Chapter 800: The One Consciousness

“What exactly is the One Consciousness?”

“What are you so afraid of?”

Deep beneath the ruined Research Institute, Lu Xin was clearly getting rattled by Dr. An.

Instinctively, he summoned his black particles, preparing to battle some unspeakable horror.

But to his surprise, Dr. An had no intention of letting him strike; with a quick move, she positioned herself behind him.

At that moment, Dr. Zhang and Dr. Wang reacted just as swiftly. At Dr. An’s silent command, they dashed forward, pinning Lu Xin between them, each holding one of his arms. Their strength was such that they hoisted him off his feet.

“So that idiot old fool probably guessed all along…”

Simultaneously, Dr. An swiftly donned a specially made frameless pair of glasses on her face.

With a light tap, a flash of blue light burst forth.

Then she lifted her white coat, and from behind her black-stocking-clad thighs, produced a submachine gun. She casually snapped out the magazine to check – it was loaded entirely with special bullets. With a forceful stomp of her feet, her long high heels cracked with a resounding “crack.”

Though a little short in stature, her movements were remarkably agile.

“Buzz…buzz…buzz…”

In the far end of the corridor, patches of blue light began to appear.

It was Master Li, who, upon hearing the command, had already sent the remaining electronic flies over to escort them out.

“I suppose I don’t need to be pinned down anymore…”

Meanwhile, the Lu Xin who was still held between two men couldn’t shake an odd feeling.

Even though he had absorbed so much information that his mind was a bit overwhelmed, he wasn’t seriously injured.

Why was he being treated this way?

“You must have seen it when you received the data,” one of them said.

Amidst Lu Xin’s confusion, a prepared Dr. An signaled them to move quickly. She leaned in low to explain, “The first Researcher holds the Genesis Hard Drive, a source of illusionary power that could envelop the entire world… Even if today’s Genesis Hard Drive doesn’t quite manage that, they surely possess a method to achieve it in a short time.”

“Once activated, everyone in the world would be engulfed in a powerful illusion…”

“…”

“Is this the truth behind the world’s restart?”

Lu Xin instinctively opened his mouth, then quickly corrected himself, “No, no matter how strong the illusionary power may be, it can never restart the world.”

“Illusions are false – no matter how real they seem, they’re still fake.”

“…”

“Yes…”

Dr. An glanced back at him, her blue-lensed glasses casting a mysterious glow over her face.

“So, they still need another kind of power…”

“…”

“The power of True Creation…”

At that, no further explanation was needed – Lu Xin immediately understood.

Dr. An nodded and, clenching her teeth slightly, said, “Yes, they need the power of True Creation…”

“With the power of True Creation, combined with an illusion capable of covering the world, they can truly restart the world…”

“No – completely hold this world in their grasp, like a mere toy.”

“This is the ‘One Consciousness’!”

“…”

Hearing her explanation, Lu Xin felt a sudden, heavy sinking in his heart.

He suddenly became intensely curious about the message he had just received from the past.

Could that complex bundle of information really include this element?

Then… what exactly is it?

The power of True Creation…

Although the information from before was too complex to digest quickly,

Lu Xin could already discern many things by comparing that data with reality.

In line with Dr. An’s hypothesis, he remained clueless about what exactly happened during the First Higher-Dimension Life Research Project, and the data didn’t cover it either. But he was certain that some mishap had occurred during the project’s progression.

It was precisely that accident that led to the failure of their experiments.

Could the Red Moon Incident also be the result of that same failed experiment?

Regardless, even though their project had failed, it left behind many remnants.

One of which was the Genesis Hard Drive.

Lu Xin didn’t know why they had lurked for so many years – maybe because the Genesis Hard Drive had been damaged?

Maybe so!

But even possessing the Genesis Hard Drive was useless – they needed the power of True Creation.

And as far as Lu Xin knew, in this world, only two people had ever come close to or showcased the power of True Creation.

His childhood self and Number Two, who was now in Flame City.

The current puzzle was why they hadn’t sought out Number Two.

And why, even though they had clearly found him in their youth, nothing was ever done at that time…

The more he pondered, the more questions arose.

What happened to Lu Tianming after he left that message?

Was he the very first figure Lu Xin saw at the bottom of the Abyss?

But if that initial figure in the Abyss was Lu Tianming, then who was the one who had accompanied him to register the house in his youth?

