Chapter 635: Seeing Club 8 Again

The restlessness of being lost and the pressure brought by the audience expectation made Chen Ling's brows knit tightly.

The good news was that after he continued to move forward for a distance, another giant object drifted over from afar... It wasn't the previous giant face, but a roaring, galloping horse!

Calling it a horse, it was actually just a three-dimensional painting outlined by geometric lines. Its fingernail-sized eyes were not arranged neatly, and its exaggerated horse mouth was twisted in mid-air. It didn't rush straight at Chen Ling but flew past like a meteor toward another direction.

As it approached, Chen Ling's emotions were infected again. Panic and fear surged in his heart, even making Chen Ling's eyes widen involuntarily, as if he were about to turn into a frightened horse, turn around, and run wildly into the distance with it.

Fortunately, Chen Ling finally suppressed this emotion. Looking closely, he saw that there was also a rotating "arrow" and a Club mark on the horse's rear.

It was just that because the horse was running too fast, the rotation speed of the "arrow" was much faster than the one on the giant face, but it was indeed pointing in the same direction from beginning to end.

Seeing this, Chen Ling immediately corrected his orientation according to this "arrow" and continued forward.

In the following process, Chen Ling encountered two more giant objects one after another: one was a twisted human figure dragging deformed legs and feet, crawling in panic in the void; the other was a woman holding what looked like a child's corpse, speeding past him.

Every time they appeared, Chen Ling's emotions would be involuntarily stirred, as if he had completely substituted himself for them... And without exception, these giant objects seemed to be afraid of something, their hearts filled with pleading, grief, and resentment, as if something invisible in the dark was torturing them.

Unsurprisingly, these two giant objects also had "arrows" pointing the way, and Chen Ling used them to complete two more corrections.

Time seemed to have lost its meaning in this world. Chen Ling didn't know how long he had been moving forward; he could only see the audience expectation sliding from the initial "44%" down to "35%."

After several corrections, Chen Ling finally saw something different in this void.

It was a house.

In this void world with no earth, no sky, and no material existence, an ordinary house floated quietly, as if a realistic product had suddenly appeared in a huge abstract painting, detached from the surrounding environment, with an inexplicable sense of abruptness.

Single-story, single-door, a pair of windows; no light shone from the windows, as if they were black abysses.

"Is this where the arrow is pointing..."

Chen Ling looked at the house in front of him and, without much hesitation, stepped on the void and arrived at its door.

This house had color, and unlike other giant objects, it wasn't abstract. It was undoubtedly a product that didn't belong to "Guernica." Coupled with the Club symbols and arrows he had seen along the way, Chen Ling had vaguely guessed who had created this house.

Chen Ling took a deep breath and knocked on the door slowly.

Knock, knock, knock—

The void fell into dead silence.

A figure in a bright red opera robe stood at the door, waiting quietly. He hid a boning knife in the sleeve behind his back to prevent any unexpected situations...

About a few seconds later, the door handle turned slowly, and it was opened from behind.

The opening of the door made no sound. As the door opened halfway, a figure stood there like a ghost, silent.

It was a disheveled teenager with a sallow complexion and bloodshot eyes, looking exactly like a patient with neurasthenia... Every inch of his skin seemed exhausted to the extreme.

He saw Chen Ling behind the door, and after a long time, he spoke hoarsely:

"I thought the one opening this door would be Li Shangfeng... I didn't expect it to be you."

Chen Ling examined the teenager in front of him, his brows knitting involuntarily... He recognized Club 8 at a glance; after all, they had met in the Aurora Realm and even arrived at the Red Dust Realm together. But what surprised him was that the Club 8 in front of him was like a completely different person compared to before coming to the Red Dust.

If Club 8 had been a spirited genius teenager in the Aurora Realm, the one standing before Chen Ling now was like a lifeless, haggard prisoner.

Especially the look in his eyes when he looked at Chen Ling—facing such a sudden guest, there was no surprise in his eyes, only deep sadness and pain... Chen Ling remembered this look; it was almost identical to the giant objects that had just drifted past.

"Club 8." Chen Ling asked with a frown, "What... have you experienced?"

"...Come in and talk."

Club 8's pale fingers released the door, and he took half a step back, signaling Chen Ling to come in.

Chen Ling walked into the house and then carefully examined the environment. The furnishings in the room were extremely simple: a bed, a chair, a table, and messy paintbrushes all over the floor;

If there was any difference between this place and the prisons Chen Ling had seen, it was probably the curtains, which were colorful and had flying cartoon butterfly patterns on them, serving as the only place with warmth in this cramped room.

"Sit." Club 8 pointed to the chair, seemingly too tired to say another word.

Chen Ling sat down on the chair, then as if remembering something, asked:

"Who is the Li Shangfeng you just mentioned?"

"Oh... you don't know his real name." Club 8 said indifferently, "Heart 9, you should know him now, right?"

In Chen Ling's mind, Heart 9's carefree appearance flashed, and he couldn't connect this name, full of elegance like a great hero, with this funny character.

"...I know."

"Is he here?"

"He'll be here soon. I'm here to scout the path."

"Daring to come to the Floating Life Painting headquarters alone to scout... worthy of being a monster carrying 'World Destruction'." Club 8 sat slowly on his bed, leaning against the wall, his voice somewhat weak. "Have you seen the Second Hall Master?"

"Yes."

"He didn't kill you?"

"No, I made a trade with him using some information... Although he looks a bit strange, he seems to have principles."

Club 8 seemed to remember something, and the corners of his mouth curled into a faint arc:

"Indeed, although that guy is all about 'abstraction,' when it comes to doing things, he never plays abstract."

"So what exactly is this place? And what is 'Guernica'?"

Hearing this question, the smile at the corners of Club 8's mouth gradually faded.

He sat up straight and spoke hoarsely:

"'Guernica' is a painting."

"A painting?"

"To be precise, it's a cubist abstract painting... This is something the Second Hall Master found deep in the Qingdao Ancient Treasury years ago." Club 8 gestured toward the window with his chin.

"Did you see those abstract 'monsters' on your way here?"