Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

It might not be around here.

But whatever, she has no interest in people who are unrelated to her, so she doesn't care what they do.

Sodium chloride's current idea is to queue up.

After all, ordinary people need to pay attention to the order of arrival. Sodium chloride, which wants an ordinary life, enjoys the feeling of queuing because it allows it to blend into the lives of ordinary people.

Moreover, she is very patient, which also helps her maintain her image as an ordinary person.

This was very important for Yelena.

In any case, this investment should not be allowed to cause major problems due to minor issues.

"There seem to be a lot of people. You wait here, I'll go join the queue."

"Will be back soon?"

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit."

······················

I ran around the corner, pretending I was just an ordinary kid passing by.

Once she was completely out of the silver-haired woman's sight, Swire clutched her chest and gasped for breath.

That look in his eyes was terrifying!

I've seen that woman before! Just a few days ago, the strange woman my grandfather summoned, except her hair color had changed from blonde to silver.

He seems to be a doctor.

But the woman's eyes were terrifying to Swire; she exuded an aura of despair, like a moving natural disaster.

After receiving systematic training in Originium-related skills from her family, Swire could tell that the aura emanating from the other party was quite terrifying.

For a fleeting moment, she even saw the woman's eyes turn gold!

Although she realized in the blink of an eye that it was still blue-gray, she was absolutely certain she wasn't mistaken.

Suspicious guy.

Fortunately, the woman didn't seem to be paying attention to him. She might not have noticed him, or at least she didn't follow him, which meant he wasn't being noticed.

We can continue our search in the port area, following the markings on the map.

It's almost here!

Section 75, Chapter 73: [Do Not Enter]

Yelena sat on a bench by the street, her older sister in line, while she idly watched the crowd queuing in the distance.

And the older sister who is queuing.

The bustling city kept Yelena entertained even while she waited. Every window, every door, and every advertisement plastered on the buildings fueled the children's curiosity about the secrets inside.

Although it is still bustling and noisy, it is much better than before. At least it is not crowded and does not frighten little Yelena.

A faint singing voice rang in my ears.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Feeling like she'd heard it somewhere before, driven by curiosity, Little Yelena turned her head to look in the direction from which the singing was coming.

It was a narrow alleyway located between the floors.

A black cat stood on a trash can in the alley, glanced at Yelena, then jumped off and ran away.

The singing still lingered in the air, faintly drifting through the air.

That seemed to be a folk song from Ursus, one that even Yelena was very familiar with.

However, the ethereal singing coming from the dark alley where the sunlight couldn't reach was rather eerie.

And why this sound...?

I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.

It sounded like the voice of someone I used to know.

"Who? Who's there?"

With no one answering, Yelena boldly stepped into the alley.

The sunlight was gradually stripped away by the corner of the wall, and after taking only a few steps inward, Little Yelena stopped going.

The dark and cold alley was very narrow, like the twisted mouth of a monster, and even the draft passing through it was like the monster's breath.

Woo.

This quickly made the girl want to back out.

No normal person would walk alone into a dark alley; it doesn't look safe at all.

Better go back.

Little Yelena turned around and prepared to leave the alley.

--However!

Behind me, it was still an alleyway...

how come! ! !

However, when the girl realized that her sense of direction was wrong, she did indeed turn around, but what she saw was the same, mirror-like, endlessly extending alleyway behind her...

·····················

Is this the scene of the incident?

The yellow police tape used by the Royal Guard to cordon off the area remains here.

The Royal Guard had already finished collecting evidence and left, but many traces remain that will not be easily erased by time.

Just like.

He pulled out a knife and gently scraped off the only trace on the telephone pole—a claw mark—and put some residue into a small evidence bag. He could take it back and process it to obtain a lot of information.

The matter itself is very simple; even the Royal Guard would do the same. However, the Taikoo Group is a large and powerful family, and the young lady does not trust the Royal Guard. Naturally, she will try to use the Taikoo Group's own methods to investigate the information brought by these remnants.

