Chapter 248

Feiguang and the others stared at the shadow descending from the sky, their minds filled with questions.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do? What the hell did you bring me to?!

Feiguang shook the computer in his hand. Is this the location you set for us? Did you get hacked by a virus?

The computer possessed by the foreign aid was also stunned—the plot didn't match his planning. In his search, the target was clearly here; there should've been a hidden laboratory, not a square.

After a brief hesitation, it realized: from the very beginning, Saint Song Corporation had detected its intrusion and played along, deliberately guiding its actions.

No wonder it's that thing—it granted the Wasteland Realm's natives power to rival divinity.

But the problem now is, even if it discovered the truth, it was already too late.

After a brief loading indicator, a single character appeared on the computer screen.

"Run!"

Having given the answer, it immediately led by example—the computer flickered black and severed the external aid, embodying total retreat and abandonment.

Feiguang and Qianye swallowed hard, slowly tilting their heads upward toward the towering shadow.

The shadow before them was the Child of Sin, born from the Hive, forged from the evil within countless shareholders.

The Child of Sin stood twenty meters tall, resembling a gaunt, robed figure drenched in murky black. Merely glancing at it induced dizziness, nausea, and revulsion.

Feiguang forced down his discomfort and looked higher—he saw the Child of Sin bore a human head, but on either side grew two curved, spiraling horns, like a demon from myth.

The Child of Sin's face had no features—only a pale mask. At first glance, the mask radiated warmth and kindness; but after a few more seconds, it exuded an indescribable dread, its calm, gentle smile hiding grotesque and sinister intent.

The oppression radiating from the Child of Sin surpassed that of the Fly King. Frankly, its appearance wasn't bad—at least among failed monsters, its aesthetics were T0—but its pure malice inflicted soul-deep discomfort.

This discomfort stemmed from both fear of the Child of Sin and revulsion at seeing one's own darkness reflected in it.

Compared to the Child of Sin, the Fly King seemed almost cute.

Feiguang had only stared for a moment, yet his willpower was severely shaken; the small talisman on his person dimmed slightly.

He looked around—he hadn't noticed before when passing through, but now standing at the square's center, with Wildo City plunged in darkness and only Saint Song Tower illuminated, the lights turned the entire plaza into an arena.

The surrounding skyscrapers were packed with media personnel from around the world, come to witness history—they were the perfect audience, the perfect witnesses.

The instant he realized this, cold sweat broke out on Feiguang's back.

This was all arranged by Schulz from the very beginning. Schulz had been preparing for this exact scene since day one.

Schulz had misled the computer once—he could do it again. Feiguang recalled the process of gathering intelligence: from discovering the hidden room on the 90th floor, to entering the fully sealed underground laboratory, to now stepping into this "arena"—all under Schulz's control!

Feiguang's mouth tasted bitter. He stared at the Child of Sin before him. No wonder the computer told them to run—but now, at this point, could they still escape?

The Child of Sin did not immediately attack. It merely stared coldly at Feiguang and the others.

After all, Schulz had built this stage to showcase the Child of Sin's power. If he struck first and instantly obliterated Feiguang and the others, wouldn't that waste all his effort?

Feiguang and the others understood Schulz's goal. The only way they could leave today was by killing the Child of Sin.

But they themselves were nowhere near enough—they needed outside help.

And the external aid they summoned had to be unexpected and swift.

As he had done against the Fly King, Feiguang pulled out a contract. As it activated, the chains that once bound the Fly King shot forth again, wrapping once around the Child of Sin.

Though the Child of Sin wasn't instantly sealed like the Fly King, its divinity was severely suppressed—and continuously weakening.

In reality, this meant Feiguang no longer felt dizzy or nauseous when staring at the Child of Sin.

Immediately after, five arcs of lightning erupted from the contract, slashing violently against the Child of Sin. The lightning severed its black robe and struck its true form, causing its entire body to shimmer with bright silver electricity.

The electrified Child of Sin became a lightning rod—clear night skies above suddenly condensed a bolt of lightning, a colossal serpent striking straight down upon its head, a piercing scream echoing through the air.

Feiguang gripped the contract tightly in one hand, his other fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. He stared at the Child of Sin engulfed in Lei Guang, his heart filled with dread.

Will they win?

Saint Song Tower, 100th Floor.

Wu Chang hadn't figured out what was happening when Schulz brought him to this room and locked him in.

Access to the 100th floor rested solely with Schulz—he couldn't even leave normally.

The room was constructed with special techniques: the entire floor was transparent, all six surfaces—walls, ceiling, floor—made of special glass with superior visibility, treated to render the entire level optically invisible.

Moreover, it was enveloped in a layer of special divinity. Wu Chang had entered Schulz's office many times and never sensed that a hidden 100th floor existed above the 99th.

