Chapter 643 – The Correct Use of No. ⓪

As soon as Ling Mo spoke, the other two were instantly stunned.

What… does this mean?

Only Ai Feng himself showed no surprise. He clicked his head back into place with a peculiar expression, slowly opening his mouth: “Heh… heh heh…”

The laughter was truly unsettling, like nails scraping back and forth on sandpaper. It wasn’t just unpleasant but also drilled into one’s mind.

Ling Mo couldn’t help but frown slightly. The other two only found it grating without realizing that the laughter also carried a psychic power impact…

To achieve this, the psychic power must indeed be formidable.

Even so, the way the other two looked at Ai Feng changed.

Ai Feng’s silent agreement indicated that Ling Mo’s words should be taken literally.

Understanding was one thing, but accepting this situation was quite another!

If “participation” meant this kind of eerie appearance, then it was indeed a thorough kind of involvement!

“Looks like you are No.0,” Ling Mo said, hands in his pockets.

Just a moment ago, he suddenly sensed a strong psychic fluctuation.

And when Ai Feng called him out, Ling Mo clearly felt a psychic power locking onto him.

At this point, hiding was meaningless, so he simply stepped forward.

Such formidable psychic power was entirely beyond what Ai Feng should possess. Ling Mo had never encountered such a situation before.

Thinking it over, the only one in this branch capable of this would be No. 0.

Ling Mo boldly speculated, and the other party openly admitted it.

“You are stronger than last time… I… am… surprised,” Ai Feng said again.

It didn’t sound like a speech impediment but rather as if his body and nerves were out of sync.

“I am surprised too, that you can even speak human language,” Ling Mo replied. “I always thought you were just a biological machine for information exchange.”

At this moment, another voice came from behind Ai Feng and the other two: “I thought so too.”

The other two immediately turned back in alarm, exclaiming, “Captain Mu?!”

“Just call me Mu Chen,” Mu Chen said with a hint of self-mockery. “At this point, I’m also an enemy of your Niepan.”

“And just now…” One of them looked at Mu Chen and then turned to Ling Mo.

He finally understood that it was these two who had played them for fools…

Ling Mo had abandoned the sneak attack, and Mu Chen felt that there was no need to continue hiding as bait.

Especially given the sudden turn of events, which he hadn’t anticipated at all…

The “Fishing Plan” was supposed to go smoothly!

The plan had been proposed by Ling Mo, but Mu Chen also had a hand in it.

It was Mu Chen who had provided Ling Mo with detailed information about Ai Feng’s character and the real situation in this branch…

For example, the reason Ai Feng reacted so violently and seemed to lose his mind was mainly because this branch held little weight in the eyes of the headquarters.

If the branch itself was not valued, then what about its boss?

In the eyes of the headquarters, Ai Feng was even less valuable than a No.1 experimental subject.

With little influence and having made such a huge mistake, Ai Feng’s future looked bleak, which naturally led him to go berserk.

However, when Ling Mo heard all this, he was quite surprised: “A branch controlling an entire city sounds impressive enough…”

“The truly impressive ones were all transferred to the headquarters,” Mu Chen replied. “If that weren’t the case, would it have been Ai Feng’s turn? With No.0 here, the branch can still gather a lot of intelligence and experimental data for the headquarters, which is why it continues to exist. Although it’s called a branch, its entire purpose revolves around No.0. Now you should understand how significant it is for the branch if you harm No.0.”

“Then why not simply transfer No.0 to the headquarters?” Ling Mo suddenly asked.

Mu Chen could only shake his head: “How would I know…”

“But in the end, isn’t No.0 just a high-powered psychic telegraph machine?” Ling Mo pondered, then asked.

Mu Chen frowned and thought for a moment before nodding, “Basically… yes…”

Mu Chen was completely stunned at this point. Though he had been in this branch for a long time and had known Ai Feng for quite a while, he had never known that this was the correct use of No.0!

As expected, bosses always hold something back in secret!

However, Ai Feng paid no attention to Mu Chen, continuing to stare intently at Ling Mo. “A machine? No… you’re half right…”

He even seriously defended himself: “That is a vessel…”

“What do you mean?” Ling Mo asked with a frown.

“I…” Ai Feng shook his head, speaking much more smoothly now. “I… am made up of many… memories…”

But suddenly, his tone became sharp: “Shut up! It’s not ‘memories’; it’s a Conscious Entity, you idiot!”

“Aren’t they the same? Stop arguing and let him continue!”

