Chapter 648 – Condensation is Often Essence

Aside from No.0’s mental energy, Ai Feng’s hint of psychic power was also devoured by Ling Mo.

In No.0’s dire situation, he naturally wouldn’t care about Ai Feng as a vessel. His struggle caused significant damage to Ai Feng’s psychic light cluster.

This actually saved Ling Mo some trouble, allowing him to easily break through Ai Feng’s instinctive defenses.

These energies, being damaged and losing their resistance, were absorbed even faster and with less loss than if they were intact.

However, as these energies merged into Ling Mo’s psychic light cluster, it caused the cluster to contract drastically.

Amidst an intense headache, Ling Mo felt as if his brain was being forcibly compressed.

Memories kept flashing before his eyes. Even some things he barely remembered resurfaced during this process.

Perhaps it was only ten seconds, but to Ling Mo, it felt like several months had passed.

When he came to, dripping with sweat, he felt as though he had just been dragged out of the water.

The compressed psychic light cluster was about a third smaller than before, even smaller than that of an average person.

But the mental energy contained within was a fifth more than before the devouring!

The dazzling Red Glimmer, like a ruby polished to perfection, left Ling Mo momentarily dazed.

A breeze blew past the window. Although Ling Mo only heard a faint noise, he instantly visualized the tiny fragments carried in by the wind through the shattered glass pane.

Without consciously sensing, he naturally detected the positions of Ye Lian and the others.

This newfound sense left Ling Mo temporarily bewildered.

Everything appeared more vivid, as if he had been observing the world through frosted glass until now.

After a while, Ling Mo gradually got used to the feeling and came back to his senses.

His head spinning, he shook it slightly and was about to stand when he noticed something amiss in Ai Feng’s supposedly empty mind.

He hadn’t detected it earlier, but with his enhanced psychic power, he now noticed this anomaly.

Ling Mo frowned as he observed for a while, then a cold smile formed at the corners of his mouth. “So that’s what it is… I had overthought it before.”

“Swish!”

Gritting his teeth, Mu Chen pulled out the knife, and blood instantly splattered all over his face.

He wiped his face with his hand, supported himself against the wall, and slowly stood up, looking down to examine his injuries.

Using the advantage of striking first, he had managed to take down those two members after a vicious struggle, ending up with quite a few injuries himself.

However, after checking himself from top to bottom and realizing he hadn’t lost any important organs or gained any new holes, Mu Chen eagerly supported himself against the wall and headed towards the stairwell.

“Don’t die on me, if you go down, I’ll be in deep trouble too,” Mu Chen muttered as he dragged his exhausted body forward.

But before he could get far, a shadow suddenly flashed out from the side.

This sudden appearance made Mu Chen’s body stiffen, and he immediately raised his knife once again. “Who’s there?!”

The shadow was indistinguishable in the darkness, causing Mu Chen’s anxiety to spike.

If it was Ai Feng appearing, it would mean that Ling Mo was done for, and his own death would not be far behind…

“It’s me.”

When that familiar voice sounded, Mu Chen instantly let out a long sigh of relief, slumping against the wall as his arm dropped and his body slid uncontrollably downwards. “It’s you…”

Ling Mo slowly emerged from the darkness, giving Mu Chen a surprised once-over. “Wow…”

“Stop right there,” Mu Chen rolled his eyes and waved his hand, “Stop right there, don’t comment on my appearance.”

“Alright, chainsaw maniac,” Ling Mo nodded cooperatively.

“…You’re terrible,” Mu Chen weakly cursed.

“Right, let me help you with a hidden danger,” Ling Mo squatted in front of Mu Chen, suddenly speaking quite seriously.

Mu Chen was initially stunned, then suddenly realized, “Is it that psychic seed?”

He hadn’t been too concerned about the thing in his brain before, but now, recalling the horrifying scene of Ai Feng and No.0’s fusion, Mu Chen felt chills running down his spine.

“What kind of hidden danger are you talking about? And… how are you going to help me solve it?” Mu Chen asked nervously.

“There’s one in Ai Feng’s brain too…”

“What?!”

“Relax,” Ling Mo patted Mu Chen’s shoulder, “His is much bigger than yours. With that psychic seed, No.0 can use the other party as a vessel. But yours is still in the germination stage and hasn’t fully formed yet. Actually, I suspect that every member of your Niepan branch has one in their brain. But to avoid detection, most of them are just micro psychic seeds. In cases like yours, where there’s a need, it takes the opportunity to develop into a full-fledged seed.”

After Ling Mo finished speaking, Mu Chen was completely stunned.

Even if there was only a one percent chance of this being true, it was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

This wasn’t just a core existence or central control—it was a hidden massive tumor!

