allendalepharm Chapter 353 Absurd Speculation
Chapter 353 Absurd Speculation
Chapter 353 Absurd Speculation
Shangguan Su listened very attentively.
"You mean, the reason you were able to reach the dream world is because the connection between you and Tang Zijun gave you a general direction, and without this connection, you wouldn't have been able to find the coordinates of the dream world, is that right?"
Katie thought for a moment after hearing this, then nodded sweetly. "Yes, you could say that."
"It seems the key to this matter still lies with you." Shangguan Su stroked her chin, her gaze falling on Tang Zijun again. "I just don't know why you're so...special."
Tang Zijun felt uncomfortable under Shangguan Su's aggressive gaze; he felt as if the other woman wanted to devour him.
"We thought we'd get a train that would allow us to freely travel to another world, but if Katie can only go there when you can enter that world, then our gains will probably be greatly reduced."
"Is the bureau preparing to investigate the dream world?" Tang Zijun pushed up her glasses and asked tentatively.
Shangguan Su didn't pay attention to Tang Zijun's question, but answered softly, "The higher-ups have considered this, after all, the dream world is an unknown and dangerous dimension for us, but this is only a preliminary idea, and it won't be easy to implement."
"Is it because of a lack of manpower?" Tang Zijun asked again.
Shangguan Su shook her head and replied, "Not only that, the current situation is much more complicated than you imagine. The international situation and the enemy-friend situation are currently unclear, and the underworld has been quite turbulent recently."
Noticing the doubt in Tang Zijun's eyes, Shangguan Su paused for a moment and waved her hand.
"Oh, you probably don't know this yet, but in the past week, there have been several instances of outsiders at the cadre level in the South China Sea and the East Coast. That high-ranking cadre named Luo Sha has also been quite active. The reason I sent Deputy Director Qiu over there before was to deal with him."
"Too bad, that guy got away..."
"To escape from Deputy Director Qiu's clutches, that guy's got some skills." Tang Zijun's eyes narrowed into a dangerous arc.
"Actually, it can't really be called running away. The main reason is that we don't know enough about the high-ranking officials. This Rakshasa seems to have more than one life," Shangguan Su said with a sigh, rubbing her temples.
"More than one life?"
Tang Zijun's eyes flickered, which reminded him of Lao Chang.
Chang Lei is like an unkillable cockroach. Every time I think I've finally gotten rid of him, he pops up again in less than two days.
"That's what Deputy Director Qiu guessed, after all, she's encountered similar guys before." Shangguan Su took a sip of her coffee. "If it's not just good luck, then it's probably because the other party has some kind of method to resurrect in the other world after dying in the real world."
"However, these things have nothing to do with you right now—"
Shangguan Su looked directly at Tang Zijun and said seriously.
"The Bureau and the other magical girls will keep an eye on the Inner World and the Outer Demons. No matter what happens, we will do our best not to affect you. Your primary task now is to keep a close eye on the Dream World."
"In fact, I personally feel that your mission is more stressful. I have read the report you submitted before. That world has gods and is in a state of war, which is extremely dangerous for you."
"Ahem...it's actually alright." Tang Zijun cleared her throat. "The battlefield of the gods is in other dimensions, and it doesn't affect the dream world yet."
"But you can't guarantee it won't affect us in the future, can you?" Shangguan Su said seriously. "Moreover, considering the connection between the dream world and the real world, those guys could very well become our enemies, just like the Otherworld and the Shadow World."
Upon hearing this, Tang Zijun nodded slightly.
At this moment, Shangguan Su put down her cup. "Tang Zijun, based on your understanding of the gods of that world, how many chances do you think we have of winning if we were to actually attack them one day, given our weapons?"
"Director Shangguan, is it a bit... a bit much for you to ask me this question?"
"Don't underestimate yourself. The fact that you can enter the dream world multiple times and still remain rational and clear-headed already shows that you are more special than others. Moreover, you understand the dream world better than other experts, so feel free to speak your mind."
"...Well, it's not that I don't want to talk about it, but I'm not really sure what kind of power the gods in that world possess. Myths and legends tend to have some artistic embellishment, so if we're really comparing combat strength, we have to be realistic..."
As she spoke, Tang Zijun touched her chin.
"However, there is one thing that I have been worried about."
Shangguan Su sat up straight. "Tell me more."
"This sample procurement was my first time leaving Black City, and also my first real encounter with the civilization of that world," Tang Zijun said calmly. "On the way to the front lines in the river region, I saw a shattered statue."
