get-shopping Chapter 548 Where to Hide
Chapter 548 Where to Hide
Later that evening, somewhere in Chengdu.
Dandelion looked at the divine stone in her hand that maintained communication, and exchanged a long look with Chixue on the other end, both of them showing helpless bitter smiles at the same time.
"Let me sort this out first; the situation is much more complicated than I thought."
Su Tianqing gently rubbed her temples. This was the third time she had a headache today. It was probably a side effect of brain overload. She should eat more brain-boosting foods in the future.
"First, regarding Garuda."
"Garuda didn't just appear a month ago as we expected; it's been watching Sasha for over 1 years, right?"
"Based on the information you've gathered... unfortunately, that's indeed the case." Akashi nodded slightly and answered on the other end of the video call.
Su Tianqing remained silent for a while, then nodded slightly.
"Secondly, what was that strange dream about? And what did Garuda's gaze mean?"
"That's a long story," Chi Xue sighed.
"This story probably goes back to my battle with Garuda a month ago."
"For some well-known reasons, I have mastered the casting of the Mind World... well, not exactly well-known? Never mind those trivial matters, we'll talk about them later. Anyway, the first point is that I can use the Mind World."
"Secondly, my control over the mental image world is not as strong as that of Heart Moon Fox and Red Rose, but I can keenly perceive it, which is why I was able to pull you directly back into the mental image world from the dream just now. However, because Heart Moon Fox had already made arrangements in advance, I was unable to cover her mental image."
"Third, and most importantly—"
Chi Xue paused for a moment, then said:
"Garuda, its true form has not descended to the mortal world; it merely watches over us from across the heavens. But its power is far beyond what Jormungandr, that guy bound by the Star God's chains, can match."
"Once its 'gaze' falls on someone in the real world, it will create a situation similar to the gaze of the stars, somewhat like the gaze of a star god on a magical girl. It can affect the state of the person being gazed upon from a magical level, or even create a fictional dangerous dream."
"I was hit by this move when I fought against Garuda, who was temporarily manifesting in the world. Luckily, I hadn't forgotten how to use the mental image world, otherwise I would have been pecked into a hornet's nest in my dream."
"Your conversation with Sasha just now made you 'recognize' Garuda's gaze. Even if you can't see it directly like Sasha, you subconsciously know that 'there is a pair of eyes watching this world from beyond the heavens.' Perhaps Garuda was able to invade your dreams because of this opportunity. I'm not quite sure about the principle behind it."
"Fortunately, the Mind World of the Moon Fox exists in Rongcheng. Garuda needs to expend more effort to see through that Mind World. This may be why it did not directly notice your existence. That's why I had the opportunity to pull you out. Otherwise... you might have had several more holes in your body, just like me."
After listening to Chi Xue's analysis, Su Tianqing felt a chill run down her spine.
I originally built the Fox Virtue Gate for fun, and after having fun, I was thinking about how to use the scene left by the Fox Virtue Gate. Then suddenly I heard that this mental world protected me this time.
I always said hard work pays off, and look, this is how I'm rewarding myself.
A sense of relief, as if she had escaped death, welled up in Su Tianqing's heart. She let out a long breath, swaying her fox tail twice to show that the heavy burden in her heart had been lifted. But then a new question arose.
Since Garuda's power is so great that it can even launch direct mental attacks, why does Sasha, who has been targeted by it for over 1 years, behave exactly like a normal person?
Upon hearing the question raised by Benhu, Chixue also fell into deep thought.
"Well... I'm sorry, I don't really understand either. What do you think is the biggest difference between Sasha and ordinary people?"
This time it was Su Tianqing's turn to ponder.
After thinking it over and over again, combining the information that Hua Ling and Nan Xiaofeng had given her, and the heart-to-heart talk between Yue Tianxin and Sasha, she couldn't find any other words to describe Sasha except "an ordinary winged girl".
Ordinary, very ordinary. Both his life and personality are mediocre. He has nothing outstanding about him, but you can't find any weaknesses in his personality either.
The only thing that could possibly cause such a drastic change in her mood was the Garuda attack. Apart from that, Su Tianqing really couldn't think of anything else special about Sasha.
...The pair of eyes that I only learned about today is an exception, but if Sasha herself didn't say it, who would know that the starry sky in her eyes is so different from what others see?
"I don't know why it's focusing its attention on Sasha, nor why Sasha is immune to its gaze. Perhaps she has some unknown special qualities? But there's no doubt that Garuda is definitely planning something very bad with her."
"I will come up with a way to deal with Garuda as soon as possible. In the meantime, I ask you to spend as much time as possible with her. I will keep a close eye on any disturbances in this mental world. If Garuda does anything detrimental to you, I will immediately pull you out of the dream."
"Yes, I'll try my best to comfort Sasha."
The communication with Shendianshi was disconnected.
.
