"We don't know whether this trip will bring fortune or disaster, but I'll have Sandy transmit everything she sees in real time so you can watch our actions..." Lily Bai pointed to the 52-inch TV in the living room.
"You can't go!" This time, it was Uncle Ernie who spoke.
"Why not?"
Uncle Ernie showed Lily Bai the tortoiseshell in his hand. "I did a divination—it’s a dire omen. Death hexagram."
Lily Bai: "..."
"Let Lisa go alone," Uncle Ernie suggested. "If she goes, there shouldn’t be any major problems."
Lily Bai thought for a moment and said, "How about this..."
...
It was midnight.
Everyone was gathered in front of the big HD screen.
Watching Sandy on the screen, Lily Bai kept feeling that something about her had changed.
"Little Smudge, do you feel like Sandy’s different since coming back from the snowy mountain?" Lily Bai asked.
Little Smudge said, "Her depression’s cured."
Lily Bai suddenly understood.
Exactly!
What’s changed about her is that she’s become more confident—so confident it’s almost mysterious.
She stood at the museum entrance, used wireless networking to shut down alarms, surveillance, and all kinds of protective measures.
Then, she opened the heavy remote-controlled doors and walked right in.
Beside her was a three-dimensional Lily Bai—so lifelike you couldn’t tell if she was real or fake.
They moved through the place as if no one else existed.
Soon, she arrived in front of the security door.
Sandy reached out—her index finger turned soft and flexible, like a tentacle, and slipped into the keyhole.
She turned left three times, right twice, then left once more—and the lock popped open.
It was pitch dark inside.
As soon as Sandy stepped in, all the lights came on.
It was a large control room.
Rows of computers circled a massive pillar.
All around were workstations, cluttered with relics being restored and cleaned.
Everything here felt high-tech—bright white, like a scene from a sci-fi movie.
Computers and consoles surrounded the huge pillar, except for one spot left open.
Lisa looked around, walked to the opening, and pressed her hand to the pillar.
The pillar was smooth, but suddenly, without warning, a door slid open in silence.
Inside was an elevator.
Sandy led Lily Bai's projection inside.
The elevator doors closed.
They started descending.
But halfway down, something changed.
A net of three-dimensional lasers erupted, instantly wrapping around Sandy.
If it were a human body, it’d be diced into tofu cubes!
But Sandy was perfectly fine.
Not even a puff of smoke.
The 'Lily Bai' projection beside her wasn’t attacked by the lasers at all.
"Why do the lasers attack Sandy but not your projection?" Uncle Ernie asked Lily Bai, puzzled, in front of the big HD screen.
Lily Bai’s lips curled up. "Just as I expected!"
Uncle Ernie’s divination showed Lily Bai shouldn’t go exploring tonight.
With elders above and a child below, Lily Bai wasn’t about to risk her life, so she had Sandy make a projection to accompany her.
When everyone asked why, Lily Bai said, "The ancient book Helan Xi gave me says that even in the upper-ancient era, Great Rune Masters could only see blurry glimpses of the future."
"So what?" Uncle Ernie was still confused.
"Suppose the Prophet foresaw someone breaking in," Lily Bai said. "If he saw only Sandy alone, versus seeing both of us, the defenses would be set up differently."