Creak—
At the moment the door opening action was completed using the Blood Key, Maki and Chika had already quietly exchanged keys. Chika took the Blood Key and hid it on her person, while Maki inserted the dyed-red key—the original key to the power distribution room—into the keyhole, and then made a motion of pulling it out.
The key to the power distribution room was originally paired with this door, so Maki's movements appeared to have no issues whatsoever. Even the surveillance camera located on the corridor of the Prison Area directly facing her would not be able to spot any discrepancies.
This wasn't some formidable conspiracy; it was merely a petty trick, that's all.
But at this very moment, this petty trick was enough to come in handy and realize the objective Gao Hai wanted to achieve.
Boom!
An explosion rang out abruptly at this moment.
The sound of that explosion came from inside the opened sentry box door; the walls and ceiling of the entire Observation Area were blasted down, and those soldiers and researchers rolled into a heap, unable to stand up for a long time.
Gao Hai immediately sprang into action, running past Lixer and throwing a lit stick of dynamite toward the direction of the Great Slide.
Rumble!
The second explosion was even louder.
Amidst the surging water, the rock face above the Great Slide shattered instantly, crashing down with the fiery light of the explosion.
Large chunks of rock blocked the Great Slide, which served as the drainage outlet, causing the water flow that had been pouring down the Great Slide to become obstructed. Subsequently, the blocked water flow began to surge more towards the direction of the opened sentry box door, pouring entirely into the first floor of the Research Base.
"What are you doing?!"
Lixer, who hadn't expected this kind of thing to happen, shouted in panic.
But Gao Hai had already rushed in front of him, pressing Lixer firmly against the rock wall on one side.
"As expected of someone who understands demolition. I just asked that old gentleman briefly just now, and he helpfully pointed out how to blow up the Great Slide more appropriately.
So, you shouldn't have to worry about your Research Base now, right? It's an instance world operating under the power of an anomaly anyway; everything will return to its original state after some time passes. Isn't that quite good?"
Saying this, Gao Hai's gaze fixed tightly on the expression on Lixer's face.
If that could still be called a face.
Distorted.
Completely, utterly distorted into a bizarre posture difficult to comprehend. It made Gao Hai involuntarily think of that group of people from the Women's Face Gang, but in comparison, this level of extreme distortion far exceeded even the guys from the Women's Face Gang.
In this moment, this man's facial features were almost completely dislocated, and his limbs and torso displayed an equally grotesque form. It was as if, all of a sudden, this person's body had collapsed from its most fundamental structure, turning into a mixture of twisted meat chunks and bones.
The Blessing could no longer sense the other party.
The current Lixer was not human, but he didn't seem to be an anomaly either. Emotions like goodwill or malice had vanished without a trace. He was now merely a mass of [living flesh], possessing no thinking ability whatsoever.
What on earth is this thing?
The Blood Scissors appeared in Gao Hai's hand, and with a snip, he sliced off a large chunk of this rotten meat.
Immediately afterward, he smelled a putrid stench.
This is...
Mixed within the flesh and bones were tiny black stones.
Small stones soaked in black, filthy blood that evoked a strong sense of unease just by looking at them.
This thing...
Gao Hai reached out and grabbed the stone inside the lump of rotten meat.
In the next moment, he clearly perceived that he saw something—something existing in the distant past, belonging to someone's memories.
[Non-human things exist in this world.]
The other party spoke in a low voice, the sound overflowing with paranoid fanaticism.
[They will not rot like humans, will not age, will not change. They maintain an eternal existence, forever great, forever powerful.]
[Gods. Such power... only Gods can match it, are sufficient to describe such an existence.]
[But they no longer exist. Where did they go? No, no, no, there is no reason for only these remnants to be left behind. That's right, that's right, I will definitely find them. I will definitely find the existence I crave. I want, I want to become an eternal greatness just like them!]
That person stood in front of something, muttering to himself in a low voice towards that object.
[Gentle Slope... No, that isn't some Gentle Slope, that is the Mouth of Sacrifice.]
[That idiot Antonitovan Bush, he doesn't understand at all what he has found. There must be what I want here.]
[No, this is completely different from what I anticipated. Here... so that's how it is. The power of God has already left; are there only traces remaining now?]
[Merely traces... No, it's not time to give up yet. Even if they are just traces, I should be able to gain something.]
[However, relying on my power alone is far from enough. There's no helping it; perhaps I must think of a way to attract other people to join in. Maybe that Mr. Bush...]
That person's figure passed through the pitch-black cavern. He stopped occasionally, looking at those rocks from time to time, and finally disappeared into the darkness.
[This is an opportunity for all of us.]
[The future of humanity will be pioneered by us. Of course, the greatest nation in human history will also be created by us.]
[After all, the things that exist in this place are things that no one else has ever possessed, aren't they?]
In a dimly lit small room, that person looked at the tall man sitting opposite him and said with a smile. The other party, after pondering for a moment, finally nodded gently.
