58. Explosion
Icy, sticky, and filled with a soul-freezing malice, the immense mental pressure surged from the depths of the tunnel like a tangible tide, instantly engulfing the six wounded individuals who had just reunited. The air seemed heavy, breathing difficult, and every heartbeat felt like a pounding against an icy cage.
It's that priest! He's chasing us!
Ling Ye suddenly shielded Su Lin, who had just been lifted to his feet. His lean yet upright figure, like a sword unsheathed, erupted with a fierce murderous aura. The fierce collision with the invisible mental oppression sent a subtle, tooth-aching ripple through the air. He had grasped the dark daggers in his hands, their dark blades devouring the faint light from the surroundings under the dim glow of the emergency lights. His face, always tinged with cynicism or supreme calm, now showed the single-minded focus of facing an unknown and formidable enemy. His piercing gaze, like a hawk, sought to penetrate the darkness and locate the source of the threat. He wore a tight black combat uniform, outlining his muscles with fluid, explosive lines. Every inch of his muscles was tense, like a cheetah poised for action.
Lei Qing stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ling Ye. His towering figure, like a mountain, shielded his fragile teammates from behind. He held the modified sniper rifle steady, the muzzle pointed at the oppressive darkness. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk, etched with a determination forged in a sea of blood and corpses, a resoluteness that would endure even the slightest death. He said nothing, but his silence itself was a steadfast barrier. The shoulder armor of his combat uniform was still stained with dust from the underground gene bank and a hint of dried dark green.
Xingchen groaned, the last trace of color draining from his already pale face. His jaw, revealed beneath his hood, was taut as stone. He bit his lip so hard it nearly drew blood. He forced his depleted mental energy to cast a shaky yet tenacious telekinetic barrier before them, attempting to weaken the mental attack that pierced his mind like an icicle. His voice trembled with uncontrollable fear as he rasped, "It's... it's him! Wuguang!"
Bai Yan quickly placed the semi-conscious Mu Lin in a relatively safe corner. Without hesitation, he injected the last of his powerful stimulant into his arm to combat the suffocating pressure and physical exhaustion. He adjusted his slightly askew rimless glasses, his gaze eerily calm behind the lenses. He quickly pulled several pills of varying colors from his medicine box and gave them to Su Lin, who was still able to move, and Lei Qing and Ling Ye, who were in better condition. "Put them under your tongue to resist mental erosion!" He himself tightly grasped the metal tube containing the unknown sample, his eyes flickering as if weighing something. He quickly whispered to Ling Ye and Lei Qing beside him, "Be careful! Su Lin has fallen into his hands before. His mental power is extremely strange and can erode willpower and strip away supernatural abilities!" Bai Yan still wore his slightly awkward off-white turtleneck sweater, layered over a dark work vest. It was now stained with dust and specks of blood, yet it maintained a strangely neat appearance.
Su Lin leaned against the cold, damp wall, gasping for breath. His sea of consciousness felt a sharp pain as if it were being torn apart, and his spatial abilities remained dead silent. He looked at the broad figures of Ling Ye and Lei Qing blocking his way, at Xingchen's shaky but refusing to fall, and at Bai Yan's calm movements as he prepared the medicine. A mixture of fear, unwillingness, and intense anger surged in his chest. He recognized this mental pressure! This cold, indifferent feeling, this feeling of treating human life as worthless... Fragments of memories surged wildly - the dim cell that imprisoned him, those cold eyes that stared at him through the bars, filled with greed and a desire to study, the painful torture that tried to strip him of his abilities and erode his consciousness...
In the darkness deep within the passage, footsteps echoed. They were neither hurried nor slow, carrying the composure and arrogance of someone who controlled life and death.
A figure slowly walked out from the shadows.
He still wore the same black robe embroidered with twisted dark red patterns, covering his entire body, seemingly blending into the surrounding darkness. The expressionless metal mask on his face reflected a cold luster under the flickering light. Only the eyes behind the mask's eyeholes were like two deep wells frozen for eternity, devoid of any human emotion, only pure indifference, as if looking down on an ant.
