Chapter 830

The *thump, thump, thump* of the war drums continued, each beat resonating with Lu Mian's heartbeat, making him feel so uncomfortable that he wanted to vomit blood.

He endured the discomfort, braving the cold liquid that felt like a "downpour," and under the gaze of countless eyes, amidst the strange, thin, low laughter, he firmly continued forward.

One step, two steps, three steps. In Lu Mian's vision, which was exceptionally dark due to the bandages, a blood-red color suddenly lit up.

It was a red plain, and a vast army of undead creatures wearing iron-black armor was coming.

"The nightmare I had earliest after I started studying?" Lu Mian had just flashed this thought when he found the scene "before his eyes" becoming fragmented, superimposed with images of a roaring palace, a forest composed of thunder, a mountain piled with corpses and skeletons, and a neat line of blindfolded experimental researchers marching.

These all came from the nightmares he had been having during this period.

Lu Mian immediately understood that it wasn't that the bandages had lost their effect, allowing him to see the situation in the hall, but that he was influenced by some kind of power, experiencing hallucinations where reality and falsehood were difficult to distinguish.

At the same time, the dull voice echoing in his left ear stopped recounting the knowledge from the books and became sometimes sharp, sometimes hoarse, not knowing what it was roaring about.

Lu Mian immediately felt the palm of his right hand become scorching hot, with threads of stinging pain.

The residual aura of the "Blood Emperor" Alista Tudor had been triggered!

Immediately following, the mark from the "Netherworld Daoist" became increasingly cold, suppressing the violence and madness that seemed to be trying to break free, and a slight burning sensation also appeared on the left side of Lu Mian's chest.

"Is this making a hodgepodge now..." Lu Mian habitually mocked himself in his heart.

Accompanied by such changes, those dripping cold liquids gained a bit of softness, as if one gloomy, wet palm after another was stroking his body.

The *thump, thump, thump* of the war drums no longer struck Lu Mian's heartbeat rhythm with every beat, and those gazes from unknown sources also lost the meaning that made Lu Mian's scalp numb, while the thin, low laughter turned into a soft, moving song, appearing and disappearing.

Lu Mian was stunned for a moment, having a vague guess.

He maintained a moderate pace, walking toward the depths of the hall marked on his mental map.

The "raindrops," drumbeats, gazes, and singing didn't change again, allowing him to walk exceptionally smoothly.

"Is it that the contamination I suffered from contacting the '0—01' sealing documents and learning that knowledge was triggered by the dangers in this hall, causing me to fall into hallucinations composed of those nightmares, and they also made me recognized by the dangers here, treated as the same kind, the same kind that has also been severely contaminated by '0—01'?

"This also led to the residual aura of the 'Blood Emperor' being triggered, and the mark of the 'Netherworld Daoist' and Mr. Fool's seal also had a chain reaction. If it weren't for these, I would have truly become the same kind as the surrounding dangers, becoming a real experimental researcher...

"Hmm, has Mr. Fool's seal also passively played a role in confusing perception and concepts? The judgment that similar contamination equals one of our own can stem from the Law of Similarity in mysticism, or it can be the result of exploiting loopholes..."

Lu Mian's train of thought gradually became clear. He raised his right hand, pressed it against his left chest, and muttered silently to himself, taking the opportunity to tease himself:

"Praise Mr. Fool!

"Thank you, Archbishop Herabeg, thank you, knowledge, for bringing power!

"Learning makes me happy!"

While listening to the strange roars from the earplugs, trying to distinguish what information this sound contained, Lu Mian maintained a state of rapid forward movement so as not to stimulate those dangers he couldn't see.

He estimated his steps and distance, constantly comparing them with his mental map, and finally arrived at what should be the exit of the hall.

Just at this moment, the nightmare scenes "before his eyes" changed.

He seemed to have arrived at a very high place, looking down at the mountain piled with corpses and skeletons from before.

His gaze moved downward constantly, crossing the pale flames and dark red light burning in the eye sockets of the corpses, crossing the rotten flesh and pale bones, falling onto the deep red, near-black ground, falling onto the iron-black armor.

The metal surfaces of those armors reflected the same black figure.

Lu Mian saw that figure clearly:

It was the serial killer Gei, who wore glasses and looked scholarly!

This exile, who had been sent into Morora along with Lu Mian, Zhu Li, and Lies, had disappeared somewhere after reading books in the Church of Knowledge for a period of time, and Lu Mian had never encountered him again!

Those Gei figures on the metal armor seemed to have sensed Lu Mian's gaze and suddenly raised their heads to look high up, but he quickly lowered his head again, as if he had just instinctively made a wrong choice.

Those fragmented images "before Lu Mian's eyes" disappeared accordingly and were no longer presented.

"Gei?

"His figure was reflected on the surface of those iron-black armors... That's equivalent to mirrors...

"Is he the 'Mirror Person' who infiltrated Morora?"

Lu Mian's pupils, covered by the white bandages, suddenly dilated.

He quickly compared Gei's figure with the "Mirror Person" figure he had seen in his nightmares before:

It was highly likely to be the same one!

