Chapter 16
Wang Rui's revenge came faster and more clumsily than expected.
Just three days after Lin Yao's breakthrough, the college's logistics department and disciplinary department suddenly blocked the F-level student dormitory area.
Wang Rui's uncle, Manager Wang from the Logistics Department, brought several serious-looking disciplinarians and headed straight for Lin Yao's room with a clear goal.
"Student Lin Yao," Manager Wang said with a stern face, but a smug look in his eyes, "We've received a reliable report that suspects you are involved in the recent theft of the Yuanchu nuclear power plant from the reserve. We need to search your room, please cooperate!"
Many students gathered at the dormitory door to watch the fun, and whispers were heard everywhere.
Lu Cheng rushed over upon hearing the news, his face livid as he protected Lin Yao behind him: "Manager Wang! Who gave you the authority to search the students' rooms without any evidence?!"
"Master Lu, it's my duty."
Steward Wang smiled wryly, "The report is very convincing, stating that the stolen, high-quality Origin Core is hidden in the secret compartment under Lin's bed. To prove Lin's innocence, why not search it? Or is it... that Young Master Lu is feeling guilty?"
"You!" Lu Cheng was extremely angry, and lightning flashed around him.
"Acheng," Lin Yao gently pulled Lu Cheng's arm, his blue eyes filled with just the right amount of confusion and a hint of grievance of being wronged, "Let them search, the innocent will be cleared."
He acted so calmly that he even offered to make way for the door.
Steward Wang snorted coldly and filed in with his men. After a pretentious search, he pulled out a crystal box gleaming with pure white light from a very secret compartment under Lin Yao's mattress. Inside were two high-quality Origin Cores with extremely strong energy fluctuations.
"The evidence is irrefutable!" Wang Rui jumped out of the crowd, pointed at Lin Yao and screamed, "It's him! He broke through by stealing the Origin Core. He's a thief!"
The crowd erupted in an uproar, their gazes filled with disdain towards Lin Yao. Xia Wei stood at the back of the group, a sneer curling her lips. Qin Mu, with his arms folded, looked playfully, as if observing how Lin Yao would respond.
Lu Cheng's face turned pale, and he was about to speak when Lin Yao gently held him down.
"Manager Wang," Lin Yao's voice was soft, but clearly heard by everyone, "Are you sure... you found this under my bed?"
"Of course! In public!" Manager Wang said righteously.
"Oh?" Lin Yao tilted his head slightly, a hint of confusion on his face. "But... I've always lived in Acheng's dormitory."
This dormitory was an additional compensation provided by the school after his breakthrough, as proof that he had officially become a student of the Academy of Supernatural Powers, rather than Lu Cheng's exclusive auxiliary observer.
He pointed to a small, lonely box in the corner and said, "I came here today just to put some things here. Look, I haven't even had time to open it yet."
The air froze instantly.
The smug look on Manager Wang's face froze. Wang Rui's face flushed red, like a duck being strangled.
The students watching were stunned, and then broke into even louder discussions.
That's right! As Lu Cheng's exclusive auxiliary observer, Lin Yao was closely tied to him, a fact known to the entire school. As for the F-class dormitory that had served as proof of Lin Yao's status as a full-fledged student after his breakthrough, it had become a mere formality due to Lin Yao's lamentations, "I can't bear to be separated from Ah Cheng, not even for a few hours."
"Impossible!" Wang Rui cried out, "I clearly..."
He suddenly realized that he had said something wrong and quickly shut up, but it was too late.
A silver glint flashed in the depths of Lin Yao's blue eyes. He had been waiting for this moment! The spiritual thread had already silently penetrated the subconscious of Manager Wang and Wang Rui, guiding them to reveal the truth.
"What are you obviously saying?" Lin Yao's voice carried a subtle hint of guidance.
"It was your uncle who stole the Origin Core, intending to keep it for himself. My sudden breakthrough made you feel threatened, and you begged your uncle to help frame me? So, he snuck in last night and stuffed the stolen goods into this empty room, thinking no one would notice."
