Chapter 181

The exploration vessel, its electrical system offline, drifted like a wave-riding craft through the tunnel, with Zhao Zijing using telekinesis to adjust the rudder and barely maintain control.

About ten minutes later, the current grew calmer, the water level steadily dropped, until it could no longer support the vessel.

That was no concern—Zhao Zijing pulled out a Dragon Pearl Capsule and stored the exploration vessel; Li Cheng retrieved a kayak from his 3D storage compartment and continued drifting in the small boat.

Another thirty minutes passed, and ahead came the roar of turbulent water; the pipe walls on both sides expanded outward, forming a trumpet shape—narrow above, wide below.

The scene suddenly opened up; the group finally reached the tunnel's end.

Here stood a sheer cliff, where a torrent of water burst forth and plunged straight down, more magnificent than any waterfall in the real world.

Only the rush of the current could be heard; no sound of water striking the ground. Below the cliff lay utter darkness, impossible to fathom in depth or distance.

In the middle of the cliff extended a long, rectangular stone platform, perfectly sized for the group to stand upon.

"Why is there no boundary here?"

The Crimson Racer frowned in confusion; after Zhao Zijing's drone swarm was annihilated by the Entropy Maw, he had provided drones for reconnaissance.

Dozens of drones flew in all directions, covering several kilometers without finding any pillars or walls.

"Non-Euclidean space."

Li Cheng glanced around, speaking succinctly: "In the depths of the Killing Ground, such zones occasionally appear—where the physical laws of reality are partially distorted."

Space can be compressed, expanded, bent, nested, or looped to a certain degree."

"I once got trapped inside a bathhouse for a month, walking in circles until my legs gave out."

So you're the noble owner of a Cadillac? Is it that you couldn't get out of the bathhouse—or didn't want to?"

The Crimson Racer's eye twitched; beside him, Zhao Zijing added casually: "Most non-Euclidean spaces are relatively safe."

"A small fraction are extremely dangerous—for example, at coordinates 6211-1411-7980, there's a tiny star floating in the void."

"A tiny star?"

Midnight Howl exclaimed in surprise: "Then couldn't you lay down solar panels or some other absorber and build a Dyson Sphere to harvest infinite energy?"

"Regrettably, no—this star is alive, and hostile to all life. It actively attacks any living thing within its gravitational radius."

"Even level-40 players must avoid it."

Zhao Zijing said: "At this stage, Earth's civilization's closest approximation to infinite energy is still the Secret Affairs Bureau's hidden space called the 【Simulated Stellar Corridor】."

"Alright."

The Crimson Racer mused, "By the way, what's our next move?"

He pressed the button on the radar guide; the device emitted a blue beam, forming an arrow pointing right—but there was no path ahead.

"My Pidgeot can't carry seven people."

The racer paused, looking at Zhao Zijing and Li Cheng: "You two… wouldn't happen to have a dirigible or a small aircraft on you, would you?"

"You ask if we have everything? Do you think I'm Doraemon?"

Li Cheng squinted and muttered, then scanned his automated 3D storage compartment.

Polyester fabric, helium tanks, aluminum alloy—things were surprisingly complete; with time and the aid of a Tinkerer's spellcraft, Li Cheng could indeed cobble together a crude airship for temporary use.

Suddenly, Zhao Zijing frowned and asked in a low voice: "Did you hear anything?"

"I heard it."

Midnight Howl's hearing far exceeded normal human limits; he tilted his head, twitched his ears, and nodded seriously: "It sounds like a train whistle."

Far off in the darkness to the right, two beams of light suddenly flared—growing brighter, drawing nearer.

Wuuu!

The steam whistle blared loudly and shrilly as an old green-painted train hurtled across the void.

The group instinctively stepped back; before they could think, the train slowed with utterly unscientific efficiency, coming to a gentle stop beside the stone platform.

As if this were merely an ordinary train station.

"WTF," Midnight Howl gaped, face pale as if he'd seen a ghost.

"The radar guide… seems to want us to get on."

The Crimson Racer clenched his lips; the blue arrow from the radar device had been tracking the train's position, shifting from pointing right to now pointing straight ahead.

Bang!

All twenty-two carriages opened their front and rear doors via mechanical drive; through the windows, the interior was clearly empty—eerily silent.

The train radiated strangeness; Midnight Howl instinctively glanced at Zhao Zijing.

Zhao Zijing pulled out a spare tablet and searched the Global Supernatural Alliance's database for keywords: "non-Euclidean space," "empty green train," "floating operation."

【Current permissions insufficient, cannot display】

A line of bold red text lit up on the screen, glaringly obvious.

The Crimson Racer couldn't help asking: "What's going on? Why insufficient permissions?!"

". I don't know."

Zhao Zijing admitted honestly: "Usually, over 80% of the database is freely accessible to anyone."

Only rarely are permissions set."

"For example, some data carries memetic contamination—those who view it go insane."

"Or GOC high command deems certain data too critical; frontline agents must apply upward, undergo layered approval, before gaining access."

The Crimson Racer suppressed the urge to curse: "Approval? Are we running a restaurant here?"

"Should we get a health permit, tax registration, fire safety inspection certificate, special license, and a business license too?"

"That's not a fire safety inspection certificate—it's a Fire Safety Inspection Qualification Certificate and a Fire Facility Acceptance Certificate."

"If you're opening a restaurant, you should prepare the Building Fire Design Review Opinion, the Building Fire Acceptance Opinion, and the Public Gathering Place Fire Safety Inspection Opinion before opening."

This speech wasn't from Li Cheng—it came from the Bandaged Man, who rarely spoke; he remembered himself as a firefighter, now raising his hand hesitantly to correct the Crimson Racer's terminology.

"."

The driver's eyelid twitched; he didn't have the thought of "adults speak, children don't interrupt," and turned to Li Cheng. "Master Pi Fu, why don't you try those papers that can predict death again?"

Li Cheng readily complied, took out the 【Death-Seeking Notebook】 paper, and tested once more.

After finishing the drawing, he glanced at its content, his heart stuttered, and immediately tucked the paper away without showing the result to anyone else. He merely smiled and said, "The language result tells us we won't die here, so this train is safe."

"Hey, wait—"

The driver hadn't seen the drawing and was about to ask, when Li Cheng picked up the mission battery and strode straight onto the 11th train car, finding a seat and sitting down.

The remaining few exchanged uneasy glances, and had no choice but to follow.