Chapter 20: Return to Reality

Once again returning to this mysterious Spherical Space, Sun Cheng finally felt that the heart which had been stuck in his throat for these past few days, unable to be calmed, could finally be set at ease.

"As expected, does entering here still require meeting certain conditions?"

Subconsciously looking around the Spherical Space first, it was just as it had been the previous few times he entered: empty, with nothing more than the two light screens in the center.

However, after Sun Cheng took a few more looks, he did notice some minor changes.

The last time he entered from the real world, the water-blue fluorescence within the Spherical Space was significantly dimmer, not as bright as it was now; other than that, there were no further discoveries.

The empty Spherical Space unexpectedly brought Sun Cheng a sense of security.

Being familiar with the routine, although he still disliked the awkwardness of losing his body, he controlled his ghost-like self to drift to the center of the space after only a moment, stopping in front of the light screen on the right.

The light screen lit up instantly, and the next moment, an image appeared on it, showing the very scene of him quietly replenishing energy inside the Starscream Base 【Supply Room】.

Sun Cheng stared quietly at the image for a good while before shifting his gaze away, looking again at the bottom-right corner of this light screen.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly, and he let out a soft, "Huh!"

If Sun Cheng remembered correctly, when he entered here from the real world a few days ago, the bottom-right corner of this light screen had displayed two sets of numbers: Blue Star: 651000, White Star: 11.

Yet, after a few days had passed, he was surprised to find that both sets of numbers had changed, now reading: Blue Star: 4371000, White Star: 21.

"What exactly do these two sets of numbers represent?"

After frowning and thinking hard for a long while, still unable to guess what these two sets of numbers meant, Sun Cheng sighed and could only set them aside for now, drifting back toward the other light screen nearby.

The light screen on the left side of the Spherical Space represented the real world. Just like the screen next to it, as he approached, the originally dim screen lit up immediately, revealing the figure of a young man slumped over a desk.

"Phew, it really hasn't changed!"

Seeing that the scene displayed was still exactly as it had been when he left a few days ago, without any changes, Sun Cheng let out a long breath.

However, after subconsciously glancing at the corner of the light screen, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Blue Star: 4371000, Red Star: 44996:14:58... Has the Red Star changed too?"

Sun Cheng had no clue yet as to the meaning of Blue Star and the numbers following it.

As for the Red Star and the numbers following it, he had previously guessed that they might represent time.

Recalling how many days he had spent in the world of the Decepticons this time, Sun Cheng calculated silently in his heart, and soon felt a sense of clarity.

"It can't be wrong; I stayed in the Decepticon world for over four days. After converting it, the numbers after the Red Star represent time."

After verifying his initial guess, Sun Cheng felt even more incredulous.

He remembered that he had previously traveled to the world where the Decepticons were because of a drunken stupor, and after staying there for half the night, he had returned to reality.

Then, when Sun Cheng returned to the Decepticon world the next morning, time there seemed to have stopped.

But now, he had stayed in the Decepticon world for four or five days, yet other than the timer on the light screen moving, it didn't seem to have affected the real world.

Of course, this last point had not yet been verified.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sun Cheng immediately chose to crash into the light screen in front of him, wanting to return to the real world.

In the Decepticon world, although only a short four or five days had passed, he felt an exhaustion as if years had gone by.

The threats from Barricade, the targeting by Reflector, the schemes of Soundwave, and most unfathomable of all, that Starscream.

Dealing with these non-human lifeforms was too tiring.

Lacking sufficient strength, he could only rely on his wits to struggle through; it was thanks to the fact that most of the high-level Decepticons he had encountered so far didn't take him seriously at all that he had been given so much room to operate.

Even so, his experiences in the other world over these few short days left him feeling overwhelmed.

Now, having finally returned to the Spherical Space, faced with the choice of returning to his original world, Sun Cheng made his decision without any hesitation.

Swish!

Instantly, a water-blue light flashed, accompanied by a strange illusion of his soul being pulled away and a brief moment of dizziness. When Sun Cheng regained his senses, his eyes still slightly dazed, he subconsciously looked around and saw that he had returned to his office.

"Am I back?"

In his mind, the slight dizziness from the travel was still affecting him, giving Sun Cheng the illusion that everything he saw now was unreal.

Unable to help himself, he gave himself a slap. As the crisp *crack* sound rang out, the stinging pain on his cheek was like a cooling agent, finally dispelling those negative feelings.

He rubbed his temples, and after standing up from his seat, Sun Cheng subconsciously touched his stomach; the empty feeling made him very uncomfortable.

"I'm back? It's good to be back..."

He comforted himself inwardly and glanced outside through the window; it was a sunny day.

However, the experience of traveling back and forth between two worlds had made Sun Cheng's concept of time somewhat blurred. He subconsciously reached into his pocket, wanting to take out his phone to check the time.

But, when Sun Cheng stuck his hand into his pocket, his expression changed abruptly.

The sensation his fingertips touched was indeed a chill, but it was not the metallic feel of the iPhone 5 he remembered, but rather something smaller and with a completely different shape.

Hurriedly pulling what he had touched out of his pocket, Sun Cheng's eyes widened, and he looked at his palm in utter disbelief at the black crystal he had just taken out.

"This... is this the 【Scout Template】?"

There was no mistake!

This 2-level 【Core】 that Starscream had bestowed upon him a day ago, along with the iPhone 5 he had brought from the real world, had both been stored inside his body using his transformation function; he had always treasured them dearly.

Although, after his full memories of 'Frenzy' were unsealed, he had begun to look down on this low-level item with so many problems, a 2-level 【Core】 was still a 2-level 【Core】. It was a level higher than the 【Core】 equipped in the body of 'Frenzy' that he had possessed in the other world. Not to mention anything else, its computing power alone far exceeded all the supercomputers on Earth.

However, what Sun Cheng couldn't understand was how he had managed to bring this thing back with him.