Chapter 644: Riot

"... the connection is still weakening."

The bespectacled researcher looked up, nudged his glasses, "If this trend continues, in at most two weeks the connection between the two worlds will be completely severed, and then the mutation factor won't be able to seep through."

In front of a massive projection table, a three‑dimensional model slowly rotated.

The model displayed two nested spherical outlines: one dark‑hued with a faint Ying Guang Lu glow along its edge, the other clean and transparent.

Between the spheres ran fine filamentous links, spider‑web‑like strands extending and intertwining in space, yet those strands had faded to near invisibility and could break at any moment.

"But there's a problem: although the connection is closing, the concentration of the mutation factor hasn't dropped, as if the Mutation is frantically burrowing into our world before the link fully severs."

"It's the other world itself driving it," the older researcher replied.

In any case, those visitors from the game world have no chance of returning; that world has been completely overtaken by the Mutation, humans cannot survive there, and the Mutation is not satisfied, so it is now trying to extend its poisonous grasp toward our world.

"However, given the current situation, the Mutation's impact is quite limited, as if someone is deliberately sealing all of it within that world; I fear the connection between the two worlds will soon be completely severed."

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone collectively relaxed their shoulders.

Since the player's appearance caught the authorities' attention, they immediately summoned top experts from every field to study this matter.

This research has spanned several months; they haven't had a single day of proper rest—one day here, seven days there—each day brings a long string of experimental data.

And now, at least the project they're handling seems to be approaching its end.

Later, go check out the other labs; they might still be working overtime.

"Ahem, everyone, don't let your guard down; keep a close watch between now and the complete severing of the connection, in case of any accident..."

As soon as the words finished, the lights above their heads flickered briefly.

At the same moment, the waveforms on every monitor spiked upward, red lights ignited from the ceiling edge, and a researcher hurried to the main console, swiping his finger across the screen twice.

"The energy reading at the junction is rising! The mutation factor concentration surged dramatically in an instant!"

"The Mutation doesn't want the connection to break."

A massive amount of mutation factor is attempting to invade our world.

And the resulting outcome is obvious; that world, already utterly destroyed by the Mutation, serves as the best example.

"Issue an immediate alarm! Evacuate all civilians!"

In the very beginning, did the Mutation in that world also arrive silently like this?

——————————————

【System Prompt: Game new version update in progress......】

【Below is the version update notice:

The mutation concentration in the real world will continue to rise to match the in‑game level, potentially causing countless organisms to be infected by the Mutation and turn into monsters......】

Yang Yixie furrowed his brow, dragged the so‑called update notice all the way to the bottom, trying to find a close button; the text merely listed a long roster of disasters that could follow a Mutation invasion.

This peaceful, stable modern world would devolve into a human hell like the one in the game.

【That concludes this version update's content; however, I suspect you lack the leisure to read it slowly, so I'll give a brief summary.】

【I'm still gathering other divine fragments; I can only restrain part of the Mutation, but the Mutation has already gone completely berserk, and after seizing this world it now tries to lay claim to yours.】

【I'll sever the connection between the two worlds as soon as possible; thanks to an unexpected boost, it should happen quickly, but your world will have to pull itself up.】

【Do everything you can to stop the Mutation's spread, otherwise you'll truly be forced to play the game's new version.】

【Customer Service 117, over.】

Yang Yixie:......

Alright.

Having a contract with that guy, Yang Yixie knows he's already done his part, yet the Mutation behaves like an insatiable swarm from a sci‑fi novel—devouring one planet before turning its gaze to the next.

Moreover, the Mutation is even more dangerous than a swarm; it infiltrates bodies, directly twisting the living beings of this world into monsters.

Zhiruo was still picking out clothes when everything went black for a split second; she nearly fell but grabbed a nearby coat rack to steady herself. Yet Yang Yixie, who used to get nervous at the slightest rustle, didn't rush over immediately, standing there dumbfounded.

The mall raised the alarm, and a female voice instantly blared over the public address system.

"Attention, shoppers: the authorities have issued an emergency evacuation order. Please remain orderly and gather in the central hall for shelter—"

But the broadcast couldn't keep up with the commotion in the crowd; as it sounded, a sharp scream erupted near the beverage area in the mall's atrium.

Ordinary people find it hard to notice the sudden spike in surrounding mutation factor concentration, but many felt something odd in their bodies.

After a brief, inexplicable discomfort, everyone turned toward the source of the scream.

A dark mass burst out from beneath the bubble‑tea shop counter; it moved so fast that most people only caught a blurry gray‑brown afterimage.

Upon closer inspection, they finally realized the Aberrant Species' prototype resembled a mouse.

Unlike humans, these small creatures readily undergo Mutation under the influence of the mutation factor.

It was at least three to four times larger than a normal mouse, its tail forked into two slender whips that flicked in the air.

The instant it burst from beneath the counter, its front paw kicked a toppled plastic stool, sending it to land beside a woman clutching a shopping bag.

"Ah!!" another scream rang out.

The woman wildly swung her shopping bag at the mouse; the mutated mouse, not a particularly tough foe, was instantly flung away by the bag.

However, because the first‑floor crowd was already dense, that swing inadvertently sent the mouse into the opposite side of the crowd, sparking further chaos.

The mutated mouse looked terrifying and moved at breakneck speed, causing nearby people to clutch their heads and scramble away.

Amid the crowd, a golden bolt of lightning shot through a crack and struck the mutated mouse.

Immediately, a charred smell filled the air; the mouse that had been darting wildly through the crowd was reduced to a lump of charcoal.