Chapter 864: The Third Descent

Second Descent?

At the mention of the name, Lu Xin felt a twinge of suspicion—it sounded strangely familiar.

He recalled that he hadn’t been hearing these four words for the first time.

There was a period when everyone, from the Moon Eclipse Research Institute to others, worried about this event.

But after the Flame City Incident, hardly anyone mentioned it anymore.

It seemed that the ominous signs that had once alarmed them had disappeared, making a second descent impossible.

So why, all of a sudden, is it happening now?

And without any warning whatsoever.

Moreover, what kind of world will such a second descent create?

Faced with this question, Chen Jing looked as shocked as Lu Xin, both staring dumbfounded at Professor Bai.

……

……

“It’s not a second descent. In fact, it’s the third descent…”

Just as that thought began to take shape, a voice—sounding as though it came from another dimension—rang out. In the next moment, a faint surge of mental energy stirred. Chen Jing swiftly drew her gun, aiming it at an empty spot.

Lu Xin too sensed the disturbance, but he made no extra move, feeling no immediate danger.

Where Chen Jing’s gun was pointed, a swirling vortex of mental power appeared.

The vortex began as a suddenly materialized tornado, gradually expanding until it rippled outwards. Soon, several Undercover Units emerged from the ripples; the one at the center sported a red hat atop his head.

The hat even bore two sharp horns, and his small face looked battered and bruised.

It was unclear who had beaten him up.

They leaped out of the vortex and immediately spotted Lu Xin, their faces lighting up with joy.

Before they could speak, one of them raised an oil painting high.

Surprisingly, the painting was an oil portrait of an extraordinarily handsome stranger.––

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Xin realized that the stranger was not unknown at all—it was Director Xue Jia of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute.

However, the version in the oil painting appeared thirty years younger and thirty times more handsome than in reality.

In the portrait, he seemed as alive as if he were speaking directly, face-to-face.

He wasted no time. As soon as the red-hat Undercover Unit appeared and aimed at Lu Xin, the portrait’s Director Xue Jia addressed him directly: “The second descent in Flame City has been thwarted. Miss Kuimeng orchestrated it with help from various factions.”

“That descent was essentially a conspiracy to disrupt reality, initiated by the Cangzhang Sect in collusion with the Pale Hand.”

“What’s happening now is actually the third descent—and it has already begun. There’s no way to stop it.”

“……”

Lu Xin’s attention zeroed in on the crux of the message. Frowning, he asked, “Why can’t it be stopped?”

“Because this descent was actively brought about by people in the real world.”

Director Xue Jia in the portrait replied quickly, “Once, the first descent originated from the First Researcher and the primordial war.”

“The First Researcher’s experiment transformed the original state of pure chaos—a purely polluted source—into a Mental Monster.”

“—or what you might call a god.”

“—But due to a clash of ideologies, they destroyed what should have belonged to Lu Tianming, the very first seed of consciousness. This led to the first descent and completely shattered the order of the Pre-Civilization Era.”

“That is the Red Moon incident we all know about.”

“After the first descent, some of the Ultimates entered reality, turning seventy percent of people into madmen.”

“And those Ultimates unable to enter reality longed to—thus came what we call the second descent.”

“After the Flame City Incident, several Ultimates from the Abyss temporarily abandoned their ambitions for descent.”

“Yet, much to our surprise, it wasn’t long before a third descent occurred. And this time, it isn’t driven by the ambitions of the Ultimates. The First Researcher opened the door and, leveraging the original pressure, forced countless mysterious creatures from the Abyss—including the Ultimates—to flee into reality…”

“As for the intensity of the pollution…”

“……”

He paused, astonished, before adding, “It even surpasses that of the first descent.”

Does this mean the intensity of the third descent exceeds that of the first?

Even Lu Xin was momentarily stunned by the thought. He could hardly imagine the scene that must be unfolding…

“This…”

Professor Bai’s voice suddenly resonated. On the screen, he could be seen inside a car, seemingly racing toward the Special Cleaning Department. With his disheveled hair, he couldn’t help but shout, “How is this possible?”

“I suspect it was achieved through betrayal…”

Director Xue Jia’s voice, deep and somber, replied, “Betrayal of the Tortured Mother.”

“Betrayal? Tortured Mother?”

Those unexpected terms instantly hushed the meeting room.

For a moment, it was hard to connect the dots.

“During the first descent, the First Researcher used his advantage to control or manipulate several Ultimates.”

