Chapter 217: New World

"They have mastered the technology to combine the human body with Void power." Qin Tianluo turned off the projection. "This is the situation we are most worried about—the Void Cyborg Project."

Lin Yu stared at the black screen, which reflected his own face and the dark golden scar on his chest—wasn't he also a kind of "Void Cyborg"? The black energy within his body reminded him of his connection to the Void at all times.

Just after the meeting, Lin Yu returned to the temporary lounge. The room adopted a modern minimalist style, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the city's brilliant night view. When he picked up the teacup, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

The screen showed an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Lin Yu, I need your help..." A familiar yet weak voice came from the other end of the phone.

Lin Yu gripped the phone tightly, his breathing almost stopping.

"Master?"

This was impossible, Yan Nanshan had clearly died, he had watched his heart being dug out with his own eyes, and his flesh and blood turned to ashes!

"Don't believe anything you see," Yan Nanshan's voice was intermittent, "the Void Monarch... is far from the end... behind it there is still..."

The communication was suddenly interrupted. Lin Yu immediately called back, but it prompted that the number did not exist. He rushed to the monitoring center and demanded to track the call just now.

"The signal originated from a research station in the Arctic Circle," the technician said in confusion, "but it was reported as abandoned three months ago."

Lin Yu gripped the Tianyuan Sword, the sword body emitting a faint light, as if responding to his confusion. Arctic Circle, abandoned research station, resurrected master. All this pointed to a truth he had to face—the chaos was far more complex than he had imagined.

Humanity thought they had defeated the Void, but they didn't know another crisis was brewing.

Lin Yu stared at the phone screen, repeatedly confirming the number that no longer existed. Arctic Circle research station? Abandoned for three months? Too many doubts made him unable to ignore it.

"Uncle Lin, are you okay?" Xuanyuan Qing pushed the door and entered, holding a tablet showing the latest monitoring data.

"Qing, help me check the abandoned research stations in the Arctic Circle." Lin Yu put the Tianyuan Sword into the back scabbard. "Especially those abandoned three months ago."

Xuanyuan Qing quickly operated the tablet and looked up after a few seconds: "Only one place meets the conditions—'Aurora Station,' originally an international meteorological research base, all personnel evacuated three months ago due to equipment failure."

Lin Yu thought for a moment: "I need to go there."

"No!" Xuanyuan Qing opposed urgently. "It's too dangerous! Satellites show Void energy fluctuations in the surrounding area."

Lin Yu patted her shoulder: "I must go, Yan Nanshan might still be alive."

"Yan Nanshan?" Xuanyuan Qing was shocked. "But you saw him with your own eyes..."

"I'm not sure either." Lin Yu picked up his combat backpack. "But this is the only clue."

Night fell, and Lin Yu left the headquarters alone in a small stealth aircraft. The latest product of Destiny Technology, fusing ancient runes with modern technology, could avoid most radar detection.

During the flight, Lin Yu recalled Yan Nanshan's final words—"The Void Monarch is far from the end, behind it there is still..." Behind it there is still what? An existence even more terrifying than the Void Monarch?

Six hours later, the aircraft landed on a barren ice sheet in the Arctic Circle. The aurora danced in the sky, dyeing the earth a strange green. In the distance, a metal building half-hidden in the snow was faintly visible.

Lin Yu put on his cold-proof suit, carried the Tianyuan Sword on his back, and approached the research station cautiously. The exterior of the building appeared abandoned, but a faint current sound came from within.

The gate was locked, and Lin Yu tried to enter several sets of passwords without success. Just as he was about to break the door, the communicator suddenly rang: "The password is your date of birth, in reverse."

Lin Yu was tense all over, this voice was indeed Yan Nanshan, but it was slightly different. He hesitated for a moment and entered the numbers. The gate opened in response.

The interior lighting was dim, and there were rows of laboratories on both sides of the corridor. Lin Yu moved forward vigilantly, silver needles already in his hands.

"The room at the very end." The communicator rang again.

Lin Yu pushed open the last door, and a familiar figure stood in the center of the room—Yan Nanshan! But it wasn't entirely him—half of his face presented a strange metallic texture, and his right eye flickered with mechanical light.

"Master?" Lin Yu couldn't believe it.

"Not entirely." Yan Nanshan smiled bitterly. "This is just a part of my consciousness, preserved through special technology."

"The betrayal back then..."

"All part of the plan." Yan Nanshan walked closer, his mechanical right hand emitting a slight hum. "I needed to get close to the Void Monarch to find its true weakness."

Lin Yu examined this half-human, half-mechanical "Master": "Why contact me now?"

"Because the real crisis has just begun." Yan Nanshan pressed a button on the wall, and a screen lit up, showing Void activity points all over the world. "The true leader behind the New Origin Society is Yan Xiao."

"Yan Xiao?" Lin Yu recalled the man who had served as a high-level official in the Tongtian Pavilion.

"He has reached an agreement with the Void Monarch to become the spokesperson for Void power in the human world." Yan Nanshan's voice was low. "What's even more terrifying is that they are searching for people with special bloodlines around the world to conduct Void transformation experiments."

Yan Nanshan led Lin Yu through a hidden door into the underground laboratory. In the transparent isolation capsules, several people of different shapes were lying quietly—some had arms turned into tentacles, some had scales covering their skin, and others had completely pitch-black eyes.

"These are failed experiments of the New Origin Society, saved by me after being abandoned." Yan Nanshan explained. "They were injected with Void energy, some mutated, some gained special abilities."

Lin Yu walked into an isolation capsule, where a girl whose hands could release electricity was tossing and turning uneasily in her sleep.

"This is just the beginning." Yan Nanshan took out a document. "The New Origin Society's 'Heavenly Ladder Project'—a month later, during another Nine Stars Alignment, they will use an improved Void engine to forcibly stabilize the Heavenly Ladder channel and let the Void Monarch's consciousness possess Yan Xiao."

Lin Yu flipped through the document, his heart sinking to the bottom: "We must act immediately."

"I have a plan." Yan Nanshan approached, his voice almost becoming a whisper. "We need an inside agent. You pretend to be controlled by Void power and infiltrate the New Origin Society."

"Will they believe it?"

"They will, if you bring enough sincerity." Yan Nanshan pointed to Lin Yu's chest. "The Void power within you has already manifested, plus one important item—Xuanyuan Qing's Soul-Absorbing Bell."

Lin Yu took half a step back: "You want me to betray Qing?"

"This is the only way." Yan Nanshan pressed closer. "Without an inside agent, we cannot stop the Heavenly Ladder Project."

Lin Yu fell into deep thought. Betray a friend? Or risk the plan failing?

Just at this moment, Yan Nanshan's figure suddenly twisted, a strange black light flashing in his eyes: "Time is running out, Lin Yu, make your choice..."

Lin Yu became alert instantly, his fingers moving slightly, and three silver needles were already in his hand. Is this really Yan Nanshan? That black light that flashed by was clearly a characteristic of Void energy!

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Yu asked coldly, golden True Qi and black energy surging within his body simultaneously, and the Tianyuan Sword emitting a slight resonance.

Yan Nanshan—or rather, this existence claiming to be Yan Nanshan—revealed a smile that was difficult to interpret: "Smart child, you finally asked the right question..." ===== CHAPTER 218 =====