fictionpage Chapter 573 seems to be an important prop
Chapter 573 seems to be an important prop
"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."
Water droplets dripped sporadically from the broken cooling pipe network debris, landing on the steel plate that had somehow flown in from somewhere on the ground, making a clear and crisp sound.
As Su Tianqing walked into the factory and across a passageway paved with steel plates, the amplified sound of her footsteps created a tense atmosphere, making her feel that everyone here should be carrying a submachine gun or similar weapon.
But this is a world of mental images where playing cards replaces fighting, and we absolutely cannot give Garuda any opening for invasion. So the magical girls suppressed their instinctive thoughts and instead grabbed the deck of cards they were carrying in their pockets.
"I have a strange feeling about this place," Bai Lili whispered as she walked to the side.
She was using basic lighting magic to brighten up the darker corners, trying to see if there might be any hidden clues there.
However, after walking along the way, not only did they not find any clues, but their eyes also became sore from constantly staring and observing, so they had to close their eyes and relax.
Everyone knows this place is strange, but apart from the scenery being out of place with the near-future city outside, the interior scenery is actually quite normal, at least not as eerie as the horrific photo corridor at the bottom of Foxkov's spire.
"How about we split up and look for it?" Bai Lili suddenly said.
Before he could finish speaking, Cheshire Rabbit refused:
"No, according to our analysis this afternoon, these kinds of 'abnormal structures' are very likely Garuda's invasion nodes into this illusory mental image, that is, the so-called 'headquarters'."
"We must be vigilant and take this seriously in the enemy's stronghold. If we act separately, we risk being picked off one by one, and we must avoid that danger."
"Hmm...that makes some sense." Bai Lili nodded in agreement thoughtfully.
The interior of the abandoned factory is much larger than it appears from the outside.
The reactor had long been shut down, the pipelines were all broken and dilapidated, and there were water stains and an unknown liquid emitting a pungent smell everywhere. Considering the dilapidated state of the surrounding area, Su Tianqing had a strange feeling—the manifestations of Garuda's invasion of the dream image seemed to be moving towards "chaos and disorder".
The biggest example is the Fox Druid Gate. Its perfectly good city and mage tower were turned into a mess by its invasion, with ruins everywhere.
As for Foxkov, because the original setting was a "chaotic wartime city", Garuda's invasion was not very noticeable. However, he clearly remembered that many buildings were destroyed and collapsed, and even the central evacuation point mall was replaced by a spire.
In this futuristic city of card games and racing, a "dilapidated factory" has inexplicably appeared...
Su Tianqing felt as if she had vaguely grasped some kind of trick, so she quickly had the notebook familiar record everything she thought of.
"Wow, look, that area seems quite spacious."
As they walked past the array of reactors and arrived at the open area inside the factory, Cheshire Rabbit was the first to speak.
Everyone looked at the open area—a few parts and debris were scattered on the steel-plated ground, the scene full of narrative detail, which made Su Tianqing wonder why Garuda would do such trivial details in such a place.
Logically, this shouldn't be the case. If this was an "invasion point" created by Garuda unintentionally, there's no reason for it to make such a one-time stronghold so detailed.
Moreover, this place can only be created by Garuda, because Marigold and Sasha, those two newbies, could never create a scene of this caliber. At least it would take either me or Alice to do it.
Standing at the edge of the open space, while looking around for any suspicious objects, the group shared their thoughts and impressions of the factory.
"How should I put it... this place gives me a strange sense of 'realism'," Bai Lili said, her brows slightly furrowed.
"The buildings outside are instantly recognizable as the creations of Marigold and her team, with virtually no details or scattered objects. In contrast, the factory is filled with scattered items and is quite messy, but it actually feels more 'real'."
"But why are there so many details? If this really is the stronghold of those shadows, why would Garuda go to such lengths to arrange the details? Is he afraid we won't notice?"
As a newcomer who had not experienced the Gate of Fox Virtue and Foxkov, Bai Lili's description appeared quite objective.
They even raised a point of suspicion that Su Tianqing herself hadn't noticed: this place is really too suspicious as a "base camp".
"There are only two possibilities," Cheshire Rabbit said, finishing her intelligence analysis.
"First, Garuda has absolute confidence in its own strength, and it believes that even if we find out, it will not have any impact on it."
"...I think that possibility is quite high," Chi Xue said calmly after a moment of contemplation.
