Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 253: Crystal Shards

Yu Sheng had more questions in his heart. He felt that Bai Li Qing was withholding some critical secrets. For example, how exactly did Boundary City, this massive “anchor,” hold the entirety of Borderland firmly at L-0 depth? What principles governed the anchor’s function and creation? Another mystery was how excessively rapid technological advancement could destabilize this anchor—what was the underlying reason for that?

And then, there was the question of what Borderland looked like before the anchor was built. This city hadn’t simply appeared from thin air; it had to have gone through a long, arduous process. From Bai Li Qing’s fragmented explanations, Yu Sheng guessed that Borderland had indeed experienced a chaotic era with average depths far beyond Level 0.

Could there really have been human inhabitants back then? Could these original residents have discovered a way to pull their homeland out of those chaotic depths to the safety of L-0?

This idea sounded utterly impossible because everyone knew that rational beings could only thrive sustainably at L-0. If Borderland had indeed endured such chaotic depths, it was unimaginable that a significant human population could have survived here.

He hesitated for a moment but finally decided to voice his doubts.

However, Bai Li Qing merely shook her head.

“The history before Boundary City’s construction has almost no clear records. Even after its establishment, the history for some time afterward was chaotic. It’s as if we rebuilt this place from a wasteland—but why it became ruins in the first place remains a mystery. Perhaps, as many scholars theorize, that part of history got ‘stuck’ at the moment of the Second Singularity Explosion. You remember what I told you, don’t you, about this world’s cycle of destruction and rebirth?”

“At the instant of cosmic rebirth, everything in existence was shattered and reassembled. This created numerous historical… ‘leftover issues.’ Quite literally, historical leftovers.”

“This directly gave rise to the ‘Archaeological Association.’ A group of scholars obsessed with uncovering the past banded together, eventually evolving into a vast and influential entity. They excavate the most mysterious and unstable temporal-collapse points, trying to patch together missing histories of various species or uncover proof of civilizations lost to time. The Bamosian and Forest Folk are their largest backers. And because the Special Affairs Bureau holds extensive information on Otherworlds—as well as a vast market and storage of anomalous artifacts—we maintain close cooperation with them.”

Bai Li Qing paused here. She stared pensively out beyond the connecting bridge into the boundless darkness, her tone carrying a trace of deep respect. “The urge to uncover origins is an instinct embedded in civilization itself. The Archaeological Association searches tirelessly for remnants of the Old World. For years, they’ve sought an ancient ruin cluster they call the ‘Lost Deep Lake.’ Even Borderland has scholars striving to reconstruct the lost histories before Boundary City was established, attempting to piece together what our so-called ‘home’ once looked like. I’m no expert in their field, but I’ve always held these scholars in deep admiration.”

Yu Sheng quietly listened at her side. He found it hard to truly share Bai Li Qing’s sentiment—after all, he wasn’t a native of Borderland—but he respected the passion behind her words. Privately, though, he couldn’t help but think—

[The “Creator,” responsible for this “Second Singularity Explosion,” really had questionable craftsmanship.]

Of course, he knew it was inappropriate to think like this. After all, the universe itself persisted precisely because of that singular explosive moment. He only needed to recall Anka Aila’s homeland—entirely obliterated—to remember how fortunate they were by comparison.

Lost in his own musings, Yu Sheng arrived before the gigantic cubic “building.”

The outer walls were grey-white concrete, utterly devoid of decoration, presenting a suffocating, oppressive presence up close. The connecting bridge extended straight to one upper corner of the cube, where an entrance awaited at the end of the long walkway. The gate was wide enough for two or three vehicles to pass side-by-side, yet compared to the enormous cube, it seemed merely like a tiny opening designed for ants.

Yu Sheng struggled to comprehend how such a structure could have been built or maintained afloat in this dark void. Doubtlessly, it had to be another one of those “advanced technologies” at the Special Affairs Bureau’s disposal.

Following Bai Li Qing, the gateway opened, and Yu Sheng stepped inside the “Containment Facility,” carrying Irene over his shoulder.

Ahead was a spacious corridor, interspersed with security checkpoints, automated sentry guns mounted on the ceiling, sensors scattered around, and surveillance equipment everywhere.

Heavily armed personnel appeared to greet them. After a brief exchange with Bai Li Qing, they silently took the lead.

Yu Sheng observed everything curiously as he walked.

Inside, the Containment Facility’s atmosphere mirrored its exterior—huge concrete structures, harsh lines, surfaces devoid of decoration, and a palette restricted to white and varying shades of grey. So stark was the environment that the black armor of the security guards became the most vibrant “color” present.

