From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Page 947

Seemingly certain of the other party's purpose, Mark didn't choose any of the forks in the road ahead. Instead, he let out a soft breath, turned around, and faced the humanoid mechanical being with Ran Bing's head on it. Forcibly suppressing the inexplicably arising memories, he sneered, "I'd like to see what you'll do to me when you come before me. The moment you reveal your true face, I'll smash your head in!"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Although the being had Ran Bing's face, it had no expression and made no other move in response to Mark's stop, continuing to advance at its steady pace, neither hurried nor slow.

Finally, it came to Mark's side, stopped, and slowly stretched out its mechanical arms, which were wrapped with the tentacles of the Soul Bud, as if to caress his face.

Mark made no move. Even though he knew the other person was fake, he just couldn't bring himself to do it as long as the other person had Ran Bing's face.

The moment its hands pressed firmly against Mark's cheeks, Mark's mind trembled, and images of himself with Ran Bing flashed through his mind, until the scene of him absorbing Ran Bing's life essence appeared in his consciousness.

"Do not--"

Even though Ran Bing has been resurrected by him, the memory of absorbing Ran Bing's life essence is still a truth that Mark dares not face.

In that instant of Mark's mental turmoil, the thing pressing against Mark's cheek invaded his mind and shattered his consciousness.

Wave!

Mark's consciousness collapsed!

Then.

The monster also vanished.

Only the golden hoop emitted a faint golden halo, which reunited Mark's consciousness.

During this process, the maze of the back trenches changed once again, causing Mark, whose consciousness was re-established, to gasp for breath.

Although he, as a conscious being, did not need to breathe, the process of his consciousness collapsing was clearly etched into his memory, causing him mental turmoil.

"What happened? I was killed once?"

"impossible!"

"If she had that ability, there would be no need for her to imprison me in this maze!"

"Wait, Clotho!"

Mark woke up with a start, remembering that Mana's primordial body's right brain was connected to the Lighthouse's core system. Therefore, he needed to fight not only against the right brain's computing power, but also against the Lighthouse's core control system's computing power!

Then, he touched the golden headband on his head and realized that his rebirth was due to the "settling" effect of the golden headband, which allowed his scattered consciousness to reunite!

If he had a physical body, he could perceive all the information in the universe and summarize, organize, and analyze it. But now he is just a consciousness, and his only connection to the physical body is the golden headband on his head. He cannot possess the super computing power that comes with the "flow state".

He can contend with her, but in terms of computing power, he is only equivalent to himself in his human era. Once she uses the Lighthouse's computing power system, his consciousness will definitely collapse!

In terms of computing power, the average human brain may not be as powerful as a simple calculator, but in terms of information processing ability, it is stronger than any supercomputer in the old world!

However, within this labyrinthine trench, Mark's consciousness could not rely on the computing power of his physical brain, and his information processing ability was of little use. What he had to face was the dual impact of the Lighthouse system in terms of computing power and information.

That is to say!

Faced with that mechanical monster with Ran Bing's head on its head, Mark had absolutely no power to fight back. As soon as he made contact with it, his consciousness would completely collapse!

"That damn guy!"

Her consciousness only collapsed once, but Mark had already figured out the key point—she had also taken the fact that she was wearing a golden headband into account!

If he were not wearing the golden headband and entered this labyrinthine trench, the first time his consciousness was shattered by that monster would also be the last. His broken consciousness would merge with Clotho, and then be reassembled by her, becoming a part of him/her and Him!

But now that he wears the golden headband, even if his consciousness is shattered, he can reassemble... He will either find the exit of this labyrinthine trench while avoiding the monster, or he will collapse in the constant destruction and reconstruction until he completely submits to her.

How long is one second?

Recalling the questions she asked after entering the labyrinth, Mark shuddered and realized just how terrifying that Galilean Reaper's Compass truly was.

But how could he give up?

Moreover—

"For me, this second may be an eternity; but for Ran Bing in Dragon Bone Village, this second... is really just a second."

Realizing that Ran Bing, currently in Dragonbone Village, wouldn't have to endure the same long years as him, Mark's anxiety vanished. His sharp eyes fixed on the slowly approaching monster, and he sneered, "Then let's have a race against time! Even if it takes ten thousand years, I can afford it!"

Chapter 1252 I'll love you for a billion years!

With a single sincere thought, all other thoughts vanish.

When love flows from the heart, the radiance of the soul is born.

Mark remained resolute, no longer probing the mechanical monster with Ran Bing's head on its head. He moved forward quickly and came to the fork in the road again. Ignoring everything else, he randomly chose a path and rushed in. After walking several hundred meters, he saw a wide-open space ahead, where a castle stood amidst the mountains.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be exactly the same amusement park he had seen before within the shielding tower area of Zone C3 in Longgu Village, except that it was brightly colored, had complete facilities, and was filled with people playing and laughing.

As Mark was observing, he suddenly heard a voice that made his mind tremble.

"Mark! Let's play together!"

Above the castle, in mid-air, a flying machine soared, and Ran Bing sat on it, waving to Mark and extending an invitation.

"Ran Bing!"

Mark paused, called out, and then heard the heart-pounding footsteps behind him. He gritted his teeth, and without hesitation, crossed the amusement park castle.

