Chapter 1976: Chapter 1971: Mathematical Euphoria (32)

Bitterness comes!

"Darkness" descends once more, and the "young man" has found his new torment.

Under the decree, the light before Fu Qian’s eyes couldn’t even last three seconds before another wave of pain emerged.

It was distinctly different from "Paradise," so much so that even with prior experience, driving away this light was still laborious, requiring new exploration.

But looking on the bright side, it meant a new kind of painful experience.

Not to mention, he was quick to explore it.

In the blink of an eye, sensitivity was once again destroyed by pain, plunging him back into his self-created "Black Box," unsure of any way out.

Yet Fu Qian remained resolute, cutting away every bit of this new light without hesitation.

It wasn’t that he was deliberately avoiding the ordinary path; rather, he simply had few options available at the moment.

Anyone like Kako or the Tomb Guardian would have a century-old understanding of this Paradise, giving reason to believe his opponent has been immersed in it for quite some time, possessing information far beyond his reach.

The only thing he could rely on, aside from his academic research achievements, seemed to be that his opponent, although seeing through the Nine Layers Heaven, had to somewhat follow the operational rules of each layer and couldn’t launch a completely dimension-reducing strike.

For instance, at the City of Extreme Evil, twice seeking out someone to physically eliminate him.

Or finding the Tomb Guardian through a higher layer to lay his coffin lid.

In any case, if some rules indeed existed and his opponent had to adhere to them, then gambling behavior targeting these rules would effectively level the playing field, ultimately benefiting him.

So the seemingly irrational behavior was actually due to professional expertise.

Now let us see if it yields suitable rewards.

...

Pain, intense pain.

And unlike the previous experiences, this time it was purely physical pain.

In another prolonged Darkness, at some point, a new change started to occur—a piece of good news.

Fu Qian immediately gave it a good evaluation.

Simply put, being able to feel the body means another kind of pain is diminishing.

Sure enough, as Fu Qian quietly savored it and even judged the pain to originate from the navel, the second kind of pain also began to dissipate gradually.

Moreover, this time there was no alternative to fill the void; it faded away naturally, albeit slowly.

Comparatively speaking, it was only much later that Fu Qian realized he had slightly regained his sensitivity.

[SAN Points decreased by 3]

And immediately awaited him was a pleasant notification.

Not bad at all, this time it felt like it was truly the Third Layer Heaven... Indeed, he held on to the truth.

Despite the deduction of SAN Points, Fu Qian felt quite content and managed to open his eyes with difficulty to survey the surroundings—why did it still feel like a coffin, and even waterlogged?

...

A warm liquid, seemingly water or oil, sticky yet clear.

Compared to previous instances, the scene before him was undeniably a tad bizarre.

The first thing Fu Qian discovered was that his body seemed to be floating in something.

Upon closer inspection, he realized he was in a space even smaller than the previous coffins.

Nonetheless, its shape was more rounded, more like an egg rather than angular.

The egg’s shell was semi-transparent, faintly revealing some exterior light, illuminating a network of what seemed like blood vessels on its surface.

Inside the egg, most of the space was filled with a type of liquid, with all but his head submerged in it.

But this wasn’t the most peculiar part; within the liquid, many tubular objects floated alongside him.

Initially resembling seaweed in seawater, a closer look revealed them to be like the same blood and flesh creations, much like him and the egg, though most were desiccated.

One relatively fresher tube was held in his left hand, its tip fresh red, as if just extracted from flesh—and indeed it was just extracted.

Glancing in the direction where the pain came, there was a peculiar structure resembling an interface at his navel.

Confronted by this peculiar sight, as bodily sensations gradually returned, Fu Qian squeezed the item in his hand.

Yes, it should be an umbilical cord.

...

Not a coffin, but rather the opposite concept, a place where new life is genuinely nurtured.

Fu Qian supported himself with one hand, silently updating his judgment.

The egg’s inner wall was slippery yet warm, just like the liquid inside.

Despite the obvious shape differences, this place undoubtedly resembled a life-nurturing womb of sorts.

And what he was gripping in his hand was indeed an umbilical cord that had been forcibly pulled out.

Compared to the previous layers, this scene was somewhat too bizarre.

Unfortunately, the transparency of this container was still lacking, rendering the outside landscape unclear.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely unfruitful; Fu Qian had already discerned the condition of the umbilical cords.

Nearly twenty cords, most extremely desiccated, resembling naturally aging new-born umbilical cords, with the extent of desiccation clearly following a pattern.

But even the most severely desiccated one was still tightly connected to the inner wall.

Apart from this, there was even one cord more rounded and fresher than the one he was holding.

So what was the situation here?

Fu Qian reached out and grabbed it, comparing it with the one in his left hand and examining the interface at his navel.

It seemed even more suitable—could it be...

Fu Qian placed the two umbilical cords together, watched the slightly different hued liquids seeping from their tips, and considered before tasting a drop from the freshest one.

Tight, tight, tight... It was the taste, the initial version of "Paradise" he experienced.

Only the impact was much lesser, likely due to the absorption method?

For a moment, Fu Qian seemed to see a familiar scene, but within just a breath, he was out of that intoxication, proceeding to taste a drop from the other umbilical cord.

This taste was also recognizable... the situation seemed somewhat clear.

The umbilical cords seemingly transported not only nutrients for survival but delivered "pleasure" directly in a more straightforward manner, like immersing the brain in dopamine.

The legendary chemical paradise? It truly came with a sense of déjà vu—was this the true Heaven after death?

Why were there so many umbilical cords?

Following them to their roots, he discovered that though connected to surrounding blood vessel networks, most were similarly desiccated, with no direct connections between them, merely layered one upon another like an ever-updating water supply system.

Seems he had just forcibly unplugged the newest system—and the second-newest system.

Thus the supply finally couldn’t keep up, unable to maintain his continuous chemical paradise.

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