Wu Chang glanced around—he'd never seen a place more impressive than the Magic Mirror.

The hidden room, besides being invisible and blocking perception, was incredibly sturdy—its security rating could withstand a nuclear blast.

He could escape using a teleportation array, but returning before the skill's cooldown ended would be difficult.

And this was Schulz's private space—anything he did here would likely be noticed. If Schulz detected anything amiss and realized Xiao En's soul had been replaced, it wouldn't be the Iron Armor Corps testing Schulz—it would be him taking the fall for them.

Since he was here, he might as well make the most of it. Wu Chang took the opportunity to observe the hidden floor's layout.

Inside the hidden floor was a vast workshop. The instruments were highly advanced—far surpassing those used in Saint Song Corporation's R&D lab by at least two generations.

Though Xiao En wasn't skilled in research, he'd seen much. Drawing on Xiao En's memories, Wu Chang could roughly identify the purpose of these instruments and devices: from primal armaments and failed monsters, to high-energy weapons and psychic stimulation surgery, to artificial intelligence and fully automated defense systems—all were present.

Moreover, in terms of breakthroughs, Schulz's personal achievements here far outpaced Saint Song Corporation's R&D progress.

For example, psychic stimulation surgery: Hughes discovered the secondary development talent zone capable of completing five-tier psychic stimulation surgery. Here, Schulz had already developed a method capable of handling seven-tier psychic stimulation surgery.

In other words, Saint Song Corporation's apparent accumulation of global elite talent and technological breakthroughs was, in truth, secretly guided by Schulz.

According to Xiao En's memories, Schulz was indeed a genius in STEM—but not to this extent.

To achieve breakthroughs across these fields alone, one would need to reach the absolute pinnacle of dozens of disciplines—medicine, biology, physics, information technology, materials science—and even that wouldn't be enough.

Where did he get this much knowledge?

Wu Chang recalled what the Iron Armor Corps and their mysterious organization were searching for. Could Schulz's anomaly stem from that thing?

He moved deeper into the workshop and saw, at its core, a special treatment pod filled with a white-gold liquid.

He sensed this substance was the exact opposite of the Failed Monster Transformation Agent—it should be the agent that transforms humans into Primal Armaments.

The white-gold liquid contained faint divinity, but it was useless to Wu Chang. He had seen Farrell's resentment: transforming a human into a Primal Armament was far more complex than turning one into a Failed Monster—it required the lab's large-scale equipment.

Without transformation equipment, the pure agent was meaningless.

As Wu Chang carefully examined Schulz's collection, he sensed a vast and pure divinity from not far below.

That divinity carried immense malice, as if born solely to destroy everything and harm others; part of it bore the shadow of the Nest. The things nurtured within the Nest had indeed been taken by Schulz in advance—this commotion must be Schulz awakening that thing.

Soon, Wu Chang found Schulz's related plans in the workshop and learned that what he had created was temporarily named the Child of Sin.

In terms of power and purity, the Child of Sin surpassed the Fly King, reaching the absolute limit of native gods of the Wasteland Realm.

Such a level of monster would make a fitting final boss—but could Schulz possibly handle such a powerful aberration?

He manipulated his True Self to leave the Nest Institute while locking his consciousness onto the Child of Sin.

If Schulz couldn't control the Child of Sin, he'd have to step in and help.

The Child of Sin didn't linger long in the Hymn Tower before sensing an enemy and suddenly bursting out of the building.

Wu Chang hurried to the glass panel corresponding to the 100th floor, following the Child of Sin's escape path to see which unlucky soul it had first targeted.

He looked down—and to his surprise, it was an old acquaintance: wasn't that my good subordinate Feiguang and Chiyé?

He had previously let Feiguang and Chiyé run wild, hoping they'd draw Schulz's attention and test out Schulz's territory for him.

!

They really did work hard—they'd already triggered it after just one day. They're too diligent.

If they survive, they must be promoted and rewarded handsomely.

Wu Chang brought over a chair, took a bottle of champagne from Schulz's liquor cabinet, and sat quietly before the glass to watch the coming battle.

Whether the Ironclad Squad uncovered Schulz's trump card, or the Child of Sin exposed the secret organization behind the Ironclad Squad, he was the winner—this bottle of champagne was his to open today.

The battle began—the Ironclad Squad stuck to their old routine: pulling out the contract and summoning reinforcements, making Wu Chang on the top floor grit his teeth.

Mercury's ability was so convenient—sign a contract with him, and you could frequently cross realms to strike. Wasn't that cheating?

Such a convenient ability must come at a steep cost—certainly not a trivial one—and shouldn't be used lightly. Otherwise, why would Feiguang and the others bother with all this? They could've just summoned reinforcements on their first day in Hymn Tower and bulldozed everything.

The contract unfurled, and the reinforcements summoned were the usual suspects: chains sealing the divinity, paired with lightning strikes to instantly eliminate the target—simple, brutal, effective.

