Chapter 63 - 62: Start of Work and the Expedition Team
Chapter 63: Chapter 62: Start of Work and the Expedition Team
The three of them found they couldn’t walk away.
Ever since they turned around, an internal battle had been raging within them.
This sculpting job was clearly not so simple. Judging by their client Qin Xiaoxia’s reaction, he definitely knew what the commotion last night was about. Even a child like Doudou knew more than they did.
From a personal safety perspective, the best course of action was obviously to run as far and as fast as possible.
But then again...
Just as Qin Xiaoxia had said...
This was the first time in their lives they had encountered a genuine supernatural event. Although reason told them to stay away...
But!
Maybe they would never run into anything like this again for the rest of their lives. Whether their careers took off or they compromised and returned home to a stable life, wouldn’t they just end up as ordinary, unremarkable people?
The three men’s internal struggles were more or less the same, and the outcome was unanimous: they would stay.
When it came to their own ambitions, they had reached a point where they had to make a choice. They had accomplished almost nothing since graduation.
This so-called "artistic passion" sounded impressive, but it couldn’t put food on the table.
’Let’s be impulsive just one more time!’
That was more or less their shared thought.
One step, two steps... they returned much faster than they had left.
This time, there was no hesitation. The three of them directly picked a stool each and sat down.
"Mr. Qin, we feel that since we’ve accepted this job, we should see it through to the end."
"That’s right. We’ve decided to finish the sculpture you need."
"Mhm!"
The three men’s three sentences all expressed the same intention.
Under Doudou’s disdainful gaze, Qin Xiaoxia pulled a few transparent bags across the table. Inside were warm soy milk, soft tofu pudding, and things like fried dough sticks and rice balls.
"Let’s have breakfast. We can talk while we eat."
Qin Xiaoxia didn’t beat around the bush.
"First, I want to give you a heads-up. Once you decide to take this job, for your own safety, you will be protected by the Secret Realm’s Barrier for the next month."
Since the three of them had returned, they had psychologically already made their decision. Even with some harsh conditions added, there was plenty of leeway.
"In other words, if you decide to stay, you won’t be able to leave this house for the next month."
As soon as Qin Xiaoxia said this, the three men, who had just started tearing open their breakfast wrappers, froze simultaneously.
’Restricting our freedom?’
’Wait! It feels like I missed some key information.’
"Barrier!?"
"Barrier!?"
"Barrier!?"
The three asked in unison.
’To hell with personal freedom. First I need to figure out if I misheard that word.’
"That’s right. But it’s not just a Barrier, it’s a Secret Realm’s Barrier. To be precise, it’s a Secret Realm. The word ’Barrier’ is just a made-up term from movies and novels. I only said it that way to make it easier for you to understand."
"A Secret Realm’s function includes something similar to a Barrier, but it can’t be defined by the narrow term ’Barrier’."
As he explained, Qin Xiaoxia poured half a cup of water from a glass onto the table.
While the three were still puzzled, the water on the table suddenly underwent an astonishing change.
The water flowed upwards, layer by layer, as if forming a curtain. Within seconds, it transformed into a spherical water screen.
"This is what you imagine a Barrier looks like, right?"
But the three of them barely heard what Qin Xiaoxia said.
At that moment, they were all holding their breath, watching the magical scene on the table until they couldn’t stand it anymore and gasped for air.
Then, they all looked at Qin Xiaoxia, their minds a chaotic mix of excitement.
"Big Bro Cousin is asking you a question~~ How rude!"
Doudou chided them, spraying bits of fried dough stick, and the three finally snapped out of their daze.
"This is a Barrier?"
South Wind asked foolishly.
Doudou let out a PFFT! and burst out laughing.
"You idiot! This is just a water screen!"
Qin Xiaoxia smiled and ruffled Doudou’s hair.
"He’s right, this is just a water screen. But South Wind’s understanding isn’t far off."
"In typical novels and movies, a so-called ’Barrier’ is something similar to this, just much stronger than a soft water screen."
