Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 579 The Reality in the Illusion
Song Hui's joining was unexpected but reasonable, although he was reluctant to reveal why a retired person wanted to step into this muddy water. At this time, the situation was urgent and Wang Luo did not have time to ask. He only knew that there could not be a more reliable teammate in the world than the paper man who protected the mountain in Lingshan.

However, just as the two were about to take a step, they heard a breathless shout from afar.

"Master Wang Shan, wait a moment, wait for me a moment!"

The call seemed insignificant amid the chaos and noise at the scene, but Wang Luo stopped and wasted precious time again.

Because that person... was indeed a little unexpected.

It turned out to be Zhang Yu, the richest man in Shijie several years ago. However, since he failed to compete for the Jade Master and was usurped by his youngest son, this wealthy businessman has disappeared for a long time and has never appeared in the public eye. Who would have thought that he would stand up at this moment?

"Boss Zhang?"

Hearing the name "Boss Zhang", Zhang Yu, a middle-aged wealthy businessman who had just squeezed out from the Dinghuang Army, couldn't help but smile bitterly, but his mouth twitched twice, and he immediately said seriously: "Master Wang, please take me with you... No one is more familiar with the situation in this workshop than me."

Wang Luo carefully examined Zhang Yu and confirmed that he was sane and his words were sincere, so he did not hesitate.

"Then follow closely."

At this time, some people in the Dinghuang army felt it was unbelievable and wanted to speak up to stop it, but were stopped by the old professor with a wave of his hand.

The old man who had been stubborn not long ago now looked at Zhang Yu with relief and appreciation in his eyes.

Because only a few people knew that the investor of this newly built scroll workshop was apparently Zhang Fuhong, a new upstart in Rongcheng - an old friend of Wang Luo from his time in Shijie - but the actual controller was Zhang Yu.

Zhang Fuhong is indeed a smart and pragmatic businessman, especially good at seizing opportunities and making all-out efforts. This time, he mobilized the family resources and placed a heavy bet on the Rongcheng Workshop, which was a symbolic gamble... Although at first glance, this was indeed a brilliant move, not only did he successfully grasp the core strategic resources of the current Immortal Alliance, but the production and operation of the Taixu Painting Scroll also matched his hobbies over the past years.

But the reality is that Zhang Fuhong may be good at painting scrolls, but he is not good at running a workshop that mass-produces painting scrolls during a long war period - the latter's production process is more like a traditional meat factory assembly line than content production.

The person who was best at managing the meat factory was none other than Zhang Yu, who was sent to the cold palace by him. So Zhang Yu unceremoniously asked his father to come out again. As it was about the future of the family, Zhang Yu had almost no hesitation.

Although nominally, Zhang Yu hardly held any actual position, but he participated in the management of the entire construction process of the Rongcheng workshop. Hundreds of drawings of the workshop and equipment were firmly engraved in his mind... At this moment, when Zhang Fuhong and a group of technical backbones all accompanied Lu Youyou on the visit and were trapped in the illusion, Zhang Yu himself was the person who knew the scene best!
Having such a tour guide following will definitely be of great help in the subsequent rescue, but people really could not have imagined that this unremarkable-looking wealthy businessman would be so courageous at the critical moment!
Is it just to rescue his son who is trapped in the illusion? Or...

After getting Wang Luo's approval, Zhang Yu immediately turned around and said to the old professor, "Professor Fang, if I can't come back, the Zhang family business will all be transferred to the Rongcheng Governor's Office. Please supervise it on my behalf! Don't let those two good-for-nothings ruin the foundation!"

Professor Fang was even more moved when he heard this, and nodded, "Okay, I will take good care of the family for you."

At this time, the people around gradually realized that the workshop was attacked by the Demon Lord and many leaders of countries were trapped in it. As the most direct person responsible for building and operating the workshop, the Zhang family, regardless of whether they were subjectively negligent, would inevitably be severely liquidated afterwards. And what Zhang Yu is doing now is to give the family a chance to keep the fire!

However, these realizations and shocks only stayed in people's hearts for a short moment, because in this moment, Wang Luo had already crossed the edge of the restricted area with Song Hui and Zhang Yu, and when his footsteps landed, the figures of the three disappeared together. Even the tree eye network that was temporarily deployed around and was a hundred times more than normal could not detect any signs of "interruption", as if everything was normal.

