Chapter 125: Chains From the Void (Part 1/2)
Translator: Strivon
Zheng Xiao's judgment should be correct, regardless of An Weng's actions. The Human-Faced Arachnid that appeared from An Chengli's body was highly likely to be a spoil of war stashed by An Chengli during a previous Human-Faced Arachnid hunting operation.
It appeared that An Chengli had not raised it that well since it did not really help him much. Instead, it even turned on him, stabbing him at the worst of times.
It was without a doubt that Mr. Spoil of War had absorbed An Chengli's ‘nutrients’, but there was still an innate difference between it and Number 3, who had consumed much of its kind.
Mr. Spoil of War probably felt the difference between it and Number 3 and had its heart set on fleeing. But before it could make a single step, its nutrients sprayed out as it turned into a part of Number 3.
Zheng Xiao sensed the entire Human-Faced Arachnid consuming process fairly clearly. This was not a nice experience at all. He just sensed it, so how must it feel for An Weng?
Number 3's actions fit its ugly exterior and savage instincts quite well. However, if there was an An Weng in there as well, then the significance of its actions were now completely different.
From Zheng Xiao's perspective, perhaps An Weng would act a dozen fold more vicious sometime in the future. However, An Weng would not use such rough methods like that of a low-intelligence beast.
"An Weng, An Weng?"
"Child. Are you alright?"
The words that Zheng Xiao wanted to say were stolen out of his mouth, leaving Zheng Xiao nearly speechless. But the pressing situation forced him to try talking. "An Weng, I can't stand it anymore. You don't need to..."
Zheng Xiao meant that he wished to have his consciousness freed from the deep regions of the mental plane. He wished to be no longer bound to the Evolution Field and the Human-Faced Arachnid.
But An Weng's response brought with it despair. "Child, you're important. You're very important."
The Evolution Field completely collapsed the moment their thoughts crossed, but Zheng Xiao was unable to withdraw his projected thoughts. The situation was like a tough string. One end was connected to himself. The other end was being pulled by Number 3 and An Weng. He drifted in the endless void like a kite.
This sort of sensation was actually not unfamiliar to him.
The Order of Justice had grasped the means to control the Human-Faced Arachnids long ago. During their experiments, several First Oblatums acted as the controllers. The sensation was quite complex, like a combination of walking a dog and flying a kite. Sometimes, the attached-soul state phenomenon would appear when one was like an incarnation of a Human-Faced Arachnid, roaming about in the depths of the void.
Due to the discovery of this phenomenon, An Weng specially developed an application for it. It was the Faith Product that he supplied to large clients... It was the source of all the chaos tonight. It was the Human-Faced Arachnid Exoskeleton Armor.
However, now it looked like there was a deeper reason for An Weng to push the development of his little invention with such urgency. Perhaps, he had long imagined that there would be a day when he would ‘ride’ a genuine Human-Faced Arachnid and dive into the deepest depths of the mental plane?
Zheng Xiao was part of several days of experiments. He was very clear about the ‘dive depth’ of the Human-Faced Arachnid on the mental plane. The depth far exceeded the limits of First Oblatums.
There were five different depths on the mental plane: the shallow zone, the middle zone, the deep zone, the abyssal region, and the absolute realm. They were also known as ‘Three Zones, One Region, One Realm.’ Those who were not Extraordinaries would find it hard to enter the latter two levels unless they were powerful mentally specialized B rank ability users.
Zheng Xiao's limit was the middle zone while An Weng could only stop at the deep zone, even with his profound accomplishments in the cultivation of the mind. He would need the blessing of their holy entity to enter the deeper areas and he would need to pay a considerable price.
But from the perspective of the Human-Faced Arachnid, staying in the deep zone was the most natural thing to do. They could enter the abyssal region any time they wanted and could even reach the depths of the absolute realm. These areas were completely disconnected from the material plane. Any instrument that was purely physical would find it impossible to observe their existences.
These Darksider life forms followed their instincts completely. It could be said that they lacked intelligence. It was because of this that they would actively go the shallow zone due to the allure of food and react to the emotions and consciousness of humans. Only when this happened did people have the chance to capture them.
Yes, when the Human-Faced Arachnid interfered with an external object, the depth at which it could hide was affected. The degree it was affected was related to the diving depth of its target on the mental plane.
The closer their two depths, the less the Human-Faced Arachnid was affected.
Zheng Xiao had an approximate understanding of the decisive methods that An Weng had employed. Perhaps, An Weng could reduce the effects of the interference to the very minimum by utilizing the Human-Faced Arachnid's innate gifts. In this way, An Weng sought to find the Gate of Truth that was hidden away in the depths of the endless void.
An Weng had already made his move. The marvelous probing waves of the Evolution Field was transformed through the Human-Faced Arachnid and cut deeper into the mental plane.
Zheng Xiao was not too clear about the concrete details of the probing process. After all, he was a ‘kite string’. Nonetheless, there was one thing he could not understand at all.
Why did An Weng need to go look in the mental plane? Was the Gate of Truth just an illusory spirit?
It was within this moment of puzzlement that An Weng spontaneously had his thoughts converged with Zheng Xiao. "What a pity, child. It is impossible for me to pass to you what I am currently experiencing. You don't understand just how interesting this experience is. All I can tell you is that you shouldn't use the popular-science-like analogies of the Order to guess at the truth. The structure of the mental plane and the way the two planes interfere with each other is much more interesting than you can possibly imagine. Of course, we need to give much thanks to Ouyang and give much thanks to his laboratory..."
Atop of building A, Fairchild turned to look at Ouyang Chen, who had just walked over to his side. "How long are you going to let your laboratory corrupt An Weng for?"
Ouyang Chen loosened his bow tie to get into a more comfortable state. However, he also increased his concentration at the same time. He drew out a drawn breath and said softly, "It is good to reinforce buildings when earthquakes are due, but it is impossible to reinforce a city. We need to have its energy be released, and sometimes we take the initiative to set it off... This is what my laboratory is doing."
Fairchild sneered, "You and An Weng must chat away at times."
"We have in the past." Ouyang Chen did not deny it. He then asked back, "Mr. Fairchild, aren't you going to say something more?"
"I know absolutely nothing about An Weng's plans."
"I'm referring to the matter with the Human-Faced Arachnid."
"Human-Faced Arachnid?"
"This Darksider life form is much more marvelous than we imagined. Quantum Corporation has their own theories and the Society's research yields different theories. Of course, there's also the Order of Justice... Within the ancient scriptures of the Order of Justice, does the Human-Faced Arachnid have a place?"
Fairchild sunk into thought. He had to recollect some memories and consider his options.
But further development of the situation did not give him much time. An Weng controlled the Number 3 that floated in the depths of the void. It switched frequencies the fifth time and this time there was a subtle difference. An Weng was uncertain about what he saw, so he cast his consciousness over in utter concentration.
However, a more substantial change occurred within Number 3. It occurred within the depths of the Human-Faced Arachnid's intrinsic mass of chaos.
A rattling vibration rang forth that was like the sound of chains shaking.
The erratic shaking did not seem to follow any rule, but the sound itself could be perceived and distinguished; it was incompatible with the chaotic nature of the Human-Faced Arachnid.
What was perceived was order.