Chapter 13
The atmosphere in the City Lord's Mansion's strategic room was heavy. A large screen was playing a clip from the E-427 instance, transmitted by the Dark Ravens.
In an abandoned corridor filled with thick purple fog, the D City exploration team is moving forward cautiously.
Suddenly, Lin Yao's terrified voice rang out through the mental link: "Stop! Everyone stop! Ahead... there's a strong sense of greed and murderous intent. It's not a polluting beast... it's a human!"
The picture suddenly froze at a seemingly ordinary corner in front.
A few seconds later, several blurry figures in C City uniforms emerged from the fog. They had fierce eyes and weapons in their hands flashed with ominous energy. They were lying in ambush behind the corner, obviously preparing to ambush the passing D City team.
If Lin Yao had not given the team an advance warning, the team would have walked into the trap without any preparation, and the consequences would have been disastrous... at best, there would have been casualties, and at worst, the entire army would have been wiped out.
Lu Tianheng sat in the main seat, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the ebony armrest.
On another screen in front of him was a video of Lin Yao using a crystal he'd stumbled upon to treat Lu Cheng after the Soul Eater incident, along with a suspicious note from Dark Crow: "The target's treatment techniques were exceptionally skilled, suggesting he possessed an unknown technique. The Soul Eater's death was highly likely caused by a powerful psychic power instantly destroying his core, which contradicts Lin Yao's claim of a coincidence."
To kill or not to kill?
Lu Tianheng's fingertips paused in mid-air. His murderous intent never dissipated. This F-class being of unknown origin, suspected of controlling his son, remained a formidable threat.
But the warning in the copy... is too valuable.
"Emotional Perception... At level 18, one can penetrate mental interference in complex environments and accurately predict the emotions and murderous intent of the ambushers in City C..."
Lu Tianheng muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with shrewd calculation, "If he can grow to level 28, level 38... or even higher? What value will it have in exploring high-risk dungeons and obtaining key resources..."
An F-ranked piece of junk would be dead, but if it were a humanoid early warning radar with enormous potential, capable of significantly increasing the team's survival rate and exploration efficiency... then its value would be completely different.
City D has always been at a disadvantage in the competition among the four cities and is in urgent need of this kind of strategic-level auxiliary talent.
"But he and Cheng'er..."
Lu Tianheng frowned. His son's obsession with Lin Yao was the biggest obstacle.
He pulled up Qin Mu's information and saw the dashing young master of City B's undisguised interest in Lin Yao. A plan gradually took shape.
"Perhaps... we can use a knife to kill someone, or... use a flower to transplant a tree?" A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Inform Qin Mu that City D is willing to provide some conveniences for the next joint exploration, on the condition that... he 'takes good care' of our Observer Lin."
…
Deep within the E-427 replica, a maze of giant, twisting metal pipes.
"Damn it! The interference in this damn place is too strong. Communication is completely cut off!"
Qin Mu slapped the unresponsive mental link bracelet in annoyance.
He and Lin Yao were separated from the main force in a violent energy turbulence and were trapped in this high-interference area known as the Steel Cemetery.
The purple mist was thinner here, but the ubiquitous metal pipes emitted a teeth-grinding magnetic field, seriously interfering with supernatural powers and spiritual perception.
Qin Mu looked at Lin Yao who was too quiet beside him.
The silver-haired boy still had a hint of just the right amount of panic on his face, his blue eyes warily scanning the twisted metal jungle around him, his thin body looking particularly fragile under the shadow of the huge pipe.
"Are you scared?"
Qin Mu curled up the corners of his mouth, deliberately took a step closer, and released the pressure of an A-level fire-type mutant, trying to create a sense of security.
"Don't worry, I'm here. Although this place is dangerous, it also offers opportunities."
He said meaningfully, "Compared to following Lu Cheng, that unromantic battle enthusiast, following me will allow you to see more...exciting things."
Lin Yao felt nothing inside, and even felt like laughing.
Wonderful? In his eyes, Qin Mu was like a peacock desperately spreading its feathers, trying to attract prey with its gorgeous feathers.
The first rule of survival in the old world: exposing one's strength is tantamount to suicide.
This Qin Mu has "Come and study me, target me" written all over his face.
"I...I believe in Master Qin."
Lin Yao lowered his head and spoke in a weak voice, playing the role of a dodder who relied on the strong.
His spiritual threads were like the most sophisticated detectors, silently penetrating into the surrounding metal pipes and the ground. On the one hand, it was looking for a way out and available resources, and on the other hand, it was scanning Qin Mu at close range and with high precision.
This is his real purpose.
Forced to be alone? Just what I wanted.
He wanted to use Qin Mu, the top young generation in City B, as a sample to thoroughly evaluate the true combat power level, energy utilization efficiency, combat instincts and weaknesses of the same-level superpowers in the new world.
This will provide a crucial baseline for his subsequent "reasonable" improvement in strength, avoiding unnecessary suspicion caused by progressing too quickly or too strongly.
"roar!"
A deafening roar sounded, and a pollution beast as big as a small truck, covered with dark purple metal scales and shaped like a giant lizard, swooped down from above the pipe.
It spewed corrosive metallic acid mist from its mouth and its claws flashed with cold light.
"careful!"
