Chapter 772: A Twist of Fate

"So, what do you want to do? Kill me?"

Although his mood was complex, he still asked calmly.

So being too capable is also a fault...

Even though this Infiltration seemed to have the possibility of ending in failure, at least it could be considered to have yielded some harvest.

If push came to shove, he could directly wipe out this place and take the blueprints back to slowly ponder over.

However, the First Forerunner's next words made him somewhat stunned.

"I do not have the qualifications to handle you. But if you really have no issues, I hope you won't resist next. I will send you to the Leader. When the Leader returns, he will personally verify whether you have betrayed the organization."

The First Forerunner said slowly. Beside him, that eight-year-old little brat was itching to give it a try. It seemed as long as Li Yu showed the slightest intention of resisting, he would attack without hesitation.

Send me to the Leader?

Li Yu silently took back his thought of wiping out this place.

He didn't expect his goal to be achieved through such A Twist of Fate.

However, he still had one question.

"Since you suspected that I might have betrayed, why didn't you stop me from coming here?"

It was impossible for the First Forerunner to have only just started doubting him.

He definitely already had suspicions when he followed The Forerunners back.

Yet he still sat by and watched The Forerunners bring him back.

Could it be he wasn't afraid of this place being exposed?

"Actually, I was just starting to doubt whether you were really the Third Forerunner or not, so I had the Second Forerunner go verify." His expression was calm as he explained to his former colleague:

"Only after he confirmed you were the Third Forerunner did I have people bring you back."

"Otherwise, you couldn't possibly have arrived here."

It suddenly dawned on Li Yu. So the Second Forerunner was verifying his true identity.

"Regardless of whether you betrayed or not, the Star Glory Empire releasing you definitely means they are plotting something major." The First Forerunner continued:

"And during this period, your knowledge about the organization's affairs is close to nil. You are completely unable to determine whether this place is important or not."

"Which also means, even if you really betrayed the organization, before you confirm the importance of this place, it's impossible for you to pass the information here to the Star Glory Empire."

Ripples arose in Li Yu's eyes. Tsk tsk, this First Forerunner was not simple.

If the Third Forerunner had really betrayed, things would probably go exactly according to the other party's speculation.

He had already completely disconnected from The Forerunners and had absolutely no idea what this place was for.

What if this place wasn't important, yet he still passed the information out.

Even if Li Yu wiped out this place, it would make the other party lose an opportunity that could possibly track down The Forerunners' Headquarters.

Thinking of this, Li Yu's expression turned stern, saying: "I have a clear conscience. Let the Leader decide, he will prove everything."

An inexplicable meaning flowed in the First Forerunner's eyes. Then he had people put special equipment on him.

The Third Forerunner's abilities were special; he could regulate Information States. It wasn't a tangible Energized Supernatural Ability.

With the help of certain specific Weapons and equipment, he could also undergo Ascension, and his Strength would undergo another massive leap.

It was just that after being captured, those equipment were all confiscated by the Star Glory Empire.

He had, after all, grown up among The Forerunners, and The Forerunners also had corresponding countermeasures.

However, the imprisonment measures to suppress the Information State weren't quite suitable for Li Yu.

His entire person was locked inside a black stone coffin.

This stone coffin wasn't a mechanized technological device. A massive amount of Runes were engraved on it, seemingly utilizing another method to suppress the Third Forerunner's abilities.

Immediately after, the First Forerunner stepped forward and placed his palm on the stone coffin.

Accompanying the Runes on it gradually lighting up, Black Chains coiled around the coffin, completely sealing it away.

"Construct an Information State Passage and send him over," the First Forerunner ordered.

His subordinates acted swiftly. Passing through the Information State Passage, the black coffin transformed into a streak of golden Flowing Light and completely vanished from this place.

"Since he might have betrayed, then just directly kill him. Why go through so much trouble?" the Seventh Forerunner muttered.

The First Forerunner shook his head and said: "Even if he really betrayed, the Leader can still correct him. He is a top-tier combat power with endless potential; it would be too much of a pity to lose him."

The Seventh Forerunner curled his lips, thoroughly displaying his child-like temperament.