Finding someone might not work, because that would be a huge undertaking, like looking for a needle in a haystack. But simply testing the information is a very simple matter, and even she could manage it with some effort.

The blade scraped across the part of the utility pole that left a mark, and the dust, along with any information attached to it, fell into the evidence bag.

however.

Something seems a little off.

Those things that should have been dust turned into ashes after they left the surface they were attached to.

wrong!

Swire's eyes suddenly narrowed to pinpoints!

With a tremor of his hand, he threw all the razor blades away.

No! Taking things won't turn them into ashes. If they really did turn into that kind of thing, the Guardians couldn't possibly be unaware of the seriousness of the problem.

Yes, why would the Royal Guard leave behind anything that was used to seal off the scene?

In the instant I turned around, the alleyway in my eyes had transformed into something else entirely.

Like a mirror, the narrow alleyway stretches endlessly, its reflection mirrored in the gray mist.

This is·····

I've been hallucinating!

Illusion is not a common category in Originium Arts.

The main reason is that the effect is not good. Although it is called illusion, the level that ordinary people can achieve is only more psychological suggestion and distortion of a fragment of past memory.

And to improve the impression.

Businessmen and professionals in certain fields tend to value this ability. It's harmless and can enhance perception or first impressions. This kind of thing is quite mysterious; no one can assign a level to the degree to which it affects a person. After all, it can only change one generation and create a certain impression.

Just like how people always embellish their memories, this is the most they can do.

But things are different now!

After turning around and going through who knows how many corners, Swire leaned against the wall, panting heavily and bent over.

Even though I felt like I had run quite a distance, I kept getting lost in the alleyways!

The buildings blocked out the sunlight, making it so dark that it was impossible to estimate the time.

The distance I walked had already exceeded the actual distance the alley should have been.

This goes far beyond the definition of "illusion," because it is essentially creating a virtual space!

A space that is entirely idealistic and cannot be analyzed.

If I had to describe it, it was like a dream.

She couldn't tell whether she was awake or asleep somewhere, and whether it was all just a dream or a nightmare.

A state of blurred consciousness.

But she had to take action, regardless of whether the decision was right or wrong.

This is also part of the family motto: "Never be afraid to make choices. Decisiveness is a businessman's most basic ability. Corrections can be made later, and mistakes can be rectified later, but never stay in one place and hesitate."

That's why she tried to get out of the maze, or to figure out the rules of this maze that might be completely unfathomable.

Until... she seemed to hear footsteps.

Perhaps this is a mirrored space, a completely folded space, where your own projection might appear on the other side of the mirror!

So, if you hear the same footsteps, does that mean you've approached the limit of the mirror's distance?

With this in mind, Swire quickened his pace, filled with hope.

It's just around the next corner!

The moment she stepped into the corner, Swire abruptly turned in that direction.

However, instead of the expected shattering of the mirror, she was met with a muffled thud.

And two cries of pain, one loud and one soft.

"Woo!!"

"what!!!!"

································

A crisp "crunch" sound as the cookie crumbles in your mouth indicates that it's made quite well.

It tastes pretty good.

Carrying the bag, I opened my own portion and tried a few pieces. Sodium chloride gave this evaluation.

These are affordable snacks for ordinary people. Although they are not in the same league as the food eaten by the rich and powerful, they are still quite cost-effective.

At least, it's affordable for anyone.

The girl carrying the bag arrived near the bench where Yelena had been waiting, but there was nothing on the bench.

Where did they go?

Looking around, finally, at the alley entrance, Sodium Chloride slowly crouched down and noticed something barely perceptible.

Those were bloodstains that had seeped into the soil.

A patch of land stained brown with blood, upon which are drawn patterns that have become blurred.

In mysticism, doors are very important, representing the beginning of everything and the entrance to a space.

Now, this thing has changed the meaning of "entrance".

People can indeed go inside, but once inside, they become attached to something.

It's really troublesome.

With a "crunch," the cookie in my mouth was completely crushed.

An ominous glint gradually appeared in his dark blue eyes.