Chapter 812: Chaos in the Abyss

Wuwuwu…

At the same moment, a member of the Negative Zero Unit who had leapt from the helicopter positioned himself between the oncoming threat and Lu Xin.

All around, the roaring of engines filled the air.

Modified off-road vehicles, built to barre through Dense Forests, burst forth from among the trees.

Each vehicle carried five Negative Zero Unit members. Agile and ruthless, they charged through the chaotic mental turbulence while simultaneously opening fire.

Among these vehicles was one that stood out.

A slight, somewhat gaunt figure astride a motorcycle broke away from the convoy of off-road vehicles.

With a sharp jerk of the handlebars, he plunged headlong into the endless realm of the bizarre.

In his wake, oddities were flung aside in swathes.

It was a phenomenon that defied all reason.

Upon closer inspection, one could see spiraling mental vortices gathering around the motorcycle.

Only through a certain perspective could one discern a group of Undercover Units dashing rapidly around the bike.

Crackling and clattering.

Individually weak, their overwhelming numbers generated a massive surge of mental power.

One after another, the anomalies were blasted aside by their relentless impact.

The most conspicuous of them wore a red cap adorned with two horn-like protrusions.

…

…

The motorcycle, with brazen force, barreled through the horde of anomalies.

Then, almost without deceleration and even picking up speed, it charged straight toward Doctor An’s current location.

When barely twenty to thirty meters away, a sudden jolt nearly flipped the bike; the tires scraped the ground, scattering sparse, desolate grass and gravel. For a moment, the bike reached a level parallel to the earth before elegantly righting itself.

“Swish!”

The bike came to a smooth, stable halt—a display both fluid and mesmerizing.

Many of its maneuvers, however, had assistance.

For instance, when the bike nearly flipped, it was the combined effort of Undercover Units that steadied it, preventing a disastrous fall.

“Hello there, Teacher…”

Only after the passengers on board had stabilized did they remove their helmets.

Beneath the helmet was a gaunt old man with a snowy white beard, even sporting a pair of reading glasses.

He smiled and raised his head to greet the Black-clad Bishop before gently tapping his headset.

Lifting his chin slightly toward Doctor An, he said, “Although the signal’s a bit scrambled, I think I just heard…”

“You claim that my students aren’t truly researchers?”

“…”

The Black-clad Bishop regarded him coldly and replied, “In my eyes, you aren’t true researchers either.”

“Bullshit.”

The old man on the motorcycle—presently the Director of Moon Eclipse Research Institute, Xue Jia—shook his head dismissively.

Then he added, “I believe you’re the ones who aren’t genuine researchers.”

“You’re a bunch of madmen.”

“A group who fancy themselves supremely rational yet are, in reality, utterly insane!”

“…”

While speaking, he dismounted his motorcycle and bowed half-heartedly to the Black-clad Bishop, saying, “And now…”

“I’ve had enough of cleaning up your messes, Teacher…”

“I’m going to stop you.”

“…”

“…”

“Stop us?”

“Do you have any idea how dire the situation has become?”

“Do you realize the consequences our thwarted plans might bring?”

“…”

Unexpectedly, most who heard Xue Jia’s words from Moon Eclipse Research Institute would normally take it as mere provocation.

They saw it as the opening salvo in a battle that would soon shatter alliances.

Thus, many might choose to sneer or retort sharply.

Some would even resort to overwhelming brute force to seize the initiative.

Yet the Black-clad Bishop’s response was one of pure rage.

That anger brimmed with an uncontrollable need to challenge and loudly refute Xue Jia’s declarations.

Even the hand clutching the Black Playing Card visibly bulged with blue veins.

“I don’t know…”

As he vociferously questioned, Director Xue Jia had already redonned his motorcycle helmet and bellowed in reply:

“You’ve hidden all the secrets—how are we supposed to know?”

“We can only investigate and decide for ourselves…”

“…”

As he spoke, he rapidly reached into his jacket and pulled out a faded notebook.

“You lack the wisdom to make the necessary decisions.”

Meanwhile, the Black-clad Bishop strode forward, his steps unwavering.

