Chapter 283: Reality Projection
Sanjiang Branch Helm.
The ship returned smoothly to the dock at Hejiang Town.
The group quickly disembarked.
Hundreds of laborers were unusually gathered at the dock plaza, chatting idly to pass the time. When they saw the Helm Leader appear, they all stood up and bowed respectfully.
Li Qing and Fei Zai were both waiting at the entrance.
“Helm Leader!”
“Helm Leader.”
Wangchuan walked past the two of them and left a brief instruction behind.
“Everyone inside.”
The group gathered together and followed him up the steps into the Branch Helm.
Along the way, disciples continuously clasped their fists and bowed in greeting.
Inside the Branch Helm, there was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five.
Under Wangchuan’s arrangements, everyone was fully armed.
When they entered the Training Grounds, the area was packed with people. A dense crowd was training there, sweat pouring down their faces.
With this kind of formation, Wangchuan felt no worry at all.
More than three hundred full-fledged Martial Artists...
And over one hundred First-Rank Martial Artists!
This lineup was second only to the Sanhe Commandery hall.
Wangchuan instructed Chen Ergou:
“The situation today is special!”
“At the Qingfeng Escort Agency, the dock, and the Branch Helm, assign one person in charge at each location to carry signal rockets. In addition, every Deputy Helm Leader and every squad leader must be equipped with signal rockets. If danger arises, they are authorized to fire a signal rocket immediately to request reinforcements.”
“Yes!!”
Chen Ergou immediately distributed an entire box of signal rockets.
“Notify the Weapon Room. Everyone must work overtime. Continue forging arrows and Armor-Piercing Arrows as quickly as possible. The furnaces must not go out!”
Wangchuan’s orders allowed no doubt or objection. The command was quickly passed down.
“Yes!”
Holding the 《Lesser Rejuvenation Pill》 in his hand, Wangchuan did not dare to use it immediately.
He felt that if he consumed the pill now, he might not be able to perfectly absorb all of its medicinal power. It would be better to wait until after the middle of the seventh month, once the Blood Moon Incident had passed, and then use it to push the 《Black Tortoise Art》 toward the realm of Integration.
...
After noon, the temperature dropped noticeably.
During the height of summer, the sky grew strangely dim.
Even though it had only just passed midday, the heavens seemed to be covered with an unusually dark crimson glow. It created an eerie sense of time distortion.
Soon, very few people could be seen on the streets of the city.
It seemed as though an invisible force was draining everyone’s vitality and spirit, making people feel drowsy. A powerful urge arose—as if it were already evening and time to go to bed.
Three in the afternoon.
Yet it felt as though dusk had already arrived.
The sky grew darker and darker.
Noticing the strange change in the sky, Wangchuan climbed onto the roof and looked toward the horizon.
The sun was still hanging in the sky.
But it had turned a strange dark red, like a sunset about to sink below the horizon—dim and without any warmth.
Opposite it, a cold moon had been stained a dull yellow by the sunlight, its edges tinged with a faint halo of blood.
The sun and the moon stood at the same height.
One red, one blood-colored...
It was deeply unsettling.
“What is going on?”
Seeing this scene, Wangchuan felt a sudden heaviness in his chest. He had a strong premonition that something terrible was about to happen.
At that moment, the phone beside his bed suddenly rang urgently.
Wangchuan frowned slightly.
At a time like this...
Who was calling?
He returned to his room, logged off, and answered the call.
Su Wan’s voice came from the other end.
“Stand by the window and look outside.”
Wangchuan froze for a moment and turned his head.
Only then did he notice that the commercial district outside the floor-to-ceiling window was now shrouded in a faint crimson glow.
It was not even four o’clock yet.
The sun had not set.
Yet it gave the unmistakable feeling that a strange dusk had already arrived.
At that moment—
Wangchuan’s heart suddenly tightened. He hurried to the window.
The sun and the moon hung on opposite sides of the sky, exactly like the scene inside 《spirit realm》. The only difference was that one side was the martial world of the game, while here was a technological city of steel and concrete.
In an instant—
Wangchuan felt as if something had struck him.
His blood seemed to freeze. Pressing his hand against the glass, he stared at the outside world. The scene was not particularly terrifying, yet his mind churned violently, and his breathing grew uneven.
“Why?”
“Why is this happening?”
Wangchuan could not stop himself from blurting out:
“I can understand the game characters influencing our real-world bodies and souls. But why can the celestial phenomena in the game world be projected into reality?!”
Because of his agitation, the veins on the backs of his hands bulged.
His reflection appeared faintly in the dim yellow glass of the window, his face pale and grim.
Su Wan’s heavy voice came through the phone.
“Perhaps this is the reason the world’s leaders had no choice but to promote 《spirit realm》 globally.”
“...”
Wangchuan’s face turned deathly pale.
Su Wan sighed deeply and continued:
“The leaders of every country did not promote 《spirit realm》 out of selfish motives. They did it because of certain considerations—they had no choice but to push for global promotion.”
“I don’t understand.”
Wangchuan felt a powerful sense of suffocation, as though he were facing a natural disaster—like an ant before an overwhelming force, unable to resist and forced to accept it.
It was a terrible feeling.
“Did this kind of celestial phenomenon appear last year?”
“No.”
Su Wan answered without hesitation.
“I checked last year’s astronomical records and surveillance footage. There was nothing abnormal.”
“So…”
Wangchuan drew in a sharp breath.
“The intensity of the Blood Moon Incident is increasing year by year. And the influence of spirit realm on reality is growing stronger!”
“Exactly.”
Su Wan’s tone was grave.
“After this Blood Moon Incident... global promotion will likely become inevitable.”
“Heh.”
Wangchuan looked at the silent commercial district outside the window. The streets were almost empty—just like the citizens of Hejiang Town earlier, their vitality seemingly drained.
He muttered to himself with a bitter smile:
“If the influence of 《spirit realm》 on the real world is becoming stronger, then this Blood Moon Incident is probably arriving with unprecedented ferocity. Whether we can even survive it… is still unknown.”
“...”
Su Wan fell silent on the other end.
Her silence was agreement.
Soon after, her voice sounded again.
“The studio’s only hope now is to minimize casualties. Captain Bai has taken all the Land-Clearing Teams, including the reserve teams, to a restaurant near the government offices.”
“I also informed Lin Xun to lead everyone and guard the hall in Huishui County. No matter what happens outside, their primary objective is to protect themselves.”
“And now, Wangchuan, I must say the same to you.”
“Do everything you can to preserve yourself. Protect the people in our studio. Try to ensure that… as many of us as possible survive.”
After saying that, Su Wan hung up.
Wangchuan stared outside for a long time.
As the sun slowly descended, the blood-colored halo around the moon grew thicker and thicker, casting an increasingly intense crimson glow over the entire city.
He lowered his head and glanced at the calendar.
The date read: July 15.
Wangchuan froze.
He had not checked the calendar for a long time.
Only at this moment did he realize—
In the real world, it was also July 15.
Was the game invading reality?
Was 《spirit realm》 projecting into the real world?
Or something else entirely?
Those security robots that every major studio had been urgently installing—
Were they meant to prevent extreme behavior after employees died in the game?
Or…
Were they meant to guard against something else?