New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 19 Gaze across time and space

In the darkness of night, Yuan Zhu walked alone on his way home. Without actively thinking, he relied solely on the instincts accumulated from his long years in Running to determine his own location.

He seemed to be on automatic navigation, his mind wandering in the sky. He adjusted the direction of his body twice, then entered a secluded path and walked towards the residential area in the east of the city.

Running isn't a society ruled by law, with a robust legal system and cameras everywhere. Although a rat with glowing red eyes occasionally hangs above a roadside storefront, it's merely a burglar deterrent and doesn't contribute to maintaining public order.

Therefore, security is very poor at night, and it is the peak time for theft, robbery, murder, and illegal energy supplements. It is not yet late at night, but the streets are sparsely populated and deserted.

Occasionally, a car would pass by, but there was no sign of the bustling scene with flashing neon lights. There were only a few streetlights installed on the sidewalk, and there was only one light every hundred meters or so.

Usually, you need to walk a distance in the dark before being illuminated by a limited orange light source, but soon you will fall into darkness again. This street light is not so much a lighting tool as it is a tool to guide you at night and prevent you from going the wrong way.

Walking alone on an unfamiliar street, looking down at his shadow stretched longer and longer by the dim light, Yuan Zhu felt as if he were traveling in a foreign country. The thought of never being able to return to Earth overwhelmed him, and the loneliness of being a stranger in a foreign land welled up in his heart.

"Gu..."

Strange animal calls pierced the night sky, alerting him. As he remembered, Running, a city nestled in a basin, was perpetually shrouded in the mist of the Misty Mountains, making the proliferation of wild animals at night particularly serious.

When night falls, wild animals from the nearby forests flock into the city, searching for food in the garbage dumps, or simply settle in warm areas like the sewers, coexisting with the city.

Therefore, besides human-led robberies, murders, and illegal magic supplements, there were also extremely frequent cases of wild beasts injuring and cannibalizing people, poisonous insects killing people, and disappearances. Everyone had almost become accustomed to it.

After all, the Misty Mountains were so vast that wild beasts like brown bears and gray wolves were simply impossible to kill. Moreover, the mists also hid even more dangerous species than the wild beasts.

Rather than pointlessly taking precautions, it's better to proactively develop a habit. Going out less at night, or at least traveling with a companion, has become common sense.

'Ding dong... ding dong...'

Just as he quickened his pace, intending to move forward faster, a clear and penetrating sound of bells pierced through the darkness and reached his ears.

This sound was so special, as if it contained the power of warning and awakening, able to dispel the danger in the darkness. Just hearing it, my spirit was shocked, and then my mind was drawn to it.

Yuan Zhu paused in his movements, attracted by an invisible force. He stopped, turned his head to look in the direction where the bell sound came from, and then opened his eyes wide.

Ok?
The night in Running was clearly shrouded in dark clouds, the sky murky and not a single star visible. But where he was looking was the entrance to a small alley that had suddenly appeared. A beam of bright moonlight shone down from the sky, illuminating the alley hidden in the darkness.

Where does the moonlight come from? No, why is there still a pale blue moon hanging in the sky?!
Yuan Zhu realized that something was wrong and shifted his gaze slightly. He found that except for the clear sky above the alley with bright moonlight and twinkling stars, other angles were still pitch black. There was no starlight at all, let alone the night sky and moonlight.

My gaze returned to the alleyway. The moonlit night was at an angle. It was as if someone had cut off a corner of the night and the moon from another place and pasted it over Running, making it visible only from a special angle.

[Beep beep! Sensing the distortion and fluctuation of spacetime, unknown contaminant energy is beginning to gather and surge. Please get away as soon as possible...]

Sure enough! Another unusual incident occurred.

Yuan Zhu felt very relieved. He was somewhat confused by this sudden situation, but he was not even panicked or afraid. He was mysteriously calm.

I just don't understand, is it because there are so many similar events on Duling Star that everyone encounters them frequently? Or is it because I carry the [Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture] that I am particularly attracted to similar events? (I have a tendency to be forced to do things)
"Ding Dong, Ding Dong!" The penetrating ringtone seemed to ring in his ears, stopping him in his tracks. Then, he heard rapid breathing and hurried footsteps, approaching from afar, fleeing towards him from the depths of the alley.

Yuan Zhu frowned slightly. Since he couldn't hide, he simply gave up hiding. His entire mind was attracted by this suddenly appearing alley. Then, with the help of moonlight, he could clearly see a line of words engraved at the entrance of the alley: [Xiaotianshuijing Lane].

Running's nights are dark and gloomy, and the architecture exudes an industrial, oppressive feel. Even at night, numerous three- and four-story concrete buildings billow out billowing black smoke, which blends with the mist above the city. At street intersections, street names are usually clearly marked on signs, never on stone carvings.

The alley across from him, under a moonlit sky and densely populated with stars, features a completely different architectural style from Running, a new style of pavilions and towers that combines cement and wood, mortise and tenon joints, and industrial design. It retains the exquisite architecture of Dongfeng, while also utilizing reinforced concrete and steel for a larger scale and cost-savings.

This is clearly another world! Another city! No wonder the Immortal Scripture warns of space-time distortions and fluctuations.

So is this another person who has traveled through time and space? Or is it a 'normal' local natural phenomenon?

Just as he was on guard and considering whether to use cheats to deal with this emergency, a man with a clothing style consistent with the local Running people rushed towards the alley with a package in his arms, looking panicked and tired.

After clearly seeing the dark, dilapidated, industrial-style city across from him, the man's face lit up with ecstasy. He ran even faster, clutching the package in his arms tightly, gasping for breath and shouting, "Help! Help me!"

'Ding dong... ding dong...'

The copper bell rang again, and the man's face changed at the speed of light, ecstasy turned into horror, and a strong sense of oppression spread from the end of the alley, crossing time and space to envelop Yuan Zhu who was in Running City.

The elf gave a timely reminder: [Ding Ding Ding! Unknown contaminated energy is rising sharply! It is recommended to activate the distorted spiritual root and activate the tiger demon form.]

The fleeing man was still more than ten meters away from escaping the alley, his expression anxious and impatient. Seeing Yuan Zhu's indifference to the scene, he suddenly rolled his eyes and came up with a plan.

He yelled at Yuan Zhu, who was watching coldly, "What the hell are you daydreaming about? Help me stop him, or forget about your share!"

Wow…

The sound of iron chains colliding was heard, and an armored warrior wearing black metal armor, his head wrapped in a classical helmet, his eyes wearing night vision goggles, and his mouth and nose also covered by a breathing filter appeared at the end of the alley.

In his left hand, he held a blood-red lantern with a copper bell dangling from the handle. Every time he took a step, the copper bell would collide and emit a sound, which would instantly spread out in a circle.

His right hand was wrapped in coils of iron chains. At the end of the chains was a mechanical hook. Furthermore, the black-armored warrior's waist was adorned with a sword, a crossbow, a token, and other equipment.

The man holding the package tightly in his arms was still running desperately, trying to cross the moonlit area and run into the dark and silent Running.

The warrior in the gas mask followed slowly. In the moonlight, his face under the helmet was covered in shadow, and only the goggles reflected the red light of the lantern. He looked at Yuan Zhu from afar.

Their eyes met. Tension, oppression, staring... A strong pressure hit Yuan Zhu's heart, and in his pure human form, it felt a little difficult to bear.

This was a formidable foe. Unlike those polluted monsters whose bodies were distorted and contaminated, possessing strength but no rationality, the classical oriental warrior facing him brought him an unprecedented sense of oppression.

　Please recommend, vote, comment...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)