Chapter 168 Catching the Doctor
“I know you’re looking for the ‘Origin’ carriers,” he said with a smile. “How about we make a deal? You give me carriers 06 and 07, and I’ll tell you the whereabouts of the other carriers, and even the truth about the ‘Origin’ project.”
Ruan Ning looked at him coldly: "What makes you think we'd make a deal?"
“Based on this.” The “doctor” pressed the controller.
On the shallow waters, the unmined crystal veins suddenly lit up with a blinding red light! A violent and chaotic energy began to gather and expand!
“I’ve planted an energy overload device beforehand. In thirty seconds, this place will turn into a small energy bomb, powerful enough to vaporize everything within a 500-meter radius. Of course, I have a way to leave. What about you?”
The doctor's smile remained unchanged. "Hand over the vessel, and I will stop the detonation and share intelligence. Or, we'll die here together."
Qin Li's expression changed.
Ruan Ning scanned the bottom of the water with her mental energy and indeed sensed that the energy inside those crystals was going crazy and out of balance.
"Twenty seconds." The doctor looked at his watch.
Shen Yan and his group emerged from their hiding place, pointing their guns at the "doctor" and his group, but hesitated to fire.
"Ten seconds."
Ruan Ning suddenly moved.
She did not rush towards the "doctor," nor did she try to defuse the bomb.
Instead, he poured all his spiritual energy, along with the power of the jade pendant, into the shallows and the bottom of the water beneath his feet, and into the crystals that were about to explode!
"Guide Protocol—Full Power! Energy Discharge!" she shouted.
The jade pendant burst forth with an unprecedented azure light! Centered on it, a massive, intricate energy network unfolded underwater, forcefully taking over the raging energy flows!
"Are you crazy?! Forcibly channeling them will only make them explode faster—" The doctor's words were cut short.
He was horrified to see that the energy that was originally rushing chaotically toward the explosion point, under the guidance of Ruan Ning's mental power and the power of the necklace, actually began to become orderly, flowing, circulating, and smoothing rapidly along the meridians she had constructed!
The blinding red light quickly dimmed, and the violent fluctuations subsided.
Five seconds later, the underwater world returned to calm, with only the crystalline veins still emitting a soft glow.
Ruan Ning was pale and swayed, but Qin Li helped her up.
Her forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat; channeling such a massive amount of chaotic energy at once had been incredibly taxing.
The doctor's expression finally changed, and he turned to run away.
"Fire!" Ruan Ning shouted in a low voice.
The raging fire, already poised to erupt, roared forth, its golden flames blocking the way! Shen Yan's metal wire, Zhou Min's mental attack, and Lin Yan's knife simultaneously struck the two bodyguards!
Qin Li then pounced on the "doctor" like a tiger unleashed from its cage!
A fierce glint flashed in the doctor's eyes, and he suddenly ripped open his protective suit! Beneath his chest skin were several crystals of different colors, similar to the fragments of the carrier!
The crystals shone brightly, forming a distorted energy shield that temporarily blocked everyone's attacks!
"This is... a forced splicing of multiple fragments of a carrier?!" Shen Yan exclaimed in shock.
Taking advantage of the situation, the "doctor" injected himself with a syringe. His eyes instantly turned into beast-like vertical pupils, his muscles swelled, and his aura surged to nearly the fifth level! He roared, punched Qin Li back, and was about to rush towards the swamp vehicle!
"Freeze." Ruan Ning's icy voice rang out.
Despite the immense strain, she raised her hand and clenched her fist tightly in the space around the "doctor"!
The mud and water beneath the doctor's feet and the air around him instantly solidified into incredibly hard, deep blue ice! Not only were his legs frozen, but the energy flow emanating from the fragments on his chest was also slowed and disrupted by the extreme low temperature!
"Ugh—!" The doctor struggled, and cracks appeared in the ice, but it would take time to break free.
It was this moment of stillness.
Qin Li's lightning strike, Shen Yan's controlled metal spear, Lin Yan's knife, the concentrated fireball spewed by the raging fire, and Zhou Min's final mental spike—
Both hit!
Boom!!!
The energy shield shattered completely. The fragment embedded in the "doctor's" chest exploded, and he screamed as he flew backward, crashing heavily into the mud, his chest a bloody mess, barely breathing.
The two bodyguards, seeing the situation was not good, tried to escape, but were quickly subdued.
The battle is over.
Shen Yan quickly stopped the "doctor's" bleeding and injected him with a strong sedative to prevent him from committing suicide.
Ruan Ning walked to his side, squatted down, and forcefully invaded his consciousness, which was on the verge of collapse, with her mental power.
The excruciating pain caused the "doctor" to groan.
"Speak. Where are the other carriers?" Ruan Ning's voice rang directly in his mind.
The doctor's mental defenses crumbled, and fragments of his memory were violently extracted.
An antique jade ring (carrier 01?) appears at an auction in the capital's underground black market.
Deep in the dense forests of southern Xinjiang, a sacred object worshipped by an ancient tribe is a bone bead (carrier 02?).
A bronze fragment salvaged from an island site in the East China Sea has unusual patterns (carrier 04?).
The top of a gemstone scepter passed down from an ancient family in the Western Federation (carrier 05?).
And further northwest, in the depths of the more remote wilderness, there seems to be an even stronger point of resonance (Vehicle 08 or higher?)...
"Who is collecting them? The Shen family? Who else?" Ruan Ning pressed.
"...Not just the Shen family... 'The Revival Society'... 'The Eye of Truth'... many forces... are searching... the vessel is the key... the key to unlock the final ruins of 'The Origin'..." the doctor murmured incoherently, "The final ruins... are at the source of the Black Tide... there lies... all the answers... and the end..."
Where is the final ruin?
"I...don't know...it requires at least...three carriers...to sense..."
The "doctor" fell into a complete coma.
Ruan Ning withdrew her spiritual power, her face turning even paler.
Qin Li helped her up: "How are you?"
"The carriers are scattered all over the world, not just in China. Many forces are searching for them. Once a certain number are collected, they can sense a place called the 'Final Ruins,' which is said to be at the source of the Black Tide and holds the truth of the apocalypse."
Ruan Ning took a breath. "He doesn't know everything, but the Shen family is definitely one of them. There's also an organization called 'Revival Society' and 'Eye of Truth'."
Shen Yan was dealing with the fragments and debris on the "doctor's" chest: "He forcibly implanted fragments of different carriers into his body in an attempt to gain power, but the rejection was severe, and his mind is no longer normal."
Zhou Min looked at the unconscious "doctor": "What should we do?"
Ruan Ning stood up: "Take him away. He knows more than he can say. Interrogate him slowly when we get back. Also, try to collect as much of these crystal veins as possible; they'll be useful."
She looked northwest, towards the direction of the more distant wilderness that the "doctor" vaguely pointed to in his memory.
The vessel, the key, the final ruin, the source of the Black Tide...
The road ahead is long. But at least they've caught their first key informant and know the next steps.
"Clean up the scene and prepare to evacuate," Qin Li said.
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