Chapter 587: New Weapon

Underground laboratory.

The heavy Alloy Door slowly closed.

He Chuan stood before the main console, and the Doctor's Lab Coat still bore a few gray smudges that hadn't been wiped away.

In the cultivation chamber behind him, a mass of Gray Mist residue floated, sealed inside a transparent container.

It was tiny.

Only half a palm across.

But no one in the laboratory dared to approach.

None of the things left by Lu Dou could be explained with ordinary understanding.

Jiang Yuan stood at the front of the observation area, the Card Bag hanging at his waist.

Qin Zhixia's mechanical prosthetic arm rested on the railing; its metal fingers tapped twice and then stopped.

Su Ming leaned against the wall, clutching a terminal, his pupils deep-colored.

Liang Wen stood a little farther away, the hem of his black Windcoat still stained with dust from the school.

"Dr. He,"

Wei Gong sat at the back, a half‑drunk cup of tea beside him.

"Get to the point,"

He Chuan nodded and pressed the projection button.

The Gray Mist was magnified, and dense data chains floated across the screen.

"Lu Dou's Gray Mist was originally composed of three layers of rules,"

"First layer: dangerous laugh meme,"

"Second layer: Spiritual Pollution,"

"Third layer: life sharing,"

"The first two layers handle assimilation; the third binds all the Infected together,"

Liang Wen raised his hand.

"Can it speak human language?"

He Chuan gave him a glance.

"Human language means that Lu Dou linked thousands of brains into a group chat,"

Liang Wen nodded.

"I get that."

"Then the group owner muted everyone, forcing a flood of happiness,"

"Pretty much."

He Chuan pulled up another set of data.

"But after Lu Dou's death, Spiritual Pollution and life sharing were completely erased,"

"Only the lowest layer remains."

On the screen, the Gray Mist was peeled apart.

Inside, countless silver‑gray threads, so fine they were almost invisible, appeared.

They were non‑aggressive.

They also showed no pollution reaction.

They were merely linked to each other.

"Consciousness linkage."

He Chuan spoke.

"Disregarding distance, walls, and conventional signal shielding."

"As long as frequencies match, two or even more individuals can establish a shared channel on the spiritual level."

Qin Zhixia frowned.

"Share what?"

"Perception, thoughts, memory fragments, and efficiency of ability invocation."

He Chuan said.

"Theoretically, if multiple arcane tricksters achieve stable synchronization, the Weird rules within their bodies can cooperate."

Jiang Yuan lifted his head.

"Combine abilities?"

"More than just combining."

He Chuan's finger hovered over the screen.

"It's stacking."

The laboratory fell silent.

Su Ming stared at the data model.

"Can low‑level arcane tricksters boost rule strength merely by numbers?"

He Chuan nodded.

"It couldn't be done before."

"Each arcane trickster has their own Spiritual Pollution, barely able to contain it themselves, and they never dare to give their consciousness to others."

"But the dangerous laugh meme offers an entirely new path."

"It retains only the linking function, stripping away emotional control and personality corruption."

Humans can actively connect.

Liang Wen rubbed his chin.

This thing sounds a bit sinister.

Two heads together—what if someone goes to the bathroom and forgets to lock the door, and the other person watches the whole thing?

A young researcher beside them lowered their head.

Couldn't hold it in.

Qin Zhixia glanced over.

That researcher immediately sat up straight.

Liang Wen wanted to add a couple more words, Su Ming looked up.

You shut up first.

People like you, once inside, probably have nothing but images of yourself practicing sword drawing filling your mind.

Liang Wen's expression turned solemn.

That's artistic material.

Wei Gong set down his teacup.

Risk.

He Chuan switched the display to the red file.

Mental rejection.

Cognitive overlay.

The Weird rule backfires.

If the consciousness of two Anomalous cannot maintain boundaries, lightly they suffer personality disorder, severely both become empty shells.

There is another situation.

He Chuan paused.

They will merge into a new mental entity.

Jiang Yuan's hand pressed on the card bag.

This technology is too important.

Humans now have Suppress Spook Bullets, Night Watchers, and S-grade Anomalous.

But facing deities, those trump cards are still far from enough.

If B Ji agents could use the Symbiosis Project to bypass rank limits, the Investigation Bureau could mass-produce rule teams.

One B Ji isn't enough.

What about ten?

What about twenty?

What humanity lacks least is people.

Jiang Yuan spoke.

Are you ready for the test? Who is the test subject?

The lab side door opened.

Two men walked in.

Both are around thirty, wearing the Investigation Bureau's standard combat uniform.

The man on the left is called Zhao Qi.

