Thanks to [Flying White Cat] for the Great God Certification. I wish the boss many gold pulls in their ten-rolls.
End of the year, busy lately. Haven't had much time to play through the new version's main storyline. I'll owe the extra updates for now... Time passes second by second.
Qi Zhimu manipulated his staff, constantly dodging and weaving to avoid the attacks of the Invisible Mirror Ghosts and shadows.
There were too many mirrors in this labyrinth; it was almost impossible to completely avoid being reflected.
As long as a corner of his clothes was reflected in a mirror, a shadow would be generated. Such a rogue setting made him quite furious.
Herta, held steadily in his arms, was not disturbed by the outside commotion; various complex equations flashed through her mind.
Gradually, through the analysis of space, the external and internal structures of this mysterious mirror space became clear.
But that wasn't enough; they had to find the ghost's true body.
"Mr. Magician, share my vision and hit the mirrors according to my instructions."
"You're finally finished!"
As soon as he spoke, Herta felt Qi Zhimu's finger slide past her eyes, bringing a strange sensation.
It was as if the ownership of her eyes no longer belonged to her.
Besides that, it hurt a little.
"Hurry up and tell me the positions. If this drags on, the pain will blind you. Where would I find such a beautiful and cute food then?" Qi Zhimu urged.
Herta gave the precise coordinates one by one.
This time, Qi Zhimu didn't use lightning magic, but simply and directly smashed with the end of his staff.
The staff shot towards the back of the mirror, suddenly turning just before contact, hitting the mirror with the end in a drift-like trajectory and shattering it.
Along the way, invisible ghosts constantly lunged from nearby mirrors to attack, but they were all avoided.
After dealing with it for so long, Qi Zhimu had already figured out that the invisible ghost only had physical attack methods.
As long as he wasn't touched, he wouldn't be hurt.
Soon, all the invisible mirrors in this space were shattered in a specific order.
"Hahaha, simple enough!" Qi Zhimu laughed.
Herta looked around; mirrors of all sizes were disappearing one after another.
Before long, the dark glass on the ground suddenly lit up, revealing a faceless figure in the central area.
"That's it." Herta's spirits lifted slightly.
"Away with you."
Qi Zhimu cast a spell without hesitation, calling down a powerful bolt of lightning that blasted the faceless figure into smoke.
The entire world fell into silence.
Two seconds later, the space shattered, turning into an endless white world.
A hundred meters away from Qi Zhimu and Herta, a door cracked open.
"Is that the exit?"
"It might not be the exit you're imagining. According to the settings of 'Life-taking Mirror Shadow,' there are five such spaces. The ending only comes after getting through all of them."
The corners of Qi Zhimu's mouth stiffened.
One was annoying enough, and now this brat was saying there were four more mirror spaces to go?
"First tell me, how many spaces did you see in this crappy movie?"
"The fourth one. Think about it yourself; I mentioned the mirror ghosts here earlier, and I also said the movie is a level-clearing type. As for whether the protagonist lives or dies in the end, I don't have much of an impr... uh, it hurts..."
Towards the end of her sentence, Herta felt the arm holding her suddenly tighten and couldn't help but protest.
"I hurt too!"
"But I'm the one being squeezed. Do you have phantom pain syndrome?"
"I have a headache!"
Qi Zhimu glared, but his arm quickly loosened a bit.
Herta rubbed her aching waist.
"You're a magician, yet your strength is actually so great."
"Then go ask my creator. The settings of Virtual Substance Lifeform can never be modified. If I were a grand mage who could wipe out half the universe with a snap of my fingers, would I still be here at your beck and call?"
"True. Let's enter that door."
Herta urged him, not forgetting to dangle a carrot.
"I know you're very impatient, but the sooner we return to the Azure Star, the better my mood will be, and I'll taste even better when you eat me, right?"
"At least you're sensible..."
Qi Zhimu took Herta and walked straight through that door.
It was another world filled with mirrors.
Just as they entered, countless mirrors lit up simultaneously, and a Qi Zhimu and a Herta stepped out from each one.
Thousands upon thousands of shadows stood in two rows, densely occupying more than half the space.
Eerily, their positions formed a passage leading to an unknown destination.
Some of these figures were crying, some were laughing, some were expressionless, and some were screaming frantically.
Countless voices converged, forming a noise loud enough to tear eardrums.
The noise was infinitely amplified by the enclosed space, echoing in every corner.
His vision in the distance was full of double images, and Qi Zhimu's expression changed slightly.
Countless Hertas swayed before his eyes, some even having expressions identical to the Herta beside him.
"There better not be some swap-out plot. Using quantity to create horror is just too ridiculous."
Herta grabbed the corner of his clothes again.
"I'll stay right behind you."
Her voice pierced through the surrounding clamor, clearly reaching Qi Zhimu's ears.
"Walk forward. No matter what you hear, don't stop. The ghosts of the second space can only kill through mental attacks."
"They may look different on the surface, but once you step into the passage they've formed, they will release negative emotions and words that will keep boring into your mind."
"The moment your mental defenses collapse, it's your time to die."
Qi Zhimu was stunned for a moment, then let out a low chuckle.
"Heh... you brat, you're getting more and more skilled at ordering people around. Can't I just fly you over?"
"You can only walk this path; even running isn't allowed. That's the rule of the second space."
Qi Zhimu tried it and found that his abilities really weren't working.
"Hack screenwriter, actually using this 'rule setting' trope."
His brow twitched in annoyance, and he reached out to pick Herta up.
Such a small thing, she didn't even fill his arms.
Through the noise and Herta's hints, he realized that covering his ears was useless.
The second space labyrinth was actually a test of willpower.
"Let's go."
The two figures, one large and one small, entered the heart-attacking passage, moving forward unswervingly.
Countless eerie figures turned their gazes toward the girl in Qi Zhimu's arms.
"Give up..."
"There is no spaceship at all...!"
"The Azure Star has already been destroyed!"
"We will die here..."
They were all the voices of despair from deep within Herta's heart that she was most unwilling to hear.
Although she knew it was useless, she still covered her ears with both hands, barely as a psychological comfort.
Noticing the girl in his arms biting her lip, Qi Zhimu tried to casually kick a version of himself next to him.
He went right through it.
Tsk, not even a physical form.
At least in the previous space, he could kill these eyesore fakes.
"Brat, can you still hold on?"
"I'm... okay..."
"You don't sound okay. Let me tell you a joke—"
Qi Zhimu lowered his head slightly, leaning close to her ear.
"Question: Do you know who the perpetrator of the Universal Locust Plague was?"
"...I think I've heard of it, it was The Aeon of Propagation."
"Wrong! The answer is The Aeon of Elation."
"And the reasoning?"
"'Elation Swarm' and 'Universal Locust Plague' sound so similar; it's quite a laugh."
"Better not tell jokes, Mr. Magician. You're really not good at it..."
Despite saying that, her furrowed brow relaxed a bit, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.