Chapter 247: Revoked Permissions and Void Backlash

Xiang Lingna's voice was not loud, yet it carried the weight of the entire Ark and ancient authority, echoing clearly through the chaotic control room. No longer the crisp tone of a girl, but a strange timbre woven from purity, depth, and an inhuman divinity—calm and unruffled, yet brimming with irrevocable resolve.

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

The armor formed from twisted dark red and jet-black energy surrounding the Doctor rippled and warped violently, like a reflection struck by a stone! The dark red energy representing "Hunger" emitted a piercing, skin-peeling shriek, thrashing wildly but to no avail; the deeper, more terrifying void-black energy manifested an extreme, icy fury—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 a mixture of agony and furious shock! He could clearly feel that the access permissions he had spent years cunningly stealing and reinforcing over the Ark's systems were being forcibly stripped, reclaimed, and deleted 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 under sunlight!

The main gate to the laboratory and all corridor access doors changed control, emitting heavy clanging locks!

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

More fatally, the unstable powers he had forcibly fused, now deprived of the Ark system's external support and harmonization, began to rage inward, turning against each other!

"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 through his skin; the other half, cold as marble, cracked with fine, porcelain-like black fissures! The two forces clashed violently 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 dare you… this… is… mine…" He struggled to lift his head, the dark red eye filled with bloodshot madness, the jet-black eye oozing tar-like black substance; his voice came in broken gasps, thick with ultimate hatred and refusal to accept defeat.

Xiang Lingna hovered midair, her dual-colored mark at the brow flickering faintly, calmly observing 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, even faintly "hear" the numb consciousnesses of the imprisoned, their dormant hopes stirring with faint ripples.

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 consciousness like a tide. She had to concentrate all her focus just to maintain this connection and basic guidance—no finer operations, no prolonged endurance possible.

【Central Awakening Level 41%… Basic System Permissions 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 prompted her of the current status and limitations within her mind.

Purify or expel the Doctor immediately? Xiang Lingna gazed at the twisted figure below, a flicker of hesitation crossing her mind. Purification meant possibly destroying him utterly; expulsion… where could she expel him to? Either option would consume power she could not precisely mobilize now, and likely 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 gasped for breath, the eye oozing black substance fixed unblinkingly on Xiang Lingna, filled with a morbid admiration and deeper greed, "You've… briefly gained the 'Central''s recognition… I knew… I was right about you… you are… the perfect one…"

His gaze seemed to pierce through Xiang Lingna's body, staring directly at the fused mark on her brow and the newly flowing power within.

"But… little girl… do you think… this borrowed power… can win?" The Doctor's voice grew profoundly unnatural, the two tones overlapping more severely, "The Ark's 'heart'… is already riddled with wounds… the 'Central'… is merely a flawed program…"

He suddenly raised the hand now utterly engulfed in jet-black energy—not toward Xiang 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 an expression of fervent, reverent ecstasy!

"Great Being… your humble servant… beseech you… lend your power… shatter this false cage… descend here!"

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

A purer, colder, more destruction-driven jet-black energy erupted like a geyser from the lab's depths, forcibly breaching the Ark's temporary isolation and resonating with the Doctor's void energy!

The Doctor's body began mutating at a visible, horrifying pace! His skin darkened and hardened into keratin; his back bulged violently, tearing through his lab coat—as if something within was about to burst forth! His jet-black eye dissolved completely, becoming a swirling, light-devouring black vortex!

He was willingly abandoning resistance, allowing the void entity's power to penetrate 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 'Central'!】 The synthetic voice issued an unprecedentedly urgent alarm!

Xiang Lingna's face changed! She had not anticipated the Doctor would go this mad—willing to annihilate 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-force strike!

Yet, just as her energy coalesced—

Below, the unconscious Sister Ai Li suddenly let out a pained moan, her body convulsing violently! On her forehead, the bone earring that had previously glowed faintly grew scorching hot, emitting thin wisps of black mist—seemingly resonating dangerously with the residual shadow energy within her and the surging void energy without!

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

She "saw" at the deepest core of the main energy source, at the center of the vast ocean of energy, a faint yet profoundly deep… black fissure? It had always been there, previously concealed by the overwhelming energy—but now, stirred by the intense void energy and her deep connection, it trembled slightly, emitting a faint, ancient, more reclusive coldness identical to the Doctor's, yet older and more hidden!

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

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

In that critical, fleeting gap—

The Doctor, now utterly inhuman, transformed into a half-man, half-monster (perhaps he should now be called a Void Anchor Point), let out a final roar—mingling agony and ecstasy—and hurled the concentrated energy of his entire being and the laboratory's surging void into a black lightning that tore through space—not toward Xiang Lingna, but slammed violently into… the ceiling of the control room, striking a specific direction of the Ark's upper structure!

"If I can't have it… then… let's… all… perish! Hahaha!"

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

【Warning! Void energy strike target locked: Bio-Cultivation Chamber β-12! Contents: 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 from the start was never to fight her—he sought at all costs to destabilize the Ark, create greater chaos, even… to contaminate the sample potentially linked to the World Tree!

Xiang Lingna's face turned deathly pale!

No time for thought!

Prioritize stopping the void energy hurtling toward the bio-chamber—save the possibly vital sample and prevent explosion from reaching the Heart? 【50】 Or seize this moment to fully purify the now-destroyed Doctor/Void Anchor Point and eliminate the threat forever?

Or should he seize this chance to go all out and purify the Doctor/Void Anchor point before him that was already nearly finished, cutting off the threat at its root?

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

Each choice meant radically different consequences and immense risks!

Xiang Lingna's gaze darted rapidly between the out-of-control Doctor, the writhing, suffering Sister Ai Li, the horrific predicted image of the bio-chamber struck in her mind, and the faint yet lethal black fissure deep within the 'Heart'.

Time seemed to stretch.

She had to choose—now.