Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 254: Testing the Crystal

Hearing Bai Li Qing suddenly speak so seriously, the researcher in the heavy protective suit immediately tensed up. Yu Sheng could even see droplets of sweat forming on his nose through the transparent faceplate.

“At the moment, yes,” the researcher said, his muffled voice carrying through the thick protective gear. “But not every material reacts this way. So far, we’ve only confirmed that a certain type of rock undergoes this strange transformation when near the Mother Crystal.”

Bai Li Qing’s face remained taut. “So, does this mean it can spread through assimilation? Do the secondary crystals formed also possess this trait?”

“For now, there’s no need to worry,” the researcher finally relaxed slightly. “The secondary crystals formed from assimilation don’t seem to possess the same transformative effect. At least, as of now, we’ve only observed this phenomenon around the Mother Crystal. So, it shouldn’t trigger a runaway chain reaction that could engulf the entire world.”

Bai Li Qing’s expression finally loosened a bit—Yu Sheng felt proud of himself. He could now read even the slightest changes on her typically frozen face.

“How far-reaching is this crystal’s effect?” Yu Sheng asked casually.

Hearing Yu Sheng speak, the researcher hesitated briefly and turned to Bai Li Qing for guidance, his eyes questioning.

“Go ahead, you don’t have to check with me,” Bai Li Qing said directly. “He’s Yu Sheng, and this is Irene. When it comes to information about Dark Angels, their clearance is equal to mine.”

“Oh—right, understood!” The researcher clearly recognized Yu Sheng’s name, his eyes suddenly brightening with interest. He hurriedly explained, “We haven’t precisely measured the range yet, but we’ve roughly determined it’s no larger than twenty meters. It forms a spherical region with the Mother Crystal at its center.”

“Hmm, that’s actually not very big,” Irene muttered softly. “It’s kind of…a ‘well-behaved child,’ compared to other Dark Angels we’ve seen.”

Bai Li Qing nodded slightly, then asked again, “What else have you discovered?”

“There seems to be some kind of resonance between the Mother Crystal and its secondary crystals. Within about one hundred meters, they emit alternating, low-frequency vibrations. But we don’t yet understand if this resonance has a deeper meaning—it might just be a natural phenomenon, or perhaps it represents some form of life activity beyond our understanding.”

“Also, we’ve noticed something unusual inside the secondary crystals. Every 33.3 seconds, they rearrange their internal crystal structure—we call it ‘restructuring.’ This restructuring doesn’t change any visible properties like hardness, transparency, or color. But internally, each secondary crystal essentially becomes a new individual every 33.3 seconds. Interestingly, the Mother Crystal doesn’t undergo this change—its structure remains stable.”

“Currently, these are our primary findings. Further testing methods are under careful evaluation. Given the precious nature of the samples, we have to avoid any procedures that might damage the Mother Crystal physically.”

“Necessary caution,” Bai Li Qing acknowledged with a gentle nod. “This is the first time humanity has retrieved remains after an Angel’s Descent—we have to be extremely careful.”

Meanwhile, Yu Sheng had been staring at the crystal on the platform with growing eagerness. The little doll on his shoulder was the first to notice his excitement. “Hey, what are you thinking now?”

Yu Sheng cleared his throat and glanced at the researcher. “How many ‘Mother Crystals’ do you have in total?”

“The recovery team brought in four,” the researcher replied without thinking. “Why?”

“…Can I touch this one?” Yu Sheng pointed at the crystal on the pedestal, looking somewhat embarrassed. “But I’m worried I might damage your sample, so I thought I’d ask first. You did say earlier it was very precious.”

The researcher’s expression went blank for a moment, then turned anxiously toward Bai Li Qing—he clearly didn’t dare agree on his own.

But Bai Li Qing also appeared momentarily dumbfounded.

Yu Sheng awkwardly scratched his head. “If it’s not allowed, that’s fine.”

Bai Li Qing gently inhaled, obviously wrestling with many considerations at once, before finally speaking with a rigid expression. “I assume you don’t mean a ‘normal person’s’ definition of ‘touch’?”

Yu Sheng’s embarrassment deepened slightly. “If it’s okay, I’d also like to smear a bit of blood on it.”

Several researchers nearby immediately broke into cold sweats. Yu Sheng wondered if they would have lunged at him or fainted on the spot if Bai Li Qing weren’t standing there.

But after a lengthy internal debate, Bai Li Qing eventually nodded.

“Go ahead and try,” she said solemnly. “But…be careful.”

