This figure instantly overlapped with the mycelium monster that called itself "Hermit" in the underground sewer laboratory, and the identical face on the screen of the Fungus Dome Commander!

"It's her..." Xu Shuangyao whispered in his consciousness, a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.

"It's her...it's her!" Pei Du's adult consciousness roared in pain, staring at the figure in the corner, his eyes filled with deep fear and confusion. "She's been there... the whole time! She's looking at me...like a test subject..."

Just then!

Next to the operating table, the young Xu Shuangyao seemed to have completed a key step. He breathed a sigh of relief, raised his head, and gave the young man sleeping on the operating table a gentle and encouraging smile, a warm smile that could be felt even through the mask.

However!

The mycelium figure in the corner moved almost at the same moment when young Xu Shuangyao raised his head!

Her hand, made of scarlet mycelium, rose silently! Its arm extended like a jointless mollusk, easily penetrating the complex wiring barrier of the operating table! Five "fingers," made of sticky mycelium and tipped with extremely sharp points, pierced the side and back of Pei Du's neck nerve interface with chilling precision and ruthlessness, like a venomous snake emerging from its den!

That location is not the main nerve bundle channel! It is the deeper and more hidden limbic brain area that controls primitive instincts and emotional feedback!

"No!!" Pei Du's adult consciousness roared heartbreakingly! He tried to rush over to stop it, but his body was bound to the spot by Qingluo's power, and he could only watch helplessly!

The moment the five mycelium "fingers" pierced the back of Pei Du's neck, an extremely subtle, yet highly contaminating, dark red data stream, like a living poisonous insect, madly injected along the mycelium! Even under anesthesia, the young Pei Du's body suddenly straightened, and he let out an extremely weak but painful groan! His brows furrowed tightly!

Beside the operating table, young Xu Shuangyao was completely oblivious to this! She was concentrating on adjusting the parameters of the nerve connection, her eyes focused only on the young man on the operating table, concerned only for his future!

The mycelial figure in the corner completed the injection, and the mycelial arm silently withdrew. On the half of her face that belonged to Xu Shuangyao, the corner of her mouth twitched upward in an extremely strange way, forming a silent, cold, and malicious smile. The scarlet mycelial eye, like the abyss, swept coldly over the suffering boy on the operating table, and also over the young Xu Shuangyao who knew nothing about this.

"Obey...Brand...Done..." An extremely faint voice, like electronic interference noise, sounded directly in the depths of Xu Shuangyao and Pei Du's consciousness, with a sickening sense of satisfaction.

The image began to distort and disintegrate, the memory flakes off like a shattered mirror.

“Ah——!!!!” Pei Du’s adult consciousness let out an inhuman howl of collapse! He held his head, rolling and colliding wildly in the space of consciousness! Countless fragments of memory, like sharp glass shards, burst out as the scene collapsed! The gentle smile of the young Xu Shuangyao on the operating table... the cold gaze of the mycelial figure in the corner... the severe pain during the injection... that silent, vicious smile... and the electronic noise of “obey the branding is completed”... all the images, sounds, and feelings intertwined, conflicted, and exploded crazily! The huge pain almost tore his consciousness apart completely!

"Pei Du! Hold on!" Xu Shuangyao cried anxiously in her mind. Her consciousness was also affected by the impact of the debris, as if she was in the center of a mental storm! She tried to use her mental power to soothe and connect with Pei Du's violent and chaotic consciousness, but the pain and chaos were like violent thorns, piercing her fiercely!

"The seeds of darkness have sprouted! Roots have entangled the core of consciousness! Forcibly stripping it away would destroy it!" Qingluo's voice was unprecedentedly solemn and urgent. "We must find the entity! Find the implanted 'sclerotium'! That's the source of the contamination! And the only anchor! It's within his body!"

In the body!

Xu Shuangyao's consciousness was suddenly bounced back to reality!

The cold air and strong musty smell of the underground laboratory instantly filled her nostrils. She pressed her left hand against Pei Du's back, but he suddenly threw it away! A huge mental backlash hit her consciousness like a sledgehammer!

"Puff!" Xu Shuangyao's vision went dark, her throat felt sweet, and a mouthful of blood suddenly spurted out, splattering on the dusty, cold ground! Her brain felt like it was being pierced by countless steel needles, and the pain almost made her faint!

Pei Du, curled up in the corner, felt as if struck by an invisible force, sending him flying backwards! With a loud bang, he slammed into the metal pipe behind him! The heavy crash echoed in the enclosed space! He slid to the ground, his body twitching violently. He clutched his neck with both hands, and a painful roar like a broken bellows emanated from his throat. His eyes widened, but his pupils lost focus, leaving only extreme confusion and pain! The phantom of the crown of thorns between his eyebrows flickered wildly, and dark golden lines instantly covered his exposed neck and cheeks like an out-of-control circuit, emitting scorching heat and violent energy fluctuations!

"Pei Du!" Xu Shuangyao didn't care about his own injuries and struggled to rush over.

Buzz——!!!

A shrill alarm blasted without warning! It didn't come from the depths of consciousness, but from deep within the cracked ventilation ducts of the laboratory! Red light flickered wildly between the cracks in the ducts!

"Warning! High-energy life field is approaching! Direction: Delta ventilation shaft! Quantity: three! Identification: Eradicator heavy unit!" Qingluo's voice instantly became cold and rapid, and the huge emerald green roots suddenly straightened, and the silver-white light stream accelerated in the veins!

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