-

On the other hand, the three people who crossed the line felt that everything was normal.

Not only did the workshop in front of him stand as before, but the noisy clamor behind him was still there, and even the voice of Professor Fang giving orders to the people around him could still be clearly heard.

Zhang Yu was a little surprised: "We..."

“Don’t look back.” Wang Luo warned immediately, “We are now in an illusion. No matter how flashy the echo is behind us, it is actually nothing... This is the magical power of turning the virtual into the real. When you pursue those false realities, you will immediately lose your own authenticity.”

Zhang Yu was surprised by this obviously overly detailed explanation, but he suppressed his curiosity well, nodded and said: "I see, so where should we go next?"

Wang Luo asked, "From here, is there any difference between the workshop and reality?"

At this time, the three of them were standing at the main entrance of the workshop. In front of them was a spacious circular square with a bronze statue of Lu Youyou standing in the middle. Behind the square were two tall buildings on the left and right. The decoration style was simple but stylish. In this upstart area of ​​Stone Street, it looked particularly elegant. Around the two buildings were scattered corridors, flower gardens, spiritual pools, pavilions, etc. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual, except...

Zhang Yu only took a glance and frowned, "Others are fine, but why is there no one here?"

Before Rongcheng Workshop officially started operations, Zhang Yu and his son Zhang Fuhong personally gathered thousands of senior experts in the industry. Normally, the workshop was busy all night long with the lights on, but now it was so quiet that it seemed like a dead place.

But as Zhang Yu finished speaking, he heard a noisy voice coming from not far ahead. Among them was a short and strong middle-aged man who flashed out from the left building naturally, with an exceptionally loud voice.

"Boss Zhang, you, the hero behind the scenes, finally showed up! Just now your son praised you to the skies in front of the leaders of various countries."

Zhang Yu's expression suddenly changed when he heard the man's voice, and he looked at Wang Luo anxiously: "Master Wang, the people here..."

Wang Luo said: "Since we have entered this illusion, the people in the illusion are real to us, so we should just deal with them as usual. Who is that person?"

Zhang Yu replied: "The boss of Molin [Bao Workshop], Dan Xing, is also an important partner of Rongcheng Workshop...Do you need me to greet him?"

Of course, the conclusion is not necessary, because just as Zhang Yu was asking the question, the short and strong Danxing had already seen Wang Luo, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Master Wang?! Could it be Master Wang? I didn't expect to see the master in person! I'm Mo Lin Danxing, and I've really, really admired the master for a long time!"

The words were spoken with a strong tremor, just like a lovesick woman meeting her lover.

Zhang Yu added in a whisper behind him: "Master Wang, this person really admires you from the bottom of his heart..." But before he finished speaking, Wang Luo said: "Then why did you refuse when I invited you to drink when you passed by Zhouguo a few days ago?"

Shan Xing was stunned when he heard this, but soon he smiled bitterly and replied, "A few days ago, my son was seriously ill, and I was so worried that I almost lost my mind. At that time, I lost my temper and even beat up the servants around me. That ferocious posture was really embarrassing to see in front of others."

After these words were spoken, Zhang Yu's face turned pale.

A few days ago, this Dan Xing was clearly in Rongcheng meeting with various local tyrants, and he showed a generous and tough businessman style throughout the whole process. How could he be so ferocious and hideous? Moreover, he has always advocated that having children is like sowing seeds, winning by quantity, so how could he be worried because of a child's serious illness?

But it is impossible for Dan Xing to lie so brazenly and naturally in front of Wang Luo, so who is this person in front of him?

But Wang Luo sneered: "Is there any need to think about this? He didn't exist in the previous second, and appeared in front of the building in the next second. Of course, he is a person in the illusion."

Shan Xing was surprised when he heard this: "Master Wang Shan, may I ask what the person in the illusion you are talking about is...?"

Wang Luo ignored him and continued to explain to Zhang Yu: "His appearance should have met the expectations of the three of us... Boss Zhang, have you ever thought that it would be better if you met a single form?"

Zhang Yu immediately replied, "That's right. Among the people who are known to have been trapped in the workshop, I have the easiest time dealing with Boss Shan, so I subconsciously thought about meeting him before... But his subsequent response was a bit confusing, and he simply spoke nonsense."

