Ash Civilization

Zhou Zhen put away his cell phone and walked directly outside the unfinished building.

The dust accumulated over the years slowly danced in the vibration of his footsteps, and the winding skylight shone gently from above the stairs. He soon arrived at the entrance of the stairs between the negative floor and the first floor.

This "kou"-shaped staircase is the [Penrose Stairs] in the "Digital Forest" of the "Huangjia Club".

The highest point and the lowest point of the ladder are connected. Under normal circumstances, a three-dimensional creature cannot go up to other floors from this ladder.

but……

While thinking, Zhou Zhen stopped at the stairs and closed his eyes again.

The normal flesh and blood on his body instantly turned into dense numbers.

These numbers expanded rapidly after they appeared, and with a snap of a finger, they covered Zhou Zhen's entire body.

At this time, he opened his eyes and looked at the stairs in front of him.

The tiny numbers are like a swarm of ants emerging from the nest. They are still increasing. They have separated from Zhou Zhen's body and spread in all directions. The dusty ground, the concrete walls with temporary wires, the dusty load-bearing columns and the equally empty The plain steps...are all covered with countless numbers.

From a third-party perspective, the environment here has transformed into an overwhelming digital world.

However, in Zhou Zhen's vision, everything in front of him gradually turned into the spacious and dark corridor of the school.

The corridor was covered with dust, with classroom doors on both sides. Outside the lighted window at the end, there were fresh treetops swaying slowly in the wind.

And the [Penrose Stairs] in front of him has also become the school's stairs, with the mottled handrails standing quietly beside it.

The area covered by the numbers is a ten-meter diameter range centered on Zhou Zhen.

Within ten meters, there is the scene of the school; ten meters away, there is still the unfinished building of "Huangjia Club".

In Zhou Zhen's vision, the two worlds are completely different in painting style, but connected together without any hindrance, as if they are some kind of post-modern rebellious artwork.

He lifted his steps and walked towards the top of the stairs.

As he moves forward, the digital world around him also moves.

Step, step, step...

Zhou Zhen walked up the empty stairwell step by step. Every place he passed, or was about to pass, turned into a school scene.

After a while, he walked up the stairs and reached the upper floor.

Here is the same as before, within ten meters is the familiar school corridor; ten meters away is the gray concrete unfinished building.

Zhou Zhen closed his eyes again, and the vast numbers around him flowed towards his body like a colony of ants returning to their nest.

When all the numbers from the outside world were absorbed into his body, the numbers that originally covered him disappeared like an ebbing tide.

Zhou Zhen's body quickly returned to normal flesh and blood again.

He opened his eyes again and saw that he was standing in a spacious space. The skylight shone in from the outside of the wall without doors and windows. In the alternation of light and dark, the green plants that had grown up encroaching on the stairs looked particularly vibrant.

There are still footprints on the ground from when he came in.

This is the first floor of the unfinished building of the "Huangjia Club". He has successfully passed the [Penrose Stairs] and walked up from the negative floor!

Looking around, Zhou Zhen nodded slightly.

After playing the role of "digital rain" once, as long as he calms down, he can vaguely feel the connection between himself and the "digital rain". Through this level of connection, he can control himself and actively enter the "digital form".

The so-called "digital form" is a form in which one's own "equations" are superimposed with a certain set of "equations" of "Digital Rain" to form a more complex "set of equations".

He remembered clearly that before going to the time and space tunnel in Qingquan Valley in Tongfu City, the "Nine-tailed Fox" said that his state was not right, and also gave him a visual sensor to let him see his true condition in the mirror. .

His appearance at that time was that his whole body was covered with dense numbers, which was very close to the "digital rain" appearance. That kind of situation would infect all the compatible people around him below the "Sixth Ladder".

Now it seems that it is my own "digital form".

Zhou Zhen had not played "Digital Rain" at that time, and being able to enter the "digital form" involved an element of luck.

Of course, the main reason is the second drop of "digital rain"...

