Chapter 182 Mortal Spells
Is Dr. Silver Mask even more troublesome than Chenlong?
I find it hard to imagine anyone more troublesome than Chenlong, who uses the "Portal Armor," especially since his combat strength is roughly equivalent to that of an untrained ordinary person.
The young girl, Lu Chan, immediately gave her an answer.
“During the second prison break, a witcher ambushed and killed Dr. Silver Mask. However, that guy is unkillable because he has the power of ‘rebooting.’ I believe the source of the rebooting phenomenon at this base is him,” she said. “Or rather, some substance within his body.”
"Matter?" I asked.
“I witnessed him being torn to pieces. He had no heart; instead, there was a small object that looked like black jade.” She recalled. “After his death, he was restored to his original form as if rewinding, and at the same time, the power of restarting, centered on him, enveloped the entire stronghold, and the second escape attempt failed.”
"The reactivation of the bases usually occurs when there are too few test subjects. But if Dr. Silver Mask wants to, he can reactivate everything anytime, anywhere. We can't even take advantage of his inattention to launch a sneak attack or assassinate him, because the power of reactivation can not only be activated actively, but also triggered passively."
The object, resembling black jade, was definitely a fragment of the divine seal.
However, it was actually inside Dr. Silver Mask's body, and he could manipulate the power of rebooting at will... Now I understand why the girl Lu Chan said he was even more troublesome than Chen Long.
I even feel that this description is insufficient to describe the other party; I'm afraid that ten Dragons combined wouldn't be as troublesome as one Silver Mask Doctor.
In a video game, Dr. Silver Mask would be like a player who can reload saves at will, automatically restarting after failure or death, while we are just NPCs and monsters. Even with a huge difference in strength between us, he wouldn't lose. Furthermore, he could continuously accumulate experience, repeatedly challenging enemies until he finally achieves victory.
Is the source of this incredible power the fragment of the divine seal in his heart? I sensed once again that Dr. Silver Mask… Ying Lingyun might have truly unearthed the real power of the divine seal fragment. Whether it's "editing reality" or "rebooting time and space," this performance certainly lives up to the title of "fragment of the omnipotent wish-granting machine."
The senior researcher said that Dr. Silver Mask holds the core lifeline of this base... Could it be referring to the fragment of the divine seal in the heart? If we can seize the fragment of the divine seal, can we destroy this independent reality space?
However, to seize the fragments of the Divine Seal, one must kill Dr. Silver Mask; killing Dr. Silver Mask will trigger a passive reboot... This is simply endless.
I shared my thoughts with the girl Lu Chan, and she pondered, "The black jade is the core of the stronghold... This possibility is very high, and as you said, killing Dr. Silver Mask is an impossible task... But I have previously devised a way to destroy this stronghold without killing Dr. Silver Mask."
"But now, because of your appearance, I have a different idea."
"What's the idea?" I asked.
“Didn’t you say that because your power is too great, this space can’t support you and will cause you to fall out of the ‘shattered void’? So as long as we find a way to expand the range of this ‘shattered void’, it’s possible to destroy this stronghold in one fell swoop,” she said. “Simply put, it’s about breaking the deadlock with force. But even for you, this approach is probably too much to ask.”
"As for the old method I originally considered, it's practically impossible in practice, and it was also refuted by the information you brought earlier. Just take it as a reference..."
Before she finished speaking, I noticed patrolling guards approaching from the path I was scouting with, so I made a hand gesture to her.
She stopped talking and followed me into the cell next door.
I chose, once again, a cell that wouldn't make any unnecessary noise. Based on previous experience, these cells usually didn't contain researchers or test subjects, making them ideal for hiding. But this time, it seems I've finally run into bad luck.
There are people in this cell, and not only experimental subjects, but also a researcher.
He was a researcher sitting quietly in a chair in the corner, reading a book. Although he was also wearing a green surgical gown and looked like a monster, unlike those fat and muscular monsters, he was tall and wiry, giving the impression of a young man.
He was startled when we suddenly barged in, and the books in his hands fell to the ground.
He immediately stood up, as if he wanted to shout.
I immediately summoned the Unpredictable Sword of the Heretic Path, but the girl Lu Chan was a step faster. She opened her mouth and uttered, "—You cannot move."
Her voice seemed to possess a strange magic, and the young researcher who heard her words was immediately unable to move.
"What is this?" I felt that her skill was similar to the immobilization spell that Asahi had used in the past.
