Silence of the Soul

Conference Room 0 was dead silent. If it weren't for the indicator light still on, it would seem as if this place had never been used.

The noise first came from the back rows. The representatives from the remote areas of each division were the first to be unable to bear the pressure and wailed.

"My bones hurt so much" "Help" "Ah...I can't breathe"

Then the representatives of various forces in the middle rows also showed painful expressions on their faces, but they were able to restrain their words and actions so as not to lose the face that they cared about most in such an occasion.

Lan, sitting in the front row, witnessed every shift in Ying Yungui's expression. She felt the pressure of her position more directly, her face turning pale. Suddenly, the president of District 12 placed a hand on her back, patting her gently. Finally, she felt free from the suffocating feeling and nodded gratefully to the woman, feeling reborn.

Ying Yungui's eyes were red, clearly filled with anger, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised. Lan had seen this state in many experimental subjects, and those who fell into this state all ended up losing control.

"President!" Lan stood up, her legs trembling violently out of sight. "Even if District 13 doesn't have a chief reporter, the local representatives should have their own statistics. Time is running out, so isn't it urgent to understand the overall situation?"

In other words, Lan and Ying Yungui had a personal relationship. No one else would dare to offend the president in this way. At this moment, most people in the hall, including the assistants, began to rejoice at Ying Yungui's domineering decision before the meeting.

The pressure in the hall finally dissipated. Ying Yungui used reason to suppress his anger, and endured it until veins popped out: "Continue."

......

The meeting lasted nearly three hours. All participants, including representatives of all sizes, received the task instructions issued by President Ying himself - suspend all cross-regional missions, mobilize all superpowers below level 6 to rescue and protect the people in each district, and repair the damaged marginal areas.

After receiving clear instructions, everyone hurriedly fled the place after the meeting, fleeing from the association president who they felt was moody. The president of District 12 thanked Ying Yungui for her kindness and left with her assistant.

Ying Yungui finally sat down exhausted, his limbs limp and powerless. He leaned his head against the hollow part of the seat and closed his eyes to doze off.

The assistant went to the Information Department to register the meeting files. After everyone had dispersed, Lan pulled out his usual soothing spray from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of Ying Yungui. "Didn't they warn you? You're not in good shape. You need to rest. You can't keep wasting your time."

Ying Yungui still closed his eyes: "I wonder, do I have the time? You've seen how these people act. How many of them are truly equal?"

Lan paused. "That's not something you can reverse in a short period of time. Now that you have a goal, shouldn't your most important task be to find a way to live a few more years?"

Ying Yungui seemed to be about to fall asleep, and he said drowsily: "Now I understand why some people, who are all presidents of associations, die young, while others can live to such an old age."

Good people don't live long.

Lan understood his underlying meaning and smiled helplessly, "Everyone has their own destiny, and their pursuits are different. You should take this time to recuperate. The exploration of Area S... with the example of the advance team, I don't think anyone would dare to act rashly for the time being."

When talking about the new continent, Ying Yungui was very confused, but he couldn't show it because of Lan's identity.

There had been no signs of the new continent's emergence, and in his memory, there was no totemic power existing in the ocean. Most importantly, Shi Youchen had never mentioned this to him.

But is it possible that there will be any major changes in the world now that even Shi Youchen cannot foresee?

Or, in other words, his actions in the past world line finally led to the emergence of a new continent in this world line?

Ying Yungui has a headache.

He had never possessed or used the power of time. All the information related to the time ability was learned from Shi Youchen, so naturally he could not understand the details of this ability.

Or... let's go ask him. Ying Yungui opened his eyes thinking about this and said to Lan, "I'm going to be out for a while. Please keep an eye on those guys for me. If anything happens, just... have Assistant Lin contact me." He changed his words mid-sentence because he was afraid that he wouldn't be in good condition by then and wouldn't be able to handle the matter properly, so he decided to add a safety net and let Shi Youchen take a look.

Lan didn't think he was in a good condition to leave the association, but he didn't think he could stop him either, so he simply agreed: "Do you want me to tell Lin Zhouze?" Ying Yungui thought for a moment and said: "Forget it, it's not a big deal. I won't stay outside for long."

After leaving the conference room, Ying Yungui was just thinking about going to Visa's house in District 3 to gather some latest intelligence for Shi Youchen when he saw someone rushing towards him from a distance: "President! President, something's happened!"

The assistant took him to the monitoring room where the inspection had just ended not long ago. Lying in the scanning cabin was the patriarch of the Visa clan - Tamer.

Ying Yungui knew why Tamo didn't attend the meeting, but he didn't expect him to be here: "What's going on? Shouldn't he be coordinating the upgrade of the Tech Eye chip?"

The chief monitor maintained his stern and cold demeanor. "Patriarch Visa experienced an unprecedented rejection reaction during the chip upgrade process. Simply put, the chip in his body can no longer withstand the incoming energy, and it can't integrate autonomously like before, causing a backlash on his body."

"Why can't it be integrated?"

"The cause is currently unknown, and we're still confirming it." The lead monitor wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "It just happened. The elders of the Visa clan have been notified, and they should be arriving soon."

Ying Yungui was caught in a dilemma. As the guild leader, the New World was clearly more important to him at the moment, but the Visa clan was a matter of totemic power and involved the carriers of the maintenance plan, so he couldn't just ignore it.

