Chapter 307: Macaque

So many nightmare-level scripted missions had been endured, yet he never expected to fall here.

In the lightless abyss of his consciousness, Fu Ding Hua Long let out a long sigh and regained his calm and reason.

To become a member of the Special Affairs Bureau's Mobile Task Force, one had to undergo a series of rigorous training: firearms marksmanship and maintenance, vehicle operation and repair, cold-weapon combat, complex electronic equipment operation, tracking and counter-tracking, and so on — all of these were merely basic courses.

One also had to wear sensors, undergo scientific physical training, watch all manner of literary and artistic works, attend ideological and political classes, training courses, and seminars, and take part in military and special operations exercises.

To increase players' survival probability during the beginner phase, the entire training process had to be kept within half a year to one year as much as possible; the Special Affairs Bureau would issue functional beverages and various drugs to trainees to enhance physical fitness, improve rest efficiency, and boost memory.

Scientific, rigorous, complex, multi-dimensional, comprehensive.

It was precisely this entire training process that could, in the short span of half a year, forge players of ordinary background into reliable, professional members of the Mobile Task Force.

(In theory, one could use props like the learning machine from *The Matrix* to forcibly instill knowledge and acquire skills, but tests showed that such forced growth would attract the Killing Ground system's malice and secretly raise mission difficulty. So the Special Affairs Bureau still chose to follow traditional training methods.)

Fu Ding Hua Long recalled the training content and guessed that what had induced the sensory deprivation was very likely some kind of aberrant monster with powerful abilities but a frail body.

But once his five senses were sealed, he couldn't even feel for his paintbrush, nor could he control his limbs to perform complex actions like detonating explosives.

Only one method remained.

Fu Ding Hua Long focused completely, using his will to take a uniquely shaped gold coin from his backpack column.

Its obverse was inlaid with a heart made of crushed emeralds; its reverse, a bloodstained dagger made of crushed rubies.

【Item Name: Life-Staking Gold Coin】

【Type: Cursed Object】

【Quality: Fine】

【Effect: 50—50. Toss the coin — if the green heart lands face up, heal yourself, restoring 70% of lost Stamina, Spiritual Energy, and Sanity, and inflict severe damage to nearby hostile targets. If the dagger lands face up, damage yourself and heal the enemy】

【Cost: 150 Stamina, 190 Sanity】

【Cooldown: 24 hours】

【Usage Requirement: Enter a casino with a minimum stake of 10,000 yuan; after 24 hours, stakes must not be less than two million yuan】

【Note: The coin toss is a pure probability event and cannot be interfered with by any means (controlling force, disturbing air, tampering with causality, etc.); the result is determined by where it lands on palm or ground】

【Note: Trust me! We'll win! This time we'll definitely definitely win — once we win we'll be rich! We'll have money we can never spend! Just this once, trust me! Sign this kidney donation application!!!】

"The Killing Ground's priority overrides everything. As long as my self-awareness can still function, I can perform item storage and retrieval from my backpack column. The Life-Staking Gold Coin is in my hand right now."

Fu Ding Hua Long regulated his will and issued the command with caution and resolve, making his palm toss forcefully.

No need to deliberately choose a direction — as long as the coin lands, that's enough.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Fu Ding Hua Long counted the time in his heart; if he won the gamble, the sensory deprivation would naturally dissipate.

If he lost, several wounds would appear out of nowhere on his body, affecting blood supply to the brain and causing his consciousness to blur.

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine.

Fu Ding Hua Long silently counted for half a minute, but nothing changed — his consciousness remained clear, with no sign of waking at all.

How could this be? Had he misjudged? He drove his will, continuously swinging his arm to perform the coin-tossing motion.

This time it actually worked! As his arm shook, he gradually felt his senses returning, especially his face.

"Uh, why are you slapping yourself?"