"It's just a simple, quick hypnosis technique."
As Lu Chan answered, she glanced at the experimental subject beside her.
That was also a witcher bound to a cross. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a "familiar face"—the stranger who had spoken to me when I first entered this secret hideout.
However, he was fast asleep at the moment, and our intrusion did not wake him up.
Something felt off. If we hadn't barged in, the witcher would simply be fast asleep on the cross, while the researcher seemed to be just sitting nearby reading and slacking off. Unlike the other cells, there was absolutely no atmosphere of "researchers from an evil organization" or "miserable experimental subjects" here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have assumed this cell was empty.
Just as I was wondering, the young researcher trembled all over, as if he was about to break free from the girl Lu Chan's "quick-acting hypnosis".
The young girl Lu Chan also noticed this. She was somewhat surprised and repeated "You can't move" twice. Then, after observing the young researcher who had become completely still again, she exclaimed, "So that's how it is. This person has a very high level of mental cultivation."
"A cultivation technique?" I asked, puzzled. "Is this researcher also a demon hunter?"
"No, he's just an ordinary person."
"So what kind of mental cultivation method are you referring to?" I asked curiously.
"Even mortals have their own mental techniques."
Seeing that I was seeking her advice, she thought about it carefully and then answered: "You see, generally speaking, humans are lazy and prefer to do whatever is comfortable and convenient. But there are many people who study hard and exercise their bodies. Why do you think that is?"
"To realize a dream?" I thought of the identity of the young girl Lu Chan.
“Yes. Strong desires, dreams to be realized, or self-discipline, etc... If a person can spontaneously force themselves to think about and do things they wouldn’t normally do, then they must have some kind of method to regulate their inner self.” She said, “We witchers call this method ‘mental technique’.”
"In other words, the mental cultivation method is something that ordinary people can master." I understood.
“Yes. This person has strong self-discipline and has built his inner world up to be impenetrable, making him immune to most mental spells. Normally, even if my illusions were ten times stronger, it would be difficult to affect him.” She sighed for some reason.
Normally speaking? Does that mean this young researcher happens to be in an abnormal state?
I thought about it and decided to ask myself the question I was most curious about first: "No matter how well an ordinary person cultivates their inner world, it should be very small compared to the spiritual power accumulated by a demon hunter through training, so why does the situation you described occur?"
"Witchers enhance their spirit through cultivation, but what they really increase is the volume of their spirit. The density of their spirit depends on the strength of their will. Many witchers react in the face of desperate situations and setbacks in the same way. Their tolerance for pain and fear is not necessarily stronger than that of a brave mortal soldier. Where do you think their so-called 'spiritual strength' is reflected?" the girl Lu Chan said. "It's a spirit the size of a pea that can have the hardness of an alloy. It won't deform even if it's run over by a car many times its own size."
"Some ordinary people encounter illusions cast by evil spirits during strange events. In fact, as long as they show a fearless spirit, they can nullify the illusion. Take Kong Da, whom you also know, for example..."
At this point, she seemed to recall the past, sighed, and continued, "...In short, very few 'ordinary people' can do this. However, most of the researchers from the Humanitarian Affairs Department are outstanding individuals in the outside world, so the probability of encountering them here is relatively high."
"So, what do you plan to do with him?" I asked the young researcher.
“Perfect. Since you’re at odds with the Humanitarian Affairs Department, let me show you what the ‘real Humanitarian Affairs Department’ is all about.”
She said this to me first, then spoke to the young researcher in that seemingly magical voice: "You can speak now, but don't shout."
As she finished speaking, the young researcher's face seemed to thaw, and his eyes widened in surprise as he looked at us: "...Ghost girl? How did you escape from that special cell? And the one next to you, I remember you were that child..."
The young girl, Lu Chan, asked, "What are you doing here?"
Faced with the voice filled with magical power, the young researcher showed strong resistance, clearly not wanting to answer the question honestly: "...If you're going to kill me, then hurry up and do it. Don't even think about getting information about the experiment out of me."
"An experiment? You weren't even conducting an experiment," the girl Lu Chan said calmly. "Or did you just give the test subjects you were responsible for some sedatives and sit next to them reading novels on a tablet, and that counts as your experiment?"
So, in other people's eyes, that book was a tablet computer?
The young researcher's struggle became even more apparent, while the young girl Lu Chan continued speaking in a bewitching voice.
"You don't actually want to serve the Humanitarian Affairs Department at all... right?"
(End of this chapter)
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