Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 268 - 250 VS Impermanence 1

Chapter 268: 250 VS Impermanence 1

I first asked a question: "Mazao, regarding the historical information of the Divine Spear’s head... How much longer do we need to investigate in this direction before we can uncover the true identity of the mastermind behind Impermanence?"

"...It’s hard to say." Mazao honestly replied, "If we’re lucky, perhaps we can find out within this week; if unlucky, we can’t even guarantee any results after two more months. The deeds left behind by those of Great Success Rank also possess mystical properties, making the investigation much more difficult than looking into Dr. Silver Mask."

"So... what if I help out?" I asked.

"You’re helping?" She was bewildered, "But Zhuang Cheng, you are incapable of investigating historical information, so how could you apply force to this matter?"

I looked around the courtyard constructed from Mazao’s memories, then said: "I have infiltrated your spirit, and now we are both within this dream... This means, Fake Water Moon can cause our spirits to blend. Then, can this magical artifact also enable us to achieve Spiritual Synchronization?"

In the past, Lu Chan had shared her distributed ’firefly’ sensory network in independent reality spaces with me through Spiritual Synchronization; in turn, I was also able to share the investigative results she obtained with her spellcasting during that time. It was by leveraging this cooperative relationship that we successfully uncovered the secret of Chen Long being able to exert his full strength even within independent reality spaces. And now, there is actually no reason Mazao and I couldn’t do the same.

Her efficiency in investigating historical information is limited by her consciousness processing speed, while in my Fire Element Form, the processing speed of my consciousness is so high that it’s almost excessive. Many times, I’ve only used this supercomputing power as a form of ’bullet time’, massively wasting the advantages of this trait.

If I can share this advantage with Mazao through Spiritual Synchronization, her efficiency in investigating historical information would increase by who knows how many folds. Although I’ve never formally compared, based on my feeling from previous exchanges with other opponents, my consciousness processing speed is likely to exceed that of demon hunters at Residence and Achieved Levels by more than a thousand times.

The key issue is whether the Illusion Technique powers of Fake Water Moon truly incorporate the feature of Spiritual Synchronization — this is actually the easiest problem to resolve.

Even if it doesn’t, I can go ask Fu Feng if I can borrow a magical artifact with similar functions. Fufeng Base being vast and rich, Fu Feng, wishing to recruit me, shouldn’t be stingy about offering such a small favor.

Moreover, Spiritual Synchronization shouldn’t be a difficult effect to achieve. The former Lu Chan wasn’t a demon hunter particularly skilled in spiritual magic, nonetheless, both the young Lu Chan and Lu Youxun had that knack for Spiritual Synchronization.

I then detailed my full train of thought to Mazao, and after listening, she seemed to think it was feasible.

"Fake Water Moon should be capable of Spiritual Synchronization," she said. "Although most functions of this magical artifact have failed, those are mostly its advanced and complex parts; the fundamental components still work normally. If it’s just to create simple illusions or to affect the psychological state, it’s all effortless, including the part about Spiritual Synchronization."

Saying this, she pondered for a moment, then added: "If you learn how to adeptly use Illusion Technique powers, and deepen your understanding of illusions, you could achieve even more. Such as controlling the five senses, hypnotizing and brainwashing, Memory Modification, and so on... Besides, it should also simulate the effects of Black Rope Heart-locking Ring, forcing the target to be unable to remain silent or lie. Perhaps the effect might be even more powerful than the original Black Rope Heart-locking Ring."

These are all just the basic functions of Fake Water Moon? Then what sort of strange and fantastical things would those advanced and complex parts entail?

It was then that I realized I might have picked up quite a formidable treasure.

"There is a threshold for using Fake Water Moon, and currently, you might not be able to perform Spiritual Synchronization with it... but I can, so let me assist with the operation," said Mazao.

"You can use illusion techniques?" I was surprised.

Seeing my reaction, she seemed to not be able to resist a proud smile before quickly returning to composure and said with an unaffected tone: "I don’t know Illusion Technique, but some Mana application skills are universal. These are the basics I retained from my studies and training at Evangelical Institute."

"Memories of Evangelical Institute are mostly forgotten, but the skills and training results haven’t disappeared..." I pondered.

"Skill memory is different from event memory... it seems like someone at Evangelical Institute once said that to me," she said.