But he didn't have extra time to wait until things here were settled before investigating the New World. He had to meet Shi Youchen as soon as possible, without wasting a single minute.

And the bearer of the bear totem has not yet been selected...

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Ying Yungui's mind.

The chief monitor noticed the president's expression suddenly changed, and a rare curiosity was aroused: "President? What's wrong with you?" Ying Yungui did not answer. He stood up and told his assistant to keep a close eye on Tamer's condition, then left with heavy steps.

——

In the Mirage Abyss, Shi Youchen had just left Unit 01 and was walking on the covered bridge when he suddenly sensed something. He paused, not daring to turn around and look at the person coming from behind.

The appearance of Kong's shell is exactly the same as Ying Yungui's. Even Shi Youchen can only find the differences in some minor details.

"Why are you here at this hour?" He finally caught his breath and turned to face the reality he had to face. Even with this body, Ying Yungui couldn't hide his fatigue, but what he emanated was a fear a hundred times stronger than fatigue:

Shi Youchen never thought that he would feel this kind of emotion from Ying Yungui.

"Where is Kulin?" Ying Yungui curled up his fingertips and looked at him from a distance of about ten steps.

"In Area 3, the territory of the Visa clan." Shi Youchen replied.

The corners of Ying Yungui's lips twitched unconsciously. Shi Youchen's answer was so decisive and unabashed, leaving him no room for explanation.

He even hated his decisiveness now.

"Tamo's chip is broken."

"I know."

"When did it happen?"

"...six hours ago."

"Have you told him everything?"

"Well, he understood and agreed."

"While I was...confronting Noah and the others?"

"No." Shi Youchen looked at him steadily and told the truth, "After you left 'Moon Goddess'."

Ying Yungui's thoughts were momentarily delayed. It took him a few seconds to realize where the Moon Goddess was. Then, an extreme anger erupted from his chest. He shouted angrily, "Why!"

"Is this what you call calm? That's what you said yourself! You let me go, and then turned around and went to find Kulin?" He couldn't believe that Shi Youchen really did that. "You said at the time... that you had misjudged me, so you thought I would be willful and ruin the plan? Is that right?"

Shi Youchen was about to say no when the surrounding energy began to twist and roar wildly under the influence of Ying Yungui. His weak body could not withstand such an impact at all. His heart ached sharply and his eyes suddenly shook. He froze in place.

In Ying Yungui's view, this is a tacit agreement.

"You don't believe me." This realization instantly brought out all the dark sides that Ying Yungui had suppressed in his heart.

He could tolerate the disloyalty and even betrayal of his subordinates in the association, he could tolerate other people's misunderstanding and misinterpretation of him, and he could pretend to cater to Noah's little tricks behind his back.

As long as it was for the plan he and Shi Youchen had created together, he didn't care if his reputation gradually became infamous.

But the only thing he couldn't accept was that Shi Youchen didn't believe him.

Shi Youchen on the other end finally caught his breath and slowly approached Ying Yungui, supporting his legs that were tingling and numb. "No, I believe you." His voice was too weak. "Yungui, calm down."

Therefore, Ying Yungui did not hear anything at all in his trance, and did not realize that the energy overflowing from his body had exceeded the limit.

"Youchen!" A shout came from the side. Shi Youchen recognized who the person was, but he couldn't speak to stop him.

Don't come over here. He could only beg in his heart. Ying Yungui's condition was not normal, and he couldn't be stimulated at this time.

However, this cry plunged Ying Yungui into a nightmare, his pupils instantly turning blood red. He turned toward the sound and extended his hand. Yan Zhiyuan suddenly stumbled backward, his back slamming hard against the raised fluorite lamp.

"Puff" blood spurted out of his mouth.

But in the blink of an eye, the defenseless Yan Zhiyuan was seriously injured and lost consciousness.

When He Xian and Morrill arrived, they saw Yan Zhiyuan lying in a pool of blood, Ying Yungui kneeling on the ground with empty eyes, and Shi Youchen leaning between the two of them, gasping for breath with his eyes closed.

"Oh my god, what's going on?" Hearing He Xian's exclamation, Shi Youchen forced himself to open his eyes and signaled the other party to come closer with his eyes.

Under the influence of spiritual comfort, he temporarily regained the strength to speak, and the first words he said were: "Send Lao Yan to treatment."

He Xian supported him against his shoulder and waited for him to finish. "Let Mollier absorb the energy leaking out here, and then bring Kong's body back."

He Xian nodded: "What about you?" Shi Youchen looked somewhere: "I need to go to the headquarters of District 1."

"Are you crazy? If you go there in this state, aren't you afraid of your identity being discovered?" He Xian wanted to stop him but was persuaded by a sentence. "If I don't go, the secret of Ying Yungui's clone will be revealed."

"No, then what's his current condition? He doesn't look like he's awake."

Shi Youchen took a deep breath and spoke in the calmest possible tone, like thunderbolt, "He was secretly cursed by Noah, and his energy went out of control. I separated his soul from his body and froze it temporarily. Now he is in a state of spiritual dormancy."

...

Shi Youchen met with Lin Zhouze as "Assistant Lin", and then brought Ying Yungui, who was unconscious in the secret room, back to the Mirage Abyss.

Before leaving, Lin Zhouze asked worriedly, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Shi Youchen's answer was unwavering, "I must do it, and I must accomplish it."

"Okay, I'll help you."

——End of Volume 4——