Upon officially stepping into the building, everything that met his eyes was a crimson red.
"Damn it, I really don't know who caused all this, but at least this son of a bitch's aesthetic sense is completely shot. All he knows is crimson and deep red, doesn't he know any other colors?!"
"Look! Crimson walls! What kind of decent person decorates like this?!"
As Li Chengfeng spoke, he materialized a greatsword of overly fantastical style with his Will Green Light.
With a "chi" sound, the greatsword easily pierced into the wall, like inserting it into tofu.
Then, it effortlessly drew a circle, cutting a piece from the wall.
Li Chengfeng looked at the red energy in his hand, and a part of it, upon contact with the Will Green Light, suddenly reacted as if boiling.
"Ion Shark, shouldn't the opposite of Rage Red Light be Hope Blue Light? Why is there such a fierce antagonism when it comes into contact with the most neutral Will Green Light?"
"This is merely a conclusion of attribute opposition based on the nature of the Emotional Spectrum, but in essence, Rage Red Light will produce antagonism when it comes into contact with the energy of any other Emotional Spectrum. The more extreme the edge, the more extreme the power of the Emotional Spectrum."
Li Chengfeng nodded.
Indeed, it could be seen from the performance of the various Lantern Corps in the original work.
The Red Lantern Corps is pure psychopaths.
The Star Sapphire Corps, also known as the Violet Lantern Corps, is pure love-struck fools.
Rage and love are the easiest to drive people to extremes.
"Is this the Emotional Spectrum, or a philosophy textbook?"
Li Chengfeng muttered, tossing the cut-off wall piece aside, and continued deeper.
This building was very tall, but in reality, it only had four floors.
Each floor had extremely high ceilings.
But contrary to expectations, the first three floors surprisingly had no internal guard forces; they were just empty, crimson buildings, with a hint of eeriness in their quietness.
"Tap, tap, tap…"
Throughout the entire building, apart from the occasional sounds of Thor and Loki "greeting" each other in battle, only Li Chengfeng's own footsteps echoed through the building.
Every time Li Chengfeng went up a floor, he conducted a thorough search.
But without exception, apart from the crimson energy, there was nothing else out of place.
And now he had reached the third floor, with the same search, and the same lack of findings.
Just as Li Chengfeng, slightly exasperated, sat down on an office chair, he stared intently at the end of the staircase directly in front of him, at the door leading to the fourth floor.
It was blocked by incredibly dense crimson energy, whose intensity was surprisingly no less than that of the entity outside who called himself "Setorak."
Such a strong defense…
It indicated that behind this layer of energy, the true mastermind was definitely hidden.
Li Chengfeng exhaled deeply, opened his communicator to try and contact Skye and Ingrid, but found that the communicator had stopped working; even when turned on, he could only hear "shasha" static.
And this was the Federal Bureau of Investigation's most advanced communicator, capable of long-duration, clear communication between the ground and a space station.
Just moments ago, he could still hear the sounds of the Asgard siblings fighting "Setorak," but now it was as if it had never happened.
Which meant…
The reality here had, in some sense, been distorted.
Strictly speaking, the area Li Chengfeng was in was no longer the original Universe.
But…
This was merely a wall, a barrier.
It still couldn't compare to the truly conscious entity outside.
Li Chengfeng twisted his neck, and after a "gala gala" sound, he finally stood up from the chair.
"Having to do such dangerous work every day, this senior Agent job really isn't for humans. When I go back this time, I must make those two old geezers, White and Black, give me a good burst of gold coins."
Li Chengfeng muttered, then went all out with his abilities.
In fact, the Ancestral Green Lantern, in terms of pure power, was no different from a Heavenly Father-level being; it just lacked those mysterious abilities.
And even under the Ancestral Green Lantern's relentless bombardment, the crimson barrier's reduction rate was not fast.
But at this moment, there was no better option.
So, five minutes… ten minutes…
A full half an hour passed, and Li Chengfeng finally dug a hole in the barrier that he could barely squeeze through.
"This thing is really tough. It truly lives up to its name, being mixed with power from the Crimson Universe. No wonder the Red Tank's ability manifests in the invincibility and eternal immortality of his physical body."
Li Chengfeng muttered, slowly squeezing through the hole.
Finally, he arrived at the fourth floor, which had been hidden behind the energy barrier.
The staircase at first was no different from before, still crimson, still eerie and silent.
But upon truly ascending the stairs and entering the space of the fourth floor, it was suddenly wide open.
This was a huge office, bright, warm…
Most importantly, the walls were not the crimson color he had already seen enough of, but ordinary beige wallpaper.
Li Chengfeng looked towards the desk at the very back, where a white male with an ominous and fierce appearance sat behind it, but he was not wearing the uniform that showcased a warden's power and status; instead, he wore a white lab coat over his shirt.
