Light Fortress

The atmosphere in the interrogation room was a bit awkward.

Yan Shicheng looked at the two hugging each other in shock. The information he received was that Zhou Jiren and Gu Shen had just met for the first time.

But judging from the current situation.

How could they have only met once?

The two of them were like long-lost father and son reunited after many years!

"...Hey, hey, hey."

Zhou Jiren patted Gu Shen on the shoulder, looking complex, and said, "You kid, let me go first, there are people here."

The door to the interrogation room was kicked open, and Wei Shu and the transcendents following the Judgment Chief were all crouched at the doorway, cautiously peeking inside.

This scene truly astonished everyone.

"..."

Gu Shen obediently let go of the teacher.

But as he released his grip, he didn’t forget to pat the old guy on the back.

Reunited after a long time apart.

Even if it was in a dream, it was good.

He seriously asked, "Has the special pardon order been processed yet? When will the review team arrive? Are senior sister and senior brother on their way?"

This series of soul-searching questions left Zhou Jiren speechless.

Yan Shicheng keenly caught the keyword, furrowed his brows, raised his volume, and said loudly, "Special pardon order?"

"...That’s right."

Zhou Jiren took out a token from inside his clothing.

He glanced at Gu Shen with profound meaning and murmured, "I got the ’special pardon order’ from the East Continent Council, I’m protecting this little guy."

"You’re ruthless."

The Qinghe Judge looked at his old friend of many years, unable to resist extending a middle finger, a helpless smile spreading across his face.

The scene that followed was almost identical to the memories of back then.

The interrogation room soon returned to calm.

This farce thus ended.

Gu Shen was arranged into a new place to stay... the gears of fate meshed once again and began to turn, but because he acted differently than before, "history" experienced some changes.

This time, it wasn’t Lu Nanjin who sent him to the new apartment, but Zhou Jiren.

The two remained silent the whole way.

Gu Shen kept waiting; during the interrogation just now, he had exhibited quite a bit of abnormality—there’s no way Zhou Jiren hadn’t noticed with his acuity.

A millennium-old tortoise, a ten-thousand-year-old turtle.

It must be said, this old guy was truly composed, worthy of hiding his "031" identity for so many years. Even until they pushed open the door to the apartment, Zhou Jiren showed no intention of saying anything.

Finally, Gu Shen couldn’t hold it any longer: "Speaking of which...isn’t there anything you want to ask?"

"Sure."

Zhou Jiren leaned on his dragon-head cane, indifferently saying, "I’m not blind, I can see you’re acting very unusual."

Gu Shen looked at the teacher hopefully, blinking his eyes.

"Get some good rest."

In the end, Zhou Jiren didn’t ask anything; he merely extended a palm, solemnly patted Gu Shen’s shoulder, and said, "There are many things waiting for you ahead."

The door closed.

Gu Shen was a bit disappointed; he knew this was a false dream, but if the teacher had asked why he knew these things, he would have told his story in detail, from Changye to the North Continent, to the Ice Sea. As long as Zhou Jiren had the patience to listen, he would be willing to talk slowly.

Even though it was just a dream.

But who knows when this dream would end?

Gu Shen knew there were regrets in this world that he could no longer make up for...if he truly got another chance, he didn’t want those past regrets to happen again.

...

...

"My extraordinary ability...I still can’t use it right now."

Gu Shen lay in bed, extending his five fingers.

Chi Huo could not be summoned.

Is it because of the "timeline" reversal?

In this real dream, he hadn’t accomplished the awakening of his extraordinary ability yet.

Or was it because he hadn’t "seen through" this dream?

The real world has many rules; likewise does the dream world.

Once a transcendent falls into a dream, unless they achieve "seeing through," they will be firmly restricted by the rules of the dream world.

The world before him was extremely real; Gu Shen couldn’t find the "flaws" and "loopholes" of this world.

"So what kind of place has the [Deep Sea] exiled me to? Is this a purely spiritual world?"

Gu Shen worryingly withdrew his hand.

His originally tense spirit relaxed immediately upon opening his eyes...

Danger?

There wasn’t the slightest hint of danger here.

On the contrary, his Heart Lake was calmer than ever.

"Wait...if I’ve been banished, then what about Chu Ling?"

Gu Shen suddenly sat up.

He suddenly remembered that within the airship hull was a throne of the Lord of Love, and Chu Ling’s consciousness resided in that throne.

According to the timeline of his first life, tonight he would leave the apartment and head to the fire scene to retrieve his own [Truth Ruler]. However, in this lifetime, it seemed there was no such thing as an orange cat, and it was not senior sister but the teacher who sent him back to the apartment.

Without the orange cat, it meant Chu Ling would not contact him through the spirit network.

Gu Shen broke into a cold sweat on his forehead.

The disappearance of the orange cat...Was it possible that Chu Ling simply didn’t exist in this lifetime?

Gu Shen took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Wait, isn’t this just a dream?

What happens in the dream shouldn’t matter, right?

Perhaps it was because this dream was too real...that he actually started worrying about Chu Ling’s safety.

Gu Shen consoled himself not to be overly anxious, but driven by his intuition, Gu Shen quickly threw on a coat, called a taxi, and headed to the burned building site.

