Volume 2: Winter’s End
The special element was named Amber Element. Later, an experiment was conducted specifically for this element, searching for volunteers to inject or ingest the extract of the Amber Element.
The results revealed that over half of the volunteers experienced unusual visual phenomena, perceiving peculiar black substances in the air. One volunteer even claimed to see black butterflies. However, these phenomena quickly disappeared as the Amber Element was metabolized. The research could only come up with a speculative hypothesis: Do individuals with blue eyes see the world differently, and can they perceive things that are invisible to ordinary people?
This is what the clipped book page recorded. Continuing to browse through the documents, various experiments targeting those with blue eyes were documented.
Researchers quickly discovered that when individuals with blue eyes entered a state of sleep, the energy fluctuations throughout their bodies became erratic, as if the energy was playfully shifting and even dispersing entirely from the body.
In what form did this dispersed energy exist? Where did it go? The research did not provide further clarification, but it could be inferred that this energy lacked a consuming nature and returned to the body at the moment of the blue-eyed individuals’ awakening.
Upon reading this description, Shu Xun’s heart skipped a beat. The portrayal seemed akin to the Phantom Clan, existing outside the body. However, for the blue-eyed individuals, this phenomenon occurred during sleep, was uncontrollable, and seemed to lack clear consciousness. Were the native inhabitants of this planet truly human?
Most of the experiments revolved around this phenomenon in blue-eyed people, but progress was limited until, by chance, researchers captured the energy released during the fragmentation of the Amber Crystal. This energy was then compared with the energy during the sleep of blue-eyed individuals, revealing an almost perfect match.
This discovery immediately made the researchers realize that there must be a connection between the Amber Crystal and the blue-eyed individuals. With the emergence of theories suggesting that Amber Crystals might have life, they began to suspect whether blue-eyed individuals were a different species altogether, not human. However, this explanation was hard to believe, as many blue-eyed individuals had parents with normal eye colors. This blue-eyed trait did not seem strictly hereditary but more like a random occurrence.
The research on blue-eyed individuals reached a stalemate at this point, ultimately without a conclusion, or perhaps there was no time for one as the Winter’s End suddenly arrived.
Shu Xun placed the blue-eyed individuals’ files back in the cabinet and continued to examine the records about Blue Amber Crystals. Meanwhile, Ye Qian and Bai Ya had thoroughly studied the slightly larger cabinet below. After effortlessly bypassing the electronic lock, they pulled open one of the drawers. In the dim space, a faint and ethereal light of soft blue hues emanated, gentle and delicate, dispelling the surrounding cold temperatures.
The three individuals gathered their surprised gazes inside the drawer and found a fist-sized irregular blue crystal. This shade of blue wasn’t deep or light; it carried a fluorescent, mysterious blue – a warm and comforting sensation as if the entire person was immersed in lukewarm water. Thinking about the definitions given by numerous researchers for Blue Amber Crystals, the trio immediately understood that this should be the raw Blue Amber Crystal. Indeed, as recorded, it exuded a warmth and embracing feeling. It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful and gentle crystal could lead the whole world to its end.
Ye Qian took out the Blue Amber Crystal and brought it close to his eyes, furrowing his brows and carefully examining the inside. Initially, Shu Xun didn’t understand Ye Qian’s actions. However, when the polyhedron of the translucent crystal turned at a certain angle, Shu Xun saw that inside the crystal, there seemed to be an extremely thin gap, no, perhaps it sealed a similarly translucent blue butterfly. The butterfly was poised to take flight, with incredibly delicate wings and a slender body. If one didn’t look closely, it would be challenging to discern the butterfly’s outline.
Bai Ya also noticed the peculiarity of the Blue Amber Crystal. Skillfully unlocking another drawer, he opened it, and the ethereal blue light blossomed like a sudden flower, instantly unfolding. This piece of crystal was slightly larger than the previous one. Bai Ya took out the raw Blue Amber Crystal, meticulously examining its internal structure. Even with the sharp insight of an evolved being, it took Bai Ya three minutes to find the nearly imperceptible outline of the blue butterfly inside the Blue Amber Crystal.
Continuing to check several drawers, they found varying-sized raw Blue Amber Crystals inside, each sealed with at least one blue butterfly. The transparent butterflies were incredibly difficult to perceive, nearly impossible to discern with the naked eye. It seemed these Blue Amber Crystals had undergone a special treatment to vaguely reveal the butterfly outlines inside. The postures of the butterflies sealed within varied, yet all appeared vivid, as if gracefully dancing.
“One drawer is empty,” Ye Qian opened a drawer, only to find its lock broken, and there were no Blue Amber Crystals inside. He expressionlessly shifted his gaze to the slightly smaller square drawer above, extending his slender fingers, gently brushing over the equally sized square compartments. After a moment, his fingers halted on one of the compartments, and with a swift pull, the square drawer, supposed to be locked, opened soundlessly, revealing emptiness.