[Can this thing really help us achieve hegemony? Although bullets infused with special powder have a considerable degree of lethality, this level of change is still far from enough for us to invest more power. This research institute has been running for so many years, spending so much effort, and the result is just this?]
The man dressed in a military uniform, with many medals pinned to one side of his chest, reached out and knocked on the table, speaking unhurriedly.
[General, you know that results in scientific research cannot be produced very quickly.]
That person had already put on the white clothes of a researcher; his tone at this moment was very helpless.
[Is that so? How is it that our astronauts have already landed on the moon? I don't see them preparing for that many years, either? Yet this place of yours, it's been a full ten years of investment. We've studied this ghostly place for such a long time, fed it so many human lives, and the result is that you only came up with a lethal weapon usable in individual combat situations. What is the significance of this? We want something more strategic.]
The person addressed as General knocked on the table again, his words also carrying a hint of helplessness.
[How to replicate the anomalous phenomena in this cavern and deploy them to other countries—preferably a deployment method that can break out on a large scale. Or make the anomalous killing rules of this place effective more broadly and remotely, killing anyone we want to kill from thousands of kilometers away. These are the ideas proposed by the people above. Are you confident?]
[How is that possible... Direct utilization of these anomalous powers has never succeeded once. Being able to find a way to utilize the Black Blood Stone, a derivative, has already exhausted much of our effort... However, I do have a new idea. It might come in handy. Please come with me, General.]
The end of the hallucination was the gate to the Freezing Zone at the end of the Research Zone.
Behind the slowly opening door were the gloomy, cold research facilities and freezing culture tanks, one after another.
The things inside those culture tanks were... people?
[The biggest difference between these anomalous objects and us humans lies in the fact that they do not change. Even after more than ten years, the anomalies encountered in the records of our exploration personnel have not undergone any changes in appearance, behavioral patterns, or ability types.]
[And according to further investigation into the ancient period, the abnormal phenomena in this cavern have actually not changed for thousands of years. Ah, of course, after that man died and we pushed forward the research changes here step by step, quite a few changes did appear, but those belong to the interference of external factors.]
[So I was thinking, perhaps I could change the method and use another channel to utilize these anomalous objects. For example, combining them with the human body to create immortal humans, to create humans capable of driving anomalous powers, to create... great beings capable of stealing divine power and even becoming gods on earth!]
The man, filled with pride, stood in front of those culture tanks, spreading his hands and speaking proudly.
And Gao Hai heard a whisper from the depths of the other party's heart when he spoke these words.
[I am the one who can become a God!]
The phantom-like images dissipated within his line of sight.
Lixer's own body completely crumbled, turning into a puddle of rotten meat that slowly dissolved in the water.
"Is that so?"
Gao Hai lowered his head, looking at the tiny black stones surging out from that flesh and blood, and finally understood what the person before him was.
Creating life by combining anomalous power with technology, and even fabricating the other party's personality and experiences—is such a thing really possible?
This Lixer knew the concept of [Players]. Was he someone who was stranded outside after the Research Base was absorbed into the horror story instance? Chika and the others had looked up Lixer's information; this person was real and had his own life trajectory. Although there were indeed some uncertain traces of the past, this person had undeniably lived in the real world.
However, based on the illusions he felt at this moment, this person was created from the very beginning, created using anomalous power...
So is it like this?
Professor Fulen discovered some kind of abnormal phenomenon within the Red Nut Gray Hole a long time ago and conducted research on it. The death of Andres caused the internal situation of the Red Nut Gray Hole to begin developing in an out-of-control direction. As the first crisis erupted inside the cavern, Fulen and some people behind him took action, completely isolating this place and turning it into a Research Base.
Through studying the black stones in the cavern that carried anomalous power, he successfully created Black Blood Bullets capable of temporarily repelling anomalies. However, it seems that besides causing damage to anomalies, the power of these bullets against humans is actually even greater.
Then, as the research expanded further, did he create some clones using those stones and flesh structures? No, this world doesn't have technology of that level, and those people aren't like that either. This Fulen likely used humans as research material, combining living people with substances carrying anomalous power. And his goal was likely to become something like Xusheng... No, what he wanted to become was a living person more powerful than Xusheng's level, capable of controlling anomalous power.
But Maki and Chika encountered Professor Fulen in an anomalous form. That Fulen was an absolute anomaly; there was no doubt about that.
To retrieve one's self as a human after having already turned into an anomaly? No, that is an impossible feat.
The fact that I can see Fulen's illusions proves that he really [died] within this Red Nut Gray Hole instance.
So what exactly did he do?
Fulen, who is an anomaly yet exhibits many abnormalities in his actions.
Lixer, who was unaware of himself and was actually controlled by external forces all along.
Susan, who knows nothing and appeared in this cavern at an age she shouldn't be, now location unknown.
Andres and his wife Hedal, who have already become the core obsessions of the instance; the former longs to return to his wife's side, while the latter holds an inextinguishable rage toward the Research Base.