Beside him, a Deep Abyss Worm that had just suffered a heavy blow now reared its head high.

Its massive, unsteady form swayed, its countless jaws opening in unison, emitting a hunger-driven rumble as it extended its body layer by layer toward the Moon Eclipse Research Institute Director.

A colossal surge of mental power instantly engulfed an area of over a hundred meters.

Every trace of mental fluctuation was drawn to the worm’s gaping maws—swallowing both the chaotic energies and human resolve.

Beneath the towering worm, the voice of the Black-clad Bishop rang out clearly:

“We will never lay bare all that we know. Humanity has always been this way.”

“The more people there are, the more foolish they seem.”

“An individual and a crowd possess the same nature.”

“A strong person must overcome laziness and hesitation by suppressing their own nature—often even sacrificing a part of themselves in the process.”

“Likewise, a people must have the courage and will to move forward, even if it means severing a limb in a critical moment.”

“You can’t please everyone’s opinion; even the most valid ideas will face dissent.”

“That’s human nature—a trait of our entire species.”

“So, someone must decide, to move forward, even if it means severing that very limb.”

“Do you think, when poisoned, that limb would willingly be discarded?”

“No. If it developed its own will, it would drag the entire person down with it!”

“…”

His voice rose steadily, reaching its zenith as the worm’s body began engulfing everything beneath it:

“As researchers, you should have already gazed into the Abyss.”

“And having done so, you should not harbor such foolish thoughts…”

“…”

“Huff…”

Even as the Black-clad Bishop roared, faced with the grotesque horror of the Abyssal Worm, Director Xue Jia—usually loquacious—suddenly lost all desire to speak. He merely exhaled deeply and shook his head:

“Teacher, do you understand where your problems lie?”

“You’ve stared into the Abyss for too long, losing hope in humanity…”

“How can this world be saved by those who’ve forsaken hope in people?”

“…”

At that very moment, he waited for the Abyssal Worm to draw near before swiftly flipping open the notebook in his hand.

“Rustle… rustle…”

Suddenly, the heavy clatter of chains colliding rang out.

From that unassuming, yellowed notebook, an extraordinarily potent surge of mental power burst forth.

As the Abyssal Worm dove rapidly, and its mental power set the air swirling in vortexes, the notebook was likewise affected—the unleashed energies soared to a terrifying peak, overwhelming the area around him.

“Buzzing…”

The Abyssal Worm, with its nature to consume everything, continued its ravenous onslaught.

Every maw on its body greedily devoured all the mental energy in sight.

It was pure instinct.

But then, amidst the clanging of heavy chains, unimaginably enormous links surged from the thin notebook, instinctively piercing the Abyssal Worm’s body, threading through its jaws in an instant.

In a flash, the worm’s body became entangled with black chains.

It was as if ropes and chains had impaled it, anchoring its form and even pulling it toward the notebook.

Its huge bulk and maws began to shrink, gradually being dragged into the fragile notebook.

…

…

First-tier parasitic item of the Research Institute: the Cage of Truth.

Moreover, it is the Cage of Truth fused with the controlling power of the Cangzhang Sect.

The Abyssal Worm can devour everything—even the chains of the Cangzhang Sect.

Yet, as an extension of the Cangzhang Sect’s power, the controlling chains can slow the worm’s consumption to some extent.

This offers a chance to temporarily restrain it by harnessing those chains.

The next step is to forcibly pull it into the Cage of Truth, effectively sealing it, at least partially.

“Clack, clack, clack…”

At the same time, members of the Negative Zero Unit had long since burst onto the battlefield.

The swirling mental energies around them inflicted intense shocks upon the human brain.

For an ordinary person, arriving here would instantly turn them into a mindless lunatic with complete mental chaos.

Yet the Negative Zero Unit remained virtually unaffected.

They maintained a disciplined formation amid the swirling chaos of anomalies.

Armed with specialized weapons, they withstood the onslaught of bizarre attacks.

Only when a demented person rushed at them did two members fall, torn into a shower of gore.

And they didn’t even flinch.

They quickly formed a barrier between Lu Xin and the endless anomalies.

