Chapter 453 Odin's Mask also needs a product upgrade to keep up with the times!
High walls, electric fences, patrolling security guards, ubiquitous surveillance cameras...
The security level of Research Institute No. 7 is extremely high, making it impossible for any unauthorized intruder to move an inch.
However, for some beings, these mundane defensive measures are like those cheap, cheap toys that cost 9.9 yuan and include shipping for 100, thinking they are ultra-thin but they are just rubber bands and offer no real protection!
In the parking lot surrounding the research institute, the space was slightly distorted, and a black Mercedes quietly appeared in a parking space.
Xia Mi yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She had just been watching a movie with Chu Zihang at the hotel. Halfway through, she tried to lean on his shoulder to fall asleep, but was suddenly interrupted by Lu Mingfei's phone call.
They said they'd captured a live Odin puppet and wanted her and Old Tang to come and take a look.
Since it involved the feud with the Chu family, she didn't care about being annoyed that her good deed had been interrupted, and casually dragged Chu Zihang into it as well.
Old Tang and Constantine are like conjoined twins, following each other everywhere, while Ryoma Kaoru is also always by their side, demonstrating what it means for a movie with three people to have a name.
"Is this it?" Xia Mi looked up at the research institute, which looked rather solemn under the night sky, and curled her lip. "It looks pretty intimidating."
Old Tang put his hands in his pockets and said, "Stop reminiscing, let's go. Mingming is still waiting."
The Word of Power: Netherworld Illumination continued to be released, enveloping the two people and three dragons. They easily passed through layers of defenses and entered the research institute, as if strolling through their own backyard.
Following the guidance of the snake released by Lu Mingfei, the five quickly arrived at the heavily guarded isolation laboratory deep inside the research institute.
The guards stationed there had been knocked unconscious and were now sprawled on the ground in the same sitting posture as Kogoro in his sleep.
The laboratory door slid open silently, and the first thing that came into view was a tall figure with obvious dragon-like features, placed on a special restraint frame, wearing a distorted bronze mask.
"Oh, everyone's here." Lu Mingfei turned around and greeted the guests.
Erii stood obediently beside Lu Mingfei, and gave Xia Mi a slight smile.
Fingel was still busy at the control panel in the observation room next door, his fingers flying across the keyboard, waving his hand as a greeting without looking up.
Before Chu Zihang could even respond, his gaze was drawn to the burly figure on the restraint frame the moment the door opened.
"This is..." Xia Mi raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise on her face: "Odin's heroic warriors? Where did they come from?"
She didn't beat around the bush. Anyway, everyone was pretty much out in the open. As long as she didn't admit it, outsiders would just think she had a wide range of interests.
Old Tang also looked surprised and stepped forward to examine the ferocious heroic warrior more closely:
"Odin's puppet, but that mask looks a bit out of place?"
As the King of Bronze and Fire, he immediately noticed that something was wrong with the bronze mask.
Constantine's lips twitched slightly. He felt that his brother had really lost his mind after spending too much time with humans. Wasn't this a slap mark left after someone had slapped him across the face?
Chu Zihang looked at the familiar bronze mask and the ferocious dragon body beneath it, which was still clearly alive. His body tensed up instinctively, and his usually calm eyes suddenly sharpened, as if he were about to draw his sword and cut it in half.
He was familiar with this thing; he'd seen it once five years ago, when he lost his own father.
I saw it once a few days ago, and it almost cost him his life.
I never expected to see Odin's puppet here again, especially in its naked state without any armor.
Ignoring Lao Tang's antics, Lu Mingfei briefly explained Chen Tianmu's identity, how he found him, and how he transformed into this form to the group.
"Just how many tricks does Odin have up his sleeve?" Xia Mi asked, crossing her arms over her chest, her tone tinged with envy, jealousy, and a barely perceptible hint of seriousness.
"Without anyone noticing, he has taken control of the Chen family, one of the top families among the Eastern mixed-race, and this is only one of the forces he controls."
We're all Dragon Kings, so how come the difference between dragons is greater than the difference between a dragon and a dog?
The Wind King doesn't drink the northwest wind, yet he lives a life of luxury, while the mighty Earth and Mountain King is so poor he eats dirt, and the Bronze and Fire King only eats cheap hot dogs that cost two dollars each. Is this reasonable?
Old Tang was also filled with emotion: "He truly is a cunning old fox."
Lu Mingfei pointed to Chen Tianmu on the restraint frame and said to the three dragon kings who wished to remain anonymous:
"I've called you here to ask if you have any way to safely remove this mask and break Odin's control so that he can return to his original form."
I worry that forcibly removing it might lead to uncontrollable consequences, such as mental anguish or physical self-destruction.
