Chapter 305

In a narrow corridor, one dog and four people hurried forward.

The Baiji Bear, disguised as a search-and-rescue dog from the Bianmu region, led the way, straining to sniff the increasingly faint scent of perfume.

Zhao Zijing and the Hyena followed behind, holding flashlights, their expressions grim and tense.

Fu Ding Hua Long, to ensure he had some means of self-defense in case of danger, carried a sheet of paper in his hand; on it was a lifelike painting of a lion and tiger, only lacking dots for the eyes.

Swish, swish.

The sound of turning pages was especially loud in the silent corridor.

Fu Ding Hua Long couldn't help turning his head—he saw Li Cheng had somehow draped a blanket over his head, held a small flashlight in his right hand, and was intently reading a book in his left.

"."

Reason told Fu Ding Hua Long not to meddle, but as an artist, his emotion and curiosity drove him to ask, "Mr. Pi Fu, what are you reading?"

"Oh, I'm reading Ampé's book."

Li Cheng turned the book's cover, which bore the title *Ampé Jinshan: Japan's Resolve*, "This is a series."

??

What kind of compiled anthology is this? How did they get so many rare books? Is this publisher deliberately doing it, or deliberately doing it, or deliberately doing it?

Li Cheng ignored the constipated expressions of the others and enthusiastically explained the subtleties of this series of famous books. Zhao Zijing silently glared at Fu Ding Hua Long—told you not to speak up.

"Shh,"

The Baiji Bear suddenly spoke: "I've detected other scents."

Everyone fell silent, moving forward quietly. After passing two airtight doors, they indeed smelled a faint, lingering odor of blood, and heard dense, chaotic human footsteps.

It was a vast space, larger than the hydroponic chamber, filled with cylindrical metal containers over five meters tall.

Some containers had been violently destroyed; liquid nitrogen leaked out, forming thick layers of frost on the floor.

Scattered across the frost were many glass spheres slightly larger than eggs, each containing undeveloped human embryos.

Dr. Noah's interstellar colonization plan required vast manpower; these countless embryos were undoubtedly the best source—like pristine blank sheets, they could fully absorb the knowledge and thoughts Dr. Noah would implant in them.

Tap-tap-tap-tap.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the far end of the room. Zhao Zijing pulled several orange glow sticks from her backpack compartment, then used telekinesis to suspend and push them forward.

The glow sticks illuminated the darkness, revealing six human corpses lying haphazardly on the ground.

Beside the corpses, a tall, muscular human figure faced the room's corner, running in place like a glitched program.

He gasped heavily as he ran.

The bizarre sight left the Hyena stunned; even Li Cheng raised an eyebrow.

The burly man running in place at the wall had wildly uncoordinated limbs—like a Flash game called *Qwop*, each limb moved independently, occasionally slamming his head into the wall.

Yet his back was oddly familiar—it was Father Andre, a member of the 【Paladin Order】.

"."

Zhao Zijing frowned tightly. She did not disturb Andre, but used telekinesis to gently flip the human corpses over.

All six were registered superhumans in the GOC database,

each bearing varying types and degrees of injuries—frostbite, burns, cuts from blades—consistent with the destruction around them. The only commonalities: all died within the past two hours, and all had blood flowing from their nostrils.

It seemed they had suddenly turned on each other for some reason, until only Andre remained alive.

"Let's fall back."

Zhao Zijing stepped backward rapidly until she fully exited the embryo freezing chamber, then called out to Andre: "Father Andre, can you hear me?"

Andre showed no reaction to Zhao Zijing's call; he continued running in place, oblivious. Suddenly, he spun around and took a step in another direction.

Crack.

He stepped on a thick layer of ice, slipped, and fell—but even then, he kept flailing his limbs in bizarre motions.

Illusion? Mind control? Or a battery leak causing electrocution?

Li Cheng's thoughts raced. The next second, absolute silence descended without warning.

The footsteps, the hiss of leaking liquid nitrogen, even his own voice—he heard nothing.

He turned to look at the others, including the Baiji Bear. Everyone's mouths were open, tongues moving, yet not a single sound reached him.

Zhao Zijing clenched her lips, used telekinesis to drift backward, and scooped up frost from the ground, freezing it midair into a line of characters: 【This is a trap, retreat】

One by one,

Everyone sprinted back along the original path, but before they could exit the embryo freezing chamber, darkness suddenly swallowed everything.

After hearing, vision was also stripped away.

Then came touch.

Li Cheng stepped back half a pace, pressed his palm against the cold alloy wall—the sensation, the temperature, vanished rapidly, then disappeared entirely.

Finally, smell and taste.

Li Cheng stood frozen. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste—all five senses stripped away—he felt as if thrown into boundless darkness, unable to perceive the outside world, or even himself.

For a superhuman accustomed to a superhuman body, this helplessness was like hell's deepest torment—but Li Cheng's mind suddenly cleared.

He used his will to open his player panel on the mental plane. His spiritual energy, stamina, sanity—all attributes remained unchanged.

So that's how it is.

The six players lying on the ground, from different guilds, all had average levels above lv18—far from weak.

They were likely also stripped of their bodily senses, unable to perceive the outside world, so they moved randomly, even attacked, trying to eliminate perceived threats,

resulting in mutual slaughter. Since pain was also stripped, they didn't even know if they were injured, bleeding to death in endless darkness—only Andre survived.

As for Andre, he was still in the sensory-deprivation state, trying to escape this area but unable to find a path, so he kept running in place.

"Andre hasn't died. This implies the thing causing sensory deprivation doesn't immediately target players, or moving targets. I still have time."

Li Cheng's thoughts raced. He mentally issued a command to his body to take deep breaths, and silently counted the time.

After more than two minutes, his consciousness remained clear enough to prove that in the real world, his body really was still breathing.

"Phew, at least now I won't suffocate to death just because I forgot to breathe."

Li Cheng's heart eased a little. His consciousness seemed to condense into a small figure, drifting in the chaotic darkness, his gaze gradually sharpening. "The next thing to do is take back the five senses."

(End of chapter)