Chapter 1137: Chapter 106: The Second Time
The depths of the mist shroud the darkness.
A dim oil lamp gradually lights up, dispelling the darkness, revealing the shadow holding the lamp.
Observing the floor with peculiar patterns, Lu Li raises the oil lamp.
The yellow glow spreads outward, revealing more hidden things in the darkness.
The ceiling fan stands at his feet, the living room tables and chairs cling to the ceiling, and scattered bowls and spoons are left in disarray on the dining table. The door outlines stretch along the floor.
Standing on the ceiling, Lu Li walks to the window, peering outside through the dust-covered glass—
A dome-like ground stretches forward, endless houses hang upside down on the dome. The darkness below is unfathomable; if he steps out of the house, he might fall into the sky.
The inverted world makes Lu Li aware of his location: the foul sewer.
The foul sewer is the anomaly among the three forbidden areas.
Unlike the Swamp and the Mysterious Dense Forest, where people venture, establish safe zones, explore and understand. The foul sewer is not included; people know very little about it—
But Lu Li’s position lets him know the deeper truth: the foul sewer is a Land of Oblivion.
The March Competition places the second level in the foul sewer, allowing all competitors to enter here... Does it hold some deeper meaning?
With two of the three forbidden areas as the first two levels of the competition, will the final Mysterious Dense Forest await them in the distant third level?
Leaving the window, Lu Li bypasses the ceiling fan and returns to the living room, inwardly calling for Will Ken. The old Exorcist does not respond, confirming the parchment is still at his chest, Lu Li retrieves an eyeball to summon Merchant Anthony.
But the situation in the foul sewer is more troublesome than imagined: Lu Li and Merchant Anthony cannot comprehend each other’s words, the written content is not only inverted but also forms unidentifiable strange text.
Still, gestures for it to leave are recognizable.
Once Merchant Anthony leaves, Lu Li walks to the dining table.
A note is covered in dust on the tabletop. Reaching to pick it up, it contains text Lu Li can comprehend.
[Congratulations on reaching the second level]
[Hope you can still understand this note, or you might miss this clue]
[What you need to do is simple, stand at the window, see the distant exit of the foul sewer? Reach there to enter the third level]
[Remember, eliminating other competitors will not bring any reward, this is a cooperative level]
Flipping over the note with no anomalies, Lu Li takes out a pen trying to copy. But no matter how right his cognition, the written content becomes a brain-muddling inverted script.
Bang—
Lu Li looks down, a sound comes from the second floor.
Stopping his copying, Lu Li returns the note and heads to the stairs.
The stairs, inverted, become mere decoration, leaving Lu Li only the option to leap down to reach the second floor.
Confirming the ceiling won’t collapse from his weight and fall into a void-like sky, Lu Li jumps down from the stairway.
Thud!
Dust trembles with the ceiling’s shake, shadows waver with the oil lamp’s sway.
Thud—
Another sound comes from the end of the corridor.
Stepping on the creaky ceiling, Lu Li reaches the corridor’s end, with a brief sense of the space beyond the door, Lu Li pushes it open.
At the same time, a pebble drills in through the open window, clattering onto the ceiling, rolling several times.
This is a guest room, the window long shattered, glass scattered above the floor, the breeze moves curtain-like dust, five stones lie quietly around the broken glass.
Crossing the threshold-like partition above the door, Lu Li enters the room, walking to the window.
A dozen meters away, another house’s second-floor window stands open, a figure suddenly emerges from the edge, grabbing stones.
He notices Lu Li, expressing joy at receiving a response; though unsurprisingly, Lu Li cannot understand his words, nor can he understand Lu Li’s.
At this moment, the calling figure suddenly emits a shocked shout, seemingly recognizing Lu Li, incomprehensibly shouting, trying to indicate something.
Then he thinks of a way, expressing incomprehensible actions to Lu Li: frantically waving his hands in circles at the window, drawing a dagger, indicating to Lu Li, slowly changing mouth shapes, using the dagger to slit his own throat.
The expected scene of blood spurting does not occur, the figure behind the window suddenly vanishes.
Lu Li vaguely understands the meaning from the final mouth shape.
"Death can restore the situation," he says.
Lu Li furrows his brows, pondering whether the outline seen is delirium or madness.
The former is unlikely unless it bypasses the lighthouse’s ability to break delusions; the latter might approach reality, but it’s hard to explain its sudden vanishing like a bubble.
Quietly observing the opposite window, as Lu Li prepares to leave—
Creak.
In his view, the house’s door against the rock wall is opened from inside, the suspended figure walks out—or rather... walks on correctly recognized ground.
Just moments ago, the figure was cautioning Lu Li, now cautiously observing the street not noticing him, confirming the street’s safety before rushing into the opposite house, disappearing.
The restored figure recalls Lu Li’s previous words: "Death can restore the situation."
Staying at the window for a moment, no more figures appear, Lu Li steps over the "threshold" to return to the corridor.
The second floor of the house has two rooms, one being a storage room, the other the homeowner’s bedroom.
Standing above the bed on the ceiling, Lu Li looks toward a book on the bedside table—like here, inverted, indecipherable.
If this house holds a clue, it should be in this owner’s bedroom—
Suddenly, his chest feels warm, Lu Li hears the long-silent voice of Will Ken.
"Lu Li... blend... way... feign death, then... escape... trust Will."
Normal, understandable, aged words seem to come from afar, forming fragmented phrases. Yet, from the scene witnessed in the second-floor guest room, Lu Li pieces together the truth: the way to blend into the environment is feigned death... trust Will.
Coincidentally, Lu Li thinks of Claire’s mother, the vice dean who gave them some "gadgets," including an Eternal Sleep Tablet.
Lu Li doesn’t think the situation is this simple, but he indeed has no way to leave the house, the inverted world makes the house beneath him like an isolated island in the vast deep sea.
Besides, Will Ken has no reason to deceive him.
Before killing himself, Lu Li releases a sapling projection, confirming this is not an illusion, nor a delusion, then takes the pill.
The white pill quickly takes effect, as his heart ceases to beat, a thought irresistibly emerges in Lu Li’s mind—before this, had he already "died"?
...
The depths of the mist shroud the darkness.
A dim oil lamp gradually lights up, dispelling the darkness, revealing the shadow holding the lamp.
The yellow glow spreads outward, revealing more hidden things in the darkness.
Lu Li raises the oil lamp, a long-neglected old living room presents itself before him. A ceiling fan hangs, scattered bowls and spoons are left in disarray on the dining table, dust covers the window like a curtain.