Chapter 803: Into the Maze of Shadows
by xennovel“This is…”
After that brief interlude, it at least confirmed that the figures before Lu Xin weren’t mere illusions woven by fantasy; they were truly Sissi and the others coming down to greet him.
In a place where the bizarre and the fantastical intertwine and reality is hard to grasp, any familiar face that appears must be treated with caution—it could just as well be a product of the delusion…
…Lu Xin reassured himself.
He slightly lifted his head, looking at them, and asked, “Why did you come down?”
“We encountered strange creatures in the forest before—and even more bizarre ones have joined us…”
The sudden change had briefly startled Master Li. Once he was sure nothing else was wrong, he hurried over and said urgently, “Sissi managed to handle one of them, but she couldn’t knock out that many sources of pollution at once. So, she had to come find you first.”
“It seems some force within the Research Institute has intimidated them; they’re all bunched up outside for now, too scared to come in…”
“…”
At that moment, he suddenly paused and, following his gaze, looked behind Lu Xin and asked, “What are you all doing back there?”
Following his line of sight, everyone noticed that Dr. Zhang and Dr. Wang were holding hands.
“Ah?”
Both doctors were startled and quickly let go of each other’s hands.
“Sure enough, many are coveting what’s here…”
Doctor An heaved a deep sigh upon hearing Master Li’s words.
With a grave expression—though not surprised—she murmured, “We’re fine. Let’s head inside and deal with it later.”
“Being trapped here is by far the worst part.”
“…”
As she spoke, she was the first to break away from the group, swiftly climbing the fire escape to return to the first floor of the Research Institute.
Facing the dark, dust- and mud-streaked window, she furrowed her brow, picked up her mini submachine gun, and began to sweep the area.
Electric sparks raged everywhere as window after window shattered in an instant, glass cascading down and suddenly opening up the view.
Looking outside, they all felt an indescribable mental pressure wash over them.
At the entrance of the Research Institute, the doorway was completely sealed by a mass of dark, indistinct shadows…
In the distance, colossal, densely-packed trees loomed, their twisted branches clawing at the sky.
It felt as though the entire forest had come alive, inching ever closer to the Research Institute.
On the eastern side, the sound of flowing water was clearly audible.
It seemed that in the lake beside the Research Institute, something had arisen, wildly stirring the surface.
Inside the Research Institute lay a massive, headless stone Buddha that twitched intermittently on the ground.
……
……
The mental radiation detectors on everyone’s wrists flashed red furiously.
Yet their readings were already meaningless—a chaotic jumble.
Master Li was right: the entire Research Institute had been overtaken by a myriad of unsettling phenomena.
Lu Xin could even sense, on a psychic level, that farther off, layer upon layer of chaos and strangeness was creeping closer, piling up to reinforce the chaotic barrier around the institute, then slowly compressing inward.
A colossal force of mental energy had even formed a long perimeter outside.
Under the crimson glow of the Red Moon, it pressed forward like a tide of dark red water, inch by inch toward the Research Institute.
Thud…
Even his heart skipped a beat.
He had cleansed countless contaminations before, but never had he encountered such an overwhelming spectacle.
He’s fearless of any single foe, yet the sheer number and variety of these horrors made him uneasy.
More chilling still, within those shifting, illusory, distorted apparitions, he could see countless human heads writhing.
They lay prone like beasts, occasionally craning their necks to sniff the air.
In the Red Moon’s light, their pallid, rotten skin, along with shattered heads, stood out starkly.
And from gaping mouths, remnants of shredded meat clung to razor-sharp teeth.
Demented Persons!
A vast horde of Demented Persons had come with the contamination.
This only deepened everyone’s concern—even if the Demented Persons’ attacks weren’t just mental, they were physical too.
……
……
“So it is like this…”
Just as a palpable pressure began to form in Lu Xin’s heart, Doctor An sighed quietly.
She slowly turned to look at Lu Xin and said, “There’s reason to suspect that this was orchestrated by the First Researchers. They’re probably waiting for you to receive this message before taking you away. These strange phenomena might just be a ruse to slow you down…”
“Perhaps they had everything set up by the time we arrived.”
“This singular piece of information—hidden here for all these years—is something they must have intended to retrieve,”
“but they couldn’t manage it. So they must have tried many times. Perhaps they’ve long had their eyes on you, waiting for you to come over. And since we have no other choice, we’ll inevitably walk into their trap.”