Better safe than sorry. This concerns Comrade Chu's life, so even someone as reckless as Lu Mingfei has to proceed with caution.
Upon hearing this, Xia Mi stepped forward and began to use her super intelligence to analyze whether the broken mask was the one she was familiar with.
A minute later, she withdrew her hand and said in a relaxed tone, "It's not that complicated. This mask is just a controller and a power amplifier. Although it is made of special materials and has a mental imprint, the core principle is not too profound."
"Just remove it. Odin is so far away, how could he remotely control the explosion?"
All these years later, Odin's mask is still the same old design, with no product upgrades whatsoever.
Honestly, they haven't improved at all.
In the field of alchemy, it's a matter of either progressing or falling behind.
When you have time, you really need to look for the reasons within yourself: have your skills improved, or have you been studying diligently?
She paused, then added, "If you're still worried, you can have his brain checked again after you remove it to see if there are any spiritual seeds or backdoors left by Odin."
But as for the mask itself, removing it is the most direct way to break free from control.
Xia Mi had dealt with Odin quite a bit in the past and was well aware of his methods of controlling the heroic warriors and Valkyries under his command.
After Old Tang and Constantine examined the situation, they nodded in agreement with Xia Mi's assessment.
In the field of alchemy, the two brothers held absolute authority; if they said something was correct, it really was correct.
Seeing that they all said so, Lu Mingfei no longer hesitated.
He stepped forward, reached out his hand, and gripped the edge of the twisted bronze mask with his fingertips, applying slight pressure.
"..."
It wouldn't budge!
With a little more force, it's about the same force needed to unscrew a bottle cap off a human skull.
"Crack..."
With a soft, crisp sound, the stubborn energy link between the mask and the face was forcibly severed.
Lu Mingfei carefully removed the hideous bronze mask with the handprint from Chen Tianmu's face.
The moment the mask was removed from the body, a strange change occurred.
The massive, inhuman-looking body covered in scales on the restraint frame began to change at a visible rate.
The swollen muscles contracted, the menacing bone spurs and horns slowly retracted into the body, and the bluish-black scales gradually faded and disappeared...
In the blink of an eye, the monstrous Odin puppet vanished, and Chen Tianmu reverted to his human form.
However, some scale marks remained on his skin that were difficult to completely disappear, and some bone spurs at his joints had not completely healed, making him look quite strange.
More importantly, his eyes, which had originally shone with the unwavering determination and majesty of a small fist, were now empty and dull, devoid of any luster, like dregs of medicine that had been completely drained.
Lu Mingfei frowned, noticing that Chen Tianmu's physical injuries were severe and his spirit was like a candle flickering in the wind.
He raised his hand and cast a fairly powerful healing spell. Abundant life force surged into Chen Tianmu's body, rapidly repairing his physical wounds. The lung wound pierced by the broken bone began to heal, the internal bleeding stopped, and the heartbeat no longer slowed down...
However, although his physical injuries healed quickly, Chen Tianmu's eyes remained empty.
He didn't even react to the comfort of his injuries healing; he just hung blankly on the restraint frame, staring unfocused ahead, like an empty shell that had lost its soul.
Lu Mingfei stretched out his hand and waved it in front of his eyes, but there was no reaction.
He tried to probe his consciousness with his mental power, but found it to be a chaotic and broken mess, like a parking lot destroyed by a tornado and burned by a tram explosion. He could not find any complete memory fragments or self-awareness.
"As expected..." Lu Mingfei withdrew his hand and sighed.
When he probed Chen Tianmu's memories before, the mental seed that suddenly exploded deep in his mind probably not only covered up and erased the memories, but also completely destroyed his personality and the origin of his consciousness.
Now, he is nothing more than an empty shell with only signs of life, a walking corpse.
Seeing this, Xia Mi guessed Chen Tianmu's situation and couldn't help but sneer, "It's still the same old story of 'the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked'."
Seeing Chen Tianmu transform from a hideous Odin puppet back into human form, only to meet such an end, Chu Zihang's heart tightened.
If the useless old man also fell into Odin's hands and became such a puppet, would he also face the same fate?
To become an empty shell without thoughts, memories, or a self?
Xia Mi keenly sensed Chu Zihang's worry, gently touched his arm, and whispered:
"Don't worry too much. Under normal circumstances, the Odin Mask forcibly distorts the wearer's will, putting them into a dormant state similar to AFK, and there is no danger to their life."
During this period, their memories may be impaired, but as long as Odin doesn't deliberately issue an order to silence them, or if we can remove the masks and destroy the brand before the mental brand explodes, this complete annihilation of consciousness will not occur.
Her words carried a convincing certainty, slightly dispelling the gloom in Chu Zihang's heart.
