novelraw Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Chapter 30. One Link After Another — The Despair of “Absolute Zero”!
‘How long can an ordinary human body survive in a vacuum?’
That thought flashed rapidly through Xixiang Yan’s mind.
In a vacuum, the pressure inside and outside the human body is the same, so a person wouldn’t be crushed flat.
The true “culprit” that leads to death… is actually the body’s reaction to the free gases trapped between tissues.
If the decompression process takes longer than half a second, the lung tissues will remain intact.
But if it’s shorter than that—
Cold sweat trickled down Yan’s forehead as he held his breath, looking up at Cidy, who hovered in the sky.
Though his own condition didn’t look great, his eyes were shining brighter than ever.
The corners of his mouth still held that faint curve—
—the look of a hunter savoring the final cries of his prey.
The Word Chain manifestation had completed almost instantaneously.
As expected—
The changes in the external world took less than half a second.
The decompression process was shortened infinitely, which in turn caused the lethal effects on the human body to skyrocket.
…Beforehand, Yan had used mana within his Magic Circuit to simulate a pressure-regulating conduit—like a transformer—on the surface of his body. Now, that precaution paid off.
Cidy, however, had no idea of his careful preparation.
In other words, the girl had fallen into the trap completely unaware.
High above, Cidy’s face had turned ghastly pale. Her body was drenched in sweat and flushed a deep red, her skin steaming.
Her wide, bloodshot eyes were filled with horror. Her open mouth tried to make a sound—but doing so only accelerated her own death.
She was on the verge of collapse, trembling in agony, her consciousness fading.
Yan knew very well what was happening to her.
—When external air pressure drops below internal pressure, the physical “container” of the flesh will instantly collapse and rupture.
When air pressure falls below 47 mmHg (about one-twentieth of sea-level pressure), moisture within the body’s tissues begins to vaporize.
This causes the skin’s surface cells to fail, and as moisture evaporates, the body loses massive amounts of heat. Within six seconds, this process spreads to the heart and lungs, interrupting blood circulation—followed by acute hypoxia, convulsions, and organ failure.
For the human body, without air pressure or oxygen to sustain brain function—even if one isn’t torn apart by pressure difference—they’ll still suffocate to death.
That was why, before uttering Quantum Vacuum, Yan had taken a deep breath.
Even though he could use his Magic Circuit to balance internal and external pressure, he couldn’t conjure oxygen out of nothing.
He recalled a real-world case from the year 1966, when a technician at the American Space Administration lost consciousness for 12 to 15 seconds during a vacuum chamber test after pressure dropped to the equivalent of 36,500 meters altitude.
He later described that the last thing he felt was his saliva boiling on his tongue—moisture vaporizing under low pressure.
When the pressure was restored to that of 4,200 meters altitude, he regained consciousness in 27 seconds, pale-faced but unharmed.
When external pressure decreases, bubbles form in the blood. Within minutes, lung damage occurs. As nitrogen leaves the bloodstream, the nervous system can fail within hours.
A rapid drop in pressure, however, brings instant catastrophe—the air trapped in one’s lungs explodes within seconds.
Still, experts say that with gradual decompression and medical supervision, a human’s survival limit in a vacuum could reach one minute.
Yan’s Magic Circuit allowed him to achieve a similar adaptation.
‘It’s starting!’
That thought flashed through his mind as he stared at the suffering Cidy above.
Compared to her torment, the pressure he bore was nothing.
Until victory was certain, he couldn’t relax.
However—
Cidy too possessed a Magic Circuit, yet the mind-crushing pain made it impossible for her to think clearly—let alone replicate what Yan had done to balance external pressure.
Seconds passed—one after another.
Yan, drenched in sweat, kept his eyes locked on her.
Giselle and Restia, standing nearby, could also feel the suffocating tension in the air.
‘Is it finally coming to an end?’
…One, two, three—
Yan counted silently in his mind.
The Word Chain limit was thirty seconds.
If no response was made within that time, it was considered a forfeit—
And Yan would become the final victor.
If one were to remove their helmet in space, in less than a minute, the inside of the suit would fill with excrement; after fifteen seconds, mental confusion would set in; after twenty seconds, consciousness would vanish.
If the pressure could be restored above 47 mmHg within eighty seconds, survival was still possible.
But Cidy—who knew almost nothing about the nature of the Quantum Vacuum—had no way of breaking the situation.
Perhaps a mage who had transcended human limits and awakened to her ‘Principle’ did have some unique resistance…
Even under such disadvantage, Yan could still see her struggling.
Her consciousness was clearly still awake.
But it was meaningless—
Without the right method, nothing could be changed.
As time went on, a thin layer of frost began to form over the girl’s body.
Yan didn’t show the same symptoms, but his own complexion had gone deathly pale.
It’s begun… approaching absolute zero—minus 273.15 degrees Celsius…
Gritting his teeth, Yan stared up at the faint glimmer of ice forming in the air.
Meanwhile, his Magic Circuit roared at full capacity, generating heat to keep his body warm.
High above, Cidy too had realized the new danger overtaking her body. Her expression grew weaker and more pained, yet her unyielding willpower still refused to break.
At any moment, she could’ve shattered this “illusory mental world” with her own ‘Principle’ and returned to reality.
But—
This was a battle where “life” and the “pursuit of knowledge” were the stakes.
Even if it meant fighting to her last breath—she would never give up!
Flames of defiance burned within Cidy’s eyes.
Her once-beautiful face twisted with agony, yet in that ferocity lay a strange, awe-inspiring allure.
‘What is it? What exactly did he do to the outer world?’
If I can understand that, then I can find a path to survive!
Her pupils constricted to needle points.
In that moment, the girl’s consciousness detached from her body—and began to think beyond pain.
Her suffering body twitched and trembled—
But in her eyes, for the first time, there was a flicker of dazed clarity.