Chapter 817: The Abyssal Gambit

Office War…

After hearing Director Xue Jia’s roar, Doctor An froze completely.

Her intelligence was formidable, but it still took her a few moments to finally grasp what Professor Xue Jia meant.

No mistake—Director Xue Jia’s analysis of the First Researcher was spot on.

They were simply too powerful.

Having mastered the Abyss, they were already untouchable in this world.

With the Genesis Hard Drive in their possession, they could seal it to the very bottom of the Abyss.

They could also orchestrate the arrival of a certain Ultimate being—or even ensure it never manifested in reality.

They could exploit and target each of their weaknesses by leveraging their understanding of both the Abyss and the Ultimate.

That’s why those who now emerge tend to be Ultimates with glaring, exploitable flaws.

In the end, they kept only the most controllable elements: the ‘Nothingness’ and, to a degree, the humanoid, fragile-willed Abyss Worm.

These two lack ambition, yet boast formidable defenses and offensive instincts…

Likewise, having mastered the Abyss gave them the freedom to conduct bold experiments without restraint.

Take, for instance, the Tyrant Legion.

They feared no failure because any failed experiment could simply be tossed into the Abyss to be digested.

The Abyss was their greatest ally and strongest backing.

With the Abyss under their control, no one or faction could dare to stand against them.

And with the Genesis Hard Drive, nothing could be snatched away from their grasp.

Thus, Director Xue Jia proposed this plan.

To elevate the deepest power within the Abyss—the force that the First Researcher dreaded above all.

By drawing the primordial power closer to reality, its influence over the Abyss would intensify.

And as that influence grew, the First Researcher’s control over the Abyss would naturally wane…

to the point where they dared not move freely in and out of the Abyss.

This plan wasn’t based on any scientific principle.

It was simply a ploy born from the idea that an enemy of an enemy is a friend.

A tactic that researchers wouldn’t consider, but one that veterans of office battles knew all too well.

So…

Staring at Director Xue Jia’s grim yet proud face, Doctor An suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

She regretted having spent so long cursing him for his deceptive tactics.

……

……

“What exactly are you all doing…”

At that moment, the Black-Clad Bishop also stood utterly dumbfounded.

From forcefully unleashing the Insightful Eye to survey every corner of the Abyss, to that terrifying blue electric python barreling from reality into the Abyss—with significant pauses in between—he just couldn’t fathom what these people were up to.

It wasn’t that his reaction was slow; these methods were simply beyond his expectations.

Though dressed in a clerical black robe, his mind leaned towards scientific reasoning, completely detached from any office politics.

……

……

“Cack, cack, cack…”

The blue electric python struck the Abyss and instantly snaked its way through countless fine fissures. With an almost unnerving precision, it located the weakest point in the First Researcher’s control and then seeped down like a fresh spring.

It was as if it had shattered the frail bricks hidden behind a wall, triggering a massive chain reaction.

Boom!

A tremendous surge of mental turbulence erupted, scattering like drifting clouds.

Everyone was drawn into the Abyss, yet they sensed that the Abyss itself was quaking like the real world.

Only then did the Black-Clad Bishop begin to understand their true objective.

In that moment, boundless terror welled up in his eyes.

The Abyss was a colossal realm of illusion, its ties to reality both tenuous and undeniable.

Its illusory power allowed ability users—or even living beings—to freely mold a mental space, almost as if achieving mythical status.

However, once this mental space reached a certain scale and quality, it required a stable framework to sustain it long term.

Not to mention, the First Researcher was never truly the master of the vast illusory world that was the Abyss.

Only the Genesis Hard Drive could barely be considered its master—a foundational, albeit primordial, force.

The First Researcher merely wielded the Genesis Hard Drive to manipulate the Abyss at will.

And whether a space is illusory or real, once a framework is established, vulnerabilities are inevitable.

Keeper of Fate and Director Xue Jia executed a meticulously unexpected plan: as the First Researcher’s exploitation of the Abyss peaked, they used their insightful power to pinpoint its frailties.

Then, employing techniques recently developed by the Research Institute, they launched a precise strike.

……

……

Beneath the Research Institute and at four surrounding bases, researchers were developing a secret device designed to annihilate mental creatures.

This device was originally intended to eliminate lord-level mental creatures lurking within the Abyss.

