The passers-by around were unaware of it. The Christmas music floating in the streets was soft and cheerful, making people feel relaxed.
"Just now you were walking and suddenly stopped moving. Are you feeling unwell?"
Su Jue rubbed his brows, wondering if he was hallucinating. He exhaled a breath of turbid air and gradually calmed down. "I'm fine."
For some reason, he vaguely felt that he seemed to have forgotten some memories, but when he looked back, it seemed that nothing was lost. He still remembered his first meeting with Kiana in the snow more than ten years ago, he still remembered the burning hut, and everything he had experienced with Kiana was remembered clearly.
But he didn't notice that the Qian Jue mark on his chest was getting dim. That was the backup plan he left before executing the plan to prevent himself from being assimilated by the illusion, which could pull him back to reality from the illusion.
Su Jue remembered everything clearly, but subconsciously avoided the process of entering the illusion.
To him, Kiana was the most beautiful dream. In the process of getting along with her, he was constantly blurring the boundaries between wakefulness and dreams, until just now, he had the idea of staying in the fantasy with Kiana...
"You don't look like you're okay." Although Su Jue acted very naturally, Kiana, who was familiar with him, was still a little worried. She forced herself to end the date today and prepared to return to the safe house temporarily.
As the countdown to the illusion got closer, the enemy's attacks became more frequent. However, as Su Jue and his team were returning, they did not see any trace of the enemy at all.
It was a bit too smooth to return to the safe house. Just as Su Jue was about to insert the key into the door lock, he suddenly felt a strong palpitation. He didn't have time to think about it, and decisively hugged Qiyana and broke the glass in the corridor.
The next moment, a loud explosion tore apart the fragile door panels, destroying everything visible. The strong impact directly blew Su Jue away from the air, and the broken glass pierced his back under the effect of the shock wave.
Under Su Jue's instinctive protection, Kiana did not suffer any injuries, but when she looked at the bloody Su Jue, a golden light flashed in her eyes.
The two fell from a height, and she broke free from Su Jue's protection and used her body to cushion Su Jue's fall. Fortunately, the snow was soft enough, and neither of them was seriously injured.
The previous safe house has completely turned into a sea of fire. It seems that the enemy has found it shortly after the two of them left.
"Let's go. With such an obvious explosion, they must know we are back." Su Jue's consciousness quickly shifted from daily life to combat state. He calmly removed the glass fragments from his body piece by piece without even frowning.
Su Jue's maxed-out stealth skill allowed the two to avoid enemy surveillance when they returned, but if the explosive trap was triggered, the enemy would definitely realize that something was wrong.
As expected, within two seconds of the explosion, a large number of armed black-robed men emerged from everywhere. The moment they spotted Su Jue, dense bullets swept towards the two of them.
The snow was blown up by the bullets, temporarily blocking the view. Kiana moved nimbly, rolling on the ground while holding Su Jue, then leaped up and jumped into the second-floor window of the building on the other side.
"Go to the southwest area." Su Jue commanded calmly. The two of them did not do nothing during the rest days. He had memorized the entire map of Berlin and planned several backup safe areas. Although it might not last long, it was good to have a buffer.
The originally joyful Christmas immediately turned into a terrifying Halloween amid the sound of gunfire. Passersby screamed and began to flee in chaos. The two took the opportunity to blend in with them and escaped quickly.
But they were forced to stop just after they escaped from the block. This time, the enemy was clearly well prepared. Not only the family forces, but also the Berlin guards began to set up checkpoints at various locations and questioned passers-by. In name, they were to ensure the safety of Christmas, but everyone knew that they were trying to slow down Su Jue.
Escape, checkpoints, Su Jue inexplicably had a sense of déjà vu, as if he and Kiana had experienced something similar, but why were they escaping at that time?
As his consciousness was gradually assimilated by the 300,000 wills buried in the core of the law, Su Jue's memory of reality became blurred, but this did not affect his actions.
Grabbing a shovel from the roadside, Su Jue smashed the glass of a car parked on the roadside with force, pulled the confused owner out of the car, and got in himself.
The operation of old-style cars is quite cumbersome, but fortunately Su Jue’s vehicle skills are good enough that he mastered the driving method in less than two seconds.
"Let's go." He waved to Kiana on the side of the road.
……
"Stop!" The streets leading to other urban areas were cordoned off. The guards looked at the cars rushing towards the cordon and immediately issued a warning.
But the car showed no sign of stopping and was speeding up.
The guard who realized something was wrong immediately opened fire, and the chaotic bullets passed through the glass and landed on the driver's seat.
But they had no idea that there was no one in the driver's seat, only the shovel that Su Jue used to jam the accelerator.
boom!
The car was traveling at high speed and suddenly crashed into the blocking checkpoint. In the violent collision, the car that had been tampered with by Su Jue exploded with a loud bang. Flames and black smoke shot up into the sky and detonated the police car blocking the road.
