Chapter 522: 522 Chapter 522: 522 “There is…”
The inexplicable transformation before her eyes seemed to have ceased all of Medea’s cognitive functions.
One second there was laughter and conversation, the next, a knife was at her throat.
Are men so fickle?
However, the cold sensation on her neck was very real, so in response to Fu Qian’s question, she unconsciously replied.
“Very good, a high-quality single female guest!”
Fu Qian commented seriously upon hearing this, while the high-end kitchen knife traced a circle around her neck.
“Go and drive the car.”
“…Okay.”
Though the blade hadn’t cut through her skin, goosebumps still rose on Medea’s neck.
Although still a student, his hands were steady, leaving no doubt that he could strike at any moment.
For a while, Medea dared not object to Fu Qian’s demands.
…
“The car isn’t bad.”
Guided by a terrified Medea, the two quickly exited the building and got into a bright yellow car in the garage.
“It’s… okay.”
Facing Fu Qian’s compliment, Medea managed a stiff smile.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her emotions.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere remote.”
Fu Qian said with a smile.
A remote place…
“What are you planning to do?”
Associating this with something, Medea suddenly became tense, her voice shrill.
“You’re thinking too much.”
“I’m not… I wasn’t thinking about those things.”
“Yes, so you were thinking too much.”
…
“Keep driving forward, don’t stop unless I tell you to.”
Considering driving safety, Fu Qian didn’t want to scare Medea out of her wits.
Fiddling with the kitchen knife in his hand, he took his gaze away from Medea’s face, looking ahead, lost in thought.
The school had reacted so quickly, it would have been too slow not to sense the targeting.
It was hard to believe that his own actions hadn’t intensified the stranglehold.
Fu Qian had no doubt that if he continued to stay at Medea’s place, Chief Stan or some messy parties would soon come knocking.
The task, which had been relatively stable, could fail at any moment.
…
At this moment, the time left to himself had begun a countdown.
And the current situation looked as hopeless as ever.
The characteristics of this world made it a crematorium for people like himself.
Its basic law of operation was to eliminate outliers and maintain ‘normal’ function.
And without a doubt, people on a mission like himself were inherently unstable factors.
Once inside, you either follow the hints and complete each task without fail, integrate into the workings of the world, and then never know the true conditions for completion, trapped here forever.
That’s what happened to Edlar in the early stages.
Or you go against the hints, let the tasks fail, get reminders of the containment conditions while becoming an anomaly, and then get silently annihilated.
Quite a predicament, truly.
…
As the wind whipped by and electricity crackled, the car quickly left the urban area, and the surroundings grew increasingly desolate.
Monitoring the rear through the rearview mirror, Fu Qian confirmed that, for the moment, no one was following.
The situation seemed very unfavorable, as if it was an absolute deadlock no matter what.
But was that really the case?
The investigation into Brother Edlar wasn’t futile.
In this process, I saw the essence of the world–the Furnace was able to incinerate oneself because it was burning itself.
Although I didn’t know how that pervasive chaos was caused, there was clearly a force correcting it.
And this mechanism of correction was precisely the source of the Furnace’s lethality.
This mechanism rejects anomalies, fearing chaos.
The chaos wasn’t being reckless, but acting not according to the rules, or the hints.
For example, it doesn’t fear you unlocking with a key, even if it’s the lock of a bank, as that wouldn’t lead to chaos.
But it fears you unlocking in unusual ways.
This was probably also why my task suddenly became difficult.
After all, according to what Medea just said, occasionally not following the hints wouldn’t result in too exaggerated a punishment.
The reason my task difficulty skyrocketed might not only be because I didn’t follow the hint and leave in time; it could also be because I unlocked using a special method.
Strictly speaking, this was also a violation of the hints.
Possibly, under such double rebellion, the targeting suddenly intensified.
Otherwise, the second task might have turned into “don’t go home.”
Moreover, while the correction mechanism is ubiquitous, one thing is also certain–it cannot employ means beyond its scales.
Edlar’s experiences confirm that it can only throw people into complex situations, then step by step guide these people to deal with him, and the process also has to be reasonable and plausible.
If it weren’t so, why not just drop a meteor on me and be done with it? Why all the hassle?
And why there are such constraints, Fu Qian’s understanding is, the only principle of this mechanism is to minimize chaos to the greatest extent.
Therefore, it will never use measures that exceed the norm, that are “anomalous,” to handle anomalies.
In summary, my opponent is not omnipotent; its lethality actually stems from its own fragility, and there are limits.
And to escape from here, trying to challenge its limits is a potentially effective approach.
…
“Should we continue driving?”
Another half-hour passed, and the surroundings had become even more desolate, without a single person in sight.
The expression on Medea’s face had visibly turned to despair.
“That’s enough.”
Unexpectedly, Fu Qian signaled for her to slow down.
“Take a break?”
Medea looked at Fu Qian with some surprise and slowly parked the car by the side of the road.
However, the next moment, following Fu Qian’s gaze, she noticed a house hidden in the dense woods by the roadside.
By its design, it seemed to be a kind of vacation villa, only it was clearly long abandoned.
A wilderness, a broken house–it was indeed easy to conjure up some unpleasant thoughts.
Medea’s face turned frighteningly pale for a moment, clutching the steering wheel tightly.
“Get out.”
Fu Qian, however, paid no attention to her emotions, had already opened the car door, and signaled her to follow.
By the time Medea got out of the car tremblingly, out of the corner of her eye, she even saw Fu Qian casually picking up a black bag.
“Walk in front.”
Without any indication of his intentions, Fu Qian spoke in an unquestionable tone.
“…Okay.”
The house was not far from the road, and the two quickly arrived in front of the rural villa.
Pushing the door open, one could see that thick dust covered everything, indicating that it had been abandoned for quite some time.
In her frantic survey, Medea noticed that Fu Qian, right upon entering, was looking at one particular door.
That door was probably locked, but the key was in it, and it looked a bit rusty.
“Continue.”
The next moment, Fu Qian pulled out the key and tossed it to Medea.