And what did the First Researcher do after leaving Qinggang?

…

…

Lu Xin felt a slight headache, a curious longing arising as memories of the past resurfaced.

This investigation had uncovered crucial matters for him, yet it hadn’t provided the answers he sought.

In this situation, perhaps it was best to retreat for now.

Lu Xin was eager to find out what Lu Tianming had left for him…

Maybe once he pieced all this information together and understood it fully, the answers would come.

…

…

“Shhrrr…”

As Lu Xin was lost in these thoughts while trailing quickly behind Dr. An,

suddenly, a wet, slick sound of something scraping against the floor arose not far from them.

It was as if a colossal tentacle was slowly sliding across the ground.

That moist, ground-hugging sound made Lu Xin immediately think of a tentacle.

Surely it couldn’t be that an overly dedicated cleaner in the Research Institute returned at night just to mop the floors?

“Whoosh!”

At that very moment, Dr. An and the other two doctors abruptly halted their steps.

Thump, thump.

They could almost hear each other’s heartbeats.

Dr. Zhang and Dr. Wang, in particular, trembled visibly, instinctively moving closer together to pin Lu Xin in the middle for a slight sense of security, while their eyes widened as they scanned for the source of the sound.

“Beep beep—”

At that moment, the micro detector strapped to their wrists began flashing rapidly.

This indicated that a surge of mental radiation was emerging quickly.

Almost simultaneously, not far off, the electronic flies let out a series of anxious “pa-pa” sounds.

In the next instant, dazzling streams of electricity suddenly materialized, weaving the electronic flies into a net of electric current.

By the light of the electric net, they could just make out a giant tentacle gliding by gracefully and mysteriously past the flies.

The unexpected burst of electricity seemed to startle it, and it quickly shrank back into the darkness.

“What was that?”

Dr. Zhang and Dr. Wang, terrified, clutched Lu Xin even tighter as they stammered in unison.

…

…

“It must be some kind of mysterious pollution…”

At that moment, Lu Xin reacted much faster than the others – after all, he was the one who had truly received the message.

In a low voice he said, “The Forbidden Power here is fading, so everything that was once suppressed by it is emerging.”

“This…”

Dr. Zhang’s teeth chattered as he exclaimed, “Isn’t the disappearance of the Forbidden Power a good thing?”

“No…”

The thought sent a tidal wave of information exploding in Lu Xin’s mind. Waves of data flooded his brain, causing his expression to shift from confusion to agony, as the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably.

“It wasn’t that the Forbidden Power kept us at bay, preventing us from approaching…”

“It was that the Forbidden Power had been waiting for me all along, while the other bizarre forces, though desperate to come close, simply couldn’t break in…”

“…”

“…”

It was unclear whether Dr. Zhang and Dr. Wang fully understood.

At that moment, overwhelmed by the chaotic flow of information, Lu Xin could only explain things as best as he could.

A terrifying Forbidden Power had long enveloped the old site of the Research Institute.

This mighty force caused the Moon Eclipse Research Institute’s previous detection attempts to continuously fail.

They had even speculated before that perhaps the First Researcher had set up some sinister safeguard

to keep outsiders at bay and guard the secrets here.

Especially, the entities they encountered in the forest outside had, in some ways, confirmed this.

Yet, it wasn’t until this moment – when Lu Xin received information transmitted from who-knows-how many years ago – that he finally understood.

It wasn’t like that at all.

The Forbidden Power within the institute wasn’t an ally of the First Researcher; it was, in fact, their enemy.

It guarded the information here, waiting for someone to come and claim it.

There was reason to believe that the First Researcher was forced to leave this place because of this Forbidden Power.

Earlier, when they came through, the force encountered in the forest was not the same as that within the Research Institute.

Those outside were merely coveting the secrets inside, yet too fearful of the power to step in.

But now that he had obtained this information, the lingering mental energy here was already beginning to fade.

The bizarre beings and mental entities outside, having waited for so many years, could no longer be contained – they surged in from all directions. Inside the institute, Lu Xin could almost feel as if he was being overwhelmed by a raging flood…

…

…

“Boom boom boom boom boom boom…”

Suddenly, a wild gust swept through, and the doors along the corridor swung open simultaneously.

A chilling, low breathing sound emerged – behind every door, enormous tentacles slowly reached out.

The scene was both mysterious and awe-inspiring.