The black-robed man who was chasing him quickly arrived at the scene, but apart from the confused guards, there was no trace of Su Jue.
Chapter 283 Illusion Assimilation
The riots did not affect the residents of the southwest district, which was still immersed in the Christmas atmosphere. Two hurried figures merged into the crowd on the block and quickly disappeared.
"Safe for now."
The two stopped only when they could no longer see any trace of the enemy. The southwest area was not actually very safe, but after more than ten days of observation by Su Jue, the frequency of enemies appearing here was the lowest.
Su Jue put away the dagger he used for self-defense and prepared to find a place to rest temporarily.
However, after stopping, he smelled a faint smell of blood in the air. Su Jue frowned. The wounds on his back were mostly caused by glass fragments and were not that serious.
"Wait, are you injured?" He supported the girl beside him, only to find that blood was flowing from Kiana's shoulder.
He immediately recalled that when the enemy was shooting at him during their escape, Kiana pushed him. He thought he had successfully dodged it, but he didn't expect that it was Kiana who blocked the bullet for him.
What was even more unexpected was that Kiana remained silent in order not to influence Su Jue's judgment.
Facing Su Jue's question, the girl forced a smile on her pale face, "Don't worry, an injury of this degree..."
"Where did you come from, you hot-blooded idiot? This is a gunshot wound." Su Jue was anxious and angry. The current Kiana was not the Valkyrie who jumped out of a plane without any injury. She was just an ordinary girl. If the bullet was a little more off, she would die.
If she died, I...
The moment the thought came to mind, severe pain surged into my mind again.
"Damn it, it's happening again." Su Jue pressed his forehead and tried to cheer himself up.
He bit his tongue and forced himself to stay awake.
"I'll take out the bullet for you. If it hurts, just bite my clothes." After taking out the two daggers, cold sweat kept flowing down his forehead due to the severe pain, but his eyes were very focused.
"Ugh." The dagger cut through her skin, and the pain made Kiana make a sound subconsciously, but her will was much stronger than she imagined. She just gritted her teeth and watched Su Jue perform surgery on her.
The more the situation became, the calmer Su Jue became. His hands did not tremble at all, and he accurately removed the bullet from Kiana's arm.
However, after tearing off a piece of clean cloth to stop the girl's bleeding, his head was already in excruciating pain as if it were being churned by a cutting machine.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll go find some medicine for you." Su Jue's voice was trembling, but he didn't want Kiana to notice, so he could only pretend to get medicine for external injuries and staggered towards the storage point.
After Kiana could no longer see him, Su Jue leaned against the cold wall, gasping for breath.
As Su Jue sank deeper into the illusion, his memory of reality became increasingly blurred, and the emergency mechanism he set up could only wake him up in an increasingly painful way.
There was nothing wrong with the plan he made. Even if he was affected by the 30 wills, he could stay awake in this way. The only problem was that Kiana did not exist in the illusion in the original plan.
As long as Kiana doesn't exist, Su Jue can remain absolutely sane.
But the girl finally appeared in his life in the form of an illusion. He thought it was just an illusion and it would be okay if he relaxed a little. But as time went by, the quiet life became like a chronic poison that made Su Jue gradually addicted, and his consciousness was gradually deepening in sync with this world.
What's worse is that this assimilation was not caused by the Herrscher Core, but more like Su Jue's active choice.
He is actively letting himself get addicted.
Because he has always maintained a perception in his heart - Kiana is just an illusion, and once the dream ends, the illusion will disappear.
It is like a dream in which one knows that one will wake up. In order to make the beauty in the dream last longer, people will instinctively deepen their understanding of the dream.
However, this deepening of dreams is very dangerous. If the plan fails, Su Jue is likely to leave a permanent mental flaw. Once he becomes an enemy of Kiana, the experience in the dream will affect him and make him unable to make accurate judgments.
Unless Kiana stays by his side all the time... However, in Su Jue's understanding, Xin Yan and Qian Ren are naturally hostile to each other, and the two cannot be lovers, so this possibility is very small.
Of course, this situation is actually very easy to solve.
The first method is that as long as the dream is broken, you can naturally break free.
The second method is to kill Kiana. As long as the source of Su Jue's addiction disappears, the problem can be solved, and it will not even affect the progress of the plan. It can be regarded as the best solution.
So, kill her?
……
Kiana, who was left alone there, looked at Su Jue's leaving back, and suddenly felt uneasy. Although Su Jue did not show anything, she was still keenly aware that the other party was hiding something from her.
"Did I do something wrong?" Kiana asked herself in a low voice, hugging her arm that had just been bandaged.
"It's not your problem. He is being assimilated by the illusion."
A man's voice suddenly rang out in the deserted street.
Kiana suddenly raised her head, a light flashed in her eyes, and she projected a spear of the sky directly at the person who came. However, the person who appeared in front of her was not a person, but a blue phantom.
"Walter Joyce."
