Chapter 936: Condensed State

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the meeting room, Jing Tian stared stiffly at Chu An.

Usually gentle and mild, though simulated, Chu An still wore a smile, but now it made him feel unfamiliar.

"I... I'm not... I just..."

Not knowing how to answer, Chu An's sudden questioning struck straight at the heart, leaving him somewhat bewildered.

The two stood, locking eyes.

Chu An's expression faded, as if that unfamiliar cold demeanor were merely an illusion.

He raised his hand to stop his explanation, then calmly replied:

"No need to explain anything."

"It's normal for you, or you all, to have this thought."

"Lin An has performed outstandingly; our development during this period has indeed been smooth."

"Under lasting peace, having this illusion is also normal."

"But everything that happened today, I just want to tell you: this world has never known lasting peace, and the apocalypse knows no so-called tranquility."

"It's all just an illusion... we will die, we will all die."

Beneath the transparent lenses, a faint silver light reflected; it seemed the distant explosion was about to end.

"Think it over well, Jing Tian."

Chu An slowly turned his body, then looked straight ahead once more:

"What if Lin An doesn't first resolve the danger over there this time?"

"What if the incoming enemy is something even Lin An can't handle?"

"Who do we rely on? Do you rely on your hot-blooded zeal to go die? Or do you rely on holding back Lin An?"

"Tell me..."

"If the purpose of Long An's existence is like a superfluous appendage—everything requires Lin An to step in and solve, and any danger becomes a vital point that distracts his mind."

"Then what's the point of establishing Long An? We might as well destroy it."

Unable to refute, not even knowing how to answer.

Jing Tian silently clenched his fists, squeezing out a hoarse voice from his throat:

"It won't happen..."

"I won't hold back Lin Ge... I... am not afraid of death..."

"No way?!"

Whether it was an illusion or not, as soon as his words fell, Jing Tian heard Colonel Chu's voice, sounding somewhat cold, ring out:

"I know what you're thinking."

"Do you think that this time I could secretly kill Xuan Hai Cheng and his daughter, and next time let others die?"

"Do you think that even if people must be sacrificed, it should be said outright rather than done this way?"

Once again stunned, Jing Tian hadn't expected Chu An to speak so bluntly, so he could only nod silently.

That's right, that's exactly what he thought.

Chu An's style of conduct had been discussed many times in private by the squad members.

Although the outcome was good, not everyone could accept it.

Every time, everyone was kept in the dark.

Just like an amoeba worm instance, if Zhang Tie couldn't revive, the enraged Lin An would likely snap Chu An's neck on the spot.

Chu An shook his head slightly, turned his back, and spoke calmly:

"What you think is not wrong; I can understand that."

"But I'll tell you the truth."

"All of Long An, up and down, except for Lin An..."

"Anyone can die, anyone can be sacrificed."

"You can die, Gao Tian can die, Wen Ya can die, including me—if the plan calls for it, I will hesitate not to send us on our way!"

"This world needs sacrifice, needs someone to die..."

As he spoke, Chu An suddenly turned around, and the distant silver light likewise faded away slowly:

"You greatly underestimate this apocalypse..."

A series of question-like answers nearly left Jing Tian unable to speak, so his original indignation turned into mere bewilderment.

He didn't know what Chu An was really worried about.

The next second.

Chu An suddenly forced out a stiff, mechanical smile and patted his shoulder:

"All right, you'll understand later."

"However, Xuan Hai Cheng and his daughter may not be dead."

"If his conviction is strong enough..."

"Huh?!"

"What?!"

I don't know how many times he's been stunned, but Jing Tian felt his brain couldn't keep up, and he instinctively looked out the window at the battlefield.

The distance exceeded his observational limit; at this moment he could only see the corpse tide as if a chunk had been scooped out by a spoon, leaving a large blank space in the center.

At the bottom of the pit, beneath the ground melted by high-temperature plasma, a layer of dark green quartz filled the pit.

Above, a beam like ionized plasma coalescing gazed blankly at its own hands.

Electric currents surged; the humanoid form formed from plasma had its inner piercing currents constantly throbbing, as if heralding his shocked emotions.

Behind him was a patch of ashes with no discernible human shape, while in front of him a little girl had more than half her body burnt away.

"Dad... dad..."

"Xuan Hai Cheng!!"

Two voices, like the bewildered and shocked tone of a "light person," sounded simultaneously.

Carrying a bow and arrow, Gao Tian swallowed hard; if he hadn't recognized the blurry face on that humanoid plasma, he wouldn't have believed his own eyes.

"You're still... alive!!"

It was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

Gao Tian had no time to check the reward he got for killing the alien species.

Within three milliseconds after the spiritual energy nuclear bomb exploded, he seized the moment when the alien species was desperately resisting the blast and launched a full-force strike.

With ample lock-on, he instantly killed the alien species.

Of course, he actually didn't know whether he had successfully triggered annihilation; judging by the time, it seemed a bit insufficient.

But perhaps the damage had reached its limit—the dead alien species was nothing but a clump of ashes.

"I..."

A sound like an electromagnetic surge echoed from the figure's mouth:

"I don't know either..."

Xuan Hai Cheng stared in shock at his own hands, which were made of pure energy and held a terrifying power.

It was as if he had become a pure energy body.

What on earth have I become!!

The shock in his heart was indescribable.

He only remembered that to save his daughter, he directly triggered the self-sacrifice skill.

After offsetting the fatal damage, that spiritual energy nuclear bomb detonated inside his body.

But unexpectedly, the violent plasma devoured his body while simultaneously transmuting his flesh into energy form, so that he even absorbed the blast damage aimed at the red-clad figure entirely into himself.

The unfathomable nature of it almost made him think he was dreaming.

He swallowed dryly.

Gao Tian also didn't know how to explain all this, but after a quick glance at the surrounding zombies he had no time to think further.

He hurriedly contacted Wen Ya, asking him to... for the two of them...

No, perhaps he just needed to add a mental power barrier for himself.

"Go! Let's head back first and talk later!"

The greatest danger has been dealt with; the remaining zombies are just a matter of time.

All he wants now is to go back and find out what exactly happened here!

"My god... what the heck is this!!"

"This is a pure energy body!!"

"Unbelievable, how could this be done..."

Clamor, astonishment, shock.

Inside the command room, hundreds of researchers stared blankly at Xuan Hai Cheng, who had been brought back to the base.

As if they had expected it all along.

Unlike everyone else's shocked bewilderment, Chu An merely kept a calm face, gave a slight nod, as if simply satisfied with his experimental results.

"Chu An... what on earth is going on!!"

"I... what have I become!!"

Like an electric rebound, as the "victim," Xuan Hai Cheng lingered in his shock, unable to look away from Chu An, at a loss what to do.

"Nothing."

He gave a light smile, gently lifting his glasses frame.

"Bose-Einstein condensate."

"A special product of 'ball lightning'."