Still missing a little something.
To connect everything within the entire instance, a little something is still missing.
Why is the [Gentle Slope] taken so seriously? The core obsession currently existing in the [Gentle Slope] is Andres's wife, Hedal. But what about before this? According to the intelligence already obtained, the [Gentle Slope] has actually always harbored anomalous power, the manifestation of which seems to be luring living people to fall down and get stuck in the crevices.
But for many years, before Fulen stirred up trouble and trapped people to death inside, no one had ever died in the Great Rift of the Gentle Slope; every time an accident happened, they were rescued in time. Since that's the case, what exactly is the reason this place is taken so seriously?
Also, why did Fulen, who could already control anomalous power, still not stir up any waves in the real world? A person who wants to become a God would never be willing to be controlled by others after succeeding. Even if the antimemetic effect of the horror stories against ordinary people hadn't formed at that time, a Fulen who mastered anomalous power wasn't someone ordinary people could restrict. Moreover, judging by a series of this guy's operations within the instance, his goal wasn't to escape here, but to maintain the stability of the Research Base. This is even more suspicious.
And there is one more question: Where exactly is General Shegera? If he had already been killed and turned into an anomaly, then it's impossible for this person not to appear in the Research Base, impossible for no traces to be left behind. If he is still a living person, a figure of a General's level couldn't possibly yield nothing when investigated by Chika Fujiwara. And even if Shegera hadn't been dragged into this instance but was living well somewhere in the real world, his traces should still have been left in the Research Base. Ultimately, the identity of [General Shegera], who commands all soldiers, inevitably requires someone to play it. Whether human or ghost, it shouldn't be ignored.
Play...
Gao Hai froze slightly, suddenly realizing a certain possibility.
Could there be such a possibility?
Gao Hai's brows locked together tightly.
The only time I entered the Research Base, I played the role of an explorer, and midway through, there was a process of taking off clothes to bathe. No, that was a special process belonging to the role-play; within that process, even if I wasn't wearing clothes, I would still be judged as an explorer, so that doesn't hold up.
But even so... I obtained the identity of the [Corpse in Room 204] at the Shirakawa Apartments. This didn't change anything because the identity I played seemed to only receive some kind of recognition within the [instance rules]; anomalies would still treat me as a living person when they saw me. Except during the second loop of Shirakawa Apartments—at the end of that loop, I was almost completely converted into an anomaly. At that time, the existence of Refrigerator Bro instead caused my [Corpse] identity to be activated to a certain extent, helping me retrieve my humanity.
So, it is normal for the soldiers not to recognize my [identity]. After all, for anomalies, a mere [identity] doesn't represent anything. But if I truly stole this identity, replaced this identity, perhaps if I enter there, something different will happen.
"If that's really the case, then it would be too magical."
Gao Hai raised his head, turning to look at that opened door leading to the Research Base.
Thinking through all of this seemed to take a long time, but in reality, for Gao Hai, it was merely less than a minute of contemplation.
He had to verify this possibility.
Verify the possibility that the hidden identity he obtained in the Red Nut Gray Hole is [General Shegera].
This was the most reasonable explanation Gao Hai could come up with after thinking. That is, just like when he obtained the [Corpse] identity at Shirakawa Apartments, he had bafflingly replaced the identity of [General Shegera] in this instance, causing the original General Shegera in this instance to be unable to appear, becoming a non-existent transparent person.
If he enters the Research Base, then the time remaining to clear this instance is only one day.
End everything within one day, otherwise, he can only start the next loop.
Clearly, the game gave a clearance time limit of 15 days, so why am I always getting my time cut short in advance for various reasons?
This made Gao Hai involuntarily think of the seven-day clearance time given by Shirakawa Apartments, and the time difference where, in reality, a perfect clear could only be achieved within the first three days.
He strode forward, charging fiercely toward that opened door.
In the next moment, Gao Hai barged into the corridor of the Observation Area, weaving through those researchers and soldiers who seemed somewhat chaotic due to the loss of command.
"Borrowing this."
"Thanks."
"I'll return it when I remember."
With a few casual remarks, Gao Hai had already stripped the clothes off several soldiers and put them directly on his own body.
It appeared these things were originally under Professor Fulen's command, and Lixer's death seemed to have damaged Fulen's command ability slightly. This caused these things to just walk around haphazardly, or simply be knocked to the ground by the water, as if their behavioral logic had been destroyed, completely ignoring Gao Hai's existence.
Gao Hai, now clad in soldier's clothes, rushed out of the corridor. Following the door Chika Fujiwara had cut open, he barged into the Research Zone and then proceeded all the way upward.
Of course, he didn't forget to send a communication to Maki during this process, summarizing his thoughts and ideas to tell her.
And it was also at this time that Maki had already opened the door to the cell and saw the situation inside.
"Ah, you are..."
In the next moment, after seeing the person in the cell, Maki froze slightly, then spoke.
________________________________________
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