Chapter 1973 - 34: Restart
When an expanse of Source Quality Particles forms an Array Pattern, lighting up beneath him.
Gu Shen gives up the idea of having the golden spike flowers come to his aid... In fact, he has already gathered all the prerequisites for "escape," Chi Huo is ready to ignite, and all that’s left is a single fuse. As soon as he lets his thoughts drop, this airship will explode, the turbulence from the blast will tear open a rift in the space black hole arranged by Silver Fox, and he will leap out through the space rift, clutching the Lord of Love’s Throne, bathed in Chi Huo, finally landing on the forehead of the golden spike flowers.
But where is his destination?
Mr. Turing has repeatedly told himself to leave the Five Continents, to leave the Five Continents.
Leave the Five Continents in search of hope.
If everything goes according to plan and he escapes Deep Sea’s pursuit... what follows is a long, endless journey.
The golden spike flowers have explored the Old World at the Northern Continent Border.
But that’s far from enough.
If the end of this journey is the world’s end...
Then the Exile Array laid down by Deep Sea seems faster than the golden spike flowers.
Countless silver-white radiance appears beneath Gu Shen’s feet. These extremely fine Source Quality Particles penetrate the floor of the airship, ignoring the black silver-coated structure of the hull, and come before Gu Shen. At this moment, he understands why even one as strong as Rusty Bone hasn’t been able to "resist."
This is a forcibly summoned ancient text array pattern.
In the Old World, because of entanglement with the black spots, a "portal" grew spontaneously and requires a Transcendent to step into it personally to trigger.
And now.
Through the Exile Array, Deep Sea summoned a "gate," which can actively pass through its target, realizing a teleportation effect!
"Um!"
The moment the "portal" passed through him, immense gravity acted upon his flesh!
This force came extremely suddenly! And very domineering!
The Divine Infant can resist attacks amidst the turbulent flow of time, but now the "gravity" feels like it acts upon the spirit... Gu Shen groans, his vision begins to blur, he quickly reaches out to unbuckle the cockpit safety belt, turning back to touch the golden radiance behind him.
The Lord of Love’s Throne, seemingly close, suddenly feels far away at this moment.
He strains to extend his fingers, yet countless frost and snow twirl around in the narrow cabin.
The entire world before his eyes seems engulfed by pure white Source Quality Particles.
...
...
After a long time.
Very long.
"Gu Shen!"
A very light voice drifts in the wind, spreading out.
["Headache."]
["Head hurts so much."]
These two thoughts slowly surface in Gu Shen’s mind, accompanied by prolonged darkness, he finally manages to open his eyes.
What meets his gaze is a delicate and indifferent face.
A woman wrapped in a long trench coat sits on the windowsill holding a blade, originally gazing out at the distant landscape, now looking at him with a tranquil expression on half her face. The windowsill is ajar, the breeze stirs her long hair and the leafy green plants around the window.
Green leaves rustle, swaying in the wind.
The clock hanging on the wall slowly turns, making a slow ticking noise.
"You’re awake."
Nan Jin places the long blade next to her, seeing Gu Shen’s bewildered expression, she retrieves a contract from her coat’s inner lining, speaking as she hands it to Gu Shen: "If you can’t remember anything, don’t be nervous, the doctor says you have a mild concussion, try recalling... last night’s fire, and the battle on the rooftop..."
Gu Shen is stunned.
His brain goes briefly blank for a second.
Then memories flood in, pouring into his mind.
He remembers the earlier memories—
The airship was engulfed by silver Array Patterns.
He was exiled by Deep Sea through the ancient text array pattern—but why has he come here? This is the hospital room he used to stay in, the fire incident just erupted, and what follows should be his senior sister throwing out a contract to "recruit" him.
"This is the hospital bill for your examination, this is the bill for handling the fire incident..."
Nan Jin skillfully pulls out a stack of paperwork, at the bottom is the contract prepared by the Judgement Institute for this young man. She originally intended to entice and coerce him before the prison authorities seized him, bringing Gu Shen under her teacher’s wing.
But after barely saying a couple of sentences, the boy on the bed suddenly speaks.
"Sister."
The word ’sister’ interrupts Nan Jin’s words.
She suddenly finds herself unsure of what to say.
Nan Jin raises an eyebrow, looking at Gu Shen in disbelief, then glancing at the stack of paperwork she just took out.
What the heck is this?
She hasn’t even spoken, and this kid is already calling her sister?
"..."
Gu Shen reaches out his hand, feeling the texture of the bed sheet, then touches his own forehead.
This place doesn’t seem like the Spiritual World.
He can clearly sense the tactile sensations transmitted to his fingertips, having traversed countless Dreamscapes, Gu Shen has never felt such a strong "sense of reality"... Through the Exile Array set by Deep Sea, he was exiled to Qing River ten years ago?
No.
Gu Shen is only puzzled for a second before immediately realizing the discrepancy.
His memory clears up, ten years ago, at that day, Sister was sitting beside his bed, but now she is sitting at the window.
If time flow reversal in the real world occurred, all the detailed aspects should be exactly the same as back then.
This place...
is still the Spiritual World.
Gu Shen lowers his gaze slightly, he sits up on the hospital bed, softly speaks: "I am willing to join the Judgement Institute, and accept all the terms you’ve proposed."
Nan Jin opens her mouth but is left speechless.
