Mist and Darkness

[The Mana Supercar prototype has successfully been sold.]

I know, you don't have to tell me.

Yu Sheng finished up the deal with the rich man, gaining a huge sum from it. Then, he summoned another Mana Supercar from his inventory and began to drive back to the workshop.

Once he reached it, he started to tidy up

He placed a sign outside that read: 'Closing down sale: everything is 50% off!'

That rich man who bought the supercar will be kicking himself if he sees this. Yu Sheng thought.

"Huh? It's closing down already?"

"50% off?! We need to buy some stuff from here quick!"

"Damn it, this was a great shop and it's already closing…"

Yu Sheng heard the voices of many passing people, most of them were complaint but there were some who were extremely urgent to get in and buy the things they wanted.

At the end of the day, Yu Sheng had earned $10 million, raising his total fortune over the month to $73 million Blackshine Dollars.

The richest man ever recorded in the history of Blackshine had around $700 quadrillion so it was common sense that there were countless people with more wealth than Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng was a goldfish in a huge pond and his strength, fortune, wisdom or influence were thousands of miles below the surface.

However, the money was substantial enough to begin his plan to destroy Whitesea, which began in a city far from Greveng but still in North Blackshine, Greyfar.

Greyfar was home to an organisation known as The Deep Night Group, they were a subsidiary organisation of Greyfar's Primordial Church.

Their purpose was to protect humans from Transcendent mishaps using Transcendent powers. They were aligned with the concept of 'good' since they were under a church.

Greyfar, it shouldn't take too long in my Mana Supercar. Yu Sheng opened his Character Inventory and summoned a prototype Mana Supercar he had built.

He left it outside in the little bit of area separating the workshop and the road as he placed everything he had left in the workshop into his inventory, locked the workshop, put the shutters down and double checked that he had everything he needed before taking off, heading for Greyfar.

He walked over to his car, the main body of it was white in colour and there was the occasional dark tone of blue where the magnetic mana was located.

As he entered, a small interface appeared near where in a typical car the autopilot settings would be.

The Mana Supercar was not an autopilot car but it wasn't a manual car either. It was something Yu Sheng referred to as a cognitively controlled car, as the name suggested, it was controlled through the mind.

Brain-computer-interface technology was extremely common in Blackshine, however, using such tech in a car was never applied due to the lack of safety, the potential risk and the need for the driver to solely focus on driving, due to all of these issues, every company, individual or small group was deterred from every implementing such an aspect into their vehicles, opting for the safer option of manual or automatic.

Yu Sheng took these issues into account and created the small interface in the Supercar. The smaller interface was based on Yu Sheng's Player Interface which directly responded to his thoughts.

Using brain-computer-interface, he managed to mimic an effect of around 45% the level of the Player Interface. The Mana Supercar Interface instantly responded to the user's thoughts, and even analysed them, if they were not optimal and could lead to something detrimental to either the user or the vehicle, it would not do it and instead would use a built-in quantum computer to solve the issue and find the best solution. The quantum computer cannot be used often due to potential overload, it was only a small piece of tech, if it was a full-sized quantum computer, he might have been able to create a better automatic car than the mainstream ones.

As for the issue of the driver requiring constant focus, the interface did not have a solution for that so this was one of the myriad of current issues that urgently needed to be addressed.

Yu Sheng began driving in the rural, abandoned area that did not look like something from Blackshine, as advanced as it was. He took in the somewhat familiar scenery as he was reminded of his home country.

The fragrant aromas, the grassy landscapes, the atmosphere and warmth in his favourite place to go, the bar. Even a certain woman's vague figure entered his mind for a passing moment.

But as he uncontrollably recalled, he began to feel more and more distant, as if he was never there, that it was all an illusion and Blackshine was the harsh reality. He felt his spirituality, still innately Chinese, begin to fade and change. The foundation of his existence morphed into something unknown, yet his memories lingered.

A strange aura permeated from his soul, piercing through the facade created by the old memories, charging past the world of Blackshine, past the entire universe into an unknown, mysterious realm.

