Chapter 1481: Chapter 1479: Transferring Pain
This was a kind of pain that even Togu couldn’t completely endure.
For Han Dong to rely solely on his willpower to withstand it from beginning to end was almost impossible… Even if his consciousness was resolute, this limit-breaking pain would devour his mind like a swarm of worms.
Simply enduring through sheer willpower would never last until the end.
[3 minutes 21 seconds]
At this point, Han Dong’s spirit had already begun to show signs of fragmentation and collapse. Amid endless, tearing agony, the mental space available for coherent thought had been reduced to less than ten percent.
“Unable to perform ‘Deep Imitation’ of Togu, unable to ‘Borrowing God,’
all abilities related to the head are unusable during modification, and even the Count can’t hold on anymore. Even if fresh blood were poured upon my thoughts or death used to sustain me, it would have little effect on consciousness.
…What should I do now?”
The confidence accumulated beforehand was gradually eroding, and his awareness was being consumed by unspeakable pain.
Similar to Sally’s situation.
At the breaking limit where his consciousness was about to shatter, a series of life-flashing scenes played out before his eyes.
However, the images were not of his and Sally’s shared experiences but the entirety of his journey in S-01 world.
Finding the skull, infiltrating the Holy City, seizing Nicholas’ body…
Yet the life-movie images froze midway, stagnating at the eerily bizarre town, fixed on the area in front of a decrepit circus tent.
Clusters of red balloons flooded out of the circus entrance like a swarm of rats.
Amidst the balloons stood a clown Han Dong loathed immensely—a pale figure smeared with exaggerated red lips.
Dressed in iconic circus garb, stepping forth in creaky shoes.
“Nicholas… Look at yourself now! You’re so pathetic, it makes me want to laugh! Hahaha! Haha~”
During a bout of profoundly mad laughter.
The clown Pennywise unexpectedly pulled out a vertical saw from his waist and, right before Han Dong’s eyes, proceeded to sever his own head alive.
The head didn’t fall to the ground; instead, it floated mid-air, suspended by the pull of red balloons that kept it aloft, continuing its dialogue with Han Dong:
“Your ‘head’ isn’t functioning, and just like that, you’ve been reduced to this state? Truly disappointing.
It’s just a slightly fatal pain. With the help of my magnificent clown—Pennywise’s body trunk—couldn’t you completely adapt? Go on, give it a try, hahaha! You’ll surely find it exquisitely soothing.”
Speaking thus.
The clown plunged his arm into his abdomen, starting to madly churn within his abdominal cavity.
“Oh~ It seems you’ve fused some other attributes into my body trunk—a sort of floating undead… Hmm~! I like it!”
Suddenly, the perspective shifted.
Where Han Dong had originally viewed the clown’s performance from afar, it instantly switched to a first-person perspective, where he became the very clown himself, stirring up his own innards.
Meanwhile.
Bound to the confinement chair, Han Dong bit through the durable mouth restraint.
Deeply deranged laughter burst forth from within, reverberating across the entirety of the Neutron Star Prison.
The laughter was so wild that even the Gray Walker responsible for modifying the brain showed an expression of faint surprise, releasing gray matter to block the indiscriminate intrusion of mad laughter.
Simultaneously.
The black whirlpool on the surface of the body trunk began to spin faster.
The life-movie reel in his brain continued playing, seemingly searching for a specific scene.
Through the adaptability linked to the body trunk, Han Dong experienced a faint sense of consciousness drifting, and the life-movie images froze once more—this time at a distinctive building within the Black Tower: [Fight Club]
“Treasure Body” integrated with memory imagery, constructing an incomparably vivid deep-layer consciousness scene.
Members from different worlds crowded into a massive fighting arena.
With a microphone in hand, the referee announced loudly:
“Next, our esteemed Mr. Han Dong will engage in an unrestricted ultimate combat match! Let’s see how long he can last, and whether he can break the existing ultimate combat record!”
At the referee’s words, a club member with four arms and a body embedded with iron walked out to face Han Dong.
Pure combat erupted instantly.
Each punch landed violently on the opponent’s body, both sides brawling with raw, primal intensity.
The pain from each blow was clearly transmitted back to his flesh.
However, as a participant in the unrestricted combat match, Han Dong had to fight endlessly. After defeating one opponent, the next stepped up immediately.
The physical pain from combat never stopped.
Using the adaptability of the [Dark Vortex Body], he transferred the brain-upgrade’s tearing agony into a more tangible, combat-induced pain.
A sort of pain that Han Dong could gradually digest and assimilate into his body.
He even began using this pain to elevate the purity level of his flesh.
Gradually.
Han Dong, bound in the chair, ceased making violent, uncontrollable struggles, instead transitioning into a more rhythmic pain—distinct punch marks even started forming clearly on his body.
Throughout the entire process, he maintained exaggerated mad laughter, seemingly reveling in it.
Noticing Han Dong’s consciousness state unexpectedly reversing from its trough, showing signs of gradual improvement.
Gray Walker gave an assessment: “Humans are, indeed, the most interesting.”
…
It wasn’t clear how much time had passed.
In the deep-layer consciousness combat arena.
Han Dong had just completed his 38th combat challenge, his body nearly torn apart, with approximately 57% of his structure suffering from bone and flesh separation… On several occasions, Han Dong had even stuffed spilled intestines back into his body, forcibly reattaching torn flesh to exposed bones.
Nevertheless.
Han Dong continued to maintain a state of excited mad laughter, fully immersed in combat.
At that moment, the combat arena and its surrounding members dissipated simultaneously.
Han Dong realized then that the tearing pain within his brain had completely vanished.
‘Faceless Skull upgrade project has been fully completed.
Due to the phase elevation and new spatial expansion achieved during this head upgrade, specific changes will need to be explored internally.’
Han Dong, filled with surging excitement, was just about to examine his head space.
Buzz!
A streak of gray mist flashed by, forcibly calming his consciousness.
Unable to resist, his awareness instantly sank into deep slumber.
This was the handiwork of the Gray Walker, fully aware that while Han Dong might feel well, in reality, he was teetering on the edge of collapse, his consciousness riddled with cracks, any disturbance threatening to shatter it completely.
Resting was the most crucial thing for Han Dong.
…
[Mi University – Brain Integration Room]
“Oh, this truly is a mess now… This kid’s appetite is unexpectedly this massive.”
The once foundational units of the Brain Integration Room—one million brains—had now been reduced to fewer than one hundred thousand.
Some had exploded from overload; others had been drained to brain stems to supply energy for Han Dong… Restoring the brains here would not be a task finished in a day or two.
“Sally, take Han Dong’s body and hide within his brain space for now. His coma may last a long while.
I’ll take care of things here.”
“Thank you, My Lord.”
Even after advancing into Mythic Body, Sally still appeared rather humble.
As the Gray Walker approached, extending a hand to press upon Han Dong’s forehead.
Tentacles drilled a small opening into the skull, creating a path into its internal space,
where spatial suction drew Han Dong and Sally both inside simultaneously.