She looks at the boy on the hospital bed, suddenly feeling that the kid’s demeanor has undergone a significant change, is it because he has killed someone? Or has he awakened an Extraordinary Ability?
The previously soft and weak eyes seem to have transformed into sharp blades.
So much so that she doesn’t dare maintain eye contact for long.
Thus, the next hospital room was spent in silence between the two for a long twenty seconds.
"...Contract."
Nan Jin pulled out the bottom sheet from the stack of papers, and Gu Shen, with great familiarity, signed and stamped it, handing it back.
Nan Jin accepted the contract with her brows slightly furrowed. Although everything was going smoothly, she couldn’t help but ask, "Aren’t you curious about anything?"
The boy seemed to have changed overnight.
"I..."
Gu Shen sighed softly; he couldn’t possibly say that everything happening here, he had already experienced it once.
No need to ask anymore.
He knew everything.
So silence fell between them again. Nan Jin, feeling defeated, handed over a cup of hot tea, "Nothing you want to say?"
"There’s a lot I want to say."
Gu Shen’s mind was a mess; he rubbed his temples, struggling to sort out everything that happened after stepping into the Exile Array.
After thinking for a long time, he murmured, "No matter what, being alive... is genuinely a very fortunate thing."
Seeing Gu Shen express such sentiment, a smile finally appeared on Nan Jin’s face. She reached out and gently patted Gu Shen’s shoulder, handing over a delicate badge.
Crossed swords, symbolizing judgment.
"Most people’s Extraordinary Awakening isn’t this dangerous... That assassination last night, the Judgement Institute will investigate thoroughly."
Nan Jin placed the badge in Gu Shen’s palm, "The people from the prison will be here soon, time is tight, I’ll teach you how to handle their interrogation."
...
...
A familiar interrogation room, a familiar lonely environment.
Blazing lights cast a stark white spot on the long table.
Gu Shen looked at the Qinghe Judge before him, hat brim lowered, with a hint of bewilderment. Whether this was the Spiritual World or not, such a real "retrace experience" made a ripple in his Heart Lake.
If he could "live" again.
What would his life become?
He knew what he was about to face.
Looking at the old man deliberately donning a stern and imposing air before him, a hint of nostalgia flickered in Gu Shen’s eyes. It had been a long time since he returned to Qing River; seeing old acquaintances, even if only in a void-like dream, was something "sentimentally sigh-worthy". Ten years ago, Yan Shicheng’s temples were already graying, yet to Gu Shen, he still felt familiar and young.
"Why are you smiling?"
Yan Shicheng frowned, speaking coldly.
"It’s nothing..."
Gu Shen spoke softly, looking at the old man before him, saying warmly, "I’m really happy to see you again."
"..."
Upon hearing this, a cloud of confusion appeared in Yan Shicheng’s eyes.
He didn’t understand why Gu Shen would say such a thing; this kid should have just awakened. Had he seen himself somewhere before?
In the ensuing coercion and recruitment, Gu Shen answered fluently, responding calmly.
After all, these troubles didn’t stump him in the "first life" before.
Doing it again was totally relaxed.
The reason he was willing to sit here was simply because he wanted to see Old Yan, and of course, there was another crucial reason...
This "recruitment" wouldn’t last long.
Soon, the door to this meeting room would be forcefully pushed open by an old acquaintance!
Gu Shen was truly waiting for Zhou Jiren.
He watched the clock on the wall, counting down silently in his heart.
Bam!
The interrogation room door was kicked open, Zhou Jiren, meticulously dressed with a dragon-head cane resting on his cane, stormed in with an imposing presence, plopping right onto the table without bothering to pull up a chair...
Zhou Jiren had already reached into the inner lining of his changshan, ready to pull out the contract signed by Gu Shen.
But he noticed, Yan Shicheng’s expression seemed off.
The dignified Qinghe District Judge, had several beads of sweat gathered at his temple.
Zhou Jiren frowned slightly.
He suddenly realized the interrogation room’s atmosphere wasn’t as he expected...
Or rather, it wasn’t the troubled teenager he was worried about.
"Zhou Jiren, you’d better honestly explain when this kid was recruited under the Judgement Institute’s banner?"
Old Yan suddenly slapped the long table, stood up, face darkened.
Zhou Jiren was stunned.
He took off his brimmed hat, speaking chillingly, "You said he just awakened yesterday? I don’t believe it, this kid’s been with the Judgement Institute for at least ten years!"
In the recent interrogation, every question he posed was perfectly deflected by Gu Shen.
Gu Shen even turned the tables, placing the blame for this fire incident on the prison, as a newly awakened Transcendent "victim", he faced unanticipated life-threatening situations, the prison was undeniably at fault, and as Qinghe District’s Judge, Yan Shicheng, should also be held accountable!
This wasn’t the prison interrogating Gu Shen?
This was clearly Gu Shen judging the prison!
"..."
Zhou Jiren stared dazedly at the teenager before him, with eyes full of confusion and shock.
The next moment.
The teenager stood up, gave the old guy a gentle hug.
Gu Shen spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Teacher, finally met you."
...
...
(PS: 1. There will be another update tonight, most likely a big Chapter, unable to guarantee the update time. 2. There are quite a few plots to fill in the final volume, have a little faith in me. If you find it uninteresting feel free to stock up or abandon the book, there’s no need to always sound pessimistic, nor to forcibly nitpick, any issues raised with rational reasoning I will seriously consider and make modifications.)