Nobita's Time Heist

There was no sunlight or plants underground, and occasionally a long underground river could be seen flowing silently. Fortunately, there was the rock music from the American guy to liven things up; otherwise, moving forward in this godforsaken place in complete silence would have been enough to drive anyone crazy in no time.

The headlights were incredibly penetrating; sweeping across the cave, they could already see some strange, attached things in the corners. It was difficult to describe what they were; all that could be seen was a chaotic mass of blood and flesh, shimmering faintly where they were mixed together.

As the vehicle continued its silent journey, they saw more of these things, varying in size and arranged haphazardly. Even so, the dense clusters of tiny holes on those lumps of flesh were enough to make anyone with trypophobia scream and die on the spot.

"These...these are..."

"Insect eggs?" Fat Tiger frowned. "They're even more disgusting than I imagined."

"The scan results show that the life within the embryo is undergoing a highly efficient metamorphosis, and..."

The driver turned the headlights downwards, casting a beam that illuminated the bottom of this filthy place—composed of countless giant worms. They possessed long antennae, sharp claws, and incredibly sharp mandibles, but now they were lifeless, their life force drained from their bodies, leaving only shriveled corpses. Even more chilling was the unknown depth of the pit, and the unknown number of corpses. The headlights were too limited; no matter how they shone, they could only illuminate a small corner.

The pit has been filled with ash.

The ground was so clean you couldn't see a single insect, nor hear a single chilling hiss; there was only silent stillness, and everywhere, fleshy insect eggs hung from the rock walls and the ceiling. Their appearance was so horrifying that Xiaofu couldn't help but wonder what kind of monster would tear them apart and crawl out from inside?

"Wow... so many dead?" Fat Tiger didn't seem particularly bothered. He was the type of person who would never lose his appetite no matter what happened, so he continued watching without hesitation. "Is it because there's no food?"

“Theoretically speaking, since such a massive swarm of Zerg has already occurred, we shouldn’t be considering this issue. I’m more inclined to believe that all the fully formed Zerg are controlled by the same genetic matrix, and that just recently, this matrix gave them the order to ‘commit suicide.’”

Meijin presented the intelligence he had gathered in data form, regardless of whether Xiaofu and Gian could understand it or not, and explained, "They have no external injuries on their bodies, at least not on the samples I selected for scanning. In the deep underground, there shouldn't be any external force forcing them to die."

"The meager nutrients stored within them are extracted to nourish the new life that is still incubating. Currently, my life scanning system has only detected one 'living' life, and we are moving towards it."

"Wait a minute..." Fat Tiger, always a beat slow to realize something was wrong, "You mean, 'all' the bugs are dead?"

“Yes, all of them.” America’s tone was rhythmic, but his attitude was very firm. “All the old bugs are dead, and the new bugs have not yet been born.”

"Really?" Fat Tiger smiled. "Looks like luck is on our side."

“No… this can’t be luck… all the bugs are dead…” Xiao Fu thought for a long time, then suddenly realized, “It’s iteration!”

"It must be! The genetic matrix has detected a common weakness in the species she created. Perhaps it's an inability to adapt to a certain environment. They don't have 'adaptation lights'; everything is written in their genes. Being unable to fight in a specific environment is a fatal blow to them. To remedy this mistake, the genetic matrix had to eliminate the old species and create new ones, and this action..."

"This has created an opportunity for us!"

……

Illumination by lights.

In the center of this enormous void stands a small, island-like mountain. Unlike the other chaotic places, there is no nauseating pool of flesh or insect eggs here. Only a few clusters of crystals stand within, reflecting a cold, sharp light. These crystal clusters are cleaner than crystal itself, displayed in this dark and terrifying underground, seemingly the only paradise worthy of redemption.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The vehicle slowly descended and came to a stop on this sacred, isolated island.

"The genetic matrix is ​​right here..." Meijin's tone was eager, "Should I take her out with one shot?"

"How come I never noticed before? You can talk so aggressively?" Fatty Tiger retorted, then continued, "Dude, while I admire your recklessness, I have to tell you from my own experience that it's best not to act rashly before you've fully figured things out."

"Hearing you say that, Gian, is like a dream. But you're right, we can't act rashly." Suneo took out the [Stone Hat] from his pocket. "We'd better go scout ahead first, and then... to avoid us losing contact..."

