Chapter 160: Alienation Countdown
“Ding ding ding—”
In the vicinity, the alarm clock suddenly rang without warning, emitting a piercing and monotonous sound in the dark and silent space.
Su Cheng’s movements paused as if disturbed by the sound. His head tilted slightly as he looked in the direction of the alarm clock.
…This is a good opportunity!
Seizing the moment when the other person shifted his gaze away from him, Wen Jianyan’s body sprung up. His long legs wrapped around the other’s neck, and with the force of his body weight, he pressed down fiercely!
Caught off guard, Su Cheng was slammed heavily to the ground. The back of his head collided with the floor, creating a resounding thud.
Wen Jianyan exerted force with his arms, forcefully pulling the fishing rod outward.
Shao Yao, who had almost sunk into the swamp, was pulled out to a considerable length. However, Su Cheng began to struggle again, and Wen Jianyan could barely hold him down.
In the distance, the sound of the alarm clock had significantly weakened.
Just like earlier.
It could only ring for two to three minutes at most, and then the machinery inside the metal casing would be damaged, causing it to stop making noise.
The time left for him was running out.
Wen Jianyan’s heart pounded, and sweat dripped from his forehead.
He had to pull Shao Yao up to prevent her from sinking while also controlling the frenzied Su Cheng. It was challenging for him to bear the burden alone. Under the tug of both forces, his strength gradually waned, and his arms and thighs began to ache.
…He couldn’t delay any longer.
Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth, his fingers gripping the thin fishing line. He wound it down and tied it around Su Cheng’s wrist, which was pressed against his knee. Then he leaped to the side.
Su Cheng’s whole body was dragged a few inches toward the fleshy membrane swamp—
He began to struggle, attempting to free himself from the fishing line around his wrist.
Taking advantage of the situation, Wen Jianyan pulled Su Cheng’s body and, leveraging their combined weight, threw him backward!
Shao Yao was forcefully pulled out from the depths of the fleshy membrane, her body landing heavily on the ground with a dull “thud.”
Before Wen Jianyan could even exhale in relief, Su Cheng freed himself from the slack fishing line on his wrist and silently lunged at him again.
The alarm clock’s sound gradually weakened, almost reduced to intermittent mechanical noise emanating from the thick fleshy membrane.
Its sound was no longer enough to attract all the attention. The slender, fleshy-red appendage swayed in the air, probing in the direction of Wen Jianyan and Su Cheng.
“…”
Wen Jianyan struggled to avoid the sharp, blood-stained glass shards on the opponent’s body.
Su Cheng’s behavior was abnormal. Rather than a temporary reversal, it seemed more like he was under control or undergoing some form of mutation. He tried his best not to harm the other party, so his actions were somewhat restrained, but Su Cheng had no such reservations.
After the recent struggle, Wen Jianyan had already depleted much of his strength. He wasn’t a martial arts expert, at best utilizing some minor skills due to his good physical condition. Now, facing the tireless Su Cheng, Wen Jianyan found himself at a disadvantage and was forced to retreat step by step.
The flashlight on the ground, touched by an unknown force, rolled with a rumble.
The flickering dim light danced in the dark laboratory, and the beam passed over Su Cheng’s face—
His face was extremely pale, devoid of any color, like wax. There was no expression on his face, and his pupils had contracted to the size of pinpoints, giving him a lifeless appearance, like a statue carved from wood or clay.
Wen Jianyan was startled, as if he had suddenly realized something.
Su Cheng’s current state…
Silent, limbs stiff, and prone to sudden frenzied attacks—it looked almost identical to when they first entered the instance.
Inside the “Integrity First” live broadcast room, discussions were also in full swing due to Su Cheng’s unusual behavior.
As the camera shook, a barrage suddenly popped up:
[!!! Look at the back of his neck!]
On Su Cheng’s pale neck, something black could be vaguely seen. It looked like threads, somewhat like insects, quietly lying beneath the skin, protruding slightly in the flickering light, and indistinct as it moved.
[What is that?]
[Is it something from this instance?]
[I don’t know… but it feels somewhat familiar.]
Wen Jianyan frowned, observing Su Cheng as he approached once again. Suddenly, he shifted his body to the side, evading the attack.