He stopped, but the monster did not stop. It would approach him step by step, slowly yet quickly, until it touched him and annihilated his consciousness.

then.

His consciousness will reunite under the protection of the golden headband.

Although Mark's consciousness only collapsed once, he never wanted to experience the second time... that kind of beautiful memory that was beautiful at first and then shattered, a memory in which he himself shattered that beautiful memory!

In his panic, he stumbled into a cave after passing the amusement park castle, only to find an impenetrable wall at the end.

As he turned around, the monster was already closing in. He wanted to jump over its head, but the passage at the end of the cave was extremely narrow, only about three meters high, making it impossible to jump over the monster's head. Moreover, if he touched it, his consciousness would dissipate again!

The initial consciousness of Mana within his right brain also included his ability to be reborn time and again with the help of the golden headband, aiming to force his mind to collapse.

Do you think I would give in to you?

Mark roared at the monster with Ran Bing's head on its head, "I am Mark! Not your incarnation! Even if I am your son, I am not your puppet! Even if you soak me in the milk I hate most, I will never submit to you!"

After saying that, Mark closed his eyes, preparing to choose a different path next time.

The monster had already approached Mark, slowly extending its arms, but stopped abruptly the moment it touched him.

The imagined collapse of consciousness did not occur. Mark felt the space vibrate, and the wall he was leaning against suddenly disappeared, causing him to stagger back a few steps. He opened his eyes and saw the monster lower its mechanical arms and slowly walk out of the cave until it disappeared.

Did he scare them away?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it.

The monster was like a hungry duster, and he himself was a delicious and tempting loaf of bread; it was impossible for him to ignore the monster so close at hand!

Something must have just happened!

Mark was certain he had been leaning against the wall at the far end of the cave, with no path behind him. But after he roared, the space trembled, the wall behind him vanished, and the monster gave up on dismantling his consciousness…

Considering that his consciousness within this labyrinth was no different from his physical body in the outside world, Mark was certain that this "labyrinth game" had rules.

It seems that I have inadvertently triggered some kind of rule, causing the maze to change and a passage to reappear at what was once a dead end.

This is a constantly changing maze!

But what are the patterns of change?

Did his back accidentally trigger a mechanism on the wall? Or was it because of his almost hysterical scream?

Mark frowned, glanced at the dark passage, and instead of turning back, he headed towards the newly appeared passage, exiting the cave and once again entering the regular maze composed of mountains and rivers.

When Mark looked up, he saw that the sky was no longer azure blue, but rather a mountain maze, or perhaps two mazes, about fifty meters above the ground where he was, connecting with his current location to form a peculiar triangular shape.

"Penrose Steps!"

Mark immediately thought of this term, realizing that this area was an infinite loop, and if he couldn't escape, he would be trapped here forever.

In reality, the key to solving the Penrose stairs problem lies in escaping the visual trap.

The Penrose stairs are essentially an "impossible figure" that cannot exist in three-dimensional space, and can only be simulated theoretically through a two-dimensional plane or a higher-dimensional space.

If you encounter a staircase that you "can't get out" in reality, it is essentially just an illusion created by human visual illusions.

While at the lighthouse, Mark had seen a case in the book where a gentle slope, wide steps, and the interplay of light and shadow could make people who entered the space mistakenly believe they were constantly going up or down. In reality, as long as one calms down, one can easily decipher the so-called "Penrose Stairs".

But the spiritual realm is essentially a special space that transcends three-dimensional space, making Mark realize that this Penrose-like labyrinth is definitely not an illusion, but a reality created by a true distortion of space! The reality of the spiritual space!

But Mark was also stubborn. He grabbed his clothes, left them where they were, and quickly ran up the only uphill slope ahead, entering a cave.

When he passed through the passage and came to the outside world again, he immediately looked up and saw that the mountain-like maze was still above him, and the clothes he had left behind were on that side.

"really!"

Having confirmed that this was the Penrose Stairs, Mark leaped into the air. As his body passed a certain point, a gravitational pull appeared on one side of his head, drawing him back into the mountains where he had originally been.

Mark spun around in mid-air, landed steadily, and without picking up the clothes he had dropped earlier, decided to run back to the cave where he had first emerged.

But after running out of the cave, when he looked up again, the garment was still lying quietly in the mountain maze above him, reflected in his eyes.

Helpless, Mark returned to his original position, picked up the clothes, put them back on, looked up, and thought to himself, "If my consciousness cannot break through her blockade and the computing power of the lighthouse, I will not be able to get out!"

Unable to destroy any of the mountains or walls in this place, Mark is trapped here and can no longer leave.

"The only other solution is to move the maze one more time."

This is the only way Mark can think of to leave the Penrose stepped area.

But how exactly do you move the maze?

Does the maze move autonomously every so often?

Or is there a mechanism inside the maze itself?

Or perhaps it was because of the insults he hurled at the monster?

unknown.

But Mark decided to try his second idea: to find the hidden mechanism and see if it could change the maze once again.

It might make the maze more complicated, but this second is only eternal for Mark. For Ran Bing in Dragonbone Village, it is really just a second!

For Ranbing!

Even if it takes more than ten thousand years!