In Wu Chang's eyes, five lightning strikes, combined with a single heavenly bolt, inflicted massive damage on the Child of Sin.

Lightning inherently suppresses sin, and with the Child of Sin's divinity continuously restrained, if this momentum continued, even if it survived this round, it wouldn't last through the next lightning assault.

Damn it—still not enough? Can the chasm between the Wasteland Realm and the Reason Realm truly not be crossed?

Wu Chang's True Self was now close to the battle site; he began manipulating it to silently spread the Power of Chaos, letting it spread across the battlefield square.

Good, good, good—you're all cheating, are you? Wait—I'm going to deal with you today, as the Administrator should.

Just as Wu Chang thought victory was assured, the Child of Sin made a new move.

Its cries grew increasingly frantic, sounding like hundreds of people arguing and fighting at once—chaotic, deafening, stirring violent urges in anyone who heard it.

The sound of the Child of Sin carried clearly across the wilderness, losing no strength over distance—all residents of Wildo City heard it clearly at that moment.

Under the sound's influence, Wu Chang noticed fine black vapors surging from all around, converging into the Child of Sin's body.

From the perspective of his True Self, many bystanders along the street began to show distinct blackness within them—faint blackness, far from the liquid state of Hymn Corp employees—but his True Self could confirm: this black vapor was the evil within people's hearts.

No matter how faint, it existed—and at this moment, all of it had been awakened by the Child of Sin and connected to it.

Under the shared pull of Wildo City's collective sin, the city, in some sense, "merged as one."

Resonating with the sins of Wildo City's citizens, the Child of Sin's body swelled—from its initial twenty meters, growing to thirty, then forty, until it exceeded one hundred meters.

Its massive size surpassed the chains' binding limit; the chains extending from the contract were torn apart by brute force.

With the chains no longer suppressing it, the destructive divinity erupted skyward—the Child of Sin's original state had already reached the peak of native Wasteland Realm gods; now, it effortlessly shattered the barrier.

Wildo City's citizens, now linked to it, also broke through the dimensional restriction.

Wu Chang entered the temporary Administrator's perspective and saw that, under the Child of Sin's lead, the Hymn Corp's dimensional plane pierced through the Wasteland Realm's barrier, like a colossal column of light extending relentlessly toward the Reason Realm.

Ascension!

The Hymn Corp's dimensional plane is ascending!

This was Wu Chang's first time witnessing a dimensional plane break its limit and ascend.

He'd known the Administrator wouldn't easily reconcile with him—from the moment he sensed the divinity, to the Fly King's appearance, he'd known this instance was strange.

Now he could confirm: Schulz possessed the power to trigger dimensional ascension at will. Even the Silent Passage instance, when the Demigod's Remains awoke, failed to provoke such an ascension.

In absolute combat power, the Demigod's Remains was no weaker than the Child of Sin—yet the Child of Sin could trigger ascension while the Remains could not. This proved that dimensional ascension couldn't be achieved by brute force alone—it required a special ritual or method.

Wu Chang gazed at the sin-vapor connecting all Wildo City's citizens—the secret of dimensional ascension must lie in the resonance of sin-power.

In other words, the Hymn Corp's current ascension was no accident—it was entirely within Schulz's plan.

Wu Chang hissed. He hadn't expected Schulz's true goal to be exactly as he claimed: to lead everyone to evolution.

Once ascension is complete and the plane enters the Reason Realm, the Child of Sin will instantly become a true lower deity; Wildo City's citizens, now fused with it, will undergo some transformation under the Child of Sin's guidance.

Whether this transformation turns them into aberrations, primal armaments, or some other form, he didn't know—but he was certain: everything was under Schulz's control.

As a native, Schulz's gaze had pierced through the Wasteland Realm and directly looked toward the Reason Realm.

This cheap cousin of mine has some ambitious dreams.

The shattering of the Wasteland Realm's barrier allowed the Hymn Corp's plane to enter the Intermediate Layer—the Intermediate Layer permits higher combat limits than the Wasteland Realm; freed from Wasteland suppression, the Child of Sin's power grew even stronger.

Feiguang's contract still tried to make one final struggle—entering the Intermediate Layer would let the players hiding behind the contract unleash greater power.

This time, nine lightning slashes flew from the contract, arranged in a single line, slashing toward the Child of Sin.

But with the chains gone, the Child of Sin showed no fear of the lightning slashes—a withered arm emerged from its robe and slapped them all to shreds in one motion.

The residual shockwave from the slap tore Feiguang's contract into fragments.

Feiguang and the others seemed trapped in a death sentence—but Wu Chang, watching from the side, frowned. Moving the battlefield into the Intermediate Layer before eliminating Feiguang and the others might not have been a wise choice.

(End of Chapter)