[Restart Volume] Chapter 249: Those Secrets

"What? We still have a chance to return to our old world?" Mo Xing asked.

"That's right, as long as the conditions are met." Zhang Zhihao nodded, and simultaneously retrieved an egg-sized mechanical sphere from his storage bracelet, placing it on the table.

"Th-this... what is this?" Mo Xing asked in confusion, staring at the small, silvery-white ball.

"A text-converting projector," Xia Ningxin said.

"It's basically a projector equipped with the function of storing book materials while also being able to convert them into holographic images," Chengzi explained. "You can just think of it as taking an online class."

"An online class... this should be my first time taking one." Mo Xing scratched his head. He watched as the mechanical sphere on the table spun frantically, swaying left and right like a small fan. Suddenly, the lighting in the room dimmed significantly, and a blue image emerged in the center of the table, hovering in mid-air as a three-dimensional projection:

"The world of Aslant is the most mysterious part of the sky, located in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere of Earth. Influenced by the ancient War of the Gods, the passage of time in this region is relatively stagnant, differing from the surface world."

"What does that mean? Are we currently in Earth's atmosphere?" Mo Xing asked in surprise, while picking up a piece of meat with his chopsticks.

"Yes, Aslant is a mysterious airspace composed of countless floating islands," Zhang Zhihao nodded.

"Then what is meant by the relative stagnation of time's passage?" Mo Xing asked, puzzled.

"As the ancients said, a day in the heavens is a year on earth. But in the world of Aslant, this concept is reversed," Zhang Zhihao said.

"In other words, if you spend a year in the world of Aslant, only a month passes in the surface world," Chengzi added.

"The time ratio is twelve to one," Xia Ningxin summarized.

"That's quite a lot of information to take in..." Mo Xing scratched his head. "If this were presented to any research institute on the surface, it would simply be a massive scientific discovery!"

"Indeed," Zhang Zhihao nodded. "Therefore, for the sake of confidentiality, every human who comes to this world has their memory wiped. Please continue watching the screen."

The mechanical sphere continued to spin, and several more blue images floated into mid-air:

"In 1903, the first airplane built by the Wright Brothers achieved a successful test flight, pushing human exploration of the sky further. During World War I, a certain country's pilot was disrupted by air currents while executing a mission, mistakenly entering the world of Aslant and losing contact with the ground world."

"Oh my god, th-this even ties in with the Wright Brothers and the First World War?" Mo Xing said, dumbfounded, nearly spitting out the rice in his mouth from shock.

"Don't be too surprised," Zhang Zhihao smiled faintly. "There's more coming. Let it show you the true face of this world. Eat while you watch."

Mo Xing looked up, and the blue images in mid-air refreshed again, projecting several frames containing text and pictures—

"The plane crashed, and the surviving pilots arrived in Aslant, feeling curious about this relatively primitive and mysterious continent."

"As it happened, there were some villages nearby, so they sought help from the locals."

"At first, the indigenous people of Aslant, the Aslantians, were rather shy and resisted these pilots dressed in strange attire."

"With no other choice, the pilots found a patch of jungle to plant roots and set up camp, surviving by fishing and picking wild fruits."

"Gradually, they discovered that magic actually existed in this world, and that they themselves could master these elements as well."

"Practice makes perfect. Relying on these elements and their own intelligence, they hunted, built houses, and performed other tasks."

"On one occasion, a horde of vicious dragons collectively invaded the village. The pilots bravely stepped forward, and relying on strong military cooperation and tactical command, successfully repelled the dragons, winning the recognition of the Aslantians."

The blue projection paused, freezing on an image of a human and an Aslantian shaking hands.

"From then on they lived happily ever after?" Mo Xing scratched his head, sharing his review of what he had just seen.

"But the reality wasn't like that," Zhang Zhihao paused. "This is very old information, and now it has basically been destroyed. What I have in my hands is one of the very few surviving copies."

"The subsequent history has been artificially altered. For instance, the things recorded in current books like *Modern History of Aslant* are not necessarily the truth," Chengzi shook her head.

"Alright," Mo Xing scratched his head. "But I'm still completely clueless. How did I even get here? How am I supposed to go back?"

"This is a set-up," Xia Ningxin said, her answer still very concise.

"A set-up?" Mo Xing was completely baffled.

"I mentioned an organization called [The Immortals] to you before. The entire scheme was arranged by them. They hold the key to traveling between the Aslant sky world and the surface world, which is—the [Teleportation Star Crystal]," Zhang Zhihao continued. "At a precise moment, through certain means and methods, they brought us to this world."

"I've heard of them, they're the third-party faction..." Mo Xing paused, recalling the previous operation at the Divine Weapon Tower. On the return trip, Lord Zhang Zhihao had mentioned to him that [The Immortals], acting as a third-party faction, continuously manipulated the righteous people of Aslant and the dark sect of Carlendis to fight each other to the death—they were the true masterminds behind the scenes!

"Then what are they aiming for? And why pick me?" Mo Xing grew even more puzzled. He was just an ordinary teenager, with no money and no background, yet he was "kidnapped" and brought to another world by this human-trafficking organization called [The Immortals]!

"Your soul," Xia Ningxin said suddenly, a hint of coldness in her gaze.

