Cheng Tingyu picked up [an inconspicuous accessory] and fiddled with it for a while, confirming that the item had the functions of [customizable appearance] and [concealing its own abilities]—both determined by her "Secret Eye" ability.
Considering the potential need to frequently observe her own data in the future, Cheng Tingyu first defined the tool as a small, flip-top mirror that could be used as a pendant.
Her gaze lingered on the smooth surface of the mirror—
Cheng Tingyu stared at the ellipsis that only he could see, feeling that the relevant content had been thoroughly concealed.
[...]
After realizing that [an accessory with no sense of presence] was not only effective on others but also worked equally on its owner, Cheng Tingyu had to abandon the idea of using it as a mirror and instead defined its design as a very ordinary-looking phone charm.
Cheng Tingyu's movements were unhurried, her entire being seemed to have entered a peculiar rhythm. If she could see her own reflection at this moment, she would notice that her right eye, originally just a deeper shade of black, now had a strange glimmer flowing within it.
——After clearing the dungeon, part of its power was also taken away by the player.
The forum posts mentioned that when players first enter the spiritual world, to prevent becoming overly excited or emotionally lost, they can consider using some incense made from ground green mint, sage, and carrot powder—these items can be easily found in the pharmacies of F0631 City.
To be on the safe side, players can also keep a small knife at hand, using pain to alert themselves.
Cheng Tingyu had everything prepared. The incense in the room had been burning for a while. She lay back on the bed again, holding a small folding knife in her hand.
All the sounds gradually fell silent, the edges of the house softened bit by bit, water stains seeped from the ceiling, growing darker and darker, eventually turning into an inky deep blue, flowing and pooling downward. The blue seawater accumulated more and more, everything began transforming into the ocean, the bed legs submerged, and the walls on all sides collapsed into the boundless tide.
Cheng Tingyu lay motionless on his back, quietly observing the wondrous scene before him.
In her perception, the bed beneath her was gently swaying, like a dry leaf accidentally falling onto the surface of the water.
The withered leaf gradually became soaked by the seawater and began to sink deeper into the ocean.
Her body gradually submerged into the deep sea, and the light in her field of vision dimmed accordingly.
Slowly, Cheng Tingyu could see nothing at all—she had completely lost her sense of spatial orientation.
In front, behind, left, right, above, below, everything looked exactly the same.
The tranquil, dark seawater completely enveloped Cheng Tingyu, and everything seemed to have been paused. At this moment, it felt as if even time had fallen into an eternal stasis.
[Mental value data open.]
[Mental Value (Mild Madness): 70/120]
Two lines of text, in an indescribable manner, appeared directly in Cheng Tingyu's mind.
Cheng Tingyu passively accepted all the new information. She took a moment to assess her own condition and finally, belatedly, realized that something was off.
Although she had seen the reminders in the forum and knew that players would experience a shock to their San value when entering the mental world, she hadn't expected the shock to manifest in such an imperceptible way.
Unknowingly, his sanity had already been eroded by the madness that bred in the silence and darkness.
Cheng Tingyu's heart was filled with conflicting thoughts. At one moment, he felt he was in a dangerous place and needed to leave quickly, and at another moment, he thought it wasn't so bad to just stay quietly like this.
Complex emotions repeatedly washed over Cheng Tingyu's mind, and the last shred of her clarity was teetering on the brink. At that moment, a strange, piercing pain emanated from her right eye.
——Open your eyes.
A strange, spiritual force was urging her on.
——Open your eyes!
The closed right eye was trapped under a heavy shackle. Cheng Tingyu, following the desire in her heart, struggled to complete the act of opening it. She could even feel a force surging incessantly within her pupil.
All players, upon entering for the first time, need to open their eyes in the sea of consciousness. However, the power of the "Secret Eye" is closely related to vision, making the act of opening their eyes particularly difficult for them.
The veins on Cheng Tingyu's hand stood out as she wholeheartedly felt the changes in power and tried to guide it. In her perception, it seemed as if a storm was gathering and swirling within her small eyes. Finally, the shackles on her pupils seemed to shatter, scattering abruptly. The shimmering light spilled from her eyes like burning flames.
At the moment he opened his eyes, Cheng Tingyu had already seen the light.
...
[True Name Manifestation.]
[Level data open——]
[Name: Cheng Tingyu]
[True Name: Secret Eye · Appraiser]
[Level: [No Light]]
Cooling Period: 0
At the moment he sensed his true name, Cheng Tingyu inexplicably felt the strange power in his right eye become stronger and more obedient, with a sense of familiarity that seemed to say, "Since we've been introduced by name, let's cooperate more from now on."
As for the [Lightless] after the rank, Cheng Tingyu had reason to believe that it was an objective description of the pitch-black surroundings.