Steward Wang's face turned pale, his lips trembling: "You...you are slandering me!"
"Whether it's slander or not, we can check the records of Manager Wang's personal safe, or...see if he has the same type of mattress at home, wouldn't that tell us?"
Lin Yao's voice remained calm, yet like a cold knife. "Oh, by the way, the handwriting identification of the report letter should be quick too, right?"
Wang Rui completely collapsed, pointing at his uncle and crying, "He forced me to do this! He said he would expel me if I didn't do what he said! He stole the Origin Core! It has nothing to do with me!"
The truth is revealed.
Manager Wang, looking ashen, was immediately taken away by the disciplinary office and dismissed for investigation. Wang Rui was also expelled from the college for his corrupt conduct and false accusations.
This farce not only did not hurt Lin Yao at all, but made his image in everyone's mind more positive - he remained calm in the face of danger, and was both wise and brave.
After the storm subsided, Su Rui asked Lin Yao to meet her in the secret laboratory on the top floor of the medical center on the pretext of rechecking the rejection reaction.
"Frame-up, clumsy means." Su Rui handed Lin Yao a cup of special stabilizer and said calmly, "It seems that you have recovered well."
"Thanks to you." Lin Yao took the potion but didn't drink it. His fingertips stroked the wall of the cup. "In the dungeon, I sensed a spiritual imprint very similar to your brother's."
Su Rui's hands trembled violently, and a sharp light instantly flashed in her eyes: "Where is it?! The exact location!"
"Deep within E-427, there's a laboratory entrance buried by pipes." Lin Yao looked directly into her eyes. "But the energy is very weak, and... it's contaminated by a special kind of mental force filled with a will to destroy. That kind of power... is most likely the Purifier you mentioned."
That was another discovery he made when he was alone with Qin Mu.
Su Rui took a deep breath and leaned against the lab table, her eyes becoming complex and tired. "The Superpower Purification Organization... I joined them five years ago to investigate my brother's disappearance. They claim that the superpowers of the Old World are the source of pollution and the culprit for the disaster in the New World. They must be completely purged, including all those who may have inherited the pollution of the Old World and... all copies."
"What else do you know?" Lin Yao asked.
"Very little." Su Rui smiled bitterly. "Only the top brass knows the core secrets. I've only found out a few superficial details. The destruction of the old world wasn't accidental, but rather a runaway 'dimensional jump' experiment. The dome, the replica, and even the contaminated area outside the wall of the new world... may all be related to the aftermath of that experiment. They firmly believe that only by destroying all replicas and isolating all contamination from the old world can the new world achieve true purity."
Lin Yao was silent for a moment: "What is the key to the connection between the two worlds?"
Su Rui did not answer directly. She walked to the window and pointed at the huge energy dome that covered the entire City D.
In the setting sun, the dome radiates a soft yet indestructible light. "It isolates pollution, and it also isolates the truth."
She spoke in a low voice, "Its core is City D's top secret and the cornerstone that sustains everything. It's said... the cores of Cities A, B, and C are the same."
Lin Yao followed her gaze, his heart trembling. The core of the dome... He instantly understood Su Rui's hint.
He needs to go there! He has to go!
A few days later, when Lu Cheng went to the outer area of the core energy tower for a routine safety inspection, Lin Yao followed him on the pretext of accompanying him to relax.
"Yaoyao, wait for me here. The radiation inside is strong, you can't go in."
Lu Cheng stopped in front of the last security gate leading to the core area and gave worried instructions.
"Okay, I'm going to the bathroom." Lin Yao nodded obediently and pointed to the sign not far away.
After entering the bathroom and confirming that no one was there, Lin Yao's breath disappeared instantly.
He was like a ghost blending into the shadows, his mental barrier perfectly isolating all biological signals and energy fluctuations.