Without warning, Yu Sheng's physical vision was clouded by an inescapable plane of darkness. Faint whispers of loved ones from his old world were scattered beside his ears, drowned out by the sound of Wilfox's deep voice and laughter.

Yu Sheng could not decipher what they were conversing about, however much he tried.

"You are not from this world, a transmigrator originating from a world beyond the mist. Holding your own foreign spiritual insignia, you are the only one capable."

A grand, decipherable whisper finally emerged from the eternal darkness. Yu Sheng's head began to ring like a cacophony of church bells, his temples felt like they were splitting open, like a surgical examination. The whispers continued, gradually rising in intensity, bringing more and more pain with them.

Yu Sheng tried to think, to breath, to open his eyes but such elementary tasks were impossible during his current stupor, in fact, attempting them only increased his discomfort and pain.

Just as he felt he was at his limit, just before death took him for the second time, the pain ceased, creating a strange sensation that spread throughout all of his five senses.

Now, breathing became a natural motion as he was also able to open his eyes.

Yu Sheng found himself sitting a familiar yet distant table, one that he knew but couldn't seem to recall. It had eight chairs on either side, with two chairs at the top and bottom, respectively. Yu Sheng was sat at the fourth chair of the table's left side.

He instantly began pondering what was currently happening.

Who was that? What is this? These types of questions raced through his mind and he stood up, taking in the surrounding area and gathering more confusion.

Around the table was a completely empty area, darkness was the backdrop while a thick line of mist was also present, shrouding the entire area in higher levels of mystery.

Yu Sheng spun around multiple times before realising it was futile, deciding to inspect other aspects of this strange domain, eventually landing upon himself. He was adorned in an ancient navy-blue robe that was decorated with little pieces of gold.

This… Yu Sheng was shocked. This was a robe he frequently wore back in China!

Finally, he realised what the table was, it was the last table he ate at before his death, the table located in his mother's house.

"You are sure?"

"I am completely certain, I have simply come to inform you."

Whispers of the last conversation he held with his mother echoed through the dark world surrounded by mist.

Inexplicably, Yu Sheng felt a sense of detachment from his mother's voice. Suddenly, the voice warped from a memory into a direct message.

"You are not from this world, you do not belong here."

With this final message, all of the whispering halted. Yu Sheng's imperial robe morphed into a mechanical suit, and the table became fully metal, pristine and clean.

What is this? Is this a world that is split between Earth and Blackshine? Yu Sheng wondered, completely bewildered and baffled by the area around him.

The indecipherable whispering began again, this time none of it could be understood at all.

Yu Sheng's vision was somewhat blurry this whole time, but as he begun to calm himself down, his vision gradually returned to its usual state.

Now, he could fully take in this strange world.

He saw the new, mechanical table but he felt a lingering sense that the prior table was much better suited for the surrounding area. At that moment, the table morphed into the old table, following Yu Sheng's exact thoughts.

Yu Sheng had the interface which responded to his thoughts and he was familiar with this strange phenomenon, although he was startled, he took full advantage of it, changing the world to his liking.

The table and chairs were an ugly shade of mustard green that Yu Sheng did not like, and so, he changed it to a fully dark grey colour that fit perfectly against the black backdrop and the grey mist which for some reason, Yu Sheng has no control over.

He assumed the position at the head of the table and placed both of his elbows on the table, stroking his chin and pondering what to do next.

His image turned from that of a confused person into that of a higher being who was simply thinking.

After assuming the head of the table, Yu Sheng noticed slight changes in the mist, it began pulsating like a beating heart.

Whispers emerged from the midst but they were as clear as day, they were prayers.

"God of Machinery, please allow my enchantment of this equipment to be successful and prosperous."

"Machine God, please bless me and my machines, ensure that we are well and safe."

"Machine God, please help me. I am attempting to become a Mechanic Apprentice but everyone has rejected me. Please let someone accept me!"

Yu Sheng felt as though they were speaking to him, he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of voices he could hear.

Are they praying to me?

This nonsensical thought entered Yu Sheng's mind and stayed there for a while.

If they are, let me respond to them.