Ji Minghuan gazed at Restricted Level 1001 from a distance.

The entire memory corridor was collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Tiles on the ceiling opened up with cracks, shattering down piece by piece. The memory curtains on either side of the corridor split open with a "crack," like shards of glass cascading down like rain into the hallway’s interior.

The fragments accumulated deeper and deeper, eventually almost submerging Ji Minghuan and Restricted Level 1001’s pant legs. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In the very last moment, just as the entire memory corridor collapsed with a roar, Ji Minghuan looked up and suddenly witnessed an astonishing scene.

He saw Restricted Level 1001’s spirit form transform into a phosphorescent glow, weaving through the shattered memories, diving into his forehead like a falcon, and merging into his body.

It was as if someone had fired a shot at his forehead; his eyelids fluttered slightly, and he immediately fainted.

After a while, when Ji Minghuan opened his eyes in the darkness, he found himself lying motionless on the bed in the confinement room.

Turning his head to look around, all was dark and silent, as if no one had been there.

In the darkness, the position of the tables and chairs hadn’t changed, with only the TV screen still flickering with black and white static, buzzing gently—Ji Minghuan liked to sleep with the TV on, saying that a bit of noise helped him sleep, and the people at the base hadn’t stopped him.

"It seems 1001 was right; everything that just happened occurred in my spirit. Otherwise... even if Restricted Level 1001 really paused time, the change of position, mine, the Mentor’s and the experimenters’ positions would be noticed, right?"

Thinking of this, Ji Minghuan’s pupils slightly contracted.

At this moment, a vast and intricate memory suddenly flooded his mind, as if a torrential rain was falling, the unexpected sense of isolation and fear making him shiver slightly.

But fortunately, those memories soon returned the same way they came, as if the rain was flowing back into the sky, retracting into the dark clouds, allowing Ji Minghuan to extricate himself from the drowning-like experience.

Soon after, those memories transformed into thousands of books, forcibly confined into a library.

With a "Bang!" the doors of the Spirit Library closed coldly.

The entire world quieted down.

Ji Minghuan lay on the pillow, staring at the dark ceiling for a while, but didn’t rush to head back to the library to flip through Restricted Level 1001’s memories, as they amounted to over a hundred years’ worth.

He rubbed his aching head, let out a long breath, then uncovered the quilt, got out of bed, and said to the penguin-shaped broadcasting equipment:

"Hey, working girl, can you hear me? I want to go to Paradise to play, let me out."

"Who are you calling working girl? Where’s your manners?" Not long after, Koajenna’s cold voice echoed from the broadcasting equipment, sounding unfriendly.

"Otherwise, what should I call you? Off-work girl?" Ji Minghuan retorted disdainfully, getting out of bed and heading towards the metal door in the dark.

Upon hearing this, Koajenna yawned, her tone somewhat softening back to her usual languidness, "Off-work girl is better than working girl, sounds a bit more auspicious... I’m warning you, don’t push my boundaries, I only work, I’m not the boss, I can truly go crazy when I’m supposed to."

"Then I should provoke you more; working girl, working girl, working girl, can I force you to take off my collar?"

"If you keep saying that, I might secretly assassinate your girlfriend." Koajenna said coldly.

"Koajenna, I’m right beside you," the Mentor’s voice came through.

"Did you hear that, the Mentor is right beside you," Ji Minghuan chuckled.

"Just you wait, brat..."

As soon as Koajenna finished speaking, the lights in the confinement room started turning on one by one.

Ji Minghuan paused at the metal door, "Alright, from now on I’ll call you retired lady, doesn’t it sound more auspicious?"

"Granted, you can go to Paradise and play."

As Koajenna’s lazy words fell, the metal door at the entrance of the confinement room rumbled open.

Ji Minghuan looked up, and the experimenters, dressed in heavy protective suits and wearing disinfectant masks, were already waiting outside the door, their silhouettes framed by the bright light.

He glanced at them, then closed his eyes, stepping into the corridor flooded with strong light.

Ji Minghuan followed the experimenters’ steps forward, feeling a chill underfoot, at this moment Kong Youling and Shang Xiaoqi were still waiting for him in the children’s Paradise.

As he walked forward, he split his consciousness, descended, finally arriving at the inner space of the Spirit Library.

At dusk, the setting sun was red, its blood-red afterglow angled through the windows into the interior of the library, the evening breeze flipping the book pages, rustling gently.

Ji Minghuan opened his eyes, standing at the very center of the library.

Looking around, he didn’t see any new residents of the spiritual world, only the enormous Red Dragon.

Red Dragon Wales, as usual, was lounging in a corner by the window, drinking afternoon tea with reading glasses on.

"Grandpa Long, where are the others?" Ji Minghuan asked, "Why don’t I see them; could it be that we’ve truly merged?" he said, patting himself, "But why don’t I feel anything?"

"Look up," said the Red Dragon without lifting its head.

"Look up?"

Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and silently looked up, only to notice there were five figures hanging from ropes on the ceiling, namely Black Cocoon, Chess Player, Dark Shark, Nian Beast, and... a stranger.

Looking closely, it was a young man cloaked in white, with a face covered in white gauze.