His eyes swept over everyone present, pausing slightly on Su Lin, Mu Lin, and Xing Chen, with a familiar scrutiny as if he were looking at an experimental record. Finally, they fell on Ling Ye and Bai Yan, who were obviously strangers. A very faint interest in discovering new prey seemed to emerge in his indifference.
After a long moment, a cold, dry sound, like the friction of metal, slowly rang out from behind the mask, with a subtle hint of cat-and-mouse playfulness:
"The fleeing rats... finally, they've all gathered together. There are also... two more that were not recorded."
His gaze finally fixed on Su Lin's face.
"Especially you... the possessor of spatial abilities. Last time, you managed to escape... This time, your soul, along with these new specimens, will be condemned to eternal darkness."
No light!
The name exploded in Su Lin's mind like thunder! Fear instantly wrapped around his heart like icy vines, making it nearly impossible to breathe. But at the same time, a surge of humiliation and anger, stemming from the depths of his soul at being treated like an experimental subject and manipulated at will, erupted like volcanic magma!
"It's... it's you!" Su Lin's voice trembled with extreme emotions. He suddenly straightened his body which was a little hunched due to weakness. His amber pupils burned with rage as he stared at the priest who called himself "No Light".
Ling Ye keenly detected Su Lin's violent emotional fluctuations and the hateful "It's you." He tilted his head, silently questioning him with his eyes, and at the same time, slightly adjusted his body to protect Su Lin more closely behind him. His cold gaze dissected Wu Guang like a scalpel, searching for any possible flaw. He whispered, "Calm down, Su Lin. Remember the anger, but don't let it consume you."
Su Lin panted rapidly and growled in the simplest words: "The cell...it's him! He wants to strip me of my abilities!"
Instantly, Ling Ye's aura grew even more menacing, a murderous, icy intent, akin to someone whose absolute inverse had been violated. His gaze toward Wu Guang was no longer simply one of caution before a formidable foe; it was as if he were looking at a dead object... one that must be completely annihilated. He tilted his head slightly and whispered to Bai Yan beside him, "Find an opportunity to use those 'gadgets' of yours to distract him."
Bai Yan's eyes flickered behind his glasses, and he nodded silently, his fingers quietly clenching the sample tube and some other scattered potion bottles. He calmly analyzed, "His mental force field is so dense that conventional attacks will struggle to penetrate it. We need to create a sufficiently strong interference, or... find its core."
Although Lei Qing didn't know the specific details, the words "stripping ability" and "prison cell" were enough to make him understand what this priest meant to Su Lin and the entire team. His finger on the trigger tightened slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Xingchen, report the situation! Find the weakness!"
Stardust's voice was filled with pain and weakness, and his mental power swept through the darkness like a candle in the wind: "The mental force field... is too strong... I can't accurately perceive it... The core... should be in the head area... but it is protected by layers of mental barriers... very... solid..."
Wuguang seemed quite pleased with his prey's fear and anger. He let out a faint, yet chilling chuckle. "Nice look... anger, fear, and... the dying struggle. Truly... wonderful nourishment."
He stopped talking and slowly raised his withered, bloodless hand. No incantations, no complicated movements, just a simple lift. However, with this movement, the entire passage seemed to be sucked away for a moment, becoming even dimmer! A spiritual force, even more concentrated and violent than before, began to converge in front of his palm like an invisible tsunami. A subtle "crackling" sound, like glass about to shatter, filled the air!
He was about to strike! This attack was definitely not comparable to the previous hasty mental attack!
"Scatter! Disrupt him!" Lei Qing roared, trying to break the despairing oppression, and at the same time pulled the trigger! The sniper bullet whistled towards Wu Guang's right hand, attempting to interrupt his spellcasting!
However, Wu Guang only casually glanced at it. When the specially made bullet was still several meters away from him, it seemed to sink into an invisible quagmire, its speed suddenly slowing down. Finally, it was deflected to the side by a twisting force and blasted a hole in the wall! He didn't even move an inch!
