Chapter 818: Abyssal Turmoil

As countless playing cards rained down, bizarre creatures—already unsettled by the shifts in the Abyss and thrown into chaos by the Clown’s sudden appearance—seemed, in that moment, to regain a will of their own.

Buzzing filled the air…

The massive Abyss Worm suddenly lifted its huge body. Two semi-gargantuan heads stretched skyward, while its segmented body unfurled to reveal rows of gaping mouths.

From afar, its body resembled a neatly arranged mosaic of spots.

Eerie mental waves spread across the dark-red Abyss like a tidal surge, crashing to both sides.

In the next instant, one of its colossal heads lunged at the dense cluster of eyes, intent on devouring everything.

The other head managed to shield the Chief Researcher in his white coat.

The remaining half fixed its sight on Director Xue, coiling around him like a giant python.

Meanwhile, in the Abyss, the uniquely eerie Tyrant Legion—replicated by Lu Tianming—reacted with lightning speed. The violent tremors and surges of mental power filled them with a raw, inner excitement as they rushed toward the towering eyes above.

“Crack, crack, crack…”

They frantically gnawed at each eye, producing sounds that shattered like broken glass.

A burst of blood exploded, scattering like clusters of popped bubbles.

Hiss, hiss, hiss…

Amid the surrounding strangeness, the very tip of a black vine was the first to respond.

A half-sized child let out a piercing scream as the vine raced across the ground, slicing through the Abyss’s shadows. Remarkably, as it moved, tender buds began to sprout along its length.

These buds even burrowed into the corpses of fallen Negative Zero Unit personnel.

They pierced the bodies and miraculously reanimated them, causing each to stagger back to life.

Fine strands of mental power wove through the battlefield, making every individual appear incredibly small.

……

……

Facing the endless strangeness and terror, Director Xue of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute stood with a cold, detached stare.

His lean figure confronted the gargantuan, half-beheaded Abyss Worm and the ruthless Tyrant Legion with steely resolve.

He remained utterly motionless.

Just watching as the eerie forces closed in, his cold eyes never leaving the distant Black-clad Bishop.

With unyielding defiance, he faced these horrors.

It seemed nothing could provoke fear or panic from him.

…Then, his eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.

…After that, his legs trembled subtly.

Finally, he could hold back no longer. He spun around and ran, shouting, “Help me…”

Things had unfolded far differently than he’d planned.

Though he had prepared to sacrifice himself in this battle, the relentless despair made it impossible to maintain that stoic, noble stance.

It was too hard—utterly unbearable…

He tried to console himself, “Fear of death is only human…”

While screaming, he bolted deeper into the Abyss.

At that moment, the remaining Undercover Units also began to flee.

They had already transmitted enough information and sacrificed plenty of their own.

Had Director Xue met his end with calm resolve, they wouldn’t have been so frightened.

But now, with him at the pinnacle of his contract, fear had taken hold—what could possibly give them strength?

Hurry, brothers, run!

……

……

During the escape, the Abyss Worm rapidly closed in.

Within the Abyss, it seemed to ignore space, arriving in an instant.

At that moment, Dr. An, surrounded by the dwindling force of the contract, couldn’t help but rush forward to grab him.

But despite his fear and attempt to escape, Director Xue swiftly waved his hand.

His intent was clear: no one was allowed to get closer.

With the contract force nearly depleted, protecting one person might hold out until the end.

But shielding two meant certain mutual doom.

Dr. An’s eyes turned bloodshot as he watched the retreating man’s back, a surge of intense impulse rising within him.

This man had once opposed her alliance with Dr. Lin.

He had always treated research lackadaisically, more like a politician than a true scholar.

He shamelessly opened backdoors for himself, continually self-promoting and securing research resources, which earned the secret disdain of many colleagues who believed he hadn’t truly earned his position.

He always hid secrets and exuded a calculating air that was utterly detestable…

So detestable that many would rather leave Central City than share his name.

But in the end…

Dr. An muttered, barely audible, “Dad…”

Director Xue, still fleeing, seemed to sense something suddenly.

His body shuddered as he turned during his escape, his expression softening with unexpected emotion.

In the next moment, a massive section of the Abyss Worm surged forward. Rows of gaping mouths swallowed him whole, while the dark-red shadows of the Abyss trembled violently like surging tides.

Dr. An’s eyes filled with tears, numb emotions surging inside.

…Then she suddenly heard a low, resonant “wuh.”

A motorcycle burst out from the chaotic swirl beneath the Abyss Worm. Director Xue gripped the handlebars and floored the throttle, while Undercover Units huddled in the back seat—some even clambering onto his shoulders and head. It looked as if the motorcycle and he were overrun with mushrooms.

Countless mental vortexes whirled overhead, devoured by the gaping jaws of the Abyss Worm.

All the while, they fed the creature as they desperately fled, their will to survive pushed to its limits…

“Since you called me Dad, I’ve decided I’m not dying…”

Director Xue, racing toward the Coronated Clown in a bid for protection from his sworn enemy, shouted.

Dr. An, still dazed, finally erupted with an angry curse after a long pause:

“Idiot…”

He had even deceived his own daughter.

Just when the final escape plan was ready, he chose to display a few seconds of hollow righteousness…

……

……

Chaos, brutality, and bizarre strangeness reigned.

