Light Barrier - Chapter 61: Touching You

His mental power was exhausted.

The seawater of Deep Sea wrapped around him and carried him upward. Gu Shen felt as light as cotton.

He didn’t feel the piercing pain like when using the Ruler of Truth.

Because everything here was completed under the protection of Deep Sea… No wonder so many transcendents would undergo trials in the Deep Waters.

“Is it over?” Gu Shen murmured with his final bit of consciousness. “Does this mean… I’ve completed the first level of the trial?”

…

“It’s still early.”

Wake up.

Gu Shen broke out in a cold sweat. He wasn’t back in his apartment but sitting on a speeding train.

Outside the window, arcs of electricity were splattering, and the wheels were making heavy friction sounds. Everything felt like a dream.

He had returned to the beginning.

Sitting opposite him was the girl he thought about day and night. Under the illumination of the light, she was stunningly beautiful. Her white dress swayed, revealing her white calves and ankles.

“Where is this…?” Gu Shen looked at the girl opposite him in a daze. The light rail was speeding through the nothingness of electricity and light, bursting with thousands of sparks and dissipating outside the window. The characters ‘000’ were exceptionally dazzling.

“This is my home. You can also understand it as… an unknown secret area in the Deep Waters,” Chu Ling explained calmly.

Then she closed the book in her hand, stood up, and said with a hint of anger, “You flaunted your strength in the Transcendent Trials just to last a little bit longer? Do you realize that without the protection of Deep Sea’s rules, your mental power would have been damaged?!”

He was still in the Deep Waters, in the transcendental connection!

Gu Shen was stunned. Seeing Chu Ling’s rare angry expression, he hurriedly smiled apologetically and said carefully, “I’m sorry. I was wrong… Wasn’t it… because you were there?”

If he hadn’t heard Chu Ling’s voice, he wouldn’t have taken the risk.

But for some reason, when she was around, it was like he became a different person. No matter how crazy the idea he had, he felt that he could give it a try.

Chu Ling fell silent.

She couldn’t bear to say anything else. She merely sighed and asked softly, “Haven’t you thought about… what if I fail?”

Gu Shen shook his head with a smile. “I reap what I sow. I would never blame you.

“Okay, this trial is over! I promise you I will act within my limits from now on!” Gu Shen raised his palm and swore loudly. Then he asked quietly, “Um… just now… does it count as maintaining the stability of my ability?”

“Yes, but what’s the use?” Chu Ling sighed helplessly. “You should have felt it. Your current transcendental power is really weak. The scene in the Deep Sea Trials was completely different from the one in the Cage of Ghosts.”

Gu Shen remained silent.

Indeed, they were two completely different scenes… No wonder I can’t use my transcendental power in real life.

Because it’s too weak.

“You’re more capable than I thought. The first level of the Transcendent Trials is actually about the understanding of stability. Most people connect dozens of times to explore the characteristics of their abilities. Most transcendents can complete the first level of the trial, so it’s not that difficult.”

Chu Ling said angrily, “But you, you’re really daring. You gritted your teeth and managed to maintain the stability in one go… If I hadn’t removed Deep Sea’s protective measures and allowed you to resist the resistance recklessly, you would have already been forced out of the Deep Waters and disconnected.”

“Right… I’m still connected.” Gu Shen scratched his head. “Is this also a part of the Deep Waters?”

“The Deep Waters is much larger than you imagine,” Chu Ling said. “A transcendent’s strength determines their permissions. Of course, this is a rule written in the rules… But there are exceptions.”

For example, her.

“Deep Sea monitors everyone in the Deep Waters. But 000 is something it can’t see within the rules. Therefore, this place is absolutely safe.” Chu Ling chuckled. “Or rather, so far, 000 is absolutely safe.”

Gu Shen fell into thought.

He tried to digest the large amount of information in Chu Ling’s few words.

Who would call their residence in the mental space their home… Every connection was so timely…

Someone who could ignore the rules of Deep Sea.

Someone who wasn’t worried about being tracked down.

“In that case, our first meeting…” Gu Shen slowly exhaled. “Was it here? Like now?”

“Yes… An unexpected mind connection happened without any warning.” Chu Ling lowered her eyes, her crystalline eyelashes glistening and her hair swaying in the blazing light. She sighed softly. “Actually, no one else is supposed to be able to enter this train, yet you’ve become an exception. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, or perhaps it’s… fate.”

She thought for a moment.

She had more to say, but after thinking about it, she decided to hold back for the time being.

“This place… feels too real.” Gu Shen stretched out his hand, touched the railing, and then touched the long window in front of him. Everything felt real—the cold and hard iron, the warm air blowing in from the vents, the arcing electricity outside the window.

“So, was my encounter in 000… real?”

This was a question that he was afraid to ask but had to.

Meeting Chu Ling felt like a dream.

And he hoped it wasn’t a dream.

“…” Chu Ling didn’t answer the question but sighed. “I can’t give you an answer… because I’m also searching for the answer to all of this. Do you still remember the question I asked you?”

Gu Shen was startled.

During their first meeting, Chu Ling had asked him a very important question.

Was there π between the three and four scales of a ruler?

The Deep Waters created by Deep Sea was a space that existed in the mental domain… It was between reality and illusion, just like the π in this question.

Did it exist?

No one knew.

“The connection tonight was actually to let you feel your transcendental power. Gu Shen… your power is very special. It symbolizes the establishment of order. Although it is currently very weak, it has great potential for growth.” Chu Ling’s eyes lit up as she said solemnly, “In order to make your Blazing Fire stronger, you need to find transcendental essence…”

She suddenly frowned.

The electric arc sounds of the 000 train became urgent, and the incandescent lights began to flicker.

What’s happening? Gu Shen was stunned.

“Transcendental sealed objects… transcendents… are all transcendental essence that wanders outside…”

Chu Ling’s image suddenly fluctuated in front of Gu Shen. With the bumps of the train, she was no longer a real person but transformed into fragmented and reassembled garbled code.

“What’s going on?” Gu Shen stood up anxiously and looked around. The entire 000 was emitting low rumbling sounds and began to speed up. All the sounds were diminishing and disappearing, and the electric arcs outside the windows were gradually fading away, as though they were about to plunge into the endless night.

“Tonight, the Deep Sea system… will undergo an upgrade…” Chu Ling’s voice came intermittently. “They… have been… looking for me…”

She looked at Gu Shen, the smile in her eyes full of apology. “During this time… you have to take care of yourself… I’m afraid… I’ll have to be offline for a while—”

“I’ll wait for you!” Gu Shen’s voice interrupted Chu Ling.

Chu Ling was taken aback.

She saw Gu Shen’s clear and bright eyes and the hand firmly extended in the air. On her face being constantly covered by garbed numbers and symbols, a trace of confusion first appeared and then helplessness.

She smiled, but the clean smile on her face was erased by countless flickering characters.

In the chaotic spacetime, the two of them kept missing each other, never truly making contact in a meaningful sense.

But at this time…

The train trembled and jolted.

Though it was only for a moment…

But the fingertips of the boy and girl touched.