Chapter 1 The Onset

"A large-scale beast tide is erupting towards Sector S12!"

"Repeating, a large-scale beast tide is surging towards Sector S12!"

The voice in the central control channel was high-pitched and impassioned.

"Why didn't Deep Sea give any warning?"

Chen Mo walked quickly through the manor, his expression grave.

Most of the members of his Chengxin Society had already been recalled, and the task of rescuing people outside had come to an end.

The warning just now came from Su Cha, who was supporting the sky-screen domain. The transportation mission in the Southern Cave was underway, but the number of transcendents pouring into Sector S12 was simply too large. The enforcers brought from East洲 were already struggling to cope. Fortunately, there were also Neutrals. Zhuang Su and Qi Mo were meeting and talking with the heads of the major sectors and had formulated a complete island evacuation plan.

"Deep Sea's signal has been intercepted by mountain ash."

A woman's cold voice sounded.

"Miss Mu?"

Chen Mo was a little surprised.

He didn't expect to see Mu Wanqiu in Sector S12.

North洲 should also be busy with the evacuation...

"I'm here to help." Mu Wanqiu was succinct. "North洲's source-energy boats are already on the way. Based on the current scale of evacuation, the East洲 convoy alone won't be able to complete the island departure."

"North洲 is willing to help?"

Chen Mo, who was overwhelmed with work, was overjoyed upon hearing this.

The Little Iron Man's voice came from behind Mu Wanqiu: "This connection...was arranged by Gu Shen."

"It could only be him."

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

It wasn't easy to get North洲 to spare source-energy boats... Da Du District had dealt with the Lin Royal Family before. This kind of military technology was very closely guarded by North洲.

Although Nanwan Group also had close cooperative relations with North洲, Nanwan simply couldn't make such a fast and efficient arrangement under the current circumstances.

But Gu Shen had done it. It seemed that this guy really had close ties with the North洲 royal family.

Seeing Mu Wanqiu at this moment, Chen Mo felt much more at ease. He quickly said, "In that case, I will have my enforcers cooperate with you... This third beast tide outbreak is too sudden. Will we still have time to evacuate?"

The group quickly climbed the high wall.

The dark clouds in the distance were so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The ground trembled. The scale of this beast tide outbreak was far beyond what it had been before... If Deep Sea's signal hadn't been blocked, it might have given an "S-level" rating. This was a beast spirit riot sufficient to destroy the entire Sang洲 Cave, and so far, no one knew what was causing these beast spirits to run amok.

Chen Mo watched, his heart trembling.

"There are still thirty minutes... twenty source-energy boats will arrive at Sang洲 Cave. The sky-screen has been shattered."

Mu Wanqiu's expression was slightly gloomy. This beast spirit riot had actually exceeded North洲's expectations as well. "If we can arrange everything properly within half an hour, then the evacuation will be in time."

Chen Li took a deep breath.

"A large amount of mountain ash has broken through the false sky covering Sang洲 Cave. The Source Tower ignored the Holy City Research Institute's attempts to stop it, and the awakening experiment has officially ended."

From the moment the Source Tower left the island.

This experiment had come to an end.

"Next, Resident Fisher's source-energy boat will directly enter the Southern Cave's airspace and land in Sector S12. I will complete the planning and distribution of the rescue list with the remaining 'Neutrals' in the city..."

Mu Wanqiu said, "As for Mr. Chen Mo, the Chengxin Society you lead needs to block the beast tide as much as possible during this time."

"Block the beast tide..."

Chen Mo narrowed his eyes. He looked at the dark, oppressive tide of beast spirits in the distance and felt immense pressure.

This beast tide was larger than the previous two combined.

There were only five hundred city guards in total. Under these circumstances, the impact the Chengxin Society could make was like a wave in the ocean, insignificant.

"The high walls can be destroyed, as long as the personnel evacuation can be completed at the last moment."

Mu Wanqiu looked back towards the 昙曜 (Tan Yao) direction. "Captain Lu Zhe went to inspect 昙曜 (Tan Yao) once. That thing should be nearing its eruption period. In the end, the entire Sang洲 Cave will sink."

"Huff..."

Chen Mo rubbed his forehead, feeling a terrible headache.

Just then, a calm voice of inquiry echoed out of nowhere on the city wall.

"Are you sure the North洲 rescue boats can arrive within half an hour?"

Under the dark clouds, faint crackling of static electricity could be heard.

A white-clad figure appeared in the void.

"Xiao Suizi!"

Chen Li was the first to speak. He asked nervously, "You're back... Xiao Man..."

"Yes, she's been sent away."

