Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 85 Illusions and Anchors

Now that they had arrived in Haiqu, they didn't need to waste any more time.

After the temporary command post was roughly established, Su Xun led the pre-selected personnel straight to the secret realm. Most of the wind-type ability users were in this group, along with Jiang Yi and quite a few other ordinary people.

This time, Su Xun personally drove a car, and it was still a fairly large convoy. Many people in the team already knew the basic situation of the secret realm, but without actually seeing it, they still couldn't understand the bizarre and wonderful scenery.

Even if you actually see it, you might not understand it.

Even Jiang Yi was very curious about this, and she asked, "So, zombies can't enter the secret realm?"

“That’s right. The entrance to the secret realm is a cognitive illusion. Zombies have no cognition, so how can they enter? To them, that layer of fog simply doesn’t exist.”

"However, this may not be the case for high-level zombies or zombie kings with mental mutations."

This is one of the reasons why humans were able to gain a foothold in the apocalypse in the past. If zombies could also use the resources in the secret realm, the situation would probably be even more difficult.

"So, if we encounter a large horde of zombies, we can hide in a secret realm?"

"Hiding for a while is fine, but it's not necessarily safe in the secret realm. Although you don't need to eat or drink in the secret realm, staying too long can lead to various problems."

Jiang Yi pondered, "Are the other exits... truly interconnected within the secret realm?"

Su Xun nodded: "To be precise, similar secret realms are interconnected, but we don't have a way to take advantage of that yet."

Su Xun had seen many so-called secret realms in other countries, and he even felt that they were completely different things. In fact, that was the case. In North America, they were called 'mazes', and you could tell the difference just from the name.

The extraordinary beings of the East often joke that their secret realm is a misty, ethereal paradise, while those on the other side are just sewer pipes.

However, even so, Su Xun still had to admit that there were quite a few good things there. If they had traveled faster in this life, they might have been able to go there earlier and pick up some bargains.

That said, it took them a long time to truly confirm that the secret realms did not exist in isolation. At that time, there were even organizations that specifically established a transportation route to other places using the secret realms. However, such routes could generally only be used within a region and relied heavily on some special technologies developed based on the superhuman system.

Even though Su Xun understood those things, he couldn't produce them unless he reached a certain level.

Without the relevant technology, whether or not one can take advantage of this is entirely a matter of luck. Once one enters those passages, it's hard to say where one will end up. Perhaps with good luck, one will reach a safe place and reap the treasures nurtured by the secret realm, but more likely one will fall into a deeper level and die a gruesome death.

However, thinking about the situation abroad, Su Xun couldn't help but wonder how things were on the other side of the ocean.

He had no liking for those capitalists, but it would be good if more people in North America could survive. They were also a group of poor people suffering from oppression, and every one of them who survived would increase the strength of all humanity.

Unfortunately, communication cannot be established yet, so it's unlikely we'll be able to find out what's happening there in the short term.

Hopefully, the people over there can preserve and study the apocalyptic intelligence that the East distributed globally. It also contains Su Xun's survival manual, and its contents could potentially help both sides re-establish communication in the future. As the two talked, the convoy gradually approached the fog. Su Xun once again marveled at the convenience brought by traffic control; the city roads were empty and clean, and because a zombie horde had just been cleared, there were hardly any zombies left to be seen.

"Shouldn't almost all the survivors in Haiqu have gathered by now?"

"The safe zone is still counting the number of people, but there are probably still some who have been missed in the corners of the city. A city is too big, and there will always be places that cannot be taken care of."

Su Xun nodded, not asking any further questions, and stepped on the gas to get to the front of the convoy.

"Don't we need to connect our convoy with ropes?"

Jiang Yi was a little curious. This was a method she had just seen in the Survival Manual's Secret Realm chapter, which could prevent the team from getting separated due to cognitive confusion.

Su Xun shook his head: "With me here, there's no need."

This is one of the reasons why he insisted on coming here himself; within the cognitive illusion, the role he can play is irreplaceable by anyone else.

When an individual has a full understanding and awareness of spiritual power and the reality of the world, cognitive illusions can no longer obstruct their vision. If they wish, they can become a 'cognitive anchor' within the illusions, illuminating the path for others.

Understanding the world can be considered a part of knowledge and is one of the essential conditions for advancement to the next level.

The organization in Su Xun's memory established numerous anchor points and explored stable paths through similar principles. However, Su Xun cannot stand here as a lighthouse forever, so he can only plan ahead if he wants to make use of this.

Jiang Yi looked at the thick fog with great curiosity and asked, "Why can our car drive in, but the house can't enter the secret realm together?"

"Not only vehicles, but also weapons can be brought in, because these are all tools, which are essentially extensions of human will and ways for people to change the world. Vehicles are extensions of the feet, and weapons are extensions of the hands. They are concrete manifestations of human cognition."

Jiang Yi seemed to be deep in thought, and Su Xun turned his head to look at her: "You have a lot of questions today."

The other person stopped talking and gently turned their head away.

Su Xun smiled and shook his head. This girl was usually serious and reliable, making it impossible for anyone to joke with her. But when it came to the unknown, she showed a strong curiosity.

This might explain how she earned so many degrees; such curiosity is not necessarily a bad thing.

Su Xun thought that even if the other party did not have superpowers, he might still become an excellent superhuman in the future. But then again, who can say that such a strong curiosity and learning ability is not a superhuman ability in itself?
In civilized times, the achievements of people with such abilities, compared to ordinary people, may not be much smaller than the gap between extraordinary individuals and ordinary people.
The convoy didn't take long to move forward. In the hazy distance, Su Xun and Jiang Yi suddenly saw shadowy figures appearing ahead.

"That is……?"

As soon as Su Xun stopped the car, he could see the people coming from the front. They were survivors, a long line of survivors stretching as far as the eye could see. The survivors had their arms around the former’s shoulders as they walked step by step toward the outside of the secret realm.

(End of this chapter)