Chapter 232: Chapter 232 – Entering the Mystery Realm (Part One)
The sudden changes to the ‘marshmallow’ on the outside of the mystery realm shocked many people, but there were some who still remained calm.
Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan suddenly felt weightless, then fell back towards the ground naturally.
They set foot on a concrete ground the next second, but they could not maintain their balance momentarily due to the sudden weightlessness. Nonetheless, both of them were Practitioners, so their reaction speeds and physical fitness were better than that of normal people. They immediately regained their balance and stopped themselves from falling over.
“Are you guys alright?”
Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan heard Dong Chengling’s concerned voice from behind them. It was only then when they realized that they had moved backward by 100 meters in just one second, from the edge of the mystery realm to the safe zone behind.
The Changjiang Practitioners and the four team leaders of the Countermeasure Division were still in their original positions.
“Yes… I’m fine,” Gu Yueyan said as she hurriedly let go of her grip on Ren Suo’s sleeve. Turning around, she saw Dong Chengling casting her ability. She was wearing casual clothes and her hair, which she had deliberately kept long, was flowing gently with the wind. She was drawing black ripples in the air with her slender fingers, and her stance was elegant despite the sudden alarm. A gentle smile emerged on her face, and her eyes were filled with concern.
“Teacher!” Gu Yueyan could not restrain herself and ran forward to hug Dong Chengling. Dong Chengling, who was not much taller than Gu Yueyan, dispersed the Reiki energy used to cast her ability, then patted Gu Yueyan’s head gently.
“I will not let you guys be in danger,” Dong Chengling said calmly. The immense confidence she exuded which came from the bottom of her heart made Gu Yueyan snuggle in her embrace.
“Thank you, Teacher!”
Although it was not the first time Ren Suo witnessed it, he could not help but sigh in admiration at how Dong Chengling picked girls up—it was something he could never learn.
Ren Suo said, “Thanks, Chengling.”
At that juncture, the Changjiang Force and the four team leaders of the Countermeasure Division also returned. The expression on Qiao Muyi’s face was a mix of slight anger and laughter as she strode over. She said, “Chengling, that was slightly too sensitive! They disappeared so suddenly and shocked us! We all thought for a moment that they were sucked into the mystery realm!”
Dong Chengling explained, “Desperate times call for desperate measures, I’m here to do just that.”
Li Dan was slightly puzzled. He asked, “I thought that Practitioners are required to activate the spatial coordinates themselves before you would be able to sense them… no? Moreover, wouldn’t it break after being used once?”
Dong Chengling glanced at him and replied, “What you are referring to is the ordinary version of it.”
It quickly became clear to Qiao Muyi and the rest of them that: since there were ordinary versions of the necklace, there were naturally also extraordinary VIP versions. The VIP versions of the necklace and the special service which Dong Chengling provided were naturally for her closed ones. If the rest of them continued probing further it would make them seem impolite and unaware—furthermore, the materials for the VIP version were given to Dong Chengling by the Countermeasure Division to thank her for her contributions.
However, Ren Suo secretly felt slightly frustrated: the ‘special service’ also meant that, as long as Dong Chengling wanted to, and as long as Ren Suo was somewhere in Lian province, Dong Chengling could summon him directly to her side.
In that case, it seemed to be a very ‘gentle’ method when Dong Chengling used her finger to open his door lock two days ago…
“I’ll secretly enjoy myself outside, please do not care about me…” Ren Suo sang in the tune of the song. Dong Chengling glanced at him and Ren Suo immediately said, “Let’s not talk about us for now. The mystery realm here has changed, so what do you guys intend to do? Did the mystery realms in other nations change as well?”
Cheng Wenchao and the rest immediately returned to their team, while Li Dan led Ren Suo back to the Countermeasure Division team to wait. Very quickly, he received the reply and said, “The mystery realms in other nations have not changed like the one here at Island Lake.”
Ren Suo was both a researcher and ‘report generator’ of the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division, while Dong Chengling was a special advisor to the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division. As such, Li Dan required their help, which was why he directly disclosed that information to them.
Li Dan glanced at Gu Yueyan, who was standing beside Dong Chengling, but he did not demand her to step away. He continued the discussion with Ren Suo and the other team leaders instead, asking, “Does anyone of the team members with scout abilities have anything to report?”
“No.”
“Nope.”
“What about you, Li Dan?”
“I’m not skilled at observing extraordinary phenomena,” Li Dan replied cooly. He turned to Ren Suo and said, “Ren Suo, although we still do not know the situation inside, your description of the changes to the mystery realm was essentially correct. Feel free to tell me if you have any thoughts, I will report it up to the headquarters in the name of the Countermeasure Division.”
