Chapter 88: Shortest Path (3)
88 – Shortest Path (3)
Lin Xun caught this scene out of the corner of his eye and thought, the prop master must be overjoyed. After faking it for so long, he finally got the real deal this time—just like how he managed to snag a real-life heartthrob.
So overjoyed his face turned pale.
So overjoyed his eyes rolled back, and he looked about to collapse backward.
The next moment, in the blink of an eye, Chang Ji struck the prop master’s wrist with the side of his palm. The force caused the prop master’s fingers to loosen, and the eyeball returned to the air.
The prop master opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word, only making a gurgling sound in his throat. His legs were visibly weak, unable to support him. Chang Ji steadied him and placed him on the long table.
Lying on the long table, the prop master gasped weakly, like a fish about to die from dehydration. After a minute or two, perhaps having adapted to the environment or seeing that those things couldn’t breach the barrier, his complexion improved slightly. Propping himself up on his elbows, he tried to sit up—only to turn his head and lock eyes with the doll on the long table, its belly sliced open.
Another scream. Lin Xun knew this guy was completely done for. But he had no time to deal with it, nor did Chang Ji. Only the kind-hearted Bihai Xianzi placed a blue square handkerchief over the prop master’s head.
The prop master had already lost his senses, muttering incoherently.
“I knew you were tricking me, I shouldn’t have touched it…”
“I shouldn’t have forgotten to bring a power bank…”
“Three on the ceiling in the southwest, two on the northwest diagonal, and something’s in the freezer.” Lin Xun pulled out his keyboard, directing while taking advantage of everyone’s distraction to press keys, firing viruses and compressed sword Qi at the demons with a whoosh.
“The body parts are turning into people, focus on dispersing them. There’s one about to transform next to Thunder Lord’s left hand, and two behind Zen Master Wanchan. Madam, watch your back.”
“One on the southeast diagonal, tricky position. Master, could you lend a hand? Thunder Lord, stay put.”
Lin Xun’s brain was running at full speed. Managing the rhythm of battle was a crucial issue—handled well, it could solve many problems, like optimizing a program.
For example, if a demon appeared on the southeast diagonal, attempting to attack the Cosmic Star Formation, Thunder Lord, responsible for the southeast area, would likely disengage from his current fight, leaving his teammate Qingyangzi to handle the battle alone. Meanwhile, Old Man Huo, with no demons nearby, would roam around supporting his companions. Seeing the demon in the southeast, he’d probably dash over to deal with it—but by the time he arrived, Thunder Lord might already be fighting it.
This led to two consequences: Thunder Lord’s companion was in greater danger, and Old Man Huo made an ineffective move. At this point, Lin Xun had to quickly assess whether the situation in the southeast corner or near the freezer was more critical, then decide who should handle the demon on the southeast diagonal. Of course, this required his judgment and reaction to be faster than Thunder Lord and Old Man Huo’s instinctive responses. Otherwise, conflicting orders and actions would create chaos—and if he gave up and issued no commands, letting them fight freely, chaos would still ensue.
But when it came to processing speed, aside from computers, Lin Xun feared no one.
Under his continuous commands, the originally chaotic scene gradually became clearer. The scattered body parts on the floor and in the freezer would reassemble into corpse puppets, mechanically and slowly wandering around the room. At this point, aside from their grotesque appearance, they posed little threat. Formless black resentment demons would emerge from the four corners of the room and the freezer, most of them at the Golden Core stage. They could be suppressed using immortal cultivation techniques, but if a wandering, unrestrained demon encountered an intact corpse puppet, they would merge into one, multiplying their combat power to a level almost equivalent to the Nascent Soul stage—it was worth noting that the entire immortal cultivation world had only about fifteen or sixteen seniors who had reached the Nascent Soul stage.
The seniors’ Spiritual Power was constantly being depleted, while the demons seemed endless. Thus, even though the battle currently appeared manageable, Lin Xun silently calculated the remaining Spiritual Power of the seniors based on the speed of their sword strikes, techniques, and incantations. He tried to assign more combat tasks to seniors with higher remaining Spiritual Power, while allowing those with less to catch their breath. He also incorporated a margin for error, doing everything possible to preserve the strength of Xiaoyaozi, the highest-ranking senior present, ensuring that in extreme situations—such as the appearance of an exceptionally powerful demon—he would still have the ability to fight.
While fending off the demon attacks, they also had to ensure enough eyes were observing every corner, searching for any trace of the rift—the primary reason they had come here.
Three minutes later, Old Man Huo dealt with the demon on the southeast diagonal. Lin Xun immediately noticed that his master’s current position was just right. He quickly said, “Master, assist the southeast corner ceiling.”
Old Man Huo struck out with a palm from a distance before drifting away. A demon swooping down from the southeast corner ceiling faltered mid-air, allowing Thunderbolt Zhenren to intercept it with a talisman. He exclaimed, “Excellent coordination!”
Lin Xun smiled faintly and continued directing.
During a brief lull, Chang Ji asked him, “How long can we hold out?”
Lin Xun replied, “Two hours.”
Before Chang Ji could respond, he added, “There’s an unstable factor—the prop master is a mortal. If he gets infected, we’re in serious—”
Before he could finish, a flash of cold light suddenly caught the corner of his eye!
Lin Xun didn’t even blink or shift his gaze. Instead, he swung his keyboard backward, which swiftly transformed into a sword. With a sharp “clang,” the sword tip collided with the dagger, sending a faint numbness through his palm.
