Chapter 177: Conspiracy

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Conspiracy

The thing Evelyn mentioned earlier - Aberrants - was a type of patchwork monster, created from the fusion of Wasteland magical beasts and other races.

And Wasteland magical beasts, naturally, must have originated from the Wasteland.

But it had been nearly a month since falling into this illusionary realm, and Jeremy hadn’t seen a single magical beast. He hadn’t even heard anyone mention those two words.

In all the books in the Mermaid royal palace library - thousands of volumes on race, geography, and history - there wasn’t a single line.

The records of the Sylvanor continent also never explicitly stated how Wasteland magical beasts appeared. They were only recorded as destroyers: every civilization, every living creature of that land vanished because of them.

But when piecing these research reports together with the Aberrants he had just seen on the upper floors, a conclusion could be drawn.

The matching rate of characteristics between them and magical beasts reached eighty percent.

The remaining twenty percent was a difference in appearance and a portion of their traits.

Compared to the fused test subjects suspended in the glass cages, the magical beast forms they had encountered in the Wasteland were much more horrifying and nauseating.

Furthermore, a portion of the magical beasts possessed splitting properties.

After self-detonating or being killed, they didn’t die immediately. Conversely, they shattered into numerous dormant bodies resembling spores. After a certain period of hibernation, they would awaken, then continue slaughtering.

But it’s also possible that was the result of improvements in later stages.

Or perhaps after millions of years, these Aberrants belonging to different races interbred, giving birth to mutations.

After all, under this bizarre modification, the concept of reproductive isolation no longer existed among the test subjects.

"Creak..."

The sound of a door opening abruptly rang out.

Jeremy started. He quickly placed all the documents back exactly where they were, then signaled Evelyn to step back and hide.

Evelyn didn’t delay for a beat, immediately slipping into the blind spot behind a row of shelves.

Although that Demon Emperor probably couldn’t see them, it was better to be careful.

The long-haired man stepped out from inside, seemingly finished with his work and preparing to leave.

The hidden door behind him did not close.

Just as Jeremy was considering whether to retreat or take this opportunity to sneak in and search for more clues, several more figures stepped out from inside one after another.

And they were not Mermaids.

Celestials. Angels. Humans. Beastkin. Even members of the Dragon race and Spirit race were present.

Their realms were unfathomably deep. The strength of each person was probably on par with the Demon Emperor.

Jeremy originally thought this was a secret research conducted solely by the Mermaid race in the shadows.

But looking at it now... the other races all had a share in it more or less. This was an alliance.

Only, among those stepping out, aside from the Demon Emperor who had just left, no one was the leader of their own race.

Some were royalty or nobles. But there were also those whose identities Jeremy couldn’t guess at all.

In other words, this was not an alliance between the tribes.

But rather an alliance between the hidden individuals within each tribe.

Suddenly, a snake woman in the group raised her eyes, casting a glance in this direction.

"!"

Jeremy’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively held his breath.

Fortunately, the other party didn’t actually see him.

She was looking at the Mermaid princess locked in the glass cage right in front of him - which was exactly the body he had just left.

The snake woman’s voice carried a charm that could bewitch people’s hearts, drawn out and seductive:

"Tianlan is too heartless. Even his own children are not spared~ It truly makes people fearful."

She said that. But between her brows, there wasn’t a half-ounce of fear. There was only the frivolous look of someone watching a good play.

The Beastkin man beside her spoke up: "Our races have followed this experiment for nearly seven thousand years. If we can advance a step further, what is sacrificing a few children?"

"Exactly."

The snake woman gave her head a light toss, making the countless snake heads densely growing atop her head sway along. She narrowed her eyes:

"But looking at the current progress, success will definitely fall into our generation. When the time comes to divide the world... you all remember to keep your promises."

Another person replied: "With the Soul-Devouring curse mark here, what are you worried about?"

Thinking of something, he changed the subject: "Ah, the current leader of the Ice Dragon race still refuses to compromise?"

The snake woman sneered: "With his stubbornness, how could he compromise? His ancestors did so many dirty deeds, even the throne he is sitting on is thanks to us secretly setting the stage. Yet the moment he ascended the throne, he immediately turned his back. Truly a thief crying stop thief."

