Chapter 521: The Battle Has Only Just Begun

Xu Chen greatly enjoys this feeling.

It's not about the infiltration itself; that's merely a procedural operation. The triple‑permission lock is as fragile as a child's toy when faced with truly forged data. What he enjoys is the process of "becoming another person."

The badge on his chest reads "Xu Chen, Level 3 researcher, neurotransmitter regulation focus." The photo is of him, but the identity is fabricated from thin air. The résumé is flawless, the social connections are clean, and there are even a few filler replies to technical forum papers on the medical department's internal forum.

The shell was hand‑molded by the deity behind him.

Xu Chen kept moving. The white medical box swayed lightly between his fingers, its body rubbing against his pant seam, producing an extremely faint sound only he could hear.

The air carried the mixed scent of disinfectant and some nutrient solution. On the hospital bed, Lu Yu lay there, his limbs restrained by the highest‑specification binding straps. The Electrocardiogram, brain‑wave monitor, and blood‑oxygen probe— the full suite of monitoring equipment—glowed with a faint light.

Xu Chen entered, placing the medical box on the bedside cart. He opened the lid; inside were neatly arranged syringes, medicine vials, disinfectant cotton balls, and a single special injector whose needle tube was filled with dark‑red viscous fluid.

Gospel Seed.

It's an improved version. No longer mere Spiritual Pollution, it directly targets neural synapses with a "concept implantation." Once injected, it anchors "faith" deep within the target's consciousness, rewriting cognitive logic from the inside. For ordinary people it's brainwashing; for the cunning—especially beings like Lu Yu whose hearts have been parasitized by a god—it serves as an even more perfect anchor.

Xu Chen took out the injector and glanced at it under the light. The dark‑red liquid drifted slowly within the tube, its viscosity more akin to a living creature's blood than to medicine.

He walked to the bedside.

Lu Yu's eyes were tightly shut, his breathing even. The data on the monitors remained stable, showing no abnormalities. The binding straps dug into flesh, leaving faint red marks on his wrists.

Xu Chen leaned forward, gently pressing his left index and middle fingers against Lu Yu's neck side. The skin was warm, the carotid pulse regular. He adjusted the needle's angle, aiming two centimeters above the pulse point at a branch of the external jugular vein, ensuring the drug would enter central circulation within thirty seconds.

Just as the needle tip was about to touch the skin.

Ka‑da.

The sound of metal gears meshing.

It was faint, yet in the dead‑silent ward it rang sharply.

Xu Chen's hand halted.

The sound came from beneath the bed.

He snapped his head down. On the side of the bed's hydraulic support rod, a fist‑sized metal device had appeared at some unknown time. Its surface bore no markings, only a few inconspicuous cooling vents. At that moment the vents were slowly closing, and a faint echo of gears coming to a stop resonated from within.

A surveillance jammer. Not standard hospital equipment.

Xu Chen's pupils contracted. He looked up at the surveillance probe in the corner. The red light still glowed, but the camera was angled five degrees off, aimed not at the bed but at the blank wall opposite.

There's an ambush.

The thought flashed, and in the ward's shadows a silvery‑white silhouette moved.

No warning. No footfalls. Only a frenzied roar of an overloaded propulsion engine.

Xu Chen didn't even have time to turn.

A heavy knee strike slammed solidly into his chest.

The force was astonishing. Xu Chen felt as if a full‑speed armored vehicle had collided with him; his body was thrown backward, his back smashing hard against the bullet‑proof glass behind him. The tempered glass shattered on impact, shards mingling with his body as they flew out of the ward and crashed into the Corridor.

Cough.

Xu Chen pushed himself up, coughing up a mouthful of blood. The blood was black; it evaporated quickly upon hitting the floor, leaving a charred stain. He looked down at his chest. The Doctor's Lab Coat was torn, the composite anti‑pierce vest beneath dented, and at least three ribs were broken.

Not fatal, but enough to impede movement.

He looked up.

At the ward's doorway, Qin Zhixia stood there.

Her silvery‑white short hair glimmered with a metallic sheen under the cold light. The powered exoskeleton of her mechanical left arm was fully extended, exposed hydraulic lines slowly contracting, joints still dissipating heat. In her right hand she held a uniquely shaped pistol, its barrel black, with the three characters "Tail‑Head Snake" etched beneath the trigger guard.

The muzzle steadied, aimed at Xu Chen's brow.

Qin Zhixia strode out of the ward. Her mechanical left foot stepped over glass shards, producing a creaking sound. She stopped five meters in front of Xu Chen, the muzzle unmoving.

"Xu Chen. Level 3 researcher. Transferred from Eden Garden to Qiu Ce Yuan three months ago. Clean résumé, simple social ties, steady paper output, interpersonal rating A‑minus," she said, her voice steady as if reciting a file, "the disguise is flawless."

Xu Chen wiped the black blood from his mouth corner, straightened his body. The pain in his chest spread, yet his expression remained warm and calm. Even his mouth formed a faint curve.

"Agent Qin," he said lightly, "overtime is hard. However, you should be clear on the confidentiality agreement—unauthorized contact with high‑risk observation subjects violates at least seven internal regulations."

Qin Zhixia gave no reply.

She raised her left hand. Mechanical fingers tapped in the air, and a semi‑transparent light screen unfolded between them. The screen displayed surveillance footage: Xu Chen pushing open the door to the ultra‑secret Corridor, guards along the way collapsing one after another.

