Chapter 247: Revoked Access Rights and Void Backlash

Xiang Lingna’s voice was not loud, yet it carried the weight of the entire Ark and an ancient authority, echoing clearly through the chaotic control room. No longer the crisp tone of a girl, it was a strange, pure, profound, and inhumanly divine timbre—calm and unruffled, yet brimming with undeniable resolve.

In the instant her words fell, invisible ripples spread outward from Lingna.

The armor of dark red and jet-black energy swirling around the Doctor’s body rippled and warped violently, like a reflection shattered by a stone! The dark red energy representing “Hunger” emitted a piercing, skin-stripping shriek, thrashing wildly but to no avail; the deeper, more terrifying void-black energy manifested an icy, ultimate rage—as if its dignity had been insulted by an inferior being—and turned even more viciously against its host!

“No—!!!”

The Doctor let out a roar not of a human, but of agony and furious shock! He could clearly feel that the access rights he had spent years cunningly stealing and reinforcing over the Ark’s systems were being forcibly stripped, reclaimed, and erased by a higher, more fundamental will originating from the Ark’s core!

The monitoring screens along the walls, once flickering with pale indicator lights, switched en masse to blue or green interfaces representing the Ark’s basic systems; the Doctor’s personal logos and encrypted channels dissolved like snow beneath sunlight!

The main door to the laboratory and all corridor gates changed control, slamming shut with heavy, final clangs!

Even the enhanced gear he wore, linked to the Ark’s systems, instantly dimmed and turned into useless scrap metal!

Worse still, the unstable powers he had forcibly fused lost the Ark’s external energy support and harmonization, and began to violently turn inward and retaliate!

“Ughhh—!” The Doctor curled up in agony, clutching his skull with both hands. Dark red vein-like patterns writhed wildly across half his face, as if trying to burst free; the other half, cold as marble, cracked with fine, porcelain-like black fissures! The two forces clashed fiercely within him, each vying for dominance, turning his body into a battlefield, as if determined to tear him apart from soul to flesh!

“How… how could you… this… is mine…” He struggled to lift his head, his dark red eye filled with bloodshot madness, his jet-black eye oozing a tar-like black substance; his voice broke between gasps, thick with utter malice and defiance.

Lingna hovered midair, her dual-colored mark at the brow faintly glowing, calmly watching the writhing Doctor below. Her sensation was profoundly strange—as if fused with the entire Ark, countless streams of data surged into her awareness like rivers pouring into the sea, efficiently processed and diverted. She could “see” the energy core outputting more steadily, “feel” the systems oppressed by the Doctor recovering, and even faintly “hear” the faint ripples of renewed hope stirring in the numb consciousnesses of the prisoners whose energy had been drained.

This sense of control was intoxicatingly powerful, yet burdened by immense weight. The Ark’s wounds, the chaotic energy, the countless modules needing repair… surged against her mind like a tide. She had to concentrate all her focus just to maintain this connection and basic guidance—unable to perform finer operations, unable to sustain it long.

【Central Awakening Level 41%… Basic System Access Rights Recovered… Core Laboratory Isolated…】【Warning: Detected high-concentration undefined void energy and chaotic mutated energy aggregate (individual: Doctor)… Threat Level: Extreme… Recommend immediate purification or expulsion…】【Warning: Carrier mental load nearing critical threshold… Estimated remaining connection time: 7 minutes 15 seconds…】

A cold synthetic voice echoed in her mind, outlining her current state and limitations.

Purify or expel the Doctor immediately? Lingna gazed at the twisted figure below, a flicker of hesitation crossing her mind. Purification meant likely total destruction; expulsion… where could she expel him to? Either option would consume energy she could not precisely mobilize—and would almost certainly trigger a final, desperate counterattack.

Just as she weighed her options—

“Heh… heh… hahaha…” The Doctor suddenly burst into a twisted, manic laugh. Struggling, he staggered upright again. Dark red and jet-black energy clashed more violently across his body, even spitting dangerous energy sparks—but he seemed to have forcibly stabilized the brink of collapse through some terrifying willpower.

“Remarkable… truly remarkable…” He panted, his tar-oozing black eye fixed on Lingna with a sickening admiration and deeper greed, “You’ve… briefly gained the ‘Core’s’ recognition… I knew… I was right about you… you are… the perfect one…”

His gaze pierced through Lingna’s body, staring directly at the fused mark on her brow and the nascent power flowing within her.