“This is entirely in keeping with the First Researchers’ modus operandi—always lurking in the shadows while precisely calculating every move.”
“…”
Lu Xin fell silent, subconsciously nodding in agreement with her words.
From what he had learned so far, it seemed that the First Researchers had not only set their sights on him…
They had been tracking him for many years.
He couldn’t understand why they waited all these years to let him receive this message.
But undoubtedly, it was all part of their plan.
Maybe they had long grown impatient, yearning day and night for this moment.
……
……
“Then shall we charge out together?”
Lu Xin let out a deep breath as he glanced at the layers of eerie, spine-chilling psychic forces outside.
The most terrifying force now was undoubtedly the illusory power of the Genesis Hard Drive.
However, his sister’s habit of petty thievery—picking up things at any moment—had proved a blessing in disguise.
The Pen of Truth had an excellent counterbalance against illusions.
So no matter how many bizarre phenomena there were, he wasn’t really afraid. A head-on charge might even open up new opportunities.
It was just…
His gaze couldn’t help but sweep over Doctor An and the others.
Black particles are especially destructive, and in this chaos, he wasn’t confident he could protect them.
Especially now that his Mom and Father weren’t around—with only his sister by his side.
“If it’s time to charge, then charge.”
Doctor An nodded softly and said calmly, “But we must be well prepared.”
She then turned to look at Lu Xin and said:
“I know your power is formidable—it hails from a truly high level.”
“But in a situation like this, you must still be cautious.”
“Right now, the forbidden power within this Research Institute hasn’t completely vanished. It still suppresses the strange forces below and even deters those outside to some extent. Even illusory power can’t achieve its full strength here.”
“However, this forbidden power will fade quickly, and if we charge out, we won’t have its support at all.”
“Not to mention, the illusory power of the Genesis Hard Drive is beyond our ability to counter…”
“…”
Listening, Lu Xin’s expression hardened slightly. “What do you mean?”
“Heh, heh…”
Doctor An let out a soft laugh and said, “We must assume the First Researchers will use every tactic at their disposal.”
“However…”
She paused briefly, a cold smile playing on her lips, and added, “These are all things we had anticipated before we set out.”
“Although back then, we had no idea that the message here contained such critical information…”
“…”
“Huh?”
Hearing an unusual tone in her accent, Lu Xin grew mildly curious.
She didn’t seem as panicked as he had imagined.
“I’ll help you get out of here,” she declared.
Doctor An’s voice lowered as she glanced at A Zhen beside her and said, “Switch to dash mode.”
“Clatter!”
At her command, A Zhen slowly straightened his back, throwing all the luggage from the rack behind him to the ground. Mechanical sounds subtly whirred from within him, and a ghostly red light flickered deep in his pale eyes.
“Let it carry you out.”
Doctor An then turned to Lu Xin and explained, “A Zhen is a half-cybernetic being with high immunity to mental contamination.”
“His program is pre-set with a destination—to take you out of this area to the edge of the Forbidden Line, one hundred kilometers away. There, the entire Negative Zero Unit is waiting to escort you back to Qinggang as quickly as possible.”
“As for while we’re on the move…”
She paused, then smiled and said, “You shouldn’t be afraid of these oddities, should you?”
“For you, as long as you protect yourself and ignore the environmental changes around you, you’ll be fine.”
“This is the B plan we set up before departing.”
“…”
“This…”
Listening to her calm, almost detached tone, Lu Xin realized that her plan was indeed feasible.
No matter how powerful the illusions of the Genesis Hard Drive, they couldn’t affect a half-cybernetic person.
More importantly, he knew deep down that if he focused solely on moving forward, very few bizarre phenomena could harm him.
Even the Genesis Hard Drive’s illusions would at most alter his perception.
If he closed his eyes and ignored them completely, they wouldn’t be able to affect him.
Not to mention, he had the Pen of Truth on his side.
Yet as these thoughts crossed his mind, he realized something else.
His expression shifted to one of shock as he looked straight at Doctor An and the others, asking, “What will you do?”
Doctor An shook her head slightly and laughed, “Haven’t we already said it?”
“Getting the message out is what truly matters; everyone else, including us, is secondary…”
“So…”
She looked up at Lu Xin, and on her blood-spattered face a rare brightness appeared: “Prepare to depart!”