"Infrared thermal imaging," Qin Zhixia said, "you have no body heat."

Xu Chen's smile remained unchanged.

"Equipment malfunction? The maintenance budget at Qiu Ce Yuan has been tight lately; understandable,"

"Your shoe soles show no trace of developer residue from any sensor lines," Qin Zhixia continued, "when you passed through Corridor you pre‑emptively avoided the first surveillance sweep by half a second. Before the second thermal scan activated, you pressed your chest badge."

She paused.

"The badge contains a forged body‑temperature curve generator. In the footage you appear as the on‑duty doctor pushing the medicine cart, but the actual coordinates show you've already moved into a sealed Corridor."

Xu Chen raised an eyebrow.

"The technology is quite professional. But this only proves I'm familiar with security protocols; after all, I've been working here for three months."

"Three months," Qin Zhixia repeated, "the time you transferred to Qiu Ce Yuan was exactly one week after Lu Yu's heart Crystal Stone was extracted. Coincidence?"

Xu Chen fell silent.

Qin Zhixia took two steps closer.

"Lu Yu's location is classified as S Ji, and the notification list is limited to the Director, Su Ming, Liang Wen, and three core members of the medical department," she said, staring into Xu Chen's eyes, "you are the fourth to know. Now, you are here."

Her gun‑holding hand was terrifyingly steady.

"Need any more explanation?"

Xu Chen lowered his head, letting out a light laugh. The laugh echoed through the empty Corridor, carrying a strange rhythm.

"Explanation?" he lifted his head, his warm gaze revealing something else for the first time. That something was cold, like a dark current in the Abyss, "Agent Qin, what do you think brought me here?"

Qin Zhixia's pupils narrowed slightly.

"The Director truly lives up to the title," Xu Chen said, slowly raising his hand to wipe the last strand of black blood from his mouth, "the frontline 'Clean World Accord' caused such a stir that the global coalition poured in en masse, the Gospel main force was forced into a corner. This display, this momentum, even the North American branch deployed seventy percent of its combat power."

He tilted his head.

"But have you ever wondered why, at this very moment, with the internal review still unfinished, the director sent out the most elite task force?"

Qin Zhixia said nothing. The barrel remained aimed at Xu Chen.

"Because the front line is fake," Xu Chen said. "Or rather, the front line is a lure. The few people of the Gospel Church aren't worth mobilizing the world's coalition, are they? Everyone knows Sai Men's madness; he'd love to see humanity fight itself. Why did Lord Wei stretch the battle line so long and pull internal guards away?"

He spread his arms.

"To fish, of course."

Rapid footsteps echoed from the end of the Corridor. The medical department's security squad finally arrived, the clatter of riot shields and firearms growing louder.

Xu Chen didn't look at them. He stared at Qin Zhixia.

"You want to draw out the 'tumor' lurking at the highest hub. Fine, the plan is meticulous. But there's a problem."

He pointed at himself.

"How can you be sure the fish you've hooked isn't the one that voluntarily bit the hook?"

Qin Zhixia's finger slipped onto the trigger.

"What are you trying to say?"

Xu Chen smiled. The smile was gentle, but his eyes were cold enough to freeze the air.

"I'm saying, since I dared to come, I have no intention of leaving empty‑handed."

"Lu Yu's Crystal Stone was removed from his heart," Xu Chen whispered, "but the deity's gift never comes in a single portion."

He lowered his head, looking at the still‑unconscious Lu Yu in the ward.

"You treat Lu Yu as a protected asset. Yet you don't know that from the moment the Crystal Stone was implanted, he became a living beacon. As long as he remains in Qiu Ce Yuan for a day, this place serves as the deity's coordinate in the mortal world."

The footsteps ceased. The security squad formed a formation twenty meters away, all barrels pointed at Xu Chen.

Xu Chen was unfazed. He looked at Qin Zhixia, his gaze carrying a near‑pitying tenderness.

"Agent Qin, do you know why I must come in person?"

Qin Zhixia's hand on the gun bulged with blue veins.

"Because some things must be conveyed face to face," Xu Chen said, "for example, greetings."

"Your father Qin Yongchang shielded Qin Yu's murder, shattering your belief. Your brother Qin Yu was slain by a Fierce Ghost, and you couldn't stop it. You were disastrously defeated in the Smiling Dummy mission, and teammate Su Chang died because of you."

Xu Chen's voice was soft, as if reciting a eulogy.

"Now you must personally shatter Lord Wei's scheme, anchoring the deity's point in the human heart. How does that feel?"

Xu Chen smiled. The smile completely ripped through the gentle façade, revealing the madness underneath.

"The director's overt plot," he murmured, "unfortunately, we also have a trump card."

He looked at Qin Zhixia, his gaze scorching.

"Agent Qin, you think that just because I dared to come, I have no real trump card?"

Before the words finished, Xu Chen's body began to mutate. Fine gray patterns rose on his skin, his eyes were swiftly overrun by a blood‑red hue. He opened his mouth; there were no teeth, only a swirling darkness.

From within that darkness came a distant, inhuman whisper.

Qin Zhixia stared at the mutating Xu Chen, the hydraulic lines of the mechanical left arm re‑charging, the power engine emitting a low roar.

She knew the real battle was only just beginning.