The concept of consciousness space is formed by the host's perception and memory of the world.
For example, if you were to find a novel tropical fruit in the consciousness space of someone who isn't familiar with it, its taste would certainly differ greatly from reality. It might even grow on trees or in bushes, ranging from the size of a watermelon to as small as a cherry.
Due to human limitations, some fuzzy memories or subjective misconceptions can make certain parts of the consciousness space appear strange or illogical...
So, with Ai-chan leading Fu Hua, they stepped into the elevator from the bridge and, after a few seconds appeared in another place which was also possible.
"Schicksal Armory, Schicksal Armory! Top-notch weapons and Stigmatas! Ten draws will guarantee a five-star item! Help you become the new Generation C! Come and take a look, everyone!"
With only the huge character "Wei" on his face and the bald man's mouth yelling strenuously, passersby were not very interested in the items he was selling.
Fu Hua could even hear passersby muttering,
"Armory, armory, isn't it supposed to help you become a master of weapons? If you can't get what you want, you'd better not open this gacha pool!"
It seemed like Big Wei heard what the passersby were saying. He took out a remote control and pressed a button towards the screen playing the Schicksal Armory advertisement. The screen turned, showing "Get a full set of equipment with up to 120 draws, get a precise supply card for every 10 draws, and get up to 40 precise supply cards in total."
At the next moment, the crowd erupted into excited cheers, crowding around the door of the bald man's shop.
"I thought we agreed not to roll?!"
"If you don't roll, I will! If you got better rolls than mine, I'll kill you!"
Fu Hua looked at the chaotic scene with a complicated expression. "This should be the equipment department. Indeed, when new equipment is released, it does attract a lot of people... Is this how the Schicksal Equipment Department looks in your eyes?"
Many passersby crowded around Big Wei's shop, leaving the street empty. Fu Hua could see the surrounding scenery clearly:
This was a street that looked like a bustling downtown area, surrounded by tall buildings with shops lining the streets, and colorful neon lights shining even in broad daylight.
Higher up, huge screens played videos alternately—
"TeriTeri! The world's number one idol, Theresa, is on stage!"
Holding a sakura-colored microphone, Theresa performed on stage, her cute songs and dances eliciting cheers from the audience below.
Fu Hua: "?"
Ai-chan, who was leading the way in front, noticed Fu Hua stopping in her tracks, looking shocked. Following her gaze, Ai-chan saw the video of Theresa dancing. Ai-chan pouted and said indignantly,
"Huh, shouldn't the number one idol be Ai-chan? Theresa is only considered number one because of Judah's help! How could she be called the number one idol?!"
"All thanks to... Judah?"
"Yeah, she's just a mascot, really. She can't even do laundry or cooking, just sits around drinking her bitter melon juice and reading comics all day!" Ai-chan sighed heavily, "If it weren't for Judah helping her tidy up the room and take care of her personal hygiene, she would probably have turned into a smelly white puffball long ago. How could she still come out to be an idol?!"
Fu Hua opened her mouth to say something but didn't know where to start.
So far, it seemed like Theresa was serving as a mascot at Schicksal... But what exactly was Luo Lin thinking?!
Theresa may be a mascot, but she's still a high-ranking member of Schicksal. She wouldn't go out and dance as an idol, would she?
Caught in confusion, Fu Hua looked up at the sky and saw a red mechanical dragon flying overhead, making strange noises: "Roar, pots and pans!"
At the same time, a pair of boxing gloves with a girl with silver hair and black skin chased after the dragon, shouting loudly,
"Captain, wait for me! Wait for me!"
Looking in the direction they were flying, Fu Hua saw a pale blue sky, with even farther away, a layer of beautiful clouds covering the sun, although those clouds seemed somewhat vague, flickering...
As if... there was something hidden behind this layer of sky?
"Clearance sale! Cat Signets for 60 coins each, buy three get one free core Signet! Buy more, get more free Signets!"
At this moment, a clear voice interrupted Fu Hua's contemplation. She blinked, and the previous flickering disappeared like an illusion, and the clouds lazily moved away, revealing the scorching sun.
