Chapter 255: Anka Ela Crystal

The black thread was repelled and snapped by an invisible "barrier"; with a startled cry, Erin fell from Yu Sheng's shoulder. Fortunately, Yu Sheng was quick-eyed and fast-handed; the moment the small doll dropped halfway, he reflexively kicked his leg backward to hook it...

How to put it? At least she didn't land directly on the ground—she only hit the ground after Yu Sheng kicked her...

Erin cursed very viciously.

Yu Sheng fumbled to pull up the flailing doll; he didn't know how many times he'd been bitten in the process, but his hands were covered in tooth marks. Yet seeing that the thing still had enough spirit to curse and bite so vigorously, he knew Erin was probably fine, and his heart relaxed somewhat.

Then, seeing Erin finally calm down a bit, he quickly spoke up to ask: "Are you okay? What was that situation just now?"

"You're asking me? Who should I ask!" Erin glared with scarlet eyes. "This is the first time I've encountered this situation! Suddenly something just bounced me back..."

Speaking of which, she gnashed her teeth in indignation again, then looked up and explained another sentence to Bai Liqing, who was standing beside her with a tight face: "My threads are non-physical; nothing has ever blocked them before... at least nothing in my memory has ever been able to block them..."

Bai Liqing's gaze at Erin was somewhat subtle, as if she had thought of something else, but she still nodded lightly: "I know. The doll's 'threads'... are one of the blessings bestowed by the Ancient Saint Alice. Indeed, no one has ever heard of anything capable of blocking them."

As she spoke, her gaze fell once more upon the "Mother Crystal" on the round platform.

Now that crystal had calmed down again; the clear humming just now seemed like an illusion.

Yu Sheng said nothing, merely frowning slightly in thought. After a moment, something occurred to him, and he finally broke the silence: "Erin, test that 'Secondary Crystal' again."

Erin didn't understand, but seeing the serious expression on Yu Sheng's face, she immediately suppressed the urge to chatter and slowly nodded.

After making full preparations, Erin summoned her black threads once more and attempted to use them to touch the finger-sized "Secondary Crystal."

Moments later, the doll's threads were blocked again by an invisible barrier. Although the violent recoil wasn't as intense as when touching the Mother Crystal, the threads, upon approaching the Secondary Crystal, still seemed to encounter some invisible, solid force field, imprisoned in the air and unable to advance an inch.

What had originally been Yu Sheng's impulsive "just try it" suddenly revealed a brand new characteristic of these crystals. The researchers on site immediately began rapidly recording the observed phenomena and verifying the various data recorded by surrounding equipment during the test. One researcher, while recording, casually remarked: "This seems to be some kind of protective effect. Both the Mother Crystal and the Secondary Crystals converted from it possess this trait. But then again, exactly what is it protecting against?"

He raised his head and, through the thick protective visor, curiously looked at the doll on Yu Sheng's shoulder.

"We previously tested those regenerating 'Secondary Crystals' using lasers, physical impacts, and similar methods, but observed no similar phenomena. Even threats sufficient to shatter the crystal failed to trigger its 'protection'—Miss Doll, may I ask what characteristic your 'threads' possess? As far as I know, the dolls of Alice's Cottage master many different types of 'Doll Threads.' Some excel at remote object control, some at creating illusions, and others at interfering with souls... Which type are your threads?"

This researcher was exceptionally polite, and Erin immediately became cheerful, poking Yu Sheng's head hard: "Hey hey hey, listen, he called me 'Miss Doll'! He's much more polite than you!"

"Yes, yes, I heard it," Yu Sheng helplessly pried at the small doll's claws. "They're asking you a question."

"Oh, oh, right, ahem," Erin quickly cleared her throat, turned her head with a serious expression, and said, "My threads are incredibly powerful. They can connect consciousness, guide dreams, create traps, and control opponents. Do you know Wolf Grandma? That huge thing that can take several cruise missiles head-on without falling; I can strongly control it for several minutes!"

The researcher listened, stunned, as if hearing such complex Doll Thread powers for the first time: "This... so many abilities?"

"Yes," Erin said proudly, extending her hand and plucking at the air a few times. The pitch-black threads danced and wove between her fingertips. "They can even play cat's cradle. It's so much fun; I know dozens of patterns..."

For someone dealing with the Traveler's Society gang for the first time, keeping up with such highly erratic thinking in a short time was obviously very difficult. The researcher before him clearly took several seconds to catch up, switching his mindset back and forth between "should analyze seriously now" and "is this doll's brain not quite right" several times before finally regaining his composure. With a serious face, he analyzed: "Based on the tests we conducted previously, physical forces can be temporarily ruled out. The remaining... let us tentatively assume the crystal produced a protective response against forces on the 'mental' level."

Erin actually didn't understand at all, but still nodded: "Yes, yes, oh?"

