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Chapter 58
🕑 Added 2023-12-30 03:15:31 +0000 UTCBoom—
With a thunderous explosion, the entire container's lid was instantly blown away. Countless solutions transformed into rolling vapors in the wake of the explosion. And from that pallid mist, a humanoid mechanical form gradually emerged.
Mechanical skeletons covered his entire body, devoid of flesh and blood. A crimson glow, resembling veins of blood, coursed all over him. The Heart-Eater rasped as he stepped forward. This was his primary body. Apart from his Hunter God puppet, this was his most potent battle form.
The loss of energy rendered the warp device non-operational, leaving this body confined within the base. It became his last ace in the hole.
"I've marked you all. I won't spare any of you. Not now. But when I return, every single one of you will perish at my hands!"
His voice was hoarse, and his mechanical fingers clenched with a series of clicks. He didn't linger. Abruptly turning, his intricate mechanical body unleashed an immense force. Controlling this form, he leaped, breaking through the solid steel structure above. In a flash, he reached the upper layers of the underground.
"Base self-destruct countdown—4 minutes and 5 seconds!"
He didn't bother seeking out Lynne. Instead, he darted down the corridor, heading for a secret passage leading out of the base at an astonishing pace.
Because even if he were to reactivate the energy nexus now, it would be challenging to complete the warp before the base's self-destruction. His only means of escape was the physical path. And as the current president of the Demonfolk Association, it was inconceivable he wouldn't have an exit strategy.
Boom, boom, boom—
His precise mechanical form, unstoppable, broke through one wall after another, barreling forth like a juggernaut. But just as he crashed through another wall, entering a long corridor, A mocking and all-too-familiar voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
"Just as I suspected, you have a new body. How could the president of the Demonfolk Association be taken down so easily?"
Is it that human?!
The Heart-Eater instantly recognized Lynne's voice.
That persistent devil!
A surge of fury made the Heart-Eater whirl around, immediately launching a more intense psychic shockwave in the direction of the voice.
Whirr—
The emergency lights in the corridor popped and shattered under the rolling mental assault.
"Show yourself!!"
Enraged, the Heart Eater ceaselessly unleashed psychic bombardments in every direction. His potent psychic force even warped and shattered the steel walls directly.
In the very next moment, a colossal head suddenly broke through the wall in front of him, charging at him like a heavy-duty truck, sending him flying several meters away.
Boom—
A loud crash.
The Heart-Eater's metallic form smashed heavily against the wall. But he rose as if he were unscathed, his eyes flashing a ferocious crimson glow. His gaze immediately locked onto the emerging Little.
"As you wished. What's next?"
Lynne's voice, tinged with amusement, emanated from Little's mouth.
Without any hesitation, the Heart Eater roared and unleashed an even larger psychic shockwave towards Lynne, who was hiding within Little's mouth.
Whirr—
The immense psychic blast landed on Little but only stirred negligible ripples in Little's consciousness before quickly dissipating.
The Heart Eater was taken aback, repeatedly retreating.
"You... you..."
Inside Little's mouth, Lynne sat cross-legged, arms folded, eyes closed, and said: "You shouldn't be able to affect an Origin-level creature, right? That's why you didn't dare use your mental shockwave on Little; you knew it would be useless."
Lynne slowly opened his vertical demonic eyes, massaging her temples.
"So, you only dared to pick on me."
[Mechanical Overgod · Model 71]
[Type: Heavy Mechanical Construct]
[Alignment: None]
[Level: ???]
[Combat Ability: Comparable to a king-class origin entity in heavy armor.]
[Description: Manufactured by the Demonfolk Association, this is the highest-class mechanical construct, distinct from the Hunter God puppets because it is purely mechanical. The discovery of Colossus technology led the Demonfolk Association to waver from its original "Mechanical Ascension" ideology, which is why the "Mechanical Overgod" was shelved. However, the Heart-Eater had been secretly modifying this construct, and after successfully integrating Colossus technology, it became one of his strongest forms...]
Lynne's demonic eyes, through Little, pierced deeply into the Heart-Eater.
The Heart-Eater emitted a raspy, mechanical voice: "You truly are a sharp human, coming up with such a method to evade my psychic blasts. You've indeed earned my respect. But what I don't understand is why are you so intent on exterminating us?!"
