From the end of the world

Chapter 136: Virtual Realm 2
"——Xuan Ming?"

Number Five repeated the other person's name blankly.

This reaction was not because the other party's name was unfamiliar, but more like he had never expected to hear this name in such a place. It was like meeting a famous person on the subway. After seeing the other party's true face, the first reaction was not whether he had met a famous person, but whether the other party looked like someone else. He seemed to be subconsciously considering whether what he heard was a homophone.

Xuan Ming stopped looking at No. 5 and looked at the giant again.

He once again casually revealed his real name - this behavior certainly cannot be called smart, but coincidentally, I have never been a person who values ​​whether I am smart or not. Compared with that standard, I care more about beauty. I admire his straightforward demeanor of not changing his name or surname. So, should I imitate him and simply say my real name?
I am not afraid of trouble and danger, and I like this open and aboveboard style, but now the atmosphere of this mysterious organization gathering where people call each other by numbers makes me unable to stop. Besides, if I really give my real name, there will be other problems, so I'd better enjoy the atmosphere of mysticism that can only be tasted in this place.

Number 5 seemed to have finally come to his senses, and could not help but take two steps back away from Xuan Ming. His reaction was similar to that of Number 1 and Number 2, and they were all quite wary of Xuan Ming. It seemed that Xuan Ming was really notorious in the weird world.

"Is he really Xuan Ming?" Number Five asked me.

"I think so," I said. "He's number four here, by the way."

No. 4 Xuanming did not refute like he did in the last rally.

"Did you walk a long way through the fog to get to these seats?" I asked in passing.

"No, I woke up near here... Should I say woke up? This is a dream after all..." Number Five answered at a loss, looking at Number Four Xuanming frequently, "Anyway, I found this place very quickly..."

"I was the same. I got here very quickly." No. 4 Xuanming also answered me, "It seems that this foggy dream has the power to guide us to move here unconsciously."

"It took me a long time." Then, I said to No. 4, "Aren't you going to ask the new No. 5 if he is willing to trade the fragments of the divine seal this time?"

"Since the fragments of the divine seal are bound to us, there is no point in trading." He shook his head.

"Are you collecting fragments of the divine seal?" Number Five kept observing Number Four's declaration, seemingly mustering up his courage, "—Is this what you were willing to betray Luo Shan, kill Fu Hongchen, and severely injure Ming Zhuo in order to obtain?"

"Oh? You can actually connect these two things together so quickly..." Number 4 Xuan Ming seemed to have finally become interested in Number 5. "Who are you in Luoshan?"

Number Five did not answer. He seemed to have realized that we could not use supernatural powers as we wished here. However, it was still obvious that he was still quite wary of Number Four's Xuanming.

"Fu Hongchen" and "Mingzhuo" are both the names of the Great Impermanence, I remember this very clearly. However, from what No. 5 said, Fu Hongchen and Mingzhuo seemed to have once possessed fragments of the Divine Seal, and No. 4 declared that in the past, he attacked those two in order to obtain them?

Regardless of whether what No. 4 Xuanming did was right or wrong, what is even more shocking to me is the fact that "there was once a Great Impermanence who possessed the fragments of the Divine Seal, and there was more than one person."

In Luoshan, the assumption that "the source of the Fantian incident is the divine seal" is generally considered to be an unreliable rumor. Even Lu Youxun merely used the term "divine seal" as a synonym for the source of the Fantian incident, rather than really believing that the divine seal exists.

However, if there are multiple Great Impermanence who believe in the existence of the Divine Seal, or even possess fragments of the Divine Seal, the nature of the matter will be different.

The Great Impermanence are collecting the fragments of the divine seal - can I assume so?

I thought about how to find out the information I was curious about indirectly, but after thinking about it, I decided to ask No. 4 Xuanming directly: "Why do you want to collect the fragments of the divine seal?"

"To investigate some things." No. 4 Xuanming said.

“About the end of the world?” I asked.

"Well, speaking of which, you seem to have grasped some intelligence about the apocalypse..." No. 4 Xuanming looked at me and answered my question, "Yes. The era we live in seems peaceful, but it is actually on the verge of destruction. You should know the apocalypse prophecy circulating in Luoshan. Although it is impossible to determine who wrote the prophecy, most of the content is true."

"Ah, the end of the world?" Number Five was beginning to lose track of our conversation.

I focused on the rest: “Mostly true — so some are false?”

"It can't be said to be false. It's just that once the world begins to be destroyed, time will also become fragmented. The so-called 'destruction in ten years at most' is probably just a figment of the imagination." Number Four Xuanming seemed very patient with me. "In fact, from the perspective of people living in the apocalypse era... For example, from the perspective of the little girl Number Two, the process of doomsday may be completed in just one night, or it may not be completed for another hundred years."