At the same time, Ling Ye moved! His figure was ghostly, so swift that it left a faint afterimage in the dim light. He attempted to close in from the flank, looking for an opportunity to strike close! But the lightless spiritual force field was like a physical wall. Every inch Ling Ye advanced felt a tremendous resistance. The air was as thick as mercury, severely slowing his speed! The bayonet swung out with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, but it only produced a harsh friction sound and a few sparks of spiritual power in the invisible force field, making it impossible to truly close in! Every collision made Ling Ye's arms numb and his blood surge.
Bai Yan seized the opportunity and threw out several powerful smoke bombs and tear gas. At the same time, with a flick of his wrist, he mixed in the sample tube emitting an ominous blue-green fluorescence and smashed it accurately in front of Wu Guang's feet!
"Puff—hiss—!" Smoke and irritating gases filled the air instantly. The strange sample liquid suddenly vaporized after touching the ground, turning into a ball of thick, insoluble strange fog that emitted a strong breath of mental interference and life erosion, instantly enveloping Wuguang!
"Hiss—" A surprised and obviously angry breath escaped Wu Guang from the mist! This unknown sample seemed to be interfering with and corroding his mental power far beyond his expectations. The terrifying mental attack that was about to be launched was clearly disordered and delayed, and its speed of concentration slowed down! The blue-green mist clung to his mental shield, emitting a continuous "sizzling" corrosive sound!
"Now!" Lei Qing seized this fleeting opportunity, pushing his sniper rifle to maximum power, aiming at Wu Guang, whose form was slightly interrupted by the fog, and pulling the trigger again! This time, it wasn't a single shot, but three rapid bursts! Three blazing beams of light formed a triangular pattern, carrying destructive energy, roaring towards Wu Guang's head, chest, and abdomen!
Almost at the same moment Lei Qing opened fire, Ling Ye unleashed his full potential! He no longer attempted to completely break through the mental force field, instead concentrating his strength on a single point. His body spun like a top, his two spears like drills, fiercely piercing the side and rear of Wu Guang's mental shield, which was fluctuating most violently from resisting the sniper's attack!
"A trifle!" Wu Guang's cold voice carried the fury of being repeatedly provoked by ants! His mental power suddenly trembled, forcibly dispelling the thick smoke and tear gas. Only the blue-green mist remained stubbornly corrosive! Facing Lei Qing's sniping and Ling Ye's sudden attack, he pressed his hands lightly, and a more solid, almost black mental shield instantly formed. At the same time, countless invisible mental spikes rained down indiscriminately in all directions!
“Boom boom boom!” The sniper beams collided with the shield, unleashing a deafening roar and blinding light! The shield trembled violently, rippling everywhere, but it remained intact! Ling Ye’s sudden attack, while again partially ripping through the shield, and even the tip of the bayonet narrowly grazed the corner of the dull robe, also struck him by several psychic spikes. Although he avoided vital points, he still groaned, and blood splattered from his shoulders and legs. His movements faltered, and he was violently thrown back by the ensuing psychic shock, slamming heavily to the ground, unable to rise for a moment.
The indiscriminate psychic spikes made the people behind him suffer unbearably. Xingchen bore the brunt of the attack, his already fragile barrier completely shattered. He screamed, blood gushing from all seven orifices, and passed out completely. Mu Lin, even in his semi-comatose state, was convulsing violently. Although Bai Yan had taken medication in advance and tried his best to dodge, a spike still grazed his arm. He felt half of his body numb and nearly dropped the potion bottle in his hand. Su Lin was also affected, and his already painful sea of consciousness was further damaged. His vision went black and he almost fainted.
A single encounter! Even with their full-strength counterattack, nearly everyone was injured! The disparity in strength was despairing!
Wuguang slowly lowered his hand. Though his mental shield was covered in cracks, it remained intact. He glanced at the corroded hem of his robe and the slightly dimmed shield. He then glanced at the collapsed Ling Ye and the unconscious Xingchen. Finally, he cast a cold gaze at Su Lin, who lay limp and unconscious.
