Following Gao Yaping out of the office, Pei Yan grew more intrigued by this bizarre space as they descended the stairs. When they had just exited the elevator, nothing seemed unusual, but on entering the staircase, it was as if they had stepped into another dimension. The three of them descended more than ten flights of stairs without reaching the bottom. Some of the floors they passed had brightly lit corridors, while others were unfathomably dark. How many meters underground did this building go? What secrets lay in those corridors?
Just as Pei Yan’s mind was running wild, Gao Yaping, who was walking ahead, finally stopped, leading them to a turn and into the corridor of that floor.
These floors had no indicators, how did they remember their destination? Pei Yan was filled with doubts but dared not voice them. Soon they arrived at a large iron door, where a lazy old yellow dog lay at the entrance, not even lifting an eyelid or making the slightest movement as the three approached.
Gao Yaping bent down to open a plastic bag, and only then did Pei Yan notice it was filled with an array of meaty snacks, like duck necks, beef jerky, rabbit heads, and shredded beef tripe. Gao Yaping took them out one by one, waving them enticingly in front of the old yellow dog, then placed them back in the bag and set it beside the dog.
The old yellow dog seemed swayed by Gao Yaping’s offering, moving its body to get up. A delicate pendant swung from its neck, reflecting a splendid light in the dimly lit corridor as it moved with the dog’s head. Then it opened its eyes, glanced at the three people, and breathed out. Gao Yaping quickly drew a folder from under her arm, crouched down, and presented the documents before the old yellow dog for inspection.
Seeing this scene, Pei Yan felt both incredulous and somewhat absurd. He somehow believed the old yellow dog was meticulously checking the stamps and signatures. Once Gao Yaping flipped to the last page, the old yellow dog nodded humanly at her, lifting its head proudly.
Gao Yaping handed the folder to Pei Yan behind her, carefully and respectfully reaching out to unhook the pendant from the old yellow dog’s neck, finally breathing a sigh of relief once it lay in her hand.
Subsequently, she approached the iron door, and a gleam of blue light flashed across her right hand. A ring engraved with strange runes appeared on her index finger. Hu Wenjun, standing beside her, followed suit. After the two pressed their rings against the iron door, a creaking sound of rusted metal breaking filled the air.
The initially tightly sealed door cracked open a small slit, revealing a lock-like mechanism. Gao Yaping placed the pendant she took from the old yellow dog’s neck onto it.
Creak, creak! Before Pei Yan’s wide-eyed disbelief, the large iron door finally opened slowly.
Filling his mind with countless fantasies about what lay inside the storage, Pei Yan stepped through the door with wide strides, following behind Hu Wenjun, only to be taken aback by the scene before him.
"It’s empty!" A blank space as though no background had been set, a Jiezhi Space!
The sight was commonplace to Gao and Hu, as Gao Yaping lightly tapped the folder, muttering, "Ring for shapeshifters, audio translators, appearance modification seals...."
She lifted her head, scanning the empty room, then moved to a corner and raised a hand, whereupon a small box appeared out of nowhere, which she handed to Hu Wenjun behind her: "Ring! I’m quite free today, let’s take it step by step!"
Hu Wenjun took the box, removed its contents, handed the box back to Gao Yaping, and passed the item to Pei Yan.
Pei Yan examined the item, resembling a jade bangle of a girl’s size. Its inside and outside were densely engraved with things that seemed both like text and pictures, making it hard for Pei Yan to associate it with a ring due to its size.
"Put it on!" Gao Yaping encouraged with a smile.
"Huh? Where to wear it?" Pei Yan asked perplexedly, as wearing it on his finger seemed too large, yet placing it on his wrist was too small for a man like him.
Hu Wenjun helplessly shook his head, donned a glove, took the jade ring, and sternly asked, "Which finger do you want to wear it on? Don’t say your ring finger, or I’ll smack you."
"Then the right index finger!" Pei Yan whispered. Without a word, Hu Wenjun slipped the jade ring onto Pei Yan’s index finger and gently pulled it down. As soon as the jade ring touched Pei Yan’s skin, a tiny jade needle emerged from within, pricking Pei Yan’s skin.
Pei Yan frowned, and immediately saw the slightly large jade ring shrink in an instant to fit perfectly on his index finger. Before he could react, the jade ring transformed again, becoming a stream of light that fully integrated into Pei Yan’s body.
Frightened, Pei Yan withdrew his hand, gazing intently at his index finger. The jade ring was gone, leaving only a ring-shaped tattoo adorned with similar patterns as before.
"Phew, how do I use this thing!" Pei Yan extended his arm, scrutinizing his palm keenly before asking.
Gao Yaping smiled and explained while holding the folder, "Although you haven’t reached the level of internal energy projection, the fact that you could absorb the jade ring into your body and leave this mark indicates that, in essence, you’re quite similar to us. Now you should try using your mind to communicate with your internal source, channel it to your index finger to activate this ring and see how it goes."
On hearing this, Pei Yan straightened his neck, lifted his arm solemnly, and stared intently at his index finger, concentrating his spiritual power. After five minutes, a slightly sweaty Pei Yan shook his head in disappointment: "It’s not working. Why isn’t it working?"
"You’re too tense, relax! Relax! Don’t overthink this, it’s just a very ordinary piece of equipment. You don’t need to be so intense." Hu Wenjun advised softly, patting Pei Yan’s tense back a few times from behind.
Following Hu Wenjun’s guidance, Pei Yan dropped his arm and took several deep breaths before slowly raising his right hand again. A warm stream gradually flowed from within him to his right arm and fingers. Soon, a faint glow passed over the runes on his finger, transforming them back into a jade ring that appeared before him.
After a while, Hu Wenjun grabbed the excited Pei Yan, who was continuously testing the newfound novelty, and jokingly scolded him: "Alright, have you had enough fun? You’re like a child. Now I’ll teach you how to use it. First, take off your jacket."
"Oh!" A conscious Pei Yan obeyed, taking off his jacket.
"Now you should continue infusing your internal source into the ring, just like you did when you were playing with it, mind the quantity, don’t put in too much at once."
Following Hu Wenjun’s directions, Pei Yan found that the previously smooth jade ring suddenly produced a shiny little seal when continuously infused with internal source.
"Yes, that’s right. Now press this little seal onto your jacket."
"Of course, put it wherever you want."
Thinking about it, Pei Yan lifted his jacket’s collar and pressed the gleaming seal onto it. Upon lifting the seal, he found that an identical mark had been left at the collar.
"Now put on this jacket, and while covering the ring with internal source, use your will to mentally chant to retrieve the clothes," Gao Yaping cut in.
Two minutes later, a jubilant Pei Yan, now touching his coatless upper body after the disappearing light, exclaimed: "This is amazing! Finally, I won’t have to strain and burst my clothes again!"