Chapter 978: Fragments Become Real

Zhang Tie!!

A clear hey!

Lin An suddenly released a faint psychic power, stabbing at the dazed Zhang Tie.

His whole body jolted; Xiong Hanzi, who had been right behind Lin An, felt as if struck on the head and instantly came to his senses.

Ah?!

What's wrong?! Lin Dui?!

Confused, at a loss.

Meeting Lin An's gaze, he was momentarily at a loss, standing there dumbfounded.

Just as he followed that gaze down to his own abdomen, he suddenly seemed to think of something, looking at his left hand covering his belly.

Holy shit.

Instinctive reaction.

He then realized his stomach felt like an overturned river, waves of hunger gnawing at his mind.

Hungry, so hungry.

He instinctively tried to cover his stomach with his hand, as if that could lessen the hunger.

What's happening to me...?!

His eyes widened to ovals, his whole body trembling.

Even if his reaction was slow, he realized he might have been affected.

Recalling the first Human-Insect he'd seen, he felt a chill run through his body.

Lin Dui... I...?!

No time to ask.

Seeing Lin An's expression shift, under his hyper-effective thought he quickly replayed the memory fragments from when he entered the city.

Zhang Tie, when did he start showing signs of hunger?

0.1 seconds later, a mental image etched by psychic power appeared in his mind.

Lin An's heart sank.

In the image, Zhang Tie, upon entering the city, instinctively covered his stomach and followed behind, looking around.

Almost no thought needed.

Lin An immediately realized that the contagion source he'd guessed likely covered the whole city.

Only, the closer to the center, the more obvious the effect.

Quickly observing himself, Lin An suppressed his unease, constantly checking for any abnormality.

Nothing, nothing at all.

Everything normal.

Whether or not it's related to psychic power, his spiritual energy functions normally, and his thoughts have no extra intrusions.

At the same time, he anxiously glanced at Mo Ling.

If he's fine, it might be due to a higher will attribute—what about Mo Ling?

Reacting extremely fast, locking eyes, little Mo Ling almost without his prompting instantly realized she might also be affected.

Just a moment later, Mo Ling shook her head, signaling to Lin An that she was fine.

Lin An, I'm not hungry...

I feel nothing at all.

Having confirmed she was fine, little Mo Ling also felt puzzled for a moment.

Zhang Tie's attributes are far higher than hers; even his will attribute crushes hers by several grades.

After all, though they aren't the same kind of power system, their rank is what it is.

Lin An being fine was expected; Zhang Tie having trouble while she was fine...

If anything's wrong, maybe she just wants to get closer to Lin An?

After confirming Mo Ling was also fine, Lin An's eyes flashed with doubt as well.

Is Zhang Tie affected because this guy loves to eat?

Thinking of that flock of extremely fast falcons, in an instant a vague guess popped into his mind.

Zhang Tie! Take Mo Ling up into the air, then retreat to the city's edge!

I'll go myself!

Lin An gave the order, then handed Mo Ling to Xiong Hanzi after speaking.

Although Mo Ling appears unaffected, he can't gamble that she's definitely fine.

The closer the distance, the greater the effect.

If Zhang Tie stays in this condition and follows him, something bad is likely to happen.

Lin Dui! What's this?!

He opened his mouth, a flicker of anxiety crossing Zhang Tie's face, as if wanting to dissuade something.

But he also knew that, given his affected state, following Lin An would be a burden.

There's nothing to be done; although his strength is strong, when faced with strange events he can't easily exert his ability.

Lin Dui! Be careful!

Time is precious; after a moment, Zhang Tie gave Lin An a solemn last look, then scooped up Mo Ling and left.

Nothing to be sentimental about.

Having fought side by side for so long, he believes Lin An will surely solve the problem!

Really a problem now; at worst I'll rush in with Mo Ling and rescue Lin Dui.

He nodded, Lin An turned and left directly, heading straight for the rocket statue.

On the ground, a chorus of hisses rose, echoing like pursuit, continuously sounding through the city.

"Hunger..."

"Hunger ah ah!!"

On the ground, a large swarm of insects followed.

The Human-Insects, wriggling like maggots, turned into a pale white carpet, surging along the spirit-energy trail left by Lin An.