Taking advantage of the opponent’s forward momentum, Wen Jianyan reached out toward the back of Su Cheng’s neck. His fingertips felt something squirming underneath the skin, and his expression turned grim.
Suppressing his discomfort, he grabbed hold of that thing and pulled it abruptly.
In the next moment, Su Cheng collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut. His limbs lost all strength, and he fell to the ground soundlessly, motionless.
Wen Jianyan stood there, panting heavily. By the faint light of the nearby flashlight, he lowered his head to inspect the object in his palm.
It looked like… a spider.
The body was extremely small, only the size of a fingernail, but it had extraordinarily long legs, thin as threads. Its abdomen was pitch black, but the tips of its six legs were blood-red, like dripping blood.
After being pulled from the human body, it twitched a couple of times on Wen Jianyan’s fingertip before becoming motionless.
Wen Jianyan watched helplessly as it transformed into tiny particles in his palm, dissipating into the dark air.
Staring at his empty palm, Wen Jianyan wore a pensive expression.
If he guessed correctly, this should be the ability of a certain anchor from the Oracle Guild implanted into Su Cheng’s body, manipulating him to enter the instance and perform suicidal actions at critical moments.
Wen Jianyan had always been puzzled about why Su Cheng could be controlled within the system space.
After all, all anchors had their abilities disabled in the system space. However, Su Cheng seemed to fall victim to control within the system space.
If it was a bug, then everything would make sense.
After all, there was a time difference between insect eggs and their hatching, and based on this, a certain distance gap could be created.
If the insect eggs were left on a person outside the instance and the anchor activated the ability remotely after entering the instance, then theoretically speaking, the ability was activated within the instance by the anchor, and it wouldn’t violate the system regulations.
Wen Jianyan lowered his gaze, realizing how far the Oracle Guild would go to maintain its monopoly.
His eyes moved from the motionless Su Cheng on the ground, and he licked the base of his teeth with his tongue.
Once they left this instance, he needed to have a serious conversation with Su Cheng to understand how all of this had happened.
In the distance, the alarm clock sound had already disappeared, and the entire space returned to silence.
Wen Jianyan briskly walked forward, pulling out a prepared rope. He tied up the Shao Yao he had dragged out, blocking her mouth, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Exhausted, he sat on the ground.
His body was covered in sweat, and he had several new wounds. Some were cut from broken glass, while others were scraped on the ground during the struggle. The wounds in the palms of his hands, cut by fishing line, burned with pain. He was completely drained, unable to straighten up.
Wen Jianyan raised his eyes and looked around.
Shao Yao was unconscious beside him. Blond was bound hand and foot on the ground not far away. Su Cheng was motionless as well, like two dark stones.
He kept thinking about how to drag these people down and also had to deal with the two downstairs.
“…”
Wen Jianyan began to feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his hand. The fresh blood mixed with sweat left several bloody streaks on his face, looking quite disheveled.
At that moment, a “ding” sounded in his ear.
A new audience task popped up in the mission panel.
Wen Jianyan scanned it and paused.
【Go to the cabinet on the right and open the third drawer from the left】
【Reward Points: 500】
This task…
Seemed intriguing.
Wen Jianyan turned his head to check the mentioned location. Indeed, on the right side of the hall, there was a dilapidated and dusty cabinet lying askew.
More importantly, the degree of coverage by neurons was much greater there than in other areas.
Wen Jianyan’s internal radar for finding things started beeping.
Could it be…?
Well, there was no harm in trying.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, stood up, picked up the flashlight that had rolled to the side, and then, dragging his tired body, walked toward the cabinet.
Following the instructions, Wen Jianyan opened the third drawer from the left.
A completion sound for the mission echoed in his ears.
Five hundred points were effortlessly added to his account.
However, what caught Wen Jianyan’s attention the most wasn’t the five hundred points.
He looked into the drawer, where a row of dusty, small glass tubes came into view, containing some unclear liquid.
Wen Jianyan hesitated and carefully used the flashlight in his hand to illuminate the contents.
The label on top had turned yellow and faded; the edges wrinkled and curled. It seemed corroded by age, and only a few English letters could be vaguely distinguished.
Wen Jianyan could only make a half-assessed guess based on his experience.
“An…t…dot…antidote?”
