Chapter 438

At 16: 2 PM, the temperature on Haiyan Island plummeted; the sky after the storm was gloomy.

In the urban area, violent and eerie creatures continuously emerged from sewers and buildings, surging toward Lin Xian and his team.

Gu Zheng's transformed long-bodied eerie creature was shattered by Lin Xian's fist, using the remnants of Xuanwu's body; the massive impact exploded with a thunderous roar, sending dust swirling and debris flying.

Three squads gathered around, all having just endured fierce combat—not only because the Shengcheng Organization members were formidable, but also because Mo Nika and Xiang Ningjing had been attacked by crystallized psychics after their transformation, which proved particularly troublesome.

As for Lin Xian's side, this transformed long-bodied eerie creature was terrifyingly powerful; even Kiki and Huo Ge, the two top combatants of Wuxianhao, couldn't suppress it—had Lin Xian not regained his normal consciousness at the critical moment, the thing would have escaped.

"How's it going? Did you get any useful information?" Kiki asked at this moment.

Xiang Ningjing shook her head, gazing down at the eerie creature reduced to bloody mist, and said gravely: "These people must have undergone some kind of training—they can actively trigger transformation, making them harder to deal with than ordinary psychics!"

"They don't seem like ordinary survivor groups—more like a religious sect," Qian Dele said now. "They're ruthless even toward their own."

"Could this be some kind of side effect of the crystallization?" Shu Qin asked.

"While we were retreating, we picked up some unusual activity," Mo Nika now said to Lin Xian. "They came from the direction of the orbital station. I felt something was off, so I wanted to intercept them before nightfall."

"Where did these guys even come from?" Huo Ge crossed his arms. "They sneaked up on the western district without a sound."

"The storm earlier was probably their doing."

Luo Yang, holding a mobile terminal, projected a holographic image: the strange device from before. "This thing is radioactive. I detected energy signatures matching Vanessa's bait agent on it—but I find it odd: if they intended to attack us, wouldn't they wait until after dark…?"

At this moment, Kiki looked at Lin Xian. Thanks to Shi Zhi's ability, his complexion had improved somewhat. He took a deep breath and interrupted the group's discussion.

"Because they can't fully shield this device, they release it during daylight to facilitate their retreat. Once the chain reaction forms, the markers on us will be nearly impossible to remove by nightfall," Lin Xian said, staring at the secondary markers already branded onto everyone by the eerie creatures. "The Shengcheng Organization came for us—but judging by this situation, their plan has already gone awry."

"Lin Xian," Kiki asked him, "what did you find?"

Lin Xian gasped for breath. Using the brain-machine interface was sheer madness—if Chu Yan were here, the problem would be far simpler. Without a mental psychic ability, Lin Xian had to risk using mycelial connections, which were highly unstable. Worse, Gu Zheng was on the edge of transformation; one misstep and he'd be fully assimilated. Fortunately, Shi Zhi was beside him, helping.

"Not good."

Lin Xian looked down at the swirling tide of eerie creatures approaching and said grimly: "The eerie creatures in the surrounding waters were indeed their doing. Now I'm worried the Garan Volcano and that forbidden object are also connected to the Shengcheng Organization. We're trapped on this island—our situation is dire."

"You mean all the anomalies on this island were pre-planned by them to target you?" Mo Nika frowned. "We left at a time even the Phoenix Society didn't know about. How did they find out?"

Lin Xian shook his head: "I don't know. This guy kept talking about a 'Master.' I suspect they've had long-standing contact with the Dark Civilization. My thoughts have been scanned by the Dark Dread, so I can't shake the feeling that that giant thing knew I was here."

"You think the Dark Civilization ordered the Descentists to assassinate you?!" Kiki's face darkened. "But… why use bait agents? And why did the Great Ocean God suddenly flee?"

"It didn't flee…"

Lin Xian looked up at the gloomy sky. "I feel it's either somewhere in the surrounding waters or in the upper atmosphere—but for some reason, it's suddenly gone silent."

"That's worse."

Qian Dele tore off his mask and spat. "The orbital ring is broken. Neither sky nor sea routes are open. Are we just going to die here?"

"Trapped?" Mo Nika replied coolly. "You're worrying too far ahead. Nightfall ahead of us is still an unknown."

"We found numerous giant flying eerie creatures along the eastern coast—by rough estimate, at least Special Grade," Xiang Ningjing synced her findings to Lin Xian. "And they're moving in swarms. If they encircle the island, we won't stand a chance."

"Ah! We saw plenty too—huge monsters!" Sha Sha groaned. "Why are they all converging here? What the hell did those bastards do?!"

"Team Leader Lin," Shu Qin spoke to Lin Xian.

At this moment, everyone turned their gaze toward him.

"There's a secret on this island," Lin Xian removed his power armor helmet and pressed his fingers to his brow, straining to capture the scattered fragments of consciousness.

In Gu Zheng's mind, there was an endless flood of Descentist-submissive thoughts and the madness of shattered human worldviews. He strained desperately to grasp something, but heard only a cacophony of distorted roars.

Among those fragments, the only useful thing he caught was a scene: a dim underground tunnel, filled with corpses and wastewater.

In a bright hall, hundreds stood in several solemn rows, and on the raised platform, a blurred figure seemed to be speaking; below, the crowd raised fists and cheered in unison…

Then came the muffled thunder of drums, gunshots, the deep, enclosed sound of water, and countless faces of eerie creatures.

The most profound image Lin Xian captured was a room filled with people. At the front sat a blue sphere—like a hologram or a physical object—emitting a faint blue glow. Staring into that blue light, he received countless three-dimensional scenes: someone speaking of a stance, a philosophy, a history…

How to solve poverty and hunger with synthetic food, how to abolish the five senses, gender, and pain, how to break biological reproductive barriers, allowing life to escape disease, merge consciousness, and ascend to higher forms of existence.

"No division, no lies, no pain. When biological beings lose sentience, humanity becomes a perfect lifeform—devoid of intellect, pain, and individual difference. Blue Star will become an ignorant 'Eternal Paradise,' where 'shared happiness' is achieved through mutual predation and neural fusion. Overly large bodies will split and reproduce."

"Civilizational evolution requires biological iteration and conscious awakening. Only a civilization without social structure or conflict can reach a higher social lifeform. All desires can be shared; all pain can be erased…"