Chapter 1111: This Chapter Should Be Saved for November 11th
Chapter 1111: This Chapter Should Be Saved for November 11th
In a way, Ji Shanqing truly deserved the title of grand prize. It was as if the heavens had seen her enduring countless hardships and living a tough life, so they specially sent her this grand reward. On the journey to find Magus, Lin Sanjiu was overwhelmed with gratitude. Many of her troubles seemed to melt away in Ji Shanqing's presence, just like snow under the sun.
"Sis, you might not believe this," the grand prize said, probably in response to Lin Sanjiu's repeated expressions of amazement. He smiled with embarrassment and bit his red lip with his sharp white teeth. "After learning about the Veda, I found that they are not as omniscient and omnipotent as they claim to be. Take an example that you know: no matter how they try, they can't create life. At most, they can only write a piece of living flesh. They still don't understand what distinguishes a piece of living flesh that breathes from a living person. Of course, I don't understand it either."
He paused and continued, "Higher Consciousness, this mysterious power, originates from human self-awareness. Think about it; the Veda can't even create conscious life, let alone a higher level of self-awareness... So, you see, although I created a consciousness body, I only mimicked the shell of other people's consciousness and placed my own consciousness inside it. It only allows me to freely enter and exit the Astral Plane, but in reality, I still don't have Higher Consciousness, and I don't have the attachments others have."
Upon hearing this, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but feel worried. "Can you restore Bohemia's attachments?"
"Only her attachments were contaminated. The rest of her Higher Consciousness is intact, right? After you give her the Potential Growth Value, I can analyze all her Higher Consciousness and compare it to her current condition to identify the root of the problem. It should be easy."
Ji Shanqing sighed slightly and added, "Although the Veda can't create, they are first-rate in analyzing."
"That's great. When she comes to pick me up, you can take a look at her," Lin Sanjiu finally felt relieved and asked, "What about the matter of the five life segments?"
"You care about her a lot," the grand prize said with a smile as he held her wrist, and she naturally grasped his fingers. He seemed pleased with her gesture. "I guess the problem is on the material level, inside her body. I have to leave the Astral Plane and meet her in the real world to find a solution."
"Can you come over?" Lin Sanjiu turned to look at him, slowing down her pace.
"I'll come over as soon as possible." the grand prize nodded. "Now we can meet in the Astral Plane, and I'll be able to track your location all the time."
Lin Sanjiu tightly held his fingers in gratitude.
"Think about it, it's really incredible," she said with a soft laugh. "Human, or rather, intelligent life, can exist in so many different forms. The Veda, consciousness bodies, duoluozhong, Pocket Dimension creatures, the Neuhumes... If I were to download my consciousness into a machine body right now, would that still be me?"
Ji Shanqing listened silently, waiting for her to continue.
"If you think about it this way," she sighed softly, "it seems like Yu Yuan becoming the Veda and Bohemia joining the Mushroom Society isn't such a big deal. They are still themselves, just existing in a different form... In Bohemia's case, not even her form has changed; it's just a few minor details."
Ji Shanqing silently smiled, and his smile was very clear. "But sis, you still don't want to just let them go like this, right?"
Lin Sanjiu felt a bit embarrassed. "Yes," she thought for a moment and came up with an inappropriate analogy, "It's like I enjoy eating red velvet cake, and it makes me happy. So, I always want my loved ones to try it and love it too... It's not that I don't respect their wishes, but I hope the people I care about can experience what I find in it."
Ji Shanqing thought silently for a moment and said, "Unfortunately, life isn't like red velvet cake."
"If red velvet cake had a taste of life, the shop would have gone bankrupt long ago."
The two chatted for a while, and Lin Sanjiu was reminded of the issue with Magus.
"Bohemia saw her last time and noticed that she was gradually losing her memory, starting with her most recent memories and moving backward. What's going on with that?"
"Oh, I know this," the grand prize responded with an "Ah," as if this matter was both unexpected and logical to him. "Consciousness actually originates from the brain! And a person's brain is just a collection of matter. When a consciousness body stays disconnected from its material foundation for too long, it might suffer damage, reduction, or instability. Although she's not in someone else's brain and has a strong ability, her consciousness is still gradually dissipating. Anyway, we must find Magus quickly and get her out of the Astral Plane."
Thinking about how much time they had already wasted, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but pick up the pace. Despite Qing Jiuliu's often lazy appearance, he was a reliable person when entrusted with critical matters. She believed that Magus's physical body should be fine, although her appearance might need a little tidying up under Qing Jiuliu's care.