Lynne, with a smile and folded arms, retorted: "Exterminate? Don't you think that's a bit hypocritical coming from you? When you sent flesh puppets to Wandering Soul Lane to take me out, you didn't say that. When you sent hunters for a second clean-up, I didn't see you wanting to reason with me. Oh, I was mistaken. I was just an insignificant being that could be easily disposed of. Your real targets were my mentor and my dear Babe. I bet you never thought that, in the end, the one standing before you would be an apprentice from a potion shop, a mere apprentice."
Lynne's grin widened, revealing a set of pristine, yet eerie, teeth.
The Heart-Eater's eyes flickered madly. The countdown was down to its final two minutes. There wasn't enough time! No matter what, he had to escape. He couldn't let this human waste any more of his time.
Whirr—
He suddenly turned, and with unimaginable speed, charged towards the end of the corridor.
"Little!" Lynne narrowed his eyes, "Time to eat."
Without giving him a chance, Little, with an intense (▼皿▼#) expression, propelled its tentacles forward, rushing towards the Heart Eater with even greater speed.
Boom—
A deafening crash.
The Heart Eater's body was instantly crushed by Little, tumbling dozens of meters away.
"How dare you—harm—my—doctor—Little—will kill you—"
Smack—
Mighty tentacles heavily lashed onto the Heart Eater, and sparks flew everywhere. In a flash, Little launched a ferocious assault, its countless tentacles firing like a hail of machine-gun bullets onto the Heart Eater's metallic form. The Heart Eater roared in rage as he quickly rose, retreating rapidly, and in an instant, two heated long swords snapped out from his arms.
Cling—
Cling—
The swords clashed against Little's hardened (〝▼皿▼) tentacles, igniting a shower of sparks. For a moment, the corridor's light flickered erratically, filled with the echoing sounds of metallic clashes.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
The Heart Eater's screams grew increasingly frantic. Yet, he could not shake off Little's relentless offense. The piercing alarms of the imminent self-destruction grew louder and more urgent, and the entire base could be incinerated at any moment.
Meanwhile, from within Little's mouth, Lynne, eyes half-lidded, slowly reached out, his gaze shifting from the gaps between Little's teeth to the Heart Eater.
So, are you truly a mechanical being... Or just a mere facade? If it's a transfer of consciousness, you should still reside within this shell, likely hiding some filthy flesh... Right?
[Ding! You are activating the Random Diagnosis. Do you wish to use it now?]
"Of course," Lynne squinted. "My dear patient."
Humming—
In that very instant, Lynne's outstretched arm clenched abruptly.
[Ding! Random Diagnosis Successful!]
[Ding! You have diagnosed the target with a random disease: Brain Parasites!]
[Ding! You have diagnosed the target with a random disease: Brain Thrombosis!]
[Ding! You have diagnosed the target with a random disease: Cerebral Infarction!]
[Ding! You have diagnosed the target with a random disease: Alzheimer's Disease!]
[Ding! You have diagnosed your target with a random disease: Schizophrenia!]
And just as swiftly, the Heart Eater, fiercely contending with tentacles, shuddered throughout. Wave after wave of indescribable odd sensations rolled from his brain, sweeping over every sensor in his body. His control over the mechanical body began to falter. The images produced in his brain's visual sensors grew increasingly blurred.
At that moment, he suddenly felt severe brain hypoxia and vascular blockage, accompanied by intense dizziness and nausea, along with successive cognitive errors affecting his mental judgment.
"This... what is this..."
His consciousness was struck with terror. And in his mechanical body, piercing alarms resounded incessantly. Almost instantly, the brain-linked sensors analyzed all the abnormalities and displayed them on his visual sensors. Seeing the listed diseases, his vision blackened, nearly collapsing on the spot.
"This can't be!" He howled in horror. And due to the brain's malady, his mechanical body was flung hundreds of meters away by a mere tentacle.
Cerebral infarction! He was actually exhibiting symptoms of cerebral infarction! And brain thrombosis! Plus a series of severe brain disease complications! What kind of joke is this! What kind of joke is this!!
He was utterly aghast.
