Panshi Fortress, Underground Safety Zone Number 3, Special Care Ward.
Cold white light poured down from the ceiling’s shadowless lamp.
Monitoring instruments emitted a regular, monotonous “beep-beep” sound, and the numbers and curves flickering on the screen depicted the life map of a critically injured, dying person, with all data precisely hovering at the brink of death.
Ling Chen lay “weakly” on the hospital bed.
His left arm was in a thick cast, his chest was wrapped in layers of bandages, and faint, labored breathing came from beneath his oxygen mask.
But… deep within his consciousness, the Soul Jade Physique’s cold will, like a frigid star suspended above the nine heavens, was penetrating the thick fortress walls and layers of spatial barriers, looking down upon… the ruins dozens of kilometers away, shrouded by the Blood Moon!
All the information, like the clearest images, flashed through Ling Chen’s consciousness in an instant! He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
“Things are getting more and more interesting. Tang Buyu? In my previous life, he was Ling Hui’s student? So, his ability eventually evolved into a spatial one, was it… through a sacrificial method?”
Tang Buyu’s ability… Metal Storm! Exactly like in the previous life! But… Bai Lingdong by his side… spatial teleportation… in the previous life… Tang Buyu ultimately gained control over spatial power! There must be some connection between these two! Bai Lingdong… is very likely the key to Tang Buyu’s ability evolution!
Zhuang Han… was successfully stopped! The Soul Jade Physique’s deterrent will and the impact of that memory fragment successfully extinguished his killing intent.
A hint of extremely subtle… surprise… like a stone dropped into a deep pool, rippled through the depths of the Soul Jade Physique’s cold will.
Tang Buyu… this top-tier expert who stood at the pinnacle of the human faction in the previous life, even capable of contending with the Zombie Ghost Monarchs… in this life… he appeared in his sight so early?
And he was still so “weak”?
Was this a coincidence? Or… some kind of… deviation in the trajectory of fate?
Ling Chen’s thoughts stirred slightly.
The Soul Jade Physique’s cold will, like an invisible tentacle, instantly locked onto the direction Zhuang Han had last disappeared—deep within Linghui Academy, that area near the back mountain, shrouded in even denser darkness and distorted energy.
That place… was the entrance to Linghui Academy’s underground air-raid shelter in the previous life! It was Mu Xi’s experimental ground and also… the source of the first large-scale zombie tide outbreak! Moreover… it was… the true “hunting ground” he left for Zhuang Han!
“Very good…” The cold thought echoed deep within Ling Chen’s consciousness, “The seed… has been sown. Let’s see… how big a fish it can lure.”
“At least… one or two elders of the Tang Family should be no problem.”
His attention returned to the interior of Panshi Fortress.
The Soul Jade Physique’s cold will, like the most precise radar, scanned every energy fluctuation, every mental probe, every… cold surveillance camera inside and outside the ward!
The crisis… had not been averted! On the contrary… it was even more perilous!
Chu Hang, 28 years old, was a third-rate online novelist before the spiritual energy revival.
His ability was called 【Protagonist】. As the name suggests, the protagonist in a novel.
As long as he believed something was bound to happen, it would manifest in different forms. For example, he believed he was the protagonist, and protagonists couldn't be killed, so even if his head was cut off, he wouldn't die immediately, until he no longer believed he was the protagonist, only then would this ability become ineffective.
In his previous life, this person shone brightly in the City of Gilgamesh precisely because his ability was almost unresolvable.
Outside the ward. In front of the one-way glass observation window.
Qin Weiguo stood with his hands behind his back, like an iron-cast statue.
His hawk-like gaze pierced through the glass, fixed intently on the “faintly breathing” figure on the hospital bed.
Chu Hang stood half a step behind him.
The pure white mask reflected a cold sheen under the light, concealing all his expressions.
His gaze also fell on Ling Chen, carrying a… cold, almost like examining a specimen… probing and… a hint of indescribable… confusion.
“Is he… truly critically injured and dying?” Qin Weiguo’s voice was deep and hoarse, carrying an undeniable authority, breaking the silence.
“Physiological indicators… conform to dying characteristics.” Chu Hang’s voice was calm and unruffled, like a cold machine, “Mental fluctuations… weak… chaotic… consistent with the rule backlash trauma model.”
“Rule backlash?” Qin Weiguo snorted coldly, a frigid arc curving at the corner of his mouth.
“Your rule backlash… certainly knows how to pick a spot! Spatial tearing? Thrown back into the ward? Chu Hang… tell me… in this world… is there really such a coincidental ‘accident’?”
Chu Hang was silent for a moment. Under the mask, his brow… furrowed ever so slightly.
…The blood Ling Chen splattered on his mask… the faint will contained within that blood… entangled his rule essence, bringing a hint of extremely subtle… “impurity” sensation.
“Rules… have variables.” Chu Hang slowly spoke, his voice still cold, but with a barely perceptible… hesitation.
“Spatial barriers… unstable factors… beyond calculation.”
“Beyond calculation?” Qin Weiguo suddenly turned, his gaze like a tangible blade, piercing fiercely at Chu Hang!
