Popgar led the way, leading Lin Yi in many twists and turns, and finally stopped in front of a door.
Pushing open the door, there is a cave inside. This is a room filled with surveillance cameras.
In the center of the room, there was a shabby-looking chair, with a young man sitting slumped on it.
He was wearing a baseball cap, his hair under the brim was greasy and messy, and the T-shirt he was wearing was stained with black oil, as if it hadn't been washed in a long time.
With such an appearance, if anyone saw him on the street outside, he would be regarded as an idle and idle otaku who could not be associated with the feared leader of the Asaka organization.
"What would you like to drink? Tea, coffee, or those novel drinks specially provided in the park?" Shadow said as he walked to the wall and reached out to open the refrigerator door.
Lin Yi looked around and couldn't help but be a little surprised. There were actually several cans of Sprite and Coke neatly placed in the refrigerator. Among the colorful and unnamed drinks, they looked particularly familiar and friendly.
The relationship between the Asaka organization and the contractors is far from ordinary close.
If you think about it carefully, this is actually not difficult to understand. The philosophy upheld by the Asaka organization coincides with the inner thoughts of the contractors.
Most of the contractors like to complete various tasks quietly and then reap generous rewards. This behavior pattern perfectly fits their psychological expectations.
As time goes on, more and more contractors choose to join the Asaka organization and find a part-time job while going to the shallow depths of the Black Abyss for training.
Over time, all aspects of the Asaka organization have been penetrated and influenced by the habits of the contractors, and their behavior and internal atmosphere have also changed.
"Just tea."
Lin Yi sat on a sofa opposite Shadow. The leather of the sofa was a little old, and it made a slight creaking sound when he sat on it.
As for Pop Garr, he stood at the door, his eyes glancing outside from time to time.
Even in this secret room, no one dares to be sure that it is absolutely safe at this moment.
Because the ancestor has soul vines, it has the special ability to detect the atmosphere of a large area around it, and the slightest movement may be detected.
Fortunately, the ancestors tried not to provoke people from the Asaka organization on weekdays. Everyone went their own way without disturbing each other.
The Asaka organization has promised early on that it will never take on tasks related to the ancestors unless it is absolutely necessary.
This tacit understanding can be regarded as the Asaka organization giving enough face to the ancestors, allowing both parties to maintain a superficial calm for the time being.
"I heard from No. 16 that the doctor is here to find something."
Shadow stood up and made a pot of tea for Lin Yi. The aroma of tea spread, and Lin Yi sniffed it gently. Judging from the elegant aroma, it should be white tea.
"Well, now that we're here, I won't go around in circles and plan to issue a mission."
Lin Yi understood that when dealing with organizations like Asaka, favors should be treated as favors, but without real rewards, it was basically impossible to expect them to care about his affairs.
Sure enough, when he heard that Lin Yi was preparing to carry out the mission, his eyes, which were still a bit casual, immediately lit up.
"Okay, I wonder what Mr. Doctor is looking for and what is the reward?"
Shadow picked up the tea in front of him and gently blew the tea leaves floating on the water, but his eyes were staring straight at Lin Yi, with a hint of probing in his eyes.
In this contact, Yingying was not only trying to discuss business, but also wanted to take the opportunity to evaluate Lin Yi's strength, and was wondering whether it was necessary to get close to Lin Yi's "big tree".
"What I'm looking for is the seed of Hellfire. As for the reward, I will pay you a leaf of Fengyang tree."
"Fengyang tree?"
Shadow repeated it subconsciously, a trace of surprise flashed across his face.
Fortunately, Shadow reacted quickly enough. While he was picking up the teacup and sipping the tea, he quickly covered most of his face with the teacup and calmly suppressed the fleeting expression of shock.
"Yes, Mr. Doctor trusts our Asaka organization so much, so naturally we will not let him down."
Shadow sat on the chair. After thinking for a while, he quickly made a decision. He immediately stood up and planned to personally carry out the mission this time.
"On the 16th, you take Mr. Lin out first."
Popgar responded and led Lin Yi outside.
After a while, the two returned to the collapsed house. The ruins were scattered in various directions, showing a bit of dilapidation and desolation.
Almost five minutes later, a shadow in black robe appeared in Lin Yi's sight.
The moment he saw the shadow, Lin Yi frowned. The shadow now was completely different from the shadow just now.
If it really enters a life and death battle, the two sides will be almost at 30-70, with Lin Yi at 3 and the opponent at 7.
"Let's go. Although I haven't heard of this kind of thing, there is someone who definitely knows what you are looking for." Shadow dropped these words and strode forward, picking up some dust under his feet. His target was It was the ancestral territory that had just been attacked by the demon clan.
……
The shallow layer of the Black Abyss, the Highlands of the Redeemer, the central area.
On the cold and hard stone altar, a shirtless and sturdy man with an animal skin on his shoulders sat cross-legged. His whole body muscles were like steel, and each blood vessel seemed to have its own thoughts, beating and twitching at will.
"Hoo~"
The strong man let out a long sigh of relief. He held his palm emptyly, and immediately a soul vine protruded from the gap of the altar and wrapped around his hand.
"This is the power left by our ancestors. No outsider can take it away."
The strong man tore off the soul vine with a snap. The torn part did not wither. Instead, it kept twisting in his hand like a flexible octopus tentacle.
The man stared at the soul vine in his hand, hesitated briefly, and then stuffed it into his mouth.
After a few minutes.
"Woo!!"
A roar suddenly broke through the throat, but it seemed to be covered by something, and no sound could be made. Only the twisted face and protruding veins showed the tremendous pain the owner suffered.
The blood is burning in the body, being consumed bit by bit, while unknown new things are quietly growing, ready to take their place.
Shengzhajia got up from the ground. He felt that his body was very strange now. It felt like his various organs had independent thinking.
Although he violated the taboos of his ancestors, there was nothing he could do about it. He could no longer tolerate what was originally his being robbed again, so he had to fight to the death.
"This feeling..."
Sheng Zhajia stretched his arms flat, and although the feeling in his body was strange, the powerful feeling was very comforting.
While Saint Zhajia was intoxicated with his own power, his ears moved.
"Who?! Come out!"
Saint Zhajia is the leader of the ancestral force, but the word "leader" is somewhat unworthy of the name.
By his generation, the family had long since withered away, and he was the only one left in the direct lineage.
"Long time no see, Saint Zaka."
Under the gaze of Sheng Zhajia, the shadow appeared in Sheng Zhajia's eyes with Lin Yi and Pop Gal.
"Shadow? How could you give it up?"
After seeing the visitor, Sheng Zhajia's tense muscles relaxed.
Since she had just been attacked by the demon clan, Sheng Zhajia's expression was in a very tense state.
If someone else had come, Sheng Zhajia would have already taken action.
Fortunately, it was Shadow who came. The two of them had interacted with each other a lot. Shengzhajia was quite familiar with Shadow's behavior and knew that the other party was probably not looking for trouble.
"No way, I need your help with something this time."
"Price." There is no free lunch in this world. You can help, but you must negotiate the compensation clearly first.
"Help you find out the name of the demon clan that just attacked you."
"Okay! Deal!"
After hearing the reward that Shadow was going to give, Sheng Zhajia agreed without any hesitation.
For Sheng Zhajia, the behavior of the demon clan is equivalent to a crazy slap on the face of the ancestor. If Sheng Zhajia just swallows his anger and does not find a chance to retaliate, the reputation of the ancestor will be greatly compromised.
Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for Saint Zhajia to hold on to such a large territory as the First Ancestor.
"What do you need me to help you with?"
After confirming that the shadow was not looking for trouble, Sheng Zhajia's tense nerves relaxed.
He skillfully controlled the soul vines. The vines were like flexible ribbons, quickly intertwining and entwining in front of several people, and in the blink of an eye they formed a unique table.
"I wonder if you have ever heard of the 'Seed of Hellfire'?"
"Why do you need this?" After hearing Shadow's words, Sheng Zhajia's expression changed slightly.
"It's not that I need it, it's this gentleman that needs it." Shadow pointed at Lin Yi beside him, and then Shengzhajia turned his attention to Lin Yi.
"Sorry, I do know this thing, but I will never hand it over. You three, please take it back." After struggling and weighing several times in his heart, Shengza finally stood up and made a gesture to see off the guests.
The Nether Fire Seed is inextricably linked to the territory guarded by Saint Zhajia.
The so-called Hellfire Seed is actually a ball of fire condensed from countless soul fragments over the endless years.
When the Hellfire Seed is activated or touched, it releases an invisible flame that can act directly on the soul.
Once the soul is injured by the underworld fire, it will be indescribable pain.
Trauma at the soul level is different from superficial wounds. It can cause a feeling of powerlessness and despair deep in the soul, as if the entire consciousness has been thrown into endless purgatory and is suffering.
For Sheng Zhajia, the seed of hell fire is equivalent to the legacy of the ancestors.
It can be seen from the name of the founder of this force that Sheng Zhajia attaches great importance to his family.
"Mr. Shengzhajia, your body is already on the verge of collapse."
Just when Sheng Zhajia was about to leave, Lin Yi's sudden words made Sheng Zhajia pause in his tracks, and the steps he had just taken froze in mid-air.
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"What nonsense are you talking about! I have inherited the great power of my ancestors now! It's not the turn of a nobody like you to make random comments." Sheng Zhajia moved very quickly and arrived in front of Lin Yi almost instantly.
Their faces were very close, separated only by the mask on Lin Yi's face.
The soul vines behind Saint Zhajia seemed to sense the anger of their master and began to dance wildly and uncontrollably.
Lin Yi's eyes behind the mask showed no fear, and he even sneered slightly.
This laughter was particularly harsh in the silent atmosphere, and it made Saint Zaka even more furious.
Just when Sheng Zhajia was about to take action, Lin Yi's finger gently touched a spot on Sheng Zhajia's arm.
After being hit by Lin Yi, the normally peaceful blood vessels on Sheng Zhajia's arm seemed to suddenly go crazy, completely out of his control, and surged up and down on his arm, as if there were countless smart vines, just between his skin and flesh. Wander around freely.
"Damn it, what did you do?" Sheng Zhajia was shocked and angry. He took two steps back, and large beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.
He did not dare to slack off at all, and immediately concentrated on suppressing the power in his body that was beginning to run out of control.
After a while, the strangeness in his body gradually subsided and he returned to normal.
"I didn't do anything. Your body must have absorbed this kind of special power from the outside world not long ago. In the short term, it can indeed greatly increase your combat effectiveness, but as time passes slowly, this power will Be the guest first and treat your body as nourishment for yourself. In the end, you will only be left with a dry skeleton. ”
"To be honest, I'm quite confused. Who taught you this method? If you choose to coexist gently with the soul vines and gradually improve your strength, why would you do this? Using such a violent method, it's almost like someone I wish you could return to the West soon.”
There was a hint of doubt in Lin Yi's tone. This method is almost the same as drinking poison to quench thirst. At first glance, it can indeed increase combat power to a terrifying height in the blink of an eye, but the price behind it is too heavy.
As time goes by, he will be no different from the walking dead in the ancestral forces, reduced to a cold corpse controlled wantonly by soul vines, leaving an empty body and losing his own will.
Hearing Lin Yi's last words, Sheng Zhajia, who was originally full of anger, twitched his eyes. Then he seemed to have thought of something, and then he raised his head and controlled the soul vines to seal off the surrounding area.
"What you just meant is that there is something wrong with my method?" Sheng Zhajia took a deep breath. When the shadow on the side saw the chair that Sheng Zhajia had not touched, he just sat on the chair and said nothing.
"It's not just a problem, it's a very big problem."
"In the void, there are countless systems that symbiosis with plants to obtain power, but most of them will not rashly devour the other party's power like you. If you do this, you are simply risking your life, and it is no different from courting death!"
"The person who taught you this method must have bad intentions. There are obviously gentler ways for you to choose, but you chose the one that is most harmful to your body."
Lin Yi's words seemed to hit Sheng Zhajia's heart, causing Sheng Zhajia to fall into silence.
Sheng Zhajia pursed her lips tightly and frowned deeply, as if there were thousands of thoughts swirling rapidly in her mind.