Antidote?
Is it an antidote?
Although he had thought before that since this abnormal state wouldn’t lead to immediate death, there might be something to reverse the process, Wen Jianyan didn’t expect to find it like this.
Wen Jianyan almost incredulously glanced at the task panel next to him, his expression filled with amazement.
Unexpectedly, the feature that allowed the audience to publish strange tasks, which had been misused by those unscrupulous viewers, could actually come in handy at a crucial moment.
He opened the live broadcast interface, raised his eyes, and sincerely thanked the audience.
If the use of the antidote could bring Blond and Shao Yao back to consciousness, it would significantly reduce his workload and the difficulty of his tasks.
In the darkness, fresh blood slid down Wen Jianyan’s fingertips, hanging for a moment before quietly dropping, succumbing to the pull of gravity, and disappearing as it melded into the crimson membrane below.
Wen Jianyan took the antidote from the drawer and then turned toward the two bound individuals.
With the viscous, murky liquid injected into their bodies, Blond and Shao Yao slowly regained consciousness. They blinked their eyes sluggishly, their faces showing a bewildered expression, as if unsure of their surroundings.
Wen Jianyan lowered his voice, summarizing the recent events with a few simple words. Once he confirmed that both of them were alert and understood the current situation, he removed their gags and untied them.
Blond rubbed his sore wrists, casting a suspicious glance at the motionless Su Cheng nearby. In a hushed voice filled with lingering fear, he asked, “He… He shouldn’t wake up anytime soon, right?”
To be honest, neither of them expected Su Cheng, who had been so reliable all along, to betray them at a critical moment. It was an unexpected and shocking turn of events, catching them off guard in such a perilous situation.
Wen Jianyan nodded and shook his head, whispering, “Don’t worry. Even if he wakes up, there shouldn’t be any danger.”
With the disappearance of the insect, control over Su Cheng had been lifted.
Shao Yao, beside them, lowered her head, rubbing her wrists. Her memories were fragmented, with chaotic scenes flashing through her mind like a dream, yet not entirely…
Deep in thought, Shao Yao glanced around.
Her gaze swept over the swamp behind her, the motionless Su Cheng on the ground, the scattered shards of glass, and the traces of the struggle.
She was taken aback, her eyes settling on Wen Jianyan, who was not far away.
Could it be that the dreamlike scenes she thought were mere dreams were real? This guy…
But before Shao Yao could speak, Wen Jianyan lifted his eyes, pointed to Su Cheng, and asked in a hushed voice:
“Can you help me carry him downstairs?”
Shao Yao opened her mouth but swallowed the remaining words back. She nodded and walked forward, and with Blond, she helped the unconscious Su Cheng on their shoulders.
They moved with light footsteps, carefully making their way outside.
Wen Jianyan paused, turning his head to sweep a glance over the dark and empty laboratory behind him.
Although the mission to “Explore the Laboratory” was not completed and he hadn’t found any clues related to the ouroboros, there were too many things he needed to consider now. He could only regretfully leave for the time being.
The flashlight swept one last time across the laboratory, and then, accompanied by barely audible footsteps, gradually moved away until it was completely engulfed by darkness.
The laboratory returned to pitch black.
No sound emerged, but those quiet, seemingly lifeless membranes suddenly began to undulate! The neuron-like, strange semi-fluid slowly flowed down from the walls, revealing iron plaques on the small compartments that had been consistently covered. One after another, numbers were engraved on them—
01, 02, 03, 04…
The last compartment was the most heavily contaminated, pitch black inside, seemingly filled with a terrifying presence impossible to depict.
Thin, hose-like things connected the neurons on the ground, and as they faded and dispersed, a form vaguely resembling a human gradually emerged.
Wen Jianyan cautiously descended the stairs.
His steps suddenly came to a halt.
A familiar mechanical system sound rang in his ears.
【Plot Deviation: 68%, Reward Points: 10,000】
Sixty-eight percent?!
Wen Jianyan showed a stunned expression.
It was just over thirty percent earlier; how did it suddenly double?
【Ding, detected plot deviation has reached the threshold. The instance is undergoing uncontrollable changes!】
【New plot is opening…】
【Alienation Countdown: 00:10:00】
Chapter 160: Alienation Countdown
“Ding ding ding—”
In the vicinity, the alarm clock suddenly rang without warning, emitting a piercing and monotonous sound in the dark and silent space.