If left unchecked, it might one day become a real central control point.

“This is a biological version of a robot uprising!” Mu Chen said, dumbfounded.

As soon as he snapped back to reality, he immediately grabbed Ling Mo, “Ling Mo… no, Ling-Ge… Boss!”

“Calm down. It’s gone now, but this seed in your brain has the potential to resurrect. It means it could slowly absorb your psychic power, gradually influence you, and ultimately turn you into a new No.0. But don’t worry, with your brain capacity, it’s unlikely to even reach one percent of its former strength,” Ling Mo said.

“…” Mu Chen stared at Ling Mo for two seconds before freaking out again, “How do you expect me to stay calm?!”

“Although I can’t bypass your psychic light cluster to get rid of that psychic seed, I have another way.” As Ling Mo spoke, he pulled out that “Jellyfish” from his backpack. To him, it appeared as a glowing, transparent entity, but to Mu Chen, it looked like a dull plastic ball, albeit more delicate than an average plastic ball.

“This is my invention, a mental energy storage and conversion device. Although it looks rudimentary, it incorporates some pretty impressive high-tech principles…” Ling Mo said as he placed the “Jellyfish” on top of Mu Chen’s head.

“You’re just making it sound impressive! Wait… how do you even know it can target that psychic seed?!” Mu Chen futilely tried to dodge, struggling as he asked.

Ling Mo’s hand paused for a moment. “One is a chaotic mental realm, filled with various erotic fantasies typical of a single man, while the other is a pure, untainted psychic seed. Do you think everyone’s that indiscriminate? Besides, after multiple adjustments and experiments, I’ve ensured it has refined tastes and a selective appetite.”

“Who has erotic fantasies… Ahhh!”

Mu Chen’s arms froze mid-air. As soon as the unassuming “Jellyfish” was placed on his head, he felt something being drained from his mind.

The sensation was terrifying, but thankfully, it lasted only a moment. Ling Mo quickly grabbed the “Jellyfish” and tugged it forcefully.

“What… what’s happening…” Mu Chen didn’t dare move, his eyes wide with fear, as he asked dazedly.

“Oh, the psychic seed has been removed, but it got a bit greedy… Ah, there we go, it’s down now.” Ling Mo finally pulled off the “Jellyfish.” Despite having absorbed some mental energy, it looked the same as before. Gaining significant upgrades in this form would indeed be challenging.

Even growing something as simple as an eye would require a lot of foundational effort.

“I…” Mu Chen collapsed fully, breathing heavily and staring wide-eyed at Ling Mo. “I didn’t lose anything, right? Not even my erotic fantasies! Those are my stress relievers, my mental sustenance, my precious memories!”

“Apologize to your mental sustenance…” Ling Mo casually tossed the “Jellyfish” back into his bag and helped Mu Chen up. “Don’t worry, nobody’s going to take that stuff away…”

“Hey!”

“Hey, hey, you’ll know if you try to remember it later,” Ling Mo said. “In the meantime, take Xu Shuhan and get out of here quickly.”

“Easier said than done! Wait… are you seriously leaving me to go by myself?! Ling-Ge… Don’t do this, give me a hand!” Mu Chen’s shouts echoed through the corner.

…

At that moment, in the small storage room, Xia Na was leaning against the door, her slightly reddened eyes fixed on Xu Shuhan.

Xu Shuhan, on the other hand, seemed to be in a daze, occasionally mumbling something unintelligible.

Xia Na hesitated for a moment, glanced outside, and then slowly approached Xu Shuhan.

“Wake up.” Xia Na grabbed Xu Shuhan’s shoulder and shook her gently.

“Ah!” Xu Shuhan let out a soft cry, her unfocused gaze turning towards Xia Na. She curled her lips as if she wanted to pounce but quickly showed a trace of confusion.

Immediately after, she slowly shrank back, letting out a fearful whimper.

“Don’t be afraid.” Xia Na curiously stared at Xu Shuhan, edging closer. “You’re still conscious, right?”

Xu Shuhan timidly hugged her knees, seeming too scared to look at Xia Na.

Xia Na smiled slightly and closed her eyes briefly. When she reopened them, although the color of her pupils hadn’t changed, her demeanor had transformed.

Under the moonlight, her gaze was resolute, her long hair naturally cascading over her chest-she looked just like an ordinary girl.

“Hey?” This time, when she spoke, Xu Shuhan clearly hesitated.

Cautiously, Xu Shuhan raised her head to look at Xia Na. This time she seemed even more puzzled, partly unsure of what was happening, and partly too curious to turn away.

“Do you want to become a zombie?” Xia Na pondered for a moment before asking.