Chapter 105: Confession Room
Lin Ye had no choice but to venture deeper into the void with the peripheral vision monster.
"Don't you dare run away if you have any guts. Let's see who survives to the end."
Lin Ye continued advancing toward the tendril archway. The depths of the void were filled with abnormal phenomena everywhere, and finding detours seemed less practical than figuring out how to pass through the tendril archways.
Soon Lin Ye approached the archway area. This time the peripheral vision monster's position was much farther back than before, giving him some time.
Those shadowy figures pounced toward Lin Ye again. This time, Lin Ye didn't attack them but instead tried to block them with his spiritual energy shield.
However, the figures passed effortlessly through the spiritual energy shield and continued lunging at Lin Ye.
Lin Ye had already considered this possibility, so he had maintained a safe distance.
The figures moved quite fast. To avoid being caught, Lin Ye could only keep retreating.
When he retreated to a certain point, the figures suddenly stopped moving.
The black threads behind them were pulled taut, like leashes restraining dogs. The length of these threads determined the figures' range of movement.
Lin Ye slowly approached the nearest figure, wanting to test what would happen if touched by one.
The figure stared blankly at Lin Ye, emitting meaningless murmurs without pause.
Lin Ye reached out and touched the figure.
The figure gradually dissipated into the air, like raindrops vanishing within rain.
Just before completely disappearing, it looked at Lin Ye and bowed gratefully.
[Received a gift. Carry the gift through the simulation to bring it back to the Shelter]
A black thread wrapped around Lin Ye's wrist, piercing deep into his flesh, slowly growing within his body.
Simultaneously, the peripheral vision monster also gained a black thread.
'Hmm? If you're telling me this black thread is the gift, I'll be touching other people in my next simulation.'
'But the black thread isn't so bad either.'
Lin Ye watched as the peripheral vision monster continuously pulled black threads from its body, and his mood instantly improved considerably.
Restrained by the black threads, the peripheral vision monster stopped approaching Lin Ye. But as the black threads within Lin Ye's body kept growing, once they completely took over his body, this simulation would end.
Lin Ye entered the archway area again. This time, those shadowy figures didn't attempt to touch him.
Bypassing shadow after shadow, passing through numerous tendril archways, Lin Ye finally left this area.
Unlike those shadowy figures, before his body was completely taken over, Lin Ye could leave this place.
As for what happened after being taken over?
That wasn't something he needed to worry about.
Lin Ye continued descending deeper into the void. As the coordinates on the box instrument gradually approached, Lin Ye suddenly stopped.
A dilapidated white-spired church appeared within the mist. Despite the nearly 45-degree slope here, the church stood stable and unmoving.
Lin Ye didn't have good impressions of churches, so he decided to bypass it.
After circling around the church, Lin Ye continued forward, but hadn't gone far when an identical church appeared ahead.
Even though the coordinates on the instrument were different, it had appeared nonetheless.
Lin Ye tried bypassing it several more times, even backtracking for a while. No matter which way he went, the church remained ahead.
"Forced conversion? Fine, fine, fine. Don't you regret this."
Lin Ye straightened his orange prison uniform before approaching the church doors.
The church doors stood wide open, as if welcoming Lin Ye.
Upon entering, Lin Ye immediately noticed that the black threads that had taken over his entire right arm had stopped moving, and the peripheral vision monster had retreated somewhat.
"Anyone here?"
The church stood empty, containing only an altar, several rows of pews, and a confession booth.
No one answered, but the door on one side of the confession booth automatically opened.
Lin Ye entered the confession booth, and the door closed automatically behind him.
The interior of the confession booth somewhat resembled that pitch-black corridor on the cruise ship - equally dark, with nothing perceivable.
Lin Ye sat in the darkness without speaking.
He had nothing to confess, and from his perspective, he was the one who should be listening.
Lin Ye felt no urgency whatsoever. This place could suppress both the black threads and the peripheral vision monster. If he could stay here long enough, he might even attempt to deal with these two problems.
Lin Ye began studying the black threads within his body. They seemed like some kind of biological entity, possessing certain living characteristics. Without this church, he wouldn't have been able to study them at all.
Time's flow became ambiguous in the darkness. Lin Ye couldn't tell how much time had passed when the confession booth door opened.
Yet Lin Ye didn't leave the confession booth. His research into the black threads was progressing, the environment was excellent, and he wanted to stay longer.
Besides, he hadn't heard the other party's confession yet.
After another while, the confession booth door closed again, and a woman's voice came from the other side.
"Oh God, I confess to You. I shouldn't have used the church to block Your path. Can You forgive me?"
She hadn't expected that Lin Ye would have absolutely nothing to confess, so now she was the one who had to confess.
"Of course not. Wrongdoing demands punishment. And what you need to confess isn't such superficial matters, but something more fundamental."
Lin Ye connected to the divine seat. Within this church, he could accomplish many things without cumbersome rituals.
Even the weakest deity is still a deity. If some clergy member thought this was her home ground, she was gravely mistaken.
"...What are You doing? What ritual is this? I've never seen it before?"
The woman panicked. She could feel that through the confession booth, she was connecting to something twisted, alien, profound, massive, unknown... a shadow.
"Since you're unwilling to confess to me, then go meet Him. Though I must say, while I've long heard of His reputation, I've never actually met Him. Would you kindly convey my greetings to Him?"
Lin Ye showed a benevolent smile. Even though the other party probably couldn't see it, he needed to express goodwill.
"No! I confess! Greed! I confess my greed! When I saw the divine essence upon You, I wanted to steal Your divine seat through the confession booth! I didn't know there was another deity behind You! I confess! Please forgive me!"
The woman's voice grew urgent. She had no desire whatsoever to contact that unknown deity. If the condition for using the confession booth wasn't that the confession must be completed, she would have long abandoned this body and fled.
"I've already given you my answer. Wrongdoing demands punishment. If sinners don't receive their due retribution, then justice becomes meaningless."
"Farewell, madam I've never met. Don't forget to convey my greetings to Him."
Lin Ye completed the final step of the ritual. The confession booth connected to the divine seat, and now a proper, legitimate deity would receive the other party's confession.
"You really do have a thing for these strange places, don't you?"
At some point, Little Red had appeared beside Lin Ye.
"How did you get here?"
The confession booth remained pitch black, and Lin Ye couldn't see her expression.
"You connected to the divine seat, and I happened to be free, so I came out for a walk."
Little Red extended her hand. Red light drifted from the other side into their compartment, illuminating the entire space.
"Since You have so much free time, could You help me deal with my problems here?"
Although she appeared to be just a little girl, Lin Ye sensed that Little Red might be older than the entire history of Blue Star's humanity, so she must be quite reliable.