Chapter 111: The Second Meeting

【I think you should be the only Outsider.】

During Xia De's wild thoughts, the whispering voice in his ear said softly.

"Why?"

【The arrival of an Outsider is luck among luck; the appearance of one is already a miracle. It is impossible for there to be a second one.】

"Then why is 'The Little Match Girl'..."

【There are no coincidences in this world, only inevitabilities piled upon inevitabilities. Besides, haven't you already guessed the reason?】

Xia De smiled. If there was no second Outsider, then the answer was indeed clear.

Today is Wednesday. Crossing midnight, it has been exactly one week since the last time he used the Time Key:

"It seems this Outsider of mine is not without anything."

The woman's pleasant laughter came to his ears again.

"Xia De, did you hear me?"

Only then did he realize Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha was talking to him. Xia De raised his head and said embarrassedly:

"Sorry, I was thinking about something just now. What did you say?"

"I said, if you don't look after your cat, it's going to jump out of the basket."

The blonde writer said, touching her earlobe.

"Meow~"

Miya let out a "threatening" meow at Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha; it was almost able to jump onto the dining table.

After finishing dinner, Xia De said goodbye to Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha. Before leaving, he also asked her about advertising in newspapers. Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha took a handful of business cards directly from her handbag and stuffed them to him; those were all newspaper offices Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha had cooperated with:

"There is always one that suits you."

Because he was looking forward to tonight's events, after saying goodbye to the writer, Xia De did not go anywhere else, but returned directly to St. Deran Square holding Xiao Miya. The use of the Time Key requires crossing midnight, so from 6:30 when he got home until midnight, nearly six hours, Xia De still needed to wait.

Of course, he did not waste time, but continued to help Miss Lu Lu Lu Yisha translate the book "The Four Elements of Pursuit: Wind and Fire", and even found time to continue flipping through "The Crazy Light Chaser".

Calculating the time and confirming that the Time Key could already be used, he stood up excitedly from the chair in the study.

Xiao Miya was originally lying on the desk, sleeping by Xia De's hand. It was awakened by Xia De's movement of standing up, but the whole cat remained lazily lying on the desktop, only revealing a pair of eyes watching him.

"Since the Divine Radiance is already shining by my side, now it's time to go see the story that belongs to the past."

He thought excitedly, taking out the key covered in cracks from the locked drawer.

Leaving all the 【Relics】 he held temporarily on the table, he closed the study door from the inside. Then, holding the key, he whispered:

"May the World Tree protect me in time."

The key was inserted into the keyhole, and after twisting, it made a click~ sound again. Pulling open the study door, behind the door was a fog door blocked by thick fog.

The orange cat looked at this scene in surprise, but before it could get up, Xia De had already stepped into the fog door:

"Miya, see you in three seconds."

The stepping foot landed, and the surroundings were already surrounded by white fog.

The whispering voice sounded in his ear. After being prepared, "the other me" received information from the fallen Ancient God 【Father of the Infinite Tree】:

【Outsider, you have stepped into the Corridor of Time.】

【Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":】

【Autumn, 1068, Fifth Era, Southern Continent, Hope Town.】

【Event: The fall of the Old God "Innocent Creator".】

【Duration: 10 minutes (2/3).】

【You have obtained additional information.】

【The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree continues to watch you.】

【The test given to you by the God of Time will continue.】

【Before the fall of the Old God "Innocent Creator", witness His last wish.】

【The God of Time will give you a reward: Miracle - Blade of Chaotic Time, Miracle Spirit Rune - Echo.】

Apart from the addition of words like "continue" and "prolong", there was only the hint of two-thirds after the duration, but it seemed the time limit this time was still ten minutes.

Because he was already mentally prepared, Xia De did not ask any more questions. To step from the white fog into Hope Town, time could not be wasted here, but he didn't expect the woman's voice to continue:

【Manifest the Life Ring.】

"Why?"

Although he asked this, he still did as told. The bell rang, and the steam whistle appeared along with the steam.

The brass ring rotated behind his back, and as the Life Ring manifested, Xia De actually saw his skin crack inch by inch, and golden light marks shone beneath those cracks.

This was the physical state he had seen during the day, but during the day, it was because he was in a dream, so the state of his spirit and soul was highlighted.

"Why does manifesting the Life Ring here also allow the state of Divine Radiance to manifest on the body surface?"

He asked.

【The knowledge within the divinity tells me that the "Corridor of Time" you are currently in is a special space, and the power of divinity is more obvious here.】

The whispering voice said, and Xia De held up his own hand, looking in disbelief at the skin that was almost shattering and the brilliant light beneath it:

"It's truly interesting. The state of the spirit body can resist the invasion from the dream, but what is the use of this state appearing on the flesh?"

【I think at least this time, you can face that Old God directly without His protection.】

Withdrawing the Life Ring, he then took another step in the thick fog, the surrounding fog disappeared, and Xia De returned to the street that looked like a backward medieval town.

Unlike last time, this time it was late at night, and those numb townspeople could not be seen on the street. Looking around, the whole town stood in the deep long night, and further away seemed to be rolling mountains, like giant beasts crouching in the night.

The smell in the air was still pungent, and except for the toy store in front of him, no house had its lights on.

Looking up at the sky, dark clouds obscured the stars and the moon, making it impossible to judge the exact location by remembering the stars.

Xia De did not waste time and pushed the door directly into the toy store.

The inside and outside of the store seemed to be two different worlds. There was not the slightest change here; the air was filled with the sweet smell of candy, and the shelves were filled with dazzling toys. The young man wearing a ridiculous clown hat stood behind the counter, awakened by the sound of the bell triggered by the door being pushed open.

He raised his head wanting to welcome the guest, but after seeing it was the young detective, he didn't put on that set of rhetoric.

The Old God smiled and said:

"It seems you have indeed found the radiance of God?"

"Yes, this was truly not easy."

Xia De replied.

Except for him, he didn't think any mortal had a chance to obtain the "radiance of God". Completing the task of an Ancient God was indeed unimaginably difficult. Moreover, he even suspected that other investigators encountering the task of the "Father of the Infinite Tree" absolutely did not have such difficulties.

Xia De stared at the young man. Although there was still great discomfort, as long as he looked away, maintaining normal activities would at least not be affected. The other party was right; without the radiance of God, he didn't even have the qualification to talk to God for a long time. The "radiance of God" was the first step in carrying out this task. ===== CHAPTER 112 =====