Chapter 371: The Cracks in Reality

Listening to Doctor An, Lu Xin’s expression gradually shifted.

The office fell silent.

He had experienced the attack on Qinggang by the S-level Ability User from the Sea Country. That suicidal madman had nearly turned the vast Qinggang Main City into a ghost domain single-handedly. And now, if the Abyss truly was breaking through the wall as Doctor An speculated, completely polluting the real world… what would this world under the Red Moon become?

…

“So…”

After a long moment Lu Xin slowly lifted his head, “There’s no way to fix it?”

“We’re constantly trying, but honestly, the situation isn’t optimistic.”

Doctor An sighed softly, “Since the collapse has begun, its direction is beyond our control.”

“The stronger the malicious thoughts in the Abyss, the greater the pressure on this wall and the faster it collapses.”

“We all understand this principle, but how can the malicious thoughts in people’s hearts be so easily eliminated?”

“The pollution accumulated in the Abyss will only grow larger until it overflows…”

…

Lu Xin fell silent again.

“After the Red Moon incident, we built high walls to protect ourselves.”

Doctor An chuckled, sounding somewhat helpless, “But who would have thought the wall meant to protect us was actually inside our minds?”

“The Abyss cannot be cleaned up. As long as people harbor malicious thoughts and distorted desires, it will always exist.”

“Researchers always like to solve problems at the source, but this is the one problem we cannot solve at its source.”

“Unless…”

…

Hearing those words, Lu Xin looked up at her with sudden concern.

When discussing desperate situations, those two words held the most allure.

“Unless, we return to the starting point…”

Doctor An slowly turned her head towards Lu Xin and said:

“The researcher who jumped from this building left behind three prophecies. Do you know what they are?”

Lu Xin slowly shook his head.

He hadn’t been in this field long; he hadn’t caught up on much of the internal gossip.

Doctor An took a deep drag from her cigarette.

Somehow, in the short time it took to smoke one cigarette, she had taken on the air of a chain smoker.

Or perhaps, mentioning this person had instantly deepened her mood. “The first two statements he left were: One, with the emergence of mental alteration, our social structures and order will inevitably face a massive impact.”

“Two, prepare for the arrival of God!”

…

Lu Xin frowned slightly. Did all these people constantly talking about gods and ghosts start with this researcher?

“And the third one…”

Doctor An lowered her head slightly, then gently looked at Lu Xin, her eyes seeming to grow profound:

“God will not spare the remaining 30%.”

…

“This…”

This time, Lu Xin was genuinely stunned.

The first two statements sounded somewhat reasonable, but the third one suddenly left him feeling bewildered.

After the Red Moon incident, seventy percent of the world’s population turned into madmen.

Among the survivors, many spoke of divine punishment or similar things, feeling fortunate to be alive.

But according to this researcher, was this God coming back for a finishing blow?

To finish off the remaining 30%?

He thought about it seriously but couldn’t quite grasp the meaning. He looked up at Doctor An:

“What does that mean?”

…

“I don’t know.”

Doctor An’s answer was unexpected. She said softly, “He only left these three sentences, not three dissertations. We can only guess his meaning, but our interpretations aren’t necessarily correct. All in all, his three sentences instilled a sense of despair.”

“Especially after learning about the existence of the Abyss, this feeling of despair becomes even harder to shake off.”

…

Lu Xin didn’t know how to respond.

He couldn’t seem to intuitively grasp the despair this woman spoke of.

But, out of a sense of duty as someone living in this world, he still asked, “Isn’t there any way to solve it?”

“Of course, there is.”

Doctor An’s voice was light. “Just as I told you before, the guy who jumped from upstairs left three prophecies that brought despair to humanity. But the seven-step theory he left behind also brought hope.”

“We firmly believe that as long as someone can ascend these seven steps to reach the top of the pyramid.”

“Humanity’s future might not necessarily be bleak…”

…

“These seven steps again…”

Lu Xin frowned subconsciously.

He seemed to strongly dislike this theory, slowly shaking his head, wanting to say something.

“Little brother, don’t be so quick to refuse.”

Doctor An chuckled softly. “I think I need to educate you on some things. Sometimes, Ability Users don’t have a choice.”

“Ability Users, you could say, are all people who have been polluted.”

“And from the moment you were polluted, you were forced onto a certain path.”

“You might prefer stability, maintaining your current state, but try to understand this.”

