Free Web NovelChapter 418: Chapter 148: Internal Sensation and External Invasion
Chen Chuan first communicated with Meng Shu, then inspected the inside and outside of the manor. After confirming there were no issues, he returned to his own living quarters.
He first took off the Realm Token, picked up a metal box, and took out a vial of medicine. He glanced at the liquid inside, which swirled with faint points of light. Removing the stopper, he raised it to his lips, and with a tilt of his arm, drank it all in one go.
The liquid was tasteless. After entering his mouth, it felt as if it had turned into a puff of mist, which then spread rapidly to his head and throughout his body.
At first, he felt nothing. After a moment, however, a subtle warmth spread through his entire body. The Mutated Organizations seemed to come alive, as if they had gained a will of their own. Just as it had happened before when he loosened his control, all sorts of strange emotions began to well up in his heart.
Fortunately, he was experienced in dealing with this situation and remained completely unaffected. His consciousness seemed to calmly observe everything from the perspective of a third-party observer.
Just then, he seemed to sense something and looked toward the window. Once again, he saw the massive vortex in the sky. An endless swirl of chaotic, dancing lights and a cacophony of fine, grating sounds assaulted his ears and eyes, bombarding his senses.
It wasn’t just that. He found that his surroundings also seemed to have changed. The floor and walls were slowly writhing. A thought in the back of his mind seemed to tell him that this was the real world, and what he usually saw was merely an illusion, a fragment of reality.
At the same time, he found that his normally solid body seemed to have lost its usual constraints, becoming ethereal and light. The Mutated Organizations felt like they were desperately trying to squeeze their way out of his body.
During this process, he felt his own power increasing as well. Although he knew something was wrong, the sensation was still intoxicating.
That consciousness seemed to be telling him to loosen his control just a little more. Just a tiny bit would be enough to gain even greater benefits. There would be no danger at all.
But he didn’t relax. His gaze was as cold and clear as ice water.
He remembered Cao Guiqi’s earlier warning and firmly guarded his mind and foundation, not allowing this corruption to breach his mental dam.
However, under this constant assault, he found his inherent perception of reality slowly starting to waver and shift.
A person’s perception is rooted in their sense of self and their external environment. When both of these begin to change, one’s original self naturally begins to dissolve.
Therefore, a single moment of carelessness, even a slight shift in consciousness, could lead him to instinctively accept these bizarre phenomena as perfectly normal.
Realizing this, he shifted his consciousness and had his Second Self take on all of the corruption.
In that instant, the surrounding visions, sounds, and lights all vanished. His mind cleared. Even the dizzying, spinning sensation and the various indescribable, chaotic feelings coming from within his body disappeared.
Everything seemed to have returned to normal.
In reality, however, only his consciousness had returned to its normal state. His body and spirit were still undergoing a certain transformation under the effect of the medicine.
’This should be a similar kind of Domain influence,’ he judged internally. ’Although many things about it can’t be summarized so simply, I can understand it this way for now.’
According to Cao Guiqi, when the medicine took effect, one’s physical shell would weaken, and their spirit would draw closer to that other world, thereby breaking down some inherent barrier. But at the same time, the self would indiscriminately absorb everything—both beneficial and harmful.
To maintain one’s existence and not lose one’s sanity, both the Resident God and the Essence Blood accumulated in the heart would be slowly consumed during the struggle.
No wonder Cao Guiqi had said that a solid foundation was essential. If a Fighter without sufficient prior accumulation rashly took these special medicines, even if they managed to hold onto their life and sanity once or twice, the corruption would inevitably lie dormant within them, ready to cause problems at any moment.
Generally, during this process, it was already a great feat for a Fighter to simply maintain their self and wait for the medicine to take effect. They could do little else, forced to let the Mutated Organization evolve and grow on its own along the foundation they had previously laid.
But with his Second Self shouldering the corruption, he found he could consciously guide and restrain his Mutated Organization, utilizing the medicine with maximum efficiency.
As time went on, he felt the medicine’s effect slowly weakening. The Mutated Organization in his body gradually transitioned from its initial state of excited growth back to a state of calm, eventually exiting that phase entirely.
He noticed that more than three hours had passed, but it had felt very brief.
He glanced over and saw that the signs of dematerialization on his Second Self were still ongoing. Although it didn’t look intense, it gave the Second Self a distorted feeling. ’This must be the "residual toxin" Cao Guiqi mentioned.’
’No wonder the government and corporations control this so strictly. If this stuff were freely available, there’s no telling how many problematic Fighters would emerge. And since these Fighters possess immense martial power, the destruction they could cause would be enormous.’