The Beastkin man: "Could it be he plans to use the ten-thousand-year covenant with the Mermaid race to wipe out the entire Mermaid race?"

None of them worried the other party would leak the secret.

After all, anyone involved in this matter bore the Soul-Devouring curse mark. If they intended to reveal it, not only would they be unable to utter a complete sentence, but their souls would also be shattered - and all descendants of the same bloodline would die along with them.

But wars between races did not fall within the scope restricted by the contract.

An Angel in the group spoke up: "...Should we lend Tianlan a hand? If the Mermaid race is wiped out, the research progress will hit a massive hurdle."

Tianlan. The current leader of the Mermaid race.

"What’s there to worry about?"

The snake woman twisted her waist, undulating her long snake tail to slither towards the door, her voice lazy:

"He doesn’t have that capability. We just need to sit back and watch the play."

"Then we’ll adapt to the situation."

The remaining people followed, chatting as they walked.

The voices gradually faded and then completely died out following their footsteps.

Jeremy didn’t tail them immediately. He turned around, looking towards the hidden door that still hadn’t closed.

Thinking for a moment, he still decided to go in and figure out the ins and outs of the matter.

He asked Evelyn for her opinion.

Her answer was very brief: "Whatever the Captain decides is fine."

The two, one after the other, stepped through the hidden door located at the deepest part of the laboratory.

Compared to the other areas, this place looked more like a document archive cum rest room.

Inside, spatial expansion magic had clearly been cast. Looking from the outside it was small, but stepping in, one realized it was eighty square meters wide, with a ceiling as high as a three-story building.

Right in the middle was a rest area - a long table, a sofa, a tea set that was still warm.

On the left were more than ten rows of rotating magical bookshelves, packed tight with ancient tomes and documents.

On the right were transparent display cabinets made of special crystal, displaying countless bizarre materials, most of which Jeremy had never seen before.

But on the first row on the left of those cabinets, what was displayed was Magic Soul Crystals.

Magic Soul Crystals of magical beasts.

Those familiar pitch-black crystals, reflecting seven-colored light, the surfaces carved with crescent-shaped patterns - exactly the things the group used to pick up in the Wasteland to exchange for accumulated points.

Jeremy stood silently in front of that row of cabinets for a few seconds.

At this point, he had confirmed it: the origin of the magical beasts stemmed precisely from this crazy research.

But why those research subjects lost control to the point of crushing an entire world, turning it into a Wasteland overflowing with peril - remained a mystery.

Suddenly remembering something, Jeremy took out an image-recording magic tool, attempting to record it.

He originally hadn’t placed much hope. In this ethereal state, he couldn’t even touch the glass layer.

But it seemed to work.

It was just unclear whether the recorded data would still be retained to be brought back to Sylvanor after the illusionary realm dissipated.

Evelyn noticed his action and proactively suggested: "Leave this side to me. Captain, you handle the row on the right."

Jeremy’s superhuman reading speed and photographic memory, she knew well.

"Alright."

Jeremy turned and walked towards the row of cabinets on the right.

Maintaining an illusionary realm also required power. Not to mention an illusionary realm detailed enough to recreate an entire civilization.

Until now, it was still unclear when it would collapse. Dividing the work to do it quickly was the best plan.

What the ruin’s trial was no longer mattered.

Compared to a treasure with an unknown appearance, bringing this pile of documents back to Sylvanor was the top priority.

The preciousness level of these could not be underestimated.

Not only could it decipher the biggest mystery of the continent, but perhaps it also contained the origin and the nemesis of the magical beasts. Or even the method to completely eradicate them.

But rumor had it that those who fail the ruin’s trial would have their memories wiped and lose the chance to return.

Then would these documents disappear along with it?

If so, then everything they were doing now was futile.

Thinking of that, Jeremy felt a slight headache.

Now he only wished the trial would strike immediately so he would know how to pivot.

It was a pity that was only a fantasy.

There were too many documents. Even though his reading speed was very fast, he couldn’t read them all at once. He had to use the image-recording magic tool to record them first and figure it out later.

How massive documents accumulated over nearly seven thousand years would be, goes without saying.

Coupled with the height of the space and the fact that each cabinet had a compression spell cast on it, it took Jeremy nearly four hours to finish recording everything.