Chapter 1922: The Ticket Inside the Puzzle Ball
The principles behind the Space Ray Blade and the Space Barrier are similar—both involve densifying space rays to achieve defensive or offensive effects. The slight difference is that creating a blade from the rays is more difficult, as it requires twisting the space rays together. Before this, Xu Huo could only produce very simple ray blades. While their range was not small, they were relatively thin and could be blocked by defense items and protective suits.
Reinforcement is essentially a process of completing multiple twists, similar to pulling space rays into an instant barrier. It requires not only skilled manipulation of space rays but also the ability to complete the process in a short time.
Xu Huo had seen a Space Ray Blade capable of piercing an A-level space defense item barrier when he fought Mr. Kang in a high-risk instance. The degree of twisting in those rays was like space power freezing and shattering into countless ice shards. Not to mention item barriers, if the coverage area was large enough, even a city could be destroyed.
What Xu Huo could do now was to reduce the coverage area of the Space Ray Blade, achieving multiple layers of twisting within a smaller range. Although the density of coverage was greatly reduced, the attack power had increased.
He was very satisfied with this result.
"Give me one," he said, pointing to the fruit on the table when he stopped.
Bai Kou tossed one to him and then casually pulled a notebook out of a drawer. "This contains all the precautions for training space power. The direction you mentioned—enhancing lethality by increasing the sharpness and intensity of a single space ray—is also covered, but I don't recommend you learn it."
"When time-space evolution reaches a higher stage, the breadth and depth it offers are absolute advantages. A Super Evolution power that can be dodged so easily isn't worth being called evolution. Generally, only those with some talent but an eagerness for quick results would delve into this method. In the long run, it's not advisable."
"Every Spatial Super Evolver looks up to Lawrence Li as the standard model. That's the true embodiment of space power."
Xu Huo finished the fruit in a few bites, casually wiped his hands, and went over to take the notebook.
Bai Kou gave him a somewhat disdainful look.
Xu Huo paused his movement of flipping it open. "I don't have to return this to you, right?"
"No need." Bai Kou had no fondness for soiled books. Many of the materials in her study were handwritten copies she had made herself.
Xu Huo wasn't particular about such things. He put the notebook away and said, "Let's stop here for today. I promised Xiao Yuan and the others I'd go watch a performance together."
Bai Kou nodded and told him the reserved time for the next day.
After leaving the Mechanical Castle, he went to pick up Xiao Yuan and Tan Qi from school. The three of them had dinner together and then took a car to the amusement park.
The amusement park had a parade of floats for children today, accompanied by a full aerial performance, so there were many visitors. As soon as they sat down, the performance had already begun.
The aerial performance relied on holographic projections. The parade floats circled the city, and the show looked different from every angle, each with its own highlights. That was why it was so popular—even adults wouldn't find it boring.
"This is the most fun place I've ever been in my life," a passing tourist was enthusiastically talking about the fun parts of Platinum Eye. "If only I could live here."
Hearing this, Tan Qi turned back to ask Xu Huo, "Are we going to live here from now on?"
"Do you want to live here?" Xu Huo asked.
"It's really fun here, but I miss Uncle Dong and Li Chun," Xiao Yuan said. "Can we go back in the future?"
"Do you know how to take the train?" Xu Huo asked. "If you want to go back, you can discuss it with your teacher first."
The Non-Player Train was relatively safe, and the two children weren't first-time riders.
"But you need to notify someone in advance to pick you up when entering or leaving the station."
Having been granted such a significant privilege for the first time, both children were stunned. Their classmates at school had to be accompanied by someone wherever they went and were never allowed to travel alone. They never imagined they could directly cross the city they lived in to board the Dimension Train!
"That doesn't mean you can run around," Xu Huo said. "Ordinary people aren't safe anywhere."
Both children were very excited, as if they had suddenly shed the constraints of age and could now converse with adults on an equal psychological level.
"The teacher said we can earn wages for our usual work. We can slowly save up for train tickets," Xiao Yuan began planning. "Once we've saved enough tickets, we can go back."
"If you're going to live here on your own, you need to learn to be sharp," Xu Huo specifically told them. "Children may seem fragile, but precisely because they are fragile, they are easily overlooked."
Xiao Yuan and Tan Qi had grown up in hardship since they were old enough to understand the world. They were more mature than ordinary children, especially Tan Qi, who was very intelligent. He immediately understood Xu Huo's implication and said, "We'll remember. At all times, we are harmless little kids."
Xu Huo patted their heads and didn't send them back to Old Lady Lu's place until they had had enough fun. As he was leaving, he added, "I won't be coming by starting tomorrow. I plan to leave Platinum Eye in about two days. I've already spoken with Miss Fang, and she will apply for a special Under Dimension account for you. If anything comes up, you can contact me through the game channel."
It was time to part again. The two children were a bit reluctant and stood at the door, watching him leave with longing eyes.
Over the next two days, he spent most of his time during the day at the Mechanical Castle and returned to the hotel to rest at night, while also stocking up on necessary supplies. On the third day, after the five sets of custom daily-use protective suits designed to conceal his body's evolutionary state arrived, he retrieved the "Angel's Eyes" from Bai Kou and used the ticket to leave Platinum Eye.
To conceal the body's evolutionary state, using items was actually more convenient, and there were many such items in the game. However, the problem with items was that they might be removed accidentally, which could cause trouble. Although protective suits were a bit bulkier, they had the advantage of convenience.
During his week in Platinum Eye, Xu Huo had made some progress in both Temporal and Spatial Evolution. The side effects from overusing spiritual power had also disappeared as his evolution rate increased. Overall, he had gained quite a bit and had also rested very well.
After boarding the train this time, he was in good condition and planned to solve Dr. Zhang's puzzle ball on the train.
The puzzle ball was given to him by Chang Bei in Zone 017. So much time had passed, and he had almost solved it. He estimated that there were only the last two or three steps left to fully open it. Completing it on the train was safer than doing it in Platinum Eye, so he specifically waited until he was on board to take it out.
Dr. Zhang's puzzle ball required spiritual power to solve. Therefore, in the carriage, he did not deliberately suppress his spiritual power. The players in the same carriage sensed the spiritual power and wisely kept their distance from him to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings. After a whole day passed, the puzzle ball finally split open from the middle, and what fell into his hand was a ticket.
C20-035 Subzone, Hornless Lamb Station.
(End of Chapter)