However, Cheng Tingyu also remembered that many posts had mentioned that after entering the spiritual world, players should be able to see a light representing their upward direction. She did see the light, but it wasn't just a single point—
But rather, bit by bit.
Unknown "stars" light up and extinguish in the far distance.
When Cheng Tingyu saw the light spot, the light spot saw her too.
[Staring directly at the unspeakable horror, sanity decreases.]
[Current Sanity Level (Moderate Madness): 60/120]
Cheng Tingyu: "..."
She now understood why it was often said that "Mito" could easily die on the spot.
In what was clearly such a quiet mental world, Cheng Tingyu felt that a cacophony of disturbing murmurs gradually began to echo in his ears.
Cheng Tingyu could even feel his thoughts gradually becoming sluggish.
"The 'Mystic Eyes' are indeed a dangerous ability. They can see too many lights, making it impossible to discern the correct path to ascend."
Cheng Tingyu restrained the chaotic thoughts in his mind, shifted his gaze away from the different points of light, and finally—
[Looking directly at it, the mental value increases.]
[Current Sanity Level (Moderate Madness): 65/120]
Just when her mental state was on the verge of complete madness, her appraiser's ability returned a piece of information that was different from before.
——She saw a safe point of light.
Cheng Tingyu took a deep breath, barely gathering the last bit of clarity, and reached his fingers towards where the folding knife should be. He made a forceful cut, using the pain to pull himself out of the mental realm.
In the field of vision, the nearly pitch-black seawater quietly receded.
Although the process of "opening her eyes" felt exceptionally long, Cheng Tingyu had not actually lingered in the spiritual world for too long. When her consciousness returned to reality, the incense in the dish had not yet burned out.
Cheng Tingyu sat up from the bed, his face frighteningly pale, and his black bangs were damp with cold sweat.
The actions just now had consumed a considerable amount of her energy. Although she had been lying in bed the entire time, her stamina, which had originally been fully restored, had already dropped to "52/100."
Cheng Tingyu rested for a while before getting up and going downstairs to get a fast-food energy meal specifically provided for the financially strapped in F0631 City. As food, the energy meal didn't taste too bad; to describe it in detail, it was like mixing not-too-sweet chocolate with rice porridge.
The hotel staff noticed something unusual about the guest and approached to ask, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Cheng Tingyu couldn't help but laugh: "Not really—at most, I just have a bit of a problem with my head."
The hotel staff closed their mouths, their expressions slightly peculiar, faces full of reasonable retorts to the guest's words—shouldn't having a problem with one's mind be described as more than "just"?
Although the person in front of them seemed quite abnormal, since the other party had not shown any obvious signs of aggression throughout, there was no immediate need to contact the security bureau for handling. Once the guest returned to their room, the staff finally felt a bit relieved, thinking they were lucky that at least today, the guest's mental state was poor enough to still abide by the law.
Cheng Tingyu closed the door and walked to the bedside to sit down. She intentionally tried to stop thinking, but couldn't prevent one thought after another from surfacing. Her mind was filled with a tumult of emotions—fine, fuzzy tremors, fear, curiosity, and doubt. Yet, among all these emotions, the one with the most overwhelming presence was a kind of wild, uncontrollable joy.
She hugged her arms around herself, first remaining still, then tilting her face upward, she let out a low laugh.
"What should I do?" Cheng Tingyu looked at herself in the mirror, at the line that only her eyes could see, "Mental Value (Moderate Madness): 68/120," and smiled as she spoke to her reflection, "It seems like there's really something wrong with my mind."
She reached out and tapped her temple, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily, then, unable to restrain her curiosity, she began to touch her right eye, tracing the shape of her eyeball through the eyelid with her fingertips.
Cheng Tingyu was somewhat surprised to discover that even eyes endowed with the power of the secret pupil could feel pain from external forces.
The scent of incense permeated the house, and the coolness of mint flowed through the air.
Cheng Tingyu lowered her hand—her emotions gradually became calm.
...
[Current Sanity Level (Mild Madness): 75/125]
The mirror's reflection displayed Cheng Tingyu's current state in data form—as her mental value recovered, the unusual expression on her face had already faded away.
As the symptoms of madness began to subside, Cheng Tingyu gradually realized how severe his loss of control had been.
——The spiritual world is an extremely dangerous place, and the ability of the "Secret Eye" carries immense peril.
"The appraiser..."
Cheng Tingyu, feeling that he had regained basic self-control, opened the forum.
The commission from Wei Xusheng had been confirmed as completed. She had newly acquired two hundred points, becoming an unremarkable Level 2 user.
——So far, Cheng Tingyu is quite satisfied with the way the forum has been upgraded. Although it's a bit of a grind, it doesn't require spending money, which is very friendly for poor users..