Chapter 1285: Workshop of Truth

“Wait,” Dr. Jia pointed out the inconsistency. “Aren’t there supposed to be seven rooms? This is only the sixth one. Why is it the last?”

“Whatever,” Wang Zikai said impatiently. “The sooner we get this shit done, the better.”

“I agree, but it’s still better to confirm it,” Dr. Jia said in a patient tone, but he cursed at Wang Zikai in his mind,

What do you know, you imbecile!

Cerulean Dog said coolly from under his mask, “We’ve always been in the seventh room.”

“What do you mean?” Zhang Wei asked.

Cerulean Dog didn’t answer. It didn’t seem like he would. They exchanged a glance, each coming to a speculation.

“Let’s go to the next room first.” Vermilion Bird believed that making progress was more important than getting to an answer now.

“Of course.” Cerulean Dog took a step forward. “I’ll count down from three. You’re going to all jump at the same time.”

“Again?!” Zhang Wei’s face darkened and distorted. “I’d rather not see

that

again. It’s seared into my brain.”

White Dew scoffed. “I remember someone saying he’s accepted it.”

“That’s neither here nor there. Acceptance doesn’t mean I’m a masochist.” Zhang Wei argued.

“You can close your eyes,” Cerulean Dog said.

“Right,” Zhang Wei said in relief.

The others took the advice, too.

“You have one chance,” Cerulean Dog said. “Are you ready?”

They nodded.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Jump.”

They all jumped before landing in a few seconds. Zhang Wei immediately opened his eyes. To his surprise, they were back to the vast, bleak, and dim cosmos without stars they had entered right after getting through the Gates of Closure.

Cerulean Dog stood before them like a dutiful but impersonal guide. “Welcome to the last room—the Workshop of Truth.”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

They looked around warily, while Wang Zikai and Zhang Wei were disappointed; Wang Zikai’s disappointment stemmed from the lack of a boss, while Zhang Wei’s stem from the room’s unassuming setting. It looked dull compared to the previous rooms, presenting neither creativity nor a challenge.

“There’s nothing here,” Zhang Wei said.

“No,” Cerulean Dog explained. “This is where we are closest to God. Here, we have everything, including the void. Here, we have nothing, including the void.”

“Fine, fine, talking in riddles again.” Zhang Wei had had enough of everyone speaking nonsense.

“Let’s go. We’ll visit Them.” Cerulean Dog took a few steps before looking over his shoulders and adding, “You can try to form connections with everything here. Then you’ll understand what I just said.”

Qing Ling was the first to put it into action. Tens of thousands of finely crafted Black Gold blades came into existence above her, forming a massive cage of lightning with crackling currents linking the dense arrays of blades. It resembled the neurons of the universe’s brain.

That shocked everyone, but the incredible phenomenon vanished in three seconds.

Qing Ling frowned and tried to replicate it, but failed. She did come to understand what this space was, though.

Her energy pathway was like a plug. Plug it in, and she would be connected to an infinite energy source. With a clear enough intention, strong will, and resilient soul, one would be able to acquire or bring into reality anything and everything.

Suddenly, the universe shook violently once more. A giant silver whale swam out of the void and moved past them like the Milky Way before vanishing once more.

Raven Shark’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t believe he had just done that.

Liao Liao raised her hands, and countless fireflies emerged like a green rain suspended in the backdrop of the cosmos. She had tried something more practical: to attempt a connection with the insects in the Mist World. She didn’t expect to summon the insects so easily.

“It’s like...” Liao Liao felt like she was dreaming. She struggled to come up with the right word: “Our wish would just come true.”

Cerulean Dog didn’t comment on that. He kept walking.

Everyone tried to have their wish come true after that. Incredible phenomena came and went fleetingly.

Zhang Wei, not one to be outdone, kept using “legendary moves” that temporarily marked the cosmos like graffiti. At that moment, he felt like he had migrated from the official server to a private server to use a character with max level and all legendary equipment. He felt powerful.

“Haha, I’m awesome! So great!” He cheered.

He stopped making more moves when a few figures suddenly appeared before him: Ghost Horse, White Rabbit, Songstress, War Tiger, Mischievous Monkey, Dead Pig, and Ba Qiuchi. They looked beyond Zhang Wei at Lovely Lamb and smiled at her.

“Dad, Mom, Sister...” Face covered in tears, Lovely Lamb stumbled forward with a dazed look on her face.

“Lovely Lamb! Stop!” Vermilion Bird snapped.

Lovely Lamb started, and the figures vanished. “No, don’t go...”

Heavenly Dog rushed to pull Lovely lamb into his arms, putting his headphones back on her and covering her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“Stop this now!” Vermilion Bird shouted, having cleared her head. “This is a trap! Our wish can’t just be granted. If this continues, we’ll become part of this place sooner or later!”

They felt a numbness prickling their scalp at the warning. They immediately “unplugged”.

An overwhelming sense of emptiness crashed into them. They wondered who they were, where they came from, and where they were going. Their souls sank into the deep sea.

“Here, we have everything, including the void. Here, we have nothing, including the void.”

Now, they finally understood what Cerulean Dog meant.

White energy rippled from Gao Yang, washing over everyone. They returned to the present, to the here and now.

A moment of silence passed.

“Fuck, I knew the black dog was up to no good!” Wang Zikai moved to attack as soon as he regained clarity, but Gao Yang stopped him with a pointed look.

“Focus,” Gao Yang said. “They are close.”

Everyone stood on alert and readied for a fight. The master beyond the Gates, the final boss, the one pulling the strings, the destination of fate, the chess player, God... the existence no one could accurately describe with words was close.

Gao Yang wasn’t afraid or panicked, but he felt an awe and trepidation he couldn’t describe. He wasn’t sure if the feeling was aimed at God, or himself for having gotten to this point.

Click.

The light switched on.

Not far from them, a square glowing with light blue appeared.

No one saw it appearing. It was already there when they realized.