Chapter 227: 223 Finding a Way Out

If it was that sea monster, then everything right now makes sense.

Two years ago in Liuhua Port City of the Shenzhou Region, two Alien Gods that had once dominated and enslaved humanity, an ancient sea monster and a giant extraterrestrial fish, were interrupted by mysterious factors just as they were making a comeback in Liuhua Port, suffering a miserable sealing and falling once again into a deeper slumber.

Regarding the truth of the fact that the world was nearly destroyed this time, only a very small number of people know, but those who know the truth have never been able to figure out exactly who it was, or what method they used to prevent this cataclysmic disaster.

If not for Yu Lianyun being an eyewitness to that incident, and he himself being her former superior, he likely would not have had the chance to learn of that thrilling adventure from Yu Lianyun's own mouth.

Of course, He Jia'an knew that although Yu Lianyun shared her experiences with him, he also knew that she actually possessed more unknown, secret details that she had not explained in detail to anyone.

He Jia'an had tried to press for answers, but from the wary and hesitant look in Yu Lianyun's eyes at the time, he felt her sentiment; it was not a lack of trust, but rather a form of protection, as if the truth of that matter was better known by fewer people, or ideally, not known at all.

Regarding this, He Jia'an chose to respect her, and in the end, did not probe or ask further, only taking advantage of his ample free time while at the sanatorium to search through materials regarding the sea monster and the giant fish, eventually managing to deduce the True Form of the sea monster and the giant fish, as they had both left their names behind in this place.

Not to mention the giant fish, the True Form of the sea monster was a terrifying Alien God recorded in the top-secret archives of the Mysterious Investigator, codenamed "Moon of a Thousand Illusions," living in a dimensional space whose biological laws are diametrically opposed to the Real World; that Different Dimensional Space is called by the world the Flesh Dimension, the Opposite World, or the Inner World.

Thinking of this, He Jia'an more or less guessed that the Blood Moon world he and Misaki Naomi had broken into at this moment might be the dimension where the Moon of a Thousand Illusions resided.

However... why had neither he nor Misaki Naomi been attacked by any Inner World creatures until now?

Could it be Lin Laoban's New Year Red Envelope?

He Jia'an could not help but pat the New Year Red Envelope in his pocket; it seemed the power of this red envelope was far more potent than he had imagined.

It is said that if creatures of the Inner World smell the negative emotions of humans who have broken into this world, it is like hungry wild beasts smelling spiced roasted meat, and they will recklessly go berserk to fight for a bite to eat.

Misaki Naomi had exposed her fragile state of mind multiple times in this world, and feelings of fear and sadness had leaked out repeatedly, but because he was by her side and within the protective range of the New Year Red Envelope, they had not suffered an attack.

Looking back, before he had reunited with Misaki Naomi, Misaki Naomi had nearly been attacked by an unknown creature summoned in the Biology Classroom.

Now that he thought about it carefully, if Misaki Naomi had completed that Strange Array, the thing summoned was very likely also a part of the Moon of a Thousand Illusions.

Having figured this out, although He Jia'an was still uneasy, he was no longer as lost as before, because at least he had a clearer understanding of his situation, and this bit of extra understanding would be the guarantee of his survival.

Unlike He Jia'an, Misaki Naomi was still in a state of slight confusion regarding He Jia'an's explanation just now.

"A sea monster that eats people, that sounds quite ordinary." Perhaps she had seen too much of the world today, as Misaki Naomi was now not particularly afraid of such a bland and common horror story image.

He Jia'an could not be bothered to drag it out further with this young girl, so he pulled her wrist and said: "Thanks to your timely reminder just now, I finally have a rough idea of our current situation..." He explained the concept of the Inner World to her briefly.

"Then can we escape from this Inner World?" Misaki Naomi asked expectantly.

"We can, as long as we can find a Space Channel." He Jia'an nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "This school, Kisaragi High School, should have used that Strange Array to hold a Sacrificial Ritual more than once. Every time a ritual is held, it opens a Space Channel. I think the Biology Classroom you entered before should be one of the hidden locations of a Space Channel, but that place has now been occupied by the sea monster I mentioned, so we cannot leave from there now."

"Ah, then what can we do now?" The excited smile on Misaki Naomi's face became somewhat disappointed.

He Jia'an narrowed his eyes and said: "We can keep looking. Since your school's School Badge can use the sea monster-summoning Strange Array as a pattern, it shows that besides Teacher Takayama Keika using this Strange Array to hold a Sacrificial Ritual, the former higher-ups of this school also knew of and perhaps even used the Strange Array. This means that there are other Space Channels in this school; as long as we can find one, we can get out."

Life immediately returned to Misaki Naomi's eyes, and she said excitedly: "Then let's hurry up and find a way out; I really don't want to stay here for even one more second."

She immediately "seized the initiative," walking in front instead and pulling He Jia'an along.

He Jia'an did not rush the pace, but said to her solemnly: "I understand your feelings, but from this moment on, I hope you can make a pact with me—no, with yourself—that from now on, you will not engage in any behavior that vents negative emotions. Even if you have them, do not easily display them. This world contains Abnormal creatures that are attracted to negative emotions. If you don't want to die, it is best to restrain your fragile feelings."

Facing He Jia'an's serious gaze, Misaki Naomi could only nod obediently in agreement.

"The design of something like a School Badge is bound to have some connection to the school's principal. Let's go check the Principal's Office. Assuming the spatial layout of this school hasn't changed, the Principal's Office should have remained the same from before until now. Do you know the way?" He Jia'an asked Misaki Naomi.

Misaki Naomi nodded immediately and pulled He Jia'an to the top floor of the school's Xingzhenglou. The doorplate of the first room at the stair exit was inscribed with the words "Principal's Office." She pointed to the doorplate, "It's right here."

The two went one after the other, with Misaki Naomi returning behind He Jia'an, her hands never letting go. He Jia'an walked in front, peeking at the scene inside the Principal's Office through the corridor window.

As soon as their heads poked in front of the glass window, the two quickly pulled them back, because they saw that the interior of the Principal's Office had long been covered by writhing flesh and blood. Amidst that flesh and blood, thick and oily protoplasmic liquid was rolling and flowing. Human-like yet non-human, blurred human bodies were flowing on those membranes of flesh and blood and protoplasmic liquid, just like souls that had been swallowed but not yet digested. They were drifting in eternal pain within the monster's body, unable to resist.

"Ugh..." Misaki Naomi could not help her curiosity and actually peeked again. This look nearly scared her soul out of her, but she thought of her agreement with He Jia'an, so she choked her scream back into her throat and covered her mouth with both hands.

She had just seen a figure of a person who had died miserably, flowing within that flesh and protoplasmic liquid, and it was so similar to Teacher Mano Daichi, whom she had seen during the day...