Chapter 304: The Street Is So Quiet, There Isn't Even Anyone Around

In an extremely brief instant.

Ciri couldn't even react in time.

"……!!"

Until a second or two of stunned silence had passed, only then did she abruptly widen her eyes, sucking in a sharp breath of cold air.

Her body also seemed to act on instinct, subconsciously struggling violently... and then, she successfully broke free.

It went far more smoothly than expected; she shook off that hand very easily, and quickly retreated backwards, putting distance between them.

And only at this moment did Ciri clearly see that the person before her was a young man.

Dressed strangely, groomed bizarrely; at least from her own perspective, he possessed a rather exotic charm, exuding a faint, vague sense of mystery.

Of course——

This did not make this "Swallow" relax; on the contrary, she became even more vigilant.

This is absolutely not an ordinary person!

And there is no way any ordinary person could, the instant she just transmigrated over, naturally grab her hand as a matter of course.

And furthermore say such a meaningful sentence.

Just this one action, this one line of dialogue, and that profound and unfathomable feeling emerged.

"...... Who are you?"

Retreating backwards very vigilantly, Ciri took a deep breath, tightly gripping her own wrist.

While checking her hand, she unabashedly assumed a guarded posture, eyes sharp, staring fixedly at the young man in front.

"Who am I? I am——"

Xia Zhi coughed lightly, speaking leisurely.

However, the moment he opened his mouth, the light of the Transmission Gate on the opposite side flashed, and the white-haired girl had already stepped into it without the slightest hesitation.

Instant door opening! Then instant teleportation!

Not the slightest hesitation, simply as if premeditated, rehearsed hundreds of times, smooth and flowing like clouds and water.

That's right, Ciri had zero interest in chatting more with the other party; even a single sentence was unnecessary. Her purpose was solely to mislead the other party.

Once she believed she had successfully misled the enemy and bought herself an opportune moment, she opened the door and ran without the slightest hesitation!

Regardless of what the other party wanted to say, the current her, jumpy as a bird, had no intention of taking risks.

Delaying even one more second is disrespect to her own life!

"Heh......"

Xia Zhi chuckled lightly, not minding it at all.

After all, he had long known what calculations Miss Ciri was making; just now he was merely cooperating with her.

Vigilance is very normal; after all, in a wandering life of fleeing, if she weren't vigilant enough, she wouldn't have been able to persist this long.

And he had also turned off the Charm Halo——

Without auto max affinity, naturally Miss Ciri wouldn't let down her guard.

But this is also truly normal; unless there's some issue needing inquiry, otherwise Xia Zhi usually wouldn't bother with polite procedures.

Anyway she can't remember; re-acquainting and introducing himself over and over serves absolutely no necessity.

Like right now is just fine; Miss Ciri opened the Transmission Gate, and precisely at the next time point to be recorded, not off by a hair.

This was all arranged.

Amidst such thoughts, his steps were composed, unhurriedly striding forward, meeting the light of the Transmission Gate.

The white-haired girl's lithe figure just happened to completely sink into the radiance of the Transmission Gate, leaving only a single strand of un-devoured beautiful hair, fluttering and freezing at the edge of the light.

All scenery in the surroundings seemed to have had the pause button pressed; the world sank into an extraordinarily tranquil and slow state.

Like enhanced slow-motion in a film, every frame was infinitely stretched, revealing unprecedented delicacy and clarity.

Miss Ciri's swift and agile movements, in this final moment, ceased motion.

Even those inconspicuous dust particles in the air quietly suspended in place, no longer rising, falling, or drifting.

Only light passed through unaffected, filling the entire space.

——This is actually not some Time Stop series......

——Cough, what he means is, he made no artificial intervention in the river of time.

The reason everything presents so incredibly is rooted solely in his Thought Like Light.

Under the operation of such super-thought beyond imagination, all scenery of the outside world naturally slows down, as if the entire world is cooperating with his thinking rhythm, slowly unfolding this surreal scroll.

This could be done in the past as well.

But the difference is, back then Xia Zhi still needed to use some extra means to some extent, involving the power of time and such.

However now, he only needs his own "Reaction" to naturally achieve this state as a matter of course......

No.

Rather, it should be said this state is what's normal for him; during usual times, he even has to specially adjust.

Otherwise, everything in the outside world appears far too slow, far too slow.

The Wandering Taoist stepped into the light of the Transmission Gate composedly; the next moment, along with that light, he disappeared from the street together with the white-haired girl.

Everything was as if nothing had happened.

Even if someone occasionally happened to see this scene, staring with shocked wide eyes, no one would believe such a story.

And such memories won't linger long......

Very soon, with the arrival of another "today", they will be naturally reset as a matter of course.

——————

——————

In a microsecond……

The world shattered and then reassembled……

Time, space, curves — everything, all of it, was stuffed directly into perception in the form of a vast information state……

For this kind of experience, Xia Zhi had long since grown accustomed, even proficient, and moreover this time he felt that from within that shattered information and vast light and shadow, he had glimpsed even more.