His bulging muscles were practically bursting out, alright?!
He was clearly a person whose photo could seamlessly fit into a work like Baki, yet he was dressed as a researcher…
Only then did Li Chengfeng understand that Water Margin really didn't deceive him, what was meant by "dressed like a scholar."
But when the man looked up, allowing Li Chengfeng to see his eyes, Li Chengfeng overturned all his previous conclusions.
In those eyes, wisdom, madness, and self-destruction flickered simultaneously, and Li Chengfeng couldn't help but nod to himself.
Hmm, those eyes really did have the vibe of a mad scientist.
It just didn't quite match this body.
"You are very interesting, actually being able to defeat my subordinates and break through the barrier I set to come before me…"
"I hope you can bring me enough pleasure!"
Li Chengfeng's eye twitched.
Then he stepped forward and, with a casual slap, knocked the guy, who was muttering villainous lines, to the ground.
"Ow! Why are you so unchivalrous!"
"Nonsense! I'm not a part of your bizarre game, so why would I be chivalrous with you! And you're spouting chuunibyou BOSS lines, how old are you, buddy?"
"Cough, cough, a man is a youth until death."
This muscular man in a white lab coat wasn't angry at all; he just covered his face and sat up from the floor.
And Li Chengfeng also noticed at this moment that on the nearby desk, there were several objects emitting a faint red light.
But Li Chengfeng's attention had just been entirely drawn to this so-called "warden," which was why he hadn't noticed them.
He stepped directly over the warden and came to the desk.
He saw four red gems neatly arranged on a tray…
And a palm-sized, blood-red savage ox was currently lying on these four gems, sleeping soundly.
These gems were clearly the legendary and famous "Setorak's Crimson Gemstones," said to have eight sent into the real Universe, and now, four of them were gathered together.
As for the thing sleeping soundly on Setorak's Crimson Gemstones…
"Ion Shark, if I'm not mistaken, this should be a Lantern Beast, right?"
"Exactly, this is the Lantern Beast born from within the Rage Red Light, the Blood Slaughter Ox." Ion Shark's voice rang out again, "I didn't expect the Ancestral Red Lantern Lantern Furnace to not yet be formed, and it actually ran out from within the Rage Red Light."
"Perhaps in some sense, these four Crimson Gemstones can also serve as a Lantern Beast carrier, just like the Ancestral Red Lantern Lantern Furnace?"
Li Chengfeng thought of this, and his heart filled with joy.
In other words, he could completely use these existing materials to complete the final step, truly building the Red Lantern Lantern Furnace to carry and control the Blood Slaughter Ox and the surging Rage Red Light.
Instead of using this power in such a primitive way, as he was doing now.
However, as Li Chengfeng thought of this, he instead turned back to the guy who was still sitting on the ground and refused to get up, asking:
"Who exactly are you, and why, after coming into contact with Setorak's Crimson Gemstones, did you not become a fallen one like the Red Tank, but instead collected the Crimson Gemstones, becoming a breeding ground for attracting Rage Red Light and the Blood Slaughter Ox?"
"Me? I'm just a poor soul who can never die."
The warden stood up and walked over to Li Chengfeng.
Li Chengfeng examined the man again, noticing that the ruby-encrusted pendant on his neck had a somewhat peculiar style.
At least it completely clashed with his outfit.
"I'm not interested in whether you can die or if you're pitiful. What I'm asking you to tell me is, why are you able to resist the power of these red gems?"
Li Chengfeng extended his hand, and the greatsword materialized by Will Green Light rested on the other's shoulder.
But the warden showed no concern about being threatened by a sharp weapon; instead, he turned and went to the opposite side of the desk and sat down.
"Are you talking about that voice that once said it would give me eternal immortality and make me some kind of 'Red Tank'?"
"You heard Setorak's voice but didn't fall?"
"His words actually had that effect?" The warden scratched his hair in surprise, "I just refused him, honestly, his sales pitch was too low-level, far inferior to those professional scammers."
"Is it the words?! His power won't spare you just because you refuse!"
"Oh, you mean that!" Unexpectedly, the warden seemed to recall something, pointed outside the door, and chuckled foolishly, "That entity outside is the previous me."
"…What the hell?"
Li Chengfeng was completely bewildered by the other party's statement.
What did "the previous me" mean?
"I have to say, the entertainment in your Universe is even more than I imagined."
"Oh right, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? It's been too long since I had this kind of normal human interaction, so it's inevitable that I'm a bit unaccustomed."
"My name is Jack Bright."
"If you don't like that, people in a certain Universe once gave me a nickname, which is…"
"Dr. Liang Liang."