A mysterious, colossal human face made of clouds hung over the city, gazing down sternly upon the earth. This bizarre heavenly phenomenon immediately caused an uproar.
From Lin Tuo's perspective, after he painstakingly pushed his own face into the cloud layer, he suddenly noticed that the tiny, ant like people in the sand table city were all lifting their heads as if they had discovered him.
They looked astonished, pointing upward, some even stopping to record videos with their phones.
They can see me? Lin Tuo was shocked, instinctively straightening up and stepping back a few paces, leaving the sand table's range and observing from outside.
As soon as he withdrew, the countless sesame seed sized people in the city gradually dispersed again.
Inside the old house, Lin Tuo's expression was far from calm.
Beep-beep. Suddenly, he heard the notification sound from his phone. Pulling it from his pocket, he found it was the company group chat.
Since he had just resigned, he hadn't yet exited the chat. Now, the entire department's group was exploding with messages.
Line after line of text flooded the screen.
Did everyone see that just now? The clouds in the city actually formed a human face!
I saw it! I even took pictures! Look! A young girl in the department hurriedly uploaded a photo and a short video clip.
What? I didn't go out because I was waiting for my food delivery. What on earth happened?
…Ah, I missed it.
The department had always been close-knit, and since it was lunchtime, everyone chatted freely about it. Even the department leader joined in, gossiping along.
Lin Tuo didn't say anything. He silently watched the screen, his expression constantly shifting.
Opening the few second video, he replayed it several times before finally confirming it was all real.
This sand table doesn't just provide an observation perspective… What I do to it actually reflects in reality.
However, it seems my body is transparent.
In the video, what people had seen was caused by him leaning over the city, but his skin hadn't appeared. Even the eye sockets were hollow.
The so-called face was just his features pressing into the clouds, stamped onto them, and even then, some parts were incomplete.
So, it was impossible for anyone to recognize him.
I need to confirm this. After some thought, Lin Tuo's eyes grew interested. He leaned back over the sand table again, puffed his cheeks slightly, and blew gently.
Immediately, the dark clouds over the city center dispersed.
Since he was careful, this didn't draw much attention.
Then, he extended a single finger, lowering it into the clear area of the sky above the city streets.
…
Yang City, Central District.
A bustling commercial street.
Crowds of people bustled about. A man in a suit tugged at his collar as he walked toward a nearby outdoor parking lot, pulling out his keys.
Suddenly, he felt a gust of hot wind pressing down from above. The dust on the parking lot ground rippled outward in rings.
Huh? The man froze, looked up, but saw only the blazing sky. Weird.
Muttering, he shook his head and left it at that.
…
Back in the old house, Lin Tuo retracted his hand after observing people's reactions in the sand table city.
Looks like my body is transparent inside the sand table. The only reason I was noticed before was because of the clouds.
But what about objects? If I put an apple in, would it also be transparent? His mind began to race, though he didn't test it immediately.
Even if my body is invisible, its physical effects are real. If I recklessly placed an object inside even something as small as an apple it could cause an impact, maybe even an earthquake… and that would reflect in the real world.
Swallowing hard, Lin Tuo realized that one careless movement might destroy Yang City. He even unconsciously lightened his breathing.
Wait. If this sand table really is the real Yang City, then… does another version of me exist inside?
A bold thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Circling the sand table slowly, he soon found Yang City's outskirts and even Mount Li within the observation range.
He spotted the miniature Mount Li, complete with his family's martial arts school.
It's really there? His heart pounded with curiosity. He waved his hand, dispersing the clouds above the mountain.
Then, bending down carefully, he positioned his vision above the martial arts school's back courtyard the very place where he was standing now.
And through the hole in the roof, he peered inside.
To his astonishment, in the tiny house—barely the size of a matchbox—there was also a table, and on it, a miniature version of himself, leaning over, looking at something!
