Chapter 738: Fissure

Chen Chuan gently stroked the Snow Monarch Blade, sensing the power that remained within it. He raised the blade again and, with a swing through the air, cut open another tiny Rift, barely an inch wide.

Then, focusing his mind, he swung the blade over it once more. This time, too, he successfully mended it.

He tried a few more times, and after a short while, he could feel a sense of fatigue coming from the Snow Monarch Blade.

This meant that both creating and mending Rifts consumed the blade’s power, and the Mutated Organization within it would also grow weary.

Upon careful assessment, he realized that mending a Rift consumed far less power than creating one, likely due to the suppressive effect of the World Ring.

This meant that if he only had enough power to create a Rift at maximum strength once a day, he could mend them two or three times.

This was extremely useful. It meant that when he trained alone in the future, he could immediately close the Rift to prevent any issues, whether something tried to cross over from the other side or someone suddenly discovered the anomaly.

With this ability, he no longer needed to strictly adhere to the four-Hour cap on his training time. He could be more flexible; if a problem arose, he could seal the Rift immediately.

At the same time, he no longer needed to pay so much attention to guarding against disturbances from the outside; he could entrust most of that responsibility to Chaoming. This would greatly enhance his training efficiency.

However, he had to consider that the World Ring would be closing in a little over a month at most. When that happened, creating a Rift would not be so easy, and the duration it could remain open would likely be compressed even further.

His golden window of opportunity was this next month or so—perhaps even less.

Therefore, he had to strive for as much progress as possible during this period, perhaps even achieve a breakthrough.

Sheathing the blade, he took out a vial of a chemical solution and poured it onto the scorched marks on the floor, instantly corroding the area. He then took out a utility knife and scraped the residue into a small bag he had prepared in advance.

Rifts always left behind some strange residue, which was why he kept these tools on hand to dispose of it safely. This not only prevented any trace of his training from being discovered but also averted any potential subsequent problems.

As for the minor damage to the surroundings, that was perfectly normal for a powerful Fighter. No one would think anything of it.

Once he was done cleaning up, he went and pulled the bell cord by the bulkhead. The Airship crew had worked with him many times by now and, upon hearing the signal, immediately began the return trip.

Truth be told, they were very curious about Chen Chuan’s training. They didn’t understand why he always had to go high into the sky to practice. But they were all veteran company employees and knew not to ask what shouldn’t be asked, and not to say what shouldn’t be said.

After the Airship returned to Central City’s airspace, several messages appeared on his Realm Token. He replied to them one by one. Among them, a message concerning Lianwei Zhongyu was particularly noteworthy.

Although the Bureau had redirected most of An Shield’s surveillance resources to monitor the Lynx Federation’s diplomatic team and the Federation’s delegation, he had not relaxed his digital surveillance on Lianwei Zhongyu.

Furthermore, to ensure he had a grasp of their internal affairs, he had been periodically dispatching personnel to conduct surprise inspections within the company.

The pretext was ready-made: Fan Mo and three team members had been proven to have ties to Lianwei Zhongyu’s headquarters. These individuals had caused a significant amount of disruption and damage to Central City’s security. To prevent such incidents from recurring, it was of course necessary to place the local branch under strict surveillance.

The message indicated that Lianwei Zhongyu Company had recently submitted an application to enter the Merging Land for exploration and to fulfill its support duties.

Although it was called an application, in practice, it had long become a mere formality. Companies leveraged agreements from the Great Alliance Period, and with the City Council’s cooperation, the process had little real power.

Basically, as long as a company was officially recognized by Central City, its application was guaranteed to be approved.

Fortunately, the Defense Department and the Processing Bureau still had the authority to vet the personnel entering. If there were any discrepancies with the submitted roster, both departments had the right to take action.

Therefore, after reading the application, Chen Chuan immediately pulled up the personnel roster.

He saw that the two Black Steel Level Fighters who had previously served as bodyguards for the person in charge were, indeed, on the list for this operation.

In addition, there were some names that were not in the previously filed records. A note explained that these individuals were not currently in Central City but were on their way and would arrive over the next few days.

He felt there was something wrong, though. ‘Black Steel Level Fighters are certainly powerful in ordinary situations, but they are nowhere near enough to contend for a Lost Object.’

‘Unless they don’t intend to do anything.’

‘But is that possible?’

‘Did Lianwei Zhongyu go to all this trouble just to send two people in for a quick tour?’

He was certain that the real force Lianwei Zhongyu was deploying was definitely more than just these two individuals.

So, with their other team eliminated and new personnel not yet fully arranged, how could they ensure they had enough firepower?

He focused his thoughts for a moment, and his mind couldn’t help but turn to the active consciousness body’s embryo.

