Chapter 139: He Saw God (Revised)

Heresy Tribunal, deep-layer isolation Observation Key room.

In the center of the room, a life support cabin more precise and complex than the one seen at the auction earlier was running with a low hum.

Lin Hao lay quietly inside, taking the place previously occupied by Ye Lin.

His bare upper body was filled with transparent tubes; the chest, arms, and half of his face—areas that had once suffered severe Mutation—were wrapped in white bandages, leaving only his tightly shut eyes and bloodless lips exposed.

He was like a pupa fixed on a specimen tray, plunged into deep slumber by the drugs.

And beside the life support cabin, the seat originally belonging to Lin Hao as the 'Guardian' is now occupied by Ye Lin.

On the metal small table before her, piled high were not textbooks, but neat stacks of confidential files bearing the Heresy Tribunal emblem on their covers.

With trembling hand, she numbly picked up another file and opened it.

The first page was a clear facial photo of an ordinary-looking young man who had struggled in the wasteland world, his eyes somewhat dazed.

Below were detailed personal data: name, original address, social relations, life experiences......

Everything seemed flawless, just a normal file of a lower-class resident living in Tianmian City.

However, flipping further down, prominent red text marked the key information:

【Abnormal Mark】: slight changes in language habits, confusion in basic common knowledge cognition.

【Identity Confirmed】: after covert probing by personnel, his identity was confirmed as abnormal, with a deviation in common knowledge, identified as an 'Undead of the Old World'.

【Disposition】: recorded, numbered D-774.

Ye Lin's heart felt as if clenched by an icy hand.

She flipped through them one by one; each file recorded an apparently ordinary person and how, under the Heresy Tribunal's all-encompassing surveillance, their flaws were gradually discovered, ultimately confirming they were not 'original goods' in detail.

Men and women, old and young, all trades......

That mountain-high pile of files seemed to silently tell her a despairing fact:

The vast majority, at least those active as 'players' in Tianmian City, had long been exposed, living like invisible people under the Heresy Tribunal's gaze.

Six days ago, she and Lin Hao indeed miraculously returned to the real world.

But that brief day brought them only deeper despair.

Ye Lin's body, after returning from this world, was able to stand up again.

But Lin Hao was quite different; his Mutation could not be effectively treated in the real world, modern medicine was powerless against his Mutation, and his condition rapidly deteriorated.

Lin Hao's parents watched in person as their originally healthy child turned into a neither-human nor-ghostly state; even though the authorities promptly assembled a top medical team to intervene, they remained helpless.

But in this world, the Heresy Tribunal could, with technology and Aberrant Arts she could not comprehend, barely keep Lin Hao's life hanging on.

It even allowed his Mutation Value, which was over 70, after several painful 'detachment surgeries,' to be barely maintained around 60, no longer worsening.

This might be a silver lining in misfortune.

Lin Hao, though rarely conscious, tormented all day by pain and drug-induced haze, but at least......

He is still alive.

But the files in her hands were like cold boulders, pressing Ye Lin so she could barely breathe.

What exactly do those people intend to do?

Collect these 'players' like specimens?

Study the mystery of their world-crossing?

Or is there a more terrifying purpose?

She doesn't know, and dare not think deeper.

She only knows that her and Lin Hao's life and death hinge entirely on a single thought of the other.

Cooperation could still earn a chance for Lin Hao to continue treatment, whereas rebellion would lead to an obvious outcome.

Inside the life support cabin, Lin Hao's pale face had brows tightly knit, lips moving soundlessly, as if enduring great pain.

He felt as if he were submerged in boundless chaos, his thoughts like a swollen, sluggish sponge, unable to form clear ideas.

Countless tiny, distorted, incomprehensible noises surged like tides in his 'ears,' buzzing—sometimes like the hisses of billions of insects, sometimes like an ancient, lost language whispering, disturbing his soul so it could not rest.

Just as this endless sinking and chaos were about to devour his last shred of perception, a 'sound' pierced through all the noise.

That was not a sound audible through the ears, but more like a direct effect on the soul level.

It had no concrete syllables, no clear meaning, yet carried an instinctively chilling majesty.

Lin Hao 'raised his head' in the chaos.

He 'saw'.

It cannot be described what it is; it is not a substance, not light and shadow, not any form he recognizes.

It is an incomprehensible 'vastness' that transcends spacetime dimensions.

It is the condensation of rules themselves, the origin and end of all things, a singularity where countless possibilities intertwine.

A thought, like a seed, took root and sprouted in his swollen consciousness, growing uncontrollably and instantly occupying all his 'thoughts'.

That is......

God.

————————————

"Thud thud thud."

The muffled knocking, like a funeral bell, shattered the isolation room's silence and also broke Lin Hao's eerie nightmare.

He jolted awake from the life support cabin, his chest heaving violently, causing all the tubes on his body to tremble.

Almost the instant the knocking ceased, the isolation room's heavy metal door was shoved open without ceremony.

Qi Junyi entered, still wearing the crisp Judgment Court uniform, his black short hair neatly groomed, looking nothing like his usual carefree self.

His gaze lingered on Lin Hao's shock-struck face for less than half a second, showing no concern or inquiry, merely confirming he was still alive, then shifted to Ye Lin, who had jerked her head up from the file stack, her face deathly pale.

"Have you memorized the files?"

Qi Junyi's voice was steady, revealing no emotion.

Ye Lin subconsciously clenched the file pages in her hand, her knuckles whitening from the pressure.

She inhaled deeply, forcing herself to meet Qi Junyi's gaze, trying to make her voice sound less trembling.

...... Almost done, I've remembered most of it.

Qi Junyi gave a slight nod, not surprised by the answer.

His gaze examined Ye Lin.

The past few days of worry made Ye Lin look especially haggard; her hair was carelessly loose, dark circles heavy under her eyes, and her clothes were wrinkled from standing by the life-support cabin.

"Pull yourself together."

Qi Junyi said in a commanding tone, completely lacking the previously reasonable demeanor, his voice flat.

"In ten minutes, an important person will see you."