Ren Suo smiled awkwardly—it was truly a coincidence.
With regards to the confirmation that there were multiple such mystery realms, the reason why they received the intelligence so late was purely because the other nations were trying their best to conceal that information. It was only when there were other witness reports that the intelligence department easily linked them up with the mystery realm at Island Lake;
However, when Ren Suo said that the appearance of the mystery realm would soon change, he had not expected that the mystery realm would change coincidentally at that moment.
Nonetheless, Ren Suo calculated the time and found that it coincidentally matched the time when he was about to clear the first checkpoint. The mystery realm first appeared in the wee hours of the morning, and it was almost noon then—Mage and Red Hood should be getting ready to fight the boss character ‘Iron Virgin’.
After predicting the events which were about to happen correctly that many times, Ren Suo did not dare to reveal any more information (in fact, he had already revealed almost all there was to say). He said, “No matter what, we must act on it. After all, this mysterious realm is not unique to us, and there are similar ones around the world.”
“In this era, not moving forward is equivalent to progressing backward.”
Li Dan nodded, and after the other team leaders also added on their thoughts, he walked over to the temporary command vehicle to report their conclusions.
“Xiaoyan, what’s the matter, are you still anxious?” Dong Chengling asked.
Ren Suo turned to see Dong Chengling holding on to Gu Yueyan’s hand. Gu Yueyan appeared slightly uneasy. After a long time, she asked softly, “Could the mystery realm have changed because of me and… I?”
Dong Chengling looked at Gu Yueyan and knew what she was thinking. She comforted Gu Yueyan, saying, “Don’t worry, you would not be asked to go in. You are only here to assist in the investigation, and would not be asked to participate in anything risky.”
“But…” Gu Yueyan said. She hesitated slightly before continuing, “If it is really because…”
“I’m still here, you don’t have to worry about anything,” Ren Suo said. He could obviously understand why that second-year senior high school girl was scared, so he said, “If the higher-ups really think that the two of us were the cause of the change of the mystery realm, it would suffice for me to go in and you would not be needed. I am at least a trained Practitioner after all”
“You are a student, so you should act like one. Don’t attempt to bear responsibilities which aren’t yours, thinking that you are a chuunibyou.”
“I would not let you, a student, be in danger.”
Gu Yueyan was stunned for a moment, then said “mm” in acknowledgment and remained silent.
Qiao Muyi, who was at the side and in charge of protecting them, looked at Ren Suo, slightly surprised. She said, “I couldn’t tell that you have such a courageous side too. I have to make it clear first though, that this is related to an extraordinary phenomenon, and it is hard to predict what the higher-ups are planning to do. You might well have to go in when the time comes.”
“So be it then, I’ll go in,” Ren Suo replied as he thumped his chest proudly.
“In the first place, what is happening here is related to me, so I will be responsible for it!”
Gu Yueyan blinked as she listened to Ren Suo. She turned to look at the scenery on the other side, but her rosy, blushing cheeks were still noticeable.
There were naturally reasons why Ren Suo was so brave: firstly, he did not see himself in the game when he was playing it;
Secondly, even if he did intrude into the arena, he would be unharmed as long as he remained as far away as possible from the ongoing battle. The boss character, Iron Virgin, would not pay attention to him until the mages and the Changjiang Practitioners were all wiped out;
Thirdly, Ren Suo himself did not need to go in at all, because he had [Combat Fighter (Partial)]. He could simply look for a toilet to hide and then send his clone into the mystery realm instead—he had already planned for that to happen and even brought an extra set of clothes especially to change into in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Of course, Ren Suo was quite certain that all of that would not happen anyway. After the first batch of Changjiang Practitioners entered the mystery realm, they would emerge again, at most, an hour after contact with them was lost. The Countermeasure System and the military could wait for an hour, could they not?
After Ren Suo spoke in such an extremely inspiring tone, Qiao Muyi looked over Ren Suo’s shoulders and took a quick glance at Dong Chengling, who was smiling slightly, then at Gu Yueyan, who was hiding behind Dong Chengling and whose face was red.
“… You did not say that on purpose, did you?” Qiao Muyi questioned as she shot a glance at Ren Suo.
“What do you mean by ‘on purpose’?” a stunned Ren Suo replied.
(This is so much fun.) Qiao Muyi could not help but chuckle and said, “It’s nothing, you dim-witted virgin.”
“Hey hey, what evidence do you have to say that I’m a virgin!” Ren Suo exclaimed.