Although I have never encountered those normal amnesia patients ("normal amnesiacs" may sound a bit strange), I have heard that most people with amnesia, even if they forget their past memories and identity, do not forget how to talk and write, or how to use chopsticks and other everyday knowledge. Mazao’s case seems to fit into this category as well.

I handed the Fake Water Moon over to Mazao. Perhaps because this is a dream, I only realized that I was holding the Fake Water Moon when I made that motion. Mazao, on the other hand, took it as if it were normal and briefly fumbled for the method of use. In reality, the Fake Water Moon should still be in my hands, yet this didn’t seem to hinder her from using this magical artifact in the dream.

She seemed to quickly grasp how to use the Fake Water Moon for Spiritual Synchronization, and then placed it above her head, while calling forth the head of the Divine Spear with her left hand.

Then, just like the past Lu Youxun and the girl Lu Chan, she extended her right hand towards me. I understood her intent and extended my own right hand, gently holding her small, tender palm.

An invisible thread, like the string of a paper cup telephone, appeared in my consciousness. One end connected to me, while the other connected to Mazao in front of me. The Spiritual Synchronization was successfully achieved.

"Then, I am going to start," she said, lifting the skull of the Divine Spear with her left hand.

After I nodded to signal, she used the Power of Return to investigate the historical information within the skull. Perhaps because this is a dream, all mental changes unfolded in a seemingly materialistic manner. As Mazao started her operation, the head of the Divine Spear burst open from her left hand, transforming into countless streams of information that filled my vision.

To describe these streams of information in a tangible form, they were like mosaics. The colorful mosaics, like the snowy static on a broken television screen, submerged me. Looking closely, each mosaic piece resembled a tiny screen, displaying extremely low-resolution dynamic images.

This was the historical information which Mazao saw, that one must carefully screen – of course, what I saw might not be identical to Mazao’s real experience, but it was enough to reveal her predicament. Picking out specific information from these minute, unpredictable bits of data was like finding a specific grain of sand on a beach. If you were unlucky, you might not find it even in two months, let alone an ordinary person who would never find it regardless of how much time was given.

Perhaps the experienced Mazao had her own tricks. I didn’t need to think too much at the moment; contributing my computational resources was enough. I entered the Fire Element Form to observe those mosaics; through the connection of Spiritual Synchronization, Mazao seemed to also gain my perspective and quickly filtered out the superfluous parts. A vast number of mosaics disappeared randomly from my sight at high speed.

I didn’t know how long it would take to process all the information at this rate... Just as this thought surfaced, Mazao’s voice rang in my heart: "If it’s fast, one hour. At most one and a half hours should be enough."

"It can be even faster."

While speaking, I strengthened my Fire Element body, and my conscious processing speed also rose sharply. Mazao expressed her astonishment in my mind. Being able to do something beyond the expectations of my admirer made me feel smug, yet I carefully suppressed and concealed this emotion.

Based on past experiences with Spiritual Synchronization, it seemed that only surface thoughts were prone to be directly perceived by the synchronized individual, so to some extent, concealing should be feasible. I wondered if Mazao had detected my earlier feeling of pride. If she had, even I would feel embarrassed. I still hoped to maintain an image of being unperturbed in front of her.

Mazao didn’t seem to react, so it appeared she hadn’t noticed. I relaxed slightly. Soon after, an enigmatic change suddenly captivated my attention.

Within that torrential mosaic information flow, like the rushing Yellow River, I glimpsed what seemed to be the pattern of a human face. At first, I thought it was just a case of pareidolia, like how humans can mistakenly see a face in a triangular arrangement of stains on a wall.

But I quickly realized that the pattern was becoming more and more like a blurred human face, which looked back at me with a dangerous gaze.

I felt a familiarity emanating from this vague face, similar to when I encountered number four, Xuanming, and number six in the past. Behind this "face," it seemed a colossal entity was lurking.

The "face" stared at me coldly with a clearly willing attitude.

"Have we been discovered?" Mazao was shocked.

What is going on—originally I wanted to ask this, but there was no need for further questions. Because I had probably already guessed the truth.

The "face" undoubtedly corresponded to Impermanence, the enigmatic figure behind the Divine Spear.

Impermanence has found us!