"Now, it's your turn... This time, there will be no more accidents." He stepped forward, raised his skinny hand again, pointed at Su Lin, and the fingertips condensed a heart-pounding dark energy, which was a terrifying force that was enough to completely destroy will and strip away supernatural powers.
Ling Ye struggled to get up, but coughed up blood again from his injuries and internal congestion. He could only watch helplessly as Wu Guang approached Su Lin, his eyes bloodshot. Lei Qing quickly changed the magazine, but his arm was shaking from the impact, making aiming difficult. Bai Yan half-knelt on the ground, trying to find a last chance, but his numb arm slowed his movements.
Despair, like the deepest ice, freezes everyone's heart.
Just when the lightless fingers were about to touch Su Lin's forehead——
Su Lin, whose consciousness had been hazy and threatening to fade at any moment, suddenly shone with a light that seemed to burn with life! He looked at the collapsed Ling Ye, at the struggling Lei Qing, at the unconscious Xingchen and Mu Lin, at Bai Yan, who had given his all... The humiliation of being imprisoned, the protective figures of his companions, A Yan's resolute flame... All his emotions, all his strength, mixed with an obsession never to lose sight of him, desperately and frantically squeezed out from the depths of his soul, from his nearly exhausted and shattered supernatural core!
He didn't know the consequences, he didn't care about the price! He only knew that he had to be stopped! He had to... protect everyone!
"Ah—!" Su Lin let out a roar that was inhuman, as if his soul were on fire! His limp body suddenly arched, and his hands, exerting the last bit of strength, suddenly grasped forward! No longer was it delicate manipulation, no longer a stable structure, but... the spatial structure within his small space, including the small area between himself and the lightless space... was completely, brutally, and self-destructively disrupted! Detonate!
This was a taboo that he dared not even touch in the depths of his subconscious! It was to use the unstable force of space, using himself as the fuse, to ignite the final explosion!
“Buzz—boom!!!”
A roar far stranger and duller than any before erupted, as if it came from another world! Centered between Su Lin and Wu Guang, the space in that area seemed to transform into a mirror shattered by a heavy hammer, revealing countless twisted, shattered, deep, pitch-black cracks! A violent and chaotic spatial turbulence raged from it. Though its range was extremely small and its duration was extremely short, the destructive energy contained within, enough to annihilate matter, instantly swept over its target!
For the first time, the metal mask on Wu Guang's face twisted violently and showed true horror! He wanted to retreat, wanted to mobilize all his mental power to build the strongest defense, but Su Lin's desperate attack came too fast and too suddenly, and the spatial turbulence it triggered, to some extent, even exceeded the defense range of pure mental power!
The mental shield he had erected melted and vaporized in the face of the raging spatial turbulence, like ice and snow in the sun! His black robe was torn into countless shreds, and countless horrific wounds, deep enough to reveal the bone, appeared on his body, as if cut by invisible dimensional blades! Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining his feet red!
The most deadly thing was that an invisible and brutal space-tearing force directly acted on the area of his head that was protected by layers of mental barriers!
"Puff...Crack..."
It wasn't an explosion, but something stranger and more complete...annihilation.
The dull head, along with the twisted and deformed metal mask, seemed to be thrown into an invisible crusher amidst a teeth-grinding sound, as if the material structure was forcibly dismantled. It was instantly twisted, compressed, and then... turned into an indescribable mass of powder mixed with flesh, blood, bones, metal fragments and spiritual energy residues, floating in the air, leaving only a jagged, charred and twisted fracture on the neck.
The headless, broken body stood still for a moment, then fell heavily to the ground with a "thump", without any sound.
The suffocating and enormous mental pressure suddenly disappeared without a trace, like a punctured balloon.
The passage fell into dead silence.
There was only the faint crackling sound of the remaining spatial turbulence, and the heavier and more unbelievable gasps of the crowd, who had survived the disaster.