And in the next moment, from the approaching Little, Lynne's voice emerged.
"As I suspected, Heart Eater, you haven't yet managed to exist solely as a will, independent of a physical entity, right? After all, you're not a true ghost. This mechanical body of yours is merely a shell to protect your brain. If you had used your real flesh and blood body, I might have been powerless against you. But your mistake lies in facing me with a mechanical armor!" Lynne, with eyes closed and expression serene, spoke.
Through the recent system feedback, Lynne had discerned the structure of this mechanical body. Beneath its complex mechanical architecture lay nothing more than a frail, fleshy brain. It's as if one scooped out his own brain and embedded it into a machine; no matter how strong the mechanical body, it cannot change the fragility of your brain.
His Random Diagnosis depended on his own mental strength and the target's physical robustness. The weaker the target's physique, the higher his success rate, and vice versa.
If Heart Eater had retained his former body, Lynne's chances of success would have been slim. But with this disembodied brain, the outcome was unsurprising.
Because without truly achieving a mechanical embodiment of will. The so-called mechanical body was nothing more than a deeper... Weapon!
"Little! His weakness is his head, it's up to you now!"
Lynne rose with a sly smile.
In an instant, Little like a rumbling heavy-duty truck, swept over, and its massive tentacles forcefully drove Heart Eater's mechanical head into the ground.
Boom—
Boom—
The sounds of heavy pounding echoed. And in Heart Eater's ears and before his eyes, warnings from the mechanical body kept coming.
"Warning... Visual transmission damaged... Auditory transmission damaged... Neural source signal weakening... Brain abnormalities worsening... Initiating emergency treatment immediately..."
"Warning... External cranial skeleton severely impacted... Brain abnormalities intensifying... Irreversible... Disease worsening..."
Cerebral infarction! Brain thrombosis! Parasites! Alzheimer's! Heart Eater could never have imagined that he would falter at such a moment!
A curse! That person must have used some kind of curse, bypassing his mechanical body and directly affecting his brain. He, who had never been sick, was suddenly afflicted with so many diseases!
"Transfer... Commence immediately... Consciousness transmission... Immediately..."
He endured the increasingly severe brain abnormalities with agony. He knew he had to initiate the second transfer immediately to save his own life! Otherwise, this diseased brain would become the source of his demise. If his consciousness dissipated within this brain, it would mean his complete death.
"Quick! Quick!" He fiercely struggled to maintain control.
"Locating... Fourth brain lock complete... Initiating emergency consciousness transfer..."
"Warning... Abnormal mental flow detected... Current concentration level 37... Please concentrate immediately... Transfer impossible without focus... Please concentrate immediately..."
Boom—
Boom—
The terrifying tentacles continued their relentless assault on his mechanical skull. With each strike, his mental concentration fluctuated wildly. He roared fiercely, struggling agonizingly and ferociously against the increasingly evident brain abnormalities. Gradually, however, he began to sense something odd about his psyche...
This strangeness soon manifested in his cognition. His mind intermittently stalled, and he suddenly found himself unable to remember what he was supposed to do. With each massive external blow, this phenomenon worsened.
Suddenly. his voice changed.
"Eiheihei, one plus one, two plus two, three plus three, heixiuxiu, let's frolic together~" He suddenly burst into a foolish grin, his voice sounding bizarre. "Continue the music, continue the dance~~ Heiyo heiyo~~ I'm a happy little slug~ I want to..."
Hum—
His consciousness abruptly experienced a brief void.
No! What was he doing just now?! The blurry scene from that moment of confusion instantly resurfaced in his mind. He shuddered all over, realizing something. Slowly, several terrifying words emerged in his mind.
Mental! Schizophrenia!
Finally, a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes.
No! This can't be happening!
"Transfer! Transfer now!!"
He screamed with all his might, his voice laden with hysteria.
"I can't die here! I am the President of the Demonfolk Association, I have to complete the Thunderous Plan... I still have to... wash and brush~~ Wash and brush!~ Hehehehe... Continue the music, continue the dance~~~ Hehehe~~"
He suddenly regained clarity.
"No, no!!"
He let out a horrified, long howl. And almost at the same time, the final countdown for the base's explosion sounded from the outside.
