Chapter 358 Misaligned Time and Space - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

"Thank you all for attending my concert!" The transformed teen idol, Lin Jiu Jiu, walked onto the stage, waving enthusiastically to the audience below. The audience, with a bewildered expression, struggled to grasp the situation. Several humanoid, ghost-like creatures stared in astonishment as the "weapons" in their hands vanished, replaced by glow sticks used for cheering. They glanced around, realizing they were among the few leaders retaining some semblance of "rationality." The other monstrous lackeys had already begun waving their glow sticks in synchronized unity. How did it come to this? "I am Lin Jiu Jiu, I hope you enjoy my song!" The stage lights began to flicker and transform. As Lin Jiu Jiu's singing voice resounded, the creatures below the stage excitedly waved their glow sticks, cheering for her. The more they indulged in excitement, the peculiar gray mist enveloping them began to dissolve, gradually restoring their original forms. These creatures, varying from humans to animals and other unknown species, experienced a resurgence of long-lost memories, tears of joy cascading down their faces. Gradually, they transformed into pure golden particles, dissipating into the concert's expanse. Meanwhile, the sinister gray mist that had lingered through countless eras writhed, screamed, and bounded wildly within the concert's domain, gradually being erased. "What have you done to us?" The leading creatures struggled defiantly. But their resistance was in vain; during Lin Jiu Jiu's performance, waving glow sticks in support seemed unavoidable. Escape from this arrangement was impossible. "What on earth are you?" The creatures roared in desperation. Their roars grew feebler, as if afraid of disrupting Lin Jiu Jiu's performance. Yet, they wanted to survive, shouldn't they shout louder in defiance? "Hey! Hey! Hey!" Three minutes later, the leaders of the creatures waved their glow sticks, fervently cheering. Their will appeared to be overwhelmed, though they remained completely unaware of the situation. Moreover, the lyric "Su Miao, the cutest in the world" baffled them. What was with this incomprehensible line? No, they needed to escape. They must kill the little girl on stage. Yet what were they doing? Their power was fading. Their bodies were disintegrating. And yet why did they feel such happiness? Soon after, colorful energy cores fell to the ground, and the creatures below the stage vanished completely. The residual sinister gray mist was thoroughly cleansed by the mystical domain of the stage. The concert concluded, and Lin Jiu Jiu dissolved the concert realm. This was upon Pei Xiao Miao's advice. "The Twelve Divisions have a tradition of leaking trump cards to each other's enemies." Pei Xiao Miao explained, "Therefore, no matter how many abilities you possess, you must always hide some of your trump cards." "When I conveyed your data, I deliberately blurred some concepts so that the internal analysis within the Twelve Divisions of your powers was based on Si Tian's abilities." "For instance, your concert stage, your concert realm—everyone assumes it's an extension of dream control." "However, when those intent on opposing you discover the truth, make sure not to spare a single one." Lin Jiu Jiu remembered clearly. She hadn't anticipated an attack from creatures so soon. Were these creatures from other members of the Twelve Divisions, or an unknown force? Lin Jiu Jiu didn't know. The Si Tian platform was eerily silent now. The open gateway to the Dream Bubble Mode seemed to lose its previous eerie presence. Were those creatures from the inner world? But if so, why didn't she see them? And would Tao Yu Jie, trapped in the inner world, be alright? Standing at the center of the platform, Lin Jiu Jiu pondered briefly and decided to contact the Twelve Divisions staff on the platform. For reasons unknown, Lin Jiu Jiu called out several times on the internal channel, but no one responded. Has something happened? Lin Jiu Jiu felt a pang of worry. She hurriedly left the platform, heading to the control room. The control room door was ajar, and even before entering, a strong scent of blood reached Lin Jiu Jiu's nose. As she entered, she was confronted with a chaotic array of corpses; most of the staff had suffered severe external injuries, while others seemed to have died peacefully in their sleep. Lin Jiu Jiu sprinted through several rooms consecutively, only to find everyone inside dead, not a single survivor. Facing such a scene for the first time, Lin Jiu Jiu felt lost and overwhelmed. When she first encountered these people, they had all addressed her respectfully as "Master Si Tian." Through dreamscapes, Lin Jiu