Chapter 616: Seriously Injured

The dazzling array of equipment in the laboratory sprang into action. Technicians in heavy protective suits began transferring the crystalline minerals from Shuji onto various workstations. Their next step would be to further cut these roughly processed crystal ores into 'crystal pillars' suitable for analysis and deep processing, and to verify several modification procedures previously tested in the simulation system.

Yu Sheng and Bai Liqing left the operating area and entered an observation room adjacent to the lab, watching the bustling scene beyond a thick protective barrier.

The largest piece of crystal had already been cut open. An operator was sending the first crystal pillar sample to a circular platform. As the antigravity device hummed, Yu Sheng watched the pale crystal pillar slowly rise into the air. Then, several ring-shaped objects floated up from the edges of the platform. The inner edges of those silver-white rings emitted a deep purple glow. As the glow gradually intensified, the crystal at the center of the rings began to take on a translucent, illusory appearance.

Yu Sheng frowned. Whether it was an illusion or not, his spiritual intuition seemed restless. He also faintly sensed a hint of heterogeneous aura similar to that of a domain from the equipment. As the concentric rings slowly rotated along the axis and formed several specific angles, he even felt he saw phantoms that did not belong to the real world from where the rings overlapped. The pale crystal pillar trembled in an unstable spacetime, undergoing a reaction similar to decomposition and recombination.

Bai Liqing's voice came from beside him. "We've preliminarily analyzed the research data Luo sent. The descriptions of the various properties of 'Zolda Blackstone' are very detailed, but we believe most of those properties are not the key. What truly relates to the 'Angel Catalyst' are precisely those unquantifiable phenomena, even those recorded as equipment malfunctions—for instance, the sample 'trembling' in a small-scale spacetime, its edges becoming ethereal when stimulated by energy, causing mental contamination, auditory and visual hallucinations, and the like."

"To simulate these characteristics, we need to use some special technology. The device you see is called the 'Reality Deflection Lens.' It was originally used to study certain dangerous entities captured from domains—with a few minor adjustments, it can also be used to 'imbue' normal matter in reality with some... less stable 'temporary properties.' We're not sure if the products processed this way can truly pass as 'Angel Catalysts,' but at the very least, the Hermetic Order's spies will find them suspicious enough to have a high probability of transporting them back to their nests for further study."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment. "Sounds like laying out cockroach bait."

Bai Liqing's expression remained flat. "They are cockroaches."

"True enough," Yu Sheng nodded in agreement, but then couldn't help complaining, "But on second thought, I keep feeling this device is... kind of sinister. It feels pretty dangerous."

Before Bai Liqing could respond, Bai Lixue's eyes appeared on the surface of the observation window, and her voice directly entered Yu Sheng's ears. "You're right to feel that way. This thing is indeed very dangerous."

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"The Reality Deflection Lens—one of the fringe technologies. Used well, it can combat domains; used poorly, it can open new domains," Bai Liqing said calmly. "Outside, this kind of technology is collectively classified as 'Black Ling Energy.'"

Yu Sheng's expression froze solid. "...?"

Bai Liqing maintained her calm, slightly sleepy demeanor.

"Hey, no wonder it felt sinister—so this thing is part of the Black Ling Energy tech tree?!" Yu Sheng was completely thrown off. "Isn't this forbidden technology? Luo racked up a bunch of warrants for messing with this..."

Bai Lixue swayed in front of Yu Sheng. "Because she was doing illegal research and illegal possession—we're legitimate."

Yu Sheng blinked. After a moment's thought, he caught on. He looked at the big eyes on the observation window with a subtle expression. "Let me guess—you guys signed something like a 'Black Ling Energy Non-Proliferation Agreement' with a few major civilization spheres, right? The main content is to prohibit its spread outside your group—while allowing it to spread among yourselves?"

Bai Lixue bobbed up and down. "How did you know?"

Yu Sheng spread his hands. "Is that hard to guess?"

"The existence of objective universal laws determines that the emergence of certain technologies is an inevitable result of development. Whether a technology is taboo only depends on who wields it," Bai Liqing said unhurriedly. "It's better to hold the knife yourself and let others protest than to have others hold the knife while you can only protest. Moreover... in a special 'focal point' like the Borderlands, with hundreds of domains inside and outside the Boundary City, do you think it's possible for us not to deal with Black Ling Energy?"

Yu Sheng stroked his chin, recalling his conversations with Luo and the information about the Black Dot Consortium he had learned from her. He suddenly felt a bit emotional. "...Still, you have to walk the straight path. Playing the villain means taking the blame, getting a bounty, living in the sewers, and being ganged up on by the righteous partners..."

The corner of Bai Liqing's mouth seemed to twitch slightly. She said, "...*yawn*."

Yu Sheng couldn't take it anymore. "...Why don't you just go take a nap?"