After taking the medicine this time, he felt his spirit had become more resilient and his body stronger.
Not only that, but his Mutated Organization had become active once again. The feeling was like entering a rapid growth phase.
However, he knew this was a lingering effect of the medicine and wouldn’t last as long as before. Once the residual toxin was expelled, the growth should stop. Then he could take the next dose.
He got up, tidied the things around him, put the medicine back, and organized some documents. But then, he made an unexpected discovery: in the gaps between some lines of text, new records had appeared.
The problem was, he had skimmed through all the content before and hadn’t seen them. He was certain they weren’t there previously. So where did they come from now?
’Is there a problem with my memory? Or did that recent contact grant me some new perceptual ability, allowing me to notice them?’
He thought again. It didn’t seem that simple. He traced the text with his finger. It was written in a special ink. The crimson, continuous script looked like crawling earthworms, or perhaps some kind of bloodstain.
He recalled what Cao Guiqi had said about the transmission of words. It was likely that people who hadn’t taken the medicine couldn’t be told directly, so this method was used instead. If so, that made sense.
This new content was divided into two parts. One was a secret technique for maintaining one’s self amidst the visions. The other was a warning to future generations not to indulge in the experience, for if they lost their sense of being human, they would no longer be themselves.
He carefully read the content hidden between the lines and couldn’t help but appreciate the painstaking effort of his predecessors. However, since he had the Second Self, he could learn the secret technique, but the step itself could be skipped.
He then picked up the Realm Token and put it back on. He noticed a voice message had arrived ten minutes ago. Seeing it was from Yan Yi, he played it, and her voice immediately came through.
"Mr. Chen, there’s a situation you need to be aware of. When you have a moment, could you please come to the Miss’s place?"
Chen Chuan replied first, then walked out of the villa and over to the main residence. At the door, a middle-aged maid led him into the living room. Meng Shu and Yan Yi were both there. Meng Shu was sitting on the sofa, while Yan Yi was pacing back and forth with her fist pressed to her chin.
Chen Chuan waited for the maid to leave before looking at the two of them. "Has something happened?"
Yan Yi said, "Mr. Chen, a message came from the corporation, requesting the Miss to attend a family meeting at the company."
Chen Chuan said, "A family meeting? Do you have to go?"
"That’s the problem. The meeting was called in Lord Meng’s name. Our technical staff currently don’t have the authority to access the Meng Clan’s internal platform to verify the details, so we can’t confirm if this message is authentic."
This was the disadvantage of not being at the company. They couldn’t ascertain the situation there. Although some people in middle management had expressed their willingness to side with Meng Shu, they were only making early gestures of goodwill. There was no real loyalty.
As for the people they had planted, none had yet climbed to a high enough position. They were unaware of the decisions made by the Upper Layer of the company and were of no use.
Chen Chuan glanced at Meng Shu and said, "Could there be a problem with the old lord?"
Yan Yi said, "Probably not. Lord Meng has the best security team, and he personally has access to top-tier medical and security services. It’s much easier to deal with the Miss than with Lord Meng, so we can likely rule that out."
Chen Chuan asked, "What’s the problem if you don’t go?"
"Because it’s a family meeting called in Lord Meng’s name. If the Miss doesn’t attend, she will lose significant standing within the clan."
Chen Chuan grunted in acknowledgment. "What are your thoughts?"
Yan Yi said, "If Meng Huang sent this, his intention is simply to lure the Miss out of Motie Mountain and attack us on the way. Mr. Chen, in that scenario, could we handle it with a full security detail?"
Chen Chuan said, "It’s hard to guarantee anything without knowing how many people they’ll mobilize. If only one Third Limit Fighter shows up, I can guarantee I can hold them off. But if there are two or more, it will be very difficult to ensure your safety."
Yan Yi said, "Then it’s settled. We only have one choice, even if it means facing a crisis of status. We must stay on Motie Mountain and defend our position."
She turned to Meng Shu. "But the Miss not going is likely part of Meng Huang’s calculations. So, I think his next move will be to use this as a pretext to recall the security team assigned to us by the clan.
That would reduce our protection by a third, and it would be very difficult to find a suitable and trustworthy replacement team on short notice.
And although we previously ordered a batch of biological weapons, the purchase of High-Energy Nutrient Supplements is restricted. We can’t strengthen our forces any further. The difficulty of our defense will increase significantly. Mr. Chen, this will put more pressure on you again."
Just then, Meng Shu spoke up, "Sister Yan, you can leave us for now."
Yan Yi knew she had something to say to Chen Chuan alone. She nodded and said, "Yes, Miss." She then turned, walked out, and closed the door behind her.
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