"But a Secret Realm is different. It’s a dream-like domain woven from intricate Magic Power, possessing all sorts of incredible abilities, including protection."
At a time like this, South Wind and the others wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say. They could only listen with a mix of excitement and nervousness.
"Go on and eat. Aren’t you hungry?"
Qin Xiaoxia suddenly interjected with this off-topic remark.
Like elementary schoolers who’d done something wrong, the three of them quickly replied, "Oh," "Oh," "Oh."
Then they opened their breakfast wrappers and started eating.
Qin Xiaoxia kept waiting for one of the three to ask something like, "Why are you restricting our freedom?" or "How can you restrict our freedom?"
But these three characters were just burying their heads in their food, their eyes darting between the water sphere on the table and him. They showed no intention of asking such questions.
’Top Grade...’
’What a waste of emotional energy.’
Although Doudou was eating, unlike Qin Xiaoxia’s straight face, his expression was clearly one of disappointment.
’What’s with these three? Can’t they put up a bit of a verbal fight? It feels like Big Bro Cousin hasn’t even made a move and they’ve already surrendered.’
"Ahem, anyway, what I’m trying to say is that the activation of the Secret Realm is all-encompassing, and your sculpting work is not as simple as you imagine. If you leave the protection of the Secret Realm during this period, it will be difficult to guarantee your safety."
This time, the three finally had a normal reaction.
"What kind of danger will there be? What does this sculpture affect? What do ’they’ want to do to us?"
That was Gu Hao.
"If we don’t go out, we’ll be fine, right?"
That was South Wind.
"What if the Barrier—uh, no, the Secret Realm—can’t stop it? Mr. Qin, will you protect us?"
The one who asked this was Zhang Ruliang.
’Okay, so their reactions aren’t exactly normal, either.’
"As long as you are within the Secret Realm, the power of the Red Demoness will protect you and guarantee your personal safety."
As his voice fell, a light, pleasant sigh was heard.
A transparent red figure stretched and appeared on one side of the empty hall, its sea-blue eyes quietly watching the group eating breakfast.
"After the Red Demoness fell, she was reborn as a pursuer of the Order of Truth, and also the Guardian of this Secret Realm. As the world is now, nothing can harm you while you are inside."
After a pause, Qin Xiaoxia added,
"At least, that’s how the world is for now."
Finally, the three bros caught on for once. Although their gazes were fixed on the Red Demoness, Gu Hao still remembered to turn back and ask Qin Xiaoxia a question.
"Mr. Qin, what do you mean by ’for now’?"
Doudou chimed in at the right moment, his tone as disdainful as ever.
"It means exactly what it says! Why do you think we’re starting to make such big preparations? Telling you some things now would be the same as hurting you. Don’t bite off more than you can chew!"
The three of them subconsciously looked at the pile of wrappers in front of Doudou. It was at least enough breakfast for seven or eight adults.
...
While the three artisans were resolving in their hearts to complete the job, in the countryside near the French city of Lyon, an expedition team of young people found a tranquil reservoir by following a tattered so-called "secret map."
The map was yellowish-brown and was carefully protected between layers of transparent plastic by the muscular young man leading them.
"It should be right around here!"
The dozen or so people in the team all crowded around to look at the precious map. It was a treasure passed down for generations in their leader’s family.
It had been passed down for at least ten generations, yet its exact age was still impossible to determine. Along with the map, a poorly told story had also been left behind.
"But we’ve searched everywhere around here. There’s nothing!"
A female team member said, looking around.
Given its age, it wouldn’t be surprising if the landmarks had changed.
"No, there’s one place we haven’t looked."
A young black man in the team pointed to the surface of the reservoir not far away.
"There. We haven’t looked there yet!"
The leader’s gaze lifted from the map. He stared at the distant water’s surface, where the sunlight scattered across the ripples in a brilliant gold shimmer.
On the map in his hand, in the upper left corner, a pattern of a searing fireball was burning.