………

At the same time, in an unknown, silent room, light suddenly flared up. A black stone coffin wrapped in Chains abruptly appeared here, landing heavily on the ground with a clang.

All around were metal Cabin walls, and the lighting was very dim. Even though the sound of the stone coffin landing was very loud, no one came over to check.

About half a day later, a massive stream of red particles dissipated from the crevices of the black stone coffin, silently covering the entire room.

Then, the Runes on the surface of the black stone coffin suddenly lit up. The Chains trembled incessantly, and very soon, dense cracks surfaced.

Crack!

Accompanied by a clear shattering sound, the Runes dimmed, the Chains crumbled, the stone coffin opened, and Li Yu walked out from within.

The stream of red particles covered his entire body. In this state, most detection equipment couldn't discover him.

Then he restored the black stone coffin to its original state. Only after handling all this did he have the time to look around.

This place seemed like a certain Cabin in a large Base.

He looked at the metal LCD cover panel on the left side of the Blast Door. After opening it, inside was a massive amount of Data Interfaces and wiring.

"Claptrap, take down this Base," Li Yu ordered.

"Yes, Master."

The Motherbox flew out. Metal probes extended from its surface and inserted into the Data Interfaces.

The management system of this Base was isolated from the Interstellar Network, forming its own intranet.

The vast majority of organizations would also use this method to avoid cyberattacks, especially after the AI Catastrophe.

And for Claptrap, who had undergone multiple layers of enhancement, taking down the intelligent management system of this Base naturally wasn't difficult.

In less than ten minutes, the Blast Door before him opened straight away.

"Report the general situation of this Base." Li Yu frowned slightly. Claptrap was way too fast.

This was The Forerunners' Headquarters, for crying out loud. Even if it was breached from the inside, only holding out for ten minutes was too weak.

"Yes, Master..."

"This Base is named Forerunner, total area of 1,500 square kilometers..."

"How much?" Li Yu suspected he misheard.

"Total area of 1,500 square kilometers." Claptrap repeated once.

"1,500 square kilometers..." A sense of absurdity rose in Li Yu's heart.

This was way too small, drastically different from the Forerunner Headquarters he had imagined.

Such a small Base couldn't possibly serve as The Forerunners' Headquarters.

"Continue reporting..."

Li Yu didn't know what went wrong. Could The Forerunners' Leader be staying in such a small place?

"Management personnel--0..."

"No one is managing?" Li Yu's face darkened, and he simply said: "Forget it, stop reporting, just show me directly."

A Holographic Screen popped up before his eyes. A large amount of data refreshed. Li Yu frowned and studied it carefully.

Who knows how long passed before he raised his head. The expression on his face was hard to describe, and he couldn't help saying:

"There's not a single person in this place, nor is it a Research Base. There's no data or information in the management system at all. Where the hell did that guy send me?"

"However, such a massive amount of high-concentration Nutritious Substances are all being transported to that shadowed room. I want to see what the heck that thing is."

Interestingly, the management system of this Base didn't completely control the entire Base.

There was an area of shadow in the center of the Base that the intelligent management system couldn't reach; it was completely isolated and operated independently.

The management system here only ensured that a massive amount of Nutritious Substances could be transported into it, and had absolutely no other function.

The Database within only had normal System Logs.

Unimpeded along the way, Li Yu arrived at the center of the Base. Thick metal walls encased that room.

Thick metal pipes connected here, surging with countless high-concentration Nutritious Substances and Life Substances, all pouring into this room.

Li Yu didn't enter recklessly, or rather, he couldn't enter because this room had no main door.

However, this couldn't stump him either. He pressed his palm against the metal wall, the Reality Stone exerted its effect, and the thick metal wall gradually turned into transparent glass.

A thick, yellow-green liquid surfaced before his eyes, dense bubbles churning occasionally.

But what surprised Li Yu the most was that a person was unexpectedly suspended inside. To be precise, it wasn't a person, but a stone resembling a person.

The surface was rough, only allowing one to roughly make out a human's silhouette and organs.

It seemed no different from some ancient stone statues, perhaps even rougher than them.

Only, it was this thing that was Devouring massive amounts of Nutritious Substances and Life Substances.