The stealth skills of the top player in the Old World were brought to the extreme at this moment.
He avoided the ubiquitous scanning rays, energy sensors, gravity traps, infrared thermal imaging arrays... Every action was precise to the millisecond, and every movement took advantage of the blind spots between guard changes or equipment scanning.
If he did not possess top-level soul control abilities that could perfectly deceive all non-physical detection devices, no matter how strong he was, it would be impossible for him to sneak in silently.
After passing through layers of defense that was like a dragnet, Lin Yao finally reached the deepest part of the core area.
In the center of the vast circular space, suspended was a sphere of energy, approximately ten meters in diameter, emitting a soft white light—the dome core. Vast energy emanated from it, maintaining the protection of the entire City D.
However, the moment Lin Yao saw it, his pupils suddenly shrank!
An extremely familiar supernatural power fluctuation, yet carrying the breath of death, came from the depths of the core like an icy poisonous snake.
This fluctuation...belonged to Morrison, the seventeenth-ranked "Shadow Eclipse" in the Old World standings! An extremely formidable spatial assassin. Lin Yao, in his quest to kill him, had been severely injured by him in the spatial maze, nearly succumbing to a near-death struggle.
Why would Morrison's energy fluctuation appear here? !
Immediately afterwards, more familiar fluctuations emerged like sediment, impacting Lin Yao's perception.
Ranked 39th on the standings, the violent fire fluctuations of "Lava Giant" Kalon...
Ranked 82nd on the standings, the strange mental fluctuations of "Dream Weaver" Alison...
There are even...remnants of the losers at the bottom of the list who were directly wiped out by the Sword of Damocles, filled with despair and annihilation.
An absurd and terrifying thought, like a cold tide, instantly overwhelmed Lin Yao.
The energy source for the dome's operation... is it the residual energy of those psychics who were wiped out and killed in the old world?!
He felt a chill running down his spine and straight to his head! If his speculation was correct, then he, the top of the Old World, would undoubtedly be the largest and purest source of energy in the eyes of the core of the New World!
Once exposed...
An unprecedented sense of crisis gripped him! The rejection reaction must be resolved as soon as possible! The marked high-quality Origin Core must also be obtained!
Strength! The only way to survive is to recover all your strength as soon as possible!
He subconsciously thought of Lu Cheng, the tool that always stood in front of him... But then, he clenched his fingers tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms.
No! Relying on others is the greatest folly. Lu Cheng, Qin Mu, are just pawns. He must recover his strength as soon as possible!
At this moment, his keen spiritual perception captured the energy fluctuations coming from afar - Xia Wei and Chen Mo were in secret contact.
The resentment they held for Lin Yao in their eyes practically solidified. Lin Yao sneered inwardly: Revenge? Come on. This might be his chance to break away from the main force once again and infiltrate the high-risk area of E-427 to obtain materials to combat rejection.
Elsewhere, in the City Lord's Mansion's secret chamber, Lu Tianheng looked at the secret letter from Qin Mu with a cold gaze. "The plan remains the same. During the next joint E-427 exploration, make him disappear in the energy turbulence. Remember, make it look like an accident. Illusion Master Thousand Faces will cooperate with you."
Qin Mu's reply consisted of only two words: "Deal."
What is it to spend some resources to get that interesting silver-haired beauty?
Lin Yao soon "accidentally" overheard Qin Mu's secret conversation with the city lord's confidant about "illusions" and "accidents".
He stood in the shadows, a cold smile on his lips.
Really... when I feel sleepy, someone brings me a pillow. He was worrying about how to properly get rid of Lu Cheng's overprotection and create an opportunity to go to other cities for investigation.
The night before his departure, Lin Yao quietly infiltrated the depths of the storage vault, where he had already figured out the route. The double-checked door locks were rendered useless by his sophisticated mental simulation. He easily took the two long-marked, high-quality Origin Cores.
The moment the energy entered his body, his damaged core emitted a comfortable humming sound, and his strength quietly recovered to around level 25.