Jiu discerned their sincerity, though she had always maintained a necessary vigilance against them to guard against unforeseen events. She couldn't fathom that in the blink of an eye, they would all perish. As the energy in the control room exhausted, the plasma shield protecting the Si Tian platform vanished. "Right, contact Su Miao!" Lin Jiu Jiu's first thought was to reach out to Su Miao. But when she tried her phone, she discovered there was no signal, making contact impossible. Lin Jiu Jiu attempted to connect with Si Shu, but the Twelve Divisions' communicator was also non-functional. What should she do? If only Su Miao were here. Lost in these thoughts, Lin Jiu Jiu noticed a large villa flying towards her in the sky. The villa drew closer, appearing somewhat familiar. Atop the villa stood Su Miao! Lin Jiu Jiu's spirits lifted. She waved to the sky, "Su Miao, I'm here! I'm here!" But Su Miao, standing atop the villa, appeared oblivious, hovering over the Si Tian platform with a puzzled demeanor. "What is happening?" "Why can't Su Miao see me?" Lin Jiu Jiu stood on the platform, a look of trepidation crossing her face. This shouldn't be possible; given Su Miao's strength, she should undoubtedly have been able to detect her. ... At this moment, Su Miao flew the villa to the airspace above the Si Tian platform. Releasing her magical perception, the vast Si Tian platform appeared desolate, devoid of any individuals, not even corpses—an anomaly. Hmm? Suddenly, Su Miao sensed a faint scent of blood. Through her magical perception, she observed residual blood in the control room, though it seemed the blood had been there for some time. Trouble had indeed struck here! "Si Shu, I'm at the Si Tian platform, and aside from a few blood traces, there's nothing." Maintaining her composure, Su Miao reported, "Jiu Jiu is gone." Si Shu responded, "Su Miao, don't worry. Trust in Jiu Jiu's abilities; she'll be okay. Start investigating—I’m almost at the Si Ming platform. Once I've dealt with Pei Xiao Miao's situation, I’ll come over." Su Miao asked, "Do you have any clues?" Si Shu suggested, "Check the control room for any surveillance records." Su Miao agreed, "Alright, I'll have a look." Ending the call, Su Miao glanced down at the villa, dispatching a magical phantom to the control room encircling the platform. Her magical phantom quickly located the relevant equipment and accessed the surveillance feed. On the footage, everything appeared normal. Lin Jiu Jiu stood by the platform's core awaiting orders, while the control room staff performed their duties until Lin Jiu Jiu infused the platform core with power, participating in the opening of the inner world. Ten minutes later, eerie gray mist enveloped the entire Si Tian platform, leaving it oddly vague. The surveillance feed filled with static and bizarre, unsettling noises. "Help, save me!" "Master Si Tian, save us…" Amidst several terrified screams, the surveillance cut off, with no further footage following. Now, though Su Miao had reached the Si Tian platform, she spotted no trace of eerie gray mist—likely because Lin Jiu Jiu had banished them. But after driving them off, what happened then? Where had Lin Jiu Jiu gone? As for the staff, blood traces remained in the control room, yet there was no evidence of bodies being transported, had they been devoured? Su Miao couldn't comprehend. Surveying the distance, all six aircraft Lin Jiu Jiu had arrived on were still present, with no record of a return flight. Had Lin Jiu Jiu ventured into the inner world? Contemplating her options, Su Miao cast her magical phantom around nearby areas, thinking perhaps Lin Jiu Jiu had fled. If she had indeed escaped, given Lin Jiu Jiu's capabilities, she couldn't have gone far on foot and would be found swiftly. Yet, the magical phantom's search turned up no sign or trace of any escape by Lin Jiu Jiu. Su Miao's gaze turned to the Dream Bubble on the Si Tian platform; according to Si Shu, this was the gateway to the inner world. Was it the Dream Bubble that suddenly expanded and swallowed everyone into the inner world? Su Miao's mind raced. She raised her hand, ready to use magic to analyze this Dream Bubble. After hesitating for a moment, Su Miao abandoned the idea. If she accidentally destroyed the Dream Bubble or the gate to the inner world, it could trigger spatial turbulence—extremely dangerous. For Su Miao, such danger was manageable, but Lin Jiu Jiu definitely wouldn't withstand it. What if Lin Jiu Jiu was inside? That would be too risky. Unbeknownst to Su Miao, Lin Jiu Jiu had been watching her search back and forth, unable to notice her standing on the platform. To get her attention, Lin Jiu Jiu once again activated the concert realm, but to no avail. "Right, find Myna and