Necromancer's Second-Original Chat Group

Wan Qi is indeed in a state of excitement, but that doesn't mean his brain isn't working. On the contrary, as a magician, his thinking is very quick and his mental strength is quite sharp. He immediately grasped the key issue in Virtin's words.

It’s tricky!

Veltin adjusted his hat and said softly, "I'm from 1999, but the downpour has taken us all to 1926."

"Torrential rain? Those abstract paintings were a torrential rain?"

"That's a sign that a storm is coming, also called storm syndrome, and people in the midst of it will be affected."

Wan Qi looked at himself, then at Wilting, and said, "It seems that neither of us has become an abstract painting."

“This is also what I’m most concerned about. You’re not afraid of the impact of the rainstorm, just like me.”

Virtin stepped forward, his eyes filled with expectation and affection as he looked at Wan Qi, as if he were seeing a long-lost relative.

Because the other person's gaze was so intense, Wan Qi had no choice but to take two steps back.

"Hey, little sister, you mean, among all the heroes in the world, only you and I are immune to the rainstorm?"

"Yes, only you and me, within the scope of what I know."

Although there are still many questions, for now, Wanqi only has one thing to do.

Complete the mission, receive the reward, and obtain a world anchor point.

The thought of being able to leave that prison-like world of the Red Sea made Wan Qi so excited he wanted to scream.

Nothing else matters, just don't let me go back to the cage!

"What just...happened?"

Just then, another girl's voice came through, her tone filled with confusion and fear, like someone whose worldview had been shattered and was trying to understand the world anew.

Wanqi and Weierting simultaneously turned their gazes and saw the girl sitting in the box.

Wow, what an adorable little girl. That was Wan Qi's first impression of Xing Ming.

[Photo: Xingdi and Apple]

Of course, he will soon learn that first impressions and reality are often completely different.

"It was a torrential downpour; just now, an era was washed away."

"Wait, wait, what's going on? Is this a hallucination? Did you use a hallucinogenic drug on me?!"

Xingdi's voice trembled slightly with a sob, which sounded very heartbreaking.

“You’ve weathered the storm, my experiment was a success… Thank you for your help.” After a brief silence, Veltin continued, “As for the reason, I will explain. Please come with me.”

At the same time, Virtue extended her hand to Xingdi and Wanqi. After the two men took her hand, they entered the box with a special incantation reserved for mystics (which the three of them recited together).

In that instant, Wan Qi's mental energy also spread out rapidly, but even after reaching its limit, it did not touch the boundary of the box.

Wow, this place is huge! Could it be some kind of "miniature garden" technology?

During the search of this area, Wan Qi also discovered a special existence, an apple floating in the air, wearing a bow tie, with spirit and soul.

"Hello, you can call me Apple. This is Captain Stardew."

"Hello, Mr. Apple?"

"Yes, there is no problem with how you address me."

Then, Apple used the power of her psychic powers to create a hand that shook hands with Wan Qi's mage hand.

“Very good occult techniques,” Apple praised.

"It's so dark. I can't see anything. Where...are you taking me...?"

Xingdi was the most nervous of the three people with the apple, but fortunately, Virtin quickly gave a reply.

"A safe place. A 'small boat' sailing in a storm, we've arrived. Here we won't be pursued, and it's a suitable place to talk."

Wilting pushed open the door, and the surrounding environment suddenly opened up. It was a very retro-style living room, which was probably due to the furniture and objects placed here. Wan Qi also saw a glow tube clock.

Speaking of which, Virtin also has a similar glow tube clock on his wrist. It's a really retro thing, but it's quite interesting. Wanqi himself once wanted to buy one, but the price of over a thousand made him turn his attention to mechanical watches instead.

Poverty is the greatest enemy of desire.

However, although it is also a retro old item, the glow tube is obviously not old enough, but what is certain is that the number of existing ones is decreasing with use.

Ah, the red embers of the past...

However, the furnishings in the living room were too avant-garde and advanced for Xingdi, and there were many items that she didn't even know what they were. After all, this girl came from 1966, and 1999 was 33 years in the future. Human history after World War II has been developing at an accelerated pace. Not to mention 33 years, even a year is enough for many earth-shattering events to happen.

Xingdi exclaimed in surprise, "These are... giant stone statues, sci-fi electronic machines, an entire wall of photos..."

"If I ever build a retro-style house in the future, I can refer to the layout here." These were the words of Wan Qi.

For someone who traveled back to 2025, this layout, which is at most in the style of 1999, is indeed quite retro. The arrangement is also somewhat cluttered and doesn't fit with the modern minimalist style, making people feel cramped both mentally and physically.

