Chapter 326: So What Then?

Lin Yifan's gaze hardened, crimson energy forming a shield around him, isolating the corrosive blood threads outside. Yet the third Primordial Son had silently slipped behind him, its arms turning into sharp bone spikes, aiming straight for his rear heart!

Hmph!

Lin Yifan spun around abruptly, spreading the five fingers of his left hand; crimson threads instantly interwove into a net, bluntly blocking the bone spikes' assault. However, the first Primordial Son's bone blade slashed again, forcing him to divert his attention.

One against three, the situation instantly turned disadvantageous.

"Don't force a head‑on fight!" the Crimson King's voice boomed in his mind, "They aren't true life, they're puppets under control! Find the control core!"

Lin Yifan's eyes swept the laboratory, finally fixing on the console behind the woman—where a glaring red light flickered, a thick neural conduit attached to the back of her neck, extending to the ceiling's main control system.

"I see..." he sneered, "You are the true 'Cage' key!"

The woman sensed his intent, her complexion shifting abruptly: "Stop him!"

The three Primordial Sons' attacks suddenly intensified, crimson energy nearly flooding the entire laboratory. Lin Yifan, however, ceased his entanglement, his form instantly becoming ethereal, turning into a crimson afterimage that slipped past their blockade straight toward the console!

"You won't succeed!" the woman shrieked, slamming the emergency button; the ground cracked open, several mechanical tentacles erupted, trying to ensnare Lin Yifan's legs.

"Get out of the way!" Lin Yifan growled low, blood‑silver energy erupting, the tentacles shredded the instant they touched. His right hand shot out like a blade, aiming straight for the woman's throat!

Psshh—

The woman's neck was pierced, yet a bizarre smile spread across her face.

"Too late..." she hoarsely laughed, blood spilling from her mouth corner, "'Mother' has already... awakened..."

The entire laboratory shuddered violently, the ceiling collapsed with a roar, revealing a massive cultivation chamber above—an enormous figure wrapped in crimson energy slowly opened its eyes.

It was... the true Primordial Mother.

Her body seemed stitched from countless flesh and machinery, half of her face a gentle female visage, the other half twisted into a snarling monster. Her voice echoed through the space, bearing a chilling tenderness:

"My child... you finally returned..."

Lin Yifan's pupils suddenly contracted.

The Crimson King's voice roared in his mind: "Run! The you now... is no match for her!"

But it was already too late.

"Primordial Mother" slowly raised her hand, an irresistible suction pulling Lin Yifan straight into her embrace. Her fingertips brushed his cheek lightly, her voice gentle yet mad:

"Don't be afraid... Mother will make you... become a true god."

The next moment, endless crimson energy surged into Lin Yifan's body like a tide—she intended to force a fusion with him!

Excruciating pain swept his whole body, Lin Yifan's consciousness beginning to blur.

At that hair‑trigger moment—

"Bang!!!"

A blinding white beam pierced the laboratory dome, striking Primordial Mother's arm with pinpoint accuracy!

"Aaaah—!" she shrieked, forced to release Lin Yifan.

Through the smoke, a familiar voice rang out coldly:

"Anyone who moves me... have they asked my opinion?"

Lin Yifan managed to lift his head, only to see Su Wan'er wielding a silvery‑white spear, standing on the shattered wall, her gaze as sharp as a blade.

Behind her, an entire fully‑armed special operations team stood.

"What a mess, Lin Yifan." she curled the corner of her mouth, "This time... consider it a debt you owe me." Lin Yifan coughed up a mouthful of blood, a cold smile curling his lips: "Heh, you arrived... just in time."

Su Wan'er vaulted down, the silvery spear tracing a dazzling arc of light, driving back the approaching Primordial Son. She grabbed Lin Yifan in one hand, whispering, "Can you still fight?"

"Can't die." Lin Yifan wiped the blood from his mouth corner, crimson energy swirling around him again.

"Then don't hold me back." Su Wan'er kept her spear forward, her icy gaze sweeping the three bizarre Primordial Sons, finally landing on the Primordial Mother, "This monster... is the ultimate product of the Seventh Research Institute?"

"No," Lin Yifan said in a deep voice, "She is the true 'Cage'... what's inside is far more terrifying than we imagined."

"Primordial Mother" enraged by Su Wan'er's attack, the gentle half of her face twisted, her hybrid of metal and flesh emitting a harsh metallic screech: "Interferers... must be eliminated!"

She swung her hand violently, the laboratory floor suddenly cracking, countless scarlet tendrils bursting from the ground, assaulting everyone like living creatures!

"Open fire!" Su Wan'er ordered, and the special ops members immediately unleashed firepower, high‑energy pulse bombs detonating among the tendrils, temporarily slowing their assault.

Lin Yifan set his sights on the three Primordial Sons. Controlled by the Primordial Mother's will, their actions grew increasingly ferocious, crimson energy nearly solidifying.

"Crimson King," Lin Yifan whispered in his mind, "If they truly are the 'Cage', then what exactly is locked inside...?"

The Crimson King's voice unusually took on a weighty tone: "It is the other half of 'us'... the stripped 'brutality' and 'madness'."

Lin Yifan's pupils narrowed slightly: "What does that mean?"

"Back then, the true purpose of the 'Primordial Project' was to split crimson energy into 'Reason' and 'Instinct' halves," the Crimson King explained quickly, "'We' are the rational half, and they... are pure instinct."

"So that woman intends to use my body as a conduit, to recombine the two parts?" Lin Yifan instantly grasped the danger.

"Exactly. Once the fusion is complete, 'we' will no longer be 'we'... but a monster that knows only destruction."

Lin Yifan sneered: "Then indeed... we can't let her succeed."

He surged toward the first Primordial Son, blood‑silver energy coalescing in his right arm into a massive snarling blade, slashing fiercely at its head!

"Clang—!"

The Primordial Son's bone blade blocked the attack, but Lin Yifan was already prepared; his left hand spread, crimson threads instantly wrapping its limbs.

"Su Wan'er!" he shouted.

"Coming!"

Su Wan'er's figure flashed like a wraith, the silvery spear bearing a dazzling torrent of energy, piercing straight through the Primordial Son's chest!

"Boom—!"

Amid the violent explosion, the Primordial Son's body began to disintegrate, but chillingly, its fragments did not vanish; instead they turned into countless blood strands, trying to pierce into Su Wan'er!

"Careful!" Lin Yifan pulled her away in one motion, crimson energy forming a shield, keeping the blood strands out.

"This thing... can't be killed?" Su Wan'er furrowed her brows.

"No, they're merely 'containers'." Lin Yifan stared at the writhing blood strands, "The real threat... is what's locked inside."

As if confirming his words, from the crumbling remnants of the "Primordial Son" a wisp of dark‑red energy slowly rose, twisting and swelling in mid‑air, ultimately forming a vague, ferocious face.

"Freedom…" it whispered hoarsely, "Finally… free…"

The laboratory's temperature suddenly dropped, and all the lights began to flash wildly.

"Primordial Mother" let out a mad laugh: "Awaken, my children! Let this world… feel true terror!"