Its first application was planned for when Flame City was being reshaped into Hell, spurred on by hints from the Cangzhang Sect. That’s why the investigation team included Xia Chong—her task was straightforward: pinpoint the Hell’s entrance, send back data, and let the Research Institute remotely activate the ‘Abyssal Destruction Device’ to obliterate that hell from thousands of miles away.

But that time, Lu Xin ‘happened’ to be in Flame City and resolved the matter.

As a result, the Research Institute never got a chance to test the device, and the First Researchers never took note of it.

Yet, Mom had noticed.

Although she was responsible for surveilling various factions on behalf of the First Researcher, she chose to keep it hidden.

After all, she had already played Mahjong with representatives from Moon Eclipse Research Institute and secured a preliminary cooperation.

Thus, upon discovering the device, she spontaneously conceived the current plan.

And witnessing the death of the Sword-Bearer moved her deeply.

She decided to advance the plan.

And so, everything unfolded naturally.

It was as simple as that.

……

……

Admittedly, a device that could only kill lord-level Abyss creatures was hardly enough to dismantle the entire framework of the Abyss.

But a precise strike on its weak spots would suffice.

Rumbling…

A tremor like an earthquake reverberated from all sides. The entire Abyss shook, and in the distance, a terrifying collapse echoed, triggering a domino effect under the pressure of rampant mental power.

Starting from the vulnerable points, the Abyss began to crumble under its own pressure.

The original Abyss, built layer upon layer like a pyramid, had once formed the sturdiest framework.

But now, one of its layers was collapsing completely under the strain.

In a remote area, on the far side of the Sleeping Mountains,

within a massive base,

inside the deep pit of a colossal mental power matrix, countless individuals, silently slumbering in petri dishes, suddenly began to suffer harrowing nightmares. They thrashed violently, their limbs twitching as they pounded against the glass walls, sparking showers of electrical arcs.

Some even woke in sheer terror, eyes wide as they expelled clusters of air bubbles from their mouths.

“Foolish…”

The Black-Clad Bishop’s hair stood on end as he suddenly bellowed at those around him:

“Xue Jia, is this your idea?”

“This is the dumbest plan I’ve ever seen—no wonder you couldn’t do anything and had to settle for being Director…”

“……”

“Ahem…”

Amidst the furious shouts, the contract that had long shielded Director Xue Jia neared its end.

He abruptly handed the last remnant of the contract to Doctor An.

Then, swaying a few steps, he steadied himself in the Abyss—stumbling yet smiling.

“Yes, I admit, I was never a model student…”

He added, addressing the Black-Clad Bishop, “But usually, only a bad student can beat a teacher, right?”

“Foolish!”

“Delusional!”

The Black-Clad Bishop roared in anger, holding a thick stack of playing cards as he pointed furiously, “You want to destroy the Abyss…”

“You’re completely delusional.”

“……”

“Ugh…”

This time, Director Xue Jia was utterly dumbfounded.

He paused before finally realizing that the Black-Clad Bishop still hadn’t grasped his true objective.

He couldn’t help but laugh through his tears as he said, “Teacher, you’ve misunderstood me…”

“After all, you’re a teacher—how could you not even guess what I’m planning now?”

“You’re just so crazy and naive…”

“……”

“They plan to unleash the deepest power of the Abyss to balance against us…”

At the same moment, beside the Jeep, the Chief Researcher—who had remained motionless until now—suddenly reacted. Using some kind of connection, he murmured to the Black-Clad Bishop in a low tone, then quickly pulled an operation panel from the Jeep.

“You go and clean them out.”

“I’ll unleash the Genesis Hard Drive’s illusory power to force a repair.”

“……”

“……”

“You all…”

After a reminder from the white-coated Researcher, the Black-Clad Bishop finally came to his senses.

His face registered utter disbelief: “How can anyone come up with such an unappealing idea?”

Then he turned sharply and exhaled deeply.

“If it weren’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t want to kill a single person who could benefit our research…”

“But now…”

“……”

“Whoosh!”

The playing cards in his hand suddenly fanned out.

At that same moment, at the Genesis Hard Drive, countless red lights erupted as massive electrical currents surged into each slumbering petri dish.

Immediately, the subjects within them were activated, and a powerful surge of illusory energy flooded into the Abyss in an instant—like a force easily manipulated to change at will—flowing toward the collapsing breach in the third layer of the Abyss…

It was at that moment that everyone’s consciousness was forcefully dragged upward.