I don't know if they can discern the deliciousness of food.

In these monsters' eyes, Lin An charging toward the rocket looked like an energy mass, deeply attracting them.

"Hunger!!"

"Hunger!!"

The distance isn't too great.

Ignoring the Human-Insects on the ground trying to attack him, Lin An raised multiple layers of psychic shield and flew forward at high speed.

Although I'm not sure if the psychic shield works against the infection source, more layers are always better.

He crossed the central city district.

The firelight in the distance had not yet spread, and half the night sky looked somewhat eerie in the rising red glow.

As the distance closed, Lin An suddenly felt a series of invisible, faint ripples sweeping over his body as he approached.

Upon careful perception, the source of those ripples was precisely the central rocket.

Indeed, my judgment was correct!

Is it some kind of emission source, or something infectious with memetic properties?

Unlike the undetectable ripples from farther away, he could now clearly feel them; as they passed through his body, they turned into incomprehensible whispers.

Just...

He felt no discomfort at all, as if these ripples could not affect him.

3200 meters!

2800 meters!

1900 meters!

At supersonic speed, the rocket statue drew ever closer.

Just by sight, Lin An could clearly see the rocket's body.

In another direction, or perhaps inside the rocket?

He quickly observed the rocket's structure, and a thought arose.

In an instant, a system prompt suddenly sounded in his ear:

"Beep, area meme triggered. Forced to accept A-rank mission: Dream."

"Mission difficulty: A-rank (danger-??)."

"Mission time: unlimited."

"Mission objective: Destroy the meme source."

"Mission reward: Obtain one rankless special skill, randomly drawn."

Huh!?

Uncommonly, Lin An glanced at the mission panel, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Having not taken a mission in a long time, he had almost forgotten the system would issue missions.

Just like when he encountered the meme doll, the system always forces such missions, giving no room to refuse.

However, he also had no intention of giving up.

Meme, danger-??, one skill reward?

After a flash of strange color in his eyes, Lin An stopped thinking about it.

So it's a meme, huh?

Just the two characters "Dream" in the meme's name made him feel a bit odd for a moment.

No time to think further.

Rushing forward, seeing the rocket less than a hundred meters ahead, Lin An rapidly spread his psychic power, trying to locate the most likely infection point nearby.

0.1 seconds later, a source of abnormal fluctuation appeared in his perception.

Right... inside the rocket!

Just as he was about to slash open the statue's shell with a sword, the Second Will suddenly popped up in Thought Space, speaking as a reminder:

"(Lin An, shake off the bugs behind you first, maybe it would be better…)"

Lin An's hand paused at the sound; although the sudden appearance of the Second Will surprised him, under hyper‑efficient thought he instantly grasped its meaning.

Indeed.

The closer the fluctuation, the stronger it gets; those bugs following me might cause some mishap.

Making a detour to increase distance might be better.

But just as he stopped his attack and prepared to turn right, a system prompt suddenly sounded again:

"Beep, area meme triggered. Forced to accept A-rank mission: Dream."

The same information repeated.

In Thought Space, the Second Will shuddered violently, a rare look of bewilderment appearing in its eyes.

The reason is none other than that.

That system prompt was actually meant for him.

Furthermore, after the information was released, the system seemed to briefly stall.

A cold tone, the final prompt, suddenly rang out in the Thought Space:

"Beep, multiple task takers detected—difficulty increased!"

In an instant, the source of fluctuation in Lin An's perception erupted like a supernova, bursting with violent fluctuations.

Ripples swept across.

Inside the Thought Space, both froze in place.

Fragments drifting in Memory suddenly flashed.

At the city's edge, Xiong Hanzi, carrying Mo Ling, looked worried, his gaze continually turning toward where the firelight spread.

Ten minutes have passed... Lin An still has no word.

It's as if he vanished.

Just as he could no longer hold back, wanting to do something.

In his sight, a figure suddenly appeared on the distant rocket statue.

"Lin Dui!?"

He was overjoyed.

Seeing that utterly normal figure, Zhang Tie's heart eased.

But the next second, the scene before him suddenly left him stunned.

One... two... three...

Only see, as if they were clones.

Above the city's center, various forms of Lin An appeared one after another.