"Ah?" Mo Xing shuddered all over. Harvesting human souls—wasn't that something out of some fantasy novel's Soul Palace?

This was no ordinary transmigration at all! This was nothing less than a conspiracy!

"According to our investigation, [The Immortals] periodically target and capture ordinary humans in the surface world, forcibly tamper with their memories through certain means, and then dump them into this world to cultivate on their own, waiting for the ripe moment to harvest their souls," Chengzi said.

"The stronger you cultivate, the more valuable you are to them," Zhang Zhihao added. "They love harvesting the souls of the strong because it is a tremendous help in extending their own lifespans. This is the origin of [The Immortals] organization, symbolizing eternal life."

"Then what if I don't cultivate?" The words slipped out of Mo Xing's mouth before he could even think, and it was too late to take them back.

"Then you probably wouldn't have the chance to sit here and have a meal with us," Zhang Zhihao smiled faintly. "Perhaps you would have been killed by Li Qingchi over at the Divine Weapon Tower, and I wouldn't even have had the chance to rush over and save you."

"Uh... then I suppose I'll choose to become stronger. I don't want to die so easily," Mo Xing scratched his head.

You die if you get stronger...
You die if you don't get stronger...
Well then, I might as well get stronger!

"Mhm, having this realization is naturally a good thing. However, growing stronger is merely a process, and our ultimate goal is to lead everyone to break this deadlock," Chengzi said.

"To rescue everyone, break free from the control of [The Immortals], and return to the old world together," Zhang Zhihao nodded.

"Let's work hard together," Xia Ningxin also added simply.

Mo Xing was momentarily dazed. Since childhood, he had read plenty of martial arts and fantasy novels, watched animations, TV dramas, and movies where like-minded youths joined hands to advance together, slay demons, banish devils, and save all living beings, scenes that always made his blood boil with passion.

He had never imagined that one day, he too would bear the heavy responsibility of saving humanity!

"Alright, let's do our best together!" Mo Xing said.

"Mm-hmm, then next let's talk about the operation on Dragon Fang Island," Zhang Zhihao snapped his fingers.

They watched as the mechanical sphere on the table rotated, and dense blue text swirled in mid-air.

"The roster of personnel from Saint Sky Royal Academy participating in this operation," Zhang Zhihao explained. "I happened to copy a set of data into it."

"Th-this amazing? It even comes with USB flash drive functionality?" Mo Xing said in astonishment, staring at the pile of slowly spinning names in mid-air.

"Tap those names with your finger, and you can see the detailed information of these individuals." Chengzi casually tapped a name with her finger, and a profile popped up, "Just like this."

"Ohh! Wait? Isn't this my name..." Mo Xing's eyes darted around, and right as he spotted his own name, he tapped it with his finger, prompting a file to pop up—

"Name: Mo Xing"
"Gender: Male"
"Occupation: Magic Swordsman (Formerly Elemental Mage)"
"Element: Water"
"Rank: Green Wood Stage (Specific rank unknown)"
"Priority: Class-B Student (688 points)"
"Grade: Freshman"
"Grade Ranking: 8888th"
"Current Mission Group: Group One"
"..."

Holy crap! So detailed! This was basically like a talking learning machine—touch wherever you don't understand! Even his occupation had been updated, and what did "specific rank unknown" even mean? His priority score seemed to have gone up by twenty points as well? And this ranking was way too auspicious! There was even his ID photo! By the way, when was that even taken?

"You look just like a curious little brat entering a museum for the first time," Xia Ningxin watched as Mo Xing "flipped through" everyone's profiles all over the place.

"Brats have the day they grow up too, you know~" Chengzi beside him smiled, leaning in close. "By the way, this is the longest sentence Xiao Ning has said all day today~"

"No it's not," Xia Ningxin pouted, forming a stark contrast to her usual cold and stern exterior.

"Xiao Ning, the way you pout is quite cute, hehe~" Chengzi smiled.

"Cute?" Xia Ningxin shook her head. "I don't like that word."

"Actually, I love Xiao Ning's cold look even more~" Chengzi said.

"Mm," Xia Ningxin replied.

"Is this upcoming Dragon Fang Island rescue operation really this perilous? The academy actually dispatched so many elites?" Mo Xing asked in surprise. In the roster he had just browsed, quite a few were Class-A students—those were one-in-a-hundred talents from Saint Sky Royal Academy!

"That's right, exceptionally perilous," Zhang Zhihao nodded. "That's why I've been having you step up your survival training over the past two days."

"These are all classmates at the Azure Blue stage level, how come I'm the only Green Wood stage one? That's way too embarrassing! At least give me a companion to keep me company!" Mo Xing said with a wry smile.

"What a coincidence, there happens to be one on the list," Zhang Zhihao smiled and tapped on someone's profile.

"Who is it, who is it?" Mo Xing hurried over.

"Shi Yan," Zhang Zhihao smiled gently. "Mo Xing, I think the two of you make a pretty good match."

"No, no! Great God, don't talk nonsense!" Mo Xing's face instantly turned as red as if it had been painted with red lacquer.

"Shall I help tie the red thread for the two of you?" Zhang Zhihao said with a calm smile.

"N-no... please don't, Great God doesn't need to play matchmaker..." Mo Xing paused, his gaze caught by a line of text on the profile.

"Wh... why is her element listed as unknown?"