"【Cordless Telephone】—!!"

"Then, US dollar, remember, if anything goes wrong between us, you open fire and cover our retreat as quickly as possible!"

"Don't worry, don't worry... Damn it, I'll break this lousy voice sooner or later!" Meijin said in a voice like reciting poetry, "Before I leave, I'll release enough incendiary bombs to make sure these insect eggs are burned to ashes and can't go out and harm people anymore."

……

Wearing the stone hat eliminated his sense of presence and made it impossible for him to see his companions, which doubled Xiaofu's anxiety. So much so that he hadn't walked more than a few steps before turning back to make sure the dollar was still there, ready to provide considerable firepower support at any time, before he felt a little more at ease.

"But then again, what are these crystals? Could they be the exoskeletons shed by some kind of insect? Or secretions?"

"But, if that's the case..."

"when!"

He kicked something, and judging from the sound, it was clearly metallic. This aroused Xiao Fu's suspicion. Following the sound, he saw a dirty scroll with a distinct metallic sheen at both ends. However, its light pink and dark purple hues seemed strangely familiar to Xiao Fu. Such a precious object seemed out of place in this filthy, decadent, and mutated insectoid nest.

"and many more……"

My heart started pounding.

"Fat Tiger... This is terrible... This is terrible!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Yeah, Suneo, this is incredible." After navigating several clusters of crystals, Gian witnessed an incredibly rare sight in the largest one.

A young girl.

A beautiful, flawless young girl with high cheekbones, snow-white skin, and long, flowing, maroon hair stood quietly in the crystal, her hands clasped together, as if praying to some unseen deity.

"What a beautiful girl."

Chapter 105: The Damaged "Journey to the Demon Realm," Familiar Strangers

"Watch out, Gian!"

Meijin's voice came through the radio receiver, "The only life form in front of you is the one underground! She is the genetic matrix of those insects!"

"...What? Her?" Fat Tiger glanced again at the girl inside the crystal, who was as quiet as Sleeping Beauty, then looked at the flesh and insect eggs covering the dome and corners in the distance, and shook his head. "No...how can I believe this? Does she have even the slightest resemblance to those insects down there?"

"She encases herself in a unique keratinous substance that can transform into a liquid, injecting the 'protoplasm'—the information-containing gene fragments—needed for gene modification into the eggs, directly overwriting the metamorphosis process. When the insects emerge from the cocoon… if that can be considered a 'cocoon'," Meijin quipped, then continued, "they will possess the positive evolution brought about by entirely new genes!"

"To put it simply, I don't believe those insects possess their own consciousness. They are merely small nodes, collectively building a vast information network, and behind this network lies only one will, one voice, and that is..."

……

Without warning, the girl's eyes opened, their cold, icy blue color somewhat incongruous with the maroon hair behind her.

She gently hooked her finger.

"Boom————!!!"

The crystal pillar shattered with a deafening roar, and from the scattered fragments, a sword emerged, instantly separating and seizing Fat Tiger's scent, striking him down with a single blow. The crystal clusters, growing wildly like vines, quickly restricted his limbs and torso, limiting his mobility without actually injuring him.

"Ugh... Uh..."

Fat Tiger let out a muffled groan and struggled desperately, but to no avail. The girl with the icy expression floated in mid-air, looking down at him with a captivating smile.

"It's been a long time since anyone complimented my looks, thank you." She glanced at Xiaofu, "What about your other friend? Is she a bit shy?"

"How is this possible?!" Suneo's astonishment at this moment was beyond words. He touched his head and checked again and again, "I was definitely wearing a hat!"

"A magic to erase one's presence? How clever. It's not invisibility, nor is it eliminating scent; it chooses to erase one's presence altogether..."

The girl slowly approached, her icy blue eyes and cold breath seeming to be pressed against his back.

"Unfortunately, these little tricks are useless when it comes to fighting the Mother of Insects."

As the floating girl drew closer, the crystal clusters also inching closer, encroaching on the already limited land. They could transform into swords at any moment, piercing through his flesh—just thinking about it made Xiao Fu's vivid imagination run wild.

“Very few people visit this place directly. Yes, I used ‘very few,’ which means there are some.” Perhaps because she was too lonely, the girl was a bit talkative. She circled around Xiaofu, floating slowly, but made no aggressive moves, only talking to him.

