Chapter 2260: A Rare Opportunity
A place that simultaneously possesses multiple spaces while also connecting different spatial and temporal powers appeared more like a special hub zone. Unlike the chaotic space that had appeared in Zone 014 before, this place was extremely stable, completely unlike something formed by chance, but rather deliberately assembled.
So what kind of place was this?
Time and space powers converged here, maintaining a certain regularity. The two forces steadily sustained a fixed quantity, as if this place had always been like this.
The Dimensional Rift was said to be a game that could transcend dimensions, but in actual contact, only when the train traveled through different wormhole points could one reach this height. Ordinary space teleportation and cross-district teleportation didn't provide much actual sensation.
Of course, this could also be because no matter how much humans evolved, they couldn't reach the height of transcending dimensions, and the game didn't require humans to reach that height either.
Crossing space and curved time rewind were ways to transcend dimensions that players could understand and directly contact, but they were merely observers. Players couldn't casually change time and space. Places like the Space Prison had already far exceeded the upper limits of human imagination, even to the point of being incomprehensible.
Although he didn't dare to directly touch the time power in this space, such an opportunity for direct observation was extremely rare. The time power Xu Huo had observed before was always very scarce—sometimes like a fine rain, sometimes like a torrential flood. What he could feel was only the fine rain, and even with the help of props, he couldn't draw too much time power, so he had never carefully experienced what "sometimes like a torrential flood" actually looked like.
The Water Cube before him now, though very small, had crossed space to arrive and condensed into a physical form. It was itself like a compressed version of the "torrential flood."
The smallest unit of time power Xu Huo had previously understood was the Time Ray. Later, after correction by Huahan Werner, he discovered that time power couldn't be divided into smaller units, otherwise it would become even more difficult to use. The chaotic time power site left by Dr. Wu in Pumpkin City provided a simple analogy for curved time. Time and curved time were different—time moved forward in one direction, while curved time could rewind the past, allowing people to return to a past state, a true traversal through time and space.
However, the time power within the Water Cube was relatively regular, without curved time.
The rewind power of curved time could make people lose their memories. This game's ability to cause amnesia might also use curved time power. It's just that curved time was even more irregular than ordinary time power, even interfering with other time powers, which was why it didn't appear fixedly in this Space Prison.
Although Xu Huo wore the Time Ring on his hand, he didn't have "Three Seconds of Life" with him, so he wasn't sure if he could resist the influence of time power in the end. However, given the situation in this Space Prison, it seemed that even carrying Super Items wouldn't spare him.
He sat in front of the Water Cube for another two hours. When he was once again exhausted, the "prison guard" who had crossed paths with him before walked over again.
The other party's body had undergone Super Evolution, far surpassing ordinary players. He didn't know how many "prisoners" he had killed. This man carried quite a few deep, bone-visible wounds that hadn't healed yet.
Seeing Xu Huo sitting in the corridor, he curiously came over. "What are you doing?"
Xu Huo pointed at the Water Cube in front of him and invited him to look together.
The man sat down, stared at the Water Cube for a while, then turned his head to look at Xu Huo. "What's in there?"
"Probably time," Xu Huo said.
"I know, that's not what I meant," the man said. "This Water Cube has time power, that's obvious to everyone. But can you see any tricks in it? Are you proficient in time power?"
"Not really," Xu Huo said, his gaze fixed on the Water Cube. "I'm just trying to see if I can figure something out from it."
This player stared at the Water Cube for a while longer, then shook his head and waved his hand. "Forget it, I don't have that kind of patience. I'd rather spend two more hours training my muscles. In the game, you don't need to be too smart—being strong enough is fine."
Xu Huo rubbed his eyes. "It's getting late. I need to go back and rest."
The other party agreed and proactively handed him a business card. "We can cooperate when we get out."
Xu Huo took it and said, "My unlocked area isn't very large. If it's convenient for you, you can come find me."
The man accepted his card. "No problem."
In the following time, Xu Huo spent his days in the room. At eight o'clock in the evening, all players were cleared out, and the keys in their hands disappeared into thin air. Only a very small number of people remained in the maze corridors. Most players returned outside the maze.
At that time, new players came in.
Having seen the situation in the maze, players were unwilling to return to it at night. Those who had already come out preferred to stay outside. Some people also came out of the maze. The later players, unaware of the situation, asked around but got no answers. Some still tried to enter the maze, but they came out again shortly after. The Space Prison was no different from a maze—no normal person would like this environment.
The female prison guard came out and sat near Xu Huo. The other male prison guard was also not far away. After leaving the maze, the words above their heads disappeared, indicating that the game had a certain cooldown period.
Among the later-arriving players, Xu Huo saw another familiar face.
"Zhu Xiaojin?" he called out.
Zhu Xiaojin was quite stubborn. He had used his own face in Buliucheng, and after entering, his appearance hadn't changed. Hearing Xu Huo's greeting, he turned around and looked. "Brother Xu?"
"What about Cheng Zhongzhi and Shen Fu? Didn't they come in too?"
As he spoke, he had already walked over. Glancing at the female player beside him, he widened his eyes in surprise. "Shen Fu isn't a woman disguised as a man, is he!"
Xu Huo didn't say anything, but the female player laughed. "Your imagination is pretty wild."
Zhu Xiaojin chuckled. "Good thing it's not, or I wouldn't know how to look at him anymore."
"Most of the people who came in changed their appearances. I'm not sure about those two." Xu Huo paused and then asked, "How long has it been since I left Buliucheng?"
"Less than an hour," Zhu Xiaojin said, resting his hands on his knees. "After you disappeared with the wanted criminal, quite a few of the players who had gathered left. They probably went to look for other enforcement officers."
"What's the deal with this game? Does 'one-third' refer to the past, present, and future? Losing the future won't cost you your life, will it?"
"I said it's one-third," Xu Huo replied. "I figure you'd have to lose at least three times before you lose your life."
Zhu Xiaojin sighed mournfully, then eagerly asked, "Hurry up and tell me what's really going on in the game!" (Chapter End)