Chapter Twenty-Four: Four-Dimensional Space

  Big Lucky Eyes Scanning Everywhere

  "The magnetic field is very strong here, and the demon king took advantage of this to create another space."

  "What do you mean by that?" I asked calmly.

  Da Fu's face showed an unknown expression, turned sideways towards me, his hand slowly stretched out to the wall.

  "To put it simply, this magnetic field has already caused our eyes to judge that there is a problem, which is why when you cut a hole in the wall, we see it automatically healing itself."

  "You're saying this is another space," I said.

  "Hmm"! Da Gui nodded first, then shook his head again.

  "Strictly speaking, we are in another space within the real space." His voice was very old, like an old man who is about to die. "It can also be said that we are now in a fantasy of this real world."

  My head is bursting

  "You should tell us how to get out of here, I'm not interested in anything else!"

  Dàguì ke le yī xià

  "The space we live in has one-dimensional space, two-dimensional space, and three-dimensional space. The space here is a four-dimensional space, which is the gap split from the previous three spaces. It's a space inside the gap. Now try to look at anything here with only one eye and see what happens!"

  I was half-believing and half-doubting, unable to make a decision, so I closed my left eye and looked around in all directions.

  This, how can this be! I see that the staircase we are currently on is actually a flat graphic, and the three-dimensional walls around us are like a piece of paper, without any real objects. I look at Oil Water Bottle and others, and they are like a real person's drawing paper, standing in front of me. The entire space, staircase, and walls under my eyes are constantly splitting and replicating, the staircase and walls are constantly lengthening and deepening. Everything here is like a piece of painting paper that has been set up, and we are people who have been drawn into it!

  "Ah"... I slowly exhaled a mouthful of mixed air, now I'm certain that Da Fu's point of view is correct. We are currently in a four-dimensional space within a real-world rift, perhaps we will never be able to leave here. Grandma, was my first tomb raid going to end with me being trapped to death? My heart really can't accept it.

  "Have you thought of any way?" I asked Da Fu.

  Dàfú didn't know what he was thinking, staring blankly at the wall. After a while, he slowly opened his mouth and said, "It's not that difficult, we just need to find that three-dimensional stone step."

  I'm going crazy, when will this end? The stone steps and walls here are infinitely prolonged every second, every minute. When will we find a way out? Our water and food can last at most three days with tightened belts. Is this not playing with me? Isn't it simple?

  "How long is this stone staircase? When will we find what we're looking for?" I said

  Dàfú xiǎngle xiǎngle

  "Do you know about the Hanging Soul Staircase?" asked Da Fu.

  What's this "soul ladder" thing? I shook my head in ignorance.

  Dàfú pointed at the oil drum sleeping on the steps in front of me and said, "I don't understand either, but my boss should know, just help wake him up."

  I said with some puzzlement, "Why don't you go?"

  Dà Guì paused for a moment.

  "Where is the rule that subordinates disturb their superiors?" Da Fu said slowly.

  My forehead is covered with black lines, I have no choice but to go up, lift my foot and kick the oil drum's hand. Unexpectedly, before even touching it, this guy actually hugged my foot and started using it as a pillow. I had a burning fire in my heart, furrowed my brow and tried to pull my foot back with force. Unexpectedly, this guy let go of my foot, and with too much strength, I almost fell over. Looking at the oil drum again, he's still sleeping soundly. I couldn't take it anymore, took off my shoe and was about to throw it at the oil drum's face.

  "Lu brothers, don't take it seriously, I'm already awake." You Shui Gu said with his hands rubbing his eyes.

  I put on my shoes again, carefully placed the oil bottle and stone statue in my arms, and my eyes didn't forget to sweep over her a couple of times.