“If this staircase to God is compared to a seven-step pyramid, then certain characteristics of a pyramid inevitably emerge.”

“First, the closer to the top, the fewer people there are.”

“Second, when someone starts ascending to the top, those below become their foundation…”

…

Her voice lowered as she spoke, her eyes quietly watching Lu Xin. “Can you understand the cruelty in that statement?”

Lu Xin frowned but didn’t answer.

“Thirteen types of abnormal mental entities also determine that there will be thirteen ability groups…”

“It’s almost certain now that the various different abilities of Ability Users are actually derived from these thirteen abnormal mental entities. This means that Ability Users of the same group will inevitably meet when climbing the pyramid.”

“Can you imagine the fate of those who don’t strive in front of those who are determined to?”

Her smile turned mysterious. “Herbivores have always feared carnivores, you know.”

…

Lu Xin suddenly understood, his gaze turning somber.

Just from these few sentences, some particularly terrifying thoughts occurred to him.

Whether intentionally or not, this woman seemed to have casually revealed some crucial information.

So all those bizarre abilities could be divided into thirteen ability groups?

And the source of these abilities were those thirteen abnormal mental entities?

And according to their “Staircase to God” theory, these thirteen types of mental entities, upon reaching the end, would all need to…

…

He sat quietly for a moment, then slowly said, “Then I need to think about it.”

“Think about it?”

Doctor An found it somewhat strange, her pretty brows furrowing slightly.

“Yeah.”

Lu Xin said, “After all, my direct supervisor is right outside, and… we brought lawyers.”

Doctor An’s expression turned a bit odd. She paused, then chuckled, “Little brother, you’re quite amusing…”

Lu Xin frowned again.

“Alright, you’ll have time to consider. The steps to God aren’t that easy to climb either.”

Doctor An sighed softly. “But another problem cannot be delayed.”

Lu Xin looked up at her.

“That is the problem of the Abyss polluting the real world.”

Doctor An kneaded the space between her brows, then stretched slowly, a breathtaking sight. She said softly, “Helping certain people climb the steps to the pyramid’s peak to fight the potential ultimate pollution… that’s a heavy burden for anyone, an ultimate problem. It can’t be decided lightly through just our conversation.”

“So, what we need to do now is prevent the pollution from the Abyss from worsening.”

“Although we can’t completely clean up the pollution from the Abyss currently, we must find ways to temporarily alleviate it.”

Saying this, she chuckled softly. “The next focus for our Moon Eclipse Research Institute is to prepare to unite the major high-wall cities within the Alliance and begin repairing the major cracks appearing between the Abyss and the real world to some extent.”

…

“Hmm?”

A glimmer of hope sparked in Lu Xin’s heart. He quickly asked, “You know where these cracks are?”

Just moments ago, he had felt that the cracks were everywhere and the problem was unsolvable. Turns out they already knew.

“Of course, we know.”

The female researcher smiled. “You know too.”

Lu Xin was momentarily speechless.

Then Doctor An turned around, positioning herself across the table… although it would have been easy to walk around, she deliberately stretched over the table… straining to reach a stack of papers from the bookshelf. She spread them out in front of Lu Xin. He immediately noticed the most prominent features were marked black dots with accompanying data.

This type of marking wasn’t unfamiliar to him.

S-level forbidden zone.

He had been to such a place during his first trip outside the city. Mom had even made a friend there.

“Where major cracks appear, the pollution is certainly the most severe, making it easiest for such severe pollution zones to form.”

Looking at Lu Xin’s somewhat surprised gaze, Doctor An said softly, “Conversely, we can deduce the following.”

“Wherever such severe pollution zones exist, there must be a major crack.”

“Otherwise, how do you think those unbelievably powerful forbidden zone creatures suddenly appeared?”

“Actually, the reason is simple…”

“They are either heavily polluted by the Abyss, or some simply escaped from the Abyss itself.”

“If left unchecked, the cracks where they reside will only grow larger, and the pollution more severe. Moreover, the increase won’t be gradual; upon reaching a certain magnitude, it will suddenly erupt like a volcano…”

…

Doctor An’s words instilled a slight sense of oppression in Lu Xin’s heart.

After a moment of silence, he looked up, “So you want me to…”

Doctor An put down the map, her expression serious. “It’s not just you. All the major high-wall cities need to face this challenge.”

“Begin cleaning up the surrounding S-level forbidden zones.”

“If I recall correctly, the closest S-level forbidden zone to your Qinggang is… Happy Town?”