Su Cheng’s movements paused as if disturbed by the sound. His head tilted slightly as he looked in the direction of the alarm clock.
…This is a good opportunity!
Seizing the moment when the other person shifted his gaze away from him, Wen Jianyan’s body sprung up. His long legs wrapped around the other’s neck, and with the force of his body weight, he pressed down fiercely!
Caught off guard, Su Cheng was slammed heavily to the ground. The back of his head collided with the floor, creating a resounding thud.
Wen Jianyan exerted force with his arms, forcefully pulling the fishing rod outward.
Shao Yao, who had almost sunk into the swamp, was pulled out to a considerable length. However, Su Cheng began to struggle again, and Wen Jianyan could barely hold him down.
In the distance, the sound of the alarm clock had significantly weakened.
Just like earlier.
It could only ring for two to three minutes at most, and then the machinery inside the metal casing would be damaged, causing it to stop making noise.
The time left for him was running out.
Wen Jianyan’s heart pounded, and sweat dripped from his forehead.
He had to pull Shao Yao up to prevent her from sinking while also controlling the frenzied Su Cheng. It was challenging for him to bear the burden alone. Under the tug of both forces, his strength gradually waned, and his arms and thighs began to ache.
…He couldn’t delay any longer.
Wen Jianyan gritted his teeth, his fingers gripping the thin fishing line. He wound it down and tied it around Su Cheng’s wrist, which was pressed against his knee. Then he leaped to the side.
Su Cheng’s whole body was dragged a few inches toward the fleshy membrane swamp—
He began to struggle, attempting to free himself from the fishing line around his wrist.
Taking advantage of the situation, Wen Jianyan pulled Su Cheng’s body and, leveraging their combined weight, threw him backward!
Shao Yao was forcefully pulled out from the depths of the fleshy membrane, her body landing heavily on the ground with a dull “thud.”
Before Wen Jianyan could even exhale in relief, Su Cheng freed himself from the slack fishing line on his wrist and silently lunged at him again.
The alarm clock’s sound gradually weakened, almost reduced to intermittent mechanical noise emanating from the thick fleshy membrane.
Its sound was no longer enough to attract all the attention. The slender, fleshy-red appendage swayed in the air, probing in the direction of Wen Jianyan and Su Cheng.
“…”
Wen Jianyan struggled to avoid the sharp, blood-stained glass shards on the opponent’s body.
Su Cheng’s behavior was abnormal. Rather than a temporary reversal, it seemed more like he was under control or undergoing some form of mutation. He tried his best not to harm the other party, so his actions were somewhat restrained, but Su Cheng had no such reservations.
After the recent struggle, Wen Jianyan had already depleted much of his strength. He wasn’t a martial arts expert, at best utilizing some minor skills due to his good physical condition. Now, facing the tireless Su Cheng, Wen Jianyan found himself at a disadvantage and was forced to retreat step by step.
The flashlight on the ground, touched by an unknown force, rolled with a rumble.
The flickering dim light danced in the dark laboratory, and the beam passed over Su Cheng’s face—
His face was extremely pale, devoid of any color, like wax. There was no expression on his face, and his pupils had contracted to the size of pinpoints, giving him a lifeless appearance, like a statue carved from wood or clay.
Wen Jianyan was startled, as if he had suddenly realized something.
Su Cheng’s current state…
Silent, limbs stiff, and prone to sudden frenzied attacks—it looked almost identical to when they first entered the instance.
Inside the “Integrity First” live broadcast room, discussions were also in full swing due to Su Cheng’s unusual behavior.
As the camera shook, a barrage suddenly popped up:
[!!! Look at the back of his neck!]
On Su Cheng’s pale neck, something black could be vaguely seen. It looked like threads, somewhat like insects, quietly lying beneath the skin, protruding slightly in the flickering light, and indistinct as it moved.
[What is that?]
[Is it something from this instance?]
[I don’t know… but it feels somewhat familiar.]
Wen Jianyan frowned, observing Su Cheng as he approached once again. Suddenly, he shifted his body to the side, evading the attack.
