Chapter 67: Traces of Time

“The experiment… failed.”

“During the critical stage of Lieyangxing’s final transformation, the material… Su Wanning’s corpse…”

Yue Xi took a deep breath, as if using all her strength to finish the sentence.

“Vanished into thin air.”

She bowed even lower.

This was a situation she had never anticipated.

It was like a child’s sandcastle built over hours, silently erased by an invisible wind, leaving not even a single grain of sand behind.

Her art, the masterpiece she would have been most proud of, was gone.

Standing beside her was Nidhogg, wearing a white lab coat.

This scientist of the Void Abyss, who always adhered to logic, now also had her head lowered, her expression under her glasses more solemn than ever before.

“Mentor, I can testify for Lady Yue Xi.”

Nidhogg’s voice was calm.

“I retrieved all monitoring records from the lab, including energy flow spectrograms, Void Abyss fluctuation detection, and all other data. None of it could identify the cause.”

She paused, as if organizing her words to describe the inexplicable scene.

“The disappearance occurred within one second.”

“Throughout the entire process, there was no singularity reaction from spatial teleportation, no signs of energy burst, and no traces of external force invasion of any kind.”

“The lab’s sealing barrier remained intact.”

Nidhogg pushed up her glasses and stated the conclusion she was most reluctant to acknowledge.

“From a data perspective, I too cannot explain the reason for the corpse’s disappearance.”

Yue Xi bit her lip. “Mentor, I have failed your expectations.”

Her voice carried a sob, the helplessness after her arrogance shattered.

“I can’t even… I can’t even explain the reason for the failure! This was supposed to be my most perfect work. I don’t understand! I don’t understand!”

She prepared herself for her mentor’s thunderous wrath.

But it didn’t come.

Her mentor’s silence stretched on. The weight of it pressed down on Yue Xi and Nidhogg, making it hard for them to breathe.

Finally, the mentor’s voice rang out, calm to the point of gentleness.

“My children, there is no need to blame yourselves. I believe everything you have said.”

This unusual leniency stunned both Yue Xi and Nidhogg.

“W-why?” Yue Xi’s pupils were filled with shock. She couldn’t believe her mentor would let her off so easily.

“I sensed it the moment it happened.” The mentor’s voice was indifferent.

Those words made Yue Xi’s body tremble slightly.

She was shocked by her mentor’s omniscient power, yet also secretly relieved by the forgiveness.

At least her mentor wasn’t doubting their abilities because of this bizarre failure.

Suppressing her countless doubts, Yue Xi spoke again.

“Since you have sensed it, can you tell us what exactly happened?”

Her tone held reluctance and longing.

“Could it be some… unknown Void Abyss phenomenon?”

As a researcher, she desperately wanted to understand this failure, even if the process would bring more pain.

From the throne, another moment of silence.

Then the mentor slowly spoke.

“At the spot where Lieyangxing vanished, I detected traces of time.”

That simple sentence made the temperature of the entire hall seem to drop to freezing.

Nidhogg’s pupils contracted behind her glasses.

Yue Xi stood frozen on the spot, her mind a blank.

“Traces of time?”

She murmured the words.

As a fairy king who had lived for over two hundred years, she knew better than anyone that the word ‘time’ was the most supreme and untouchable taboo in this universe.

“Do you mean… someone… reversed time? Or…”

Her mind raced, trying to comprehend a phenomenon beyond her understanding.

But the mentor interrupted her speculation.

“This is something we cannot change now.”

Was there even a hint of amusement in that tone?

“Or rather, it is something ‘we of now’ cannot change.”

This subtle phrasing made Nidhogg frown deeply.

She keenly caught the unusual implication in the words.

An absurd yet only logical conclusion formed in Yue Xi’s mind.

“Mentor…” Her voice suddenly rose. “Are you saying someone came back from the future and took Lieyangxing’s corpse?”

The mentor didn’t answer directly.

“Time is not as simple as you think. The original future is about to be changed. Our plan to achieve our goal will change as well.”

This declaration struck like a thunderbolt in the hearts of the two apostles.

Nidhogg finally spoke, her voice still calm but carrying a rare hint of confusion.

“Mentor, if the timeline can be changed, then everything we are doing now… does it still have meaning?”

It was the first time she had wavered in her belief in logic.

From the shadow on the throne came a soft laugh.

“Child, you underestimate the essence of the Void Abyss. Time is just another shackle used by this false world to imprison life. What we are going to do is shatter this shackle along with the rest.”

That conviction, conveyed through a calm tone, once again filled Yue Xi with hope.

The panic in Yue Xi’s pupils faded, replaced by excitement.

“Then, Mentor, what do you want us to do next? Since the Lieyangxing plan has failed, do we need to change targets?”

In her mind, she was already conceiving new works.

But the mentor said, “No. Lieyangxing is still our target. Only the plan needs adjustment. You will understand when the time comes.”

****

Another restless night.

The oppressive atmosphere in the apartment was almost suffocating Hua Mu’ai.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She ran off to the Flying Fish Internet Cafe again.

The familiar sound of keyboard clicks gave her exploding heart an outlet.

But reality was cruel.

“Defeat!”

A string of losses sent her tumbling from Gold II all the way back to being a glorious “Gold Gatekeeper.”

“A bunch of pig teammates!”

Hua Mu’ai cursed under her breath, wishing she could crawl through the internet cable and drag out those feeders for a beating.

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