Chapter 78: Initial Bloodline Control

The silver patterns on her exposed skin crawled everywhere, but the luster had dimmed, as if something had forcibly sucked away her strength, leaving her considerably weakened.

Zhang Jun's gaze swept over a twisted rock crevice, where he faintly caught a glint.

Here!

He shouted, lunged forward first, and reached his hand into the crack.

His fingertip touched a bone-chilling cold—it was metal.

He gave a hard yank, and a half-length silver-white mechanical arm was torn out, still dangling rubble.

Lin Xue stumbled after him, leaning against the wall to catch her breath.

The mechanical hand was clenched tight, with a blackish object stuck in the gaps between its fingers.

"There's something inside." Lin Xue moved closer, barely squeezing out a bit of white frost with her fingertip and lightly touching the clenched metal fingers.

The cold seemed to have some effect, or maybe it was just a coincidence; the metal joint gave a soft 'click' and loosened slightly.

A blackish object fell from the gaps and hit the ground.

A crystal core? It's been burned beyond recognition.

"Was Lin Yan's arm gripping this thing?" Zhang Jun bent over, picked it up—it was scalding hot in his hand, almost making him toss it away.

Lin Xue also lowered her head to look, her voice tight: "Can this still be used?"

The edges of the crystal core were burned and curled, completely blackened, yet the central core somehow retained its shape.

It was covered in fine runes, the same kind of gibberish symbols as on the plate Lin Yan had given him earlier.

"Damn, can this broken thing still be saved?" Zhang Jun pinched the hot crystal core, blowing off the dust.

Looking at it, Zhang Jun also turned his gaze to the nearby rock wall.

A fresh, long drag mark stood out conspicuously, as if someone had hauled something dead heavy past here.

Where the scrape ended, the ground retained several patches of half‑dry dark‑purple viscous substance, still faintly glowing.

Lin Xue stepped over, half‑squatted, and lightly smeared her fingertip across the patch of dark‑purple goo on the ground, bringing it to her nose.

"Smells like machine oil… the energy fluid used by modified persons?"

Lin Xue lifted her face, looking gravely at Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun's heart sank; he carefully asked, "Did Lin Zhen's people do this?"

"They can't get away." Lin Xue stood, looked at the nearby rock, and speculated, "They went to all this trouble to take Lin Yan away, leaving us here… what are they after?"

Zhang Jun remained silent.

Several images flashed into Zhang Jun's mind without warning.

In the images, Lin Zhen stood before a huge glass jar, wearing a chilling smile; the murky liquid inside soaked a vague humanoid shape.

"The perfect modified body will be reborn by my brother…"

Lin Zhen's voice kept echoing in Zhang Jun's mind.

"Damn!" Zhang Jun could bear it no longer; he slammed a fist hard into the nearby rock wall and roared, "Lin Zhen's target is probably Lin Yan himself!"

Hearing Zhang Jun's speculation, Lin Xue's face darkened completely.

"That makes sense… he was swept into the Energy Gate twenty years ago and spent five years 'over there'; who knows what got mixed into his body?"

"Besides," Zhang Jun continued, "his understanding of dimensional energy is unmatched. Lin Zhen surely craves this living 'database' of his—and… a ready-made 'material'."

At that moment, both of their attention returned simultaneously to the damaged crystal core.

"Hope this broken junk can still yield something." Zhang Jun carefully slipped the crystal core into his pocket, "Otherwise we won't be able to shut down the remaining beacons, and we'll truly be blind as bats."

Suddenly Lin Xue clutched her forehead, her body jerked, and she dropped to one knee, her face contorted in pain.

The silver patterns under her skin flickered wildly, on and off like a faulty fluorescent tube.

"Xue'er?!"

Zhang Jun's heart leapt; he instinctively reached out to steady her.

Suddenly Lin Xue lifted her face, and a dark violet flickered in the depths of her pupils.

"Yes!!"

"I… I feel it… Lin Zhen… he's using my Ice Soul Power… he's… nurturing… nurturing something…"

Lin Xue panted rapidly, her voice trembling with fear.

Zhang Jun didn't think twice; he pressed both hands onto Lin Xue's shoulders, and the mental link instantly became crystal clear.

At that moment, Lin Xue's confusion, fear, and those icy, fragmented images all surged into Zhang Jun's mind.

"Hold on!" Zhang Jun snarled at Lin Xue, "It's the chaotic energy of this damned place messing with us! It's an illusion, fake!"

"It might also be… real." Lin Xue locked eyes with Zhang Jun and said, "They're telling me about those things that have been hidden…"

But Lin Xue couldn't finish her sentence as the surrounding purple mist suddenly intensified, slowly engulfing the two of them.

And that humming whisper grew clearer.

Those dark, malicious thoughts surged forth again.

"What are you even!"

"A failed experiment!"

"Lin Zhen could crush you anytime!"

"Who the hell cares about you!"

"Damn thing…" Zhang Jun gritted his teeth, furious, and roared: ""

"Damn thing…" Zhang Jun's teeth clenched with a grating sound as he cursed, "You bastards,"

At that moment the purple mist suddenly came alive, seeping into Zhang Jun's every pore and drilling into his bone gaps.

Zhang Jun's mind also descended into utter chaos.

All kinds of vicious whispers tangled together.

At this moment, Zhang Jun felt his brain matter about to boil.

Boom!

Zhang Jun slammed a fierce palm strike hard against the nearby rock wall!

Crack!

The rock split open, spraying a few specks of dark purple sparks.

Lin Xue half-kneeled on the ground, her silver markings flashing wildly, flickering uncertainly, as if about to go out.

Lin Xue pressed her forehead hard against the cold ground; cold sweat mixed with dirt soaked the hair on her forehead.

But doing this instead made the voices in Lin Xue's mind sharper, the conflicting sounds scraping her nerves painfully.

"Can't... can't get in touch with Old Wang..."

Lin Xue's voice trembled uncontrollably; her fingers scraped the ground, leaving several white marks.

"The communicator... is broken."

Zhang Jun clenched tightly the crystal core left by Lin Yan.

The crystal core burned hot in his palm, a piercing pain as if his flesh were about to be seared.

But Zhang Jun endured the pain, forcing himself to shift his focus away from the noise in his head.

Moreover, the primordial bloodline in Zhang Jun's body surged wildly, jostling his internal organs.

"Damn, this fog is problematic." Zhang Jun squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.

"It's messing with our minds."

Lin Xue abruptly lifted her head, a flash of confusion crossing her face.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Tick... tick..." Lin Xue's voice was faint, like a whisper, yet urgent.

"Like... a signal!"

Zhang Jun closed his eyes, forcing himself to filter out the cursing, swearing, and mocking noise in his head.

In their intermittent mental link, it seemed they had actually caught something.