Taking advantage of the opponent’s forward momentum, Wen Jianyan reached out toward the back of Su Cheng’s neck. His fingertips felt something squirming underneath the skin, and his expression turned grim.
Suppressing his discomfort, he grabbed hold of that thing and pulled it abruptly.
In the next moment, Su Cheng collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut. His limbs lost all strength, and he fell to the ground soundlessly, motionless.
Wen Jianyan stood there, panting heavily. By the faint light of the nearby flashlight, he lowered his head to inspect the object in his palm.
It looked like… a spider.
The body was extremely small, only the size of a fingernail, but it had extraordinarily long legs, thin as threads. Its abdomen was pitch black, but the tips of its six legs were blood-red, like dripping blood.
After being pulled from the human body, it twitched a couple of times on Wen Jianyan’s fingertip before becoming motionless.
Wen Jianyan watched helplessly as it transformed into tiny particles in his palm, dissipating into the dark air.
Staring at his empty palm, Wen Jianyan wore a pensive expression.
If he guessed correctly, this should be the ability of a certain anchor from the Oracle Guild implanted into Su Cheng’s body, manipulating him to enter the instance and perform suicidal actions at critical moments.
Wen Jianyan had always been puzzled about why Su Cheng could be controlled within the system space.
After all, all anchors had their abilities disabled in the system space. However, Su Cheng seemed to fall victim to control within the system space.
If it was a bug, then everything would make sense.
After all, there was a time difference between insect eggs and their hatching, and based on this, a certain distance gap could be created.
If the insect eggs were left on a person outside the instance and the anchor activated the ability remotely after entering the instance, then theoretically speaking, the ability was activated within the instance by the anchor, and it wouldn’t violate the system regulations.
Wen Jianyan lowered his gaze, realizing how far the Oracle Guild would go to maintain its monopoly.
His eyes moved from the motionless Su Cheng on the ground, and he licked the base of his teeth with his tongue.
Once they left this instance, he needed to have a serious conversation with Su Cheng to understand how all of this had happened.
In the distance, the alarm clock sound had already disappeared, and the entire space returned to silence.
Wen Jianyan briskly walked forward, pulling out a prepared rope. He tied up the Shao Yao he had dragged out, blocking her mouth, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Exhausted, he sat on the ground.
His body was covered in sweat, and he had several new wounds. Some were cut from broken glass, while others were scraped on the ground during the struggle. The wounds in the palms of his hands, cut by fishing line, burned with pain. He was completely drained, unable to straighten up.
Wen Jianyan raised his eyes and looked around.
Shao Yao was unconscious beside him. Blond was bound hand and foot on the ground not far away. Su Cheng was motionless as well, like two dark stones.
He kept thinking about how to drag these people down and also had to deal with the two downstairs.
“…”
Wen Jianyan began to feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his hand. The fresh blood mixed with sweat left several bloody streaks on his face, looking quite disheveled.
At that moment, a “ding” sounded in his ear.
A new audience task popped up in the mission panel.
Wen Jianyan scanned it and paused.
【Go to the cabinet on the right and open the third drawer from the left】
【Reward Points: 500】
This task…
Seemed intriguing.
Wen Jianyan turned his head to check the mentioned location. Indeed, on the right side of the hall, there was a dilapidated and dusty cabinet lying askew.
More importantly, the degree of coverage by neurons was much greater there than in other areas.
Wen Jianyan’s internal radar for finding things started beeping.
Could it be…?
Well, there was no harm in trying.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath, stood up, picked up the flashlight that had rolled to the side, and then, dragging his tired body, walked toward the cabinet.
Following the instructions, Wen Jianyan opened the third drawer from the left.
A completion sound for the mission echoed in his ears.
Five hundred points were effortlessly added to his account.
However, what caught Wen Jianyan’s attention the most wasn’t the five hundred points.
He looked into the drawer, where a row of dusty, small glass tubes came into view, containing some unclear liquid.
Wen Jianyan hesitated and carefully used the flashlight in his hand to illuminate the contents.
The label on top had turned yellow and faded; the edges wrinkled and curled. It seemed corroded by age, and only a few English letters could be vaguely distinguished.
Wen Jianyan could only make a half-assessed guess based on his experience.