At this moment, Veltin stood opposite the two of them and began to introduce himself seriously: "Please allow me to reintroduce myself. I am from the same organization as the group of investigators you (Xingxiang) encountered—the Saint Love Foundation, which is also where I grew up. My position is 'Sichen,' responsible for recording time in the outside world."

Also...the person who records the birth and disappearance of an 'era'.

At this point, Virtue carefully examined Wan Qi, who was outside the scope of her knowledge and understanding, a theoretical possibility, and now standing in front of her in reality.

To her, it all felt like a dream.

Coincidentally, all of this felt like a dream to Wan Qi as well.

For the two of them, this "dream" has only just begun.

Section 3: The Foundation of St. Laureus?

(Third update is here! ("▽△*))

Xingpu, his expression one of shock, began to process the information provided by Wilting. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "So, these photos are all—hmm? This is Lewis, I recognize him!"

Xingdi was quite excited to finally find a familiar image on the photo wall.

Wilding: "Yes. I took this for him a few days ago. He was selling Hoover upright vacuum cleaners in the West End. He thought the photoshoot might help boost his sales, so he was very cooperative."

Xingjin asked, puzzled, "Why did you take a picture of him? He's right now—"

Wan Qi seemed to be deep in thought. According to Virtue, if it weren't for the mystic hiding in her suitcase, everyone would be equal in the face of the storm and would be washed away. So no matter who you met in these regressed eras, the result would be the same.

Moreover, Virtue had previously stated that Xingdi helped her complete the experiment. In other words, this was the first time she had used her own suitcase to protect a mystic; before that, she might have tried to protect ordinary people.

Based on the current situation, this protection is likely to have failed.

Veldine remained silent, but her expression spoke volumes.

Although he didn't witness it firsthand, Wan Qi knew it was an absolute disaster. A young girl who looked to be under eighteen years old, Wilting watched as the person she wanted to protect was washed away in what she considered a safe place. Even though it was caused by the torrential rain, it was still a significant blow to her mental well-being.

So, is her current extremely calm and rational expression the result of being numb from excessive stimulation?

If so, that would be terrible, an extremely unbearable form of mental torture.

Wan Qi felt he had a lot to say on this matter.

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to turn somber, Virtue took the initiative to steer the conversation toward the photo wall. Pointing to the people on it, she began to introduce them: "This is Marion Smith, a single mother. She was worried about her weekend lunch but still couldn't give up her desire to write. I met her at a fast food restaurant at 2 a.m. She wrote a very good one-act play about crossing Antarctica."

"This is Julie. She once invited me to her home. Her bedroom was covered with posters of Rivaldo—he was named FIFA World Player of the Year that year and became an idol in the public eye."

Xingdi pushed up his glasses in surprise: "Wait, crossing Antarctica... Rivaldo... I've never heard of such a thing."

"That's a story that will happen a long, long time from now," said Virtin, pulling down his hat.

Wan Qi looked at the photo and said, "I remember this happened in 1989. Researchers from six countries trekked across the Antarctic continent. It was a great feat."

Xingdi's sunglasses slipped down in surprise: "Wait, trekking across Antarctica? Are they all mystics?"

Wan Qi shrugged. In his past understanding, there were no such beings as mystics on Earth. When it came to the concept of mortals, everyone was treated equally.

However, he's not entirely sure now, because he himself is an anomaly.

"These photos date back to 1999—that was our era," Wilting continued.

Wan Qi nodded and said, "In other words, the timeline here hasn't moved forward since 1999; it's always been in a state of regression or reset."

Veltin nodded slightly: "That's about it."

Xingjin had already started tapping her head; this information was causing her significant difficulty in processing it.

"Oh my God, is the world I live in really this amazing?!" Xingdi exclaimed excitedly, stamping her feet.

Veltin continued calmly, “Wanqi, Xingdi, our era seems to be going backwards. From the New Year’s Eve countdown at the end of 1999 to the supernova explosion of the 80s, and then to the advent of the first home video recorder… I went through all of that before I arrived in the 60s and met you.”

At this point, Virtue's gaze lingered on Wan Qi for a longer period of time. If Xingdi hadn't been there, she could have asked Wan Qi a whole host of questions by now.

“Times are regressing…” Xingdi clicked her tongue, then changed the subject. Pointing to the photo wall, she asked, “Then where are the people in these photos, people like me…? Have they… also regressed? Like in that ‘rainstorm’ just now?”

Despite surviving the storm, Xingdi still felt lingering fear when talking about it.

“Perhaps,” Wilting said, leaning against the desk. “I never saw them again.”

"Is it possible that the reason you didn't encounter them is simply because, after the time travel, you and they are no longer in the same country? You are only spatially distant, not temporally distant, within the same era. According to your statement, the torrential rain has been lingering in the 20th century. So, someone born in 1900, with slightly better luck and lifespan, could easily live to 1999. Such people are rare, but they definitely exist. Does your Holy Knight Foundation have no records of this?"

