amaotonovel Chapter 377 Find them, crush them!
Chapter 377 Find them, crush them!
Morning light streamed through the window, casting warm dappled patterns on the bedroom floor.
In the kitchen, the little tunes hummed by Aunt Yuan, the soft clatter of the spatula, and the enticing aroma of food intertwine to create the most comforting prelude to a heartwarming meal.
However, Yuan Bao's heart felt as if it had sunk into an icy lake.
That sense of "folds" in the space, originating from the back room of the clinic and feeling like a foreign object embedded in flesh, pierced her extraordinary perception like a needle tip.
"Yuan Bao, we have your favorite shrimp dumplings today." Lin Qing's gentle voice came from the stairwell, filled with concern.
She seemed to notice that Yuan Baobi was usually quiet.
"Hmm, I woke up as soon as I smelled the fragrance." Yuan Bao's face instantly switched to its usual gentle smile, the sharp coldness in her eyes disappeared without a trace, and she walked down the stairs with light steps. "Mom is in a good mood today, she's even humming old songs."
"That's right! The community dance team learned a new dance, it's so energetic!" Aunt Yuan poked her head out from the living room, her face glowing, holding a watering can in her hand. "Baby, come and try it, Qingqing got up early this morning to make it, it's so fresh!"
On the dining table, steaming dumplings glistened, and xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) emitted an enticing aroma of meat. The congee and side dishes were refreshing and delicious.
Xiao Zhi was already sitting obediently, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the steamed dumplings.
"Where's my older brother?" Yuan Bao asked casually as he sat down.
"Baoguo went to the clinic early this morning, saying that he needs to reorganize the storeroom for the medicinal herbs that arrived yesterday," Lin Qing said while serving Yuan Baosheng porridge.
The storeroom! The back room!
Yuan Bao's fingers, which were holding the chopsticks, paused slightly.
Big Brother is over there! This unusual spatial fold is in the warehouse!
A chilling sense of urgency instantly gripped her.
An unknown spatial anomaly is happening right next to your family; your eldest brother might even be near that "strange object"!
"I'll go see if my brother needs any help, and I'll also pick up some things." Yuan Bao stood up, his tone relaxed and natural. "You guys eat first, just save some steamed dumplings for me."
She even pinched Xiaozhi's cheek, which earned her a satisfied smile from the little guy.
"This child won't even eat..." Yuan's mother muttered, but didn't stop him.
Yuan Bao turned and walked towards the clinic, the gentleness on his face vanishing instantly, his eyes sharp as an eagle.
With each step taken, the profound meaning of "Weaving the Void" flowing beneath one's feet acts like the most precise probe, silently scanning the surrounding spatial structure.
The front hall of the clinic was filled with the familiar fragrance of herbs.
The apprentice was organizing the medicine cabinet when he saw Yuan Bao and greeted him respectfully.
Yuan Bao nodded in acknowledgment and continued walking straight toward the passage leading to the back room.
The closer you get to the back room, the clearer and stronger the feeling of being "out of place" becomes!
It wasn't a violent burst of energy, but rather an extremely subtle, sticky, and malicious... distortion!
It was as if a "patch" that didn't belong here, exuding a decaying aura, had been forcibly stitched onto the spatial structure of the real world.
squeak-
Yuan Bao pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the back storeroom.
The light was dim, and the air was filled with a stronger aroma of medicinal herbs.
Tall medicine cabinets stand in rows, with various dried medicinal materials stored in different categories.
Her elder brother, Yuan Baoguo, was standing with his back to her in front of the innermost row of medicine cabinets, holding an account book in his hand, seemingly checking something.
"Big brother," Yuan Bao called out, his voice steady.
"Hey, Bao'er's here." Yuan Baoguo turned around with a good-natured smile on his face. "You've come at the right time. This batch of Sichuan fritillaria that arrived yesterday is of really good quality. I was just thinking of saving some of the best for you..."
Yuan Baoguo continued speaking, but Yuan Bao's attention was no longer on the medicinal herbs.
Her "sense of space" was like an invisible radar wave. The moment she stepped into the warehouse, she accurately locked onto the source of the spatial anomaly—right behind her elder brother, on the floor in the corner against the wall!
At first glance, the place appears to be empty, with only ordinary bluestone slabs paving the way.
But in Yuan Bao's perception, the spatial structure there... collapsed!
A slightly rippled area, about the size of a washbasin and imperceptible to the naked eye, is emanating an extremely unsettling aura!
That aura... was cold, deathly still, and carried a... familiar... sense of spatial annihilation?!
Although extremely weak, far less violent than the "Annihilation Core" encountered in Crystal Song Woods, its essence... was somewhat similar! Like... the Breath of Decay diluted countless times?!
Yuan Bao's heart sank!
How could something like this exist in the real world?!
Has the pollution of the "Breath of Decay" already seeped into the real world?
