This villain is too popular.

Chapter 387 The Truth Behind the Assessment: The 'Staircase' Never Been Leaving

[Explorer Assessment: Abandoned Factory Ruins]

As the pale blue teleportation light dissipated, Chen Kong and his two companions landed and were immediately choked by a pungent smell of rust, causing them to wince.

Beneath their feet lay an oil-stained concrete floor, surrounded by collapsed steel furnaces and rusty, twisted conveyor belts.

Not far away, several broken pipes were still dripping an unknown black liquid, and the distant chimney looked like a dilapidated giant pillar, appearing particularly oppressive under the gray sky.

Just as Chen Kong and An Qin were still observing the environment, the cameraman's head lens emitted a barely perceptible red light and he said, "The detector has been activated, with a coverage range of 50 meters. No signals from star beasts or pursuers have been detected so far."

"There is an abandoned control room 30 meters to the northwest. It has metal shielding and is suitable for hiding."

"There is an equipment warehouse 15 meters to the northeast, filled with discarded parts, which can also be used for concealment."

In just a moment, the cameraman had analyzed the surrounding environment in great detail.

Hearing this, Chen Kong asked curiously, "Did you do this often before?"

The cameraman, somewhat puzzled, said, "Analyzing the surrounding environment and finding the perfect shooting angle and position—isn't that the most basic skill of a cameraman?"

Chen Kong: "."

The basic qualities of a cameraman? It seems to make sense, but something just doesn't feel right.
Just as the three were about to walk toward the control room, the cameraman suddenly stopped, turned the camera sharply toward an abandoned residential building next to them, and said in a puzzled tone, "Wait a minute, there are multiple abnormal signals there."

Upon hearing his words, Chen Kong and An Qin immediately stopped.

"What do you mean? Should we go take a look?"

The cameraman said, "I'm fine with anything."

Chen Kong made a quick decision: "Then let's go take a look."

"Row."

After making a decision, I followed the cameraman into the abandoned residential building.

The stairwell was filled with broken bricks, and electrical wires hung down from the ceiling like a tangled spider web.

Before they could go any deeper, several whooshing sounds suddenly came from above.

The next second, several arrows made from scrap iron were suddenly shot towards the cameraman.

"careful!"

Chen Kong instinctively tried to pull him, but saw the cameraman standing still, letting the arrows 'ding ding' hit his body.

With a crisp metallic clang, the arrow didn't even tear the cameraman's clothes; instead, it bounced to the ground and broke in two.

Upon seeing the cameraman being attacked, Anqin raised her hand, instinctively wanting to retaliate in the direction of the attack.

At the critical moment, Chen Kong suddenly pressed down on her arm and said, "Don't worry, it's alright."

The cameraman nodded and said, "It's really nothing, just minor issues."

Hearing their words, Anqin frowned and looked up.

A few seconds later, several ragged children peeked out from behind the rubble.

Their skin had an abnormal bluish-gray tinge, some children had scales on their arms, and some had cloudy, milky-white eyes, clearly signs of radiation-induced mutations.

Upon seeing the children, the cameraman merely glanced at them indifferently. Although Chen Kong was surprised, he quickly calmed down, but An Qin suddenly froze.

Her pupils dilated slightly, her lips trembled gently, and her gaze was fixed on the children as if she were seeing a very familiar scene. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and disbelief, and even the star energy in her body began to become disordered.

Noticing her unusual behavior, Chen Kong kindly asked, "What's wrong?" An Qin snapped out of her daze, quickly lowered her head, and whispered, "Nothing."

Are you okay?
Chen Kong looked at her trembling body, his heart filled with doubt.

This reaction clearly indicates that something is wrong.

[In front of the holographic screen in the lounge]

"It seems you discovered the Way of Heaven long ago."

Caroline suddenly spoke, her emerald green eyes fixed on the abandoned factory on the screen.

To this, Tiandao replied with a completely relaxed expression, "Isn't this obvious?"

"Too."

The viewers were puzzled, not understanding what the two were talking about.

Fortunately, Heaven quickly revealed the truth of everything.

He looked at Caroline and said with a smile, "Caroline, sometimes your reactions are really too deliberate. If I can't see through such an obvious dream illusion, then my eyes are worthless."

As he spoke, Tiandao raised his head and looked at the raccoon manager leisurely walking towards the abandoned factory in the picture. He smiled and said, "From the moment we stepped onto Ross's Stairs, we have already entered someone's domain."

"The spatial loop of the Ross Staircase, the ruins of the childhood city, and this 'strange' factory now—all of these are nothing more than fragments of memories pieced together from our subconscious."

"And the suggestive bell sound, the 'stitching' of the scene after each teleportation, and the raccoon's so-called 'Dynamax'."

Tiandao paused, his gaze sweeping over Anqin on the screen, and said meaningfully, "I don't think anyone really believes that someone can move an SSS-level occupied zone into the Countermeasures Bureau, right?"

Caroline did not respond to Tiandao's words.

As Tiandao's partner, she was very clear about her role.

What she needs to do is to 'cooperate' with the will of Heaven at the right time, rather than vie for dominance with it.

Caroline is very clear about her position.

From the moment she saw the city where Tiandao lived as a child, she actually discovered the essence of this assessment scene.

The reason she deliberately revealed things she already knew was to inform Heaven in this way.

He is the one in control of everything.

But Tiandao clearly saw through her thoughts and immediately joked, "Caroline, you really don't need to be so deliberate. After all, I've never treated you as a 'tool'."

Even though the Heavenly Dao said so, Caroline still had no intention of changing her ways.

Just like the way of Heaven never changes its own mind.
Upon hearing what the two said, the viewers on the 13th station realized what was happening.

'Holy crap! It was all a dream illusion. No wonder so many familiar scenes appeared.'

'The reason Lao Tian and the others kept walking down those stairs was because this is a dream world, with rules that don't conform to reality?'

'So, that raccoon might not have been telling the truth either; its Cataclysmic ability really did choose Dynamax instead of Domain?'

'Who knows? Maybe this guy wasn't lying, and the person who created this dreamlike setting is someone else entirely.'

'An Qin's reaction just now! Could this factory be part of her memories? Is that why the Heavenly Dao said 'human nature' is a variable!'

'Caroline noticed too! She was just deliberately cooperating with Heaven's Will! Their teamwork is just too sweet!'

P.S.: I've already used up my leave application for next month, so I can only take one day off next month.
(End of this chapter)