Wang Luo said: "Because I was also talking nonsense, the illusion followed my expectations and allowed this nonsense story to continue."

Zhang Yu immediately asked: "If the illusion can respond to wishes so sensitively, should we..."

Thinking of this, he suddenly shuddered and said fearfully, "Should we never dream of any relatives or friends?"

Wang Luo said: "I haven't fully figured out the principles of this place, but generally speaking, there is really no need to let the illusion present characters that shouldn't be here at this time. After all, in many contents of the Taixu Illusion, there is a 'covering' principle... Boss Zhang, clear your mind!"

Zhang Yu immediately nodded vigorously, took a deep breath, and used the technique of concentrating his mind, which he had not yet mastered, to ensure that he would not have any dangerous thoughts.

Many times people will subconsciously imagine scenes that they don't want to imagine at all, and at this moment, this subconsciousness is undoubtedly particularly dangerous!
After Zhang Yu calmed down, Wang Luo said to Shan Xing, who was standing there in a somewhat awkward position, "Boss Shan, since you are accompanying Yulongjun here for an inspection, you shouldn't be tripped by us all the time. Let's talk again when we have a chance."

Shan Xing immediately breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been pardoned, and bowed repeatedly: "Then it's a deal, I will definitely host a banquet for the mountain master tomorrow, please be sure to come!"

Soon after, as Danxing walked back into the building, the scattered workshop employees who had appeared with him also retreated like the receding tide.

Without any distractions, this illusion is truly a dead place.

So Wang Luo returned to the original question: "Boss Zhang, is there anything unusual here?"

Zhang Yu naturally knew how to answer at this time: "All the buildings, facilities, immortal formations and magic weapons are exactly the same as what I remember and what is shown in the blueprints... Moreover, these should not appear according to my wishes. I have never liked the clear spring between the two buildings."

Wang Luo asked again: "So, where is the core facility of this workshop, the Dyeing Pool?"

The so-called dyeing pool is the core of any scroll workshop. Its essence is a small fantasy world that exists independently of the Great Void. The designers and laborers who are responsible for designing and drawing the scrolls must first build the Great Void scroll in the pool, and then send the entire dyeing pool into the Taiyin River and drift into the Great Void fantasy world.

Zhang Yu immediately replied: "It's on the roof of the west building, Ranhuanluo, but..."

At this point, Zhang Yu obviously thought of something, but he was not sure, and his tone was a little hesitant.

"If you have something to say, just say it." Song Hui, who had been silent for a long time, urged coldly.

Zhang Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Mountain Master, you know that the core competitive advantage of this Rongcheng Workshop that has attracted the attention of the kings is not because of how capable our staff is, nor because of our unique production technology... but because we 'unearthed' a fantasy relic not long ago."

"Relics?" Wang Luo frowned immediately, "Class II relics?"

The so-called illusionary relics can be roughly divided into two types. One type is the relics lost in the turbulence due to the shattering of the Taixu illusion in the context of a long-term war, such as some Qinglu ruins and Zhaotang ruins. The other type is the fragments of the illusion that flooded from nowhere when the Taixu was shattered. Their characteristics are often extremely strange, and the Immortal Alliance has always been highly vigilant.

But at the same time, there are indeed some that were put into use immediately after being strictly reviewed and confirmed to be harmless... What Zhang Yu said now is most likely the second type.

"The mountain master's guess is correct. The illusionary ruins have the miraculous effect of promoting the evolution of the scroll and even creating something out of nothing. After professional research by Taixu Mansion, it has been confirmed that there are no side effects, so we use it as the core competitiveness of this workshop. As long as we have the help of the ruins, the efficiency of our mass production of scrolls can be increased several times. At this point in time, nothing is more important than efficient production..."

Before he could finish his words, Wang Luo interrupted him and said, "Okay, lead the way."

But just as he finished speaking, Song Hui suddenly spoke.

"I'm afraid this road is a life-or-death journey."

As he was speaking, a flame ignited on the old man's right index finger, and its color was as terrible as blood.

This is the basic magical power that every Lingshan paper figurine possesses - to help their master avoid misfortune and bring good luck. The blood-like flame on the index finger is clearly an ominous sign.

Wang Luo was even more determined when he saw this: "That proves that this is the right way. Let's go."

(End of this chapter)