Dan Chen glanced at the mother and son, then said to Wu Suowei, "Do me a favor, watch our backs. If you keep playing games, your eyes will go blind."
Situ Ying held her child, looking at the two men with curiosity, and covered the child's mouth.
Wu Suowei put his phone away completely and into his pocket. "Alright, I'll collect the fee from you when we get back."
Dan Chen finally relaxed. The four of them continued forward, finally passing through various shops and reaching the emergency exit.
A small green figure blinked at them as they entered the stairwell.
To Dan Chen's surprise, the stairwell was exceptionally clean and tidy.
He looked at the snow-white walls, with not a single stray piece of paper or debris on the floor.
It was as if time in this place had just been cleaned by the cleaning lady.
"Be careful, don't stay too close to me, and don't stray too far. I won't be responsible if anything happens."
The strange feeling in Dan Chen's heart was eroding his very blood. He subconsciously had a bad impression of the mother and son.
But they were a woman and a child, and he couldn't do anything to them.
He could only use this cold attitude to keep them at a distance.
Situ Ying quickly nodded, her grip on her child's hand tightening.
"Mom, it hurts."
"I'm sorry, darling. When we get out, Mom will buy you ice cream to apologize."
Situ Yingzhi pouted and mumbled softly, "Okay."
Seeing her son obediently comply, Situ Ying also felt relieved.
"Ms. Situ, are you a single mother?"
"Yes, the child's father... Sorry, that's a very cliché story."
Situ Ying politely refused.
The strange feeling in Dan Chen's blood felt like it was burning, causing fine sweat to bead on his forehead from the pain.
He continued up the stairs, reaching a landing between floors. Dan Chen realized that the distortion of the Void Realm was becoming more severe.
To his left were stairs, but to his right was a lively party from the 1940s or 50s.
A cheerful jazz band played their hearts out on stage. The people below wore all sorts of attire: officers in crisp uniforms, dancers in short, sequined dresses, and waiters in bow ties, carrying trays of drinks and circulating among the guests.
Officers courteously danced with ladies on the dance floor, while socialites sat in the audience, chatting with those around them.
Dice rattled noisily as they were rolled, and playing cards danced with their owners.
The scent of champagne, the perfume of the dancers, the gunpowder of the officers.
Dan Chen felt as if just looking at it transported him into the middle of the scene.
The only drawback was that none of the people had heads.
But that didn't stop them from reveling.
"Mom, why don't they have heads?" Situ Yingzhi asked softly. Situ Ying didn't reply, but instead, pulled her child onto the steps and quickly moved away.
"It doesn't matter, these people can't mend time and space, right?" Dan Chen asked breathlessly, his sweat feeling like he had just climbed a mountain.
Wu Suowei, with his hands in his pockets, looked at the scene unfolding. "It's not that dramatic. Evil gods can't even travel through time and space. It's probably just an illusion."
Receiving Wu Suowei's nonchalant reply, Dan Chen breathed a sigh of relief, but the pain struck him the next second.
It felt as if his heart was being squeezed in someone's hand. The pressure made him hurt, sweat, and unable to breathe.
What was going on? Who was behind this!
At this moment, Dan Chen didn't want to move forward, but Wu Suowei and Situ Ying were already ahead.
Situ Ying stood on the steps, asking with concern, "Mr. Dan, are you alright?"
Her gentle voice, however, inexplicably ignited Dan Chen's fighting spirit, burning away the unease in his blood.
Damn it, he had to go up and see what tricks they were playing.
Dan Chen held onto the railing and continued forward. After a few steps, he saw that one side of the wall led to a wedding scene.
Compared to the headless party earlier, this wedding was ten times more normal.
The white wedding dress was stained with red. The groom grinned, wearing a black suit, but a part of it was darker than black. A long gash on his face exposed the bone beneath his facial skin.
The guests' vacant expressions were insufficient to convey their joy, so they clapped like seals in various poses.
The bride's face was hidden beneath a red veil, presumably still very beautiful.
Dan Chen had no interest in such distortions. He just wanted to reach his destination quickly and find out who was behind it all.
Reality, however, delivered a harsh blow.
He stepped off the stairs and went up, only to find Situ Ying, who had already arrived in the space on the second floor, sitting on the ground resting.
Situ Yingzhi was next to his mother, eating a small cake.
Dan Chen was anxious. He hurried over, "Why are you resting now..."
An arm was in Situ Yingzhi's mouth. He looked up at Dan Chen, his two dark, empty sockets streaked with blood.
"Uncle, I'm so hungry!"
Dan Chen took a step back.
Situ Ying also turned around. "Yes, I'm really hungry."
Her mouth, opening and closing, was like her child's face – with holes!
There was nothing inside!
"Wu Suowei, you..."
"Me what, me?"
His cold voice made Dan Chen turn his head. He saw Wu Suowei behind him.
And behind Wu Suowei were the buildings of the shops in the mall.
This meant he hadn't actually entered the stairwell?
"You... had a nightmare?"
"Nightmare?" Dan Chen finally felt the sweat on his face, like soybeans. He wiped it away.
The salty, cold dampness of the sweat, the sensation was very real, no problem.
He had been tricked?!
Dan Chen looked at the liquid in his hand, filled with anger.
"Uncle, don't you have a handkerchief? I'll give you mine."
Situ Yingzhi's small hand pulled a handkerchief from his small bag. It was embroidered with orchids and carried the milky fragrance of a child.
Dan Chen was startled, then took it, wiped his sweat, and thanked Situ Yingzhi.
"Wu Suowei, how much will it cost for you to use your ultimate move later?"
"One million per second."
Wu Suowei sat down, took out his phone, and looked at the movies he had saved. "If you think it's expensive, you don't have to buy it."
At this moment, Dan Chen didn't know if Wu Suowei had a mother, but if he did, he really wanted to send her his regards.
"Mom, if it's a million per second, then can our family buy, hmm, a lot, a lot of..."
Situ Ying once again covered her son's mouth, listening to his muffled cries. She truly regretted having told him their entire fortune when she was trying to instill good financial values in him.
Now, should she pay or not?
"I'll buy ten seconds of you... no, ten seconds."
Ten million for a safety net. A good deal.