The man on the right is called Han Cheng.

B-grade Anomalous.

One wields a Weird that releases flames, the other wields a Weird that releases shockwaves.

Zhao Qi smirked.

Jiang Team.

Don't put on that expression.

It's not like we're being sent to die.

Han Cheng continued.

Old Zhao still owes me two hundred Federal Currency from last night.

If he dies first, who will I collect the debt from?

Zhao Qi cursed.

You damn thing.

Still thinking about money at a time like this.

Han Cheng shrugged.

People alive need to have some hope.

Jiang Yuan looked at the two.

They are both very young.

No family members applied for avoidance.

They left no will.

Because they had already written too many times.

Wei Gong stood up.

The test is voluntary.

"Withdraw now, no accountability."

Zhao Qi spoke first.

"Director."

"My sister is in the North American quarantine zone."

"She has been out of contact there for two months."

"I'm just a B Ji, I can't go."

"If this succeeds, at least in the future when that kind of thing happens, I won't have to stand behind and watch."

Han Cheng raised his hand and patted Zhao Qi's shoulder.

"I'm not as great as him."

"I'm just annoyed."

"When we previously encountered an A Ji Weird, the Captain ordered a retreat, and I could only retreat."

"After retreating, we went back to write a report."

"The report listed how many people were sacrificed."

He smiled briefly.

"Writing so much makes my hands numb."

Wei Gong watched the two.

After a while, Wei Gong spoke.

"Begin."

The nutrient cabin opened.

Zhao Qi and Han Cheng each lay down inside.

The transparent cabin cover descended.

The head restraints adhered.

Zhao Qi's and Han Cheng's temples, napes, and chests were connected with dozens of neural transmission lines.

He Chuan stood before the control console, his finger hovering over the activation button.

"Final confirmation."

Zhao Qi closed his eyes.

"Confirm."

Han Cheng said.

"Hurry up, don't dawdle."

He Chuan pressed the activation.

First second.

The two bodies showed no response.

Second second.

Veins bulged on the back of Zhao Qi's hand.

Han Cheng's Adam's apple rolled, his jaw clenched.

Third second.

The mental waveforms inside the two nutrient cabins began to converge.

On the screen, the two curves originally pulsed separately.

Soon, the wave amplitudes shifted.

"Match rate eighteen percent."

"Twenty‑seven percent."

"Thirty‑five percent."

He Chuan stared at the data.

"Very smooth."

Liang Wen was about to speak when the screen suddenly flashed a red warning.

Match rate forty‑one percent.

Blood streamed from Zhao Qi's nasal cavity.

Han Cheng's eye corner also seeped a line of blood.

Both bodies tensed simultaneously, and the nutrient cabin shells emitted fine vibrations.

"Mental repulsion!"

The researcher shouted.

"Frequencies are beginning to devour each other!"

"Cut the connection!"

He Chuan's hand rested on the emergency stop button, but he did not press it down immediately.

Match rate forty‑three percent.

Zhao Qi opened his mouth, his breathing became erratic.

Han Cheng raised his hand, his five fingers gripping the cabin wall tightly.

"Don't cut!"

Zhao Qi squeezed out a sentence through his teeth.

"Give me ten more seconds!"

Han Cheng's forehead blood flows down.

"I haven't paid back the money yet!"

"Don't try to dodge the debt!"

Alarms blare continuously inside the laboratory.

Turbulent mental currents spill out through the gaps between the two nutrient chambers.

Several researchers clutch their heads, their faces turning pale.

Someone begins to dry‑retch.

Qin Zhixia steps forward.

"We can't delay any longer."

He Chuan's forehead is drenched in sweat.

"Forcibly cutting off will cause their brains to collapse."

"If we don't cut, they'll be devoured by each other's Weird!"

Jiang Yuan raises his hand to unlock the Card Bag.

"I'll suppress the leaking part."

"Su Ming."

Su Ming has already raised his hand.

The Time Marrow Worm drills out from his palm, its tiny legs attaching to the console.

The scene inside the laboratory slows down.

The alarm lights flicker sluggishly.

A blood droplet rests at the side of Zhao Qi's face.

He Chuan stares at the screen, his breathing easing.

"Time slowdown is effective."

"But the mental‑layer conflict continues."

Jiang Yuan says nothing.

Shadows spread beneath his feet.

Dark Shadow Court covers the experimental zone.

The black domain clings to the two nutrient chambers and spreads, yet it bypasses Zhao Qi and Han Cheng's bodies.

The escaping mental turbulence is swallowed by the shadows.

Jiang Yuan's forehead beads with sweat.