He had clashed with an active consciousness body before, and the experience had left a profound impression on him, so his instincts immediately led him to this possibility.

Following this train of thought, he immediately questioned An Shield. “An Shield, you’ve said that an active consciousness body’s embryo has no combat power on its own and can only transmit and receive information. Are there any other technical means that could be used to enhance its combat capabilities? I’m asking about everything, including immature or purely theoretical technologies.”

An Shield replied, “There is currently one immature technology that might achieve the effect you describe, Director. It involves the Fusion of a human with the embryo of an active consciousness body, achieving a state of mutual symbiosis and amplification.

However, the conditions are quite strict. First, it requires a person with a special Spiritual Talent. Their spirit must be compatible with the active consciousness body to achieve a high probability of successful Fusion.

It must be noted, however, that even when these conditions are met with the same subject, success is not guaranteed on every attempt. A failure causes irreversible damage to both parties, which in turn lowers the success rate of any subsequent attempts.

Even upon success, how to separate them remains an unresolved problem. According to current research, maintaining this state for an extended period creates the possibility of the two entities merging into one completely. As for the specific subsequent impacts and consequences, there is currently no existing experimental data to retrieve…”

After listening to An Shield’s explanation, Chen Chuan mulled it over for a moment, then immediately pulled up the photograph of the young girl named Yang Ling.

‘If my earlier speculation is correct and this Yang Ling possesses abilities beyond those of an ordinary person, she fits the criteria perfectly.’

‘Only a biological weapon of this caliber would have what it takes to contend with the government, and even other major powers.’

‘In the absence of other options or possibilities, this deduction is the most likely one.’

However, the roster mentioned neither the active consciousness body nor Yang Ling. He quickly realized this was a condition he could exploit. If things were truly as he suspected, he might be able to sabotage Lianwei Zhongyu’s potential plan.

He glanced again at the time on Lianwei Zhongyu’s application to enter the Merging Land: 5:00 p.m. on October 4th.

After a moment’s thought, he placed his hand on his Realm Token. “All squads, listen up. We have an important mission coming up. Stay alert for messages.”

Within Lianwei Zhongyu’s underground hall, Yang Ling was controlling Narcissus as it consumed a High-Energy Nutrient Supplement. Countless tentacles sprouted from its outer shell, extending into the supplement’s storage area to siphon the High-Energy Nutrient Liquid.

Visibly, its body had grown more than a full size larger than when it had first emerged.

But a more powerful body also meant greater energy consumption. Here, she could be replenished with nutrient supplements or even enter a low-consumption state on her own.

But once she entered the Merging Land, she wouldn’t have such a convenience. Although Narcissus could theoretically replenish its energy by hunting prey in the Merging Land, that would mean spending a large portion of each day just eating, leaving almost no time for anything else.

That was why Lianwei Zhongyu would be assigning a squad centered around her, responsible for hunting prey and providing logistical support.

All she would have to do is focus on finding the Lost Object and dealing with any key enemies.

As she fed, Yang Ling felt her own consciousness gradually converging with Narcissus’s. It was as if she was Narcissus, and Narcissus was her—an inevitable result of the integration of their bodies and spirits.

Perhaps soon, they would become truly indistinguishable. The human part of her would fade away completely, and she would transform entirely into a unique active consciousness body, a biological weapon controlled by the company.

The sound of footsteps rang out as the female assistant walked up to her. She stared with a fanatical gaze at the consciousness-body creature, which had grown another size larger.

She said, “Miss, the application has been submitted and the time has been set. We will depart tomorrow evening. Everything is arranged. We will provide cover for you.”

After she spoke, a response appeared on her Realm Token, and she continued, “Miss, you don’t need to worry about being short-staffed. The second team sent by the main office has been waiting outside the city for a while now.

Although the Processing Bureau is monitoring our movements very closely and has been using procedural hang-ups to obstruct us, this time we are following the official process. The deployment of the Fighters is fully compliant with security limits. They’ll be held up until tomorrow at the latest and then released.”

At this, Narcissus raised its head and glanced at her.

The female assistant glanced at her Realm Token, and her expression grew cold again. “Miss, you can rest assured. As soon as the item is found, we will reverse the Fusion for you. The company hasn’t been able to find a second person with special talents like you, Miss. We wouldn’t waste you carelessly on this mission.

I must also remind you, Miss, that the duration of this Fusion is entirely up to you. The sooner you can find what the company needs, the sooner this state can be reversed.”

With that, she gave a slight bow, turned, and walked away in her high heels. Her figure soon vanished into the dimly lit corridor ahead.

Yang Ling watched her leave in silence. After a moment, she lowered her head again, unconsciously swishing Narcissus’s tail as she resumed siphoning the surrounding High-Energy Nutrient Liquid.