“The St. Love Foundation,” Veltin corrected, then nodded. “Your analysis is valuable, but as Sichen, my scope of action is limited to the mission objectives. In this situation, it’s impossible to specifically target certain individuals.”

"Your freedom as an expatriate is too limited," Wan Qi complained.

He recalled the first company he worked for in his previous life, where the boss controlled the employees so tightly that he wanted to install timers and cameras in the toilets. Expatriate staff had to take photos every hour to prove they were at the work location, and the management was suffocating.

Such a harsh boss didn't fare well in the end. Because he was in arrears with wages, he was slapped in three times by his employees. And miraculously, a fire broke out in the duty room that day, destroying all the video recordings. All the employees were completely unaware of the incident. The culprit was not caught even before Wan Qi's time travel. It's amazing that it became an unsolved case in the 2020s.

"I am merely a recorder and observer; Si Chen should not have any extra emotions."

Virtue seemed a little down, and Wan Qi could clearly sense the resentment in his tone.

Wan Qi didn't press further, but changed the subject: "Did you keep all of these things?"

“Well, before you came, I did many experiments. In one accident, I discovered that my box seemed to be able to insulate against ‘rainstorms,’ and it could preserve traces of the previous era—like these photos. So I started trying to put newspapers, mushrooms, and Vaparusi magic into the box…”

Veltin said a lot, and looking at the collection all around him, Wan Qi could fully appreciate the girl's hard work.

Since she's gone to such lengths, she'll definitely try to bring people in once she's sure the items can be preserved.

Sure enough, Virtue then said, "So I tried to bring in friends I knew from the previous era."

The atmosphere clearly began to suffocate until Wilting said, "I failed. It has no effect on ordinary people. Perhaps I should just record the time, as the foundation requires, without projecting emotions onto what I see and hear."

“Don’t keep emphasizing things that are obviously impossible,” Wan Qi said bluntly. “We are human beings, and humanity is an essential condition for us to be human. If you really can do things without any emotion, then the Kirov Foundation can do the same thing by replacing a surveillance camera. Even if it gets washed away by the ‘rainstorm,’ it won’t cost much money.”

“Thank you.” Veltin lowered the brim of his hat, revealing a barely perceptible smile, then corrected himself, “It’s the St. Love Foundation.”

“I understand, Los Santos Foundation.” Wan Qi gave an OK sign.

“Saint… never mind.” Virtue turned to look at Xingdi.

"Okay, okay, I understand roughly. So how did you determine that I'm a mystic?" Star Bracelet asked.

Apple then said, "Because we can see the world changing? Those strange things before the 'storm' are indeed very impressive images."

“Yes. Do you remember when we were sailing on the high seas, the Star Seer shouted into the radio, ‘Scream at the full moon!’ It was only the beginning of the month then, so there couldn’t have been a full moon. But a full moon did appear that night, though the real moon was to your west. I saw the same thing, so I concluded that you are a mystic.” Veltin gave his answer.

Wan Qi looked at Wilting and said, "So, how many times have you tried this?"

"I've forgotten, but if this fails again, it will be my last attempt."

When Virtue said those words, her tone carried a sense of world-weariness beyond her years, but this was immediately followed by an overwhelming joy, and Wan Qi was absolutely certain that this joy was directed at him.

The joy of discovering similar items, right? So this is called combining like terms?

The atmosphere in the living room had improved considerably, but just then, the room suddenly began to shake.

"What happened? An earthquake!" Xingdi asked while steadying himself.

Veltin immediately realized, "Oh no. It seems our box has been discovered. It could be a demon, or it could be someone who just happened to be passing by... Sorry, I have to leave for a bit. I need to hide the box in a more secluded place."

“Hey, wait a minute.” Xingdi stopped Virtin and asked the crucial question: “Do your bosses know what you’ve been doing?”

Veltin was silent for a moment, then replied, “This is my own wish. I don’t want to watch you be carried away by the sonnets and then disappear in the ‘storm’.”

Wan Qi noticed a peculiar term: "Sonnet." Was this some kind of subordinate department of the Saint Seiya Foundation? The name was quite artistic, and it even had a secrecy effect; you had absolutely no idea what this department did.

At this point, Virtue continued, "Besides that, there is something else I want to find out myself, a truth."

As Xingdi backed away, he gestured with his hands and said, "OK, OK, I understand. Mr. Apple, you should go and help Virtue too. I need to digest this... digest what I just heard."

Virtue nodded, then reached out and pulled Wanqi away.

“Wait a minute.” Xing Di suddenly spoke up, then looked at Wan Qi, adjusted his sunglasses, and said, “Just now in the ‘storm,’ this guy seemed completely unaffected. Are you and Wilting from the same foundation?”

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became serious.