Chen Tian and Sen Sha stood outside the window, silently observing the scenery. Chen Tian looked at the oasis before them, finding it strangely unsettling. Though he sensed something was amiss, he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Sen Sha, however, was excited. "Chen Tian, why don't we go take a look? Perhaps the clue to clearing this stage is there."
Chen Tian didn't refuse, simply nodding in agreement. The two set off towards the oasis. After a night's rest, their physical stats had fully recovered, enabling them to fight and clear stages continuously. With Chen Tian's portable house, he wasn't worried about his stamina dropping to zero. As they approached the oasis, it seemed tantalizingly close, yet as Chen Tian and Sen Sha journeyed towards it, there was a persistent feeling of being just a little too far away. He wondered if it was an illusion or if the oasis simply didn't exist.
Chen Tian noticed something peculiar and called out to Sen Sha, "Sen Sha, stop. Something is wrong here, there's a strange phenomenon. Don't go any further."
Upon hearing Chen Tian's words, Sen Sha halted. He unconditionally trusted Chen Tian, as his success in clearing the stage depended on Chen Tian, and he was certain Chen Tian wouldn't harm him. Chen Tian surveyed their surroundings, closing his eyes and releasing his perception. Even though his perception was suppressed, he could still grasp a radius of several meters. Within this perception, Chen Tian realized that the environment around them didn't exist. This meant they had been wandering in an ethereal, illusory, non-existent space.
Chen Tian opened his eyes and murmured, "This is indeed a troublesome stage."
Sensing Chen Tian's troubled expression, Sen Sha asked, "How is it, Chen Tian? Is it very troublesome?"
"More than just troublesome. Have you ever heard of a mirage?"
"Yes, I have. Isn't that a phenomenon that only appears in deserts?"
"Could it be that the oasis just now and this entire desert are all mirages?"
Sen Sha suddenly had an epiphany, though Chen Tian's words left him confused. If the entire desert was a mirage, didn't that imply this stage was massive, so large that they hadn't yet escaped the mirage's scope? Chen Tian nodded and shook his head simultaneously, indicating it was both yes and no. Sen Sha was thoroughly bewildered by Chen Tian. Chen Tian calmly stated, "The desert is indeed a mirage, but the oasis just now was different. You could say the oasis seemed real at first glance, but in the next second, it was replaced by a mirage."
"This indicates one thing: mirages are mobile. If you observe carefully, you'll notice anomalies. We've been walking for a long time. At our pace, we should have reached even a distant oasis by now. So why haven't we even seen a trace of the oasis?"
"Now that you mention it, that does seem right."
Sen Sha suddenly slapped his forehead. Chen Tian's explanation was too accurate for him to refute. Sen Sha became serious. Chen Tian uttered indifferently, "We are currently within a mirage. This mirage can be considered real, but it has been amplified by some peculiar power, trapping us in this illusory environment. Furthermore, even if we manage to escape this illusory environment, we might find ourselves in the desert again. We both know how elusive mirages are."
"So, outside the mirage, it's still a desert, but only by leaving this place can we reach the true stage."
Sen Sha immediately understood Chen Tian's intention as Chen Tian explained it. Chen Tian surveyed the surroundings, pondering how to escape this illusory desert. Chen Tian and Sen Sha were effectively trapped within the mirage. Chen Tian meticulously searched for any clues but found none. There were no signs of life or any hints in this desert. Chen Tian's perception was further suppressed by special energy, making this stage genuinely difficult to overcome. Moreover, even escaping the mirage would likely lead them back to a desert environment.
Chen Tian was at a loss, constantly running various scenarios in his mind. However, the probability of each scenario occurring was only 0.0001%, making them practically impossible. After tens of thousands of calculations, Chen Tian's thoughts settled on an idea that might just work.
Chen Tian took out his portable house and pulled Sen Sha inside. From within the house, they looked out. Suddenly, the oasis that had vanished reappeared before Chen Tian and Sen Sha, and it was remarkably close. When Chen Tian stepped out of the house, the oasis vanished. He re-entered the house, and the oasis reappeared. This confirmed a hypothesis Chen Tian had.
Chen Tian's lips curved into a smile. "It seems I know how to leave here."
Sen Sha was utterly confused. What was the point of Chen Tian's actions? Wasn't the oasis always there?
Indeed, from within the house, Sen Sha observed that the oasis remained visible without disappearing. Sen Sha found Chen Tian's actions of stepping in and out of the house bewildering.
Chen Tian approached Sen Sha and chuckled, "You'll understand when you go out and try it yourself. Do as I did earlier, and you'll know why."
Sen Sha imitated Chen Tian's actions, repeatedly going in and out of the house about seven or eight times. He then jogged back to Chen Tian and exclaimed, "Chen Tian, could this possibly be..."
"That's right. The true solution is the oasis. It seems we need to find a way to enter the oasis. However, the oasis is only real when we are inside the house. When we step outside, what we see is merely a mirage, which is why the oasis disappears."
"I suspect there's some special enhancement in this desert that affects our sight and hearing."
Chen Tian fell into deep thought. If the solution was straightforward, clearing the stage would be easy. The next step was to break through the oasis's illusion and reach the other side, thereby escaping the mirage. Sen Sha shook his head. "But Chen Tian, as soon as we leave the house, the oasis disappears. The house cannot move, and moreover, our sight and hearing are affected. Who can guarantee that what we see isn't another mirage?"
"Don't worry, I have a way."
Chen Tian declared he had a solution. He conjured a pair of glasses and earplugs from Divine Ice. He chose Divine Ice over Divine Fire because the desert was a hot region, and Divine Ice would help mitigate the heat for both of them, countering the ambient temperature. Using Divine Fire would only increase the heat. He formed the glasses and earplugs from Divine Ice, looking at them and saying, "These are items composed of energy elements. As long as we wear these glasses and earplugs, the environmental effects can be negligible."
Chen Tian threw the Divine Ice earplugs and glasses to Sen Sha. Sen Sha put on the glasses and inserted the earplugs. The moment he did so, he felt a cool sensation, and his mind seemed to awaken, no longer feeling sluggish. Chen Tian and Sen Sha stepped out of the house together, and the sight of the oasis appeared before them.
Chen Tian remarked calmly, "It seems it's just as I thought. With the Divine Ice counteracting the ambient temperature, there are no ill effects."
Chen Tian's hypothesis was that the desert influenced their sight and hearing through its temperature. His only thought was that the desert's temperature was the most formidable aspect. The scorching heat could evaporate a person instantly, and dehydration could lead to hallucinations.
It appeared the game's "Chronicle of Time" setting was designed based on modern scientific principles, exhibiting a remarkably high degree of fidelity. The hallucinations were a result of the temperature affecting Chen Tian and Sen Sha. The cold current flowing from the Divine Ice isolated them from the heat, rendering Chen Tian and Sen Sha completely unaffected.