Or is someone using a similar power?
What made her pupils shrink even more was that she keenly noticed, at the core of that spatial fold, an extremely faint yet incredibly clear... cry for help, like a candle flickering in the wind, was being transmitted intermittently!
That fluctuation of thought... pure, ethereal, carrying the unique spatial rhythm of Crystal Song Forest... yet filled with desperate struggle and... fear?!
Is it a fairy?!
No! Not her!
Although these ideas share the same origin, they are more immature and fragile!
Yuan Bao forced down the turmoil in her heart, her face remaining calm. She even walked naturally to her elder brother's side, picked up the Sichuan fritillary bulb from his hand, and examined it: "Hmm, it's top-grade. Thank you for your hard work, elder brother." Her fingertips casually brushed the edge of the medicine cabinet, and a wisp of extremely pure spatial power, infused with the newly comprehended profound meaning of "Weaving the Void," spread out silently like the softest spider silk, cautiously probing the spatial folds in that corner.
"What's so hard about this? It's just my job..." Yuan Baoguo chuckled, completely unaware that a terrifying presence was lurking behind him, one that could overturn his understanding of the world.
Yuan Bao's spatial perception cautiously touched the edge of the "folds".
hum...
A cold, sticky feeling of resistance came over me, carrying a strong sense of rejection and corrosiveness!
They are trying to corrupt and devour her power of perception!
This feeling is similar to the shadow corruption I experienced in Crystal Song Woods, but it is even more... insidious and... covert!
At the same time, the faint cry for help seemed to sense the approach of Yuan Bao's power, and instantly became clearer, conveying a fragmented but powerful message that was enough to shake Yuan Bao to his core:
“Save…save me…Crystal Song…Fragments…have been…contaminated…taken away…They…are…extracting…the woodland…the last…time…echoes…”
Crystal Song Fragments?!
Contaminated?!
Arrest them?!
The echo of time extracted from the woodland?!
The image of what he saw at the "Wanxiang Loom" flashed through Yuan Bao's mind in an instant—the silver-blue "Primordial String" that was entangled in gray and withered "impurities" and was dim and polluted!
Could it be... that this strange spatial fold in the real world is a fragment of Crystal Song Forest that has been corrupted and captured by the "Breath of Decay"?!
And imprisoned within the fragments is... a little guardian spirit of Crystal Song Forest?!
They are extracting power from the fragments, and even... attempting to extract the "time echo" from the newly formed core of Crystal Song Forest?!
This is practically digging up the roots of the forest! It's also a fatal blow to the little fairies' hard work!
A chilling rage rose within Yuan Bao's heart!
The peace of the real world is shattered, and the crisis is looming over families!
Meanwhile, the allies and new hope of the game world are also suffering from insidious attacks from the real world!
“Brother,” Yuan Bao’s voice remained calm, even carrying a hint of relaxed laughter, “I suddenly remembered I have some urgent business to attend to upstairs. Please keep this fritillary bulb safe for now; I’ll come back for it later.” She had to deal with the spatial fold immediately, but she absolutely could not allow her brother to be in danger!
"Huh? Oh, okay, go ahead and do your thing!" Yuan Baoguo, unsuspecting, happily accepted the fritillaria bulb.
Yuan Bao turned around, his steps seemingly calm, but in reality, each step contained the profound meaning of space. He subtly reinforced and isolated the spatial structure between his elder brother and that dangerous corner, ensuring that his elder brother could be protected immediately in case of an accident.
She walked quickly out of the storeroom, through the front hall of the clinic, and towards the stairs.
His face turned so dark and gloomy that it seemed to drip water the moment he turned his back to everyone.
"Little 9!" Yuan Bao shouted in his mind, "Highest alert! Locate the spatial anomaly in the corner of the back room of the warehouse! Analyze its structural weaknesses! Prepare a spatial sealing and purification plan! Objective—rescue the trapped Crystal Song Forest fragments and guardian spirits! At the same time, immediately contact Crystal Song Forest! Warn the sprites that an enemy is stealing the forest's time essence!"
"Yes, Master!" Xiao 9's voice was more solemn than ever before. "Spatial anomaly analysis initiated! The energy characteristics are highly consistent with the secondary pollution of 'Breath of Decay'! Invoking the secondary profound mystery models of 'Spatial Stripping' and 'Law Purification' from the Hall of Profound Mysteries... Warning! Forcibly processing may trigger an unknown spatial chain reaction! Extremely high risk!"
Yuan Bao stepped onto the stairs.
The warmth and vibrancy of the real world lingers behind us, while the impending crisis feels like a bottomless abyss ready to devour us.
Her eyes were icy, and the silvery-blue light swirling around her fingertips resembled a sharp blade about to be drawn.
"Risk? Dare to touch my 'home,' dare to touch the roots of my allies... even if it's a god, I will drag it out and crush it!"