After Su Lin let out that soul-stirring roar and detonated the space, everything in front of his eyes went completely black. All his consciousness left him in an instant, and his body fell limply to the ground. His breath was so weak that it was almost imperceptible. His face was as pale as paper, and his lips were lavender, as if his vitality had been completely drained away, and he fell into the deepest coma.
Ling Ye, enduring the excruciating pain, propped up with his bayonet, struggled to crawl to Su Lin's side. With trembling hands, he checked his breath, feeling it so weak it threatened to cease at any moment. His heart sank. He checked Su Lin's carotid artery again, feeling the faint yet persistent pulse, and his tense heartstrings relaxed slightly. But seeing Su Lin's utter exhaustion, as if he were on his last legs, a wave of immense worry washed over him once again. He carefully lifted him to his feet and let him lean against his chest, feeling the cold warmth and eerily light weight of the body in his arms. Ling Ye pursed his lips, his eyes, always sharp and cold, swirling with complex emotions.
Leaning on his sniper rifle, Lei Qing struggled to stand upright. He looked at the headless corpse, then at the unconscious Su Lin, Xingchen, and Mulin, and at Bai Yan, who had collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. His resolute face was filled with solemnity and fear. They had won, a ruthless victory. He walked over to Xingchen and Mulin, checking on them, his brow furrowed.
Bai Yan panted heavily, looking at Su Lin, who was tightly held in Ling Ye's arms. He then glanced at his empty medicine box and the scattered potion fragments. He struggled to his feet and stumbled over to Ling Ye's side. He squatted down, resting his fingers on Su Lin's wrist, carefully feeling his pulse and the state of his internal energy. After a long pause, he pushed his glasses up and concluded in a hoarse and heavy voice, "He has exhausted his supernatural powers... completely drained. His sea of consciousness is on the verge of collapse, and perhaps even... his life force has been shaken. He must rest completely and immediately. He must not be exposed to any more disturbances or stimulation, and he must not use any supernatural powers at all. Otherwise... the consequences will be disastrous."
He didn't say anything else, but the unfinished words weighed on everyone's heart like a heavy rock.
Ling Ye hugged the cold yet soft body tightly in his arms, as if wanting to warm it with his body temperature. Feeling Su Lin's weak breath brushing against his neck, he raised his head and looked into the depths of the passage, then looked in the direction he had come from. His voice was low and hoarse, but it carried an unquestionable determination:
"We can't stay here for long. With Wuguang dead, the Guichen Cult will soon launch an even more frenzied counterattack. We must leave immediately, find Ayan, and then evacuate."
His eyes swept over his exhausted and bruised teammates.
"Bai Yan, are you still able to move? Take care of the most urgent injuries. Captain Lei, let's take turns carrying Xingchen and Mu Lin."
Bai Yan nodded, struggled to his feet, and began to use the last remaining basic medicine and bandages to quickly treat the most serious wounds on Ling Ye, Lei Qing, and himself. His movements remained steady, but his speed was noticeably slower. Lei Qing silently carried the unconscious Xingchen on his back and looked at Mu Lin, who was still breathing weakly.
Ling Ye carefully secured Su Lin to his back with a relatively clean piece of cloth he had found, ensuring he wouldn't slip or suffer any secondary injuries while moving. Su Lin's head drooped limply against his shoulder, his weak breathing barely audible.
The team regrouped, dragging their bodies on the verge of collapse, carrying the heaviness after the tragic victory and the anxiety of losing A Yan, and step by step, struggling towards deeper places, towards the slim chance of survival, they moved forward hesitantly.
Behind them, the remains of the priest named "Lightless" silently spoke of the brutality of the previous battle, foreshadowing that the Guichen Cult would never give up. The air still seemed to linger with the subtle distortion of space being forcibly torn apart, and the lingering scent of blood.
Fortunately, after walking for a while, Mu Lin and Xingchen, who were originally unconscious, seemed to have regained consciousness. They should have recovered without Wu Guang's mental suppression. The two left and asked Su Lin about his condition with concern. Lei Qing shook his head, his silence frightening.
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