Chapter 379: Mental pollution
"This thing is quite lively."
Lin Ye used his mental energy to perceive the body structure of the Active Aberration. This thing seemed to be some kind of biological weapon and had certain research value.
"I feel much better now. Thank you very much, Mr. Lin Ye."
Kama said with great seriousness.
"It was just a convenient thing to do. You should be able to sense my method of handling it. This was only simple emergency treatment. After you return, you'd better find a more reliable doctor."
Lin Ye didn't believe his own crude treatment methods could cure an injury of this degree.
"I will. But the doctor's medical advice is to find a more reliable doctor..."
A smile finally appeared on Kama's serious face... though it lasted for less than a second.
"Have something to eat."
Lin Ye took out the remaining Black Fish from his pocket and shared it with them. Next, he still needed them to scout the path ahead. As a rankless auxiliary personnel, he considered this very reasonable. The four of them quickly finished the Black Fish. Spiritual energy users also needed to eat to maintain their physical condition.
"Ayla, where should we go next?"
Kama was the Squad Leader, but they had been relying on Ayla's heirloom to guide their direction.
Ayla held the metal necklace hanging around her neck with both hands, closed her eyes, and knelt on the ground as if praying. After a while, she slowly spoke:
"...There is a method to leave this place below. Probably."
"Probably?"
Kama didn't like this uncertain conclusion.
"...The place below should be very dangerous. We probably won't be able to use the method down there to leave here easily."
Ayla had some understanding of the heirloom her family gave her.
"You don't have any items that can directly teleport you back?"
Lin Ye remembered that Ayla had carried an item that could allow escape from the red maze last time.
"We all have spatial teleportation type items. But this space affects spatial teleportation items. Those items have all turned into cards that lead to strange places..."
Kama handed a white card to Lin Ye. On it was drawn a giant building situated on a sea island. The back was engraved with a string of characters, which meant 'research center'.
"...You'd better not use these kinds of cards."
Lin Ye didn't even want to touch such dangerous cards.
"Hmm, I felt something was wrong the moment I got the card."
Kama put the card away and turned to look at the passageway leading deep into the Ship Interior.
"Then we can only go down."
Lin Ye also looked at that passageway. He had originally planned to take a look at the Bridge, but if the exit was below, there was no need to go to the Bridge anymore.
"I'll scout ahead this time."
Classmate Mond was the strong, silent type. This was the first time he had spoken since encountering Lin Ye.
"Be careful."
Kama instructed.
"Hmm."
Mond, holding a spiritual energy shield, entered the downward staircase. The staircase was embedded with a large number of bright yellow Glowing Spheres.
Before Mond could even get close, the sphere nearest to him suddenly exploded. A blinding flash of light erupted. The milky white solid inside instantly expanded and grew larger, transforming into a white mutated monster.
"This light is problematic!"
Mond covered his eyes and retreated, but this was meaningless because the light didn't act on the eyeballs, but on the mind.
The white monster pounced at Mond. Its shape kept changing, like a puddle of wriggling fluid.
Mond activated the spiritual energy shield on the shield, but the fluid monster quickly passed through the spiritual energy shield and crashed onto the shield itself.
The white monster just melted into the interior of the shield.
Mond let go of the shield and quickly retreated back into the Banquet Hall.
"Are you alright?"
Kama took out a staff and manipulated spiritual energy to push that shield down the steps.
"...I'm fine."
Mond shook his head and then entered the passageway again, approaching those spheres along the steps.
"Mond? What's wrong with you?"
Kama noticed Mond's abnormality. She waved her staff, wanting to stop Mond, but Mond was very fast. In an instant, he darted to the lower part of the stairs. All the bright yellow Glowing Spheres on the stairs exploded. A blinding flash of light passed. A large amount of white liquid poured onto Mond's body, seeping into him.
Mond spread his arms, absorbing the surrounding milky white liquid as if welcoming a new birth. A bright yellow light flickered in his eyes.
Liv staggered towards the stairs, but was grabbed by the calf by Ayla who was holding the heirloom. Kama crouched on the ground, forcefully hugging her own thighs, barely maintaining consciousness.
Lin Ye used the mental purification technique to block those influences. But the moment he used the mental purification technique, his body began to show Alienation phenomena.
And it wasn't ordinary Alienation phenomena either. The Abyssal Eye was activated. His body was falling into the Abyss.
Lin Ye hurriedly stopped using the mental purification technique. Within the bright yellow light, he vaguely saw a massive shadow.
Fortunately, the yellow light soon disappeared. What disappeared along with it was Mond, who had been standing below the steps earlier.
"...What was that just now?"
Ayla, holding Liv, sat on the ground looking utterly exhausted.
"Some kind of mental contamination. Did you smell any strange odors when you boarded the ship?"
Lin Ye thought of the old man. He must have been affected by mental contamination.
"...No."
Kama closed her eyes and gently bumped her head against her knees.
"That's good then. If you smell any strange odors, tell me immediately."
Lin Ye suspected that odor was some kind of omen. The old man's mental level was too low, so he directly entered that stage.
"What do we do now? Should we go save Mond?"
Ayla gripped the heirloom tightly and asked.
"Of course. We won't abandon a comrade."
Kama raised her head and said firmly.
"But he's already been contaminated. Even if we save him back..."
Liv felt going down to save him was no different from seeking death.
"There are many items that can resolve mental contamination. As long as we can bring him back, we can save him."
Kama didn't plan to leave a comrade alone in a place like this.
"No need to argue. To leave from here, we definitely have to deal with the contamination source below. When the time comes, we can tie him up and bring him back as a side task."
Lin Ye thought about the target the mental purification technique pointed to. To enter the depths of the cruise ship, he had to rely on the mental purification technique.
"But going down means being subjected to mental contamination. Can we really leave from here?"
Ayla felt this wasn't a good idea.
"It's fine. We can first send one person down to detonate those spheres. Then we can go to the depths of the cruise ship to search for the contamination source and the exit."
Lin Ye had already thought through the entire plan.
"...I'll go detonate the spheres. Tie me up, don't let me run away."
Without much hesitation, Kama was the first to speak.
"Not needed. I can control it to walk in front."
Lin Ye took out that Active Aberration trapped within the spiritual energy shield. He planned to use this Active Aberration to absorb that white fluid.
However, to accomplish this, he had to follow behind the Active Aberration. This meant he would have to face those flashes of contamination directly.
So the mental purification technique was essential.
'Can only ask my friends for a hand...'
Lin Ye silently contemplated the images of his various friends, attempting to use the mental purification technique.