"Huh? You're the one who agrees?" Bai Lili turned to look at Chi Xue and said with considerable surprise.
Then he looked the crimson-clad girl in the rider's uniform up and down, a thoughtful expression on his face, as if comparing her to a scene from his memory.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Chi Xue glanced at Bai Lili and said.
"It's nothing. It's just that this is the first time I've observed you from this lower perspective, and it feels a bit novel," Bai Lili replied honestly.
These words startled Chi Xue. She turned and stared at Bai Lili for a long time, the two sentences stuck in her throat for a while before she finally spoke:
"What you said makes sense. You used to be 1.7 meters tall after transforming, but now you're not much taller than Xin Yuehu. The change in perspective is normal."
"But why do I always feel like... Oh, I remember now, Hellcat, didn't you mention to me before that Lily called me a little one?"
The air suddenly became quiet.
Even Cheshire Rabbit, who was pondering the second possibility, was stunned. Everyone turned to look at Lily, who was standing there dumbfounded, with expressions of amusement.
"Damn it! Hackintosh, you sold me out!"
"Look what I told you! I knew Lily Bai said those words!" Hellcat immediately added fuel to the fire.
Chi Xue didn't rush to confront Bai Lili on the spot. After making a "you little brat" expression, he handed the conversation back to Cheshire Rabbit, since there was still important business to be done.
"I think the first theory is quite likely, but Cheshire Rabbit, didn't you just bring up a second guess? What is it?" Akashi asked.
"Then I'll continue."
"--The second hypothesis is that all these things were not built by Garuda subjectively, but rather as symbols, representing Garuda's 'presence'."
"Although this may be a little difficult to understand, the place we are in is actually just a mental world. When Garuda invades this mental world, it is easy to cause violent 'oppositional collisions'. The resulting impact and interference formed this abandoned factory."
"Whether Garuda wanted it or not, as long as it was attempting to invade, the formation of this structure was inevitable, proving our previous inferences."
A moment of silence.
Su Tianqing opened her mouth slightly, her fox tail swaying slowly from side to side, her mind racing to keep up with the rabbit's train of thought.
This abstract speculation is hard to understand, but the more abstract and elusive it is, the more likely it is to be the closest to reality, since that kind of dilapidated "presence" is not something that can be easily faked.
Chi Xue seemed to realize something as well, and immediately turned to look around. She stared blankly at the dilapidated factory scene, then murmured softly:
"Garuda's 'presence'... if that's the case, then this possibility..."
"Chixue? What are you muttering about?"
Seeing Chi Xue's thoughtful expression, Bai Lili assumed that she had figured out some important information and quickly asked her.
Startled by Bai Lili's question, Chi Xue shook her head and didn't continue speaking, instead turning her gaze to the deep, sunken pit in the middle of the factory.
The collapse appeared quite abruptly; it was completely invisible from the edge of the open area unless you rounded the end of the reactor vessel.
It has sunk so deep that you can't even see what's underneath from a distance. The surrounding broken cement base and steel plates have been overturned, suggesting that something heavy and huge has smashed this pit.
"Wow, this pit is pretty big. Let's go take a look!"
Su Tianqing immediately spotted the large pit and was about to run over to examine it closely when the catgirl beside her grabbed her.
"Be careful, let's go together," Hellcat said cautiously.
Everyone rushed forward and crowded around the pit to examine it closely. The bolder Lily and Cheshire Rabbit even peered into the pit, but the bottom was pitch black and they couldn't see anything.
But when she raised her light magic to illuminate the dark bottom of the pit, Bai Lili, who was the first to see the bottom clearly, suddenly uttered a questioning sound:
"Huh? What's that...?"
Upon hearing this, Su Tianqing immediately perked up.
The sound it made meant that Bai Lili must have seen something at the bottom of the pit. The golden fox girl stretched her neck and tried to look inside. The cat girl quickly grabbed her hand to prevent the fox girl from losing her balance and falling into the pit.
But in that one glance, Su Tianqing noticed what Bai Lili had seen:
There were several off-white, shell-like objects, shattered on the ground. It was impossible to tell what they had once belonged to, but each piece was engraved with intricate black and gold patterns.
Without thinking twice, Su Tianqing hopped and skipped over the messy cement blocks and twisted steel plates around the edge of the pit. After confirming it was safe, she jumped into the pit, picked up one of the pieces, and examined it carefully.
This is... an eggshell?