Chapter 791: The Enigma of the Abyss

Is this really it?

With a soft sigh, Lu Xin looked down at the object in his hand.

Unexpectedly, what he had pilfered from this forest turned out to be a bizarre plastic doll.

It measured about twenty centimeters, crafted from a soft black plastic, and was dressed in an exquisitely tailored white mini dress reminiscent of a wedding gown. Its features were disturbingly twisted, adorned with a strangely rigid smile.

Lu Xin gripped its body tightly with his right hand.

He could feel it trembling so badly that it nearly dropped the playing card it was clutching.

Suddenly, it turned its head and, with a sharp snap, bit Lu Xin’s thumb.

Lu Xin frowned, and the impact made its tiny bones clatter; he quickly released his grip as tears welled in his eyes.

……

……

“Parasitic item?”

Just then, Doctor An’s voice rang out.

Other researchers soon followed.

Their expressions were peculiar as they approached while covertly scrutinizing Lu Xin.

Even Dr. Zhang, Dr. Wang, and Master Li— for the first time, their demeanors and auras aligned.

Gone was the intent to take each other down; instead, all eyes were fixed on Lu Xin…

Frankly, Lu Xin truly seemed undeserving.

“It’s somewhat similar, though not exactly a standard parasitic item…”

Lu Xin ignored their gazes, lowering his eyes to the small object as he murmured:

“I can sense that it isn’t the source of that earlier contamination; it’s more like a puppet…”

“The real monster was hiding in this forest. Unfortunately, it escaped just as I tried to capture it…”

“Honestly, it’s rather frustrating.”

……

As he spoke, he shook his head slightly, clearly discontented.

Meanwhile, the plastic little bride in his right hand trembled, as if reacting to Lu Xin’s mood.

“This…”

Seeing Lu Xin’s disappointed expression, Doctor An and the others wore equally odd looks.

Doctor An paused, glanced at the object in Lu Xin’s hand, then suddenly asked, “Do you know what you just did?”

“Huh?”

Noticing her sudden seriousness, Lu Xin was taken aback.

He quickly wondered if he had somehow fallen short of the standard, incurring a severe penalty.

“Sigh…”

Doctor An sighed gently and said, “You just rescued a high-level Forbidden Zone creature under attack in someone else’s field. In less than a second, you forcefully took over their territory… even capturing the core of their domain, leaving them no chance to escape…”

After a brief pause, she added, “Although, in the end, it did escape—but only after paying a huge price.”

“And yet, you seem almost disappointed, as if you didn’t really want it…”

……

“Well…”

Listening to Doctor An, Lu Xin suddenly felt confused.

“So, does this mean I’m being unreasonable?”

……

“Simply absurd.”

Doctor An’s face suddenly broke into a sweet smile as her tone turned flirtatiously casual: “But it’s quite manly…”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin was startled by her change; his face flushed as he discreetly stepped back.

At the same time, Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhang seemed to reach a silent agreement as they stepped forward in unison.

They effectively blocked Master Li.

Master Li immediately grew furious and said, “Clear the way.”

Lu Xin, slightly startled, silently thought, ‘Better not, by any means…’

Meanwhile, he hadn’t noticed that even the plastic little bride in his palm clung tightly to his thumb.

……

……

“Um, um…”

This topic always seems to derail so easily—it’s really odd.

Quickly, Lu Xin refocused and asked seriously, “By the way, what level does this item belong to?”

He frowned and pondered, “Illusory Land?”

“Whether it’s Illusory Land or not, it must be beyond the Fourth Step.”

Doctor An, effortlessly switching between coquettish and serious, resumed her analytical tone: “If it were merely a Mental Overlord, it couldn’t have exerted such overwhelming pressure on another in so short a time.”

“It nearly managed to seal it.”

“However, if we’re talking about an existence of the Fifth Step, then…”

“……”

She paused, leaving her next words unspoken while her eyes appraised him.

If it truly were of the Fifth Step, perhaps Lu Xin had been a bit too forceful?

She kept that to herself, and the matter remained undiscussed for now.