As for the risk of exposure...it's nothing compared to the truth about the core of the dome.
…
Stepping into E-427 again, Lin Yao keenly sensed a change in the atmosphere. Xia Wei and Chen Mo's gazes clung to him like venomous snakes, while Qin Mu gave him a meaningful smile.
With the exquisite cooperation of Xia Wei and Chen Mo, an "accidental" rockfall blocked the passage. Lin Yao was "unfortunately" separated from the main force and was "forced" towards the high-risk area.
Lu Cheng was so anxious that he went crazy, but Xia Wei stopped him firmly on the grounds that a large-scale energy turbulence was detected ahead and that forcing his way in would cause a disaster.
Lin Yao ventured alone into the high-risk zone and easily found the key ingredient to resolve the rejection reaction: the source crystal cluster. The absorption and fusion process was painful and dangerous, but before the will honed in the old world, all obstacles were crushed.
The rejection reaction was completely eliminated! His power recovery was unfettered! Near the crystal cluster, he also found a broken nameplate with the name Su Yun—Su Rui's brother—engraved on it!
And a fragmented video record: in a burning laboratory, Su Yun and a man in a white robe with ∞ and a seven-pointed star embroidered on his chest were arguing fiercely about something... Purifier?
Just as he left the high-risk area and was about to reunite with the main force, a violent spatial fluctuation swept over! It wasn't a natural formation, but a carefully guided illusion that simulated energy turbulence.
Qin Mu's figure appeared in the distorted light and shadow, with a determined smile on his face: "Follow me, Lin Yao! This place will collapse soon!"
Lin Yao looked at the lifelike illusion of energy turbulence, and saw Lu Cheng in the distance trying to rush over like crazy but being stopped, and his heart went cold.
He took a last look at the figure in the illusion that looked extremely fragile and was roaring his name. Then, he turned around without hesitation and walked into the center of the illusion turbulence created by Qin Mu.
“Yaoyao——!!!”
Lu Cheng's bloodshot roar resounded throughout the copy, and he watched Lin Yao's figure being swallowed up by the violent energy turbulence and disappear!
"No--!!!"
He burst out with unprecedented strength, shaking off all those who blocked his way, and rushed towards the area desperately, but was held tightly by Professor Zhou and Xia Wei who arrived later.
"Brother Acheng! It's too late! That's energy turbulence! If we go in, we'll be wiped out!" Xia Wei cried, but her heart was filled with twisted pleasure.
"Let me go! I want to find him! Yaoyao is still in there! He needs me!"
Lu Cheng was like a madman, lightning flashing uncontrollably, his wounds bursting open, blood staining half his body red. He struggled desperately and frantically like a lone wolf who had lost its mate.
In the end, he was forcibly injected with a sedative. Before he lost consciousness, his red eyes stared at the direction where Lin Yao disappeared, filled with unforgettable pain and endless regret.
"I'm...too weak..."
This was his last thought before he fell into darkness.
If he was strong enough... If he could catch Yaoyao before he fell into the turbulence... If he...
When Lu Cheng woke up again, the E-427 instance had been shut down. He lay on the cold hospital bed, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. It felt as if a large part of his heart had been hollowed out, leaving only the howling cold wind.
He slowly sat up and removed the IV needle from the back of his hand. Blood oozed out, but he felt no pain at all. He walked to the window and looked at the cold metal door of the E-427 dungeon entrance in the distance.
"Yaoyao..." He murmured softly, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper, "Wait for me."
"No matter where you are... alive or dead... I will become stronger... strong enough to tear through space, strong enough to crush all obstacles..."
"I will find you... and bring you back..."
"wait for me……"
He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers onto the floor. The pain was not even a ten-thousandth of what he felt in his heart.
This deep pain and endless regret would become the hottest fuel, igniting his path to the pinnacle of power, sustaining him through every long, cold night without Lin Yao.
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