"Then we have a direction for the next test," a smile appeared on the researcher's face. "Sometimes in research, what's missing is exactly this kind of direction... Thank you very much for your help, Miss."

Erin (poking Yu Sheng's head): "Hey hey, he called me Miss!"

Yu Sheng: "..." He was already a bit unwilling to deal with this doll anymore.

After this, there was further highly specialized exchange. The head of the laboratory reported many detection results regarding the "samples" and some follow-up research plans to Bai Liqing, along with the current protective status of the laboratory and such. Yu Sheng couldn't understand it either, and didn't want to interrupt casually and appear unskilled. This place was still a "restricted area"; he dared not touch anything randomly for fear of breaking something. He felt extremely awkward.

At this moment, he couldn't help but envy Hu Li, who was still gorging herself in the cafeteria. How happy that girl must be right now...

Just as he was zoning out, he heard the exchange and report beside him finally seem to conclude. The head of the laboratory asked at the end: "Director, do you think it's necessary to give these crystals a name? Currently, we are filing them under sample numbers, but something this special..."

"Just call them Anka Ela Crystals," Yu Sheng said casually. "Those smaller ones are Secondary Anka Ela Crystals. If even smaller ones appear in the future, or even artificial ones are synthesized, just call them Anka Ela Crystal Youth Edition."

Head of the Laboratory: "..."

"Then let's go with what he said," Bai Liqing merely glanced silently at Yu Sheng, then nodded to the head. "By rights, he should have the naming rights anyway."

"... Very well, I understand."

After coming out of the containment facility, Yu Sheng let out a long breath.

No mistakes, one sentence, one chapter, one content, all in one place!

After staying inside that huge cubic "container" for a long time, one can't help but feel a sense of "oppression" piling up in the heart. Even though the surroundings were generally bright, clean, and spacious, this feeling would continue to accumulate.

While inside just now, he hadn't felt it much, but the moment he walked out, the feeling became exceptionally obvious.

Bai Liqing didn't seem surprised by Yu Sheng's reaction.

"It's very normal," she said. "Everyone who enters the 'container' for the first time feels this way. Even some trained Special Bureau agents are affected. The 'container' itself is one of the 'suppression conditions' for containing many dangerous items. It is not designed to be comfortable for people. Therefore, everyone working in containment facilities of this level must be carefully selected. Being well-trained is not enough; one must also be able to withstand the 'environmental contamination' within the container and maintain mental stability for long periods in such an atmosphere. This requires some talent."

"I didn't feel any impact on my mental state; I just don't like the... atmosphere there," Yu Sheng waved his hand, then changed the subject. "By the way, is there still no lead on that angel fragment we 'lost' earlier?"

"No," Bai Liqing shook her head and said. "But it can be basically confirmed that it wasn't taken away by anyone inside Border City, nor did it enter Border City. It is likely still hidden somewhere in the 'suburbs,' or worse... it may have already been transferred outside the Border Marker by some covert means."

Speaking of which, her eyes clearly grew heavy.

"Although I'm very reluctant to admit it, the hope of recovering it is slim. The impact point of that fragment was located near the most remote settlement on the edge of the Borderlands. Recently, temporal turbulence has been moving around the suburbs with the wind across the wilderness. These turbulent flows have severely interfered with the monitoring facilities we set up outside the city. The personnel stationed at the settlements have no way to monitor the situation outside the settlement walls at all times. You could say all unfavorable conditions have come together."

Yu Sheng heard another unfamiliar term: "... Temporal turbulence? What is that thing?"

"A chaotic phenomenon that occasionally occurs in the outer edge regions of the Borderlands," Bai Liqing explained casually. "You should know that the wilderness outside the city is not as stable as inside Border City. Temporal turbulence is the concrete manifestation of this chaos. In areas disturbed by the turbulence, time accelerates and decelerates randomly. Communication between the disturbed area and the outside is severely disrupted or even completely cut off. It usually appears as a suddenly appearing wind. You get swept into the wind, feeling like you spent seconds or days in the airflow, then the wind suddenly vanishes. If you're lucky, you're just disconnected from the real world for a short while. If you're unlucky, your missing person report might be about to expire."

Speaking of which, she paused, then continued: "However, fortunately, temporal turbulence does not endanger life. In fact, it even 'preserves' your life. People in temporal turbulence do not age, feel hunger, or die. According to the information we currently possess, people in the turbulence are actually in a state of 'material stasis'; only consciousness experiences the passage of time. But regardless, this phenomenon brings us nothing but trouble, as in this instance."

Yu Sheng listened very seriously, absorbing this knowledge which was quite fresh to him, then sighed in his heart once more—

What else could be said? This place, the Borderlands... truly has outstanding people and beautiful land.

(End of Chapter)