But when she mentioned Sissi, everyone instinctively turned their heads.

Not far off, the little girl named Sissi was sitting on the ground, silently attaching the metal rings that had fallen earlier to various parts of her body. While binding herself, she looked steadily toward a particular spot.

Even Doctor An and the others were taken aback.

They knew Sissi well, understanding that for her, this act was tantamount to a smile.

After barely returning from the brink of total loss of control, she immediately expressed goodwill towards something?

Only Lu Xin understood the scene, and he suddenly felt his heart soften slightly.

In his view, he saw his Sister sitting beside little Sissi.

Curiously studying her, he silently gathered the scattered metal inhibitors and handed them to her.

The two appeared tender, sharing a quirky mutual understanding.

Sister, does this mean you’ve finally made a friend?

……

……

“Oh dear…”

At that moment, Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhang, emerging from the turmoil—and Master Li’s sudden interest in Lu Xin—reflected as they said, “That was too chaotic. We really didn’t see clearly what happened… Was that doll and playing card dropped by the monster?”

“It was snatched during a hallucination…”

Lu Xin responsibly recounted his recent ordeal.

They hadn’t witnessed the hallucination; they only saw the actual confrontation.

“It almost ended up drawing Sissi into the picture?”

Everyone, upon hearing Lu Xin’s account, looked down in disbelief at the playing card.

It turned out to be a King of Diamonds.

By its design, it resembled the card from his black bag, alongside the Jack of Spades.

However, this King of Diamonds had an entirely blank center, clean and reflecting a faint light.

In the Illusory world, that girl used this playing card as her canvas.

Now, holding it, Lu Xin could vaguely feel a mysterious magnetic pull.

“It really is the Key of the Abyss.”

Doctor An’s expression shifted subtly as she saw the card, nodding slightly.

Beside her, Dr. Wang added in a low voice, “And it’s a key with forced parasitic traits.”

Lu Xin shot them a puzzled look.

Their words felt familiar, yet he couldn’t fully grasp their meaning.

“Within the Abyss Group, every ability is known as a key.”

Doctor An explained softly, “These keys enable one to harness the Abyss for unimaginable feats.”

“Much like an Ability User’s power.”

“Each distinct key can open different layers of the Abyss and leverage its authority.”

“As for those adept at wielding playing cards to use this power, only that mysterious organization—the Black Spade Office—possesses them.”

“Earlier, the Undercover Units had gathered some clues about them.”

“It is said that they hold a complete set of Abyss keys and can even mass-produce them.”

“……”

“Mass production?”

The term stirred Lu Xin, his mood fluctuating slightly.

By mass production, he meant an ability akin to that of Xia Chong or the ability users like Black Jack seen in Heichao City—where production has no limits.

As many as desired could be made.

“I’m more concerned about those keys with forced parasitic traits…”

No sooner had Doctor An finished speaking than Dr. Wang turned his attention to the playing card in Lu Xin’s hand, murmuring, “Parasitic items refer to those abnormal mental entities or pollution sources that, due to various factors, enter an object and form a stable structure.”

“And forced parasitism means creating something that can forcibly draw in such special mental energies…”

“It’s almost like a form of sealing.”

“……”

Doctor An’s face darkened as she lowered her voice, “This signifies that…”

Dr. Zhang let out a low sigh and said, “It means they are quickly catching up to us in producing mental parasitic items.”

……

……

Not being ahead implies that even the Research Institute has similar means?

Perhaps even more advanced?

Lu Xin felt a slight headache.

What kind of people are these? They either treat the Abyss as a power room that can be opened at will…

or regard special mental entities as if they were catchable Pokémon…

The power spawned by Mental Alteration is vast and chaotic, and these people’s imaginations…

seem to be even wilder than Mental Alteration itself.

“Anyway…”

After a while, Lu Xin sighed and stuffed the black playing card into his black bag.

Then he turned and said, “Let’s finish investigating that place first!”

……

……

Hearing his words, Doctor An and the others simultaneously turned around and looked down the slope.

