Void Jigsaw Puzzle

The city center of Wuming City is flat, but as you go further out, the terrain becomes increasingly undulating and uneven.

Overall, the terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast.

The City God Temple is located in the northwest corner of the city, at the junction of flat and sloped ground, with a large river flowing at the foot. It is said that the feng shui is very good and the incense is always prosperous.

Not far behind it is Ma'anshan, which is formed by a sudden rise in slope. There is also a Guandi Temple halfway up the mountain, which enshrines a great man of great righteousness and fame who will be remembered forever.

In Zhong Chenmu's memory, a big river originated from Ma'anshan, flowed down from the mountain, and then turned several bends in Wuming City.

But he had never seen it in person.

Not even in my memory.

So, when he took the bus from the library to the northwest in the last glimmer of light before sunset, in addition to the excitement of meeting the Prophet Society, he also had the subconscious desire to trace the source of a great river.

"If this ends early, I might as well go further into the mountains and explore the source of a large river. If I can't find out what the outside world is like through my memories or books, then going upstream along the river would be a good idea, right? Could this river just appear out of thin air?"

After swaying for probably more than ten stops, we finally arrived.

Night has fallen and this place is far away from the city. Although there are still street lights, they are sparsely distributed and extremely dim.

There was no one walking on the street, and there were a dozen or so cars parked sparsely on the roadside. The bus continued to drive towards the foot of Ma'anshan, and after disappearing in the winding road, the whole atmosphere was very bleak.

Only the sound of rapids coming from the river not far away brought a hint of life.

Zhong Chenmu had already seen the City God Temple from afar. It was behind a dense forest on the right side of the path leading to the foot of the mountain. A corner of the red wall and mud tiles was exposed, looking very mysterious in the twilight.

There seems to be a light shining behind the red wall.

He walked over quickly, his footsteps making almost no sound on the soft earth. As far as he could remember, he had never been to the City God Temple in his entire life. But Wuming City was such a small place, why did he have no memory of ever being there?

And although there is a bus stop here, the road leading from the station is still so primitive. The soft mud road is repeatedly covered with different footprints, and I don’t know how many layers there are.

After passing the woods, the entire City God Temple appeared before Zhong Chenmu's eyes without reservation.

Even in the dim light, he could see the majestic grandeur of the palace building, with its soaring eaves, colorful beams and painted buildings, and green tiles and red eaves, which was quite magnificent.

The main colors of the palace are vermilion and dark green. The vermilion pillars, doors, and windows contrast beautifully with the dark green roof. The main gate is also vermilion, dotted with yellow door nails, adding to the solemn and cool atmosphere under the eaves.

Zhong Chenmu stopped at the main entrance, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

"Didn't we agree to meet here? Why isn't there anyone to pick me up? Or has the event already started and they really can't wait for me..."

The doubts in his heart were answered the moment he opened the door.

The heavy main door not only blocked his sight, but also blocked his sound.

And when the door was pushed open, everything that happened in the City God Temple hit all his senses in all directions.

Behind the door was a thick grey screen wall, but it was located in a wide hall. Although it temporarily blocked his sight, it did not affect his immersion in the hall at all.

Zhong Chenmu just walked a few steps to the left and could see a large open area behind the screen wall - it was obvious that the interior of the City God Temple had been renovated and the space was no longer as cramped as he remembered.

But at this time, the open area was filled with stools, and the stools were filled with people, including men, women, young and old. They were all looking intently at the front, and no one noticed that another young man had quietly joined in.

He roughly counted and found that there were almost a hundred people.

"There's only a dozen cars parked outside, but there are over a hundred people here. It seems most people came here by bus like me. This is already the northwest corner of Wuming City, a very remote place... What kind of organization is Professor Pierce's Prophet Society? Why is it so attractive?"

Ahead, the gazes of hundreds of people were directed, a platform. It was only two or three steps high, and overall, it didn't look very large, less than ten meters long and wide. However, at that moment, the retired professor, who seemed familiar yet unfamiliar, stood there in high spirits, speaking in a resonant voice. Under the spotlights, he seemed particularly tall, creating the illusion that the platform itself was unattainable.

Like an altar.

After Zhong Chenmu focused his attention, it was not difficult for him to hear the content of Pierce's speech.

"...Nameless City isn't the entirety of our civilization. Although each of us resides within it, and perhaps we don't even know what lies beyond it, don't you notice the myriad doubts in our daily lives? Many things described in books we've never seen in reality. Even those we hold close in our memories never appear near us... I could give you many more examples. So, isn't our civilization incomplete?"

When Zhong Chenmu heard these words, he felt as if his chest was hit hard by a hammer, and his throat felt sweet.

"Could it be... that my parents' disappearance was also due to what he said about 'civilization being incomplete'?"

He had no intention of listening any further, instead entering his own thoughts. The sounds and interference from the City God Temple and the outside world were naturally isolated in his world.

It has to be said that many of his fleeting feelings these days, as well as the fact that his parents are missing, seem to be explained by Pierce's theory of "incomplete civilization."

The green number "101" that flashed in his mind again at this moment seemed to further confirm his speculation.

Moreover, the three extremely clear numbers jumped again, from "101" to "110".

"This is an increasing trend, which shows that the issue I'm thinking about now is challenging, and the direction is correct... But, what exactly does this so-called 'incomplete civilization' mean?"

Just as Zhong Chenmu reopened his thoughts and prepared to immerse himself in Pierce's speech again, the retired professor had apparently finished speaking, or at least had just finished.

He was no longer on the stage, but seven or eight people were greeting the audience with dinner in front of it. The atmosphere at the scene had become somewhat relaxed, with people no longer sitting properly; some were standing, some were sitting, and many were gathering in groups of three or four to chat.

But overall, everything was still in good order, and everyone seemed to have tacitly agreed not to make too much noise, appearing to be very well-mannered.

“They even provide boxed lunches…”

Zhong Chenmu only then felt his stomach was empty - he hadn't eaten dinner yet. He also noticed that the staff distributing the lunch boxes seemed to be all women.

However, from a distance, in the varying light levels, he couldn't tell their ages.

At this time, a middle-aged man walked out from the light. When the man saw Zhong Chenmu, he subconsciously turned his head away, but he didn't know what he was thinking about, and he walked straight towards him.

When he reacted, the middle-aged man was only two meters away from him.

Zhong Chenmu carefully scanned the man, and his mind immediately recalled the encounter on He'an Road a few days ago.

At that time, the man was about to jump into the river to commit suicide, and in desperation, he tried to save him, but instead he fell into coma. However, it seemed that the digital mechanism in his mind worked, splitting the river in half, allowing the man to escape death and quickly crawl back to the shore from the temporarily exposed riverbed.

He originally thought that he and Guo Ling would never meet again, but he did not expect that the reunion would come so soon.

Obviously, Guo Ling was also a little surprised to see Zhong Chenmu here.

His face showed a hint of embarrassment.

Just now, when he saw Zhong Chenmu, he thought that he had also been discovered by this young man, so he walked over with his head held high. But judging from the young man's reaction, he didn't recognize him at all.

He had some regrets.

"I should have taken a detour..."

After all, this young man witnessed his most embarrassing moment and knew his most secret shame.

"Uncle Guo?" Zhong Chenmu took the initiative to say the first words after the two met again.

"Xiao Zhong?"

"Uncle Guo, did you manage to contact the family members you told me you couldn't contact?" Zhong Chenmu directly asked the question he cared about most.

Guo Ling was stunned for a moment, then sighed: "Not yet, no news at all. I have already called the police... That's why I came here."

Zhong Chenmu nodded and said, "Well, it seems that we are in the same boat."