The white-clad figure in the void gradually solidified, deactivating its elemental state. Although Bai Xiu's face showed no expression at the moment, his mood was gloomy, and the lightning around his clothes seemed unstable.

He felt terrible after sending Gu Xiaoman away.

"At least half an hour, I can't guarantee a longer time." Mu Wanqiu said in a deep voice, "It's not that North洲 is deliberately delaying, but that the mountain ash above Sang洲 Cave is unpredictable. Fisher is invincible in naval warfare, but trying to find a path under these circumstances... is always troublesome."

"I can be responsible for clearing out a portion of the beast tide outside the city."

Bai Xiu landed on the city wall and looked at Chen Mo. "The scale of this beast tide is too large. I can personally only guarantee thirty minutes of full-power output. As long as they step into the boundary of Sector S12, seventy percent of the beast spirits will be annihilated by my Sea of Thunder domain. As for the rest, the Chengxin Society will need to eliminate them."

"Thirty minutes, seventy percent?"

Chen Mo was startled upon hearing this, and he looked at Bai Xiu as if he were looking at a great Buddha.

He knew that this guy's Lei Jie Xing Zhe was fierce.

But he didn't expect it to be this fierce!

"Also, if Mr. Fisher arrives at Sang洲 Cave, have him take a look at the 'lightning' above the dome."

Bai Xiu turned his head to look at Mu Wanqiu. He took a light breath, sat cross-legged on the city wall like a meditating monk, and his voice became soft and ethereal.

"That mountain ash is not a problem."

...

...

Neutrality Residence.

Jiang Du brought the Divine Infant to the empty research institute. Only a few bronze pillars remained, bubbling with gurgling water.

Those young children who had passed away had been buried in the soil by the Neutrals.

Initially, they were soaked in nutrient solutions to decipher the transcendent ability spectrum.

Later, it was to find the secret of the "Son of the Divine Scroll."

But now, the answers to all of these had been found.

The Neutrals were about to leave Sang洲 Cave, and the bodies of these innocent deceased should also be laid to rest.

"Mr. Qi, we're about to leave soon. Don't you need to pack up?"

In the vast research institute, only one figure remained.

Qi Mo.

Qi Mo sat in front of dozens of computers. He sat alone in the chair, constantly switching between workbenches... Sector S12 had become the last refuge, and all the Neutrals had turned out in full force, responsible for rescue and resettlement. He had also dismissed his most trusted assistants beside him. At the final moment, only he remained in this research institute.

"There's nothing to pack up."

Qi Mo's voice was hoarse as he stared at the screen. "What I need to take away... is just the final 'research results'."

The mental analysis chart of the Divine Infant was complete.

And now, what he was researching... was the product of beast tide hunting.

Jiang Du looked at the transcendent inspection equipment in the distance, his expression becoming grave. He knew what those instruments were testing...

The beast spirit fur and flesh tissue harvested from the Great Hunt!

"The final... research results?"

"Yes."

Qi Mo murmured, "The mental fluctuation curves inside these beast spirits are very strange. There seems to be a second consciousness in their minds."

As soon as he said this, some cold sweat broke out on Jiang Du's forehead.

After the awakening experiment began, the creatures of Sang洲 Cave began to evolve... The Neutrals had hunted these things quite a bit over the past three years, but the large-scale beast tide phenomenon only began to appear with the southward migration of the transcendents from the four洲.

Logically, everyone thought this was because the 昙曜 (Tan Yao) had begun to revive.

The 昙曜 (Tan Yao) was about to revive, so these beast spirits began to riot.

But this actually couldn't explain their behavior of desperately running towards the 昙曜 (Tan Yao). These beast spirits had sensed the 昙曜 (Tan Yao)'s summoning, so they wanted to sacrifice themselves?

It sounded a bit far-fetched.

For these transcendent lives, survival was the greatest instinct. Even if they hadn't awakened, this shouldn't change.

If there was a second consciousness... then this problem seemed to have an answer.

Behind the beast tide, it wasn't the summoning of a dead object.

"I'm analyzing this final mental curve, but the computing power is limited."

Qi Mo gave a self-deprecating laugh. "The mental network built by the Neutrals can't be recognized by Deep Sea, and this kind of research can't be connected to the Federation... The final results might still take several hours."

"Several hours?"

Jiang Du became anxious as soon as he heard this. "Mr. Qi, we don't have time. Mr. Chen Li's message said: At most half an hour, North洲's source-energy boats will land."

"..."

The empty research institute fell silent again.

"You guys go. The Neutrals' mental network should still be able to maintain itself." Qi Mo said in a low voice, "These instruments definitely can't be taken away. I want to stay here and wait for the results..."