“But… little girl… do you think… this borrowed power… can win?” The Doctor’s voice grew grotesquely layered, the two tones merging more severely, “The Ark’s ‘heart’… is already riddled with wounds… the ‘Core’… is merely a broken program…”

He suddenly raised his hand, now utterly engulfed in jet-black energy—not toward Lingna, but plunged it straight into his own chest!

Plosch!

Black, tar-like blood splattered out! Yet he showed no pain—his face instead wore a fanatical, reverent expression!

“Great Being… your humble servant… beseech you… lend your power… shatter this false cage… descend upon us!”

As he performed this sacrificial act and chanted, from the shattered depths of the laboratory, the space previously sealed erupted with a soul-shaking roar—deep, terrifying, as if rising from the infinite void!

A purer, colder, more destructive jet-black energy erupted like a geyser from the lab’s depths, violently breaking through the Ark’s temporary isolation and resonating with the Doctor’s void energy!

The Doctor’s body began mutating at a visible, horrifying rate! His skin darkened, hardened into chitin; his back bulged violently, tearing through his lab coat as if something sought to burst forth! His black eye melted entirely, becoming a swirling, light-devouring vortex!

He was willingly abandoning resistance, allowing the void entity’s power to sink deeper into him, trading his self for a brief, terrifying surge of strength!

【Warning! Warning! Detected ultra-high-intensity void energy response! Spatial stability plummeting! Individual Doctor transforming into void anchor point!】【Recommend immediate disconnection! Prioritize safety of ‘Heart’ and ‘Core’!】 The synthetic voice blared an unprecedented, frantic alarm!

Lingna’s face paled! She had not anticipated the Doctor would go this far—willing to destroy himself just to summon that terrifying entity!

No more hesitation!

She forced her focus, attempting to mobilize the Ark’s power, locking onto the mutating Doctor and the surging void energy, preparing to unleash a full-strength strike!

Yet, just as her energy coalesced—

Below, the unconscious Ellie suddenly let out a piercing cry of agony, her body convulsing violently! On her forehead, the bone earring that had once glowed faintly now burned hot, emitting thin tendrils of black mist—seeming to resonate dangerously with the residual shadow energy within her and the surging void energy without!

Simultaneously, Lingna felt her connection to the Ark jolt violently—not from the Doctor’s interference, but from… the ‘Heart’ itself?!

She “saw” deep within the main energy core, at the center of the vast ocean of power, a faint yet profoundly deep… black fissure? It had always been there, hidden beneath the overwhelming energy—but now, stirred by the intense void energy and her deep connection, it trembled slightly, emitting a cold, ancient, and far more obscure aura identical to the Doctor’s, yet older, deeper.

The Ark’s ‘Heart’… had already been corrupted by void energy?! Though minuscule, it was a fatal flaw!

This sudden revelation shook Lingna’s spirit—her gathered energy scattered for an instant!

In that split-second gap—

The Doctor, now utterly inhuman, transformed into a half-man, half-monster (or perhaps, now, a void anchor point), let out a final roar of agony and ecstasy, hurling the combined force of his own essence and the laboratory’s surging void energy as a black lightning bolt that tore through space—not toward Lingna, but slammed into… the ceiling of the control room, striking a specific direction in the Ark’s upper structure!

“If I can’t have it… then… let’s all… destroy it! Hahaha!”

The black lightning pierced through layer upon layer of decks, vanishing into unknown depths!

【Warning! Void energy strike target locked: Ecological Growth Chamber β-12! Contains: High-activity World Tree sample (withered)!】【Collision predicted: Will cause total contamination and mutation of sample, potentially triggering chain energy explosion affecting ‘Heart’ stability!】 The synthetic alarm shrieked to its peak!

A diversion! The Doctor’s true target had never been to fight her—he had sought, at all costs, to destabilize the Ark, create greater chaos, even… to contaminate the sample possibly linked to the World Tree!

Lingna’s face turned deathly pale!

No time to think!

Prioritize stopping the void energy hurtling toward the growth chamber—save the potentially vital sample and prevent the explosion from reaching the Heart?

Or seize this moment to fully purify the now-almost-dead Doctor/void anchor point, eliminating the threat once and for all?

Or… immediately sever the connection, prioritize self-preservation—her load was already at its limit?

Each choice meant radically different consequences and immense risk!

Lingna’s gaze darted rapidly between the out-of-control Doctor, the writhing Ellie, the horrific predicted image of the chamber seared into her mind, and the faint yet deadly black fissure deep within the ‘Heart’.

Time seemed to stretch.

She had to choose—now.