Chapter 494: Mysteries of the Experiment

What does the first stage of the Heaven’s Kingdom Plan experiment in Qinggang signify?

It’s hard to say.

But Mom had mentioned long ago that some things would show a particular interest in this experiment.

So, Lu Xin wasn’t surprised to see such phenomena appearing around him…

……

……

This experimental base is located at sea, roughly a little over ten kilometers from the coastline.

Along the coast, fears of uncontrollable forces spilling out from the experiment led Qinggang to choose the area carefully—a barren stretch of land with no major human settlements within a hundred kilometers.

Even if there were small villages or markets, they were cleared out by dedicated military forces immediately after the experiment’s location was confirmed.

Thus, the entire area surrounding the base is clean and desolate.

Yet in this vast, uninhabited wasteland, a woman was slowly making her way under the glow of the Red Moon.

She was strikingly tall, dressed in an elegant, flowing black dress.

The dress bore delicate patterns that, in the light of the Red Moon, shimmered faintly, shifting into various designs.

Mysterious and exquisite, she seemed to glide over the landscape like a gentle breeze.

Her skin, illuminated by the crimson moon above, was a gloomy, pale tone, and her finely chiseled features—each proportion seemingly measured with care—exuded a perfection that was both alluring and provocatively haughty, paired with eyes that held an air of cold indifference.

Crowning her head was a black, thorn-woven diadem that looked almost alive, occasionally tightening as if with a mind of its own.

Noble, graceful, and proudly aloof.

She came from afar, like a black-robed queen striding across a barren land.

Most astonishing of all, as she moved, strands of thread and fragments would detach from her. Once on the ground, they twisted and writhed, growing into miniature replicas of herself complete with eyes, a mouth, and even tiny black dresses and thorned crowns—each a scaled-down version of her.

The cheerful little figures marched off with a haughty gait, their expressions as highfalutin as their tiny forms.

Soon, everything around her began to warp and distort in a surreal, absurd manner.

In this way, she slowly approached the seashore.

Not far from her body, several clandestine lookouts from Qinggang’s military were stationed, yet none of them reacted.

In their view, it was as if this woman didn’t exist at all.

……

……

To the east of the experimental base, gigantic waves suddenly surged, rising over a hundred meters high. Then, like a waterfall, the seawater cascaded down, revealing a head hidden within—the head of what looked like a colossal sea monster, with squid-like tentacles dangling and six aligned eyes emitting a chilling glow.

It was as if a mountain had emerged from the sea. The creature’s body, larger than any mountain, loomed over the distant experimental base.

……

……

To the south of the base, a yacht was slowly making its way north.

For this experiment, Qinggang’s military had sealed off this part of the sea completely, to the extent that even the smallest creature would struggle to get through. Yet this yacht had slipped in unnoticed.

On the smooth deck at the front of the yacht stood a ‘man’ in a suit.

His body resembled that of a human—tall, slim, and standing erect—adorned in a full three-piece suit exuding a refined gentlemanly air.

But from where his neck should have joined his head, his head had split into nine distinct parts. At the tip of each neck, a snake-like head covered in sharp scales emerged, with eighteen jade eyes fixed forward, and his mouth, with its vivid red interior, opened and closed intermittently.

……

……

To the north of the base, just behind Lu Xin and the Doll, an underwater reef revealed a silent whirlpool. From within it emerged a large head wearing a black top hat, attached to a slender body that, upon climbing out, turned to face the base and earnestly retrieved a notebook.

……

……

Over a hundred kilometers from the experimental base, in a dilapidated town with a ruined villa, the Queen of Happy Town—munching on a chocolate bar with a cup of rich, milky coffee at her side—suddenly sensed something and stared blankly toward the sea near the base. Startled, the chocolate bar fell from her mouth.

Her lips trembled lightly, her expression marked by worry, fear, and a trace of defiance.

After a moment, she glanced down at her body, which had shrunk to just over a meter, and fell silent in contemplation.

Then, she picked up the chocolate bar and resumed her midnight snack.

……

……

In other directions—whether at sea, along the shore, or in the sky—various bizarre happenings were unfolding.

A fish swimming in the sea suddenly halted its motion.

Fish don’t blink, but after a brief pause, this one blinked; something in its eyes changed, and it swam vigorously, stealthily heading toward the sea-based experimental base.

