Chapter 68: The Drafty World
"Desperate lamb, do you long to survive?"
Upon hearing the sudden voice, Commissioner K was stunned for a moment, then a trace of panic appeared on her face.
So that's it, that's it!
Project 1275 hadn't mutated; they just hadn't discovered the true mechanism to trigger it before. But at this moment, she realized that the mechanism was useless because the calamity beast had already entered this world.
She was about to die.
"Equal exchange, fair trade. Desperate lamb, sign the contract, and this city will be safe, this disaster will vanish into thin air."
Project 1275 seemed to see through Commissioner K's heart, its voice perfectly striking her greatest desire.
"Really?"
Commissioner K looked at the Catastrophe Snake not far away, constantly weighing the cost of signing the contract in her heart. She needed to make a choice now, whether to sign the contract to let the power behind Project 1275 confront the calamitous beast or to leave the information and let the beast rampage through the city.
"Commissioner K, Commissioner K, copy please respond. This is Anderson, report the invasion situation immediately."
The voice from the transmitter wasn't loud, but it was especially clear in this area that had become a domain of death. The catastrophic snake raised its head, its golden-red eyes seemingly able to penetrate the surrounding ruins, staring straight at Commissioner K hiding in the debris.
"Looks like there's no other choice, I agree to the deal. I want you to kill this Catastrophe Snake."
"As you wish."
In the next instant, the dark red scroll suddenly ignited. A hidden power residing in the scroll for years entered Commissioner K's body, causing her to involuntarily perform an extremely complex and precise operation.
In her operation, a space rift appeared in front of her.
A relaxed voice came out from the rift, accompanied by a terrifying pressure that could make one faint.
A figure dressed in a black robe slowly walked out of the rift, curiously surveying the surroundings.
"Let me see, what is it that I have to kill?"
...
Richard curiously observed the surroundings. In his perception, the energy concentration of this world was about ten times that of the Wizard World. According to the records of Wizard Civilization, such concentration would only appear in some mid-sized worlds or somewhat larger small worlds.
"The Four Elements are balanced; looks like our luck isn't bad."
Richard surveyed the surroundings while speaking to Ulysses on his shoulder.
"Gah, are you sure?"
Holy Light emanated from Ulysses, and in the next moment, a massive beam of light enveloped both of them along with the entire room they were in.
"This welcoming ceremony isn't bad. 50,000 Power Level, encountering the World Master right after arriving?"
Richard held up the Magic Barrier, locking his gaze onto Commissioner K behind him. He sensed that this blue-skinned, four-eyed humanoid creature was a Level 3 Creature. It seemed that the one who opened the rift was her.
"Can you explain to me what this guy outside is?" Richard asked with a spiritual message, "Are you with the Resistance Army? Or part of a cult? Or some other niche non-mainstream force?"
Commissioner K was baffled by Richard's question, but as a Level 3 Action Commissioner, she had seen many internal documents of the Control Bureau. Among them, the information on Project 001 was particularly clear in her mind.
[Project Number: 001]
[Project Level: X]
[Containment Measures: A room with a side length of 10×10×10 meters, wall thickness not less than 100mm of lanthanum metal. No furniture or decoration of any material is allowed in the room. The lighting needs to cycle between being on for twelve hours and off for twelve hours. Administrative Commissioners below Level 5, and Action Commissioners below Level 4 are prohibited from contacting it.]
[Project Description: 001 is a humanoid Otherworldly Creature. Its features include a single eye, purple skin, no nose, trumpet-shaped ears, a mouth opening angle of 160 degrees, serrated teeth, hairless, with four limbs, lacking external reproductive organs, with strength as ██]
Appendix: 12//9/49██
All experimental information regarding 001 has been classified as top-secret, prohibiting viewing by Administrative Commissioners below Level 5 and Action Commissioners of Level 4 and above.
A thought flashed through Commissioner K's mind.
"This one before me might be a new 001."
Richard looked at the somewhat dazed Commissioner K, wondering if the pressure was too intense, causing this little guy to become incapacitated?
"I am neither with the Resistance Army nor any cult. I am Ankarena, a third-level operations commissioner from the Control Bureau. Strong one from the Otherworld, this big snake also comes from the Otherworld. I hope you can fulfill our contract," Ankarena suddenly spoke through a spiritual message.
Richard showed a hint of surprise after listening.
"A creature from the Otherworld? So, others have set their eyes on this world too?"
Richard released his spiritual power, which swept through the massive Catastrophe Snake in an instant like a turbulent sea.