A familiar voice reached his ears. Fu Ding Hua Long instinctively opened his eyes and saw himself lying on the corridor floor, his right hand holding the coin having lost its sense of direction, repeatedly slapping his own cheek and leaving palm-shaped red marks.

As for Master Pi Fu, he stood in the middle of the corridor, several medicine bottles stuck into his body, and in his hand he held a round, rolling aberrant creature.

Its body was broad and round, with a tail and a long, narrow, pointed tongue; its surface was covered in gray fuzz, resembling a macaque; its hands and feet were as feeble as an infant's, but its head was extraordinarily large, bulging high like the Old God of Longevity in a New Year painting.

One could even see the bulging veins beneath the scalp through the fuzz.

"Squeak— squeak—"

The gray, big-headed macaque struggled hard, but its feeble limbs couldn't harm Li Cheng at all; instead, the latter pinched its tail and performed high-difficulty technical moves like a Ferris wheel and a magic glove, yo-yo style.

"This thing can remotely interfere with brainwaves, cutting off the prey's senses. Once the target exhausts its stamina in panic, it burrows out, drills its tongue into the prey's nostril, and eats the brain."

Following Li Cheng's explanation, the awakened Fu Ding Hua Long and the others noticed that the hyena collapsed in the corner had blood and brain matter flowing from its nostrils — already dead.

"The hyena was unlucky too — picked first and had its brain eaten."

Looking at them one by one—

Li Cheng sighed, then suddenly turned toward the wall and said solemnly: "【Squad Personnel Change Announcement】,

Life is but a dream; each shines in its own way. After careful consideration, Contestant Hyena has chosen to leave the squad and transfer to another club. The club respects Contestant Hyena's personal choice, thanks him for his contributions to the team, and wishes him a bright future and smooth sailing.

Thank you, Hyena."

The atmosphere on the scene stalled; everyone, including Father Andre gradually regaining clarity at the other end of the room, flushed red in the face trying to hold it in.

No, wait — why are you talking to the wall? And the hyena's corpse hasn't even cooled yet, and he's already passively left the team? What kind of 'transfer-out' light novel is this.

What does 'transfer to another club' mean — heaven or hell? Could you be serious for once at a time like this.

Everyone also knew that Master Pi Fu had saved the situation this time, so they could only swallow their complaints back into their hearts.

Zhao Zijing braced against the wall and stood up shakily, asking Li Cheng in confusion: "Um, may I ask how you broke through the sensory deprivation?"

"Well, that's a trade secret."

Li Cheng grinned. Of course he wouldn't reveal the existence of Liang Yi Dao, "But there is one thing I can share — amplify pain to counter it."

The analgesic drugs he had infused into his body, such as pethidine, could act on opioid receptors in different brain regions, triggering neural pathway changes, blocking the transmission of nerve impulses, and producing an extremely strong analgesic effect.

Many analgesic and anesthetic drugs were listed on the control schedule, also because their analgesic effect was too good — frequent use would cause the brain to gradually reduce its own production of endorphins.

And endorphins were precisely the human body's most important analgesic substance, related to sedation, raising the pain threshold, and maintaining euphoria.

Once natural production stopped, a person would gradually feel intense internal pain — the friction of organs and viscera against each other, the wear of bones, the rush of blood through vessels.

All the pain layered together, like ten thousand ants devouring the body — and from the inside out, at that.

That's why addicts going through withdrawal looked so utterly wretched — their brains had been riddled with holes by the addictive drugs, and could hardly secrete natural analgesic substances anymore.

Just now, Li Cheng had used Liang Yi Dao to cut himself, switching to pure human form, while simultaneously reversing the drugs' analgesic effect into amplified pain.

When the pain reached a certain point, it became akin to touch; Li Cheng immediately sensed the gray macaque leaping onto his foot, then executed a sequence of military boxing, Taizu Longquan, Hongquan, Fuhuquan, and Wing Chun, successfully breaking the sensory deprivation.

(End of Chapter)