Director Xue Jia murmured, “But there was one special Ultimate who wasn’t controlled by them, yet willingly served their purposes.”

“That was the Tortured Mother.”

“She is a unique existence. Thanks to her, the First Researcher was able to repair the Genesis Hard Drive, and it is because of her that an isolation formed between the Abyss and the original. In effect, she is the gatekeeper between reality and the Abyss.”

“Ever since the Red Moon incident, she has been protecting reality.”

“……”

Director Xue Jia’s words weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts.

Under normal circumstances, the appearance of an Ultimate always heralded fear and pollution. None had imagined such a unique one existed.

“So, what now?”

Professor Bai remained silent for a while before softly speaking, his voice lowering instinctively.

“If my guess is right, she should have already been killed.”

Director Xue Jia stated gravely, “That’s why the portal opened and the third descent occurred.”

“How could that be?”

Chen Jing blurted out, “But she’s an Ultimate! How can an Ultimate just be killed?”

“Other Ultimates wouldn’t, but the Tortured Mother would.”

Director Xue Jia explained, “Because she never guarded against humans—she was the protector of reality.”

“Just as a mother may guard against external foes but never her own child.”

“So, she was easily killed by someone from the real world.”

“What I didn’t expect was… I never thought our mentors would go to such crazy extremes.”

“……”

“……”

“Beep beep beep…”

“Beep—”

Outside, a cacophony of alarms blared incessantly.

Countless anxious footsteps and shouts surged like a tide, pounding against the walls.

During this, people kept pushing open doors to the meeting room. Seeing the tense atmosphere inside, they hurried to remain silent.

They barely dared to breathe as they quietly stood by the meeting room, listening to Lu Xin and the others until the message ended.

“So…”

Lu Xin lowered his gaze to his palm, where the Black Nail was still starkly visible.

“Is this the truth behind the third descent?”

“Did someone just kill the Tortured Mother, triggering the third descent?”

“……”

His emotions sank into an indescribable complexity.

That nail had been with him for a long time, yet he had never taken the time to understand this unique Ultimate.

The first time he heard about her was when someone she protected killed her, triggering a global pollution incident. This delicate feeling stirred a twinge of guilt in Lu Xin.

A guilt that felt like betraying her.

“If that’s the case, then what do we…”

Chen Jing hesitated before anxiously asking, “Then what should we do?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Xin slowly lifted his head.

He, too, wanted to know what steps to take and hoped Director Xue Jia would offer a reliable plan for them to follow.

But the Director in the oil painting did not speak as everyone had anticipated.

After a long pause, he finally murmured, “In this situation, I can’t offer any advice.”

“Even if I did, I couldn’t decide for you.”

“So, I’ve come here solely to deliver this message.”

“And to commission a Special Pollution Cleanup Mission…”

“……”

At this point, he took a deep breath and suddenly said, “Time to spin around.”

Lu Xin and the others were momentarily confused until they realized he was speaking to the red-hat Undercover Unit.

It reacted, lifting the oil painting and slowly circling around the room.

Just as everyone saw the Director Xue Jia in the painting, his words became even clearer:

“Now, as the Director of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute, I hereby issue the highest-level Special Emergency Pollution Cleanup Mission to everyone in the Alliance.”

“I call upon all Ability Users to step forward and protect the polluted citizens.”

“Mission Codename: Third Descent.”

“Mission Level: World-Ending.”

“Mission Reward: The continuation of human order and civilization!”

“……”

“……”

This unusual mission announcement left many people utterly flabbergasted.

However, Chen Jing reacted the quickest, rushing to the whiteboard at the front of the meeting room, and scrawled the details down with a pen.

“Everyone, the Moon Eclipse Research Institute has been under constant assault by the First Researcher and the Black Spade Club. We are stretched too thin in many areas, so this time, we may not be able to mount a full-scale counterattack against the descent.”

“…Stop!”

“……”

Suddenly, he shouted—and the red-hat Undercover Unit immediately halted.

At that moment, the oil painting faced Professor Bai’s screen; it seemed he had just reached the downstairs area.

“The plan has been delivered to you, Lao Bai.”

“You are the only organization within the Alliance in the High-Wall City capable of executing this plan.”

“I cannot decide for Qinggang.”

“So, I can only come here to issue this mission and let you decide your next move.”

“……”

“……”

In the background of Professor Bai’s screen, his image wavered, making it hard to tell if his eyes were reddened.

Amid his erratic breathing, he shouted, “I’m in the elevator now…”

“The signal’s really bad, Teacher…”