The figure that separated from Shang Jianyao was like a ghost from legends, blurry and unreal, seemingly lowering the surrounding temperature.
Di Marco! Jiang Baimian completely confirmed that conscious life existed in this world.
In fact, the success of the "Eternal Life" project and the existence of Mechanical Monks could already explain this issue to some extent.
Before Jiang Baimian could turn over other thoughts, she felt a chill in her body, as if her consciousness had been frozen.
She followed up with a terrified shout:
"No!"
Accompanied by this shout was the detachment of that figure. Di Marco instantly overlapped with Long Yuehong.
"No!"
"No!"
Di Marco's illusory figure flashed continuously on Long Yuehong and Bai Chen, causing them to involuntarily let out terrified screams.
This master of the "Underground Ark" acted like a headless fly, frantically darting around the room, constantly possessing and detaching, as if nowhere felt safe for him.
In just a second or two, he completed two rounds of possession at an exaggerated speed, even planning to use the silver-black intelligent robot Genava as a container. Unfortunately, Genava showed no reaction and didn't even utter a "No!"
In continuous flashes, Di Marco's figure suddenly disappeared.
He "leapt" into a strange room.
The walls of this room were pitch-black, highlighting one illusory face after another.
These faces were either ferocious or twisted, staring at Di Marco with incredibly venomous eyes, seemingly wishing they could all rush up and tear this Awakened at the "Mind Corridor" level to pieces, one bite at a time.
Di Marco completely ignored them, directly pouncing on the dark, heavy door, trying to open it.
However, the door remained motionless, as if it were just painted on.
The exterior of this dark, heavy door was vermilion, with golden numbers on it, but black paper was pasted on the positions of the doorknob and lock cylinder.
They covered there, like seals from the Old World.
"No!"
Di Marco once again let out an unwilling and terrified scream.
For so many years, he had been confined to his own "room," only occasionally able to enter the corridor to explore by borrowing the mental world of others.
The reason he cared so much about Yan Hu's condition and the fragments he left behind was because he wanted to find a solution or the door to a new world, to completely escape this predicament.
For a powerhouse at Di Marco's level, although the night pearl that burst out with all its power in an instant could cause a significant impact, the duration was too short. Before long, Di Marco recovered from the "coward" state, coldly surveyed the faces in the "room," and left this place.
…………
In the real world, Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and others completely recovered because of the brief disappearance of Di Marco's figure.
Jiang Baimian immediately shouted:
"He's afraid of electricity and magnetism!"
This was proven by practice!
Jiang Baimian had already discovered that the so-called "conscious life" was closely related to electromagnetic fields. The "electric current storm" she had unleashed earlier had greatly damaged Di Marco's foundation for survival, destroying many of his hidden "avatars."
But this was not enough. To completely annihilate this monster that had survived for many years using different bodies, the electrical energy intensity of her bionic limb was clearly insufficient. Moreover, that previous outburst had exhausted the electrical energy she had accumulated for a long time. At most, she could only complete one or two more electric shocks that would paralyze people.
As soon as she finished speaking, Di Marco's figure quickly outlined itself in mid-air.
This "monster" wearing an Old World black clergyman's robe and a matching old-fashioned soft hat was much more illusory than before, swaying and fragile like a bubble.
Seeing Jiang Baimian raise her left hand and Genava seemingly want to take out a high-performance battery, Di Marco immediately "hmph"-ed.
With a rumble, the ceiling collapsed, and large chunks of rock fell down.
They seemed to be attracted by an invisible force, concentrating on the heads of Jiang Baimian, Genava, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen.
The location where Shang Jianyao was, was as calm as the eye of the storm.
Amidst the rumbling and crashing sounds, Long Yuehong saw chunks of concrete, large and small, falling towards him.
Having just heard the team leader's words and not having had time to think about countermeasures, he subconsciously activated his military exoskeleton, his leg joints snapping open, and he lunged towards the door.
The collapse was much better there.
After completing these actions, Long Yuehong remembered one thing:
Bai Chen was not far from him, and she didn't have an exoskeleton. Facing the collapse of the ceiling, she was in great danger.
Mid-air, Long Yuehong forcibly turned his head and glanced back, only to see that the falling chunks of concrete were about to bury Bai Chen.
His gaze instantly solidified, but his body couldn't turn back.
