From the end of the world

Chapter 651 Out of reach
The surrounding scenery quickly became blurry, and the scorching heat in front of me was difficult to discern. It felt as if the world was being soaked in water, and all the scenery was as if it were being observed through the shimmering surface of the water.

Jiao Shu, his face contorted and distorted, exclaimed in surprise, "This is... a reboot?"

Not only the visuals, but even the sounds of the scorching heat became muffled and distorted, as if one were diving into the lake to listen to the voices of people on the shore.

So this is the reboot phenomenon I'd vaguely heard about before.

Jiao Shu seemed to feel more than just surprise; she also felt a sense of joy. The reboot phenomenon not only resets the dead but also resets everyone's spatial location. She probably felt a huge sense of relief, realizing she no longer needed to face me, the "victim" who had been hiding her true identity all along. I was already looking forward to seeing what kind of expression she would have after realizing the cruel truth.

In just three seconds, the surrounding scenery and sounds became extremely blurred and distorted. The world, which had been like a lifelike painting, was now a chaotic mess, with all the paints scattered and disordered. What color would appear when all the colorful paints were combined? Anyone with a little experience would know that the final result would inevitably be an extremely muddy black.

If chaos had a color, it would probably be like this. My vision was filled with a dizzying black. Because it wasn't pure black, I could see that this darkness seemed to be writhing with life. Three more seconds passed, and the darkness seemed to slowly disintegrate. The different colors of pigments seemed to finally break free from their mixed state, gradually separating and trying to return to their original order.

The "painting" of "subway platform" has reappeared in my field of vision.

Unlike before, the "painting" was missing some essential elements. The black ash left behind after the Peach Blossom Village cultivators were cremated due to Xuan Ming's appearance had vanished, and Jiao Shu, who had been standing in front of me just moments before, had also disappeared. The mountains of corpses and seas of blood that were everywhere remained in their original locations; Xuan Ming hadn't bothered to destroy them earlier.

Just as I had previously speculated, the reboot phenomenon does not affect my spatial location. In fact, calling it a reboot phenomenon is somewhat inaccurate; it sounds like the time-rewinding power that Dr. Silver Mask demonstrated at the Humanitarian Division's secret base. In reality, it should be described as a massive reorganization of spacetime.

I found a city map in the subway station, confirmed my exact coordinates in the western part of the city, and then came to the street above ground.

At first glance, it's impossible to tell that the scenery outside is any different from before; the sky still hangs upside down with Xuanming's boundless, raging sea of ​​fire. But my intuition tells me that in just a few seconds, the entire southern city, covering an area of ​​over six thousand square kilometers, has been decomposed and reconstructed.

It's one thing to merely decompose, but to be able to reconstruct so accurately, and more importantly, in such a short time... This is beyond the reach of the Great Impermanence I know. Although Xuanming previously stated that the city center was the boundary of the "Outer World Wall," it seems that the area outside the Outer World Wall, within the city's barrier, is gradually becoming a "Shangri-La" universe.

Jiao Shu thought the restart phenomenon was the manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth by Meng Zhang, the lord of Peach Blossom Village. The truth is that it is the manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth of "Peach Blossom Village". Normally, the resistance that fills the city presents a fluctuation of magical power that is closer to that of Meng Zhang, the lord of Peach Blossom Village. It was only because he did something that even Meng Zhang himself could not do that I was able to perceive the difference.

Because this is the place where the ultimate existence of "Shangri-La" might be born—and just for that, this place becomes an alternate reality that can be revisited countless times.

The countless consciousnesses that make up this "Shangri-La" are mostly people who are disappointed or even desperate about reality. They want to go to a better place, want a different life, want to start over—could the current phenomenon of rebooting also be partly driven by such thoughts?

The thought that Lord Meng Zhang of Peach Blossom Village is currently undertaking a project to create a new universe makes it seem unlikely that this would happen in a small civilization like modern human civilization, which hasn't even left its home planet. Especially considering that the other Great Impermanences are fighting to the death over the apocalyptic events that have occurred on this planet, it makes Lord Meng Zhang of Peach Blossom Village seem even more like someone from a different background.

Despite having a seemingly unambitious goal of "making all of humanity indulge in a beautiful dream," the actual results were absolutely outrageous.

