Chapter 74: Chapter 73: The Secret Place and Divination in the Secret Realm
Su Su carried a heavy bag of snacks in one hand.
The weight in her hand seemed a bit different from the "weight" she’d imagined taking on when she arrived.
Doudou was also carrying a large bag.
The bulging plastic bag looked only slightly smaller than Doudou himself, giving off the distinct vibe of Crayon Shin-chan taking out the trash.
He reached into the bag, rustled around for a moment, and pulled out a small chicken leg. With a RIP, he tore open the package and started gnawing on it.
He glanced back at Su Su as he ate and offered a piece of advice.
"Everything in here is mine, mmph~. If you want some, you have to ask me first!"
"Uh... oh..."
Even if Su Su was a bit slow on the uptake, she realized she’d just been used as a free meal ticket by Doudou.
She sighed silently, consoling herself by thinking of it as bribing a high-ranking member of the association...
The cheerful girl’s excitement quickly returned. Since Doudou had bought his snacks, they should be heading back now, right?
"Doudou, where are we going now?"
Su Su asked quietly, just to be sure.
In just over ten seconds, Doudou had devoured the chicken leg and was already pulling out a second one.
Hearing Su Su’s question, Doudou turned, his cheeks puffed out, and rolled his eyes at her.
"To the association, of course. We’re very busy, you know. Did you want to go shopping? Are you slacking off on the job?~"
After saying that, Doudou shook his head sagely as he walked ahead, trying to look profound.
"Ah, women~~"
Su Su was speechless.
The smile vanished from Su Su’s face.
’How can that little brat Doudou be so infuriating! But why is he also so cute...’
’Still, we’re finally going to the association’s Secret Place!’
’I hear only official members can go there. Why is my heart starting to race again? Calm down, calm down!’
The carefree girl began to daydream again, excitement once more taking over her thoughts.
Doudou shot her a glance.
’She’s a lost cause.’
The whirlwind trip to the supermarket took less than twenty minutes in total, so they hadn’t wasted much time.
After walking for just under half an hour, Su Su finally saw the Secret Place she had been dreaming of.
Her reaction was the same as anyone seeing the building for the first time.
It was an old building steeped in history. Unlike the typical green-bricked old houses of the Jiangnan Region, the association’s building was constructed entirely of white stone. Though time had eroded it, creating variations in color, this did nothing to diminish its beauty.
However, from the outside, the building inevitably looked somewhat dilapidated.
It was obvious that it hadn’t been repaired in a very, very long time.
The courtyard gate was gone, leaving only rusted hinges on the frame. A few dead trees stood around it, their time of death unknown. The building’s main Door was half-open, its surface mottled and worn.
"Come on~ Stop staring. Stick close to me from now on, or you won’t be able to get in!"
’Can’t get in?’
Su Su looked at the half-open Door, through which she could vaguely see the main hall inside.
’What’s so hard about getting in?’
But she didn’t ask. If Doudou said to stick close, then she would stick close.
Carrying the snack bag, she followed him step for step, staying less than a meter away.
Doudou, walking ahead, pushed the main Door open. After Su Su entered the building, he closed the Door tightly from the inside.
Su Su held her breath, looking at the giant Day of Dawn mosaic on the floor tiles, then at the faintly visible carvings and patterns on the walls.
’This place must have been bustling back in the day, huh?’
Doudou didn’t stop for a second. He turned his head and called out.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up!"
"Oh! Coming!"
Su Su had no time for sentimentality and hurried to catch up.
Although the building looked quite large from the outside, it felt even bigger once inside. The numerous halls and rooms gave it the feeling of a small labyrinth.
But aside from the sunlight filtering in through the glass windows, the interior was unlit and empty, feeling completely deserted.
It was as if they had entered an abandoned house.
She followed Doudou from the front to the back, then around to another side. As they neared a corridor, Su Su couldn’t hold back any longer.
"Doudou, where are we going? There’s no one here. What did my Mentor send me here for? Are we just walking in circles?"
"You think you’ve already entered the Secret Place?"
Doudou didn’t break his stride, and his one sentence shut Su Su up.
Entering the corridor, Doudou walked around the third pillar on the right three times, only to turn and find Su Su standing there, staring at him dumbly.
’This idiot!!!’
"What are you gawking at? Get over here and do what I did!"
Realization dawned on Su Su.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh!!!"
"Sigh, so stupid, so stupid!"
Seeing that Su Su had done it correctly, Doudou continued on, walking four times in the opposite direction around the fourth pillar.
Su Su had caught on by now. Such strange actions were bound to lead to an unconventional result.
This was the "Dawn Secret Place," after all!
Sure enough, as Doudou was finishing his fourth lap, he suddenly disappeared.
Su Su’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly completed her own fourth lap.
A brief wave of dizziness washed over her, and everything around her seemed to spin a few times. When she came to her senses, the building was the same, yet it felt completely different.
