Chapter 723: Car

"This car must be expensive, right?" Li Huowang asked Qing Wanglai, who was in the driver's seat, as he ran his hand along the red leather trim beside him.

The car sped on, its engine humming, sometimes deep, sometimes high-pitched. Although he didn't know much about cars, just by listening to the sound and looking at the shape of the front, he knew it was the kind his family couldn't afford.

Just then, Yang Na, sitting beside him, looked at the price she had just searched on her phone, her eyes wide with surprise. She then leaned over and whispered the price into Li Huowang's ear.

After hearing the price from his girlfriend, Li Huowang slowly withdrew his hand from the leather.

He had seen this guy eating in the school cafeteria, looking quite poor. He really hadn't realized how rich this person actually was.

"What does it matter if it's expensive or cheap? It's all just a projection anyway," Qing Wanglai said. "I'm more interested in knowing what kind of projection this car truly is."

Seeing Qing Wanglai start on his world view again, Li Huowang changed the subject. "Where are we going now? What's the exact location?"

"Orange Isle," Qing Wanglai replied. As his fingers quickly tapped the screen a few times, a soothing piano melody began to play softly in the car.

"Orange Isle? Why are we going there?" Yang Na, who clearly knew more details than Li Huowang due to his long hospital stay, asked. "I heard that all those riverside properties there are unfinished due to debts. There's nobody there, especially late at night."

"No people is exactly what we want; too many people can cause complications," Qing Wanglai said. "By the way, turn off your phones to avoid being tracked. I'm not yet sure what our electronic devices are projections of."

Li Huowang took out his phone, sent a message to Sun Xiaoqin to let her know he was safe, then pressed the power button to turn it off.

As the power-off sound chimed, Li Huowang looked at Qing Wanglai's face, illuminated by the flickering neon lights, and asked, "Can you tell us now who these people we're meeting are?"

"Since they're on our side, do they also, like you, accept your 'world as a projection' hypothesis?"

"No, it's not the same," Qing Wanglai shook his head. "Let me explain from the beginning. Our world is a projection of some existence. It's not just me who knows this; others do too, including you."

Li Huowang grew serious upon hearing this. This was good news for him; the more allies he had, the greater his hope of dealing with those people.

"I've specifically sought them out, but such people are rare. Most of them aren't mentally stable, and due to superstition or low education, they don't truly understand the reality of this world. They are often very stubborn, and when faced with unexplainable situations, they invent their own worldviews."

"I've found them before, categorized them, and conducted various tests and experiments with them."

"Experiments?"

"Yes. Once I've gathered a sufficient amount of conclusive evidence, I'll consider publishing it to prove the 'holographic universe projection hypothesis'."

"You've already found conclusive evidence? Then of course you should publish it! What an incredible discovery! You could absolutely go down in history. Can I see it?" Yang Na exclaimed, clearly astonished.

Qing Wanglai glanced at Yang Na in the rearview mirror. "It's not that simple. Do you know about the observer effect? I observed this phenomenon in the 31st and 52nd experiments."

"Until we fully understand it, this is like Pandora's Box. If this knowledge were truly spread, what would be the consequences of seven billion people worldwide generating an observer effect? Nobody knows."

"Cough." Li Huowang cleared his throat, interrupting their conversation. "Qing Wanglai, you're getting off-topic. I asked who we're meeting tonight."

Qing Wanglai thought for a moment before answering, "They are friends, on our side. Since you can sense them, that means you're on our side too. And since they are threatening you and Qian Fu, I've asked them to help us figure out a way to solve this problem together."

"How many of these 'friends' are there in total?"

"I initially found thirteen, but five refused or couldn't be communicated with, so there are eight people in total, including you."

"What do you know about the people who tried to kidnap me?"

"I don't know much more than you do. I even specifically asked them, and some of them also sensed that something was off, but it hasn't significantly affected them yet. Is there anything else I haven't clarified?"

"No," Li Huowang said, then fell silent, calculating in his mind: He, Qian Fu, Chen Hongyu, and Qing Wanglai made four people. This meant four more people were coming tonight.

He didn't know how much help these four strangers could be. Without understanding who the people trying to kidnap him were, it was hard to say how things would turn out. For now, they could only take it one step at a time.

Silence fell inside the car. None of the three spoke; each was lost in their own thoughts.

Gradually, the surrounding lights dimmed. Qing Wanglai's car drove into Orange Isle, which appeared desolate, with all its infrastructure looking only half-finished.

At the intersection, even the traffic lights weren't powered, and Qing Wanglai's car was the only vehicle on the road.

In the distance, rows of unfinished terraced villas looked like piles of graves.

Compared to the bustling landscape they had just left, this place felt like an abandoned graveyard, overgrown with weeds everywhere.

Yang Na, her face etched with worry, hugged herself, rubbing her arms, which were beginning to prickle with goosebumps.

Li Huowang pulled her into his embrace and said to Qing Wanglai, "Could you turn up the air conditioning? It's getting a bit cold."

"Alright." Just as Qing Wanglai agreed, Li Huowang suddenly felt an instinctive sensation and sharply turned to look at the dark intersection on the left. "Enemy attack!"

No sooner had Li Huowang spoken than a truck, with its lights off and license plate covered, crashed into them from that intersection.

The moment Li Huowang instinctively pulled Yang Na beneath him, accompanied by a screech of brakes, the entire car began to tumble violently.

Under the intense impact, Li Huowang felt pain everywhere, but he dared not let his guard down. The extreme danger sharpened his focus to its peak.

When he felt the surroundings stabilize slightly, Li Huowang tried to pull the door open but found it jammed. With his body pinned by the car seat, he gritted his teeth, immediately lifted his head, and slammed it forcefully against the glass window. "Thud!"

"Thud, thud, thud!" He hit it several more times. Blood trickled down the cracks in the glass.

Through the blood-streaked glass, Li Huowang saw two people get out of the truck parked by the road. They were holding long weapons!