If Su Jue was present, he would definitely recognize at a glance that Joyce's appearance was almost exactly the same as the Yis he had seen before. He appeared in front of Kiana like a dead ghost.
"Did you do anything?"
"No, I'm just a shadow and can't interfere with this illusion." Joyce shook his head in denial. "He is in this state mainly because of you."
Qiana did not immediately believe Joyce's words. The other party and Su Jue were enemies, and it was impossible for her to trust the other party easily. However, Joyce's words still made her a little concerned, "Illusion assimilation?"
"To be precise, his will is merging with the 30 thoughts in the Herrscher's core, and his understanding of the illusion is gradually deepening."
As if afraid that Kiana didn't understand, Joyce continued to explain considerately: "If the fusion is completed, he will become the new Herrscher of Reason."
"But, is there any problem with becoming the Herrscher of Reason? If I remember correctly, your goal is to find a new successor for the Herrscher core. If Su Jue becomes the Herrscher, you should be happy." Kiana asked back.
Speaking of this, Joyce covered his forehead helplessly and said with a regretful tone: "It would be best if he could inherit the will, but he gives me a very dangerous feeling. I can't sense his inner thoughts. What I am more worried about is that if he really becomes the Herrscher, will the first thing he does be to directly erase the remaining consciousness in the core?"
"Su Jue is just an ordinary person..."
"Do you believe that?" Joyce asked.
But he didn't expect that Kiana nodded without hesitation, "Believe it!"
"Okay, okay. I know you have a high degree of trust in each other, but being addicted to illusions is very dangerous. Once his will is lost, he is likely to be completely left in the illusion and become one of us... Can you accept such a result?"
Click.
The Spear of the Archon pierced into the ground, and the tiles in front of Joyce suddenly shattered.
Chapter 284 Extra Memories
Joyce looked down at the Spear of the Sky, which was less than 10 centimeters away from him, and his expression remained calm.
He was not lying. Joyce was now just one of those 30 thoughts. It would be meaningless even if Kiana destroyed his illusion.
"What do you want to do?" Kiana's eyes were cold, and the Spear of the Sky turned into light particles and gathered again in her hands.
"It seems you still don't understand what I mean." Joyce sighed and said helplessly: "I said I'm just a shadow and can't change anything. The only one who can change him is you."
"..."
Looking at Qiana who had fallen into silence, Joyce nodded slightly, "Do you remember what I said to you before you entered the illusion?
This world is constructed by his power and the Herrscher core. It is essentially his dream. Everything in the dream is illusory to him, but you are an exception.
Even if he treats you as an illusion, your every move will still affect him. In other words, you act too real to make him blur the line between illusion and reality. "
Kiana remained silent, but judging from the way she subconsciously clenched her palms, the girl was clearly shaken.
In fact, Su Jue was not the only one affected by the illusion.
At the beginning, Kiana was able to suppress her emotions as much as possible, but as she spent more and more time with Su Jue, her inner fatigue was gradually healed, and she fell early.
"It is your existence that interferes with the operation of the world, thus subtly changing it. So, before asking me about my purpose, you should think about your own thoughts."
Her own thoughts? Qiana was a little confused. Her original goal was just to meet Su Jue again and tell him the words she hadn't said.
However, after entering the illusion, she realized that as long as she stayed with Su Jue, there was no point in asking the questions she had been thinking about for a long time, because he himself was the answer.
It is with this mentality that the two people will become closer and closer, forgetting the influence of time.
"I understand." After figuring out the whole story, Kiana put down the spear in her hand and withdrew her hostility.
If what Joyce said was correct, and it was me who influenced Su Jue, then as long as I disappeared...
"I advise you not to do that." As if he had guessed the girl's thoughts, Joyce immediately shook his head and rejected it. "Now your existence is the foundation that keeps the illusion from collapsing. Once you disappear, the illusion will immediately shatter, which will be devastating to him and the consciousness in the core."
This is a lie.
In fact, this was the reason why Joyce specifically approached Kiana.
Because he knew very well that the shattering of the illusion would not necessarily have a big impact on Su Jue. But for these 30 thoughts, it was indeed a devastating blow. He deliberately linked the two together to find a way out for these thoughts.
Qiana was not stupid, she guessed that Joyce might be lying, but she didn't dare to bet.
"All this is just your one-sided story. Since he is the master of the illusion, why don't I just tell Su Jue directly?"
That’s right, this is the best way at the moment. Take the initiative to reveal your identity. Even if Su Jue is affected, he can break free by force.
But in this way, everything is back to the starting point. Su Jue's plan failed, and there is no possibility for Kiana to meet Su Jue again. This unfinished journey will only be a dream that will dissipate at any time.
A dream without an ending.
"Of course." Joyce did not deny it, but frankly admitted his purpose. "I am only telling you this so that the belief of the Ruler of Reason can be passed on. I am also telling you this so that I can end it all in a gentle way. If you make a choice, I can't stop you."
