Chapter 829: Beyond the Platform

829. Beyond the Platform

"Why do I feel like it's staring at me?"

Little Spiral also landed on the platform. She looked up at the giant octopus that occupied the entire sky, and a sense of unease crept over her.

"Probably because you look delicious."

Lin Ye observed the positions and trajectories of those tendrils, and he quickly realized that unless those tendrils moved slowly, there was no way they could get through.

"I suggest we retreat. There should be other exits down below."

Margaret didn't want to risk going up there. Getting through the Spiral Maze was their self-selected assignment for the practical class. If this project didn't work out, they could just switch to another one.

"I think... wait, was this thing here before?"

Little Spiral suddenly turned to look behind her.

Lin Ye also glanced back, but he didn't recall there being anything else on the platform.

In the center of the platform stood a conch shell engraved with intricate patterns. The opening of the conch shell was nearly two meters tall, so they could simply walk right in.

"It shouldn't... have been here. I can't remember clearly."

Margaret looked at the conch shell before her with a confused expression.

"You're remembering wrong. This conch shell has always been here. I even pointed it out to you when I came up."

Lin Ye walked toward the opening of the conch shell. If this thing hadn't shown up, he would have started doubting the strength of his Special Ability.

"...Really? I guess there's nothing wrong with that."

Little Spiral quickly accepted Lin Ye's explanation.

Although Margaret still had some hesitation, she followed behind Little Spiral anyway.

The interior of the conch shell was a plain spiral structure. There were no branching paths and no strange objects. After walking only a dozen or so meters, Lin Ye spotted the exit.

Beyond the exit was another platform. Lin Ye glanced back and saw that they had walked out of an identical conch shell.

"Where is this?"

Margaret had already pushed aside her lingering doubts from before.

"It seems to be the depths of Spiral City."

All around the platform, twisted buildings floated in the air. Those structures were like living creatures, constantly writhing and contorting their bodies.

Directly above the platform, spiral force fields of varying intensities were packed tightly together, stitched into a single twisted whole.

The spiral force fields above were already visible to the naked eye. There was no need to get close to sense their overwhelming intensity.

It seemed this platform was the only safe area here. The moment they stepped off it, those terrifying force fields would tear them into shreds of flesh.

"I just remembered I haven't finished my homework yet. I'm heading back first."

Little Spiral turned around and made a break for the conch shell.

"Huh? Wait... where's that... thing?"

Little Spiral ran to the center of the platform, only to forget what she was supposed to be doing.

"It seems like we moved here through... some kind of object, but now that object is gone."

Margaret clutched her head, struggling to recall any information about that object.

"Why is it... could it be that the exit is right here?"

Lin Ye walked to the edge of the platform and circled around it once. The platform was less than a hundred square meters, and beyond it, twisted architectural structures filled the surroundings.

Those structures bared smiles at them, like a group of diners gathered around a dining table.

Lin Ye searched all around but still couldn't find where the exit was.

"Sigh, little bro, we might have to die our way back. What about you? Need me to help fulfill your last wishes?"

Little Spiral patted Lin Ye on the shoulder, speaking in a tone of great regret.

"Brother, I suggest you all calm down first. If you die in a place like this, I might end up being the one fulfilling YOUR last wishes."

Lin Ye wasn't sure what backup plans they had, but something was very wrong here.

If that card hadn't intended to kill him, then this place shouldn't be a dead end.

Of course, there was another possibility: the conch didn't dare linger here for long and planned to come pick him up later.

Lin Ye looked up at the spiral force fields that had merged into a single whole, and suddenly understood the function of this platform.

This was probably an observation deck, a place to observe the structures of various spiral creatures and spiral force fields.

'The problem is, I don't have any mental energy right now...'

If Lin Ye could use mental energy, he could quickly learn these spiral structures and gain a thorough understanding of all kinds of spiral force fields and spiral creatures.

'Could I really have to observe with the naked eye?'

That was asking a bit much of him. Even with his glasses on, he couldn't perceive the way spiral force fields operated with just his eyes.

Lin Ye shared his speculations with Margaret and Little Spiral, who were still searching for an exit. He had a nagging feeling there was something here he wasn't seeing.

"Huh? I can barely accept you calling this a viewing platform, but you actually want me to study spiral force fields here?"

Little Spiral felt Lin Ye's forehead. She figured he was at least eighty percent scared out of his mind.

"It is indeed a bit difficult, but this platform definitely has some function. So let me rephrase the question: without using mental energy, how are we supposed to learn about spiral knowledge here?"

Lin Ye stared at the nearest spiral creature, but no matter how hard he looked, all he could see was a twisted structure constantly changing its form.

"Why do we HAVE to learn spiral knowledge? If something really is coming to pick us up later, isn't it fine to just rest here for a while? This kind of scenery isn't something you get to see every day."

Margaret lay flat on the platform, gazing up at the ever-shifting collection of force fields above, already planning to include this sight in her practical class report.

"It really is rare, but it's a shame we can't use mental energy. Observing with the naked eye just doesn't quite cut it... Unless we jump in there and feel it with our own bodies?"

Little Spiral lay down beside Margaret, her expression perfectly calm.

"...You're right. Knowledge can never be fully mastered. I really should take a rest."

Lin Ye lay down on Margaret's other side. Staring at the mass of spiral force fields in the sky, a thought suddenly struck him.

"Jumping in... feeling it with my body... That might actually be a method... Feasibility... But I don't have mental energy right now..."

Lin Ye fixed his gaze on the spiral force fields above, continuously mulling over the feasibility of that idea.

"You're not seriously thinking about going in there to feel it out, are you? Don't be stupid. You'll actually die."

The platform was dead silent. Both Little Spiral and Margaret had heard Lin Ye muttering to himself.

"It's true that the chance of death is extremely high... but I still want to try."

The main thing was that he was still in the middle of a simulation. Even if he died in the spiral force field, it would just mean starting over. And even if he couldn't use his Special Ability afterward, he could complete the task through other means.

If he hadn't entered the Spiral Maze, Little Spiral and Margaret wouldn't have ended up in a place like this either.

The conch shell had brought him here for a reason, and it certainly wasn't so he could sightsee. There had to be some kind of problem at play here.

"Ugh, here. Catch."

Little Spiral tossed a silver coin to Lin Ye.

"What is this?"

Lin Ye caught the coin. The back was engraved with intricate patterns, and the front bore only a strange scratch mark.

"A resurrection coin."

Little Spiral answered casually.