This was not unexpected.

At the start, of course, he understood nothing; those profound and unfathomable concepts, to a mortal body, were no different from heavenly script and divine writing, impossible to touch, let alone grasp their essence.

Everything was hazy and chaotic, as if placed within a fog, making it hard to glimpse the outline of truth.

Some things were even a hardware-level incompatibility, equivalent to lacking a certain sensory perception, resulting in an inability to perceive certain information, or a mortal brain not supporting the transcendental processing and calculation of spacetime information.

However, as Dao Conduct improved and Realm broke through, his own being also underwent a qualitative leap from a purely mortal life form.

He laid the foundation for the Dao, transformed into an incomplete immortal prototype, and was still continuing to rise and evolve bit by bit……

From "Qi Refining Stage" to "Foundation Establishment Stage", and then to "Golden Core Stage"……

With every advancement, or rather evolution, he would see more things.

By now, the four-dimensional spacetime structure composed of space and time had already become the most basic composition in Xia Zhi's eyes.

The Transmission Gate's light still flashed by in an instant.

However, precisely within that momentary flash, two completely different dimensions seemed to be tightly connected by formless threads, opening a mysterious seam linking each other.

Bursting out from within, the white-haired girl's eyelids reflected the scenery of the New World.

High-rise buildings, standing row upon row.

The street extended straight ahead at the Front, roadside trees casting shadows in the Sunlight.

A modern city-like scene caused her to blank slightly — how did it feel so similar to the previous world?

But it was ultimately different; quickly realizing this, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Of course she did not relax her vigilance because of this; instead she pressed her palm on the Sword Hilt, alertly scanning the Surroundings.

Like the encounter in the previous world, she did not want to experience it again.

"……"

"……"

The Surroundings were empty, not a single human figure, extremely Quiet, no vehicles passing, no pedestrians walking.

The white-haired girl immediately frowned, keenly Perceiving that such an Environment seemed off, some unknown Threat lurking in the vicinity.

"The street is so quiet, and there's no one…… right."

Indeed so.

Miss Ciri subconsciously wanted to nod, while furrowing her brows and voicing her Doubt: "It seems people left in a hurry, and not long ago……"

She did not have a Witcher's perception, but she possessed another sharp perception and relevant experience.

Therefore she could very intuitively Perceive that the lingering "sense of life" in every detail Indicated that until not long ago, there were absolutely still traces of human activity on this street.

Perhaps a few minutes ago.

Perhaps half an hour ago.

Anyway it absolutely would not be too long, yet in such a short time, everyone's figures had completely Disappeared.

The road, the Park, the Convenience Store — not a single human figure could be seen…… for a Normal Person, facing such a scene, they'd probably suspect they'd walked into a horror movie Scene.

The white-haired girl lacked this Cognition, but likewise drawing from her own Knowledge and Common Sense, she subconsciously began thinking rapidly.

What kind of Calamity was encountered? Or what kind of Monster?

However……

Her thoughts had not managed to turn two circles in her head when she abruptly widened her eyes again, terrified, and sharply turned to look behind her.

Holding a Long Banner, Taoist Robe somewhat worn, a weather-worn wandering Taoist appeared behind her.

When!

How did he follow along!!

I clearly didn't see him just now!!!

Stormy waves like thunderous rage surged in her heart; Miss Ciri instantly retreated by conditioned reflex, and also by conditioned reflex chose to open a door again.

This was an instinctive reflex action engraved in body and Soul depths, deeper than muscle memory.

No matter what, the white-haired girl did not want to Come into Contact with such a dangerous Target at close range, even if the other party stood there very Calm, merely exclaiming a sentence, not taking advantage of her unpreparedness to sneak attack.

But she still remained highly vigilant and on guard, and the First Time still chose flight as the best plan.

Even if the other party Teleported along with her, she still felt she could rely on Teleportation to shake him off.

However——

"What?!"

Perceiving that nothing happened, no light Flashing, no Transmission Gate opening, the white-haired girl's Expression completely changed drastically.

Only now did she realize that her spacetime power, which was usually as if an extension of her limbs, that magical power latent deep in her Bloodline, was at this moment empty……

As if completely lost, vanished.

How could this be?

What happened?

Miss Ciri subconsciously Bit her Lip, both shocked and angry, yet also understood that this time the problem she faced was serious.

But she did not stand there dumbly waiting for an answer; instead she whirled and fled the Scene at top speed, sprinting away.

Since she temporarily could not Teleport, she could only Attempt physical Escape.

Anyway, leave Zheli first!

"……"

"......"

Xia Zhi did not mind Miss Ciri's escape, but instead carefully sensed the surrounding environmental information, and then his brows relaxed.

"I see... a Spacequake?"

(Chapter End)