“This definitely isn’t standard laboratory procedure,” muttered one researcher quietly from the back. “Just putting your hand there breaks seven or eight regulations…”

Yu Sheng pretended not to hear. Under everyone’s tense and hesitant gaze—including Bai Li Qing’s—he took a step forward and placed his hand gently on the surface of the Mother Crystal.

Cold. Silent. Like a deep, bottomless pool, it did not react to Yu Sheng’s touch.

There was no sign of the “Conversation With The Dead.”

Truthfully, Yu Sheng felt a slight pang of disappointment at this moment.

[Anka Aila truly is gone.]

Collecting himself, he pulled out a small knife from his pocket and carefully drew it across his palm—no cut appeared. He tried again, harder this time, but still no wound opened.

An awkward silence spread around the room.

Yu Sheng forced a smile, feeling sheepish. “Ah, I’ve used this knife too much lately. I guess it’s dulled a bit.”

“Dulled?” Irene stared at him incredulously. “That blade has serrations now! Just how tough has your skin gotten?”

Yu Sheng said nothing, just kept working at it. It took considerable effort before he finally managed to make a small cut. Grimacing and squeezing out blood with difficulty, he moved his hand toward the Mother Crystal.

Those watching were stunned. The sight of Yu Sheng struggling to draw his own blood overshadowed even their previous concerns about the crystal. One researcher murmured quietly, “That’s no ordinary toughness—did he saw his own flesh open?”

“Anyone who could face off against Dark Angels wouldn’t be ordinary,” another researcher whispered back, “and here I was about to fetch a painless blood extraction device…”

Yu Sheng overheard this remark and immediately turned around, eyes wide: “You had something like that and didn’t say anything? You just watched me saw into my own hand?!”

“Don’t bother,” Irene said, poking his forehead, “Even if we had the extractor, I doubt it would pierce your skin at this point.”

As they spoke, a drop of bright red blood fell onto the Mother Crystal.

Instantly, every eye locked onto that single drop of blood.

Even Yu Sheng watched nervously as his blood slowly dripped down the crystal’s smooth surface.

Then the blood silently disappeared, absorbed into the crystal.

“Do you feel anything?” Irene asked at once.

“…Nothing,” Yu Sheng frowned, then added quickly, “but that’s not unusual. Blood connections sometimes take a while to activate, especially with something lifeless or weirdly alive. Remember how delayed the reaction was when I smeared blood on your frame back then…”

“Yeah, true…” The little doll nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly reacted, “Hey, wait! Who are you calling weirdly alive?!”

Nearby, the researchers stood in shock, one finally exclaiming softly, “It absorbed the blood?!”

Excitement rippled through the group as researchers stirred into frantic activity. “A new anomalous phenomenon—it absorbs blood!” “Quick, bring the equipment online! Get the analyzer running!” “Pull up data! Record everything!”

The sudden commotion startled Yu Sheng. He sheepishly glanced around. “Hold on, this isn’t the crystal’s property—it’s mine. My blood is a bit special…”

Silence fell instantly. Multiple gazes now shifted directly onto him.

Yu Sheng: “…”

He had never experienced this kind of intense scrutiny before.

But he quickly grasped its meaning.

Turning to Bai Li Qing, he whispered nervously, “You might want to handle this… These folks look ready to dissect me.”

Bai Li Qing coughed awkwardly. Without saying much, she gave a subtle signal, prompting the researchers to hurriedly look away.

Yet Yu Sheng was absolutely certain—they might have turned their eyes away, but their curiosity remained fixed on him.

Still, he didn’t take offense. Researchers naturally had strong curiosity; it was understandable.

He then gently poked Irene on his shoulder: “Hey, do you want to give it a try, too?”

Irene tilted her head, confused. “Try what?”

“Those threads of yours. You’ve touched plenty of things inside Anka Aila’s dreams, which means you’ve got some connection to Anka Aila. Why not see how the crystal reacts to you?”

Irene thought Yu Sheng’s spontaneous idea made little sense, yet his casual suggestion of “just giving it a shot” was too tempting to ignore.

“Alright, I’ll give it a go,” the little doll said, rubbing her hands nervously as she adjusted her position on Yu Sheng’s shoulder. “But if nothing happens, it’s not my fault…”

With an exaggerated serious expression, Irene stretched out her right hand toward the Mother Crystal, thin strands of eerie black threads slowly emerging from her fingertips.

A strange, chilling aura spread outward, causing two nearby researchers to instinctively take a step back.

Then, as the threads approached within a dozen centimeters of the crystal, a clear buzzing sound echoed through the air.

The black threads collided against an invisible barrier, shattering instantly and scattering into broken pieces.

“Ah—what the heck?!”

Even Irene was caught off guard by the backlash, falling directly off Yu Sheng’s shoulder.

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation