Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The torrential rain pounded on the window. Yan Luo sat in the fitness room by the window, turning his head to gaze at the street scene that became hazy under the rain curtain.
This sudden downpour reminded Yan Luo of the light rain he encountered in the Abyss two days ago.
Though the raindrops were fine, each strand of rain managed to seep into his heart.
After encountering that light rain, Yan Luo didn’t think much of it and immediately returned from the Abyss.
He met many Hunters who had just returned from the Abyss in the Hunter’s Guild hall, and many more Hunters were returning from the Abyss.
They all wanted to know what had happened in the Abyss. That light rain was even more frightening than the white daylight that had lasted only three seconds before, because not everyone could notice the presence of the three-second daylight, but the arrival of the fine rain and the tactile sensation of raindrops falling on them could be felt by all.
It wasn’t just a simple environmental change.
They could feel the rain, they could even catch the rain; if they weren’t worried about some poisonous substances in the rain that could kill them, someone might have tried taking a sip.
It was the first time the Hunters felt the tangible presence of matter in the Abyss, which made them panic.
Even Yan Luo had to stop the test he was about to complete and return from the Abyss.
The academic team from Lingquan University abandoned their original research plan because of this and started preparing for another research plan from scratch.
Fortunately, the difference between the two research plans wasn’t significant, so not much additional research equipment was needed, just a rescheduling of discussions with the bodyguard group for a more in-depth investigation of the Crimson Abyss.
Yan Luo withdrew his gaze from the window, finished off the electrolyte drink in his hand in one go, and stood up abruptly, walking over to the punch strength testing machine.
He threw a punch suddenly, hitting the bullseye.
Without using his full strength, Yan Luo could deliver a 2.4-ton punch.
Just from this point alone, it’s enough to distinguish him from ordinary humans.
Ordinary humans, putting aside whether they can deliver a 2.4-ton punch or not, wouldn’t even be able to physically withstand it if they could.
Retracting his fist, Yan Luo took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, then gathered power from the ground, through his waist and shoulders, channeling his strength into his fist like a surging river, and punched the target with all his might.
As he threw this punch, Yan Luo felt a bit of pain on the punching surface.
Purely from the numbers, he could already compare with some weaker lethal-level Demons, but in actual combat, bare-handedly, he might not even handle some stronger dangerous-level Demons.
Because Demons possess more than just ’strength’, the majority of Demons have other superpowers, with physical prowess being just a part of their power.
At this moment, the gym door opened, and Sasa walked in from outside.
Right after entering the gym, Sasa casually complained: "We’ve been collaborating for so long, and you still don’t give me door access."
Yan Luo didn’t even glance at Sasa, remaining calm and composed, punching the target again.
"You and I are merely in a collaborative relationship, nothing more. Why should I give you door access?"
Hearing his query, Sasa knew there was room for negotiation.
Sasa immediately replied: "When the blood analyzer arrives, I can’t possibly store it in my dorm, right? It has to be somewhere secure, and your place is the safest."
Yan Luo stopped punching, realized that his recent punches weren’t as good as the first one, shook his head helplessly, and then shared veranda door access with Sasa.
Receiving the access sent by Yan Luo, Sasa’s lips curled slightly.
Indeed, one must reason with Yan Luo; playing on emotions is futile.
This kid has almost closed off his heart, and only a rare few who have passed his tests can become his friends; to the rest, he treats everyone as strangers.
Such a condition should be present in someone with psychological trauma, yet Yan Luo only lost his parents as a child; theoretically, such severe trauma shouldn’t exist... does he have other psychological disorders?
Sasa sat on the massage chair in the gym, enjoying the comfortable massage service, with eyes hidden behind opaque white goggles scanning Yan Luo, curious about the nature of Yan Luo’s psychological trauma and why he was so persistent in eliminating the Abyss.
With this question, Sasa pondered for a moment, ensuring it wouldn’t breach Yan Luo’s mental defenses, and asked: "Yan Luo, why are you so determined to eliminate the Abyss?"
At that moment, Yan Luo was exercising on a rowing machine, but he had set the resistance to maximum.
Hearing Sasa’s question, Yan Luo fell silent.
After a few seconds, he replied: "Firstly, the magic tide created by the Abyss killed my parents, so I have a grudge against the Abyss; secondly, the Abyss is a harmful entity to Blue Star. If it continues , human civilization will be destroyed."
Sasa knew of the first reason for Yan Luo’s answer; he never concealed this point.
But the second reason he mentioned was something only Sasa knew.
"You believe that the continued existence of the Abyss will destroy human civilization?" Sasa asked curiously, "What’s the reason?"
Yan Luo solemnly replied: "Every time a magic tide occurs, it causes an increase in the magic power concentration on the surface of Blue Star. Although official releases in recent decades have rarely published data in this regard or mentioned it, I found some past reports when investigating Abyss materials. In the past, there have been several news reports about the rise in Blue Star’s surface magic power concentration, and I noticed that a magic tide appeared before those news reports were made.
The reasons for the magic tide appearing are unknown, but the frequency of appearances is increasing over time. The first magic tide appeared before the lost decade, the second in Abyss Calendar year seventeen, the third in year thirty-two, the fourth in year forty, the fifth in year forty-six, then fifty years, fifty-four years, fifty-eight years, sixty-two years, sixty-five years, sixty-eight years..."
Whenever a magic tide appears, it makes the news, and with diligence in investigation, this pattern can be easily discovered.
Sasa involuntarily drew a breath of cold air, her small hands clenched into fists.
"...I actually didn’t know this." Sasa murmured to herself.
As a student majoring in Abyss ecology, Sasa had never learned about this.
Magic power is closely related to the Abyss, and fluctuations in magic power concentration in the real world fall within their field of study.
Realizing she hadn’t learned about the shortening intervals of the magic tides, Sasa understood that someone must have covered up this piece of information.
Without deliberate collation, no one would notice this matter.
The overwhelming entertainment capable of drowning all weak-minded people, submerging them in precisely crafted entertainment projects, preventing them from seeing the truth of the world.
With 99% realism-rated games, animations, movies, variety shows... In today’s era of computing power, AI can effortlessly create hundreds of genuine-like online entertainment projects.
If one doesn’t like online interactions, there are offline projects like intelligent machines whose settings can be arbitrarily modified, amusement parks blending fantasy and reality, among others.
Even Yan Luo couldn’t resist the allure of these entertainments, with a daily routine of watching videos to relieve stress, let alone other people.
But compared to the vast majority of the world’s population, Yan Luo already sees far ahead, clear enough.
"Doing this is merely an escape!"
Yan Luo suddenly spoke: "I know those issues capable of unifying the opinions of the top leaders of the United Government to entirely block out such information, without a trace of discussion online, must concern the survival of human civilization, but I think doing so is a path to a slow death. So I intend to take a different path from theirs; even if it means dying, it shouldn’t be in such an unsightly manner.
"Considering the survival of humanity, choosing the safest route is what those big figures should do. I’m just a small figure. Even if taking a risky route results in death, it would only be me and those who share my sentiment; we’ve always been prepared for a bloody battle, so death isn’t a concern. If our deaths could serve as the cost of trial and error for human civilization, that would be the best outcome."
Sasa couldn’t help but widen her eyes, her little mouth slightly ajar.
——This kid is even crazier than she imagined!