He turned around to see the prop master, his face pale and ghastly, shrouded in dark demonic Qi, grinning at him. The prop master raised a silver dagger with his left hand and lunged at him again!
This time, with a loud “clang,” it was Chang Ji who blocked the attack with his staff.
Chang Ji said, “Late Golden Core stage.”
Lin Xun pursed his lips, diverting some attention to analyze the code on the prop master’s body.
The prop master swung the dagger with one hand and formed a fist with the other, launching a combined attack at him—Golden Core stage attacks primarily relied on compression techniques, testing who could wield the most Spiritual Power with the greatest ease. However, there were nuances even among compression methods.
Two videos of equal length—one a complex and intricate 3D image, the other a plain white screen playing from start to finish—can be compressed to vastly different degrees. The second video can be reduced to an extremely small size, while the first cannot, because the amount of information they contain differs. If one were to forcibly compress the first video to a very small size, it would only be possible by sacrificing its quality—a process known as lossy compression.
Transplanting this concept into cultivation theory: the simpler a technique, the more straightforward and comprehensible it is, the more spiritual power it can accumulate. Conversely, the more complex a technique, with its intricate variations and transformations, the less spiritual power it can carry!
Lin Xun’s compressed sword Qi and the prop master’s current attack represented two opposite extremes. Without hesitation, Lin Xun activated an algorithm in his programming interface and unleashed his compressed sword Qi. His longsword guided his wrist, striking the prop master’s wrist and the hilt of the dagger with lightning speed. The prop master momentarily lost his grip, and the dagger clattered to the ground. Brother Chang Ji formed his fingers into a palm and shoved him forcefully backward, where he was caught by Bihai Xianzi. Her fluttering ribbons, seemingly soft yet remarkably resilient, combined with ample medicinal supplies, soon entangled the prop master and pinned him to the floor.
Chang Ji asked, “What was that move just now?”
Lin Xun smiled. “I’ll tell you once we’re out.”
Another fifteen minutes passed.
Xiaoyaozi reported, “Every corner has been thoroughly inspected, with no signs of a rift.”
Lin Xun frowned as he observed the movements of the demonic creatures on the Star Array. “The demonic creatures are still pouring in endlessly. If the rift isn’t here, it must be somewhere very close by. Caixia Yuanjun, please push open the iron door to your right.”
The entire underground area had been cleared, leaving only an inconspicuous iron door unexplored. However, no demonic creatures were emerging from that direction.
Caixia Yuanjun wielded her longsword, using the back of the blade to forcefully strike the door latch. Three seconds later, it shattered with a creak, and the iron door swung open.
Inside, a bluish-white cold light emitted, and as the door opened, a mist of water vapor drifted out. The chill even reached Lin Xun’s vicinity. It seemed this was the “cold cellar” the prop master had mentioned.
Caixia Yuanjun stepped inside, surveying the situation while relaying information. “It’s all ice, no other demonic creatures. But there’s also a freezer. Xun’er, can it be opened?”
Lin Xun checked the display on the Star Array and replied, “Proceed with caution.”
A dull scraping sound echoed as the freezer was pushed open. Three seconds later, Caixia Yuanjun’s slightly hesitant voice came through. “It’s frozen… dismembered limbs. But something feels off—they look almost real. Bihai, come here—”
Lin Xun quickly interjected, “Protect Yuanjun!”
This was a preemptive judgment: if the frozen contents of the cold cellar weren’t fake, they were likely real human corpses—the source of the resentment permeating the entire space!
The cultivators near the entrance immediately rushed into the room.
Before everyone had entered, they heard her sharp gasp of “Ah!” followed by the clashing sounds of combat—heavy, forceful blows that seemed to strike flesh, sending shivers down their spines.
The Star Array swiftly identified the new demonic creature. At the corresponding micro-location appeared a massive corpse monster, its body a sickly green, with six arms of varying sizes, its head covered in fleshy tumors, and countless fragmented corpses clinging to its form.
After five minutes of fighting, a loud thud echoed from within as the monster crashed to the ground. The group dragged the grotesque corpse out, and the space was instantly filled with the foul stench of decaying protein.
Though deeply uncomfortable, Lin Xun let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, their timely predictions had prevented any serious injuries, and Caixia Yuanjun was merely shaken.
However, a new issue arose.
Old Man Huo clearly noticed the situation as well, saying, “There’s no trace of the rift inside either.”
Shenji Zhenren replied, “Impossible. According to the grand formation’s positioning, the rift is right here, and this is the only basement with such dense demonic Qi. Let’s keep searching.”
As the group continued their search in the cold cellar, they discussed the matter.
Lin Xun’s frown deepened, his mind piecing together all the known information.
The positioning was accurate—the rift’s location was in this small building. Rifts only appeared underground, so it had to be in the basement of this building. The ice cellar in the basement contained what appeared to be human remains, meeting the conditions for demonic creatures to spawn. The basement had an endless supply of demonic creatures, a phenomenon that only occurred where a rift existed.
In conclusion, the rift had to be here.
But why couldn’t they find it? Was it in the concrete? In the soil? Or somewhere deeper?
Somewhere deeper…
The system prompt, the mission description—people who came to West City always felt their spirits sink.
People who came to West City…
A sudden realization struck him like a thunderbolt, sending a chill down his spine!
“Lo, project the subway route map. Now!”