Chapter 616 Seriously Wounded

The dazzling array of equipment in the laboratory came into operation, and technicians in heavy protective suits began transferring the crystal minerals from Shuji to various workbenches—they would then further cut these roughly processed crystals into "crystal pillars" suitable for analysis and deep processing, and verify several modification processes that had been tested in the simulation system before.

Yu Sheng and Baili Qing left the operating area and went to an observation room next to the laboratory, watching the busy scene inside the laboratory through the thick protective barrier.

The largest piece of crystal has now been cut open, and the operator is sending the first crystal sample to a circular platform. With the anti-gravity device humming, Yu Sheng saw the pale crystal slowly rise into the air, followed by several ring-shaped objects floating up from the edge of the platform. The inside of those silvery-white rings emitted a deep purple glow, and as the glow gradually filled in, the crystal at the center of the rings began to take on a translucent, ethereal appearance.

Yu Sheng frowned. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but his spiritual intuition seemed a little restless. At the same time, he vaguely sensed a strange, alien aura from the circular devices. When the concentric circles slowly rotated along the axis and formed several specific angles, he even felt that he saw phantoms that did not belong to the real world from the places where the circles overlapped—pale crystal pillars trembled in an unstable spacetime, undergoing a reaction similar to disintegration and recombination.

Bai Liqing's voice came from the side: "We have preliminarily analyzed the research data transmitted by Luo. The descriptions of the various characteristics of 'Zorda Black Stone' are very detailed, but we believe that most of these characteristics are not the key point. What is really related to 'Angel Catalyst' are those strange phenomena that cannot be quantified and even seem to be recorded by equipment malfunctions. For example, the sample will 'vibrate' in a small space-time area, and its edges will become blurred when stimulated by energy. It can also cause mental pollution and trigger auditory and visual hallucinations."

"To simulate these characteristics, some special techniques are required."

"The device you see is called the 'Reality Deviator Lens.' It was originally designed to study dangerous entities captured from other realms—with a few minor adjustments, it can also be used to 'impart' some... less stable 'temporary properties' to normal matter in reality."

“We’re not sure if the product processed in this way can really be disguised as ‘angel catalyst,’ but at the very least, the Secret Order’s spies will think it’s some kind of suspicious sample… If it’s suspicious enough, there’s a high probability they’ll take it back to their lair for further research.”

Yu Sheng thought for a moment: "It sounds like they're putting out cockroach bait."

Bai Liqing said expressionlessly, "They are cockroaches."

“That’s true,” Yu Sheng nodded in agreement, but then couldn’t help but complain, “But then again, I always feel that this device is a bit… sinister, and it feels quite dangerous.”

Before Baili Qing could speak, Baili Xue's eyes appeared on the surface of the observation window, and her voice went directly into Yu Sheng's ears: "Your feeling is right, this thing is very dangerous."

Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows.

“Reality Misalignment Lens – one of the edge technologies. If used well, it can be used to fight against other realms; if used poorly, it can open up new other realms,” Baili Qing said calmly. “Outside, this type of technology is collectively classified as ‘Dark Psionic Energy’.”

Yu Sheng's expression froze instantly: "...?"

Baili Qing still looked calm and a little sleepy.

"Hey, wait a minute, I was wondering why this felt so weird. So this thing belongs to the dark psionic technology tree?!" Yu Sheng was a little uneasy. "Isn't this forbidden technology? Luo got a whole hostage list for doing this..."

Baili Xue swayed up to Yu Sheng and said, "Because her research and possession were illegal—ours are legal."

Yu Sheng blinked, thought for a moment and realized what was going on. He looked at the pair of big eyes on the observation window with a subtle expression: "Let me guess, did you sign something like a 'Dark Spirit Energy Non-Proliferation Agreement' with a few major civilizations? The main content is to prohibit this thing from spreading outside of your few organizations—it's okay for it to spread within your own organizations?"

Baili Xue swayed up and down: "How did you know?"

Yu Sheng shrugged: "Is that so hard to guess?"

"The existence of objective laws in the universe determines that the emergence of certain technologies is an inevitable result of development. So whether a technology is taboo or not depends solely on who controls it," Baili Qing said calmly. "It's better to have someone else protest while you hold the knife yourself than to have someone else hold the knife while you can only protest. Besides... the border is such a special 'focal point,' with hundreds or even thousands of alien realms inside and outside the border city. Do you think it's possible for us to not deal with the Black Spirits?"

Yu Sheng stroked his chin, recalling his several conversations with Luo and the information he had learned from her about the Black Dot Group. He suddenly felt a pang of emotion: "...We still have to walk the righteous path. When the villains are scapegoated, wanted, and living in the sewers, the righteous allies are just ganging up on them..."

Bai Liqing's lips seemed to curl up slightly as she spoke, "...Yawn."