Bang!
Long Yuehong, wearing his military exoskeleton, lunged to the door, but didn't continue to roll.
At this time, Bai Chen, relying on her rich experience, curled up her body, using her right hand and right arm to protect her head, hiding all the vital spots tightly.
She didn't panic. She also observed the environment and actively hid under the smaller part of the concrete.
Choosing the lesser of two evils.
Bang! Bang! Her shoulders, her back, her arms were hit, grazed.
Bai Chen gritted her teeth, only letting out muffled groans.
On the other side, Jiang Baimian dodged the largest chunks of concrete, using her left hand to exert great force, forcefully pushing away multiple "attacks."
This allowed her to only suffer minor abrasions.
As for Genava, not only was he quick to react and strong, but he could also withstand most of the concrete falling down. Besides some dents and severe scratches, requiring repainting, on various parts of the machine, he was fine.
As they dodged this round of attacks, Di Marco's figure disappeared into mid-air again, and Shang Jianyao's eyes became deep and dark again, his feet unable to move half a step.
…………
Inside the "Sea of Origins," on an island with mountains, water, and bright sunshine.
Di Marco's figure, wearing an Old World clergyman's robe and an old-fashioned soft hat, appeared in the sky.
Compared to before, he was obviously much weaker, and seemed unable to last much longer.
He looked at the Shang Jianyaos below and said sternly:
"Although this body of yours isn't such a suitable container, lasting at most two years, my child is about to be born, and I still have the opportunity to create more new life!
"You forced me to assimilate you directly. Couldn't you just let me strip away your consciousness properly?"
As he spoke, Di Marco pressed down his right palm.
Shang Jianyao's "Sea of Origins" suddenly boiled, stirring up giant waves hundreds of meters high.
Within these giant waves, countless motes of light expanded and grew larger, displaying scene after scene.
There was Shang Jianyao taking his first steps in front of his parents, Shang Jianyao listening to his father tell stories of the surface world, Shang Jianyao winning a game of hide-and-seek and catching Long Yuehong, Shang Jianyao curled up in a dark room, Shang Jianyao guarding a white bed sheet, Shang Jianyao focused on studying alone, Shang Jianyao signing the volunteer form without hesitation, Shang Jianyao lying on an experimental bed and slowly closing his eyes...
All the past, reappearing today.
"Divinity," seeing the past of all beings, knowing the oneness of Buddha-nature.
You are me, and I am you!
No matter how the Shang Jianyaos used "Affected Sentimentalist" and "Reasoning Clown," no matter how they simulated launching rocket projectiles, Di Marco was no longer affected. His figure merged with the illusory giant waves and those scenes.
Whoosh!
The giant waves around the island crashed down, submerging the Shang Jianyaos.
…………
In the real world, inside Di Marco's room.
After the collapse of the ceiling ended, Jiang Baimian, guessing who Di Marco would occupy, immediately rushed towards Shang Jianyao.
Arcs of electricity emerged from her left hand, but she could no longer pierce the air and land on Shang Jianyao. She could only get closer and complete the electric shock through direct contact.
Jiang Baimian was not clear on how much damage this would cause to Di Marco after possession, or whether it could force him out of Shang Jianyao's body, but at this moment, she couldn't afford to think so much.
In just a second, Jiang Baimian ran to Shang Jianyao's side.
Just as she extended her left hand, she saw Shang Jianyao, wearing a monkey mask, move his eyes and give her a wink.
Gave her a wink.
Jiang Baimian's outstretched left hand stopped.
…………
Inside Shang Jianyao's "Sea of Origins," on an island with mountains, water, and bright sunshine.
Only Di Marco's figure and the scenes shimmering with motes of light within the surrounding giant waves remained here.
The Shang Jianyaos in those scenes seemed to have a bit more gloominess.
"Haha!" Di Marco laughed loudly, tilting his head back.
However, on his face, his forehead, and his neck, faces belonging to Shang Jianyao emerged, as if they wanted to tear their way out from the inside.
"How could this be? How could I fail to completely assimilate?" Di Marco shouted out in a slightly terrified voice.
His aura was weaker than before, much, much weaker.
Just then, he saw a pair of hands appear on the edge of the island.
Immediately afterward, a figure flipped up, it was Shang Jianyao wearing a gray-blue camouflage uniform.
