I'm trapped in a block

Chapter 1271 Seeing Through the Disguise
Martin was in a daze for a long time, not talking much and acting like a walking corpse. Lu Youqi thought he was sick, but he said he wasn't sick, he was just thinking about some things.

When Lu asked him what was wrong, he wouldn't say, just remained in that strange state.

A long time passed, and Project Fire reached its final stage; the flame was ready to be plunged into the abyss.

One day, Martin suddenly approached Lao Quan and said he wanted to talk to him alone. Lao Quan agreed and took him to the garden outside.

"Is there something you need?" Lao Quan asked curiously.

"Yes, Lao Quan, I have a question for you."

"go ahead."

Have you changed our understanding?

Martin's words were astonishing, and Lao Quan was instantly stunned. He secretly tried to touch the ring on his index finger, which had a button that could send out a distress signal.

But when he tried to press the button, he found that he could no longer move.

His expression was somewhat distorted, as if he was restraining something. After a short while, he managed to utter a single word: "Yes."

"Just as I thought." Martin nodded.

During this time, Martin's "brothers" kept reporting errors to him. At first, he didn't know what was going on, but he felt that things were developing a little strange, so he began to examine the experiences of his brothers.

Although they are in different layers of the dream, their experiences are the same.

Therefore, Martin can examine his own experiences during this period from a third-person perspective.

The reason he's been in a daze lately is that he's been "reading" his experiences in other dream layers, looking for things that aren't right.

"It all started when I met Lao Quan."

That feeling that something was wrong started from this point in time.

Martin could always sense that "Old Quan" was the source of the problem, but as soon as he returned to the current dream level, that feeling of unease would disappear, and he would instantly regard Old Quan as a trustworthy friend, clearing him of suspicion.

So Martin had to examine the experiences of other "Martins," over and over again...

During a recent review, Martin realized that this couldn't go on. He had expended so much energy, and once he returned to reality, everything would automatically be overturned and he had to start all over again. So he had to find a different approach.

After discussing it with the other "Martins," he came up with a solution:
"I can't be the one facing Lao Quan at the current level; I have to face the 'me' at other levels."

Demote all Martins!
People on the 1st floor go to the 2nd floor, and people on the 499th floor go to the 500th floor.

If Martin on floor 1 faces Lao Quan on floor 2, and Martin on floor 499 faces Lao Quan on floor 500, they won't be affected by that strange "sense of trust"...

In this way, Martin bypassed Lao Quan's cognitive modification.

"How did you modify your cognition?" Martin asked the immobilized old man in front of him.

Lao Quan's body trembled slightly, then he reached out and grabbed at his sunglasses.

This surprised Martin. He had clearly used the power of dreams to sever the connection between Lao Quan's consciousness and body, but Lao Quan was still able to move. Why was that?
Lao Quan took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of strange eyes.

The eyes had no whites at all, completely filled with gray, and strange white runes covered the gray, flowing down like a waterfall, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

Just by looking at those runes, you can feel a strong sense of "trust".

It was as if a voice was telling Martin: "You must believe the man before you; he is telling the truth."

"So you changed your perception using these eyes?"

"Yes."

Lao Quan answered without any hesitation.

Martin then realized something was wrong. Why was the other person answering his questions without any attempt to stall for time, and even bypassing his mental separation...?

Are your eyes an heirloom?

"No."

"Then are your belongings?" "Yes."

Lao Quan's answer was as concise and to the point as ever, without any concealment.

"Is your ability to make others trust you unconditionally?"

"Yes," Lao Quan confirmed Martin's guess.

"What's the price?"

"I can't lie."

Upon hearing this answer, Martin instantly understood.

Being unable to lie, yet able to gain unconditional trust from others, is a powerful ability, but also comes at a high cost.

"So you were sent by the World Government to deceive us?"

“I have not deceived you; everything I have told you is true.”

"Then what is your purpose?"

"I'm here to calm you down. Your power is too great. I need to do everything I can to prevent you from interfering with the Fire Seed Project. This is a great plan to save all of humanity, and any interference must be eliminated."

Is Project Fireseed real?

"Yes, the information you disclosed is completely true, but some parts have been concealed."

"hide?"

Having finally found a flaw, Martin seized the opportunity to ask further questions.

"What are you hiding? Please be specific."

"Project Fireseed requires the sacrifice of one life. We need to send a human to the bottom of the abyss with the Fireseed, and that human will become the burning fuel, igniting the entire bottom of the abyss."

Martin fell silent, waiting for Lao Quan to reveal a new "secret," but Lao Quan stopped talking.

"What else? What else are you hiding?"

"Gone."

"That's it? Just a dead person? That's all?" Martin asked in disbelief.

This group went to great lengths, specifically sending a humanoid relic capable of altering cognition to accompany them, just for this?

"The price you just mentioned, you can't lie about it... could it be a lie too? What exactly is your purpose?"

“I didn’t lie, and I can’t lie… The government felt that gaining your trust would take time, and the Fire Seed Project was urgent. Every second of delay would mean the death of countless people, which is why they had me contact you to reach a cooperation agreement in the simplest and quickest way.”

“You can talk things out properly; we’re not difficult to communicate with.”

"But it will always take some time, won't it? If a group of people suddenly came to you and said they wanted to take away the fire seed that you finally brought back from the Origin World, and couldn't return it to you in a short time, would you be willing to accept it?"

After hearing Lao Quan's explanation, Martin had nothing more to say.

That's true. Neither he nor Lu Youqi would trust this group of people who suddenly approached them without reason; they would think they had ill intentions.

This approach of "forcibly gaining trust" is indeed the most time-saving option.

"Then are the prophecies you mentioned true?"

"It really is. It's a book called 'The Register of Heroes,' filled with all sorts of hero stories. The World Government used this relic to discover many talented individuals, and that's how I was discovered..."

"Does that book record things that haven't even happened yet?"

"Well, that's exactly it."

(End of this chapter)