Chapter 112: Shadows, Principles, Abandonment

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Bakur, caught off guard by the sudden attack, felt a sharp pain in his neck before losing consciousness entirely. The mysterious figure who appeared behind him was Haoren. Quickly rummaging through his bundle, Haoren pulled out two small round objects, then vanished as abruptly as he had appeared, leaving behind only a black cloth ring etched with fine blood-red patterns on the ground. This black cloth ring was exactly what Haoren had slipped to Yoshii and his group—there were plenty of them, and Haoren had deliberately scattered them around the island when he first arrived.

The term “Mobius Ring Leap” sounds obscure yet powerful, leaving one wondering what strange thought processes led Haoren to conceive such a concept.

The Mobius ring, or Mobius strip, is a magical geometric model discovered in 1858 by the German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius. Most people are likely at least somewhat familiar with it.

This geometric model is fascinating. If you take a strip of paper, twist one end by 180 degrees, and then join the ends together, you create a surface with only one side. If you draw a continuous line along the center of the strip, you will eventually return to the starting point without ever lifting your pen—a curious and captivating phenomenon.

Do you remember the paper cords used to bundle money or books? Haoren loved playing with those as a child.

In third grade, the innocent little Haoren secretly took the paper cord that bound his elementary school Chinese textbook and played with it mischievously during class. One day, while twisting the strip, he accidentally fashioned a Mobius strip and discovered he could draw over both “sides” of the strip in one continuous stroke—though, in reality, there was only one side. This discovery delighted young Haoren immensely. He began betting his friends that he could draw the entire strip in one go and won many precious cat’s-eye marbles. Watching his disappointed friends reluctantly hand over their treasured milky-white marbles to him brought a childish joy to Haoren’s heart.

Of course, within a week, Haoren’s quasi-gambling antics caught up with him. Many disgruntled children reported him to their parents, who in turn contacted the homeroom teacher. Haoren was then dragged to the office by the over-200-pound math teacher for a serious talk about life.

From that day on, Haoren never played with paper cords again.

What a tragic end to the promising future of a budding topologist and geometer!

Ahem.

In the real world, there is a movie called “Mobius Ring,” which references a scientific theory known as the “internal transmission ring.” This theory states that when a three-dimensional cone ring is twisted by 180 degrees, it transforms into a two-dimensional mathematical form, altering spatial parameters and enabling the establishment of a third parameter—distance.

Simply put, the Mobius ring can infinitely shorten the distance between any two points on its single-sided surface. Using the science fiction analogy, a spacetime corridor based on Mobius ring theory can theoretically reach any point in the universe. This imaginative leap was the source of Haoren’s wildly creative ideas.

Of course, Haoren had no grasp of the scientific theory behind this. But Haoren possessed Nen abilities.

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Nen abilities are peculiar—perhaps the most unique force within the Mindscape.

There is Bisky, who can transform from the form of the burly Beidou Lao (Old Man) to a cute 13-year-old loli; Bino, a hair-eating beautician who can determine a woman’s menstrual cycle and safe periods by taste alone; the Shadow Beast Porcupine, who commands every hair on his body at will, including the most private ones; and Faye, who can kiss other men mouth-to-mouth and enslave them for a time.

Such bizarre powers make one wonder about the experiences these individuals have endured.

Haoren, suddenly recalling childhood shadows, decisively chose to develop his Nen ability based on the Mobius ring.

By harnessing the Mobius ring, he aimed to achieve short-distance spatial leaps.

During development, Haoren gradually understood why his Nen possessed three distinct attributes.

The Transformation type came from the spiritual jade he inherited.

The Spiritual Wave style can both kill and heal. Among its techniques, the Spiritual Mirror Recoil requires the ability to absorb and integrate external energy, then reflect it back at enemies or cooperate with others’ Nen for healing. The Spiritual Wave Nen is best likened to water.

The Manipulation type surprisingly stemmed from a temporarily sealed skill called “The Knight Never Dies Barehanded.”

Since the materials for making the Mobius ring came from Haoren’s own clothes—which were neither tough nor durable—he infused his Nen into the fabric to reinforce it. Unexpectedly, his originally gentle, water-like Nen turned wild, corroding the cloth like a cancer. The fabric darkened, and fine, blood vessel-like patterns with slight indentations appeared—reminiscent of the corrupted Red Heretic that Haoren once became. Meanwhile, the grayed-out, sealed skill “The Knight Never Dies Barehanded” in Haoren’s skill bar gradually faded away. This indicated the corrosion and domination phenomenon was unrelated to the skill itself, purely a Nen effect. Haoren remained oblivious to these abnormalities and was simply happy to regain access to his skill. At that time, he had already forgotten that activating a skill cost 10 LP each time, despite mass-producing these rings.

The Trait type was the most critical, originating from Haoren’s “Dimensional Space” ability to banish spaces and the reverse summoning power of “Heart of Summoning.”

Though Haoren had never used these two powers, they enhanced his affinity for space. Since he could summon his partner regardless of distance, why couldn’t he teleport in reverse to her side? His previous injuries were the price for recklessly entering fractured space. If not for life data processing, it might have cost him his life.

First, he created the medium: infusing Nen into fabric strips to demonize them, twisting them 180 degrees to form Mobius rings. By painting his blood onto the indentations of the fabric, he created blood vessel-like patterns, endowing the Mobius ring with some of his own traits.

The Mobius ring possessed the “Circle” effect. When activated, its “Circle” effect matched Haoren’s own, allowing him to detect any slightest disturbance within the ring’s range.

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The size of the material and the amount of blood determined the radius of the “Circle.” Generally, a 5-millimeter-wide, 10-centimeter-long strip painted with a single drop of blood had a radius of about 150 meters. Increasing materials and blood expanded the radius, but it could never exceed Haoren’s own 500-meter radius limit.

The Mobius ring also had the “Obscure” effect, which concealed its features and caused other beings to largely ignore it.

However, “Obscure” and “Circle” could not be activated simultaneously. The ring would only switch modes upon sensing Haoren’s own “Circle” aura.

Haoren’s plan was this: he would activate his own “Circle,” functioning like a central signal tower. The nearest Mobius ring would enter his perception range and become the primary coordinate. He would then control that ring to activate its “Circle,” expanding the detection radius. Other rings within this radius could also be controlled, gradually enlarging the overall coverage. When needing to perform spatial leaps, Haoren would treat himself as a point on the single-sided surface of the Mobius ring, forcibly shortening the distance between two coordinates to achieve short-range teleportation.

In just 48 hours, Haoren, sleepless and tireless, managed to perfect this.

However, the leap required hopping from one coordinate point to another and could not be done in a single bound. It was akin to calling a company and being transferred multiple times through security, reception, HR, the deputy director’s secretary, the deputy director, the director’s first secretary, the director’s second secretary, and finally a third party before reaching the director.

In practical use, the effect was outstanding—it really was instant teleportation!

Yet, like a landline that requires payment, each leap between two points consumed Nen energy. For longer distances, such as a ten-kilometer round trip, it nearly drained Haoren completely.

Hmm? Rather than being a power based on the Mobius ring, it was more like one based on telephone signals.

Holding the number card, Haoren was stunned for a full five minutes. Unable to wrap his mind around it, he finally gave up on renaming himself.

Coming up with names was the most annoying thing ever. Hmph~

P.S.: Tooth extraction hurts so much... This explanation is borderline insane, so just bear with it and don’t take it too seriously.