Chapter 478: Black and White Conversion
"Can we open the door now?"
Lin Ye wanted to check the situation outside.
"We should be able to, but it's best not to enter the corridor. Someone went out earlier and then disappeared."
Thinking of that unlucky researcher, Dr. Wells sighed.
Lin Ye created a Red Frog, then opened the door and placed the Red Frog into the corridor.
Not long after, the Red Frog died.
Through the door, Lin Ye couldn't sense what had happened outside. It wasn't like this during the day. This might be related to the dark environment.
Lin Ye didn't create more Red Frogs. Before figuring out what was outside, continuing to use Red Frogs to scout the path would be no different from feeding whatever was out there. Apart from possibly filling it up, this behavior was utterly pointless.
"What about the others?"
Lin Ye asked. "The teleportation was random. I only ran into a few researchers, but they all... What should we do now?"
Dr. Wells asked.
"Are you role-playing a certain character? When daytime comes later, I plan to go out and take a look. As long as I enter a new room after walking a certain distance and wait for the next dark period to end, I won't be stuck in the corridor when it's dark."
Lin Ye gave Dr. Wells a strange look. The other person was putting on a pretty convincing act of being an idiot.
"Role-playing? Can you speak slower? I'm having a bit of trouble keeping up."
Dr. Wells didn't understand what Lin Ye meant.
"...Doctor, what's one hundred times one hundred?"
Lin Ye suddenly asked.
"Uh, I need paper and pen to calculate that... Why are you asking this?"
Dr. Wells asked, somewhat puzzled.
"...I think we should find a way to leave this place as soon as possible."
Lin Ye rubbed his head. He wasn't sure if he had been affected by this area either.
After a while, the room brightened again. Dr. Wells suddenly clutched his head, crouched on the ground, and let out a scream.
"Are you okay?"
Lin Ye was a bit worried Dr. Wells might accidentally make his own head explode.
"10000... Don't ask me questions during the dark period. The dark period here suppresses thinking ability. Thinking ability is enhanced during the day. I'm already having trouble suppressing my own thinking speed now, and this suppression and enhancement keep getting stronger with each cycle of light and dark conversion."
Dr. Wells didn't rest for long. His daytime self clearly knew what to do now.
Lin Ye helped Dr. Wells out of the room. Dr. Wells's condition was poor. He wanted to stop thinking but couldn't suppress his thinking speed.
"I think we should have dinner at night, just like we should have breakfast in the morning."
Lin Ye said very seriously.
"...Yeah, the walls here are so white. So it's because they are white."
Reminded by Lin Ye, Dr. Wells started thinking about things that didn't require thinking. Only this way could he cool down his brain, which felt like it was about to explode.
The two of them thus trudged forward in the corridor, thinking about completely unnecessary things. After walking for about ten minutes, Lin Ye pulled Dr. Wells into a nearby white room.
Less than ten seconds after entering the room, the room plunged into darkness.
"How come you seem completely unaffected? Is there some secret?"
Taking advantage of his thinking ability not yet being reduced to the point of being unable to think, Dr. Wells hurriedly asked.
"I'm very good at not thinking about anything. It's not particularly difficult for me. It's related to my childhood... so I can't teach you."
Lin Ye was also affected. He tried to use the mental purification technique, but because his thinking ability was affected, the mental purification technique was interrupted.
This time's effect was clearly more severe than the last. If this cycle kept continuing, Lin Ye wasn't sure how long he could hold on either.
The two of them kept walking forward along one direction in the corridor. Lin Ye had used his Special Ability earlier; the treasure was in the direction he was heading.
Dr. Wells's condition grew worse and worse. Lin Ye could still hold on, but he would occasionally space out for a while when the dark period turned into day. During the day, while walking in the corridor, it was also difficult to calculate time precisely.
Several times, they entered rooms right at the last moment.
During the day, Lin Ye only needed to think slightly to feel a splitting headache.
They occasionally encountered corpses of researchers with exploded heads in the rooms, and also came across some researchers with dazed, vacant stares.
Lin Ye used the fishing line of the Dragon Fishing Rod to tie these people behind him. They would blankly follow Lin Ye, moving their feet forward.
To prevent anyone from being left behind, Lin Ye would sense the rooms on both sides of the corridor while moving during the day, taking away researchers who had fallen into a dazed state.
After some more time, Dr. Wells also lost his ability to think, becoming one of the people trailing behind Lin Ye. Lin Ye could only pull them and continue forward. They were already very close to the location of the treasure.
Just as Lin Ye was about to approach the treasure, a door on one side of the corridor opened. The Captain inside waved at him.
Just this simple interaction caused both the Captain and Lin Ye to simultaneously kneel on the ground.
Lin Ye brought everyone into the room. The room was very crowded. The Captain hadn't come alone either.
Not long after, the room plunged into darkness again.
"There's something blocking the end of the corridor. I just..."
Before he could finish the sentence, the Captain froze in place.
Lin Ye wasn't much better off. He barely maintained basic thinking ability, preventing himself from falling into a dazed state.
"I almost died there just now..."
"That thing affects thinking speed..."
"Attacking it also affects thinking speed..."
"But its attack power is average..."
After several cycles of light and dark conversion, the Captain finally relayed this information.
"I'll go take a look. Take care of these people."
Lin Ye set aside the Dragon Fishing Rod and took out the Cross Scepter. This weapon's quality was so good it could withstand the passage of time. Later, even if he couldn't think, he could still rely on instinct to smash the enemy to death with the Cross Scepter.
"I'll go with you."
The Captain untied the rope from his body and also retrieved a slender, rod-like weapon from his spatial item.
"Describe the thing ahead. Can't we attack from a distance directly?"
Lin Ye didn't leave the room immediately but instead asked the Captain for information about what was ahead.
"It's an adult-sized upright doll..."
"Looks like some kind of abstract animal..."
"When attacking it, you must grasp..."
"The force of the attack, otherwise you'll..."
"Explode your head, or enter a..."
"Dazed state..."
After several more cycles of light and dark conversion, the Captain finally finished conveying this information.
"Alright, let's go together."
Lin Ye also couldn't fight an enemy without consciousness, so he needed a teammate who could remain clear-headed when he lost consciousness.