"It was actually him... And he even knew how to go to the Church of Knowledge to study... Has he currently reached the area around that mountain of corpses?" Lu Mian suddenly felt that this "Mirror Person," Gei, would likely be just as troublesome and tricky as Albus Medici, Zhu Li, Celeste, and Wanake.

Lu Mian recalled the scene he had just "seen" and felt that his perspective had a big problem:

"At the highest point of the mountain of corpses?

"Looking down at everything...

"Did I share the perspective of '0—01'?

"Also, being severely contaminated by '0—01' means becoming its puppet, and from the current situation, high-level individuals of the 'Hunter' pathway can share power, damage, vision, hearing, and feelings with members of their team...

"Did '0—01' treat me as one of its own just now?

"It didn't give me power like it did to Wanake, which means it's not particularly 'recognized' yet... If I really finish reading the remaining books and master the corresponding knowledge, will the contamination reach a critical point, making '0—01' view me as someone who has completely surrendered, as a complete puppet and its limb, while I am actually not? In such a situation, I can indeed get closer to it relatively easily and think of a way to leave a brand.

"This is about the same as my previous guess. The purpose of the exam is to measure the degree of contamination, the body's endurance, and the balance of various contaminations in my body...

"This really has to be a perfect score. If I hide anything and cause Archbishop Herabeg's judgment to go wrong, the only one who will get a tragic result will be myself... Either I will truly become a puppet of '0—01', or I will die here because of insufficient contamination...

"Knowledge is indeed power, and knowledge indeed hides wealth!"

Lu Mian couldn't help but curse Zhu Li and Celeste—these two sow-raised "Witches" had prevented him from finishing his studies!

The matter had already happened, so he could only pass through the hall exit while cursing.

Walking for dozens of meters along the corridor marked on his mental map, Lu Mian suddenly sensed significant movement from the side and heard the sound of wind brought by heavy objects.

Holding the carbide lamp and the head of the "Abscessed Hand," he lunged forward and rolled to avoid it.

*Bang! *

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed.

With the help of this sound, Lu Mian quickly outlined the appearance of the "enemy" in his mind:

That was a greatsword!

And in the underground mausoleum, the only thing Lu Mian could think of that carried a greatsword and didn't feel alive was a soldier puppet!

"Was I attacked by a soldier puppet in the corridor?

"Hey, we're the same kind, we're all soldiers of '0—01'!"

Amidst Lu Mian's surprise, the sound of wind *whooshed*, and that greatsword slashed over again.

Lu Mian, who couldn't see anything, directly triggered the black mark on his right shoulder and flashed behind the attacker, who was suspected to be a soldier puppet.

At the same time, some knowledge from the book "Puppet Making and Maintenance" surfaced in his mind:

"The soldier puppets used in the underground mausoleum are uniformly two meters tall and made of steel...

"There are four types of weapons: greatsword, warhammer, long spear, and bow and arrow...

"The weakest part of a soldier puppet is the neck. This is not only a problem of mechanical structure but also an inevitable development brought about by the contaminated power in the underground mausoleum..."

As the corresponding knowledge flashed by, Lu Mian leaped up, pulled his chest muscles, stretched his arms, raised his right fist, and swung it toward the back of the neck of the soldier puppet image constructed in his mind.

His fist ignited with layers of compressed searing white flames, finally landing on something hard and cold.

Amidst a *clang* sound, the compressed searing white flames were injected into the soldier puppet's neck.

Lu Mian used the force to flip backward in mid-air, while a *rumbling* explosion sound echoed from inside the soldier puppet.

A "harvest" completed in the form of flame injection!

*Clang, clang, clang* sounds followed, as if multiple heavy metal fragments had fallen to the ground.

Lu Mian had just stood firm when Albus's voice appeared in his ear:

"Can you see?"

There was a bit more strange metallic texture in the voice of this member of the Medici family.

Albus came too? Did he witness my precise harvesting of the soldier puppet? Lu Mian's right hand quietly reached into the "Traveler's Bag," responding to Albus Medici with a smile:

"Can you see too?"

Albus's voice, with its metallic texture, sounded from another place:

"I can't see myself, I'm blindfolded like you, but I can borrow the power of the soldier puppets here and share their vision."

This is a manifestation of the power of a high-level individual of the "Hunter" pathway... A gift from the "Red Angel"? This gift can actually hitch a ride on the puppets of '0—01'... According to Madam "Magician," that King of Angels once held control over '0—01'... Lu Mian specifically "humphed" and said:

"Was it you who made the soldier puppet attack me just now?"

Albus changed his position again, seemingly using different soldier puppets to make sound:

"This is a test. Only those who pass the test are qualified to cooperate with me."

"Are you qualified to cooperate with me? Why would you think I want to cooperate with you?" Lu Mian made a disdainful sound.

Albus laughed:

"That 'Witch' has an item on her, a very dangerous item. If the two of us don't cooperate, we are very likely to be defeated by her one by one."

(End of chapter)