"A Taboo Item?" Shu Qin looked puzzled.
"Regarding the rumors and research on Taboo Items, there was previously a department within the Federation called the Special Items Investigation Department," Ding Junyi said. "This organization was specifically responsible for investigating the mysterious phenomena that appeared during Extreme Night. They didn’t investigate Abnormal Bodies, but rather a type of item that could trigger specific mysterious phenomena. These items were originally some sort of objects existing on our Blue Star, and only started causing unusual events after Apocalypse Day. They are considered to be contaminated by some special power, turning them into extraordinary objects. Such objects are referred to as ’Taboo Items’ by the Angel Program — items that can cause regional or infectious mysterious/extraordinary events."
"We already knew that," KIKI interjected. "In fact, before you boarded, we encountered the 1542 Mysterious Radio in Daluo Mountain near Yu Bei City. That was a mysterious phenomenon triggered by a Taboo Item."
"Yeah, it scared us out of our wits. We thought it was a haunting," Sha Sha nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Shu Qin was quite surprised. At that time, she and Lin Xian had attended Qu Guan’s bonfire event and were aware of the 1542 Radio situation. It was only when she heard Lin Xian’s words that she realized Infinity had encountered it before. Back then, three convoys had received the signal during the night, and there were instances of people going missing.
"So Captain Lin, you guys encountered that Mysterious Radio. Were there any people missing?" Shu Qin asked immediately.
Lin Xian shook his head and briefly explained the situation. He then said,
"Although it wasn’t truly a haunting, this thing is very dangerous. It can transport people into a certain radio frequency and, through the Power of Fear’s mental invasion, cause people to construct their scariest mental images!"
"Therefore, the danger of such items cannot be understood through the means of dealing with Abnormal Bodies and even surpasses the current known Superpower System." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel[f]ire.net
Ding Junyi nodded, "This point is somewhat similar to the fungal illusion of the Heavenly Mushroom Tower, but the difference lies in one being terrifying and the other being a blissful illusion."
"So this kind of illusion during Extreme Night affects some items, turning them into Taboo Items?" Da Lou asked.
"That’s the only explanation we have at the moment."
"Let’s not talk about anything else," Lin Xian said, looking at the drifting, rotating golden bracelet with a slightly dark expression. The mere mention of Taboo Items gave him a headache as it had previously caused him much trouble. But now the Heterogeneous Rubik’s Cube had become Infinity’s protective Divine Artifact, which could directly convert black smoke into the Mechanical Source Point, leaving him with mixed feelings. He even considered that if such an item appeared, he might be tempted to know more about it.
At this moment, the item unexpectedly appeared on his vehicle, making him passive instantly. No one knew what harm it might cause.
Thinking of this, Lin Xian gestured for everyone to step back. He then raised his hand to create a simple metal arm reaching towards the golden bracelet.
Unexpectedly, as the metal arm’s clamp approached, the floating bracelet instantly began to spray out extremely fine blue flames in all directions. They seemed like transparent air, but in that instant, a wave of scorching air swept through the carriage, raising the temperature significantly. Lin Xian’s metal clamp also melted into molten iron, dripping into the crucible.
Not only his metal clamp, even the crucible quickly turned red and collapsed under these almost transparent blue flames!
In a flash, a surge of high-temperature air from the No. 5 carriage rushed forward, causing everyone’s expressions to change dramatically as they quickly retreated. A wave of heat barrelled towards the front carriages!
By then, Lin Xian had already activated his AT Force Field Shield for defense. Even so, cold sweat broke out on his back. Luckily, the flames stopped after a few seconds. If it had continued, the entire No. 5 carriage would probably have melted, leaving him no time to react.
"This thing can release such high temperatures!!"
"Be careful, Lin Xian!"
"Captain Lin, do not be careless."
"Lin Xian." KIKI suddenly darted over, "I’ll throw it out!"
Just as KIKI was about to use Telekinesis, Lu Xingchen, standing by the crucible with his trouser legs burned off, had a change in expression. He stared at the floating golden bracelet—after the flames had subsided, much of its glow had dissipated, and its floating state had become unstable. With a middle-school-angst bravado, Lu Xingchen declared loudly,
"I understand; this is a Fire Element treasure that requires a blood bond with me to recognize its master, only then..."
"Enough with the nonsense!" KIKI threw an empty can from the trash bin at his head. "Do you know what time it is? What if you damage the train?"
Lu Xingchen looked somewhat embarrassed, then seriously said, "What I meant is, its flames seem to have absorbed the ones I just made."
Lin Xian’s gaze turned to him, "Are you certain?"
Momentarily at a loss for words, Lu Xingchen deliberated for a second and then, with reckless determination, bent down and grabbed the golden bracelet in his palm!
This action startled everyone; even Lin Xian’s heart skipped a beat. To everyone’s surprise, the golden bracelet in Lu Xingchen’s hand did not spout flames but appeared just like an ordinary bracelet.
At this moment, it felt as if everyone’s breath was held for a beat.