The member who had initially jumped from the helicopter had already shouted without emotion:

“Mr. Lu, please leave under our escort.”

“Mr. Lu, please depart with our protection. We will keep you safe.”

“…”

It’s the creation of a parasitic item by an armed force that is largely immune to mental pollution—capable of successfully encapsulating the Fire-Thief’s mental power and integrating the controlling might of the Cangzhang Sect, so that these two ultimate forces can work effectively and stably.

Amid the chaos on the battlefield, while the Black-clad Bishop strode forward,

the chief researcher of the Red Moon Research Institute, clad in a white coat, remained quietly by a Jeep.

He even produced a sleek black pipe and began to smoke.

Observing Director Xue Jia of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute leading the Negative Zero Unit and even dealing a heavy blow to the Abyssal Worm, he showed no sign of panic—instead, his face bore an expression of reluctant admiration: “It seems that while we retreated to fix the Genesis Hard Drive, these young men have really put in the effort, achieving some remarkable results…”

“Alas…”

“After a young person makes a breakthrough, they rush to grab the spotlight.”

“In doing so, they end up displaying their ignorance…”

“…”

“What on earth are these creatures?”

Just then, as the part of the Abyssal Worm protecting itself was being pulled into the notebook, a squad of Negative Zero Unit members charged over, seemingly intent on launching a fierce assault.

The distorted force field generated by the Abyssal Worm had thinned to the point where it could barely protect itself.

Yet the Black-clad Bishop showed neither panic nor tension.

Instead, he exuded irritation at the incessant, pestering disturbances, as if swatting away flies.

“Your understanding of mental power is woefully shallow,” he snapped impatiently.

He lifted his right hand and, with a swift flick of his finger, sent one of the playing cards spinning between his digits.

Then, with a casual release, the card dropped to the ground.

“Plop…”

The playing card hit the ground with barely a sound.

Yet as that slight noise rang out, countless sounds erupted in the air around them.

It was the rapid clattering of doors being swung open.

In the desolate wasteland, the sound was startlingly out of place.

As the door-opening clamor grew, ominous dark-red lights suddenly burst across the barren landscape.

These lights filled the entire area—before almost every member of the Negative Zero Unit, a door-like space appeared, as densely as if standing in a corridor warped from reality.

Then, a bloodcurdling, roaring bellow emerged from the doors.

In the next moment, ferocious, almost berserk figures charged out of the doors like wild beasts.

They pounced on the Negative Zero Unit members, who barely had time to react, and viciously sank their teeth into them.

Two of them even surged directly toward Director Xue Jia and his entourage.

Their eyes glowed scarlet and their movements were remarkably agile, each emanating a faint, dark aura.

Strangely, this aura bore an uncanny resemblance to the black particles on Lu Xin—twisted but even more ethereal.

Boom, boom, boom!

Even when struck at close range by specialized weapons capable of making even a third-stage entity with unlimited pollution powers convulse, the Negative Zero Unit members merely staggered slightly; their bones audibly crackling as they relentlessly lunged forward.

“Crack, crack…”

They not only overran one Negative Zero Unit member after another,

but several even leaped into midair, clutched the controlling chains piercing the Abyssal Worm, and voraciously gnawed at them.

Pieces of this ultimate force were bitten off, then instantly tensed and snapped free.

…

…

“Swish…”

Witnessing these ferociously monstrous creatures, Director Xue Jia couldn’t help but step back.

He recognized a familiar look on their faces.

Each one was uncannily similar to Lu Xin—even their auras bore a striking resemblance…

“You…”

He suddenly raised his head to glare at the Black-clad Bishop.

“Not bad.”

The Black-clad Bishop stood amidst the densely packed, dark-red doors and spoke coolly:

“Since we intend to seal that man’s mental power, why wouldn’t we consider cloning his body for the seal?”

“Unfortunately, scientific research is riddled with inexplicable problems.”

“Even his clones cannot withstand this mental power, turning into nothing more than monsters.”

“So we have no choice but to repurpose these clones into a violent force.”

“Admittedly, this power is hard to control and even harder to contain.”

“But once molded into humanoid weapons, it’s incredibly effective for pure brute force…”