"The shattered idol..." Shangguan Su muttered.
"Yes, judging from its intact state, it would be about sixty or seventy meters tall," Tang Zijun continued. "According to Gloriand, this thing fell from the sky one day, and it carried divine power that polluted the surrounding environment."
"Divine power, corruption." Shangguan Su's expression was unusually serious. "Is that what you're worried about?"
"Well, we don't know much about the corruption of divine power at the moment, but according to the residents of the dream, that divine power can corrupt the mind, make people lose their minds and fall into a crazy worship of a certain being. In severe cases, it can even cause physical mutations, causing life to transform into another form."
"Moreover, this mutation is not limited to humans; some abnormal creatures are also affected. I once saw ogres affected by divine power from afar. Their bodies were covered with deformed pustules, and they had also lost their ability to speak. Or you could say that they were 'communicating' in some more distorted way."
As Tang Zijun recounted her story, Shangguan Su began taking notes. "Could you tell me more about that statue?"
Ever since Chang Lei secretly revealed that there were some signs of life on the internet, the agents of the Demon Surveillance Bureau have developed the good habit of taking notes.
When the internet was no longer secure, a good memory and a pen became crucial for them to record intelligence and files.
Tang Zijun pondered for a moment, then spoke. "That statue fell from the sky six years ago. It wasn't the first, nor the last. The earliest recorded 'fallen object' was twelve years ago, while the War of the Gods can be traced back to ninety-seven years ago."
"Do these falling objects all appear in the form of statues of gods, or do they take on other forms? Also, is there a pattern to their falling times?" Shangguan Su asked while taking notes.
"There are two recorded statues, but they are too far apart, and the falling objects are not all statues. The herald of the Storm Church told me that twelve years ago, the first recorded falling object was a huge fireball that was burning."
Shangguan Su paused, her pen poised. "...Fireball?"
"That's right, the huge fireball with a diameter of over a kilometer looked like a giant burning meteorite. That thing crashed into the dream world and directly caused the destruction of the Elf Forest."
"Since then, the Elf Forest has become a dead land. It is said that the flames there have not been extinguished to this day, and the pollution of divine power makes it impossible for others to enter and explore."
"A fireball with a diameter of one kilometer only destroyed a forest when it hit the ground... That sounds a bit unscientific, but perhaps the mass inside the fireball is relatively light..." Shangguan Su thought for a moment, then waved her hand. "Sorry, I was just saying, you can continue."
"Actually, Director Shangguan, your guess isn't without merit," Tang Zijun said, interlacing her fingers. "After all, no one knows what's inside the fireball. However, I do know of another similar event, a recorded incident of a god's fall in the Dream Realm."
"In the history of the dream world, there once existed an Great Old One, whose true name is unknown. His followers and worshippers called him 'The Eye of the Demon.' Records indicate that his body once fell to earth like a fireball, but..."
"But what?"
"However, the people in the dream world only recorded his fall, but they did not find his body. It is as if he merged directly into the earth when he touched the ground, which is very strange, and no church has been able to explain why until now."
"Could it be that the crash location they investigated differs from the actual crash location of the Demon Eye?"
"That shouldn't be possible." Tang Zijun shook her head slightly. "After all, it was the fall of a god. This event had a great impact at the time. Countless nobles and heralds were investigating, and they did indeed discover the residual divine power contamination on the crash site, which cannot be faked."
"Do you think the fall of the Demon Eye is related to the war of the gods that the dream world is currently experiencing?" Shangguan Su asked again.
"To be honest, I'm not sure," Tang Zijun said after a moment's thought. "I've been thinking about this for a while now."
"Whether it's the Gods of the Void, the Gods of Nightmares, or even the Great Old Ones who have already retired, they seem to be very close to the Dream Civilization, with traces of them everywhere in the world. But they also seem very far away, because no one can provide accurate information about them."
"So when you ask me this, I can't guarantee whether it's a replacement of the old gods with new ones or a continuation of the last war. After all, the ancient gods of Earth also waged a war against them for hundreds of years."
While listening to Tang Zijun's words, Shangguan Su tidied her hair and took notes on the valuable key points.
As Tang Zijun finished speaking the last word, an extremely absurd conjecture suddenly flashed through her mind.
"Tang Zijun, you said..."
Is it possible that the ancient gods of Earth could still exist in the modern era?