Chapter 669: Resonance Overload

The machine was permeated by a faint scent of rust.

As Yenir stepped inside, he immediately caught the unmistakable stench of decaying flesh and blood—a malicious aroma unique to zombies.

Though faint, his acute senses revealed that the lingering odor was clearly the shattered remnants of flesh vaporized in an instant.

After a swift scan confirmed the absence of surveillance devices, Yenir quickly studied the machine’s interior structure before the test began.

“It’s so rudimentary… an assembled cast structure featuring a display screen, a helmet, and a jumble of haphazard wires. They clearly weren’t well-prepared, were they?”

“There are mist vents on both sides—probably used to store viruses inside.”

“And these vibrations… could the whole machine actually be nothing more than a meat grinder?”

Holding back any rash moves, Yenir’s steely gaze fixed on the lowest connection. Pushing his vision to the limit, he faintly noticed a hint of blood oozing out.

By all appearances, this so-called military research device designed to boost mental power was nothing more than a giant meat grinder in essence!

Before Yenir could even relax—a realization creeping in that the Rebels might not have been fully ready—a sudden shout echoed from outside the machine.

“Fire Wolf Team, right!? Quickly, put on your helmet—there’s a queue forming back there!”

The initial friendly demeanor quickly shifted as more survivors received their ‘upgrade,’ leaving the soldiers’ attitudes increasingly frosty.

Ignoring the tone, Yenir coldly swept his eyes to the overhead speaker and promptly donned his helmet.

Soon enough, as a weak current pulsed from inside the helmet, mist began to erupt rapidly from the vents on either side.

“Beep. Resonance initiated!”

Focus.

Just as Yenir wondered if he might escape unscathed, his vision abruptly turned black, only to be replaced by a flood of sanguine red!

A series of eerie, whisper-like voices from the depths of his mind startled him—he felt his deliberately suppressed mental power being violently yanked outward!

What is that!?

“Buzz!”

Perhaps his mental power had become too condensed; contrary to his expectations, the so-called resonance acted like an electric shock, triggering hallucinations.

Within seconds, his mental power, influenced by those bizarre sounds, created an illusory battlefield!

Much like during his lapse in the Awakener Trial, Yenir took a full second to regain his senses.

As if struck by sudden realization, he looked down to see himself transformed into a bona fide zombie!

A surge of brutal, bloodthirsty instinct overwhelmed him; if not for his iron will, Yenir feared he might have let out an unrestrained roar!

But the anomaly wasn’t limited to that alone.

Out of sight from the external world, the mental power he had ‘torn out’ seemed to exceed the machine’s testing limits as the entire apparatus sprang to life with a violent hum.

Within the illusion, his zombie form was mutating rapidly!

…….

“Line up! Next group, prepare for testing! We’re almost ready over here…”

“Sizzle…!”

Hmm!?

Inside the base, the Rebel soldiers who had been berating the crowd suddenly froze, alarmed by the roaring machine and the faint smell of burning.

Dozens of soldiers quickly turned around, staring in disbelief at the machine where Yenir was stationed.

Unlike previous test subjects who were gently guided in during the initial seconds, Yenir seemed to have instantly shattered the resonance limit, overloading the device.

“Damn it!? How can this be!? The machine is ruined!?!”

Before the nearby Rebel soldiers could react, the tablets syncing data in their hands began chiming continuously with test results.

“Instrument overload. Calculating resonance level…”

“Current resonance level: B! Warning! Data error—updating…”

“Current resonance level: A! Error! Data updating!”

“Warning! Resonance level has exceeded A! Now at S level!”

“Warning! Test subject’s mental resonance has shattered the preset value—now at S+!”

“Warning! Test subject’s mental resonance has surpassed the maximum—now at S++!!”

“Warning…! Warn… S+++++++!!”

…

As if being toyed with, Yenir probably never expected that even his maximally suppressed mental power would break the test’s limit.

No one knew what he witnessed during the resonance; at that moment, every Rebel—from high command to researchers—watched in horror as the machine began to smoke.

Each mechanical beep and prompt sent them reeling in shock!

What kind of joke is this!? Though their so-called resonance was a sham, it clearly gauged mental potential—perhaps even sorting out those most like monsters among humans!

Based on the machine’s maximum setting, not even the survivors—at best Second-Stage Peak Fighters—should be able to breach the limit, let alone those at Third-Stage mid-level.

Faced with such absurdity, even the Rebel Representative suspected that the test subject might not be human at all!

“Stop the test immediately! Open the machine up!”

“Bang!!”

Before the Rebel high command could react, a burst of dazzling fire erupted from the top of the machine. Accompanied by a thick smell of burnt flesh, the resonance machine was completely destroyed.

Silence fell over the entire area. Even the highest-ranking Rebel Colonel present seemed as if his throat had been squeezed, leaving him speechless for a long moment.

“It exploded…!? It fucking exploded!?”

Ming Luo and the others stood dumbfounded, uncertain of what to do next.

Watching the Awakener forces encircling the machine, Ming Luo instantly realized they were in serious trouble…

For some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this scene was strangely familiar.

————–

One minute later.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Yenir walked out calmly.

Realizing that his performance had been too extraordinary, he had no choice but to feign a look of bewilderment.

“Sir, how did my test result turn out? My head is pounding—what happened that caused the machine to suddenly break down?”

“Did I pass? Why is everyone staring at me like that?”

Feigning weakness and clutching his head, Yenir, looking pale, asked the Rebel Colonel who stared at him as though he were a monster.

Sure enough, the Colonel’s expression turned grave; after a moment of hesitation, he finally managed to utter a few words before suddenly grabbing Yenir’s arm.

“Highest classification! Your test result is off the charts!”

“Fire Wolf Team—Lin Ming!? Tell me, what exactly did you do during the test!?”

Doubt and shock welled up inside him.

In the Colonel’s eyes, Yenir’s performance was only that of a Second-Stage high fighter—far from Peak. Had it not been clear that Yenir was human, he would have sworn he was looking at a top-level mutant in human skin!