“Chu Hang! Your rule… isn’t it touted as absolute?! Isn’t it touted as… the protagonist never dies?! How can you not even accurately calculate the life and death of a ‘minor character’?!”
Chu Hang’s gaze under the mask sharpened.
A surge of cold anger, like a cold current, swept across the depths of his eyes. But he did not retort.
On Ling Chen, this “minor character”… there indeed existed… “variables” beyond his script’s setting.
“He… is a variable.” Chu Hang’s voice carried a hint of chill.
“Needs… more observation.”
“Observation?” Qin Weiguo’s eyes burst with cold light!
“I don’t have time to play hide-and-seek with him! The fortress is currently troubled by internal and external threats! The zombie tide is eyeing us greedily! The Oracle organization is lurking in the shadows! The Crows organization’s whereabouts are mysterious! Now… another Ling Chen appears, capable of ‘escaping death’ under your rules! And that missing Wu Zhengde! The lost reverse scale pendant! Every single matter… is strange!”
He suddenly pointed at Ling Chen in the ward, his voice carrying undeniable resolve.
“I don’t care if his injuries are real or fake! If he’s a minor character or a variable! Three days! I’ll give you three days! Use your rules! To thoroughly ‘see through’ him for me! If there’s truly something fishy about him… the ‘Cleaner Protocol’… can be activated at any time!”
“Cleaner Protocol”!
The four cold words, like a death sentence! Once activated, it meant… Ling Chen would be completely eradicated! Without leaving any trace!
Chu Hang’s gaze under the mask fell on Ling Chen’s pale, weak face, then slowly moved to his arm in a cast.
Three days… to see through him? Using rules? Chu Hang’s fingertips unconsciously rubbed his cuff. That wisp of dark purple rule residue, like a cold viper, coiled around his perception.
“Alright.” Chu Hang’s voice was calm and unruffled, yet carried a chilling coldness that made one’s heart palpitate, “Three days.”
Inside the ward. Deep within Ling Chen’s consciousness.
Qin Weiguo and Chu Hang’s conversation, like the clearest broadcast, entered his “ears” word for word. The Soul Jade Physique’s cold will instantly analyzed all the subtext and… killing intent within!
Three days! Cleaner Protocol!
Qin Weiguo… finally couldn’t hold back! Chu Hang… also grew suspicious!
Time… was running out! However, calculating that huge aftermath, the time was only four days away.
In other words, he only needed to hold out for one more day.
Ling Chen’s thoughts stirred slightly.
The cold will instantly covered the entire ward! Scanning every corner!
The ceiling, walls, floor… even… the hospital bed beneath him! Countless extremely tiny, almost imperceptible to the naked eye… energy detection points! Densely attached to every corner! Weaving an invisible, deadly surveillance net!
These… were all secretly installed by Qin Weiguo after his “seriously injured return”!
The purpose… was to nail him firmly to this hospital bed! To place his every move, every breath, every heartbeat… under the strictest surveillance!
Even more troublesome were… the three mutated creatures secretly implanted by Qin Weiguo near him, ostensibly to supplement his forces, serving as “surveillance beasts”!
Shadow Claw Cat! Rotten Ear Rabbit! Ironclad Hamster!
They lurked in the shadowy corners of the ward, ventilation ducts, and even… under his pillow!
Their bio-chips, cochlear resonators, stomach transmitters… like invisible chains, transmitted his location, status, and even… faint energy fluctuations… in real-time to Qin Weiguo’s terminal!
And… Zhou Yunguang! That elite ability user in whom he had secretly planted a mental pollution seed!
Although he was critically injured and unconscious at the moment, the polluted energy in his body was like a ticking time bomb! Once he woke up… or was forcibly stimulated… it was very likely to become the fuse that ignited Qin Weiguo’s suspicions!
As well as… that ghost-like Lin Wei, who possessed Discernment!
Although she temporarily dared not face reality, her ability… was always the biggest hidden danger! She was like an unpredictable bomb, capable of seeing through his perfect disguise at any moment!
Surrounded by crises! Danger at every step!
But the corner of Ling Chen’s mouth, hidden by the oxygen mask, subtly… curved upwards into a cold arc.
Three days? Cleaner Protocol?
Counting the time, that large wave of beast tide would arrive in four days, so causing a variable to appear was very simple.
He slowly “opened” his eyes.
His gaze was still “scattered” and “blank,” carrying the weakness and pain of a critically injured person. He “painfully” raised his right hand, which was not in a cast, seemingly wanting to reach for the water glass on the bedside table.
But his arm “powerlessly” trembled, unable to reach it. He let out a “painful” and “faint” groan.
“Uh… water…”
The ward door slid open silently. Chen Xue quickly walked in, holding a cup of warm water. Her face showed worry and concern, and she carefully helped Ling Chen up, bringing the water cup to his parched lips.
“Drink slowly…” Her voice was gentle, and a soft silver glow emanated from her palm, gently stroking Ling Chen’s forehead, trying to soothe his “pain.”