“The last one to come was a male shaman named Jaqen Herma. I found him interesting, chatted with him, and he answered my questions… so he left safely.” Her tone was erratic, making it difficult to discern her true intentions. “Do you want to give it a try? Or should we just go through the normal process?”

"Wait! I surrender!"

Xiaofu took off his stone hat and raised his hands. In his right hand, he happened to be holding the half-scroll he had just picked up.

"Before we begin, I also have a question for you..."

"brush!"

Before the girl could react, he opened the scroll with both hands and showed it to her.

"Huh?" Fat Tiger, who was pinned to the ground, was confused. "Where did you get this thing?"

"I just picked this up from the ground. When I opened it, the contents shocked me beyond belief." Xiao Fu gritted his teeth, gestured to Mei Jin not far away, and asked, "I'd like to ask, this lady who calls herself the Mother of Insects..."

"Why do you possess the first half of 'The Demon Realm Journey'?!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

……

The world suddenly became quiet.

Fat Tiger was dumbfounded and didn't immediately realize what was going on, but he had a vague feeling that a fierce battle was inevitable.

The current stillness is merely a moment of calm before the storm.

"..."

The girl remained silent for a long time, her icy blue eyes never closing, as if she didn't need to blink, staring intently at Xiaofu. If looks could hurt, Xiaofu was quite certain he would have seven or eight more holes in his body.

"What?" Her voice was no longer as firm and strong as before, but rather tinged with confusion, bewilderment, and even a hint of anger. "Could it be that you know... what is this? 'The Demon Realm Journey'? What the hell is that?!"

"You know nothing about the contents of this scroll?" Xiao Fu also sensed something was amiss. His instincts told him it was best to stop there and not ask any more questions. But for now, to extract more information, he gritted his teeth. "It's a book called 'The Journey of the Demon Realm,' written by a great adventurer. It describes methods to defeat the demon race, and magical incantations inscribed on the moon, enough to make all demons fear its light..."

"Woo..."

This time, it was the Mother Insect's turn to clutch her head. Her expression turned pained; what Xiaofu had just said was like tiny insects spreading their wings, trying to burrow into her brain.

"Shut up... shut up!!"

A powerful roar shook the entire underground cavern. Xiao Fu, being a sensible person, immediately stopped talking, but he also quickly realized that this seemingly beautiful "girl" was extremely unstable mentally.

“You don’t understand anything! I saw it, I saw it with my own eyes! His existence… with humanity’s current level of technology, there’s no way to defend against his magic… It’s not my fault, even if many people die, even if we are transformed into a different species, this is what we have to do…”

"War is imminent, and I will fight at all costs for my survival..."

She stared intently at Xiaofu, a cruel and terrifying look on her face, "At all costs..."

"boom----!!"

The belated plasma blasted the Mother of Insects away. Meijin accelerated in place, transforming in mid-air, her right hand conjuring a giant axe shimmering with light energy. With a graceful, powerful cleavage, she severed the crystal clusters trapping Fat Tiger!

"Thanks, bro!" Fat Tiger finally managed to break free and leaped onto the car. "How did you manage to piss her off with just a few words?"

"If I had known she was in such a bad mental state, I definitely would have used a different approach!" Xiaofu muttered, looking at the scroll in his hand. "But how did she get this thing here? It's really puzzling..."

"The Journey to the Demon Realm is something that belongs to the magical world, so why is it coming to the real world?"

……

The trembling earth beneath the surface had no intention of answering his question.

With a piercing shriek from the Mother of Insects, countless hatched insectoids burst through the flesh-and-blood eggs, emitting terrifying screams that sent chills down one's spine. Spreading their wings, claws, and fangs, they charged towards the hovercar!

Chapter 106: Before the Spirit of Fire, everything is explained!

For Suneo, Gian, and Shizuka in this world, their "Great Adventure in the Demon World" is actually different from that of Nobita and Doraemon.

Here I have to talk about the "What If Phone Booth," which is arguably the most iconic gadget in all of Doraemon's gadgets and will never fall out of the top 5.

