A dream. Liu A'dou seemed to have returned to the time before he crossed over. Scenes unfolded before his eyes, not as personal experiences but as if he were watching from a third-person perspective.
"Pandora's Gem is the last hope in the magic box, the crystallization of hope," a voice suddenly spoke.
Liu A'dou found himself in an empty cinema hall, watching a film he had never seen before. In fact, he had only ever seen the trailer, but he had crossed over before he could watch the full movie. He hadn't expected to be able to enjoy it here, a dream come true.
The voice appeared and then disappeared suddenly, leaving Liu A'dou uncertain about what was going on. He decided to settle into the seat in the center and start watching the film. This was a special effects blockbuster he had never put down since crossing over. It was great, but Liu A'dou didn't want to think about the fact that he was now in the world of Batman, Superman, Iron Man, and the Hulk. This world was far more exciting than any movie.
It seemed Liu A'dou still preferred the movie. Real life involved too much danger. Liu A'dou knew that his abilities were nothing compared to the likes of Flash or Superman. Superman's x-ray vision could see through any trick he tried, and Flash's speed was faster than his magic. Not to mention X-Men's Professor X, who could read minds, and Magneto, who could control metal—these were all god-like existences, enough to make Liu A'dou nervous. So, it was better to enjoy the movie. In real life, it was best to avoid them.
The movie ended, and Liu A'dou applauded in the empty hall, impressed by the performance.
However, he noticed something strange in the credits. The entire cast and crew were credited as "Pandora."
"???" Liu A'dou muttered in confusion.
At that moment, the subtitles froze, and the credits on the screen disappeared, replaced by the image of a blood-red gem.
Liu A'dou recognized it immediately. It was the "Moon Gem Pandora," the very gem that had caused his crossover.
"I am Pandora, the last hope," the mysterious voice rang out again.
"Aren't you just a stone?" Liu A'dou said, frowning. "Wait, where am I, and what do you want?"
"This is the Magic Box space, and I am here to grant your wish. You have never let go of this movie, so I recreated it, fulfilling one of your desires," the voice from the void explained, drifting in and out of hearing.
"Granting my wish is fine, but watching a movie is childish. My biggest wish is to go home." Liu A'dou thought to himself.
"I'm sorry. I no longer have the power to take you to a new world through endless space," Pandora's voice responded, sounding almost childlike, wavering back and forth. "When you possessed me, I felt your deep desire, so I tried to take you home. However, due to the lack of coordinates, we ended up in this world, and I have exhausted my power and even lost my physical form."
No wonder the gem was gone—it had exhausted too much energy. "So, what do you want from me now?"
"Because you used magic, your magical energy awakened me. I also saw the results of your divination, so I wish to help you," Pandora declared, sounding righteous, as expected from the "last hope."
Liu A'dou didn't fully believe her. After all, he had heard the saying that if someone offers help without reason, they're either plotting something or up to no good.
Pandora seemed to see through his thoughts. "I am the last hope and should help others. Unfortunately, the world only sees me as a panacea for immortality. You are the first who neither desires to possess me nor seeks immortality, so I granted your wish to travel through space and time. Unfortunately, there was a deviation. Now, I have little power left, but I am still willing to use my remaining strength to help you survive in this dangerous world."
"?" Liu A'dou didn't respond immediately. He wasn't sure whether to praise her for being so noble or question her motives. Neither seemed quite right. In the end, he casually accepted, "So, how do you plan to help me?"
"My remaining power is not enough to help you leave this world, nor can it refine your body to make you immortal, but I still have one way to help you," Pandora's gem said. "I will unlock the most magical part of your brain, allowing you to eavesdrop on the infinite knowledge of the worlds."
"Eavesdropping on knowledge? Sounds like a thief's tactic," Liu A'dou remarked. "But which world is this 'other world'?"
"All worlds. Parallel worlds, alternate dimensions, the Xumi world, overlapping worlds, and all other worlds," Pandora explained. "This is the only way I can assist you now. But you must know that knowledge is just knowledge. It's only useful if you learn and understand it."
