Chapter 485 - 482: Extraterrestrial Object

Chapter 485: Chapter 482: Extraterrestrial Object

"What is that? An eye?"

Mo Ling saw the edge of that "searchlight."

No, that wasn’t a searchlight, nor was it an eye.

It was a—lens.

A massive, circular convex lens, like a profound eye, quietly watched the earth. Mottled light and shadows were reflected in its deep surface.

The rust drifting through the air, the decapitated Antlered Apes, the corroded weapons, the cornered transport team, the brilliant starlight...

These blurry shadows flickered within the lens. It seemed to be watching everything, yet it also felt as if everything was born from it.

VMMMMM!

The sound that enveloped the circular area was actually coming from it—or rather, from the giant wheel behind the lens.

The wheel spun continuously. As it turned, everything on the lens shifted and changed, as if all of history was rotating along with it.

A black, belt-like object scrolled over the wheel like a conveyor belt, occasionally making a stuttering "CLACK" sound. Each time, the filter between heaven and earth seemed to tremble.

Mo Ling gasped. He could finally see what this thing was.

It was a—projector!

Mo Ling instantly understood where that strange sense of unreality had come from.

’I’ve been watching a history film! Of course it feels unreal!’

There was no "activated time," no humans who had traveled from the future...

All of it was just an image cast by this projector.

It was simply replaying everything it had once recorded!

High in the sky, Mo Ling was completely stunned after seeing the projector.

Who would have thought that such a massive projector was hidden in the skies above the seemingly empty Sky Island.

At the same time, countless questions rose in Mo Ling’s mind:

’Who put this projector here?’

’How is it making the past affect the present?’

’Why can’t I see it from the ground?’

’What’s the purpose of it continuously projecting this "history film" onto the ground?’

These questions drove Mo Ling to continue flying upward, drawing closer to the projector.

The colossal projector stood in the center of the sky, piercing the clouds like a majestic airborne castle.

Its body was made of a hard, dark alloy with an incredibly smooth painted finish. This created a stark contrast with the surrounding sky, making it look very surreal.

The giant lens he had just seen was merely the projector’s lens. This colossal eye of the deep sky stared silently down at the earth, showing no reaction to Mo Ling’s arrival.

Closer to the machine, the "VMMM" of machinery and the occasional stuttering sounds became more pronounced. A huge film reel spun constantly, pulling along a black film.

With every gentle turn, countless moments of history slid past on that film.

There were several large knobs on top of the projector, but no one was operating them. They would sometimes turn slightly, as if an invisible projectionist was controlling the film.

Mo Ling looked at this massive work of art and couldn’t resist flying higher.

Just as he was about to reach the lens, he was finally stopped.

However, what stopped him wasn’t a projectionist, but a—bottle cap.

A small, red plastic bottle cap, just floating in the air, blocking Mo Ling’s path.

Mo Ling didn’t make any rash moves, simply staring at the bottle cap.

"Are you new here?"

Suddenly, the bottle cap spoke—and in a human language, no less. This left Mo Ling even more bewildered. ’Just what kind of place have I come to?’

"How come you can’t even talk? So dumb..."

Mo Ling’s stunned silence earned the bottle cap’s disdain. The cap circled the Block once before coming to its right side and starting to push it forcefully.

"You! You can’t stay here! You’ll bother Lord Ying! You’re blocking the lens!"

"Can you understand me? Get out of here!"

Hearing the bottle cap’s words, Mo Ling grew even more confused.

’Lord Ying? Is that the projector?’

’Could it be an animated projector? And an animated bottle cap?’

Mo Ling thought for a moment and decided to wait and see. He controlled the Block and flew off to the side, following the direction the bottle cap was pushing.

"Not bad, not bad. For a newbie, you’re pretty smart to understand what I mean." The bottle cap realized Mo Ling had moved on his own and began to praise him.

"When I first got here, I couldn’t even understand what anyone was saying. I almost broke Lord Ying’s film. Don’t be like me."

"How about this! You follow me and don’t wander off!"

The bottle cap bumped against Mo Ling, signaling for him to hurry up and follow.

Mo Ling hesitated for only a moment before following.

"So smart." Mo Ling’s decisive action earned another compliment from the bottle cap, who seemed very pleased with him.

"Remember this for next time: don’t block the front of the lens. It’ll affect the projection. The picture below might go missing, like there’s a hole in it..."

"No, not a hole... it’s..."

The bottle cap seemed to realize its vocabulary was a bit lacking. It stammered, trying to explain the danger of blocking the lens, but it didn’t seem to understand the principles of projection itself, so it couldn’t make it clear.

"Oh, forget it. Just don’t block the lens, got it?" The bottle cap bumped the Block.

Mo Ling quickly controlled the Block to bump it back, but he didn’t manage the force well and sent the bottle cap tumbling through the air for a few flips.

"Whoa, you’re really strong... But you’re so smart! You understood so quickly."

Even though Mo Ling had knocked it so hard it could barely fly straight, it kept praising him. Its initial disdain had vanished without a trace.

Soon, the two of them flew to the middle section of the projector.

The bottle cap led Mo Ling near the film reel and circled it, seemingly looking for something.

Soon, the bottle cap found its target.

It was a floating black cloth, pressed tightly against the black film. As the reel moved, the film continuously passed under the cloth, being wiped clean and new.

The bottle cap flew excitedly to the cloth’s side. "Old Bu, I found a newbie! Can I bring it along to work with us?"

The black cloth, called "Old Bu," lay there quietly, motionless, like an inanimate object.

"A newbie?" A muffled voice came from the cloth, like someone speaking from under a blanket.

"How are there still newbies coming? Are you sure it’s not a spy sent by those Madmen?" Old Bu seemed very suspicious of Mo Ling’s origins.

"Do you think those Madmen have the brains to send a spy? All they think about all day is fighting and killing, isn’t it?" the bottle cap shot back.

"Besides, it seems really docile, completely different from those Madmen." As it spoke, the bottle cap bumped Mo Ling again.

This time, Mo Ling understood the hint and didn’t bump back.

"See? Isn’t it docile?" the bottle cap said excitedly to Old Bu.