“This is simple, let me explain. It’s just a bunch of Conscious Entities crammed together, which burst the main body and then transferred into a new one!”

“Haha, to add on, it has to be a body that hasn’t developed its own consciousness yet!”

“Just now… who said Conscious Entities? They’re memories…”

At this moment, his head shook again, and his eyes regained clarity from the previous confusion. His tone returned to its original state: “Vessels have no restraints… I can… transfer like this, to his body.”

“Oh crap…” Everyone was dumbfounded.

What had just happened seemed like Ai Feng had played multiple roles by himself and argued with himself.

Ling Mo was the first to recover, though his expression remained somewhat incredulous.

When he had first encountered No.0, despite only seeing some vague fragments, Ling Mo had always thought that No.0 was a specially trained, non-autonomous, and impure superhuman…

But the reality was even more astonishing than he had imagined…

Although Ai Feng had just been arguing in a mess of voices, Ling Mo still managed to grasp the gist of it.

No.0 might have started off as just an ordinary superhuman with mental abilities.

Through some method, they transferred the psychic power of other people into this one person’s brain. But unlike Ling Mo’s ability to Devour, where the psychic power is absorbed as pure mental energy, in this case, the psychic power, along with memories and consciousness, were all mashed together. When the initial host couldn’t handle it anymore, they shoved this chaotic mass into another “vessel.”

Although Ling Mo wasn’t clear on exactly how the initial host “exploded,” he could imagine that a brain stuffed with countless memories and different thought processes would be similar to standing in a crowded square day and night, with everyone around you constantly arguing. It wouldn’t take long before you’d either go insane or take your own life.

How they even came up with this method…

But what does “a body without its own consciousness” mean? Ordinary zombies?

Before Ling Mo could ask, Mu Chen spoke up, “It’s… a baby…”

“What?”

That was so out of context…

Mu Chen, looking horrified, explained, “I mean a baby! No.0 was originally a baby placed in an incubator! But how it was created, I don’t know… I thought…”

As he spoke, he involuntarily took two steps back, clearly shocked by this revelation too.

Even the other two instinctively stepped back. The idea of a consciousness that could “transfer” was terrifying…

Ling Mo nodded thoughtfully. This answer fit perfectly with the scenes he had “seen” back then.

“You don’t need to…” Ai Feng chuckled, twisting his neck with a few “clicks.” “I’m… restricted to this place.”

“And your transfer must have conditions,” Ling Mo keenly pointed out another crucial detail.

Ai Feng fell silent, his clenched fists showing signs of anger.

“Just as I thought…”

Now it was clear why No.0 had to stay here. To maintain his position, Ai Feng had more up his sleeve than they realized.

It was likely that this specific method of use could only be performed by Ai Feng, making him essentially the exclusive backup vessel for No.0.

“No.0 is basically his lifeline, no wonder he’s so nervous,” Ling Mo thought to himself.

At this moment, Ai Feng was akin to a powerful superhuman with mental abilities. Since No.0 wasn’t just a “telegraph machine,” it surely possessed other abilities as well.

Ling Mo and Mu Chen exchanged a glance, understanding each other without words.

Despite still being in shock, Mu Chen knew this wasn’t the time for hesitation.

He gripped his knife tightly and turned his gaze to the two members standing nearby.

Meanwhile, Ling Mo focused his attention squarely on Ai Feng. Both of them shouted in unison, “Go!”

Mu Chen kicked a small coffee table at one of the members while lunging at the other with his knife.

Ling Mo, on the other hand, shot dozens of psychic tentacles from his psychic light cluster, blocking all possible directions of escape for Ai Feng.

Although the other two members were still in a state of stupor, Ai Feng had already reacted to Ling Mo’s sudden attack.

A strong psychic fluctuation suddenly emanated from around him, blocking all of Ling Mo’s psychic tentacles.

When the two mental energies clashed, the tentacles instantly disintegrated. However, some of them materialized at the moment they collided with the psychic fluctuations.

Transforming a psychic attack into a physical one was an unexpected twist, one that most people wouldn’t anticipate, let alone counter.

But just as it seemed Ai Feng’s body was about to be pierced like a pincushion, he suddenly let out a disturbing laugh.

In an eerie move, he leaned backward, narrowly avoiding Ling Mo’s materialized tentacles at the last moment.

He continued to make small, erratic movements, somehow dodging every attack.

All the while, his psychic fluctuation shield remained intact, blocking both psychic and physical attacks completely.

The smile on Ling Mo’s face had gradually disappeared, and he pulled his hands out of his pockets, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

“Oh crap…”