Qin Mu shouted loudly, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes... The opportunity to show his heroism has come.
He suddenly protected Lin Yao behind him, and his hands instantly ignited with white flames, the temperature was so high that the air was distorted.
"Flame Wave!"
He roared and pushed his hands forward. Violent flames swept out like an angry dragon and hit the head of the Steel Armored Lizard accurately.
Boom!
In the violent explosion and flames, the Steel-Armored Lizard was blown back, its hard head scales were charred black, and it let out a painful roar.
"Did you see that?"
Qin Mu stopped and waved his hands casually. The flame went out. He turned around and gave Lin Yao a smile that he thought was charming.
"This is the power of A-level! Follow me, this level of danger is nothing to worry about."
He enjoyed Lin Yao's gaze filled with admiration and fear.
Lin Yao: “…”
35% of energy output was wasted, the attack trajectory was too linear and lacked variety, there was a 0.7-second gap in defensive stance after attacking, and the corrosiveness of the acid mist was underestimated, resulting in a slight erosion of the body's protective energy...
Overall evaluation: Just for show, lacks practical experience, and will not survive more than three games in the old world points race.
It only takes 0.5 seconds to kill him, and 17% of the mental penetration is enough to penetrate his relaxed mental defense.
"Master Qin... so amazing!"
Lin Yao exclaimed at the right moment, his voice trembling just the right amount.
At the same time, his spiritual thread picked up a faint resonance coming from deep within a nearby pipe… it was the breath of the source material crystals he needed for repair.
And... a familiar residual energy frequency unique to the Old World Supernatural Association's laboratory?
While Qin Mu was smugly guarding his surroundings, Lin Yao pretended to be shaken by the explosion and staggered towards a rusty pipe joint.
With a slight movement of his fingertips, an almost invisible strand of mental power penetrated into the gap of the interface like a scalpel, accurately cutting off several pieces of source crystal fragments embedded inside, which emitted a soft purple light, and instantly put them into his sleeve.
At the same time, his mental power traced the remaining energy traces inside the pipe and captured an extremely weak, but unmistakable mental imprint - the source code belonging to the Old World Supernatural Association!
Although incomplete, this is enough to prove that the E-427 copy was not formed naturally. Part of it, or its core, is likely closely related to the Old World's Psychic Association.
Perhaps... there's some unknown physical or energetic connection between the New World and the Old World? Is it a coincidence, or... an overlap of time and space caused by a catastrophic human experiment?
Lin Yao's heart was filled with turmoil, but on the surface he still looked frightened and weak.
Qin Mu came over, trying to show his consideration again: "Are you scared? Come, I'll help you..."
He was just about to put his hand on Lin Yao's shoulder.
Lin Yao dodged gently like a frightened deer, his eyelashes drooping, his voice carrying a deliberately created humility and alienation that could arouse a desire to protect him: "No... No need, Master Qin. I... I'm dirty, don't dirty your clothes. I'm just an F-class... waste, not worthy of you..."
He perfectly played the role of a man who felt inferior due to the gap in status and was afraid to accept the touch of a noble person.
This move was incredibly effective. Qin Mu looked at Lin Yao's fragile yet stubborn expression, his desire to protect and conquer ignited simultaneously. "Don't say that. What's trash? In my eyes, you're much more valuable than those so-called S-class ones."
He tried to grab Lin Yao's hand.
Lin Yao sneered in his heart: Look, here it comes again.
For people in the new world, emotions are like unprotected dams. A single word, a glance, or even a subtle expression can easily trigger violent fluctuations—ecstasy, rage, jealousy, love...
So cheap, so out of control.
Lu Cheng contradicted his father because of him, and became furious and jealous because of Qin Mu; Xia Wei killed someone out of jealousy; Wang Rui kept provoking him out of resentment; and the Qin Mu in front of him was easily aroused by his "weakness" and "alienation".
In the old world, under the sword of Damocles, emotions are deadly poison.
A hint of fear will slow you down by 0.1 seconds in battle, a little hesitation will make you miss the chance to escape, and a burst of anger will expose your position and attract siege.
Emotions are weaknesses, burdens, and things that must be suppressed by absolute rationality.
Lin Yao was able to top the list because he had forged himself into the coldest machine, viewing all emotional fluctuations as system errors that needed to be eliminated.
But why did these people in this new world allow their emotions to dominate them? In a dungeon where life and death were at stake, they were distracted by jealousy, resentment, and the desire to show off, exposing their flaws... How foolish!
Don't they understand that in this world of scarce resources and lurking dangers, exposing weakness is tantamount to suicide?
Lin Yao looked at the undisguised desire in Qin Mu's eyes and found it ridiculous.
He gently broke free from Qin Mu's hand, his voice still gentle, but with a barely perceptible hint of coldness and alienation: "Master Qin, we should... first find a way to find the main force. This place... is very dangerous."
He turned and headed deeper into the maze of pipes, his silver hair gleaming in the dim light. The fragment of source crystal in his sleeve pulsed steadily, repairing the cracks in his core.
But in my heart, my firm belief in the rules of the old world and my judgment of the stupidity of the new world are like solid ice, motionless.
Emotion? That was just a tool for his experiment, the most exploitable and fatal flaw in these New World ants.
He would never let himself get into that situation. Never.
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