This thing has no physical form.

The shadow legion can cut Weird and swallow Rules.

But the mental linkage is different.

Each time it devours a segment of turbulence, unfamiliar images appear in its mind.

Zhao Qi, when he was young, stole his father's cigarettes at the repair shop.

Han Cheng, on his first mission, retched in the restroom for a long time.

The image is chaotic.

The emotions are chaotic as well.

Jiang Yuan bites his teeth and suppresses those things.

He cannot let the two fail.

Nor can he let this path end here.

"Match rate 47%."

He Chuan's hand trembled.

"They're pulling back!"

Zhao Qi's body stops struggling.

Han Cheng's hand gripping the chamber wall slowly releases.

Two mental waveforms begin to converge toward the same rhythm.

51%.

60%.

73%.

Blood flows from Su Ming's mouth corner.

The Time Marrow Worm has already been pushed to its limit.

"Jiang Yuan."

"Hurry."

Jiang Yuan lifts his hand.

Shadows compress in midair into a black curtain, sealing above the two nutrient chambers.

"Zhao Qi."

"Han Cheng."

"You choose yourselves."

"Whether to continue as two people, or survive together."

Inside the nutrient chamber.

Zhao Qi opened his eyes.

Han Cheng also opened his eyes.

The two stared at each other through the transparent canopy.

Zhao Qi suddenly cursed.

"Han Cheng, you little brat, why is your head full of unpaid debts?"

Han Cheng grinned.

"I saw clear as day that you stole your dad's cigarettes."

Zhao Qi froze.

The next second, both raised their hands simultaneously.

They pressed down on the neural interface on their chests.

"Continue!"

Match rate 100%.

All alarms stopped.

In the lab, nobody dared to move.

He Chuan stared at the screen, saying nothing for a long time.

The two mental curves completely overlapped.

They were not simply covering each other.

But rather they maintained independent fluctuations while sharing the same main frequency.

Success.

Zhao Qi and Han Cheng sat up from the nutrition tank.

Their faces still bore blood.

Breathing was steady.

Zhao Qi looked at Han Cheng.

"Can you hear me?"

Han Cheng didn't speak.

Zhao Qi, however, raised his hand to cover his ears.

"Damn."

"Don't talk in my head."

Han Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty convenient."

Liang Wen came over.

"Can you hear what I'm thinking?"

Zhao Qi and Han Cheng exchanged a glance.

In unison.

"You're thinking about what to eat this afternoon."

Liang Wen's expression fell.

"This tech needs a privacy agreement."

Half an hour later.

Underground test field.

Zhao Qi and Han Cheng changed into combat suits and stood before the target area.

Before them lay a B Ji Weird simulacrum.

Made from contained wreckage and rule materials.

A single-person attack is hard to pierce.

He Chuan's hand rested on the communicator.

"First joint rule invocation."

"Remember, don't vie for dominance."

Zhao Qi raised his hand.

Red flames sprouted from his palm.

Han Cheng raised his hand.

Vibrations appeared in the air.

The two forces should have repelled each other.

But this time, the flames did not scatter.

Nor did the vibrations lose control.

Zhao Qi and Han Cheng spoke at the same time.

"Target, eliminate."

The flames were compressed.

The vibrations were superimposed into the flames' interior.

The next second.

A red-white energy beam shot out.

The target area's B Ji simulacrum was pierced.

Deep scorch marks were left on the alloy wall.

All instruments in the test field showed the same set of values.

A Ji destructive power.

He Chuan held onto the control console.

The researcher beside him had trembling lips.

Two B Ji.

They unleashed an A Ji strike.

Wei Gong stood behind the observation window.

His white hair was neatly combed, but his eyes hid an extremely sharp edge.

Project approved.

The Unity Plan is listed as the Highest Priority Order.

All elite squads will undergo compatibility testing in batches.

First form a united force, then form a legion.

Wei Gong turned around.

The Suppress Spook Bullet solves humanity's internal problems.

The Unity Plan solves the problem of insufficient manpower when facing the Weird.

Don't the gods like to watch humanity struggle?

Then let them see clearly.

There are many people, and many paths.

Jiang Yuan gazed at the scorch marks on the target area.

The weight on his chest eased slightly.

They are still far from the gods.

But humanity now has an extra card in hand.

This card does not rely on talent.

It does not rely on lineage.

It only relies on someone being willing to entrust their back to another.

The communicator suddenly rang.

A technician's urgent plea for help came from inside.

Jiang Team, requesting assistance!

Lu Yu's power has gone out of control!

He's about to devour the containment area's wall.