This operation would be done alone, but that didn’t matter, even without Chu Ling’s help, he could still complete the task of "retrieving" the Truth Ruler.

In his memory.

Due to the fire incident garnering significant attention from the authorities in Changye, this old building on fire will be personally guarded by senior brother Zhong Wei. Next, the hypnotist from the Changjiu Foundation will cause an incident on-site, leading senior brother Zhong Wei away, unaware that this is merely the Judgement Institute’s "luring you into the urn" strategy. Luo Er and Lu Nanjin will be waiting in the night to reel in the real big fish behind the scenes.

Everything plays out as if memory is replaying.

Zhong Wei is led away, and Gu Shen seizes the opportunity to stealthily enter the old building, yet this time he discovers nothing.

The first time in life, the [Truth Ruler] was hidden within the wooden panel layer.

This time he revisits the location.

He lifts the wooden panel, and there is nothing.

Neither the orange cat nor the [Truth Ruler]...

Gu Shen stands in the darkness, falling into contemplation, frowning as he stares into the surrounding darkness.

"What are you looking for?"

A very light voice arises behind Gu Shen.

Not a single footstep sound was ever emitted from the building.

The owner of the voice seemed to have always been standing behind Gu Shen, simply waiting until now to speak.

"...Senior sister!"

The voice was very youthful, and as soon as Gu Shen heard it, he guessed the other person’s identity.

[Sky Eye] Luo Er!

He turned around, but before he could see the other person’s face clearly, a tremendous force emerged from the darkness, pinning him tightly against the wall.

The girl in the darkness floated with her feet off the ground. She had not been staying there all along... It was just that she did not need to walk at all, hence not a single sound was heard.

"What did you call me?"

Luo Er narrowed her eyes, staring hard at Gu Shen, disbelief passing through her gaze.

"Senior sister, senior sister—"

Gu Shen quickly raised his hands, explaining with a wry smile: "I am Gu Shen, the new recruit into the Judgement Institute under the teacher’s banner..."

With a bang.

The force in the void dispersed, and Gu Shen fell onto the ground, deciding not to get up.

Since the orange cat and the Truth Ruler were gone.

He had nothing to explain.

"Gu Shen... why are you here?"

Luo Er squinted her eyes.

She slowly landed on the ground, looking at the young man before her.

According to the event on the previous timeline, Gu Shen’s encounter with Senior Sister Sky Eye was set for the next day; he would enter the Four Seasons Wilderness then to comprehend the Jingzhe Breathing Technique.

However...

This time, their meeting happened earlier.

"What if I say I felt overwhelmed and accidentally walked here, would you believe me, senior sister?"

Gu Shen blinked, observing Sky Eye’s reaction.

"Accidentally walked here?"

Luo Er asked coldly without expression: "But you shouldn’t know my identity yet..."

This statement left Gu Shen stunned.

Senior Sister Sky Eye said, "You shouldn’t know," not "How do you know."

This sentence carried a lot of information.

"My dossier is highly confidential in the database, only the Judges at the Changye headquarters and a very few have seen my true face."

Luo Er said calmly: "As for you now, you definitely are not among them."

"Teacher mentioned you to me."

Upon sensing something amiss, Gu Shen used an excuse in his response.

Of course... this response was more of a probe!

"It’s impossible for the teacher to tell you these things, or even to mention my existence!"

Luo Er firmly rebuked: "And you just met, and are now calling him teacher ... are you and he that close?"

She curled her fingers around Gu Shen’s front collar, her voice sharp with even a hint of murder: "You’re not really the little junior brother, so who are you?!"

"Bang!"

Gu Shen was pressed against the wall again.

A little junior brother?

Luo Er just called him little junior brother?

He stared dumbfounded at the [Sky Eye] in front of him.

At this moment, a bold idea formed in Gu Shen’s mind.

He had originally thought that everything happening in this world was merely a virtual dream.

But... it didn’t seem that way.

The way the teacher looked at him during the day clearly held many meanings.

And the current calling of "little junior brother" further fueled Gu Shen’s suspicion... perhaps some people in this world were real.

For instance, the teacher, and for instance... the senior sister Sky Eye in front of him!

"Answer quickly, or I’ll kill you!"

Luo Er glared coldly at the silent youth, shouting.

"What if I say... the reason I called you ’senior sister’ is because I met you long ago?"

Gu Shen spoke in a hoarse voice.

Luo Er’s expression suddenly changed, and she looked incredulously at Gu Shen.

The force in her hand lightened.

"If it’s our first day meeting, why would you call me little junior brother?"

Gu Shen smiled softly as he lowered his eyes.

"After all, tomorrow is the day we officially ’meet,’ and my performance in the breathing technique is so poor, it would take a long time before you truly recognize me and call me junior brother."

He raised his head, looking at the senior sister.

"Senior sister, I am Gu Shen, the Gu Shen from the ’future.’

"Now..."

"It has been almost ten years since the Moon City Disaster Realm was destroyed."

...

...

(PS: This segment was quite difficult to write. I’ve revised it multiple times since eight o’clock. I wanted to write a long Chapter, but for plot integrity, this is it for tonight; there will be more tomorrow morning.)