A staff member from Qinggang, who had been clutching his gun and vigilantly scanning the surroundings,

suddenly felt an unexpected thought fill his mind. His body stiffened as he stared fixedly at the Doll involved in the experiment.

Slowly, ripples in the air emerged, as if someone behind a curtain was forcefully tearing it apart.

……

……

“Alarm, alarm!”

Inside the Command Center where Professor Bai was stationed, urgent red lights suddenly began flashing.

Minister Shen, responsible for the base’s outer security, spoke up in the control room.

His voice was cold, yet a trace of urgency was unmistakable:

“Our outer troops and lookouts have found no direct danger, yet the mental detection device has issued an alarm—massive abnormal mental radiation is approaching the base. The precise readings fluctuate, peaking at over a hundred thousand at times and nearly nothing at others.”

“Please be alert…”

“We haven’t detected any dangerous targets, but it feels as though a group of invisible enemies has fixed its gaze upon us.”

“……”

This urgent report from various fronts immediately cast a pall over the Command Center.

Many staff members seemed at a loss.

Despite all the preparations, the presence of these unseen dangers still left everyone tense.

“No need to panic.”

In that very moment of rising tension, Professor Bai spoke softly to reassure the team.

His face betrayed no hint of anxiety, as if he hadn’t been caught off guard at all.

“The emergence of such phenomena only confirms that our previous predictions were correct.”

Professor Bai’s calm and composed demeanor did ease some of the tension, though many still remained puzzled.

Before the experiment, Professor Bai had indeed prioritized security.

Back then, everyone believed the experiment was so important that his meticulous attention was justified.

Yet, given Qinggang’s current situation—with no clear enemy aside from the Technology Church—it left many questions unanswered.

“Such mysterious surveillance is inevitable,”

Professor Bai explained softly amid the bewildered stares, “It only serves to validate our experiment.”

A researcher then asked bluntly, “At the very least, we need to know where these threats are coming from.”

“I don’t know either,” Professor Bai replied unexpectedly.

He added with a slight smile, “But I do know they will appear.”

Chuckling, he explained in a low tone, “Have you ever heard the saying that when humans begin to think, God laughs?”

“That saying highlights humanity’s naivety and ignorance, but I like to interpret it differently.”

“God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He need not laugh at anything, for at his level, emotions are hardly warranted. So why does God laugh when humans start to think?”

“Human thought is essentially a form of defiance against God.”

“Thus, human thought triggers God’s reaction—be it in cold laughter or sneer, it’s still a response.”

“Our Heaven’s Kingdom Plan is also a manifestation of human thought.”

“It’s a challenge to the unknown, and naturally, it attracts mysterious attention.”

“To us, this is merely an experiment, but in another realm, it might signal earth-shattering change.”

“So, it’s no surprise that our project draws hidden scrutiny.”

“On the contrary, if this experiment were to conclude silently, I’d rather feel disheartened.”

“Because then we’d have to question whether our efforts had any real significance…”

“……”

For a long moment, the Command Center fell silent.

Is Professor Bai really showing off his oratory skills again?

Someone quietly swallowed and whispered, “Professor Bai, after all that, what should we do now?”

Professor Bai glared at him in obvious discontent before saying, “We don’t need to do anything.”

“Huh?”

Everyone was left dumbfounded.

With an exasperated sigh, Professor Bai continued, “Security is already taken care of.”

“What more is there to worry about?”

“……”

“……”

“These intruders seem dangerous…”

Because the distance was so great, Lu Xin couldn’t even discern what was approaching. All he could see was a red moon in the sky that seemed to be growing larger, hanging low over the sea as though about to press down on everyone’s head.

A chilling sensation, one that raised the hairs on his arms, swept over him.

Even the once-stable field now appeared to be changing. Lu Xin watched as a massive merman, bound by an enormous energy field, began to struggle desperately. A mournful, tense wail emanated from its body as chunks of flesh were torn away, yet it fought with every ounce of strength to cry out.

“Is it trying to escape because it senses the looming danger?”

“No, perhaps it’s attempting to connect with its main body to gain the upper hand in this confrontation?”

“……”

Contemplating these shifts, a strange smile slowly tugged at Lu Xin’s lips.

Then, he suddenly turned and, after a brief moment of decision, clambered up the mast of a nearby warship with remarkable speed.

These intruders were boldly barging in as if no one else existed.

“Do they really think this guard is invisible?”