This cold, monotonous design gave Yu Sheng a peculiar feeling of déjà vu. Before he could voice this thought, however, Irene suddenly raised her head from his shoulder and blurted out to Bai Li Qing, “This place really lacks any color—just like you.”

Bai Li Qing paid no attention to Doll’s somewhat rude comments, answering calmly instead, “Color serves as a medium for concealment and illusion. Certain contained objects can channel their powers through colors, or even use them to escape control. This ‘container’ is specifically strengthened to counteract such items. As for why this place feels similar to me…that’s merely coincidence.”

“Do Angel Fragments tend to use colors to break free?” Yu Sheng asked curiously.

“No, we haven’t observed any signs that it’s attempting to escape,” Bai Li Qing shook her head. “It’s just that this place has high-level security, along with a fully-equipped laboratory ready to activate at any moment, so the fragment was transferred here.”

As they spoke, they arrived in front of a heavy, grey-white alloy gate. After a series of complicated and meticulous identification and handover procedures, the gate slowly opened.

Beyond was an airlock-like chamber with another door at the opposite end.

But as Yu Sheng was about to step through, one of the receiving personnel suddenly stepped forward, blocking his path. The figure turned toward Bai Li Qing, and through the thick protective helmet came a muffled voice, “Director, does our visitor need additional protective gear?”

“No,” Bai Li Qing shook her head slightly, “he’s the one who took this fragment down.”

Through the thick protective helmet, Yu Sheng couldn’t see the person’s expression, but he clearly noticed their body stiffen momentarily. They stood frozen for two or three seconds before awkwardly withdrawing their arm and stepping back.

“I’ll clarify once again—it wasn’t me who knocked it down; it was the thing itself that didn’t want to live…” Yu Sheng muttered softly to Bai Li Qing.

“I know,” Bai Li Qing replied, moving forward. “But it’s easier to explain this way.”

Yu Sheng shrugged, following her inside.

After passing through the second gate, the real laboratory finally came into view.

The lights were bright, yet everything remained devoid of color. Advanced equipment filled the spacious room, devices whose purposes Yu Sheng couldn’t even guess. At the center stood a complicated circular platform, above which was a mechanical arm hanging from the ceiling, equipped with various analytical and monitoring devices.

Several staff members in heavy protective suits awaited them.

Yu Sheng’s eyes quickly moved past these researchers and immediately focused on the “sample” placed at the platform’s center.

It was a piece of white, semi-transparent crystal, irregularly shaped and about the size of three fists.

It lay there quietly, looking completely harmless.

Yu Sheng suddenly felt justified in his earlier worries to Bai Li Qing. A seemingly harmless piece of white crystal lying at the roadside—no one would guess it was a fragment that had fallen from a “Dark Angel.” If some unlucky soul with innate self-destructive tendencies picked it up, forgetting basic safety, they might casually stuff it into their pocket…

Of course, pocketing something this large casually would require a rather big pocket.

Yu Sheng approached curiously, causing several researchers to watch him with visible tension—some even looked a bit startled. Ignoring them, he closely inspected the crystal for a while, then turned his head slightly toward the Doll sitting on his shoulder, whispering, “See anything special?”

“What’s there to see? It’s just a rock,” Irene shook her head lightly, “although it does have a faint energy signature…weaker than the two chickens Foxy keeps.”

One researcher visibly startled upon hearing the Doll suddenly speak from Yu Sheng’s shoulder, quickly glancing over in surprise before swiftly turning back to Bai Li Qing. “We’ve detected a slight, continuous emission of energy waves from the crystal,” he said seriously. “Its readings have remained remarkably stable over the past few hours. But this ‘radiation’ is extremely weak, practically harmless to humans.”

Bai Li Qing nodded, “Anything else? Any other unusual findings?”

“Yes…and this is its most peculiar characteristic,” the researcher said, retrieving something from a nearby laboratory table and placing it on a tray, handing it to Bai Li Qing.

It was another crystal shard—very similar in color and texture to the larger piece on the platform, though slightly duller and about the size of a pinky finger.

“What is this?” Bai Li Qing asked.

“A Secondary Crystal,” explained the researcher. “It was ‘transformed’ by the Mother Crystal. The piece you’re looking at was merely a silica-rich rock half an hour ago.”

Bai Li Qing’s eyes became deeply serious.

“You mean…it can assimilate surrounding matter?”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation