Chapter 989: Breakthrough Hypothesis

While the two Death Spirit Sovereigns fought, oblivious to themselves, Lin An searched the ground like a hidden fish, darting swiftly through the central pit, straining to find any trace of the Meme.

The emanating spiritual power probed inch by inch, attempting to locate the source of the Meme.

As past experience shows, any Meme always has a carrier.

Although he had little confidence in destroying the source, he still had to try.

The central pit's range was vast; the originally towering metal astronaut statue had already been largely destroyed in the battle.

Under the high-temperature, high-pressure aftermath of the battle, the huge statue was directly melted into molten iron, which then poured into the pit with the bombardment.

At a glance, except for a half‑metal piece resembling a foot at the bottom that barely retained its original shape, the rest of the statue had cooled into a layer of metal, solidified at the pit's base.

Where... exactly?

Although the pit is deep, its actual scope is not large for Lin An.

In just a few breaths he could search the entire perimeter.

But unlike what he imagined, the previously vague source he could sense now seemed to have vanished; no matter how he exerted his spiritual power to search, he could not pinpoint its exact location.

("It should be that the Meme is no longer spreading, but has been concentrated and 'absorbed'.")

("Just like a transmitted signal, the range has shrunk, making it naturally hard to find.")

After glancing at the two Death Spirit Sovereigns locked in a stalemate overhead, Second Will quickly gave its judgment.

Lin An nodded slightly, a hint of anxiety unavoidably appearing in his eyes.

In this situation, whether finding the source or destroying the Meme, both require time.

Now it appears that the Death Spirit Sovereign spawned from the Ghost Infant is continually drawing power from Mo Ling.

It doesn't take much thought to realize that if Mo Ling is completely absorbed, the consequences will be catastrophic.

Even the thought of a fully manifested Death Spirit Sovereign, bolstered by the Meme, is terrifying enough.

"Find the source, then attack it, and help Mo Ling devour the other Death Spirit Sovereign?"

With too little information and vague clues, Lin An could only, based on Chu An's fragmentary words, barely find a method that seemed like a breakthrough.

There are too many problems.

After suppressing his thoughts, Lin An continued with a new round of searching.

From a high vantage, the battlefield's center now appeared to have fallen into a brief 'peace'.

In the search process, Lin An unexpectedly found a Human-Insect that was much smaller and half‑dead, struggling to crawl out of the ruins.

"Hungry..."

"Hungry...!!"

Compared to the earlier roars of hundreds or thousands of Human-Insects, the sole remaining one seemed truly like a worm on the verge of starving to death.

With the Death Spirit Sovereign having 'absorbed' most of the Meme's power, not only had Lin An escaped his predicament, but this Human‑Insect, originally empowered by the Meme, had completely lost its former aberrant regenerative ability—it now looked no different from an ordinary monster.

"Whoosh!"

Seeing this, Lin An's brow twitched; he delivered a clean, swift sword strike, and the grim blade instantly cut the Human‑Insect in two without hindrance.

And the situation was the same as what Lin An and the other had judged.

Without Meme support, this originally formidable Human‑Insect had no absorptive ability whatsoever; a single sword strike crushed it, and it no longer retained its former aberrant trait of absorbing energy.

The severed worm‑body twitched for a moment, then ceased all movement.

Blood flowed neatly from the wound, dead beyond any possibility of revival.

Staring at the thoroughly dead Human‑Insect, Lin An felt for a moment that it was somewhat absurd.

No one expected that, in this sudden compulsory mission, the real trouble wasn't the Human‑Insects but rather him and Mo Ling...

Linjiang Yiyuan.

Lying back on the hospital bed, waves of piercing pain came from every part of his body.

For a moment, Mo Ling couldn't help but let out a soft groan of pain.

She barely opened her eyes.

Looking at the unfamiliar ward, her body wrapped in bandages like a zongzi, she couldn't help but give a bitter laugh.

Did I not die...? I actually got rescued back here...

"You're awake?"

By the bedside, a middle‑aged doctor holding a medical chart noticed Mo Ling's voice and, hearing it, rejoiced.

He hurriedly glanced at the nearby monitor.

Seeing Mo Ling seeming to want to sit up, he repeatedly raised his hand to stop her:

"Don't move yet; your skin is severely burned all over, and even a little carelessness could cause the wound to become infected."

"Is it very painful?"

"It's truly a miracle... in your condition I had thought..."

After a brief pause, the doctor instinctively held back his exclamation; out of professional duty, he changed the topic and began to admonish solemnly:

"Endure it; absolutely do not touch the skin with your hands."

"Your skin is severely burned all over, and your respiratory tract is also problematic; if the wound ruptures, it can easily lead to massive bleeding."

While repeating the warning, the doctor pressed the nurse call button, preparing to say more.

Looking at the little girl wrapped up like a zongzi, a flicker of pity involuntarily appeared in his eyes.

What a pity...

So young and already burned like this; even if luck sees her through the postoperative infection, her future path is destined to be arduous.

Having seen Mo Ling's earlier photos, just imagining the charred flesh beneath the bandages made him feel somewhat pitiful.

On the hospital bed, Mo Ling neither nodded nor shook her head, resembling a corpse lying on the bed, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

She naturally understood the meaning the doctor was trying to conceal.

However, the future...

It doesn't matter anymore; there was originally nothing in this world worth her lingering over.

A few minutes later, a sudden rush of footsteps came from outside the ward.

"Sister!"

The voice was childish, with a crying tone.

Only saw a little girl followed by a plainclothes man push open the door and walk straight in.

Mo Ling, hearing the voice, instinctively moved her eyeballs; with her blurry vision, she barely made out who had come.

"Mo Yu...?"

The voice was weak.

Only when facing her own younger sister did Mo Ling's emotions fluctuate slightly.

Just looking at the man following behind Mo Yu, she subconsciously seemed to realize something.

As expected.

The plainclothes man at the back gave Mo Ling on the bed a somewhat complex look; after a moment, he solemnly nodded:

"Hello, Mo Ling."

"I am Officer Chen of the investigation team."

"Although it's not really good to talk to you under these circumstances, but duty calls, I hope you can cooperate with us."

Beside Officer Chen, Mo Yu's body trembled, her eyes filled with unstoppable worry.

She instinctively glanced at her sister, then looked at the officer beside her.

Only saw the investigation team's officer flash his credentials, then without hesitation strode over:

"It's like this: we found an adult male corpse inside the fire scene."

"Although the corpse was burned, the forensic examination revealed that the victim had obvious knife wounds while alive."

"Miss Mo Ling, as someone who was present at the same time, did you see anything then?"

The tone was solemn.

The man stared intently at Mo Ling; after learning most of her information, although he felt somewhat pity for this girl in his heart, duty compelled him to do so.

Especially the forensic data showed up to thirteen knife wounds on the victim's body, indicating that the perpetrator had no intention of leaving any survivors.

Each cut was deep enough to see bone, and after death they set fire to burn the corpse.

It's hard to imagine that such a cruel and decisive method would come from this girl before us...

Arson and murder..

Although the questioning was phrased as a question, the tone's lack of doubt already showed they knew the fact.

Facing the man's questioning, Mo Ling merely responded in silence.

After a moment, just as the officer grew impatient and was about to intensify his tone to question again.

In the hallway, a sudden clamor of noisy chatter erupted.

"What are you doing!?"

"Hurry! Hurry, catch him!"

"Security! Where is security!?"

"Ahhh!! Quickly catch that madman, he's biting people!"

"What's going on!?"

Screams and shouts, the entire hospital instantly descended into chaos.

Those piercing wails seemed to come from hell, making listeners' scalps go numb.

Inside the ward, the man standing where he was also couldn't bother to ask further; instinctively he wanted to rush out of the ward to check the situation, striding toward the door.

Just as he pushed the door open to investigate, the next second a pair of scarlet eyes burst open the ward door.

That mouth, split to the limit and dripping with blood, fiercely bit toward his neck.

"Ahhh!!!"

Flesh tore away, exposing the trachea.

At the same time, a cold, mocking voice instantly echoed in the minds of nearly hundreds of billions of people worldwide:

"Apocalypse descends, the game begins!"

"Welcome to the Doomsday Game, you little bugs."

"Struggle to survive in this game!"

"Found it!"

In a hundred-meter-deep pit, Lin An's expression jolted, a flash of joy crossing his face.

After his repeated searching, he finally found traces of the meme's source.

Only saw, beneath layers of rubble, an astronaut toy like a toy model, lying quietly amidst the debris.

To remain intact in this scene, no need to think, it must be the meme's carrier!

Especially with his utmost perception, Lin An could clearly sense a faint undulation extending like a thread toward the sky, like a marionette controlling the two undead lords in the air.

Found the source, next step...

After a brief pause, Lin An and the Second Will exchanged glances; neither chose the next action.

Should we directly destroy the meme, or what should we do?

A difficult problem lay before them.

Both were unsure whether the meme could be destroyed, nor whether an attack would cause the meme to lose control, thereby being completely dominated by a chaotic meme.

However, in the hesitation, Lin An noticed that the undead lord resembling Mo Ling had already been absorbed considerably by the other lord.

No time left..

His heart skipped a beat; one second later, a fierce gleam flashed in Lin An's eyes, and without hesitation he slashed at that figure.

The main target of the Meme's infection is the undead lord formed from the ghost infant.

If, as Chu An said, my guess is correct, wanting Mo Ling to devour the opponent, the urgent priority is at least to weaken the ghost infant's power.

If we drag this on, the situation will only get worse.

Whether Mo Ling is completely absorbed, or another undead lord is fully formed, he cannot accept either outcome.

In that case, might as well give it a go!

In an instant, after simultaneously activating Uninterrupted and Demonic Form, a dark red sword shadow emanating strong spiritual energy suddenly formed, and with lightning speed it fiercely slashed onto the figure.

"Whoosh!"

The air seemed to be torn apart, accompanied by a huge sonic boom, and the deep pit where the figure was located was instantly shaved off more than half.

A sword capable of killing a third-rank opponent, upon contacting the astronaut model, instantly seemed to sink into water as a blue light shield absorbed most of the attack; the model itself appeared unharmed.

At the same time, through the rising smoke and dust, Lin An's eyes narrowed slightly.

Although his full-force strike seemed to have done no damage to the model, in the True Eye a tiny crack secretly appeared on the helmet.

Useful!

He felt delighted.

Just as he was about to attack again without hesitation,

In midair, the undead lord devouring Mo Ling, seemingly frozen in place, seemed to sense something.

Only to see the huge black shadow suddenly turn, and under the Meme's control, it swiftly lunged at Lin An.

("Lin An! Blink!")

within seconds

The ever-vigilant Second Will let out a harsh shout, directly urging Lin An to dodge.

In the shared perception, he could clearly feel that the attacking undead lord's strike was a ripple attack extremely similar to Withering.

True damage, the Uninterrupted state cannot block it!

Reacting extremely quickly, Lin An likewise, upon noticing this, frenziedly circulated his spiritual energy, and his domain opened directly.

In an instant, as a white light burst forth, his figure suddenly appeared a hundred meters away.

"Boom!!"

Pale white, the giant hand exuding strong deathly aura had not yet arrived, but the ripple had already spanned space, directly smashing the spot where Lin An had just stood.

Only to see, as the ripple missed, the original deep pit seemed to have been swallowed out of nowhere, instantly shrinking by more than half.

Watching the undead lord's such attack method, Lin An's heart couldn't help but jolt.

A casual strike, is it equivalent to an enhanced version of my Withering skill...?

Blink again!

In a brief moment, Lin An quickly dissected the battle information, trying to find the optimal combat strategy.

Dodge the attack, and during this time keep attacking the Meme.

After a few more times, perhaps we can resolve the current situation.

However, just as Lin An was about to Blink again, another undead lord whose attack had missed suddenly halted, its huge crimson eyes fixed firmly on him.

Simultaneous Blink!

Only to see that, just as Lin An realized something was wrong, after Blinking to another spot, the undead lord that had been merely flying swiftly, after a brief feint, instantly appeared behind him.

The giant hand, mixed with boundless deathly aura, lunged at him like Mount Tai pressing down.

Time seemed to stand still.

Darkness descended.

In an instant, a sharp pain came from Lin An's Safety.

Within the Thought Space, Second Will's expression turned grim.

Even he hadn't expected that the undead lord born from the ghost infant also possessed Mo Ling's spatial ability.

"Creak-"

"Creak"

No escape possible.

Within the giant hand, Lin An, who had activated Uninterrupted, was like a golden ball of light, the talent radiance representing the 'Invincible' effect, being compressed inch by inch.

Waves of immense force and corrosive effects frenziedly flooded the battle data.

The damage was so high it was shocking.

"Ding, took 1999 points of physical crushing damage.."

"Ding, took 1790 points of physical crushing damage.."

"Ding, took 2200 points of deathly power damage..."

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

White light flashed.

One person and one monster, like shifting shapes and changing shadows, continuously Blinked across various coordinates.

Lin An's heart sank.

No matter how he Blinked, the undead lord tightly gripping him seemed like a bone‑eating worm, almost synchronously Blinking with him.

Basically... he couldn't escape at all..

Spiritual energy was rapidly depleted.

Under the immense, suffocating pressure, Lin An let out a bitter laugh.

Faced with the undead lord under Meme's control, he helplessly realized he could not possibly defeat it.

Could it be... that I should actively use mutation?

At the same time, in mid-air, another undead lord, after losing the ghost infant's absorption, its originally dull eyes suddenly twitched.

Instinctively, it gazed at Lin An.