"A fourth-level World Master, doesn't seem like a member of a civilization. What do you think, Ulysses?"
"Caw, I don't think so either."
As Richard and Ankarena were conversing, Ulysses had already engaged in combat with this big snake that also came from the Otherworld. Judging by the snake's moves, it seemed to simply be the World Master of a native world.
"Alas, what a pity," Richard sighed softly. "If my true form were here, this big snake surely could be sealed. Now I can only kill it first."
With that, Richard pulled out the Balancing Hand from the void, waved the Magic Wand, and the big snake fighting Ulysses suddenly paused. All its muscles stopped momentarily under Richard's Rule Power.
In this brief moment, if it were a battle between mortals, it might not even create any advantage. But in the battle of World Masters, this moment was enough to overturn the entire situation.
Black flames surged from Ulysses' body. Taking advantage of this moment, two Crow Claws fiercely plunged into the snake's body. Then, with a flap of its wings, Ulysses seemed to teleport to the snake's tail. In the next instant, a massive wound burning with black flames appeared on the Big Snake World Master's belly, extending from the middle to the tail.
"Caw, the clone is indeed not as useful as the true form," Ulysses said, holding the scaled-down heart of the snake as he flew to Richard's side.
"This thing is good. Feed it to the Snake King in the Secret Realm, maybe we'll gain another World Master."
Richard nodded slightly, then waved his Magic Wand to apply a seal on the snake's heart. The big snake in the distance was not completely dead yet, and even without a heart and with its belly split open, its immense Life Energy still allowed it to survive.
If Richard ignored it, it might be able to revive itself.
"The Life Energy is truly resilient,"
Richard sighed, and in the next instant appeared beside the big snake. He waved his Magic Wand, and an Array the size of the snake's head expanded centered on the head of the Balancing Hand.
"To have such resilient Life Energy, it's a pity for it to die. Sealing it might yield some research,"
With that, the Sealing Magic Array fell onto the snake's head. The big snake still tried to resist, but it no longer had much Strength left to fight back. It thrashed its body, and its gigantic form almost flattened the buildings within a kilometer. In Richard's eyes, however, this was just a dying struggle.
Under the effect of the sealing, the big snake was gradually consumed into a void space starting from its head by the Magic Array. When the snake's entire body entered, the enormous Magic Array rapidly shrank, eventually turning into a mark imprinting on Richard's hand.
This sealing skill was named "Magic Space Sealing Technique" by Richard, inspired by the principle of energy preservation in the Rule Body, a creation from Richard's century of research. In essence, it created a pocket-like space in which sealed objects were placed, restrained, and "preserved" by the Magic Array.
After completing all this, Richard returned to Ankarena's side. He had many questions about this world that needed answers from Ankarena.
Ankarena took two steps back awkwardly, watching Richard, this humanoid creature that resolved the Catastrophe Snake with such casual ease.
She suddenly felt she might have made a wrong decision.
It seemed she had brought an extraordinary being into their world.
...
Control Bureau, L-1 Base Basement.
"So, that's how it is."
Richard nodded thoughtfully. In front of him sat Ankarena, alongside another person who introduced himself as Anderson, a level four administrative commissioner from the Control Bureau.
After dealing with the Catastrophe Snake, Richard asked Ankarena numerous questions about this world. For example, the social structure of this world and what kind of organization the Control Bureau was, and why the Otherworld invasion hadn't provoked a counterattack from the World Master, among other questions.
Ankarena knew the answers to some of these questions, while others she did not. Initially, faced with Richard's questions, she wanted to respond with silence and contemplated the possibility of suicide. But considering that he had already entered this world, she ultimately gave up on that idea and invited him to the Control Bureau.
This highly rational, communicative Otherworldly Creature, if used properly, could be another 001 for the Control Bureau.
However, based on the current situation, the chances of the creature before her, who called himself Richard, becoming the new 001 were slim.
"An endless invasion disaster, your world is pretty interesting," Richard straightened his body, glanced at Ulysses on his shoulder, "Have you seen such a situation before? A world actually establishing connections with multiple worlds, so profound that World Masters from Otherworlds could intrude.
This world is practically a house full of leaks, the kind that shares a wall with other houses."
"Caw, I really haven't seen this before," Ulysses shook his head slightly, with a tone of amazement, "I've seen connections between two worlds, and also connections between three worlds. But if what they say is true, this world is afraid to have established connections with more than five worlds.
I've truly never seen such a number of 'world collisions'."