Keyboard Immortal

Chapter 2745: How Could it Be?

“What’s wrong?” The guests were horrified.

“We have traveled through the fog for some time now. With our divine sense failing and all the frigate’s navigational tools malfunctioning, we can’t find our way back anymore,” Yani said with a frown.

“Why can’t we just turn around and return where we came from? We've been moving in a straight line all this time,” a guest suggested.

“We thought we were traveling in a straight line, but I just realized that isn’t the case at all. There’s something very off about this place.” Yani shook her head.

“So many experts are gathered on this frigate. Do you think we wouldn’t have noticed it if we steered away from our original direction? I’ll give it a try.”

Skeptical of Yani’s words, the guest flew from the frigate’s bow to around a hundred meters away before flying back. He didn’t fly further away, as he was worried he would be in danger if he strayed from the crowd’s gaze. He asked, “How is it? I flew in a straight line, right?”

The guests on the frigate stared at him in bewilderment. “Are you certain you flew in a straight line?”

“Of course! Do you think I can’t tell whether I’m flying in a straight line for a distance this short?” the guest snorted in disdain. Seconds later, he asked with a frown, “Hold on. Was I not flying in a straight line earlier?”

The other guests shook their heads. “You first flew left, then right, and at some point, you started flying in circles.”

“That’s impossible!” the guest exclaimed in disbelief. How can I not tell whether I’m flying in a straight line or not?

Someone was worried that the guest was working with Yani to fool everyone else, so he decided to verify it. He flew forth from the frigate and returned shortly after, at which he turned to Isabella and asked, “Esteemed Miss Isabella, was I flying in a straight line earlier?”

Even if he didn’t trust others, there was no way the Acadias’ first miss could be bribed to deceive him.

Isabella shook her head. “You flew haphazardly too, but there was a difference in your flight trajectory. You circled a few more rounds, and the direction of your flight was different as well.”

By this point, the other guests had already turned pale. This is terrible. Even their flight trajectories were different. That means the distortion in our senses isn't constant, making it impossible to figure out a pattern in the distortion.

Alfred spoke up. “A formidable power must have warped the fundamental laws of physics in this place, resulting in this peculiar phenomenon.”

“Could it be the Deity of Death? There was an ex-Death envoy outside.”

“That’s impossible. The Deity of Death has been dead for countless years, and no one has been able to find any traces of him. It’s too much of a coincidence for us to bump into him just like that.”

“And there’s no death energy in the vicinity either.”

...

There was another reason that no one voiced out loud. If the Deity of Death was behind this, how could the Dreamland remain oblivious to this for so many years?

“What should we do? Do we continue wandering around?” someone asked with a quivering voice.

Not only were they unable to find their way back, but even if they continued venturing forward, there was no guarantee they would find anything.

“Actually, I have something that may help us with directions.” As Isabella spoke, she reached into her bag and pulled out a glass tank with a bizarre-looking fish swimming amid corals. “This is an East Fish. It’ll always head eastward no matter how complicated the environment is.”

“I've heard legends about this fish! Having it can steeply lower the difficulty of most labyrinth dungeons!”

“This is wonderful! We can return now.”

...

Zu An was more astounded by how Isabella pulled out a living creature from her bag, considering how most spatial artifacts could only hold dead items. Could her bag contain an entire world in it?

The guests stared intently at the fish as they waited for it to point out a direction.

The East Fish swam in circles as if it couldn’t determine where east was. Perhaps stressed by all the eyes focused on it, it eventually flopped over and revealed its belly, no longer wanting to swim.

The crowd was speechless.

Isabella’s face heated up. The shower of compliments she had received from the crowd earlier turned into humiliation for her. “Why is this happening? The East Fish has never reacted like that before.”

Sensing her fluster, Zu An spoke up on her behalf, “This fog could be more than a simple labyrinth. It could be a distortion of fundamental physical laws that renders the concept of direction meaningless. Naturally, the East Fish wouldn’t be able to determine where east is.”

The others voiced their agreement. Isabella shot a grateful look at Zu An.

Alfred spoke up as well. “For even the East Fish to fail, the distortion must be severe. Does anyone have other ideas? We need to work together to overcome this crisis. We shouldn’t be holding anything back now.”

A guest scattered beans around, which grew into talisman figures. The figures scattered into the surroundings, and a thorough map of the area appeared in the air. The figures had to be extraordinary treasures.

Before the crowd could celebrate, the map flickered before abruptly vanishing. The guest smacked his chest in bitter regret as he bemoaned, “My talisman figures!”

He had lost control over all the figures.

Another guest sneered.

What an idiot! Why would you send your precious artifact into the fog when you already know something is off about it?

He pulled out an eight-trigram compass and placed his hand on it. The compass began revolving quickly. The runes on its surface drifted out into midair to construct words. That guest’s eyes lit up in excitement.

However, the runes suddenly distorted the next moment, and he groaned and spurted blood on his compass. His face turned pale, a sign that he had sustained serious internal injuries.

“It all falls on me in the end,” an old woman dressed in a mage robe snorted. She swiftly formed a series of hand seals while murmuring an obscure incantation.

“That appears to be something from a supernatural civilization.”

“Is it some kind of shamanistic ritual? Hold on, what is she using as a sacrifice?”

The knowledgeable guests were appalled. Is she going to use us as tribute?

The answer was soon revealed.

The woman’s arm was first twisted off her shoulder, then it swiftly withered, as if some invisible entity had siphoned away its blood. A spatial crack appeared in the sky, and it looked as if a mysterious entity would descend. A blood-red eye emerged from the crack. The pressure it emanated left the crowd with goosebumps.

But then, the eye suddenly widened as if it had seen something terrifying. It immediately darted back into the crack while murmuring something in a language that no one understood.

Flabbergasted, the old woman shouted, “How can you leave without doing anything after accepting my tribute...”

But the eye paid no heed to her complaint, and the spatial crack closed. The old woman had already weakened from losing her arm and a considerable amount of her blood essence, and the immense anger she felt from being betrayed caused her to pass out.

“What’s going on?” The crowd was confused. Why did the mysterious entity suddenly retreat? Was the tribute insufficient?

Zu An’s face turned grim, as he understood what that entity said before it left.

“What?! How can it be ****-”