Xia Xiao An!" Lin Jiu Jiu "observed" through dreams that Myna and Xia Xiao An were asleep inside the villa. Sleepers are the easiest to contact, yet upon employing her dream powers, she found herself unable to access their dreams, as if they weren't in the same dimension. A subtle difference was that while Su Miao could not see her, she could see Su Miao, Xia Xiao An, and Myna. Lin Jiu Jiu was genuinely anxious. ... Fretting would solve nothing. Upon confirming Lin Jiu Jiu couldn't be found on the Si Tian platform, Su Miao temporarily left its vicinity with the large villa. Su Miao descended from the villa, her foot touching the ground. Using the Taiji Heart Flow technique, she channeled her internal true energy to raise a three-hundred-meter mountain from the earth. Next, Su Miao retrieved a mutated persimmon tree from her magical space and planted it atop the peak, creating a magic barrier. She used the tree's root system to stabilize the mountain, preventing collapses or similar incidents. Having arranged everything, Su Miao placed the villa under the persimmon tree, setting out familiar tables and chairs. She picked a giant mutated cherry and ate it. Sitting at the table, Su Miao recorded her findings from the Si Tian platform, intending to fill in any gaps and search for clues. If she couldn't find anything before Xia Xiao An and Myna awoke, Su Miao planned to enter the inner world as originally intended, hoping to encounter Lin Jiu Jiu there. The magical phantom returned. With Xia Xiao An and Myna asleep, she didn’t return to her main body. Instead, she requested some ingredients and began grilling. As a phantom, she wanted to taste the flavor too... ... Meanwhile, Lin Jiu Jiu watched Su Miao's fruitless search efforts to find her, witnessing her raise a mountain and plant a mutated persimmon tree, as well as the phantom grilling. Her previous anxiety washed away significantly, leaving her both amused and touched. Truly, it was Su Miao... In any case, Su Miao being here made Lin Jiu Jiu feel at ease, even if Su Miao couldn’t see her. Lin Jiu Jiu retrieved a mutated large tomato from her spatial storage device and ate it. For now, she decided to wait here, trusting that Su Miao would find her eventually. ... Elsewhere, Si Shu arrived at the Si Ming platform. It lay deserted, with no trace of Pei Xiao Miao. Not only that, the vast Si Ming platform had vanished, replaced by a bottomless sinkhole. Signs of fierce battle peppered the surroundings, leaving Si Shu to wonder what kind of creature had fought Pei Xiao Miao to create such destruction. As for the sinkhole, an ominous aura wafted from within, as if a terrifying red-haired beast might emerge any moment. "Let's investigate inside." Si Shu opened a book, releasing several ability users to explore the sinkhole. They had barely been inside for ten seconds when every one of them fell. Watching the names disappear from the book, Si Shu frowned. Things were becoming increasingly tricky. Si Shu’s gaze fixated on the sinkhole—it seemed that to discover what had happened, she would need to venture inside. Just as Si Shu prepared to delve deeper, several flying crafts arrived above the Si Ming platform's area, appearing affiliated with an ability user organization. The ability users within the craft were surprised by the devastation below. Aside from Si Shu, no one else was present. "A lovely lady, could you tell us what happened here?" Descending from the craft, a blond North American ability user politely inquired. They were an organization intending to access the inner world through the Si Ming platform. Yet upon arrival, they found nothing. Observing the newcomers, Si Shu smiled slightly: "Yes, this area suffered an invasion from inner world monsters. Si Ming fought a fierce battle with them, which resulted in this state." The North American ability user exclaimed in awe—could such skyward devastation have been wrought by an ability user battle? That was terrifying! Si Shu continued: "You intend to enter the inner world, don't you? I suggest seeking another entrance. From my observations, the entrance has been pushed into the sinkhole, and entering will be very dangerous." "How can a man admit defeat?!" Where such bravado stemmed, the blond ability user didn't quite know, but he declared confidently, "This sinkhole is nothing, and the site of a strong ability user battle holds immense research value. We will not leave." Si Shu smiled gently, "Well then, good luck to you." Hopefully, this group of lackeys entering the sinkhole might uncover clues regarding Pei Xiao Miao’s disappearance—they were her only lead before concluding Pei Xiao Miao had ventured into the inner world. She herself would never take the risk of entering that sinkhole. ... (End of Chapter)