He nodded, but the seriousness between his brows did not completely disappear.
After all, even if the good-for-nothing father were still alive, finding him in the vast sea of people would be no easy task.
Lu Mingfei patted him on the shoulder: "There's always a way out, and things will work themselves out. Since Odin has made his move, he'll always leave a trace."
We have more and more clues now; finding Uncle Chu is only a matter of time.
Chu Zihang nodded; he had always known that.
Just then, Fingel, who had been busy in the observation room, let out an excited whisper: "Done!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the waterfall of data on the screen in front of him had stopped scrolling and was replaced by the interface of the research institute's core database.
Fingel lived up to his reputation as a supercomputer genius, using his unparalleled hacking skills honed during his time intruding into the college system at Kassel College to successfully uncover all the research materials and data within Research Institute No. 7.
"Junior brother, look! There are a lot of good things in here!" Fingel's eyes lit up.
Research Institute No. 7 specializes in cloning and gene editing technologies, and is specifically designed to develop and create a stand-in for Chen Tianmu. Although some of the experimental records are physically disturbing, it must be said that the technology itself is excellent enough to be used in the plan to help Eva regain her body.
That's why Fingel was so happy he turned into a husky.
Lu Mingfei walked over and quickly glanced at the screen.
Although he couldn't understand it at all, he could still glean a lot of information from the analysis report about the fusion of dragon genes and human genes, the control of bloodline stability, and the forbidden technology of dragon cell cultivation.
These came at just the right time.
...
Meanwhile, far away in Italy, at the Gattuso family estate.
In his lavishly decorated office, Frost stood on the phone, his brow furrowed, his face filled with astonishment and confusion.
"What? Cancel the cooperation?"
"What does this mean? Didn't we have a good discussion before?"
On the other end of the phone came Chen Tianmu's calm yet undeniable voice: "Mr. Frost, there's no need to say more. The Chen family is probably facing an insurmountable crisis this time."
I don't want to implicate the Gattuso family; our previous cooperation is over.
Please don't contact me again, I'm afraid Mr. Lu will misunderstand.
After saying that, Chen Tianmu, who had been promoted from stand-in to actor, hung up the phone before Frost could say anything more.
"Hello? Hello!" Frost's face instantly turned extremely ugly as he heard the busy tone on the phone.
"What's going on? Why would the Chen family suddenly change their minds? Could it be that something unexpected has happened in the capital that I'm unaware of?"
Frost muttered to himself, a sense of unease rising within him as things spiraled out of control. He longed to call Chen Tianmu again and ask if he had been kidnapped, and if not, to let him know.
However, when the call was made back, it showed that the phone was switched off. It seemed that the other party wanted to use this method to express that their mind was made up and that they dared not part from him!
He immediately contacted Percy, hoping to get firsthand information from this spy planted by Caesar's side.
However, Parsey's communicator remained unreachable, and he was out of contact.
“I can’t get in touch with Percy either…” Frost’s heart sank; he knew something must have gone wrong.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to give it a try and dialed Caesar's number.
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.
"What is it?" Caesar's voice came through the receiver, cold and distant, with undisguised disdain and disgust.
Frost was already used to his rebellious nephew's attitude, and tried to ask in a calm tone:
"Caesar, I need to speak with Percy, but I can't get through to him..."
Before he could finish speaking, Caesar coldly interrupted him: "He was too annoying, so I knocked him out and locked him in the storeroom."
It's nothing, don't bother me anymore!
Also, don't try to cram anyone next to me, or next time I won't just be locked in the storage room!
“Caesar! You…” Frost wanted to say something, but all he got in response was a busy signal.
That kid hung up the phone right after he said that!
Frost stood frozen in place, microphone in hand, his face alternating between pale and flushed.
He never expected that not only would the Chen family suddenly turn against him, but even Caesar, whom he believed would never harm his own people, would do something so outrageous.
That's...
Wait!
wrong!
Percy's bloodline and incantations are far superior to Caesar's; in a one-on-one fight, Caesar would be no match for Percy.
It must have been Lu Mingfei or Chu Zihang who made the move.
Frost took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Unable to contact Percy, and with Caesar's uncooperative attitude, he had to obtain information from other sources.
He immediately deployed his secret informants in the Kassel branch.
Soon, the informant relayed the information, which was already known: Lu Mingfei would meet with the four heads of the family, visit the Chen family, and the Chen family had been set up by the mixed-race family and the Kassel branch.
However, all of this was expected and not enough to cause such a dramatic change in the Chen family's attitude, much less to lead Chen Tianmu to directly cancel the cooperation with the Gattuso family.
"There must be something I don't know!"
Frost Gattuso frowned deeply, suspecting that his position as acting head of the family might be a lie.
(End of this chapter)
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