver Mask explained. "Don’t think about removing it yourself; you absolutely won’t be able to break this restraint, and trying to smash it could trigger an alarm."

Having said that, he seemed to feel there was nothing more to explain and turned to leave the room. I had a few more questions and tried to call him back. But he turned a deaf ear to it and closed the door behind him.

I had no choice but to refocus my attention and look at the yoke on my hands.

Does this thing really require a complex process to unlock? But I distinctly saw a keyhole in the middle of the yoke; shouldn’t it just require the corresponding key to unlock?

Furthermore, ever since a moment ago, I have felt that his words and my own cognition subtly mismatched. Although they all admitted to engaging in inhumane scientific research, none seemed to have any reflections on this scene that seemed utterly unrelated to the term "scientific research."

It’s not that this scene holds particular significance for scientific research, and they are taking it for granted and as a norm. At least, I don’t feel that way. If I must say... it seems that what they see is different from what I see.

The demon hunters being carried by the crosses seemed to be, just as well, unquestioning of this darkly humorous scene, assuming that they were kidnapped to an inhumane experimental site.

Once again, I suspected that perhaps the confusion lay not with the surroundings, but with myself.

Upon reflection, do the scenes I saw through Lu Youxun’s illusion and the scene I entered now really have no correlation?

In the illusion, there were many large square mechanical devices standing like tombstones, surrounded by some figures. The scene I entered also had many standing crosses, followed by some "prison guards." The mechanical devices were all shifting slowly in a certain direction, and the crosses binding the test subjects did the same.

Could it be that those mechanical devices are actually the contraptions used to restrain demon hunters?

"Could it be that my perception, due to some accident, became disordered, making me see those mechanical contraptions as crosses, and the icy research facility as a fiery place of terror? Even those obese, decaying researchers, perhaps they actually have normal appearances; it’s just that in my eyes, they were distorted into monster-like forms?"

"Alright, let’s just assume it is so for now. Then why did I seem to arrive at the time period two years ago when Lu Youxun was captured by the Human Bureau?"

"Could it be that Lu Youxun, using Divination Technique, foresaw scenes from the past, while I transported myself back in time? Can my Flame Transmission actually traverse time and space? If that’s the case, does that mean I can travel to the corresponding time period just by watching a black and white historical documentary on television?"

"But even if I truly possessed such Divine Skills, how would I explain the conversation between Chen Long and Dr. Silver Mask? Perhaps I’m still in the ’present’, it’s just that for some reason the surrounding has come to display a vision of the ’past’?"

"And the most puzzling of all was the young girl, Lu Chan."

"What’s her deal?"

"Next, I should go find her. She might be imprisoned nearby, and I have many questions I want to ask her face-to-face."

I walked to the iron door and tried to open it, but, as expected, it was locked. Forcing it open wasn’t impossible, but I didn’t know if there were any "prison guards" patrolling outside in the corridor. With that thought, I activated heat perception.

As expected, my Perception couldn’t normally penetrate the iron door. However, I wondered if the counter-surveillance mechanism of this place was mainly targeting people outside the room; when I, inside the room, activated heat perception, my Perception managed to barely pass through the nearby walls, investigating the scene in the adjacent room.

The room to my left was vacant, while the one on the right had someone inside. It looked like a stranger, a demon hunter, who was restrained on a cross like a tortured sufferer. His face showed tension and fear, but he seemed to be forcing himself to stay calm, constantly scanning his surroundings for any object that could help him and trying to break free from the cross.

At that moment, a researcher who looked like a monster abruptly pushed open the iron door and walked into the room.

Seeing this, the demon hunter’s struggle intensified as he started to curse at the other. The researcher, seemingly used to it, went to the sink without a word, turned on the tap, and vigorously washed his hands with the brown, filthy liquid that spurted out.

After a moment, he turned off the tap, spun around, picked up a torture tool from nearby, and walked toward the demon hunter.

If things were to continue in this way, the demon hunter was either going to die or live a life worse than death.

I decided to save him first but was not yet ready to expose myself. I would remotely manipulate the flame to kill the researcher first, then release the demon hunter. Then he should flee the room. I could lurk in the shadows and observe the response of this base through his actions.

Although I didn’t think the demon hunter stood much chance of escaping from the base, and he was likely still doomed to die... Never mind, there wasn’t time to think so much; take it one step at a time. The man was about to be cut open, saving him was of the utmost importance.

I concentrated my spirit quickly, my superpower functioning at the whim of my mind, as flames surged out from nowhere in the room next door.

The researcher’s head was suddenly ignited, and he was reduced to ashes, probably not even registering that he had been killed. His headless body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Meanwhile, the ropes binding the demon hunter were burned away by the flames, the stocks turned to ash, and the lock core of the distant iron door was melted. The demon hunter let out an astonished noise, involuntarily tumbling down from the cross, and crashed heavily to the floor.

Simultaneously, an abrupt, bizarre experience assaulted my entire body.

As if the floor had suddenly disappeared, I abruptly "missed my step," and my view plunged into darkness.