After thinking for a moment, I took a step into the distance and moved to the edge of the city center in one step.

Now that I don't need to play the role of a weak, survivor boy in front of Jiao Shu, I naturally won't hesitate to use this little skill.

I can somewhat understand why my spatial location wasn't altered, and why the "firefly" was initially left alone in the fast food restaurant—it's because the Great Impermanence possesses a high-dimensional entity nature that is somewhat independent of time and space.

Whether it's my current body or the initial "Firefly," both are currently quite small. Therefore, after being accidentally damaged, "Shangri-La" could potentially reassemble them during its reboot, with no greater difficulty than reassembling an ordinary Witcher by the roadside. The effect of resetting spatial location is merely incidental. After reassembly, our disregard for the nature of spacetime will emerge, and the effect of resetting spatial location will no longer be possible.

With the power of a "Shangri-La," it's probably possible to forcibly add it, though it might be deemed unnecessary. As I arrived at my answer, I witnessed the current state of the city center.

The city center is currently shrouded in darkness.

It was as if a gigantic black bowl had been inverted over this vast area, completely obscuring the interior of the city center and making one wonder if the entire city center was plunged into darkness. Moreover, this darkness was the same murky darkness I had experienced before, reminiscent of a swarm of filthy black insects, constantly wriggling and struggling. Just staring at it for a short while seemed to induce a dizzying and nauseating sensation.

Is this the "wall beyond the world" that Xuanming mentioned?
I tried to reach out my left hand to touch this chaotic darkness.

However, I failed.

It wasn't that my hand couldn't penetrate this chaotic darkness; I couldn't even touch the target. Judging by physical distance, the distance between me and the target was only forty or fifty centimeters, while my arm, from shoulder to fingertips, was at least sixty centimeters long. In reality, even with my arm fully extended and my body slightly protruding forward, there was still a tiny, unreachable distance between my fingertips and this chaotic darkness.

Next, I tried several other methods, including but not limited to continuing to move forward and using fireballs to attack the chaotic darkness, but all ended in failure. No means could reach the target.

Based on my observations, this isn't simply a matter of space being stretched. If space were stretched, I naturally have the ability to overcome it. If I could find the cause, I could find a way to resolve it. Even forcibly setting a "cannot be touched" outcome at the causal level would be an easy problem for me to solve now. The problem is that I can't find any reason; it's just an illogical "cannot be touched."

Such a helpless experience is truly rare. No wonder the World Vision was at a loss with this "wall of the world." Just as the name suggests, it truly is a wall that seems to exist in a different world.

If it were a mystical master like Yuchi, or a mad scientist like Ying Lingyun, this "wall of the world" might ignite a burning passion for research, but my heart wasn't in it. I had little interest in the impassable wall or the easily kicked pebbles. Having realized that I couldn't approach the "wall of the world" by any means, I shifted my attention elsewhere.

I first checked to see if I could still hear the faint voice that had called me into the city.

It was still audible, and presumably due to the generally correct understanding that "this is the voice of my believers," the clarity of the sound improved slightly.

This is similar to how the power of the Heavenly Manifestation becomes more pronounced after Xiao Wan gains a correct understanding of himself. Powers related to the soul, such as magical power and spiritual perception, are closely related to "cognition." The difference between "knowing" and "not knowing" can, in some cases, even cause earth-shattering changes in power.

Unfortunately, the resistance to perception within the city was too strong, and I still couldn't pinpoint the exact direction of the sound. I had to see if there were any other opportunities.

I then went to sense the thermal energy markers I had set on Jiao Shu's body.

Similarly, due to the resistance, perception was very difficult. Fortunately, I could sense the "fireflies" inside even from outside the city's barrier, and now that I was inside as well, sensing the location of the thermal energy markers wasn't too difficult. I quickly grasped Jiao Shu's exact location and movements, and even vaguely saw the images and sounds on her side.

Nearly five or six kilometers away from the original subway station, in the blurry scene, a figure that could be vaguely identified as Jiao Shu was moving at high speed away from the subway station.

"Who exactly is that boy? Why did Xuanming talk to him like that..." Jiao Shu's voice fluctuated with emotion, "Could it be..."

She clearly knew the answer, but seemed afraid to say the name aloud.

(End of this chapter)