Chapter 443: The Wrestling of Minds

Finding the Teleportation Point didn't take much effort, because Luo Qi had already followed Liu Ziyi through so many levels that he was already quite adept at the Magic for testing Teleportation Points. Luo Qi discovered that learning things in reality was much easier than sitting in a classroom; on one hand, because the impressions were profound, and on the other, because the survival crisis was at work.

Luo Qi calmly threw himself into the Teleportation Magic and successfully arrived at the next level. This was another space covered in metal, and now Luo Qi began to wonder if these metals also had some effect in blocking Radiation, just like how humans used lead to shield a certain amount of Radiation.

These thoughts were actually just a flash; the moment Luo Qi stood on the ground of yet another level, he spread out his net. There was no need to be polite at all; unlike Liu Ziyi, the little angel who explored this world with curiosity, Luo Qi knew who the flickering light point in the Energy Grid was. He moved one step aside from the Teleportation Point, spread his net, and at the same time concentrated his attention, pushing out all the Mental Damage he could muster in one go.

Luo Qi wasn't sure how far the Invisible Magic could actually go, but it seemed his Mind Magic might be the last resort, which was why Liu Ziyi had come to find him. At worst, the attack he released would have no effect; he couldn't miss the opportunity, and Clownfish was definitely more durable than anything else.

The familiar dual-layered field of vision opened before his eyes, like two worlds opening their gates to Luo Qi simultaneously. Just as the second world unfolded before him at the speed of an unfurling scroll, just as he was about to identify and render his subjective world, his world was suddenly lit up by someone, and a force imposed upon him made him almost choke.

This powerful, cold impact was like a giant wave crashing head-on; Luo Qi was pressed toward the bottom of the water by this cold, resolute force, air was squeezed out of his lungs, and a drowning sourness arose in his nasal cavity. Then his subjective world was occupied and tampered with; his world had been turned by someone into a surging sea surface under a gray-white sky, the heaven-topping giant waves carrying the anger of another consciousness. The gale urged the giant waves, white foam churned on the cold sea surface, and the voice of the other consciousness was caught in the roaring wind, intermittently transmitting over and pounding against Luo Qi's own barriers—You... dare... to bother... me!

Luo Qi did not respond to a single word of his; he tried his best to resist Clownfish. He couldn't help but think once again of the mortuary in the human world, where he had been almost beaten to pieces by Clownfish, lying paralyzed in the corridor like half a corpse, pathetically begging Clownfish not to leave his miserable corpse behind to make his friends sad. That scene flashed in his memory, but then Luo Qi realized this was a memory Clownfish was showing him, forcing him to recall that piece of his own memory. It was like a mockery, a reminder, and also a warning.

Luo Qi was not scared to death. It hadn't actually been long since the last time he could only lie at Clownfish's feet, but Luo Qi had gone through too much; he even felt he couldn't accurately measure his age, he had stayed in the Progenitor Mage's container for too long. Even if he adjusted his subjective time to be very slow, and although he couldn't learn anything other than the knowledge of the Ghosts of the Society, and there were no independent human consciousnesses to be his friends—without these components of real time, he had still spent a great deal of time thinking. Thinking leads to an increase in age, and also leads to an increase in ability.

He keenly protected his most core self; he could shrink it to be very small, and his core self was his most cherished memory, his deepest and newest thinking path. Clownfish wrestled with him on his apple core for a while; he felt Clownfish flip out some things, and his own memory, unfolded by someone, was vividly before his eyes. Most of them were his newest friends; he saw with shame that Du Zhengyi was scolding him for littering pistachio shells and even hit him on the head, just for such a small matter. He was so angry he wouldn't talk to Du Zhengyi for a whole hour, until Du Zhengyi beat him again because he wouldn't talk.

He felt Clownfish flinch, probably not expecting that the core soul of Luo Qi, which he had desperately dug into, would actually contain such memories. But so what? Luo Qi thought annoyedly, can't the things a person wants to hide most be those embarrassing details? What's wrong? Can't he be a simple person who is the same inside and out?

Conversely, Luo Qi found an excellent opportunity for a counterattack.

Clownfish's vicious, serious, and ruthless strike fell into confusion; Luo Qi, who didn't have much sense of shame, launched a desperate counterattack at this moment, mobilizing the full power of his consciousness and pushing it back toward Clownfish. The success came too suddenly; Luo Qi was a bit surprised, he hadn't expected that he was actually on the same magnitude as Clownfish. Perhaps he was a bit unskilled, but the savage charge of a newborn calf was also very terrifying; he charged directly into Clownfish's core consciousness circle.

Luo Qi heavily tore open a piece of Clownfish's memory, a bit of soul. In an instant, the tide in his consciousness receded, and control of the world returned to Luo Qi's hands; he rendered this place into a northern wilderness, and a woman condensed out of Clownfish's consciousness—although she only appeared for an instant, Luo Qi still saw her look back.

She carried the aura of death on her; even if she existed in the depths of Clownfish's heart, she must be dead. She radiated a warm sadness, and Luo Qi could not avoid empathizing; at this moment of wavering, Clownfish heavily closed his Consciousness Gate, the woman disappeared, and the consciousness worlds of the two of them became clearly demarcated.

Strange. Luo Qi thought, he seemed to have seen that woman somewhere before.