He smiled and looked at Di Marco:
"Because there's another me."
There were only eight Shang Jianyaos on the island before.
"You!" Di Marco exclaimed in shock and anger, but took no action.
Shang Jianyao smiled to himself:
"After discovering that you could intrude into other people's minds, I figured out some things:
"Every previous master of the 'Underground Ark' should have been you. You could occupy other people's bodies after your current body decayed and continue to live. The Ark's masters always had a large number of mistresses and had many children because you wanted to filter out the most suitable containers.
"There's a very noteworthy detail here: When the Ark's previous master was seriously ill, the servants rioted, causing your family to lose a large number of members, causing you to be unable to find a suitable container after Di Marco's body failed, driving yourself nearly insane, until Lars appeared, giving you hope.
"You're a powerhouse at the 'Mind Corridor' level and shouldn't have allowed this kind of problem to occur, putting yourself in a predicament.
"So, I came to a conclusion:
"Every time you assimilate others and occupy a body, it's the weakest you've ever been, unable to even control ordinary servants and guards.
"The fact that you first stripped away consciousness instead of directly occupying my body proves my guess."
Di Marco's eyes gradually became ferocious, as if his most important inner secret had been exposed.
Shang Jianyao continued to smile:
"So, I hid myself away, waiting all this time, waiting for this opportunity.
"Now you're stuck in the process of assimilation, not yet completed, in your weakest state, and the master of this mental world is still me."
Di Marco could no longer suppress the malice in his heart and blurted out:
"Everything you did before was acting?"
He was deceived by the performance of the Shang Jianyaos, thinking that this was already their limit.
Of course, the development of events and changes in the environment also "urged" him to immediately obtain a body.
"No, no, no, each of us is doing our best to try, we can't place our hopes solely on one person." Shang Jianyao explained with a smile.
Di Marco was speechless, and after a few seconds, he roared through gritted teeth:
"You really are a madman!
"Why are you listening to the Vigilance Church to deal with me?
"What benefits did they give you? I can promise you anything!"
Shang Jianyao walked towards the tottering Di Marco while smiling and saying:
"We have nothing to do with the Vigilance Church."
"Then why are you attacking me?" Di Marco asked in shock and anger.
Shang Jianyao looked at him and replied in a normal tone:
"For the innocent lives you murdered, for the eyes that went from hope to despair."
Di Marco almost doubted his ears:
"Just for that?
"Why?"
He asked "why" again, because he couldn't believe that someone would risk so much to deal with him for the lives and futures of a group of slaves.
"Why?" Shang Jianyao repeated the question, looking to the left and right.
On his sides, within the giant waves frozen in mid-air, several of the scenes shimmering with motes of light became much larger, transmitting sounds.
There was the outside of the Wilderness City where a large number of wanderers froze and starved to death, there were the streets and squares where blood flowed like rivers, there was the nearly collapsed and frantically questioning person who couldn't bear to part with the last bite of noodles:
"We are also people, are we just destined to starve to death?"
There was the battlefield where bodies fell one after another, there were humans, fishmen, and hill giants, there was a map drawing circles and writing "home," there were the amber scales on Han Wanghuo's arm, there was his unwilling laughter:
"Yes, I am a Subhuman, I am a Subhuman, but compared to most people in this town and this world, I am more like a person!"
There was the silence when faced with the question "Do you still consider yourself human?", there was the elderly figure leaping from a high building, there was the smile saying "Everything is an illusion, why take it seriously," there was Genava's incomprehensible and unacceptable question:
"Aren't we a kind of human?"
There were the incomplete corpses in the low-lying cave, there was the female figure tightly hugging her child, there was the helpless question transmitted from the recording pen:
"Just because we are sick, do they have to kill us?"
There were pairs of eyes that had suffered a lot but carried the light of hope, there were the bodies packed in sacks, there were the wide-open eyes silently looking at the sky, full of fear and despair, as if questioning the heavens.
Surrounded by these scenes, with these questions echoing, Shang Jianyao looked at Di Marco's bewildered face with a hint of fear, the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing two rows of white teeth:
"Because I am human!"
He smiled and extended his right hand to Di Marco. The frozen giant waves around the island, along with the scenes from before, crashed down, instantly submerging the figure wearing an Old World black clergyman's robe and a matching old-fashioned soft hat.