After that bout of mental energy confrontation, the pervasive mental radiation in the dense forest had largely dissipated, and the once unending thicket now opened up considerably.

From their vantage point, they could see a cluster of black buildings emerging at the foot of the mountain, about three to four li away.

The Old Research Institute Site—or rather, the ruins of the Red Moon Research Institute—lay at the foot of the mountain.

From afar, it looked like a dark, antiquated structure.

Beside it lay a sizeable lake, its surface shimmering quietly in an eerie stillness.

Yet unlike the collapsing ruins of other cities, this site still appeared intact.

One could see large clusters of low-rise buildings and rusted barbed wire that had long lost its luster.

It only seemed aged, not dilapidated.

However, compared to those deserted cities, this structure—nestled at the foot of a barren mountain—exuded a peculiar, lifeless aura.

An overwhelming sense of desolation hit them in an instant.

Finally, they had arrived.

This suggested that their investigative team had broken through the forbidden barrier that had long troubled the Research Institute?

Everyone silently entertained that thought.

But then they shook their heads—it wasn’t necessarily so, for the previous investigation team might already have been here.

Perhaps they had arrived and even conducted thorough investigations.

They simply failed to relay the message, so the danger might still persist.

……

……

“Yes, instead of overthinking it, let’s finish our mission first.”

Doctor An sighed softly, her gaze drifting to the buildings below as she murmured, “Let’s set off!”

Now that dusk had fallen and the research institute seemed almost at the slope, if they had to find a way over, it would take at least another thirty minutes—in other words, by the time they arrived, darkness would have set in.

Normally, such a bizarre, eerie site is best investigated by day.

But then again, when it comes to a place this peculiar, is there really much difference between day and night?

So, let’s move.

Everyone shared this sentiment as they repacked their gear.

After a brief rest and some water, they carefully made their way down the slope.

Lu Xin intentionally stayed at the back of the line, wary that something stubborn in the forest might take advantage of the final stretch after everyone left.

Yet the forest behind seemed completely subdued.

The towering ancient trees watched them silently, their branches stretching as if bidding farewell.

Lu Xin felt unusually calm—perhaps relieved that he had managed to put the forest in its place.

Although the creature that had hidden and fled still worried him a bit…

after that clash of power, he no longer feared it.

Moreover, Lu Xin noticed that his Sister seemed in high spirits too.

She happily darted about near Sissi, her little face a mix of curiosity and affection. Occasionally, she would carefully nudge Sissi, prompting the latter—nestled in her heavy down jacket—to retaliate with a tiny, blood-threaded poke.

Then, facing each other, the two exchanged silly smiles.

“These two…”

Feigning an ‘illusion’ ability so that Sissi could see it, Lu Xin mused, “How childish…”

But Sister making friends is a good thing, after all.

Although Sister has been acting strangely lately, Lu Xin found that this odd behavior was pleasant.

……

……

After about half an hour, they followed the small road to the foot of the mountain and then along the lakeshore to the site.

Looking up at the gray, towering buildings submerged under the Red Moon—desolate and somber.

The Red Moon sat silently in the sky, half-hidden by the mountains, as if in fear.

This left the Research Institute almost entirely swallowed by darkness. The trees in the surrounding forest stood like shadowy sentinels behind the buildings, vigilantly guarding against any intruder.

A strange emotion welled up in Lu Xin’s heart as he gazed at the institute.

From this angle, though the place should have felt entirely unfamiliar, he experienced an unprecedented sense of familiarity.

While scrutinizing the building, a bizarre thrill stirred deep inside him.

This was merely an empty, abandoned old structure that didn’t even seem eerie.

Yet in Lu Xin’s eyes, it appeared to breathe and writhe.

Those dark, empty windows resembled watching eyes hidden in the gloom.

Was he just too tense?

Lu Xin stared at those dark windows for a long while before finding the scene almost amusing.

He gently shook his head and turned away.

But just then, a clear voice rang in his ear, “You’re finally back…”

“Snap!”

Lu Xin spun around, his gaze fixed on the Research Institute as goosebumps erupted along his back.