A trace of embarrassment flickered in Bai Liqing's eyes, but just as she was about to say something, a sharp phone ring suddenly interrupted their conversation in the observation room.

She picked up the phone and answered. After listening for just a few sentences, her gaze turned serious, and her eyes fell on Yu Sheng. Before he could ask what was happening, she hung up quickly and spoke proactively. "...A deep diver squad was ambushed in the dark alleys. One of the attackers was an 'Artificial Saint.' The team leader is someone you know—Xu Jiali."

Yu Sheng was instantly alarmed. From the micro-expressions on her face and her tone, he sensed that the situation seemed bad. "How are they?"

"They lost the fight, but fortunately, it was a deep diver squad. At least they all made it out alive. They're in the Third Medical District."

As soon as Yu Sheng heard that, he quickly said, "Take me there."

...

Soon, Yu Sheng, led by Bai Liqing, arrived at a medical floor inside the Special Services Bureau building.

At the door of the ward, Bai Liqing stopped. "I won't go in," she said. "The injured will only get nervous seeing me. Xu Jiali and his ling energy servant are in this ward. Their condition is relatively good."

Yu Sheng nodded, didn't stand on ceremony, and pushed open the door to the ward. Before he even entered, he heard Ling Dang's voice from inside. "Boss, you totally messed up this time~ You almost got your kidneys sliced out, meow. I'll buy you some canned food later, rawr!"

Then came Xu Jiali's somewhat weak voice. "...I want the yellow peach kind, not the tin cans... And it was because I was careless. In the end, I was actually the better fighter..."

Yu Sheng's heart, which had been clenched the whole way, immediately relaxed. Hearing the commotion inside, he knew the people were not seriously hurt. He stepped in and greeted them. "Look who's here!"

He saw the scene inside the ward. It was a special ward for deep divers. In the spacious room, there was only a single hospital bed in the center, surrounded by a dazzling array of monitoring devices that didn't even look much like medical equipment. Xu Jiali was half-sitting, half-lying against the raised bed. His upper body was bare, and a large area of his torso was covered with a thick, silver-gray gelatinous 'coating.' Under the gelatinous coating, many wounds that were deep enough to see bone could be faintly seen. Additionally, the skin on his torso had an almost metallic texture, with what seemed to be pipes and interfaces buried underneath. His chest and abdomen were covered with black 'skin,' looking like some kind of enhancement modification technology. Many electrodes and cables of various sizes connected to this two-meter-tall strongman's torso, and the monitoring equipment beside him let out a hum from time to time.

The ling energy servant named 'Ling Dang' was standing guard nearby, dressed in loose hospital clothes. Compared to Xu Jiali, whose half body had been carved up like a flower, this Jipuluo girl's injuries were much lighter. She just had a few rounds of bandages around her head and a Band-Aid on one furry cat ear. It looked less like she had been injured by the Artificial Saint and more like she had bumped her head while escaping.

At Yu Sheng's greeting, Xu Jiali and Ling Dang both turned their heads toward the sound. Xu Jiali instinctively tried to sit up to greet him, but the moment he moved, he pulled at his wounds. With an 'ah,' he collapsed back, leaning against the bed and sucking in cold air. "Sss... f*ck, it hurts..."

"You sound pretty energetic," Yu Sheng said, looking him over. Relieved, he broke into a smile. "I was startled when I heard the news—coming back in one piece after encountering an Artificial Saint. You're something."

"Ah, I just slipped up a bit," Xu Jiali sighed. "I tell you, if it were just an Artificial Saint, it wouldn't have been a big deal. We had a whole deep diver squad—ganging up together, we could probably take it. But the key is that it also brought a full platoon of 'Knights.' That made the fight painful. Even though we fought harder, in the end we had to retreat while fighting... Luckily, Ling Dang managed to unleash a ling energy scream at the last moment, so we could jump out of the dark alleys. My condition is okay, but two unlucky ones still haven't woken up yet."

Yu Sheng looked at Xu Jiali, who despite his severe injuries was still in relatively good spirits thanks to his tough constitution, and then at the cat-eared girl with bandages on her head. He nodded knowingly. "So it was a cat cart."

Ling Dang noticed Yu Sheng's gaze. She circled around him twice, then suddenly leaned in, her slit pupils full of inquiry. "Why didn't you bring any canned food when you came to see the patient?"

Yu Sheng: "..."

Xu Jiali quickly cautioned her from the side, then grinned painfully as he looked at Yu Sheng. "By the way, what are you doing here? Did the bureau notify you?"

"I happened to be here—and I did tell your director before that any information involving the Holy Hermetic Order should be reported to me immediately," Yu Sheng waved a hand. "Don't move around too much. I'll call for an expert, and then you can tell me all about the ambush."

(End of chapter)