Yu Sheng couldn't stand it anymore: "...Why don't you just go to sleep?"

Bai Liqing seemed a little embarrassed, but just as she was about to say something, a sudden ringtone interrupted the conversation in the observation room.

She picked up her phone to answer a call, and after listening to just a few words, her expression turned serious, and her gaze fell on Yu Sheng.

Before Sheng could even ask about the situation, she quickly hung up the phone and spoke first: "...A deep-sea diver team was attacked in a dark alley, and among the attackers was an 'artificial saint'—you know the person leading the team, it's Xu Jiali."

Yu Sheng was instantly startled, realizing from the other person's subtle facial expressions and tone that something seemed wrong: "How is the person?"

"We lost, but luckily it was a deep-sea diver team. At least they all survived and are in the third medical zone."

Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng quickly said, "Take me there."

...

Soon, Yu Sheng, led by Bai Liqing, arrived at a medical floor inside the Secret Service building.

Baili Qing stopped at the door of the ward.

“I won’t go in,” she said. “The wounded will only get nervous if they see me—Xu Jiali and his psychic servant are in this room, and they’re doing alright.”

Yu Sheng nodded, and without much ceremony, turned around and pushed open the door to the ward.

Before he even entered the house, he heard the sound of a bell coming from inside: "Boss, you messed up this time~ You almost got your kidneys cut off, meow. I'll buy you some canned food later!"

Then came Xu Jiali's somewhat weak voice: "...I want the yellow peach one, not the canned one...and I was careless, in the end I was actually the one who was better..."

Yu Sheng, who had been on edge the whole way, immediately relaxed. Hearing the sounds coming from the ward, he knew the person inside was alright. He stepped in and greeted them, "Look who's here!"

He saw what was happening in the ward.

This is a special ward provided for deep-sea divers. The spacious room has only one bed in the middle, and around the bed is a dazzling array of monitoring devices that don't even look like medical equipment. Xu Jiali is half-lying and half-leaning against the bed, her upper body is naked, and large parts of her torso are covered with a thick layer of silver-gray gel-like "coating". Underneath the gel, you can vaguely see many deep wounds that expose the bone.

In addition, his torso skin had an almost metallic texture, and there seemed to be pipes and interfaces buried under the skin. His chest and abdomen were covered with black "skin", which looked like some kind of enhancement and modification technology.

Numerous electrodes and cables of various sizes are connected to the torso of this two-meter-tall man, while the monitoring equipment beside him occasionally emits a buzzing sound.

The psionic servant named "Bell" stood guard to the side, wearing a loose hospital gown. Compared to Xu Jiali, whose body had been almost completely altered by a knife, this girl, Jipro, was much less injured. She only had two bandages wrapped around her head and a band-aid on one of her fluffy cat ears. It looked more like she had hit her head while running away than being injured by the artificial saintess.

As soon as Yu Sheng spoke, Xu Jiali and Lingdang simultaneously turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice. Xu Jiali instinctively tried to sit up to greet him, but the slightest movement aggravated her wound, causing her to cry out in pain and collapse back down against the hospital bed, gasping for breath: "Ouch... Damn, it hurts so much..."

“Your voice sounds quite energetic,” Yu Sheng looked the other person up and down, and a smile appeared on his face as he felt relieved. “I was shocked when I heard the news—you managed to come back unharmed after encountering an artificial saintess. You’re quite something.”

“Sigh, I just had a slight mishap,” Xu Jiali sighed. “Let me tell you, if it were just an artificial saintess, it wouldn’t be a big deal. We have the whole Deep Dive team. We could probably handle it if we ganged up on her. The key is that she also brought a full squad of ‘knights,’ which made things difficult. Although we fought harder and harder, we ended up retreating as we fought… Luckily, Bell managed to unleash her psionic shriek at the last minute, which allowed us to jump out of the alley in time. I’m doing alright, but two unlucky ones are still asleep.”

Yu Sheng looked at Xu Jiali, who was clearly seriously injured but still quite energetic thanks to her strong physique, and then at the cat-headed cat next to her with bandages wrapped around its head, and nodded knowingly.

This is a cat cart.

Lingdang noticed Yu Sheng's gaze. She circled him twice, then suddenly leaned closer, her vertical pupils full of questioning: "Why didn't you bring any jars when you came to see the patient?"

Yu Sheng: "..."

"Lingdang, don't be so rude," Xu Jiali quickly reminded him from the side, then looked at Yu Sheng with a smirk, "By the way, what are you doing here? Did the bureau notify you?"

“I happen to be here—and I did tell your director before that he should notify me immediately if there is any information involving the Chong Sheng Hermitage,” Yu Sheng waved his hand. “Don’t move. I’ll call the experts over, and then you can tell me about the attack.”

(End of this chapter)