Chapter 156
Chapter 156
“Hah!”
Qin Lan burst from the sea. Bitter salt water flooded his nose and made his brow ache.
Water blurred his vision. Unable to determine his surroundings, he thrashed wildly until an unexpected wave knocked him off balance and submerged him again.
[A three-star Anomaly Hunter who can’t swim?] Yin Manqing asked incredulously.
“Cough… I can swim… I’m just exhausted!”
Heaven knew what was happening.
The moment Qin Lan awakened, his body felt made of iron–not hard, but heavy.
Keeping himself afloat already required everything he had.
Normally, doing nothing on the sea let someone float like a raft. But whenever Qin Lan stopped struggling, he inexplicably sank deeper.
Fortunately, the shore was close. Though he could barely identify the direction, he glimpsed a beach.
Using his last strength, he wriggled ashore at the price of swallowing several more mouthfuls.
“Cough… cough…”
After recovering, Qin Lan wiped sand from his face and struggled to examine his surroundings.
It was an empty beach.
Only endless sand and occasional shells washed ashore stretched along the coastline.
“What is this layer?”
Qin Lan frowned. He had never visited the sea and didn’t know why such a scene existed.
He soon learned.
[If my judgment is correct, the previous layer was a memory prison. Each person becomes trapped in scenes assembled from their memories… With my help, you escaped easily,] Yin Manqing explained.
[As for this layer… I call it the ‘gap between realities.’]
[It contains not only your memories, but those of everyone covered by your mental power.]
Qin Lan froze.
“Everyone covered by my mental power?”
[When you touched the unknown consciousness, your mental power condensed into an invisible, expanding domain.]
[Unfortunately, many Clear Spring Academy students were nearby, and their mental power couldn’t resist yours.]
[They are now asleep in reality, while their memories have been assembled here.]
Qin Lan’s heart lurched.
“Oh no!”
“Were they dragged into this unsolvable instance too?!”
[No.]
[So far, only you and I are unlucky.]
[They merely fell asleep. Deeply asleep, at worst,] Yin Manqing complained.
Qin Lan finally relaxed slightly.
If he had dragged so many innocent teachers and students into danger, guilt would overwhelm him.
Besides, Su Xiaoyue should be returning soon. If she were also pulled into an unsolvable instance…
Qin Lan would regret it beyond measure.
“So they didn’t enter, but parts of their memories became elements of the instance…”
Qin Lan roughly understood the situation.
Then his gaze caught something, and he went rigid with horror.
“Holy shit!”
“Now I know why there’s a beach!”
“Why is that old bastard here?!”
Qin Lan could finally confirm Su Xiaoyue and the others had returned.
Why?
Because Professor Xu had suddenly appeared on the beach.
Did anyone remember that highly artistic photograph?
Excellent. Then you understand that this beach was a reproduction of Xu Minghu’s memory of taking photos for his sixtieth birthday.
Worse, Professor Xu now wore that extraordinarily provocative, era-defining swimsuit.
“Ugh… My eyes…”
Qin Lan knelt despairingly and covered his eyes, his face as dark as someone sentenced to death. “I feel like someone violated my eyeballs… repeatedly…”
“It’s like my cerebral cortex is being sexually harassed…”
“Why must I witness this? What crime did I commit…?”
[You know this old man?]
[Your social circle is truly difficult to understand…]
Even Yin Manqing, who had witnessed countless horrors and killed unknown numbers of anomalies, fell silent for ten seconds.
During those seconds, she contemplated life’s meaning, the universe’s origin, evolution, society, twisted humanity, and moral collapse…
All those questions together couldn’t equal one tenth of the impact this old man produced.
“Let me clarify. This old pervert isn’t part of my social circle.”
Qin Lan remained kneeling with his head lowered, terrified that one glance might blind him.
“Can you point me in another direction?”
“We should avoid this old pervert… Standing nearby is already polluting my pure soul.”
Qin Lan spoke almost pleadingly.
[…Fine.]
[That makes sense.]
Then he heard a second voice.
It belonged to an older woman, probably around Xu Minghu’s age.
“Old Xu, I’ve thought it through. We shouldn’t see each other anymore.”
“You aren’t my type.”
Xu Minghu answered in shocked grief.
“What?! Ah Mei, why?!”
“Today is my birthday. Must you be so cruel?!”
Qin Lan, who had been preparing to take a detour, stopped.
His expression became deeply conflicted.
“Damn. I think I’ve triggered some explosive gossip–enough to blackmail this old pervert forever…”
“I desperately want to watch, but it might burn my eyes…”
Qin Lan couldn’t decide whether the scene was worth risking blindness.
“Ah Mei! Ah Mei, don’t leave…”
“Ah Mei…”
Hearing Xu Minghu’s heartrending wail, Qin Lan sighed and resisted the impulse.
“Forget it. My physical and mental health matter more.”
“If Ah Mei dresses anything like Professor Xu, my eyeballs might immediately retire.”