Its principle is actually similar to a "message in a bottle" in the multiverse. It doesn't create such a world out of thin air, but rather matches a universe that meets the user's requirements from the infinite multiverse and sends them there. In that universe, there are also people who are the same, including Nobita and Doraemon. They also use a gadget similar to the magic phone booth at the same time, and the two sides swap homes, embarking on a magical adventure.

For example, in the "Great Adventure in the Demon World" episode, Nobita wishes for a magical world from a phone booth, while Nobita from the magical world simultaneously wishes for a scientific world. Both wishes take effect at the same time. Ultimately, Nobita from the scientific world resolves the crisis of the Demon King's arrival in the magical world, while Nobita from the magical world, along with Suneo, Gian, and Shizuka, resolves the crisis of an unknown celestial body in the real world.

This was a strange journey of mirroring. After the two sides were switched back, it wasn't until Nobita used the [Memory Disk] to play back his memories of his adventure in the Demon World that everyone realized, "Oh, so such a story happened in another world."

Now, things from the story have suddenly appeared in reality, which is a bit unsettling.

Regardless, as the team's top-notch monster-initiators, these two had fulfilled their duties. Not only did they successfully initiate the fight, but the effect was exceptionally good—the enemy was immediately enraged, urging all the hatched insectoids to chase after them. In the dark and empty underground world, the insectoids ran around like madmen, causing the rock walls and dome to resonate.

"How's the dollar holding up?"

"Ha...just kidding..." Meijin still used that serious broadcaster's tone to make his tough statement, which sounded ridiculously incongruous. "If I can't even fly over something with wings, then what's the point of me becoming like this?"

As it spoke, the anti-gravity engine, which shared the same origin as the [Bamboo Dragonfly], increased its power, causing the vehicle to hover in the air, like a particle being continuously accelerated in a loop. Quietly yet rapidly, it sped out of the cave, leaving only two beams of purple light from the engine. Occasionally, insects would swoop down from above, only to be cleaved in two by the high-speed motion, splashing out nauseating slime.

"The ascent has begun." Meijin scanned the depth of the rock face and announced, "We expect to break through the surface in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Firing now is highly likely to damage the underground cave structure and cause a collapse. We recommend waiting until we reach an open area before launching a counter-attack!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Seeing the Grand Archives completely surrounded, Hylia, Dekisugi, and Nobita all wore expressions of utter astonishment and disbelief, which looked somewhat comical. Thinking about it, it was rather amusing to see this usually confident little genius show such an unexpected expression. However, the thought of Shizuka and Asur still trapped inside the Grand Archives made Nobita's smile vanish.

“I’ve only been gone for a morning, really, just the time it takes to have breakfast…” He sighed, utterly dejected, “and it’s already turned into this mess. In a way, it’s quite a talent.”

"Nobi-kun, there's no need to be angry," Dekisugi said softly, like a good friend. "Everyone just wanted to help."

“I’m not angry. I just feel that if you could discuss things with me before taking any action, I would have a better understanding of what to do.”

Nobita sighed, gazing at the horizon, and muttered, "It must have been Suneo who started this, just like that expedition to the Bermuda Triangle. Only he would plan something like this. He and Gian must have gone to investigate the underground cavern, and sent Shizuka and Asura to the library to investigate the history of the Golden City. Now I wonder which side has been exposed first, incurring the hostility of the Golden City..."

“This isn’t just simple hostility, Da Xiong, Xiao Ying.” Hylia pricked up her ears, listening intently to the sounds within the city, a rare serious expression on her face. “The sound element sent everything to my ears. They believe that among your companions, there are members of the [Storm Clan].

For Golden City, this was an unprecedented event, and almost everyone headed towards the Great Archives. Besides the officially registered "soldiers," there were also many civilians with low elemental affinity, all just to catch a glimpse of what the legendary Storm Clan looked like. So much so that when Hylia secretly opened the barrier and let the three of them slip in from the outside, it didn't attract any attention at all.

"The Fire Spirit released crimson flames as a warning; this was the message that represented the 'Storm Clan invasion' back then. It seems this won't end so easily..."

Hylia turned her little head to look at the nine towering stone pillars, and murmured, "This matter originated with the Fire Spirit, and it must be resolved by the Fire Spirit. The Storm Clan has deeply hurt them, and this is not something to be taken lightly. We must make Him personally retract this order."

"Nobita, would you like to come with me to submit the proof to the Spirit of Fire?"