Even though there were over sixteen metal pipes injecting Life Substances and Nutritious Substances at a rate exceeding a hundred liters per second.

The liquid level in the room hadn't even reached half its height.

"What is this thing?" Li Yu frowned. He couldn't sense any Life Aura from it.

But all the evidence indicated that this was indeed a lifeform.

He suddenly thought of what the First Forerunner had said again, and his gaze couldn't help becoming strange.

This thing couldn't be The Forerunners' Leader, right?

A piece of stone?

"Who cares what it is, I'll go in and take a look first."

Li Yu pondered for a moment, directly carrying the Titan Giant Axe, then activated his Full Flourishing Battle Form, used the Reality Stone to open a passage, and walked straight in.

He went straight to the humanoid stone, first recorded various data, then touched it left and right. No matter how he looked at it, this thing seemed like an ordinary piece of stone.

"Forget it, let me hack it with the axe first." Li Yu's way of doing things was simple and brutal.

His eyes slightly condensed, raising the Titan Giant Axe. On the Infinity Gauntlet, four gems flickered with radiance, and a terrifying Aura was confined here.

Although Bloodsoaked War hadn't been stacked for a long time, and he hadn't utilized the Eternal Core to fuse with the Transformers, so it wasn't truly full flourishing.

But the Strength he unleashed couldn't be underestimated either. The most crucial thing was the lethality of the Titan Giant Axe, this was solid.

Clang!

A streak of purple radiance swept across the axe blade. The power didn't leak out in the slightest, solidly hacking onto this humanoid stone.

However, something that astonished Li Yu happened.

This seemingly ordinary humanoid stone block, under the power of the Titan Giant Axe, unexpectedly didn't have the slightest damage.

Not exactly...

Li Yu lifted the axe and looked closely. There were indeed some cracks where the axe blade landed, but they were too minute; one almost couldn't see them at all without looking closely.

It wasn't split in two like he imagined.

"So hard..." Li Yu frowned. The result of this test exceeded his expectations.

He put away the Titan Giant Axe, and also attempted to embed it into the Symbiotic Colonization Armor. Unfortunately... he couldn't do that either.

"This thing couldn't really be The Forerunners' Leader, right..." Li Yu circled around the stone. He had used all sorts of methods but couldn't put it away.

Even simple movements were extremely difficult; its weight exceeded imagination.

"But didn't that guy say The Forerunners' Leader had entered the Barren Universe Zone?" Li Yu muttered inwardly.

In the very next moment, his expression shifted slightly. He only felt a terrifying Aura that made him palpitate suddenly erupt from the humanoid stone before him.

"It's alive?"

He didn't hesitate in the slightest, turning directly to leave this place, breaking through the Base walls and arriving in the Starry Sky.

Something whose Corporeal Form could forcefully resist the Titan Giant Axe, he had no interest in fighting with it.

Only, the Aura behind him suddenly began to weaken again, and very soon disappeared once more.

"Hmm? Something went wrong?"

Li Yu's expression was hesitant. He glanced at his inventory, suddenly gaining some confidence, and cautiously returned to that Base again.

Arriving at that room again, he found that humanoid stone had already restored its calm, seemingly that powerful Aura from just now had nothing to do with it.

A special lifeform that suffered severe injuries?

Or...

Many speculations flashed through Li Yu's mind for a moment, but undoubtedly, this was definitely a great secret of The Forerunners.

Judging from the intensity of the Aura that just erupted, it was at least a Super Lifeform, and its Corporeal Form strength was even more astonishing.

"No matter how I look at it, it seems you've run into a huge problem. If I don't cause some trouble for you, it would really be a waste of the time spent on this trip."

Li Yu pondered inwardly, and took out a test tube from the System Space, the green liquid inside churning incessantly.

[Special Item - Joker's Chemical Agent: Possesses the ability to corrupt Spiritual Bodies and give birth to a second personality. It only takes effect when immersed within it.]

Opening the stopper, the green liquid seeped into the Nutritious Substances.

Li Yu didn't forget to isolate himself. He didn't want a second personality to be born to play with him.

In an instant, the liquid in the entire room turned into a churning, bright green liquid, and was absorbed by the humanoid stone at a visible rate.

(End of this chapter)