Chapter 3471: Targeting in the Shadows

————Currently rushing~~

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From the phenomenon that Time Force can dissipate from a Time Gem within a Time Acceleration Array, Xia Duo thought—

If it were an environment where the flow of time is slowed, would the Time Force not dissipate, or perhaps even show a tendency to converge "inward"?

This is somewhat similar to how water boils and evaporates into free-floating water molecules in a vacuum, but as long as the pressure is appropriate, it will re-condense into liquid water droplets.

Xia Duo guessed that the Time Acceleration Zone is comparable to a vacuum or the process of creating a vacuum, and the Time Force within the Time Gem is equivalent to liquid water.

When the Time Acceleration reaches a certain threshold, the Time Gem can no longer bind the Time Force within it; the specific manifestation is that the Time Force in the Time Gem dissipates.

If one then coordinates with certain collection methods, it could be collected again; this was also Xia Duo's previous method for collecting Time Force.

But at that time, there was only the Time Gem as a source of Time Force; if there were other sources, his method would not be suitable, so a more universal method was still needed.

Therefore, he thought of artificially creating an area where the flow of time is slowed!

If free-floating Time Force appeared at this time, could it be condensed and subsequently collected?

By continuously alternating between Time Acceleration and deceleration, one could continuously collect Time Force from places where it might appear; the former turns condensed Time Force into a free-floating state, while the latter is responsible for collection.

Xia Duo even suspected that the "orthodox" way of collecting Time Force might be just this, without needing to rely on any innate abilities.

The former counts as "technology," while the latter is "mutation."

By comparison, Xia Duo still approved more of the "orthodox" path; he even felt that if Dafuni's Time Force came from an innate ability, its Principles might also be realized through Time Acceleration and deceleration.

……

Whether Xia Duo's guess about Time Force is correct, and whether there are any problems with the Magic Artifact design concept, will be revealed next.

Xia Duo looked forward to the birth of a miracle, but if there were no miracle, he would not be overly disappointed; after all, he had not yet reached a true dead end, and he could just think of other ways—he had enough time to search.

Subsequently, he turned off the Time Acceleration Array, and at the same time, the layers of Hollow Mithril Sphere inside the Time Flow Regulator he held in his hand also slowed their rotation speed almost synchronously.

Although it was still rotating, at least for someone with good eyesight, it was enough to see its internal structure and trajectory of operation.

The state of the Time Flow Regulator at this moment represented the state of the current environment relative to the Time Force itself.

If it were changed to a place where the flow of time is faster than the Main Plane, such as the Annihilation Plane of the Seven Towers, then the rotation speed of the Hollow Mithril Sphere inside the Time Flow Regulator would be faster than in the normal environment of the Main Plane.

Therefore, although this item is used to regulate the flow of time, it can also be used to indicate the standard flow of time of the current environment relative to the Time Force itself.

From this step, even when he was just in the Time Acceleration Zone, Xia Duo could almost judge the success or failure of this key item through its rotation state.

It was mostly a success!

And now, returning to the normal environment, the Time Flow Regulator indeed showed the expected changes, which further proved that its functions and design in this regard were flawless.

Next was further verification.

If there is no additional Time Acceleration Array to provide Time Acceleration, then the Time Flow Regulator, as its name implies, can itself regulate the flow of time within an area!

Soon, as Xia Duo operated it, the Hollow Mithril Sphere inside the Time Flow Regulator began to rotate faster; at the same time, he also observed that the light in the surrounding environment was rapidly dimming.

This is enough to show that he was currently in a Time Acceleration environment, but more explicit evidence lay in the fact that outside the Time Acceleration Zone in the No. 1 Ritual Ground, there is a 【Magic Moment】 specifically used to remind one of the time.

Its Fuwu change speed perfectly matched the acceleration multiple set by the Time Flow Regulator.

Next, Xia Duo tried slowing down the flow of time, which also perfectly matched expectations; these actually didn't count as any surprises, as he had been using the Time Acceleration Array for a long time and had even designed the 【Time Barrier】 for individual Protection based on it.

And the 【Time Barrier】 can actually be seen as a portable Time Flow Regulator, just without the function of collecting Time Force.

The current Time Flow Regulator is more professional and also has the added function of collecting Time Force through the alternating appearance of Time Acceleration and slowing; it could even be said that the latter is the core function of this key item!

Subsequently, Xia Duo, with a hint of anticipation, adjusted the state of the Time Flow Regulator to collection mode, which is the state of continuous alternation between Time Acceleration and slowing.

Xia Duo, being in this environment, did not have any special feeling himself, only feeling that the brightness of the environment was alternating between light and dark.

But this is just a normal phenomenon caused by external light entering the Time Acceleration/deceleration zone and being "diluted" or "converged," and it has nothing to do with himself.

In reality, for an individual in a Time Acceleration or deceleration zone, their various behaviors and states are the same as in a normal environment; at most, to outsiders, their movements look a bit jerky, and that is all.

If the flow of time could change the state of the individual themselves, then when a Spellcaster travels to Planes with different time flows, they would need to protect against the damage brought by time itself, but in reality, they do not.

……

After waiting for about ten minutes of self-perception, Xia Duo showed a regretful expression; he had not been able to find any collected Time Force in the Time Flow Regulator.

"A pity, a pity!"

He was not sure if the failure to collect Time Force was because the regulator itself could not meet the requirements to "extract" free-floating Time Force out of thin air, or if the idea was wrong from the beginning.

But it was no problem to use it to collect Time Force from a Time Gem; he remembered the relevant parameters, and he had tried it several times in different Time Lines before.

There shouldn't have been any surprises this time either.

But failing to "extract" Time Force out of thin air still made Xia Duo somewhat disappointed; this meant that the conditions for the generation of Time Force might be relatively harsh, and even if the relevant design is perfected in the future, it might not be easy to obtain Time Force.

From this perspective, the existence of Dafuni undoubtedly possessed higher value.

After all, this is the only source of Time Force that Xia Duo currently knows about, and it seems that it doesn't require paying any price; could this be the true value of an innate ability?