She silently noted this phenomenon and looked towards the direction of the voice.
There was a mysterious girl wearing a cloak, holding up an advertisement board, setting up a stall on the street, with various glowing badges piled on the table, looking quite attractive.
There was also a shiny, chubby cat lying on the stall, lazily staring at Fu Hua.
So Fu Hua asked curiously, "Ai-chan, who is this...?"
"Oh! This one!" Ai-chan looked at the stall, "This one is the famous itinerant merchant, with a mixed reputation. Buying things from her is very luck-dependent—every time, the items she sells are different, and it's completely unclear whether you'll encounter what you want!"
"Oh, by the way, her cookies are quite delicious." Ai-chan suddenly remembered something and added, "Do you want to go take a look?"
"Merchant...? Sure, it's good to take a look."
Fu Hua licked her lips, about to take a step forward to greet the other party, but then she saw an unknown black-and-white creature rushing over from a distance, crashing straight into the cloak girl's stall.
After a loud noise, the flashing badges fell to the ground, and the girl fell to the ground from the shock, her hood falling back.
"Phew! Luckily, I dodged it quickly!"
Fu Hua stared in astonishment at the face revealed under the hood. Something seemed to be swirling in her mind, as if something very distant and familiar had been gently touched, but she couldn't recall anything upon careful consideration.
"Black Nian Beast! Why did you, a swindler of the martial arts world, hit my stall?!"
"Squeak squeak squeak squeak!"
Fu Hua frowned tightly, watching as a black, chubby bird that looked very similar to the cat she had just seen emerged from the pile of badges, even wearing old-fashioned sunglasses and carrying a bulging old cloth bag slung over its shoulder. It made panicked cries and fled in a hurry.
No, why did this thing look so much like a bird she had once raised? Except that it was black instead of red.
"Submit to be arrested!"
A flame flew past her ear, hitting the black bird trying to escape directly. After the explosion, it lay on the ground like a character from a comic book, emitting black smoke and rolling its eyes.
Wearing a police uniform, a man with silver-white hair ran over holding a burning sword in one hand and solemnly holding the struggling black bird.
He held up handcuffs and made a solemn declaration, "For selling counterfeit and shoddy products, and deceiving tourists of their possessions, come with me!"
"Squeak squeak!!!"
The stall owner donned her hood again, laughing heartily, "Haha, Black Nian Beast, you've been caught red-handed!"
A red hash symbol appeared on Black Nian's forehead as it angrily pointed its wing at the hooded girl, emitting a series of sharp cries.
The silver-haired policeman seemed to understand Black Nian's voice, shifting his gaze to the hooded girl.
The hooded girl waved her hands repeatedly, "Oh, Boss! All my goods are genuine, priced fairly, and I even give discounts to regulars! I pay taxes on time every time, never evading or cheating..."
"But it's talking about your source of goods." The silver-haired policeman snorted, revealing handcuffs. "Come with me!"
"Sigh..."
The policeman led away a suspect, leaving Fu Hua standing bewildered by the ruined stall.
...He was holding the Judgment of Shamash, right? But if that was indeed the Divine Key, why didn't the blast just now blow up the entire street? What was that strange creature? And...
"Miss Fu Hua, Miss Fu Hua? Shall we continue forward?"
"Let me gather my thoughts..."
Fu Hua rubbed her temples.
She had delved into others' consciousness spaces many times with Fenghuang Down, encountering ruthless individuals like spies, assassins, punishers, and mercenaries. Their consciousness spaces were sinister and dangerous, resembling demon dens. Even so, not once did Fu Hua hesitate, even for a second.
Of course, she had also seen the consciousness spaces of other Valkyries, mostly for their mental healing, sorting out their accumulated depression and resentment. These spaces felt oppressive or lonely...
In this way, Fu Hua could say she was quite experienced in consciousness spaces.
But Luo Lin's consciousness space... even for her... It seemed a bit too "fantastic"...