However, at that time, although he was able to enter the "digital form", he was unable to control the power of the "digital form". This resulted in him being similar to a [Complete Body] infected person and would infect all surrounding people below the "Sixth Step" Life form.

"Order of Ashes" gave him the drug TFZ2342, whose principle is similar to "equation separation surgery".

The essence is to separate his "equation" from the "equation" of "Digital Rain", so that he can temporarily exit his "digital form".

This is why, after the drug took effect, he saw the second drop of "digital rain" riding on his shoulders.

Because his "digital form" at that time was superimposed with the "equation" of the second drop of "digital rain". After taking the medicine, the second drop of "digital rain" separated from his "equation" and kept following the same pattern. What they looked like before they were superimposed together...

Now, Zhou Zhen plays the role of the first drop of "digital rain", and his "digital form" is also a "system of equations" combined with the first drop of "digital rain".

In this form, he can display the "digital forest" of the first drop of "digital rain" through his own "digital domain"!

For example, when he passed the [Penrose Ladder] just now, he used the "digital domain", the "Crimson Trap".

The original effect of [Crimson Trap] is to build a bloody world around yourself.

All life forms entering this bloody world will become extremely slow.

And in his "digital form", he can change the bloody world of [Crimson Trap] into a digital world.

In the scope of the digital world, a corner of the "digital forest" is reflected...

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhen suddenly thought of the "God-Creation Plan" of "Twilight Trial".

The "God-Creation Plan" of "Twilight Judgment" is to transplant the "Digital Forest" into the "Digital Domain" of the compatible people.

At the time, he just thought that the idea was crazy.

But now it seems that "Twilight Judgment" should have known these secrets of "Digital Form" for a long time!

Since the direct integration of "Digital Rain" is too risky and the follow-up is too unstable, even the "ninth ladder" figures such as the former Ghost 009 and "Doctor Ash" have the backing of the world's top organizations. There is always a risk of losing control.

The [God Creation Project] skips the step of integrating "digital rain" and wants to artificially simulate the effect of "digital form"!

Although Zhou Zhen did not have a very good impression of the "Order of Ashes" and the "Twilight Trial", it must be said that the knowledge and secrets possessed by these illegal organizations should not be underestimated at all!

"The reason why I performed so smoothly this time is because the source of the digital forest of the 'Huangjia Club' is that classroom."

"I performed in the 'Huangjia Club' and I performed in that classroom, and the effect was not much different."

"Except for this 'Huangjia Club', all buyers who have bought the mathematics textbooks sold by Huang Xurong are carriers."

"The source of the 'digital forest' formed by those carriers is also my classroom."

"Next, I will give priority to the 'digital forest' related to the classroom..."

While thinking, Zhou Zhen suddenly quickened his pace.

This time's performance only allowed him to initially obtain one of the "equations" of "Digital Rain". To get all the "equations" of "Digital Rain", he still needs more performances!

Now, his "digital form" can only move out a corner of the "digital forest" where the first drop of "digital rain" came from.

When he gets more "equations" for the first drop of "digital rain", he can completely move the "digital forest" of the first drop of "digital rain" into reality!

Step, step, step...

Footsteps passed through the spacious main hall and came to the door frame where the door had not yet been installed.

The main entrance outlined by concrete is tall and spacious. At this moment, both sides are covered with unknown wild vines, quietly hanging down like door curtains.

Zhou Zhen looked at the outside world a step away and closed his eyes again.

Just like before, countless tiny figures swarmed in, covering his body and expanding towards the outside world.

Numbers cover the surroundings, slowly crawling like living creatures.

Zhou Zhen opened his eyes. In front of him, the rough concrete doorframe without a door quietly receded, replaced by the school's rusted iron door.

The door was unlocked and opened wide with a slight push.

Zhou Zhen walked directly towards the door.

He walked out of the door easily without any hindrance.

Looking at the contradictory scene in front of him, Zhou Zhen closed his eyes. After putting away all the numbers, his body returned to normal again.

Clusters of weeds fill the air with the fresh air of the wilderness, and crumbling cement blocks are scattered all over the ground under the grass blades.

The barrier not far away has been destroyed, exposing the wild vegetation outside, completely covering the road that was originally easy for construction.

Zhou Zhen turned his head and looked at the unfinished building behind him.

The sixty-four-story high-rise building is located in a mountain with beautiful mountains and clear waters. Even if the construction is stopped midway, even if it is full of wind and frost, and even if it is covered with all kinds of wild plants, looking up from Zhou Zhen's current position, it is still full of the unique majesty and oppression of high-rise buildings.

It's as if this is an artificial mountain.

Zhou Zhen's thoughts moved slightly, and the midair in front of him was suddenly filled with various black and red cubes.

These cubes turned into a mighty shock wave in an instant, covering the entire unfinished building and roaring down.

"Digital Domain", [Fusion Cube]!

boom! ! !

With a deafening loud noise, the tall building collapsed instantly, and thick dust mist suddenly flew up, accompanied by the rustling of countless branches and leaves all around, and among the flying sand and rocks, fallen leaves were like a shower.

The fresh smell of broken branches and leaves, mixed with the smell of dust, suddenly dispersed.

Concrete blocks, incomplete steel bars, various structures... fell like a violent storm, like a fierce mudslide.

After a while, the dust slowly dispersed and the building had been razed to the ground.

Zhou Zhen took out the vision sensor from [two-dimensional space] and put it on again.

In the field of view of the visual sensor, I repeatedly glanced at the completely destroyed unfinished building in front of me. The data fell down like a waterfall. There was a green field in front of me. All the data was normal, and no trace of the "digital forest" was detected.

Zhou Zhen nodded slightly. Huang Xurong, the mathematics textbooks, the buyers and bodyguards, the doll clothes...all the forest "equations" in the digital forest of the "Huangjia Club" have been taken away by him!

Now, the unfinished building where the "Huangjia Club" itself is located has also been destroyed by him.

This "digital forest" has lost the key "equation" and can never be rebuilt like the last time!

In a practical sense, this "digital forest" has been cleared from its roots!

While thinking, Zhou Zhen immediately called up the menu on the visual sensor, selected information, and sent a message to Duan Lihe: "Captain Duan, how is the current situation in Binhai City?"

"I am on a mission to clean up the 'Digital Forest' and would like to second someone from the Ghost Team to help."

Duan Lihe quickly replied: "Who?"

Zhou Zhen quickly sent a message: "Ghost Team No. 024."

Almost a few seconds later, Duan Lihe replied again: "I asked the ghost team. No. 024 is currently located in the High-tech Zone and is performing a separate task of cleaning up infected people."

"The ghost team believes that there is a big problem with No. 024, but they can't find out what the problem is at the moment, so they temporarily prohibit compatible people below the 'Sixth Step' from contacting No. 024."

"However, this has no impact on you."

"You can go directly to team number 024."

"But please note that the above requires that neither you nor No. 024 have contact with anyone below the 'Sixth Step'."

Zhou Zhen nodded slightly. Although he can now control his "digital form" to a certain extent, in the non-"digital form", he will not infect the people around him, but in the "digital form" In this case, compatible people below the "Sixth Ladder" will still be affected by him.

In addition, although [Murphy's Law] in Binhai City has been controlled now, it is only a reduction in accidents, not that there are no accidents at all.

In his "digital form", he will not be affected by [Murphy's Law].

When we arrested Huang Xurong in the "Huangjia Club" just now, we didn't encounter any accidents.

But in a non-digital form, [Murphy's Law] can still affect him...

Therefore, even if Duan Lihe does not make a request, he will not have contact with anyone below the "Sixth Step" now.

After thinking quickly, Zhou Zhen immediately responded: "No problem!"

After the communication ended, he immediately called up the map of Binhai City on the visual sensor and confirmed the specific direction of the High-tech Zone.

The next moment, Zhou Zhen's figure disappeared from the ruins.