The noise of the outside world was gone, replaced by the rhythmic sound of chiseling from within the building.
Furthermore, there was a strange, indescribable feeling in the air. If she had to put words to it, it was like Alice stepping into Wonderland for the first time—as if the environment itself was "alive"!
"Alright, you’re in."
Doudou’s voice snapped Su Su out of her daze.
"Doudou, what is this place?"
Her voice trembled with excitement as she asked. She had a rough idea of what was happening and was eager for the "expert" to confirm it.
"Well~ your Perception is decent, I’ll give you that. That’s right. The real Secret Place isn’t somewhere ordinary people can enter. This is a Secret Realm woven by Big Bro; it doesn’t exist within the normal world."
"This place is both the same as and different from the building you just entered. It’s in the same world, but not on the same plane. Nothing from the outside, tangible or intangible, can get in. The only exceptions are environmental interactions and the conversion of electrical energy. Make sense?"
Su Su stared at him, her face a mask of blank confusion.
’I don’t really get it, but it sounds super profound and amazing!’
"You can think of a woven Secret Realm as a type of advanced Barrier, I guess. Although a Barrier is on a completely different level from a Secret Realm."
Doudou pointed toward the end of the corridor, to a visible, empty hall.
"That’s where the Statue of Comir is being sculpted. To prepare for the future, the association’s Artisans have been working day and night for a long time. Don’t disturb them. We’re going up to the attic to do the divination."
With that, Doudou hefted his snack bag, which had already shrunk by half during their walk, and continued to lead the way.
Although curiosity was killing her, Su Su could only cast a long glance toward the source of the clanging sounds.
She could faintly make out a red halo of light appearing and disappearing there.
’The association’s Artisans! Are they the great Craftsmen of ancient lineage? Is their Ability related to shaping and creating things?!’ Su Su wondered.
Given the precocious Doudou’s increasingly impatient tone in response to her constant questions, Su Su decided to hold her tongue. She would ask after her work was done, or wait for her Mentor to return.
And yes, on the rare occasion she remembered Doudou was old enough to be her grandfather, Su Su chose to selectively ignore that fact.
They took a spiral staircase in the northeast corner of the second floor up into one of the towers, climbing at least a hundred steps before reaching their destination.
It was called an attic, but it wasn’t dark and cramped like one might imagine. Instead, it was spacious and bright.
The furnishings were exceptionally simple: just a few chairs, a table, and a pile of miscellaneous objects of unknown purpose heaped messily to one side.
On the table was a power strip with a cord running to it, and a laptop was sitting there.
"Sit here. In the Secret Realm, Big Bro’s Magic Power will help you communicate with the world’s environment and enhance your divination Ability."
"See this email? Find out who wrote it. If you can do that, I’ll convince Big Bro to help you awaken your Magic Power when the new batch of Magic Energy Crystals is ready!"
Doudou said this pompously, shamelessly taking credit for something Qin Xiaoxia had already decided to do for Su Su.
"Really?!"
Su Su looked at Doudou, overjoyed.
"Hahahaha~~ Thank you, Doudou~~"
She hugged Doudou and planted a big kiss on his cheek.
"I’ll be sure to buy you snacks all the time!!"
Doudou, now covered in slobber, was about to get angry, but he immediately calmed down when he heard the word "snacks."
"Hmph, as long as you know!"
After kissing Doudou, Su Su put down the two bags of snacks and solemnly took her Crystal Ball out of her own bag, placing it next to the laptop.
She pulled a wet wipe from her pocket and carefully cleaned her face and hands while regulating her breathing to calm herself.
Doudou quietly took two steps back to watch.
Watching Su Su perform her divination in the Secret Realm revealed more than the last time. It was as if invisible thoughts were slowly emanating from her, maintaining a flickering, tenuous connection with the Crystal Ball.
Su Su read the original French email and its translation in the adjacent document, word by word.
In her mind, she pictured its author at the very moment they were writing it.
As Su Su calmed her mind and carefully read the email’s content, her connection to the Crystal Ball grew stronger.
At the same time, without Su Su even realizing it, a wave of consciousness seeking communication was being amplified by the Crystal Ball.
Doudou was watching, mesmerized, when he suddenly flinched. He realized the Shadow of the Red Demoness was now standing behind him, also gazing at the concentrating Su Su.
The Red Demoness’s ethereal body opened its mouth slightly, and a soft, humming song began to rise. The Secret Realm stirred in response.
’Oh, person who wrote this email, who are you~~’
Su Su’s eyes were half-closed as she faced the Crystal Ball. Inside the White Crystal, wisps of ethereal mist began to spread.
’Let me~~ know who you are~’
The mist gradually shifted from blurry to clear.
Su Su had never felt this good while performing a divination.
It was as if she had divine help! The description was perfectly apt.
The figures of a group of people appeared inside the Crystal Ball.
There were Black people and white people, men and women, and a pair of twins. All of them were very young.
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