Chapter 165 Negative Effects
Bai Zang was almost unaware of the battle outside. At this moment, he was fully focused on fighting the pain brought by the pollution.
After dealing with several monsters that appeared in the dark, I turned my attention to Bai Zang.
His face was now completely wrinkled, expressionless. Scarlet veins beneath his skin snaked upward along his palm, twisting and pulsing like a living thing.
A roar of extreme pain was suppressed in his throat, and he seemed to be on the verge of collapse. But he gritted his teeth, veins bulging, and refused to utter a single sound.
Just as I was hesitating whether to go up and help, Bai Zang suddenly let out a suppressed growl from his throat.
“Ugh—!”
Bai Zang's head shot back up, his growl turning into a roar.
An aura far more condensed than before suddenly burst out from him!
I looked closely and saw that the "red velvet" covering his body, which was trying to continue to erode, withered and peeled away as if it had met its nemesis! The bulging scarlet blood vessels under his skin quickly flattened and disappeared.
His eyes, which had rolled back to white, regained their spirit. In the depth of his pupils, a faint red light flashed by. His sharp gaze swept through the darkness, and his eyes had regained their clarity.
Bai Zang was still gasping for breath, like a fish out of water, his whole body drenched in sweat, his face showing extreme fatigue, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, filled with ecstasy of surviving the disaster and shock at the new power.
"It feels... like I've gotten a new pair of eyes..." His voice was hoarse and filled with disbelief.
It seems to be successful.
Bai Zang completed his second evolution.
I also breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the exit: "Let's go out and test our abilities."
We took advantage of the night and found a relatively clean and flat open space.
"Try it." I picked up a small stone.
Bai Zang nodded, took a deep breath, his eyes instantly became extremely focused, and the red light deep in his pupils appeared again.
I flicked my wrist, and the pebble shot silently towards Bai Zang's left shoulder! It wasn't fast, but the angle was tricky.
Just before the stone was about to hit his left shoulder, Bai Zang's body took half a step to the right without any warning, as if he had foreseen the future.
The stone flew past his body and hit the ground behind him, making a slight noise.
The next second I drew my sword and came in front of him. In terms of speed, he was probably not as fast as me.
Bai Zang's eyes narrowed, and he dodged to the side as if he had a premonition, and took counterattack measures at the right time.
He is indeed not as fast as me, but his attacks are indeed ruthless. Even when we are just sparring, his moves are vicious.
During the competition, I also understood a little about his new ability. It should be a kind of premonition. Every time I attack, he can predict it accurately.
Bai Zang withdrew his hand, the red light in his eyes fading, and his face paled even further. It was obvious that this was his first time using this predictive ability and he was not yet proficient, so the energy consumption was huge. However, an irrepressible smile of excitement appeared on his face.
"I felt it! Even though it was only for a moment, I could really feel where something was going to hit me!" He looked at his hand excitedly, then looked at me, "Ji Ling, this ability..."
His words suddenly stopped, the excitement on his face froze in an instant, and then turned into astonishment.
Because I suddenly knelt on the ground, using the knife to support my body so that I would not fall down directly, but my body was still shaking slightly uncontrollably, and fine cold sweat was oozing from my forehead.
A bone-chilling throbbing sensation was crawling up my spine.
This feeling... is an illusory crystal.
Although it was thrown into the mirror, it was a relic of the evil god after all, and could be considered a high-level containment object. It seemed that carrying it for a long time would still have certain negative effects. Even with a natural barrier like a mirror to isolate it, contamination would inevitably overflow.
However, this discomfort did not last long. I adjusted my breathing and my expression relaxed slightly.
"What's wrong with you?!" Bai Zang asked anxiously.
I waved my hands and forced a smile, "It's okay..."
The icy throbbing brought by the illusory crystal slowly dissipated like the receding tide, leaving only a lingering chill on my spine and a dull ache in my temples. Holding the knife, I took a few deep breaths of the cool night air, forcing down the churning discomfort. My face gradually regained some color.
"Are you really okay?" Bai Zang squatted in front of me, his brow furrowed, his eyes filled with worry and inquiry. The excitement he had just gained from his newfound power was completely extinguished by my sudden change.
"It's an old problem. I won't die." I waved my hand, stood up with his help, put the knife back into the sheath, and deliberately made my movements appear steady. "Let's go back first. This is not the place to talk." Now is not the time to tell Bai Zang about the existence of the illusory crystal and its troubles.
Bai Zang looked at me deeply and didn't ask any more questions, but the concern and doubt were obviously suppressed in his heart.
"Okay, go back."
He nodded and took the initiative to walk ahead to lead the way. His newly acquired "momentary foreboding" ability made him more sensitive to dangers in the dark. Although it might be quite exhausting for him at the moment, he was obviously fully alert at this moment.
Back at the Black Dragon Gang's stronghold, avoiding the night watchmen, we quietly retreated to our respective rooms. Closing the door, shutting out the outside noise, I finally relaxed, exhaustion washing over me like a tide. But even more weighing on my mind was the hidden danger posed by the broken crystal.
Throwing it into the mirror world can indeed isolate most direct pollution, but this thing is, after all, a medium used by evil gods to erode reality, and its status is too high.
Although the mirror space is mysterious, it is ultimately a part of my own authority and not an absolutely independent containment unit.
Carrying it for a long time is like having a miniature black hole that constantly emits radiation next to me. The "embers" of high-level pollution are still subtly eroding my spiritual boundaries, and eventually triggered the backlash just now.
How is this different from portable chemotherapy! I don’t want to be bald yet!
A more secure containment method must be found!
But that's easy to say. I still have no idea about the containment measures for this crystal. When I was in the Investigation Bureau, my work on "Sword of Dawn" rarely involved containment, so I don't have much experience in this area.
An idea suddenly occurred to me.
Contact the Investigation Bureau! As the "relevant department," they possess the most comprehensive and powerful containment technology and facilities. The Illusion Crystal involves the Evil God, so it's at least Level I, and perhaps even Secret-level personnel will be dispatched. If they take action, complete containment and even research will be no problem.
But I quickly dismissed this thought. My current identity is somewhat sensitive. In their eyes, I disappear and reappear inexplicably, a demigod who is suspected of stealing the authority of the evil god, a walking source of pollution, and so on...
Either way, I'd be thoroughly investigated by the Bureau, and possibly even "taken in" by headquarters for study, crystal and all. This path was too risky, practically a trap.
Currently, there is only one option...
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