Chapter 493: 藏

Chen Ling glanced sideways, saw the embroidery, and froze. "The Mortal World"?

Seeing Chen Ling stop abruptly, Yang Xiao and Su Zhiwei turned back, puzzled, and were about to ask something when Chen Ling spoke first: "Dr. Su, this embroidery… may I take a closer look?"

"Of course," Su Zhiwei said without hesitation, handing the exquisitely framed embroidery to Chen Ling. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing every detail on the picture: stone paths, white walls with gray tiles, smoke from chimneys, willow trees, and faint wisps of smoke in the distance.

It was... too similar. Everything in the picture was a miniature of the Mortal World realm, and combined with the title "The Mortal World" inscribed on it, Chen Ling's mind raced uncontrollably!

Su Zhiwei's favorite type of scenery was the Jiangnan style, which Yao Qing presumably knew. That's why he spent a great deal of time and effort embroidering this "Mortal World" picture. And everything in the picture was strikingly similar to the Mortal World realm... All of this seemed to point towards Su Zhiwei's identity.

Su Zhiwei, the Mortal Lord?! At that moment, a detail Chen Ling had previously overlooked flashed through his mind.

"Dr. Su," Chen Ling suddenly began, "Back in Shennongjia, you briefly introduced 'string theory'... I recall you mentioning that the higher-dimensional something is, the more likely it is to be hidden in a tiny place?"

Though Su Zhiwei didn't know why Chen Ling suddenly brought this up, she nodded. "That's right. In 'string theory,' dimensions can change depending on the method and angle of observation, and the smaller the world, the higher its dimension. If high-dimensional beings like gods exist in the world, they could very well reside within a floating speck of dust or insignificant cells inside our bodies. That's why, in some religious theories, there's a saying..."

"A single flower is a world, a single leaf is Bodhi!" Chen Ling finished her sentence, his eyes sparkling like stars! That was it! A single flower is a world, a single leaf is Bodhi... No wonder the entrance to the Mortal World realm was in a patch of flowers in the Gray Zone, inside the most inconspicuous flower. Strictly speaking, it wasn't the "entrance to the Mortal World realm" but rather "the Mortal World realm was hidden within that very petal!"

Su Zhiwei, the Mortal Lord, had "hidden" the Mortal World realm! All the clues intertwined at that moment, and Chen Ling suddenly understood. He stood rooted for a long time, gazing deeply at Su Zhiwei, before returning the embroidery.

"Why did you suddenly ask about that?" Su Zhiwei inquired, puzzled.

"Nothing, just remembered something... Let's just leave here for now; we can talk about it later."

The three walked to the street entrance, where Yao Qing had already started the car, apparently having waited for a while. Chen Ling had initially intended to sit in the front passenger seat, but after seeing Yao Qing's face, which was as dark as the bottom of a pot, he sighed inwardly and chose to sit in the back with Yang Xiao, leaving the front passenger seat for Su Zhiwei.

"Sister Zhiwei, look at my driver's license! I just got it this year! I passed everything on the first try, no retests."

As soon as Su Zhiwei settled in, Yao Qing excitedly showed her his driver's license, skillfully starting the car and driving onto the road. Su Zhiwei took the license and smiled slightly, "Mm, very impressive... Once you can drive, you're truly an adult."

"Let me tell you, my driving instructor was really fierce..." As the car drove along the road, Yao Qing, like a dam breaking, continuously shared details of his year with Su Zhiwei, from selling an embroidery piece for six figures to the hints his driving instructor dropped about wanting cigarettes and gifts. He talked non-stop.

As the car drove away, in a derelict house several hundred meters from the Su residence, a figure slowly lowered a pair of binoculars and dialed a number.

"You were right; three men took Su Zhiwei."

"Three?" Nie Yu's voice came from the other end of the line, with the occasional blare of a police siren in the background. "Why three...? Did you get their descriptions?"

"One was wearing a brown trench coat, and another a white jacket... Those two entered the Su residence and stayed for a while, then Su Zhiwei packed her luggage and left with them. There was also a young man who looked like a university student, seemingly there to meet them."

"Brown trench coat, white jacket? So, it was them, after all." Nie Yu scoffed. The next moment, a loud crash erupted from the phone, and the blaring police siren abruptly ceased, as if something had been smashed.

A moment later, Nie Yu spoke again: "Are all your people assembled?"

"As per your request, everyone from around Gusu has been deployed. But time was short, so only the first group has arrived—about seven or eight people. There are another dozen or so in the second group, who should arrive before dawn tomorrow." He paused, then added, "These people are well-equipped and highly skilled. Some are well-known assassins, very expensive... Can you really afford them?"

"I told you, money is the least of my worries right now," Nie Yu's voice was icy. "I'm almost out of the encirclement and will definitely arrive before morning. Have the first group follow them for now and see where they're going."

"Alright."

"Don't follow too closely; hide well... The one in the brown coat isn't an ordinary person. Don't let him spot you."

"Don't worry, they're experienced; they know what they're doing."

The man casually hung up the phone. A moment later, several inconspicuous vehicles emerged from various intersections on the surrounding roads, merging into the heavy traffic and slowly approaching the direction of Su Zhiwei's car.

Chen Ling sat in the back seat, with Yao Qing's incessant chatter in his ears, his gaze fixed on the window. They were currently in the city center of Gusu, where traffic was heavy. The car could only inch forward along the road. At this speed, it would take at least another half an hour to get out of the city.

"I thought you'd offer to drive," Yang Xiao said beside him.

"I don't know the way," Chen Ling replied, glancing at the time on his flip phone. "Besides, I might need to rest soon..."

It would soon be twelve hours since Chen Ling entered the "Era Archive," and he would be forced offline. Of course, this logout and reconnection were supposed to be seamless within the archive. Yang Xiao didn't quite understand Chen Ling's meaning but nodded slightly.

"You haven't closed your eyes since Shennongjia; you really should get some rest."

Chen Ling hummed in agreement, closed his eyes, and leaned back in the seat as if asleep... Approximately two seconds later, he opened his eyes again.

ID: 129439Loading complete.