Lin Tuo's breath caught. He jerked upright and looked up at the real roof's hole. Of course, there was no giant eye staring back.
[Logic conflict detected. Repairing…]
[Sand Table host's spiritual will separated. Control transferred to real host.]
In a daze, mysterious information surfaced in his mind again. When he looked back at the sand table, he saw that the miniature version of himself inside was standing motionless, like a puppet without a soul.
At the same time, a strange sensation welled up in Lin Tuo. Almost instinctively, he tried to control the miniature version.
To his amazement, the tiny Lin Tuo obeyed pushing the door open, walking out of the martial arts school, and stepping onto the mountain path.
Then Lin Tuo extended his real hand into the sand table, hovering it above the mountain's base without touching the ground.
He guided the miniature him to leap into his palm.
He carefully lifted it out of the sand table.
It really works? In the old house, Lin Tuo stared in shock at the "mini Lin Tuo" standing in his palm. So it's because two of me can't exist in the same space time, which caused a conflict? And the sand table fixed this bug?
Now, the 'small me' in the sand table has become like… a clone?
Lin Tuo gazed deeply at the tiny version of himself. Suddenly, on impulse, he tried shifting his perspective.
The next moment, his consciousness switched into the clone.
His vision changed he was now standing on the vast expanse of earth. Looking up, he saw his colossal true body, towering like a god.
But because he had switched perspectives, his true body now stood there lifeless, like a puppet.
With a single thought
He switched back to his real body. Looking at the clone in his palm, his heart raced wildly.
The experience was so thrilling it was almost unbearable.
He had to force himself to calm down.
It seems… this sand table truly does affect reality. Or rather, what it shows is reality itself.
A flash of understanding lit his eyes, and soon, his thoughts surged again:
So, does this mean I can use the clone to enter Yang City from within the sand table's dimension?
Without hesitation, he placed the clone at the foot of Mount Li, beside a remote stretch of highway.
Then he withdrew his hand and switched perspectives again.
…
Whoosh…
Light and shadow blurred. In the next instant, when he opened his eyes, Lin Tuo found himself no longer in the old martial arts school.
He was standing by a highway.
Looking around, everything felt incredibly real. He jogged toward the small town at the mountain's base, and everything he saw was exactly the same as in reality.
No this was reality.
He had simply teleported from the martial arts school to the town through the clone!
Xiao Tuo? When did you come back?
Unknowingly, he had walked past his old middle school, where a shopkeeper aunt who had watched him grow up spotted him and called out in surprise.
Ah, I just got back… Lin Tuo perked up and chatted briefly. He didn't mention reopening the martial arts school, only saying he was back to visit.
Along the way, he bought a hot lunch. Under the blazing sun, he ran back toward Mount Li.
After nearly half an hour, he returned to the martial arts school.
This whole time, for the sake of the experiment, he hadn't switched back to his true body.
When he opened the gate again and stepped into the overgrown training ground, carrying a bag of steaming rice noodles, he pushed open the old room's door only to see his true body standing stiffly beside the sand table like a puppet.
The next second, his clone suddenly shrank away, the takeout fell to the ground, and his consciousness automatically returned to his true body.
…
Half a minute later
Lin Tuo picked up the fallen takeout and the tiny clone. With a thought, the clone dissolved into a streak of light and entered his palm.
He could faintly sense its existence and could summon it at will.
It seemed this was another ability granted by the Evolution Sand Table when it repaired the bug.
Slurp. Sitting on the threshold of the old house, Lin Tuo ate his hot noodles, forcing himself not to look at the sand table city for now.
After finishing lunch, cooling himself with the summer breeze, and soaking in the quiet atmosphere of the home he had lived in for over a decade, his restless heart finally began to calm.
He stared blankly for a few minutes, then suddenly rubbed his face vigorously. His eyes sparkled with light as he cleared his throat, addressing the translucent panel before his eyes:
So, tell me… what exactly are you?