Jiang Du was stunned.

"What are you saying?" Jiang Du said angrily, "Staying here might not even get you results. The beast tide is about to break through Sector S12!"

"I know..." Qi Mo slumped in his chair, murmuring to himself, "I always feel that the results of this research are very important... I don't want to miss it..."

["You won't miss it."]

A cold, mechanical voice devoid of emotion sounded in Qi Mo's mind.

Qi Mo froze.

He raised his head and looked around. This strange action made Jiang Du look blank.

"What was that sound just now?"

Qi Mo stood up from his chair.

"What sound? There's no sound?"

Jiang Du scratched his head. He had come to the research institute to call Qi Mo to leave together. He was still carrying the Divine Infant, and his next task was to hand the baby over to Mr. Chen Li to take care of.

The residence was already empty!

All the Neutrals were outside carrying out missions!

"Is it a mental transmission? Doesn't seem like it..."

Qi Mo lowered his head and saw the code on the computer screen start to surge rapidly. His expression froze again.

...

...

In the unknown depths of the deep-sea area, 001, moving at high speed, shattered countless waves and splashed arcs of electricity.

The inside of the carriage seemed to have lost gravity.

Although this was a mental space, there was no gravity to begin with.

But Chu Ling's posture was completely inverted at the moment. She sat cross-legged on the roof of the carriage, her beautiful long hair spread out and swimming in the deep-sea water... Under the reflection of the azure water light, her hands and ten fingers blurred, and countless pieces of information spread from her fingertips, turning into streams of golden light. This scene looked somewhat similar to Grandmaster Qianye of the Qingqiu Cemetery.

They were both sitting upside down.

But the difference was that Qianye's spirit was far less powerful than Chu Ling's.

The information processing capability of the Source Code was unmatched by any human in this world.

"Qi Mo, I am speaking with you."

Chu Ling closed her eyes.

Her consciousness connected to the Neutrals' independent computer through the Source Code. A large amount of mountain ash disrupted the intrusion of the Deep Sea network. She lost her mental connection with Gu Shen and lost control of the island of Sang洲 Cave, but the only thing that was still somewhat fortunate... was that there was still a mental network left by the Guwen Association on this island.

The Source Code had the keys to freely enter and exit the Guwen Association.

Qi Mo's computer was Chu Ling's last contact with this small island.

In the research institute, Qi Mo's expression was complicated.

He looked at this unknown existence connected to his computer, and while he was shocked, he vaguely guessed something.

Since he knew of the existence of the Key, then he also knew some information about the Source Code. Gu Shen's quick decryption of the password box earlier obviously used the power of the Source Code.

"You are?"

"I am what you are thinking in your heart."

The conversation between the two was exchanged through thoughts and the screen, but Chu Ling was one step ahead. Qi Mo didn't need to speak, and she could deduce the psychological activities of the person on the other side of the screen.

"Let him leave... we only need the two of us here."

Qi Mo saw the words that popped up on the screen and looked at Jiang Du, who was carrying the Divine Infant. Without saying a word, the latter understood what he meant.

Jiang Du, who was very sensible, wanted to leave directly, but he couldn't help but remind him, "Mr. Qi, half an hour, half an hour!"

Only half an hour remained for the final evacuation.

Qi Mo waved his hand and quickly sent Jiang Du away.

He took a deep breath, trying to sort out his thoughts.

This was the first time he had a conversation with the legendary Source Code that supported the Guwen Association. Thousands of words were in his heart, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

A large paragraph of text had already appeared on the screen.

"First, there's no need to thank me. It is my duty to crack the Divine Scroll code."

"Second, I can speed up the local deduction speed of your computer. It will take about five more minutes to produce the final result."

"Third, even if the research ends... your responsibility is still great. Because I need you to do me a favor."

Qi Mo was stunned.

He looked at the screen where the characters were jumping and pausing. The Source Code seemed to be lost in thought.

"What do you need me to help you with?"

This was rare. Qi Mo finally had a chance to ask a question.

"..."

It was hard to imagine that this question would take the Source Code nearly a minute of real-world time to answer.

During this process, the Source Code should have gone through countless rounds of thinking.

"Survive."

Chu Ling gave the answer. This answer seemed somewhat mechanical. "I hope you board North洲's source-energy boat, leave Sang洲 Cave alive, and complete the reconstruction of the Neutrals in East洲..."

"That's natural." Qi Mo smiled. "If the research results can come out in five minutes, of course I will leave."

No one didn't want to live.

The characters on the screen jumped:

"And—"

"Find a way to let that 'child' grow up."