“An…t…dot…antidote?”
Antidote?
Is it an antidote?
Although he had thought before that since this abnormal state wouldn’t lead to immediate death, there might be something to reverse the process, Wen Jianyan didn’t expect to find it like this.
Wen Jianyan almost incredulously glanced at the task panel next to him, his expression filled with amazement.
Unexpectedly, the feature that allowed the audience to publish strange tasks, which had been misused by those unscrupulous viewers, could actually come in handy at a crucial moment.
He opened the live broadcast interface, raised his eyes, and sincerely thanked the audience.
If the use of the antidote could bring Blond and Shao Yao back to consciousness, it would significantly reduce his workload and the difficulty of his tasks.
In the darkness, fresh blood slid down Wen Jianyan’s fingertips, hanging for a moment before quietly dropping, succumbing to the pull of gravity, and disappearing as it melded into the crimson membrane below.
Wen Jianyan took the antidote from the drawer and then turned toward the two bound individuals.
With the viscous, murky liquid injected into their bodies, Blond and Shao Yao slowly regained consciousness. They blinked their eyes sluggishly, their faces showing a bewildered expression, as if unsure of their surroundings.
Wen Jianyan lowered his voice, summarizing the recent events with a few simple words. Once he confirmed that both of them were alert and understood the current situation, he removed their gags and untied them.
Blond rubbed his sore wrists, casting a suspicious glance at the motionless Su Cheng nearby. In a hushed voice filled with lingering fear, he asked, “He… He shouldn’t wake up anytime soon, right?”
To be honest, neither of them expected Su Cheng, who had been so reliable all along, to betray them at a critical moment. It was an unexpected and shocking turn of events, catching them off guard in such a perilous situation.
Wen Jianyan nodded and shook his head, whispering, “Don’t worry. Even if he wakes up, there shouldn’t be any danger.”
With the disappearance of the insect, control over Su Cheng had been lifted.
Shao Yao, beside them, lowered her head, rubbing her wrists. Her memories were fragmented, with chaotic scenes flashing through her mind like a dream, yet not entirely…
Deep in thought, Shao Yao glanced around.
Her gaze swept over the swamp behind her, the motionless Su Cheng on the ground, the scattered shards of glass, and the traces of the struggle.
She was taken aback, her eyes settling on Wen Jianyan, who was not far away.
Could it be that the dreamlike scenes she thought were mere dreams were real? This guy…
But before Shao Yao could speak, Wen Jianyan lifted his eyes, pointed to Su Cheng, and asked in a hushed voice:
“Can you help me carry him downstairs?”
Shao Yao opened her mouth but swallowed the remaining words back. She nodded and walked forward, and with Blond, she helped the unconscious Su Cheng on their shoulders.
They moved with light footsteps, carefully making their way outside.
Wen Jianyan paused, turning his head to sweep a glance over the dark and empty laboratory behind him.
Although the mission to “Explore the Laboratory” was not completed and he hadn’t found any clues related to the ouroboros, there were too many things he needed to consider now. He could only regretfully leave for the time being.
The flashlight swept one last time across the laboratory, and then, accompanied by barely audible footsteps, gradually moved away until it was completely engulfed by darkness.
The laboratory returned to pitch black.
No sound emerged, but those quiet, seemingly lifeless membranes suddenly began to undulate! The neuron-like, strange semi-fluid slowly flowed down from the walls, revealing iron plaques on the small compartments that had been consistently covered. One after another, numbers were engraved on them—
01, 02, 03, 04…
The last compartment was the most heavily contaminated, pitch black inside, seemingly filled with a terrifying presence impossible to depict.
Thin, hose-like things connected the neurons on the ground, and as they faded and dispersed, a form vaguely resembling a human gradually emerged.
Wen Jianyan cautiously descended the stairs.
His steps suddenly came to a halt.
A familiar mechanical system sound rang in his ears.
【Plot Deviation: 68%, Reward Points: 10,000】
Sixty-eight percent?!
Wen Jianyan showed a stunned expression.
It was just over thirty percent earlier; how did it suddenly double?
【Ding, detected plot deviation has reached the threshold. The instance is undergoing uncontrollable changes!】
【New plot is opening…】
【Alienation Countdown: 00:10:00】
