Chapter 260: Dog System

"Huo La, what are you doing?" Zhu Bei, seeing this, immediately stepped forward, reached out to pull Huo La, her eyes full of caution and worry.

She couldn't at all understand what meaning Huo La's actions had.

"Don't come closer!" Huo La gritted his teeth and shouted, his voice trembling noticeably from the intense pain inside, cold sweat on his forehead sliding down his cheek, yet his gaze remained steady, "Trust me, I can help it!"

Even so, in his mind he had already cursed the system a thousand times: Damn, dog system! Had he known absorbing this damned energy would cause him such agony, even to save the Axe Mantis, he would have weighed it first!

It felt as if countless sharp needles were piercing his body, sparing no organ, the pain nearly making him lose consciousness.

But now the absorption had already begun, the arrow on the string must be released; if he stopped, his sacrifice would have been in vain.

Huo La could only clench his teeth, stubbornly endure the piercing pain, his fingertips digging deep into his palm from the strain.

Beside them, Dr. Laventon held up the Energy Detection Device, his eyes fixed on the screen, his tone full of shock: "The values are starting to drop! The Abnormal Energy readings are descending stepwise!"

"It's working! It's really working!" Ju Yi exclaimed, covering his mouth, tears instantly flooding his eyes, his voice choked and unsteady.

He had tended the Axe Mantis for years; now, seeing hope right before his eyes, he could no longer control his emotions.

Zhu Bei halted her advance, her gaze landing on Huo La's slightly trembling silhouette—his shoulders held straight, the back of his clothing soaked with cold sweat, his whole body swaying slightly, clearly bearing immense pain.

Time passed second by second in the torment, the cold energy emanating from Huo La's palm grew weaker, and the internal agony eased a little.

Just as he was about to collapse, the system's mechanical voice finally sounded again: "Energy absorption complete... beginning conversion to System Energy... conversion estimated to take seven days..."

"Hoo—" Huo La let out a long sigh, as if shedding a thousand‑pound burden, abruptly withdrawing his hand from the Axe Mantis's head, stumbling back two steps, his complexion as pale as paper, his lips drained of color.

The energy absorption had taken a considerable toll on his body; now he felt his whole body limp, barely able to keep his footing.

The Axe Mantis lying on the ground slowly opened its tightly shut eyes; the eyes once shrouded in crimson had now fully regained clarity and gentleness.

It shook its heavy head, emitting a low, soothing call, as if breaking free from a long Nightmare.

"It's successful... truly successful!" Dr. Laventon waved the detector in his hands excitedly, his voice trembling, "The Abnormal Energy has vanished completely! The Axe Mantis King has returned to normal!"

Ju Yi could no longer hold back, sprinting to the Axe Mantis's side, crouching to gently stroke its cracked armor, choked and unable to speak, tears falling drop by drop onto the armor, forming tiny wet spots.

The Axe Mantis gently nudged his hand, as if comforting him.

Zhu Bei watched the moving scene, her tense nerves finally relaxing completely.

She walked to Huo La's side, looking at his pale complexion and feeble state, and solemnly bowed deeply to him: "Huo La, thank you. You risked your life to save it, and also saved the entire Giant Tree Battlefield, even Hisui."

Huo La forced a slight smile, waved his hand, his voice weak yet tinged with humor: "You're welcome... I just did what I had to do."

Just as his words ended, he could no longer hold on; darkness flashed before his eyes, and his body fell straight backward.

"Huo La!" Zhu Bei's eyes darted, and she quickly stepped forward to support him, her face full of panic.

Dr. Laventon, seeing this, also hurried forward, crouched to closely examine Huo La's complexion, then reached out to feel his breath and pulse; after a moment he exhaled, stood up and said to Zhu Bei: "Don't worry, he's just over‑exerted and fainted from depletion, nothing serious. Take him to the nearby temporary camp to rest properly; he should recover in no time."

Seeing Dr. Laventon's conclusion, Zhu Bei's lingering worry finally eased, and she immediately turned to call two on‑standby Pearl Squad members: "You two, come over, carefully carry Huo La into the camp's tent, move gently, don't injure him."

The two Pearl Squad members promptly stepped forward, carefully supporting Huo La's arms, steadily lifting him, and walked toward the nearby temporary camp.

Dr. Laventon stood in place, his gaze following the carried Huo La, a hint of profound light flashing in his eyes.

After a moment of thought, Dr. Laventon raised his hand and called over a Galaxy Team member nearby who was responsible for watch.

The member hurried forward, bowing respectfully: "Doctor, what are your orders?"

"You go back to Zhujing Village immediately," Dr. Laventon's tone grew serious, "Report every detail of what happened here to Captain Majamu and Xingyue Squad Leader, emphasizing that Huo La risked his life to absorb the abnormal Spacetime Energy from the Axe Mantis King's body, successfully restoring the Axe Mantis King to normal."

"Dr. Laventon, Huo La..." Zhu Bei whispered, slipping close to Dr. Laventon, lowering her voice.

The earlier conversation between Dr. Laventon and the Galaxy Team member she had heard every word of, and instantly grasped the deeper meaning in his words.

Dr. Laventon tipped his hat, his gaze fixed on the direction Huo La was carried, his tone calm yet unwavering: "Huo La was retrieved by our Galaxy Team from the Obsidian Fieldlands; he indeed harbors a secret, and both Captain Majamu and Xingyue Squad Leader are aware of that."

He paused briefly, then continued: "But our Galaxy Team's original purpose is to protect Hisui's peace, not to pry into others' secrets. We will not force him, nor will we harm him because of his secret. As long as he harbors no intent to threaten Hisui, we will continue to treat him as a companion."

Hearing this, Zhu Bei's tense expression gradually eased, and she lightly nodded.

She turned to look at the softly conversing Ju Yi and the Axe Mantis, her tone solemn: "I understand your point. The events of tonight, especially the details of Huo La's absorption of the Abnormal Energy, I will personally inform the team members, ensuring they keep it sealed, and will never let this matter spread, to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Additionally, I will continue to arrange the perimeter watch around the Giant Tree Battlefield, to prevent new anomalies from emerging in the Spacetime fissures."

"You've worked hard," Dr. Laventon said, "I'm heading to the camp now to check Huo La's condition, and will also compile the detection data of this Abnormal Energy for archiving and analysis later."

Having said that, the two each went their separate ways.