A massive surge of mental power crashed down like a tidal wave.

Neither Director Xue of the Research Institute, nor the red eyes floating in mid-air at their limit,

nor even the emergent forces of the Ultimate Circus who had just entered the battlefield,

could secure any advantage in this war-torn arena.

They could only escape, suffer under overwhelming disadvantage, or begin to succumb to partial contamination.

Yet amidst it all, Lu Xin remained firmly under Mom’s protection.

His heart pounded with desperation. He longed to stop Mom and break free, to tear apart those who dared believe they controlled everything.

But from the very beginning, he had been shielded by Mom.

In this chaotic battlefield, where anyone’s consciousness could vanish in an instant,

he was ironically the safest, completely protected one.

Mom’s piercing gaze enveloped the entire area and filled his surroundings.

He didn’t want this protection now, but he couldn’t escape without challenging her.

He shouted desperately, begging her to let him go.

Yet, as before, Mom held onto Lu Xin with a familiar trick, confining him. Only a slender strand of mental power escaped, drifting lightly by his ear, whispering:

“Now is not the time for you to leave…”

“You carry the hope of us all. I’ve only managed to carve out a small chance for you, so that in the end, you might have the time to reshape our fate and end this cycle of destiny.”

“……”

“……”

As her soft words faded away, Lu Xin sensed countless eyes fixed on him.

At the end of each gaze was a single eye, each brimming with Mom’s strength.

She was the Keeper of Fate among the Ultimate, possessing the most profound insight.

Under such scrutinizing stares, everything became starkly clear.

Even the Unique Consciousness was laid bare.

The torrent of information Lu Xin had received thirty years ago was still incompletely digested.

He had no energy to dwell on it now.

Besides, even if he began to truly understand that data, it wasn’t something that could happen quickly.

But with Mom’s power aiding him, Lu Xin’s understanding suddenly accelerated.

It was as if the toughest ice in his mind was melting away rapidly, warmed by a mysterious force.

It was Mom’s warmth.

Lu Xin felt a mix of defiance and gratitude, along with an aching emptiness crowding his heart.

“Why?”

Puzzled, he could only ask Mom, “Why go this far?”

Her soft voice replied, “Every Ultimate carries a dual nature…”

She continued, “One side of the Fire-Thief is Truth; the other is a prisoner…”

She added, “Similarly, one facet of the Keeper of Fate is to perceive and control destiny, while the other has no destiny at all…”

She paused, then said, “But now I have…”

She declared, “Your destiny is intertwined with mine…”

She finished, “So I won’t allow anyone else to control it…”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I heard you say you dislike being controlled, but this is the last time…”

She sighed softly, “I acted on my own…”

“My only hope was that you’d forgive me, just like you used to…”

“……”

At that moment, Lu Xin was overwhelmed by genuine agony. He covered his head with his hands and let out a tremendous cry.

Mom strained with every bit of her insight to help him understand.

But she had reached her limit.

Thus, Lu Xin could feel the excruciating pain of her forced use of insight, deepening his own suffering.

The Unique Consciousness melted away rapidly in his mind.

Yet he cared little about its worth—only the sharp pain in his heart mattered.

……

……

That anguished cry silenced the surrounding strangeness.

Meanwhile, frantic efforts continued as someone attempted to forcefully repair the destroyed third layer of the Abyss using the Genesis Hard Drive, hoping to prevent the Keeper of Fate and the audacious plan of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute’s First Researcher from succeeding.

His lips trembled as he weakly lifted his gaze toward a certain direction.

That was the direction of the Energy Matrix of the Underground Palace—the source of the Genesis Hard Drive.

If enough Illusory Power could be generated in time to mend the third layer of the Abyss, there might yet be hope.

The odds were slim, but hope still lingered to thwart their plan.

Yet, in a distant reality on one side of the Sleeping Mountains, before a massive glass window…

Old Director Wang Jingyun stood with his arms folded.

Behind him, Zhang Sihuo and Number Seven clashed fiercely with various bizarre abilities against the Research Institute’s security forces.

He paid no attention to the skirmish behind him, silently watching.

He noticed several points of light zipping across the sky, heading toward a raised patch on the ground.

He saw that around the rise, several cavities had opened up, from which sparks flew like shooting stars—a defense mechanism of the Genesis Hard Drive. However, when these sparks soared into the air, they managed to block only two of them.

In an instant, dazzling light exploded in mid-air, as if giant suns had burst into bloom.

Yet amid the brilliance, one final spark, off-kilter, smashed into a nearby cliff.

A flash of brilliant light erupted from both the sky and the ground, accompanied by the rumble of breaking mountains and billowing smoke.

Old Director Wang Jingyun raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glare.

Then, abandoning any concern for the outcome, he turned and prepared to leave.

……

……

The First Researcher was immensely powerful.

But unfortunately, they had hidden for too long, severed from reality.

Although they kept recruiting new researchers through the Black Spade Office to bolster their ranks,

their numbers remained far too low.

Thus, their research had long strayed off course, while they remained painfully oblivious…

For instance, they were unaware that bombarding the mountains’ weak points to trigger massive geological shifts could compress the Energy Matrix of the Underground Palace, leading to widespread internal collapse and disrupting the energy flow of the Genesis Hard Drive.

Such adversaries posed hardly any challenge at all.