"Understood." In other words, Liu A'dou would need to apply the same spirit he used during his college entrance exams to learn everything from scratch to understand the knowledge of the other world. But what exactly was this "other world" knowledge? Liu A'dou had no idea what he would learn.
The gem on the screen flickered briefly. What needed to be said had already been said. Pandora was about to take action.
"From this point on, I entrust all hope to you; you are the last hope. I hope you make good use of this power." With these words, countless beams of light shot out from the screen, wrapping Liu A'dou.
Liu A'dou saw his limbs completely enveloped by light. The cocoon of light spread, covering him entirely. The light was soft, and then a warm, powerful force flowed through every part of his body.
Voices—countless voices... Different languages, even some languages Liu A'dou had never heard of before. Yet, to his astonishment, he understood them all.
But the voices were chaotic, and it was impossible to distinguish them clearly. It was all too confusing.
Why couldn't there be a switch? The flood of knowledge felt like an uncontrolled barrage, hitting Liu A'dou before he could react. The overwhelming sensation made it impossible to use this knowledge properly. It felt as if his consciousness was being swept away by the torrent of information.
Whew—
Just when Liu A'dou thought he was going to drown in the flood of knowledge, he suddenly found himself in a safe space—a pure white room with only two things in it: himself and an ancient wooden box.
Pandora's Magic Box? Liu A'dou breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed all the knowledge had been contained in the magic box. As long as he stayed away from the box, he would be safe.
Although it was meant to enhance his abilities, Liu A'dou didn't want to go back into the magic box. Looking at it, he still felt uneasy, but it seemed he wasn't empty-handed. His mind had gained something.
He didn't want to eavesdrop on knowledge from another world again. The sensation of slowly disappearing felt like drowning in the ocean—no, it was worse than that.
"Pandora? Little Gem?" Liu A'dou called a couple of times, but there was no response. It seemed that the gem really had exhausted all its power to help him.
Respectable and admirable—it truly lived up to being the last hope.
But Liu A'dou couldn't help but complain, "Why didn't you explain things clearly? How am I supposed to find the knowledge I now possess in this chaotic sea of information? Couldn't there be a search engine? You trusted me so much. Of course, you did, or you wouldn't have taken me through the crossover, and now you're using up all your energy to give me this cheat code. Pandora Gem, you must really believe I have the protagonist's halo."
In the real world, Liu A'dou's sudden collapse had shocked many people, but when they reached the hospital, the doctor diagnosed him as simply having fallen asleep.
Iselin stayed at the hospital to care for Liu A'dou, and in the evening, she turned on the TV in his room to watch the news.
Thomas's exclusive news was a video that had been copied from the police station.
The time was 4:06 PM yesterday, and the location was a bank in downtown Gotham. The bank's surveillance cameras had recorded a shocking robbery. A group of armed robbers stormed into the bank, killing the staff and making off with a large sum of cash.
Though the cameras didn't capture sound, the flames of gunfire and the blood splattering from the victims clearly showed how brutal the scene had been. The robbers even forced the customers to hold grenades with the safety pins removed—if anyone panicked and let go, the grenades would explode.
The robbers all wore hideous masks and moved quickly, clearly well-prepared. However, after the robbery was completed, something unexpected happened—the robbers turned on each other.
In the end, the robber wearing the Joker mask killed all of his teammates and then spoke to the bank manager, who had been shot. The last surviving robber took off his mask.
"My God!" Iselin gasped, covering her mouth. After the Joker mask was removed, it revealed a face just like the Joker's—pale foundation, lips as red as blood—making the robber look like a character straight out of a horror movie.
"The Joker??!!"
Countless people recalled the terror they had felt the last time the Joker was in town. The Joker had turned all of Gotham into his playground, making everyone live in fear. Now, such a terrifying figure had returned? Gotham City was instantly overshadowed by fear.