  Here is the translation:

  "As for the Hanging Soul Staircase, as far as I know, the 23rd floor's stone steps have a design principle that has been lost for thousands of years. Many mathematicians and scientists are obsessed with studying this thing. Some people think it's a kind of numerical hypnosis, intentionally leaving behind a mark or digital information to confuse people, playing a psychological suggestive role. Mathematicians believe that this is a complex numerical concept, where you seem to be in a single staircase, but in reality, it's like a maze, with crescent-shaped triangles or other symbols being traps. The symbols are actually on the steps, gradually deviating from the path, and these steps and stone walls may have been coated with an ancient secret formula that absorbs light, making it even harder to recognize directions. Once you notice this information, it will cause errors in your judgment, thinking you're walking in a straight line when in fact you're unknowingly taking a detour, circling around until you completely lose your sense of direction. The difference in height between the steps is very small, possibly designed to create an illusion of high and low differences. Until the Warring States period, Lu Ban used this principle to make many mechanisms for military defense, until the Eastern Han dynasty when Cao Cao used the Hanging Soul Staircase as a defensive mechanism for ancient tombs to prevent tomb raiders. However, the Witch King is from the Western Zhou period, and these two things are not from the same era, so it's impossible. But this thing has similarities with the production of the Hanging Soul Staircase, as the saying goes, 'one skill refined, all tasks connected', that's the principle."

  "So you know how to get out of this damned place!" I said.

  Oil Barrel rummaged through his equipment bag, pulled out a piece of paper and pen, put them on the ground, sat down and wrote a bunch of mathematical formulas on it, probably to calculate the exit location. I felt surprised, how could a tomb raider write mathematical formulas? I took out a cigarette from my pocket, lit it up and watched him, now all our hopes were pinned on Oil Barrel.

  If I smoke a cigarette for five minutes, now I have smoked four cigarettes, and the oil-water belly has counted more than twenty minutes. Looking at the paper on the ground, it is densely covered with formulas and numbers like ants. Suddenly, the oil-water belly patted its stomach, and I thought it knew how to get out and asked: "Is it written?"

  Oil barrel turned around and looked at me, slowly saying: "There isn't any, the stone stairs here infinitely copy and paste, just like a computer, it's just those omitted decimal points".

  It's all over, even Oil Water Belly can't think of a way out. If one person gives up, we'll all give up, and even if there's hope to get out, it will be zero. Da Fu said that this is a four-dimensional space, its principle is similar to the Suspended Soul Ladder, but the huge alien magnetic field changes the elements of this four-dimensional space, causing infinite splitting and replication of new individuals from the original object. So the original stone steps must move with the splitting of new individuals, or remain still. Da Fu said that as long as one eye can see the three-dimensional stone steps and stone walls, there is an exit. I picked up the oil water belly's formula paper that he had casually thrown on the ground, it was densely filled with numbers and mathematical formulas like ', and a section of the stone steps here was drawn on it. Oil Water Belly looks careless, but actually does things very carefully, I looked at the drawing of the stone steps on the paper, there were 23 steps in total, like an upward vertical 's'. I looked at it, my brow furrowed more and more, still can't think of a way out, and lay down on the wall in despair.

  I don't know how long it took, but Oil Water Belly crouched down in front of me and handed me a compressed biscuit. For the first time, I felt a little moved, staring at the compressed biscuit in Oil Water Belly's hand.

  "Have you thought of any way out?" I asked.

  "I've already told Da Fu and Da Gui to think of a way, unexpectedly they can't even eat one meal, we're full but still thinking of ways, our stomachs are weak, right, brother?" said You Shui Du.

  This guy is quite optimistic, I also know a fat Vietnamese businessman in his 30s who has been caught by border police 18 times while sneaking into China. Once, he was shot and lost a kidney on the right side. You'd think that if an ordinary person loses a kidney, they'd be worried about drinking too much and hurting their remaining kidney. But this fat guy still can't hold his urine to this day. I've had drinks with him several times, and he's very optimistic. He told me that Chinese police have great marksmanship, and it was as if they intentionally shot out the kidney stone on his right side to cure him. Are all fat people optimistic?

  Think about it, one kidney, that's how optimistic an attitude is needed. Of course, for those who have seen through the world, it doesn't really matter.

  I took the oil-water biscuit and slowly chewed it in my mouth, but being trapped here, even eating the best food is like eating wax candles, there's no flavor at all! And looking at the rich and noble people, they're just staring at me and Oil Water Belly eating, not even thinking of a way out!!