Ma Zao also mentioned that in the doomsday era, people in some places believe that a long time has passed since the doomsday, while people in some places believe that the doomsday has just arrived.

Number Four declared that he was not from the apocalyptic era, but he had foreseen the chaos of the apocalypse. "There are people from the future in this place?" Number Five was shocked.

I continued to ask No. 4 Xuanming: "So, your purpose in collecting the fragments of the Divine Seal is to use the power of the complete Divine Seal to prevent the end of the world?"

"You have misunderstood one thing." No. 4 Xuanming shook his head, "Even if you collect all the fragments of the divine seal, you cannot obtain the power of wishing."

I immediately understood what he meant, and then said, "You mean, the broken seal of God cannot be restored?"

"Yes," he said, "Using the so-called 'technology' that is popular recently, the Divine Seal is a piece of super-high-tech equipment. If it is violently thrown to the ground and then smashed into pieces with a hammer, even if all the pieces can be collected afterwards, it will not be able to play its original function.

"And it is impossible to repair this device. The origin of the Divine Seal is unknown. It may be a relic from ancient times, or it may be a creation from outer space. It may even be like some strange thing. In the final analysis, there is no reason for it. It is an inexplicable thing. No matter what the truth is, the Divine Seal is a mystery beyond the scope of human intelligence, and we cannot restore it."

I see. I had a preconceived notion. When I heard that the fragments of the God Seal were fragments of the wishing machine, I thought that as long as I collected them all, I could make my wish come true. I guess it's because I read too many fictional stories and unconsciously associated the God Seal with those fantasy settings. As long as I collect all the related objects, a miracle will appear - how can it be so cheap?
Maybe it's because the fragments of the divine seal are beyond common sense, so I forget common sense. No. 4 Xuanming used the high-tech equipment as an analogy, which immediately made me regain my normal thinking.

No. 4 Xuanming further said: "Moreover, there is no guarantee that our divine seal fragments themselves are without problems."

Since he was willing to chat, I followed suit: "So what do you mean?"

He glanced at the giant who was still sitting there, and then openly told the information he knew: "According to some of my research... the seal of the god should not be broken yet."

"What?" Number Five was stunned. "If the Divine Seal is not broken, then what about the fragments in our hands... Is this a fake fragment of the Divine Seal? Or are there two Divine Seals?"

"No, the Divine Seal is unique, and what we got is, without a doubt, the real fragment of the Divine Seal." No. 4 Xuan Ming also answered No. 5's question, "At the same time, the real Divine Seal has never been broken."

What a contradiction, if an item is unique and intact, how can fragments of it appear?
However, I seemed to have heard something similar there. I quickly remembered that it was Ma Zao who said it. She once said that the divine seal of this era should still be intact.

The breaking of the God Seal should have happened after the end of the world. In fact, No. 2 also got the fragment of the God Seal during the end of the world. I came to a conclusion from this.

“Is it possible that the divine seal of our era has indeed not been broken. The divine seal was broken in the doomsday era, and the fragments of the divine seal in our hands came from the doomsday era?” I said.

"Are you saying that the fragments of the divine seal from the Doomsday era somehow traveled through to our era, and part of it fell into our hands?" No. 4 Xuanming thought for a while and replied, "Impossible."

"Why?" I asked.

"The Divine Seal is a true divine weapon, with the property of running through time. The Divine Seal of all times, past, present, and future, is the same. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain a Divine Seal from the future and return to the present era, making the Divine Seal of the same era become two. This is the same even if only fragments are brought back from the future." No. 4 Xuanming said, "But then again, if the Divine Seal of the future really becomes fragments, then the Divine Seal of our era should also be shattered."

“Could it be the ‘if’ you mentioned?” I asked, “It is because the seal of God in the Doomsday Era was broken that the seal of God in our era will be broken.”

Number Four Xuan Ming shook his head: "Impossible, the divine seal of our era is complete."

"How did you confirm it?" I asked, "Have you witnessed the complete divine seal with your own eyes?"

He didn't answer me this time, but looked at the giant again.

This is really contradictory. If we believe No. 4 Xuanming's statement, the topic will return to the original contradiction. How can a unique and intact item have fragments at the same time? Unless one of them is a fake. But No. 4 Xuanming also said that both sides are authentic. It doesn't make sense.

Maybe this is a "real weird incident".

The strange events I experienced recently were all inexplicable with common sense, but they could be explained by Zhu Shi's knowledge of demon hunters. But what appeared before me this time might be a strange phenomenon that even demon hunters could not explain, and even logic itself could not explain it.

I felt a warmth rising in my heart.

At the same time, there is an lingering haze hanging over my heart.

Has the second small bowl not arrived yet?
At this time, footsteps were heard again in the depths of the fog.

(End of this chapter)