Chapter 1298: Assorted Grand Prize
Behind the half-opened door, the light was dim, and only a glimpse of the marble floor could be seen.
"I've already opened the door for you. If you dare to enter, the villa will be yours; if you don't dare to go in and just keep looking at me, you won't become the owner of the villa either." Although this man didn't seem like the type to be influenced by provocations, Ji Shanqing had to give it a try. "Do I have to walk outside for you to dare to enter?"
After two seconds, Silvan breathed a sigh of relief.
"You have a point," he said slowly. "Since you've tampered with this house, I have to personally try it to figure out how to break it."
His tone was really annoying, as if the man had never encountered an obstacle he couldn't overcome in his entire life.
Watching him take a step towards the villa's entrance, Ji Shanqing couldn't help but purse his lips slightly. The words his sister said to him actually applied to himself as well: he was not a completely pure member of the Veda, still retaining a self that was shaped by past experiences and memories. When he realized that he needed to protect the villa, he immediately associated it with his birthplace—the Mirror Maze. Of course, limited by the environment and conditions, he didn't actually transform the entire villa into the Mirror Maze.
"However..." When Silvan approached the door, he suddenly stopped and stood tall at the entrance without turning around. He merely raised a hand, and his slender fingertips gently stroked the door frame—in that instant, it seemed like the whole house would tremble and gasp for breath. "If I were to enter, it would be the original house, right?"
'How is that possible?'
Ji Shanqing raised his head and almost doubted himself for a moment, thinking he misheard—but he quickly reacted. With a thought, a long arm swiftly extended from the half-opened door and reached for the troublesome blond man. He got this inspiration from the playhouse pocket dimension he had experienced with his sister, except this time, the arm's movement was as swift and fierce as lightning, leaving no chance for even a high-level posthuman to dodge. In the blink of an eye, it had firmly grasped Silvan's chest. Even though the latter hurriedly tried to move back, the coat was still grabbed tightly and tore open, making a shredding sound.
That was so close; he almost made him enter!
Ji Shanqing cursed inwardly. People around his sister were more and more vexing, just like a swarm of flies that couldn't be completely swatted away.
"You're a quick-witted person, but you underestimated me a bit," Silvan said calmly, turning slightly. The torn part of his coat revealed a snowy white shirt. All kinds of colors in the world, when falling on him, seemed to become particularly bright and eye-catching; it was as if colors felt particularly honored to be worn by him and became livelier and more spirited—making people uncomfortable just by looking at it.
"I don't know what you mean." He decided to play dumb, smiling lightly. "If this isn't the original villa, so, tell me, where is the original villa?"
Silvan inserted his hands into his pockets and leisurely looked around.
The more at ease he seemed, the more acute Ji Shanqing's feeling of irritation became—besides the distant chirping of birds and the sound of the waves, the villa's surroundings were quiet. It made him so frustrated that he could hardly express it in words: Who was holding Ito back? How could there be no sound at all if he had a battle with someone else in the backyard? Truly a useless fellow at a critical moment!
"I think," Silvan was very patient, sighing slightly, perhaps due to fatigue, and his voice carried a slight smoky huskiness. "The original house should still be in its original place...right? However, in front of it, you have set up a disguise using some method... And in the distance between the fake main door and the real villa, you arranged an ambush for outsiders. This method is quite interesting. I rarely encounter it."
This time, Ji Shanqing was genuinely surprised. He couldn't even hide his astonishment; because when Silvan glanced at him, his incredibly vivid green eyes revealed a smile.
"You didn't expect me to figure it out, did you?" Silvan tilted his head, a few strands of blond hair falling down, obscuring those emerald eyes, dazzling like a deep lake under the scorching sun. "These green trees surrounding the glass wall..."
Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Ji Shanqing understood. He couldn't help but exhale deeply, saying, "I originally thought that not many people would notice this."
Just like those fake cardboard houses used in movies and TV shows, Ji Shanqing had set up a facade that looked exactly like the front of the villa a few steps away from the actual villa. He merged it with the sides of the villa, leaving only a narrow space in the middle. While his sister could pass through this space with ease, to an outsider, it would be like stepping into a sticky flypaper, impossible to get out. Even Ito had patrolled around the house countless times without noticing anything unusual.
However, the only flaw in this illusion was the ring of greenery surrounding the outside of the villa. The entire villa was surrounded by bushes and trees, with only a cleared area in front of the main entrance. The fake facade unavoidably stood within this ring of greenery, cutting through half of the area covered by plants. Though he was cautious, he couldn't completely avoid the growth of the vegetation. He had reduced the chance of it being discovered to the minimum. If he didn't observe every detail meticulously, it would be hard to believe that anyone could find it.
Despite his plans being disrupted, Ji Shanqing still stood his ground and said coldly, "If I had enough time, you would have never discovered it."
"Is that so?" Silvan looked at the half-open door and pulled out a curved silver light from a black weapon bag behind him. The light flowed uncertainly in his hand, making it impossible to see the true form of the weapon. "If you don't want people to be suspicious, don't snap your fingers when opening the door next time. This is part of the pocket dimension and obeys your commands, indicating that you've tampered with it... Oh, I forgot, you won't have a next time."
Ji Shanqing took a step back, feeling a dry sensation in his throat, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand.
It was only natural for Silvan to realize the presence of a trap and target the person who set it up to break it. This was the most logical course of action, especially when the person who set the trap had much lower combat strength than his opponent.
If Silvan tried to capture him, his plan would be half-successful.
Seeing through the trap was not a big deal. This kind of mortal posthuman, even if he was more meticulous than an ordinary person, he still had a mortal body. In order to ensure his sister's safety in the villa, he had already considered all kinds of situations countless times. There were at least three or four contingency plans for any mistakes.
Silvan slowly turned around, holding silvery moonlight in his hand, standing tall in mid-air. Under the dreamlike light, he looked almost inhuman. Through his eyes, one could glimpse another world hidden in the depths of the sky and sea.
He walked towards Ji Shanqing while whispering, "I have no ill intentions towards you. I'm only targeting you because of the circumstances. We're all people forced to this point by the doomsday—"
'Don't use my sister's tone to speak!'
This thought suddenly struck Ji Shanqing's mind, vivid, sharp, and burning, almost making him blurt it out. He quickly bit his tongue to suppress the anger, but at the same moment, the gust of wind created by Silvan's movement rushed towards him, the bright light momentarily illuminating his field of vision.
He knew he had to resist now to make it look more realistic. However, with his combat strength, he didn't even have a chance, nor the ability, to fight back. He had been pierced by Silvan's silvery moonlight. It felt strange; it wasn't painful, but a chilling sensation spread from his chest and abdomen. His strength quickly drained away with the penetration of the cold silver light. He weakly turned his head to see the other half of the silver light emerging from his back, curving gently in mid-air.
"Don't worry, you won't die." Silvan spoke softly as if comforting him. "I just need you to become my trophy... for a while."
Like a rabbit hanging from a hunter's spear, Ji Shanqing lost all strength to support himself and was lifted off the ground. His body swayed gently with Silvan's footsteps as they approached the entrance. Silvan paused outside the door, and his husky, pleasant voice echoed, "I'm taking you inside now."
Yes, Ji Shanqing had long thought that if someone managed to see through his methods, they might capture him and enter the trap with him. After all, it was not reasonable to expect the person who set the trap to let themselves be killed by it.
'Hurry up and go in,' he urged him.
The ground shifted, and the door frame entered his sight, followed by the darkness behind the door.
Silvan finally took him inside.