Chapter 129: First Devour! Small Pollution Source
As Lu Jingyu dove back into the deep sea, Xu Qingsui had already caught her breath and returned to the side of the Giant Octopus’s corpse. She used its spirit body to control its physical body, heading toward the Deep Sea Abyss.
With the help of the Giant Octopus’s body, Xu Qingsui soon arrived in the depths of Zone 9.
Upon reaching her destination, the scene before her left Xu Qingsui utterly stunned.
A colossal object, shaped like a nuclear reactor, stood in the depths, emitting a dark, hazy aura.
Gazing up at the colossal object, Xu Qingsui was momentarily stunned into silence.
Just as she was rendered speechless, the Golden Octopus appeared on its own.
[Congratulations, Host, on successfully finding the Zone 9 pollution source. Once you devour it, Zone 9 will no longer be at risk of contamination and will become a completely safe area.]
The Golden Octopus’s words pulled Xu Qingsui back to her senses. She looked at the colossal object again, marveling that this was the root of all the pollution.
She also understood the chilling implication of the final rule.
"How do I devour it?"
[Just do it the same way you devour a Mutant’s spirit body. You’ll understand after you’ve done it once.]
’Sometimes this damn seafood really feels useless.’
Seeing that she wasn’t going to get any specific instructions, Xu Qingsui mustered her courage. She stepped forward and slowly reached out her right hand toward the colossal object.
Looking at the aura enveloping the object, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but feel a jolt of alarm.
’What if I accidentally mutate, too?’
Her hand first made contact with the radiating aura. As if sensing her, the wisps of energy began to converge on her hand, scrambling to force their way into her body through her pores.
She could even feel the energy burrowing into her veins, trying to course through her entire body with her blood.
Within a few breaths, she felt something was wrong with her body.
An uncomfortable sensation spread through her. She panicked. ’Oh god! Am I really going to mutate?’
[Host, are you waiting for a dinner invitation? Hurry up and use your spiritual power to contain this energy before it takes over your body!]
Seeing that Xu Qingsui wasn’t reacting, the Golden Octopus grew anxious and popped out again to yell at her.
Xu Qingsui snapped out of it and hurriedly released her Spiritual Power.
Fortunately, the task wasn’t difficult and was easy to get the hang of. She easily purged all the invasive energy from her body.
When the energy was enveloped by her spiritual power, it dissolved into nothing, dissipating inside her body.
After dealing with the swirling energy, Xu Qingsui’s hand finally touched the colossal object.
At that same moment, a tremendous amount of energy surged into her body.
The rush was so overwhelming that she only had time to register something forcing its way into her body before she lost consciousness.
She didn’t know how long she’d been out. As she gradually regained consciousness, her body felt light and airy, as if she were floating.
She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was a hazy gray, as if she’d contracted an eye disease.
’Am I going blind?’
Xu Qingsui’s heart sank as a terrible thought entered her mind.
[Host has absorbed a small-scale pollution source. Please begin devouring its energy.]
The Golden Octopus appeared, finally dispelling her worries.
She tried to reach out to the fog in front of her. The instant her spiritual power enveloped it, the fog transformed into trickles of warmth that flowed into her body.
A pleasant, fulfilling sensation filled her senses. It was so comfortable that she drifted back to sleep.
She was awoken by the sound of a prompt from the Golden Octopus.
[Congratulations, Host, on successfully devouring the small-scale pollution source. You have gained spiritual power +20, Perception +10, and Lost Fragment x3.]
"That’s it?" Xu Qingsui was surprised that she had devoured the small-scale pollution source in her sleep.
The Golden Octopus couldn’t help but roll its eyes. [This is just your first time devouring a pollution source, so you might think it’s a little too simple. But friendly reminder: the path of devouring pollution sources will only get more difficult. I hope you’ll always find it this easy.]
Xu Qingsui detected a hint of provocation in the Golden Octopus’s tone. Given her temper, she was about to start a lengthy argument with it.
But before she could open her mouth, the Golden Octopus continued, [Congratulations, Host. The Lost Fragments have been collected. Synthesize now?]
Xu Qingsui’s pupils constricted. She replied on instinct, "Synthesize!"
The moment the word left her lips, she regretted it. ’I’m still in the instance,’ she thought. ’Lu Jingyu and the others will definitely come looking for me. If I synthesize now, they might see it.’
But it was too late. The next second, a dazzling light exploded before her eyes.
She instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes, but a ball of light suddenly shot out from the radiance. To her astonishment, it flew straight into the space between her eyebrows.
The next second, fragmented memories flooded her mind.
She vaguely saw many people in white lab coats, arguing intensely about something.
Then, another group of people appeared. They captured the scientists, locked them away, and forced them to do something.
She saw many scenes from her past life. The final image froze on the moment she was killed by zombies—but viewed from an outside perspective.
From this third-person, god-like perspective, she saw many pairs of eyes watching as the zombies devoured her, their expressions filled with disappointment.
The first few fragments of memory were merely confusing, but the later ones brought a heart-wrenching pain.
’It’s like everything I’ve experienced is connected somehow.’
But the visions ended there, and she couldn’t investigate any further.
Then, her mind suddenly felt much clearer. She was jolted back to full awareness and discovered that in her Sea of Consciousness, which had been filled with fog, a large area had suddenly cleared. Her Sea of Consciousness had expanded significantly.
[Congratulations, Host. Your Sea of Consciousness has been enhanced, and your spiritual power has increased significantly!]
Hearing the Golden Octopus’s voice, Xu Qingsui was desperate to ask what she had just seen.
But before she could speak, Lu Jingyu’s voice sounded in her ear. "Guide Xu, are you all right? Wake up!"
To the sound of his urgent voice, Xu Qingsui slowly opened her eyes, meeting Lu Jingyu’s worried gaze.
"You’re finally awake! Why didn’t you wait for us to leave together? How did you get here? Are you hurt?"
The barrage of questions left Xu Qingsui unsure which to answer first.
Lu Jingyu didn’t seem to be waiting for answers, though. He simply grabbed her and started examining her from every angle, checking for injuries.
"I’m fine... When did you get here? What did you see?" Xu Qingsui asked, worried that Lu Jingyu had discovered her secret.
"I just got here and saw you standing here, staring into space. Did something happen?" Lu Jingyu asked, looking baffled.