Whoosh——
Even though the sound was very faint, it was clear that facing the neat interior of the bar, Mr. Huck Sr. breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Before opening the door, he seed to have prepared to face a ntal shock, so this scene was already quite comforting.
However, he did not turn on the lights; staring into the dimness, he cautiously kept his gun ready.
Click!
Not only that, the next mont he took a step inside and even closed the door behind him.
Still no movent, and although Huck’s steps were slow, they were steady, and he searched along the way.
Fu Qian was naturally very familiar with the layout of the bar, so much so that with a few more steps, he could calculate where the Old Hunter was sitting.
Whoosh——
He exhaled lightly again, and Mr. Huck Sr. finally stood still, looking at the crowded yet empty corner and the decayed door not far away, saying nothing.
No, the Old Hunter wasn’t there, hadn’t hidden himself, nor had he rged temporarily with Huck’s subconscious.
The reason for such certainty on the last point was that from Fu Qian’s perspective, he could clearly see that the Old Hunter was still sitting in place, only showing shock on his face.
Just as Huck entered, the two worlds that were originally drawn closer suddenly layered, creating a sense of spatial misalignnt.
And this wasn’t the only change; the Old Hunter’s ability failed at the sa ti that Fu Qian seed to hear the sound of walls cracking.
Everything quickly beca fragile and brittle, swiftly turning into illusion.
The Inner World was collapsing.
...
He truly was a tool, seemingly not even receiving the notification that the ga was over.
It wasn’t surprising for the Old Hunter to follow all the way here; if Huck could do it, why couldn’t he? Especially at certain special locations.
Don’t forget that from his perspective, he’s now in the phase of helping with odd jobs.
That’s why after leaving the Art Prison earlier, Fu Qian confird with Dennis where their car was located.
Unfortunately, though they chased here, it was obvious there was nothing to gain, making the actions seem sowhat excessive.
That’s also why there was speculation earlier that if Huck really got pulled into the Inner World, things might not go well for him.
Such as getting branded with so excessively strong Spiritual Imprint directly.
Fortunately, it now seed that such threats had distanced themselves from him—permanently.
With the Old Hunter suddenly standing up, the state of the Inner World was becoming increasingly abstract.
Not only did it appear it could no longer intersect, even the structure of the Inner World itself was becoming chaotic.
Intertwined with illusion, it seed like one could take in everything at a glance.
And the most visually striking among it all was an enormous tree.
Majestic, sinister, reaching sky and earth... but that wasn’t what made it special.
What was most eye-catching were the slender roots growing wildly like branches, extending into the sky.
It really is the Inverted Tree?
To Fu Qian, it was as though an imagined picture finally got painted.
Coupled with the easy confirmation, the giant tree did indeed grow from the Art Prison side, verifying previous guesses about this world’s the.
The Inverted Tree was at the root of everything, truly causing the tragedy of this aging town.
Everything twisted and rotted along with it until two bewildered young people stumbled into this place.
...
Admittedly, this way of summarizing things is quite nice; simple words can hardly capture such vividness.
Generously giving high praise, Fu Qian quietly observed everything, soon discovering another anomaly—the Old Hunter was staring blankly at sothing.
Indeed, that spot was a bit peculiar compared to elsewhere, with an unusually clear image—a car?
Fu Qian easily recognized what it was and even felt very familiar with it.
Pink, tidy, exquisite... indeed, it was the car belonging to Rachel and her husband.
Except, compared to the outside, the interior wasn’t quite as nice.
A familiar face was lying there, completely devoid of life.
Rachel... so was she truly dead in the Inner World?
She didn’t even appear to have died due to Yiven or the Old Hunter’s involvent.
For although the car was indeed located at the Art Prison, in comparison to other strange entities of the Inner World, Rachel’s corpse bore remarkably few non-human traces.
Making one think she might have found release a little earlier.
Most importantly, the body was seated in the passenger seat.
Ed?
At that mont, Fu Qian easily imagined a scene—two wills trapped in the Inner World, instinctively in love and at odds.
So much so that Ed might have driven his wife to the place she pursued her dreams, but in the end, couldn’t suppress the fiercer bestiality of the Inner World, leading to a conflict and killing her.
Is that why Rachel subconsciously didn’t want to go ho? Because of shadows imprinted in her subconscious?
Recalling earlier doubts about Rachel’s behaviors, Fu Qian felt they seed to have been answered.
Of course, these were details, the next question was why this place was special?
Other places were blurred, prompting clarity only here? And the Old Hunter was staring—keys.
At a certain mont, Fu Qian noticed a familiar tint.
Compared to this car, the key inserted seed excessively worn and even more familiar than the car.
Indeed, it was Dennis’s old car key, of that Fu Qian was confident.
So is that why everything was collapsing, except here beca clear?
Like the end of a ga, revealing answers to the losers?
As for why the key was plugged in there?
Faced with such an incredible scene, Fu Qian nodded slightly the next mont.
That young Emily seed to possess quite the artistic flair too.
...
Unlike the outside, the underground of the Inner World lacked an exit one could walk out of, so Emily’s departure ant she could only return the way she ca...
And if she walked into the yard, how would she feel seeing such a scene?
On one hand, the influence of that tree might not induce much fear, on the other hand, would she connect it to her own life, realizing the enormous monotony of it all?
And conveniently, she had a key she didn’t know what to do with.
Pulling it out, replacing it, to complete a piece of performance art?
Even though it was abstract, Fu Qian could easily visualize a series of images, clicking his tongue in wonder.
Of course, regardless of whether this was true or not, it didn’t affect the mood of the Old Hunter.
The answer was in front of him, yet always unnoticed, just like when he first entered Rachel’s studio.
The core point of this competition seed to still focus on empathizing with young people’s thoughts.
Furthermore, that Emily indeed was a Fierce Man; having likely suffered tornt after being caught, but knowing exactly where the key was, she defiantly taunted the one who tornted her.
Truly filled with rebellion, reverse strength fully displayed.
Squeak——
In contemplation, the regrets of the Old Hunter and everything in the Inner World had completely dissipated without a trace.
The last image Fu Qian saw was Huck standing dumbstruck before an opened wardrobe, seemingly bewildered by the world.
Tidy and conservative, it held obviously feminine clothing.
Perhaps recognizing sothing that reminded him of the scene from that morning?
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