Seeing this, Bai Ya quickly dealt with the lock of a smaller drawer. Following Ye Qian’s actions, he opened the drawer, and a gleaming blue light merged into the profound blue. The color was somewhat lighter, lacking strong penetration, resembling faint fireflies in the dark night. Inside the drawer lay a vial of light blue potion, emitting a subtle blue glow. “Someone has been here and took away a piece of raw Blue Amber Crystal and a vial of some unknown potion.”
Potion? Shu Xun immediately recalled the urgent approval document he had read not long ago, authorizing the development of an extract from Blue Amber Crystals named the LP potion. However, the document had been torn, and Shu Xun didn’t know the exact purpose of the potion.
While Ye Qian and Bai Ya continued inspecting the drawers, Shu Xun immediately waved his chubby paw, continuing to peruse the documents. The space resonated with the sound of flipping pages. Bai Ya glanced over, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise. Despite having decent strength and superior mental abilities, he acknowledged he couldn’t match this reading speed. “Dumpling, are you sure you’ve read the words inside clearly?”
Shu Xun snorted without lifting his head, continuing to flip through the files. Thus, the position of the little creature kept changing among the various locations of the filing cabinet. With extraordinary attention and reading skills, in less than half an hour, Shu Xun had thoroughly reviewed all the information in the filing cabinet.
Sitting on the edge of the filing cabinet, Shu Xun rubbed his slightly throbbing head. Although the skill of traversing time and space unexpectedly brought Shu Xun to the cosmic era, the learning and adaptation abilities it brought were indeed extraordinary. Despite the discomfort in his head from such a massive intake of information, Shu Xun felt his thoughts remained clear. After organizing and summarizing, a clear logical line emerged.
Ye Qian and Bai Ya had already searched through all the drawers, transferring the potions to their pockets and backpacks. The production quantity of the LP potion was evidently not high; besides the taken one, there were only nineteen remaining. As for the Blue Amber Crystals, there were relatively more, but they occupied more space. In the end, the two chose to take only a portion.
Whether or not they completed the level, this peculiar blue potion seemed highly precious and important. If they succeeded, bringing it back for research would have significant development value.
“How about it, little one, done reading? Can we pack up and leave?” Watching Shu Xun leisurely sitting on the edge of the filing cabinet, swinging his short legs, Bai Ya asked with a smile. At the same time, he began collecting the materials in the filing cabinet. Obviously, to Bai Ya, at such a rapid speed, it would be too difficult for a small dumpling to finish reading, especially considering the little one appeared underage and would likely miss many clues during the process.
“Let’s go, we’ll talk on the way.” Ye Qian, however, had no intention of collecting information, picking up the dumpling and turning to leave. Bai Ya paused for a moment, glanced at the filing cabinet, then at Ye Qian. Ultimately, he gave up on collecting, wearing a conflicted expression as he followed Ye Qian’s footsteps.
Shu Xun nestled in his pocket, tugging at his own hair. “Let’s head back to the initial gathering point. It seems the completion condition isn’t uncovering the reason for the world’s demise.”
“It shouldn’t be. Absolute Ice Cataclysm is imminent. If it were any other completion condition, we would have been wiped out here, and the game would have ended,” Bai Ya clearly disagreed with Shu Xun’s statement, as he couldn’t think of any other completion conditions.
“Because the records in the files already contain the truth about the world’s demise. If the completion condition was to uncover the truth, there should have been a prompt the moment I finished reading. But nothing happened. Moreover, if the Absolute Ice Cataclysm is imminent, how can we survive?” Shu Xun pointed to the backpack and pockets, continuing, “Although Blue Amber Crystals might not be very warm, as long as we carry them with us, they seem to perfectly counteract the ultra-low temperatures of the deep blue color. Also, that light blue potion is a lifesaving elixir, containing an extremely concentrated healing energy. For this game world, it can even achieve resurrection.”
“Little dumpling, good imagination, but let me tell you, even in the interstellar age, no race can achieve resurrection. Life has a unique and irreversible unidirectionality. Even the Phantom Tribe, with their extremely long lifespans, cannot reverse life or bring someone back to life,” Bai Ya remarked, clearly amused by Shu Xun’s fanciful thoughts, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
Shu Xun puffed up his small chest. “In the gaming world, without imagination, I’m afraid victory has never been achieved or maybe everyone just lies down and wins.”
Bai Ya suddenly choked, reflecting on his own gaming experiences. He was horrified to find that the little dumpling seemed to have hit the mark. In these large-scale, high-difficulty survival games, he hardly had the experience of clearing them on his first attempt alone.
Shu Xun continued, “The information in the filing cabinet is extensive, but not without clues when connected. I believe that if it weren’t for the sudden arrival of the Absolute Ice Cataclysm, the researchers in this research facility could have pieced together the final truth.”
