Isabella used her "Identity Card" to contact Song Shiyi using the old method.
The two agreed to meet again in the parking alley.
Half an hour later, Song Shiyi appeared at the entrance of the alley with a travel bag on her back.
Seeing Isabella under the street lamp, she ran over.
"Miss Mary."
Song Shiyi’s face lit up: "It’s great that you could come."
She was wearing a gray short cotton jacket today, with a denim blue high-waisted jeans underneath, and a pair of low-cut boots, making her figure appear particularly slender.
"Can we talk while we walk?" Song Shiyi asked.
"Let’s talk about the situation first."
Isabella said according to Lu Yao’s remote instructions.
"Okay."
The other party nodded: "About a month ago, the committee discovered interference phenomena in certain areas of the city, and it has reached the level of imaging."
"Only some players can see the images, but it also means that the abnormal interference is intensifying. The committee is closely monitoring and constantly conducting tests and tracking..."
In the rental house behind, Lu Yao turned his head and looked at his bed.
The black mud monster and the dried-up riverbed seemed to be the images after the dimensional interference.
In the alley, Song Shiyi continued: "Two weeks ago, the committee officially confirmed the existence of several ’crossing zones’ in the city."
"These are the overlapping areas formed by dimensional overlap."
She looked worried: "It has been confirmed that there are 17 citizens who have entered the crossing zones for various reasons, and 8 of them are still missing. The committee has been searching for these missing people in the crossing zones for the past two weeks."
"However, due to a shortage of manpower and the constant changes within the crossing zones, time is running out. If we can’t bring those citizens out as soon as possible, they will never be able to come out."
"According to safety regulations and relevant procedures, at least two people are required for the operation, so I thought of Miss Mary. Currently, manpower is very scarce, and there are very few people with the ability to contact. Of course, we will provide corresponding compensation. Please rest assured, this crossing zone is very safe and does not require any combat."
"How much?"
"Huh?"
"The compensation." Isabella said coldly.
"Um... a volunteer subsidy of 3,000 RMB. I know it’s not much, but the funding approval and amount regulations require a complex process, and it also needs to be reviewed and approved by the higher authorities. Currently, the committee’s salary management method has been using the standards from 2003..."
"I want cash."
Song Shiyi was stunned for a moment: "Really? Did you agree?"
"Hmm."
Isabella said, "Remuneration is a matter of principle. The amount is another issue."
"That’s great!"
Song Shiyi couldn’t help but hold Isabella’s hand.
"Let’s set off now. The sooner we find them, the safer they will be."
Song Shiyi walked quickly in front, leading the way.
She had a clear goal, and her steps didn’t stop along the way. She continued to introduce to Isabella.
"Miss Mary, this ’crossing zone’ this time comes from the ’Wasteland No. 7’. The committee named it the Wasteland No. 7, which is the 7th high-dimensional space discovered by the committee. The term ’wasteland’ describes its characteristics."
"It is a world mostly in ruins. The local civilization has been extinct for a long time, and our knowledge about it is quite limited."
"You might think that the committee has made some mistakes again... Why would there be dimensional interference and overlap in a stable high-dimensional safe zone like Earth? This should not happen theoretically."
Song Shiyi answered her own question: "The reason is that Wasteland No. 7 is a world higher than Earth in terms of dimensional level. It is gradually collapsing, and the connected low-dimensional spaces are also starting to peel off, forming multiple layers... This is the evolution from high-dimensional to low-dimensional."
"Like a crumpled ball of paper. After losing external forces, they are now starting to separate from each other. The main body that floats up is experiencing dimensional interference with our Earth, followed by a brief overlap."
"High-dimensional worlds are almost always relatively stationary in relation to each other, and the only time they move violently is when they self-destruct and collapse."
Lu Yao silently digested the new information.
He asked through Isabella’s mouth, "What kind of creatures are in the crossing zones of Wasteland No. 7?"
Song Shiyi waved her hand: "There is no need to fight in the crossing zones of Wasteland No. 7."
This made Lu Yao somewhat skeptical.
He had seen with his own eyes the movements of the black mud monster in the stone mortar.
"The only danger in the crossing zones of Wasteland No. 7 is getting lost."
Song Shiyi slowed down her pace, and her face became serious.
"The crossing zones contain images and signals left behind by past civilizations. Those fragmented pieces of information fold, intersect, and recombine in the chaotic time and space, gradually forming a special existence called ’Wishing Spirits’.""All these creatures can do is incessantly chatter in your ear. They are the product of chaos and disorder, often spouting nonsense that’s hard to distinguish between truth and lies."
"Wish Spirits look like a big lump of glowing black clay, they have no direct offensive capabilities."
Song Shiyi paused, "But you must never trust the ’Wish Spirits’."
"If you believe in the Wish Spirits, and allow them to bewitch you into lingering, once the cross-belt disappears, you will be trapped here forever."
Isabella asked, "Do Wish Spirits only talk? Do they have any other abilities?"
"No."
Song Shiyi shook her head, "If you don’t believe them, they are completely useless. Just be mindful of the time, don’t stay too long."
"Once you believe them, it’s easy to get lost. So, it’s necessary to travel in pairs, to look out for each other and remind each other, which can also reduce the risk."
She suddenly stopped.
A sparrow was fluttering under the street lamp ahead.
It flew lightly over and landed on Song Shiyi’s left shoulder, tilting its head to look at Isabella on the other side.
"The nearest cross-belt is there."
Song Shiyi raised her hand and pointed ahead.
Through Isabella’s eyes, Lu Yao recognized the place. It was where he had raced on his white horse at night.
Ahead was the highway, and beside it was a long forked road. After nightfall, the surrounding streets were almost deserted, even the insects were sparse.
Song Shiyi seemed to have some kind of positioning ability. She walked into the forked road, took ten steps forward, then turned left, took another five steps, and stopped again.
She walked up to a cable junction box and gestured to Isabella, "It’s here, I’ll go in first."
With that, Song Shiyi walked straight into the junction box and disappeared.
Isabella followed suit.
...
Lu Yao’s vision went blank.
He had a bad feeling.
Perhaps his eyes couldn’t transmit information across the cross-belt.
But in a few seconds, his vision slowly returned to normal.
Facing Isabella was a soft black clay monster, or rather, a Wish Spirit.
Its body slowly contracted into a human shape, similar in height and build to Isabella, but without human facial features, its face was smooth.
The Wish Spirit said warmly to Isabella, "Beautiful lady, welcome here. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Baroye, and I’m very pleased to guide you."
It was using a strange language.
Even though it was entirely composed of weird and twisted syllables, Lu Yao could understand it.
"Do you desire wealth, knowledge, or power? Or perhaps even more beauty? Endless life? Or countless lovers?"
"All these, Baroye can fulfill for you."
"After all, we are Wish Spirits, specifically designed to fulfill wishes. Fulfilling everyone’s wishes is our greatest mission and responsibility..."
Baroye rubbed his hands together.
"Beautiful lady, Baroye can tell at a glance that you are a person of high and noble status..."
Smack!
Isabella punched its head and it exploded.