Chi Xue stared at the magical screen that indicated the end of the video call for a long time. Only when the Divine Stone automatically turned off the screen did she finally let out a long breath, lean back in her chair, and gently grab a handful of hair that had fallen down her side.
Then he turned to look at the figure behind him who was flipping through a book, stared at her swaying red fox tail for a few seconds, and said:
"Have you made any breakthroughs over there, Inari?"
"Don't rush, don't rush, I'm still flipping through it. This book is much more complicated than I imagined. Give me a little more time..."
The red fox girl raised her hand in greeting, her eyes fixed intently on the thick, ancient book on the desk in front of her.
With its hard cover, yellowed pages, and the words "Astral Library" marked in the corner of the title page, along with a long string of book codes, it was clearly an old book recently borrowed from the Astral Library.
Only in such ancient books could one possibly find clues related to the astral behemoth.
Seeing this, Chi Xue didn't say anything more. She put her hands behind her head, relaxed her body, and sighed softly:
"Sigh... I didn't expect even you would have to go through so much trouble to borrow this book. Is Garuda really that powerful?"
"This is no joke. Garuda is definitely one of the most dangerous astral behemoths. Ahead of it are probably only Bahamut and Jormungandr... It's a pity Jormungandr is dead, otherwise the two of them would have been quite a match..."
"..."
Akashi gave Inari a deep look as she solemnly uttered those shocking words.
Jormungandr battling Garuda? Just imagining it in her mind, Chi Xue felt that such a scene would probably require sacrificing the entire city of Rong to witness.
Before she could even speak, the red fox girl's tail suddenly rose high, and her fox ears stood up straight, clearly indicating that she had discovered some incredible clue.
Sure enough, Inari then spoke, her voice becoming much more excited:
"Found it, a clue about Garuda."
"Hey, you actually found it! I knew you were reliable."
Chi Xue quickly put down her water glass, got up and walked to Inari's side, and together they peered into the thick book.
"What does the book say?" Chi Xue asked, looking at the pages filled with writing.
"Look, this section. The astral behemoth Garuda was first discovered in the Andromeda Sector, causing numerous acts of devastation during its roaming the celestial realm," Inari said.
"According to the description, it has the ability to invade dreams and cause fatal damage to the affected person within the dream."
"...That's all."
"That's it?"
Chi Xue asked in surprise, staring at the contents of the book for a long time. She then flipped through the pages herself, not believing it, but found nothing else. She immediately showed a look of utter disbelief.
"This single piece of information is far too short... Aren't there any other books?"
"This is the most detailed 'Astral Biology Atlas' in the entire astral plane. The version compiled by the Council of the Star Gods is the most authoritative and detailed book. It even records clearly how many tentacles an astral jellyfish has."
Inari answered seriously, not in a joking manner.
"You're right, Chixue, the Garuda situation is far worse than anyone imagined."
Chi Xue stood there, stunned, unsure what to say. After a long silence, she finally spat out the piece of chewing gum she had only been chewing for a short while and murmured softly:
"Then...is there any way to deal with it?"
“…………”
Inari didn't answer, but silently stood up from her desk, stared at the ceiling for a long time, and muttered to herself:
"To defeat Garuda, we must first find out exactly where it is."
"Let me think. Invading dreams can cause fatal damage... but under the stable conditions of the real world, any attempt to invade a dream will be blocked by cognitive shielding... to pinpoint the exact location..."
"The multiple topological projections of astral magic across the celestial sphere... converge into a set of magical function networks using the second law of higher magic, and then undergo an inverse Laplace transform..."
"No, that would expand into an infinite uncertain domain... Here we need to do it like this... Introduce a definite set of variables... But it will still expand into a set of complex uncertain domains? Why?... "
A magical light screen appeared in front of the red fox girl. The magic wand in her hand transformed into a marker, which quickly wrote down several lines of complex formulas. She also hand-drew several mind maps and barrier patterns, leaving Chi Xue stunned.
"As expected, the academic school is different from the applied school like myself," Chi Xue thought to herself.
Five minutes passed.
Inari put down the magic marker in her hand, glanced at the magic light screen full of formulas and barrier diagrams, turned to look at Akayuki who was completely stunned, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her fox tail, and extended a finger.
There is only one answer.
"Dandelion learned of Garuda's existence through her deep contact with that winged person. Her magical characteristics were thus exposed to Garuda's peripheral vision, directly causing her dreams to be eroded by it."
"But if Garuda were still in the astral plane, it would be absolutely impossible for it to directly affect the dandelion. This would violate the underlying logic of magic—an iron law that extends from the ancient abyss and cannot be defied even by the star gods."
"I suspect that Garuda descended into the mortal world during the attack a month ago, but we have been unable to find its existence. What you banished was merely a projection of it."
silence.
Dead silence.
Akashi's brows furrowed, Inari's expression hardened, and she softly asked the question that sent chills down their spines:
"So..."
"Garuda, where exactly is it?"