Therefore, all they needed to do was rescue her consciousness!
Driven by this idea, the two of them sped through most of the Astral Plane like shooting stars. As they got closer to the location of the Concrete World Branch, the other travelers on the path became scarcer, and at some point, the surroundings turned into a vast, pitch-black void. Thanks to the abundant Higher Consciousness Lin Sanjiu had obtained from the Pig Eye, it not only provided the fuel for her flight but also gradually brought Mrs. Manas back into form in her sea of consciousness, ending the dry spell caused by a lack of Higher Consciousness.
"You always enjoy listening to nonsense," Mrs. Manas commented on Lin Sanjiu's question about whether she could level up in a single go to university. "It's not about your level of Higher Consciousness; you only gained more by taking it from others. You haven't deepened your understanding of it during this process. Even if all the Higher Consciousness in the world were given to you now, you still wouldn't be able to advance."
As she said this, Lin Sanjiu had already seen the small building in the depths of the void. It appeared as if it was constructed from building blocks, emerging from the deep darkness. Its irregularly shaped blocks jutted out or receded, and at first glance, it was difficult to recognize it as a building. Mrs. Manas had just finished speaking when Lin Sanjiu abruptly stopped in her tracks.
"Wait," Lin Sanjiu held onto the grand prize and asked Mrs. Manas with a look of puzzlement, "Even with all this extra Higher Consciousness, I still can't level up?"
"No," Mrs. Manas sighed, "I can only repeat the same answer no matter how many times you ask."
"But... but..."
She had a battle ahead! She couldn't hope for the Concrete World Branch's owner to conveniently not be at home, could she?
"You haven't reached the highest level; you forcibly entered the Astral Plane using a different method," the grand prize couldn't hear Mrs. Manas's response, so he looked at her face, which was gradually becoming less pleasant. "Fighting against posthumans who have already upgraded their Higher Consciousness to the highest level is inherently a situation with more losses than gains."
Magus couldn't afford to wait for Lin Sanjiu to level up slowly. Regardless, today she had to rush in to save her. Without generating a corresponding condition, her combat abilities were already weaker than others. When she heard that the grand prize didn't have a corresponding condition either, she was too preoccupied with Bohemia and forgot that this meant both of them became uncommonly disadvantaged in the Astral Plane.
Being at a disadvantage and challenging the Concrete World Branch's owner, who could imprison Magus, felt like a daunting task even to Lin Sanjiu herself.
"If we can't win through strength, there might be other ways," the grand prize furrowed his attractive brows, keeping a calm tone. "You see, there doesn't seem to be anyone guarding the Concrete World Branch from the outside... I think we should get closer and investigate the situation inside and out before making our next plan."
Perhaps seeing her worried expression, he smiled gently and reassured her, "Don't worry, sis, I'm here. We will definitely bring Magus out."
After turning back into stars and controlling their brightness, Lin Sanjiu and the grand prize quietly approached the Concrete World Branch. The Astral Plane connected by Higher Consciousness was limitless in a true sense. This area had already exceeded the posthumans' active range by far. It was a desolate, pitch-black emptiness as far as the eye could see, like an endless abyss stripped of all senses.
Forget about a guardian; the whole Concrete World Branch looked like an abandoned ruin.
Tentatively, Lin Sanjiu picked out a strand of Higher Consciousness from the Pig Eye and discreetly placed it inside the Concrete World Branch. As soon as she did so, she and the grand prize immediately withdrew, focusing on feeling that strand of Higher Consciousness floating gently into the building's corridor. As it passed through, the area remained silent. She could sense the feeble lights inside the building dimly dispersing the gloom, barely illuminating one triangular wall after another. Gazing around, there were only countless winding corridors.
There was nothing, no voices, no shadows...
As the Higher Consciousness gradually penetrated deeper, Lin Sanjiu's heart raced higher. The complete absence of anything made it even more abnormal. If everything had been as peaceful as it appeared, Magus should have come out by now.
Like the undulating currents of a deep, dark dream, that strand of Higher Consciousness drifted silently into the depths of the Concrete World Branch. It disappeared silently and effortlessly, causing Lin Sanjiu's heart to jump when it passed a triangular wall. When she regained her composure, she realized that the strand of Higher Consciousness had vanished without a trace, apparently devoured completely at some point.