Lin Yi was not in a hurry to break the silence and leaned back on his chair to wait patiently.
Lin Yi took the initiative, and he was sure in his heart that Sheng Zhajia would have to hand over the Hellfire Seed sooner or later for his own safety, so he did not panic at all and quietly waited for Sheng Zhajia to speak first.
"Who are you?"
Shengzhajia took a deep breath and looked at Lin Yi, who was sitting opposite.
"If it's a physical problem, Saint Zaka, you'd better trust him. There are few people in the entire void who are more authoritative than him in this regard."
Shadow's words suddenly rang out. Sheng Zhajia was well aware of Shadow's temperament. This person was always cautious and would never speak out without any basis. Since he said so, the person opposite must be quite capable.
"So, is there a solution?"
"Where's the reward?"
"I can give you three hellfire seeds." Sheng Zhajia gritted his teeth and offered a price that he thought was quite generous.
"It's not enough. Your physical condition is very serious. With the Hellfire Seed, I can at most give you a solution. It's not enough for me to help you deal with it myself." Lin Yi put down the tea cup in his hand, but in his words But there is no room for negotiation at all.
"If you can really help me return to normal, as a price, I can pay you 400 grams of soul stones (approximately equal to 8 soul crystals·complete)."
Sheng Zhajia frowned, and after struggling and weighing several times in his heart, he quoted another price.
In addition to producing soul fruits, soul vines can also absorb soul power floating in the air to produce soul crystals, which also results in Saint Zaka having no shortage of soul stones.
Hearing this, Lin Yi nodded.
"Okay, do you need me to give you anesthesia during the operation?"
"There's no need for anesthetic." Sheng Zhajia hesitated after hearing Lin Yi's words, and finally rejected Lin Yi's kindness.
"Okay, is there a cleaner place? There is no way to perform surgery in this damn place."
"Yes, but you can only go alone." Sheng Zhajia looked past Lin Yi and towards Shadow and Popgar. The meaning of his words was very clear.
Shadow shrugged and said it didn't matter.
The core mission of his trip here was to help Lin Yi find out about the Netherfire Seed. Now that he had a clue, the mission was successfully completed for him.
Under the guidance of Sheng Zhajia, Lin Yi followed closely behind him and walked towards the palace complex.
It is not difficult to speculate that the number of clan members of the ancestor's lineage must have been extremely large in the past years.
But as time went by, there seemed to be problems with the reproduction of the ancestors, and now only Sheng Zhajia is still alive.
"Is this place okay?"
Under the leadership of Sheng Zhajia, Lin Yi came to a very clean room.
This room was originally the laboratory of the ancestors, but over time, these areas have lost their original role. However, under the cleaning of the assimilationists, the rooms inside the palace are still very tidy.
"Okay, lie down. I'll first diagnose to what extent your body has been eroded." After Sheng Zhajia lay down, Lin Yi took out a scalpel.
After the blade of the scalpel touched Shengzhajia's arm, there was a sharp "stab" sound, the blade of the scalpel instantly collapsed, and small metal fragments flew away.
Sheng Zhajia's arm is now as rough as a dead tree. An ordinary scalpel can no longer cause damage to Sheng Zhajia.
"Use this." Seeing Lin Yi's scalpel shattered, Sheng Zhajia controlled the soul vine and handed a simple-looking dagger to Lin Yi.
After Lin Yi took it, he discovered that this dagger was actually an epic dagger, but its attributes were very average. After all, this was just a dagger used for sacrifice. The original intention of the design was not to kill enemies. If you really expected to use it to kill people in battle, It's definitely not reliable.
Although killing people is not very good, it is still not a big problem to use it to break through the defense of Saint Zhajia.
After the dagger pierced Sheng Zhajia's arm, Lin Yi noticed that Sheng Zhajia's expression did not waver at all, as if the person being stabbed was not his own body.
"Does it hurt?" After hearing Lin Yi's question, Shengzhajia shook his head.
"It seems that the erosion has affected your nervous system, which is a bit tricky."
Since conventional stimulation could not make Sheng Zhajia feel anything, it meant that the problem was more serious than imagined. Lin Yi no longer hesitated and directly increased the movements of his hands.
He raised the knife in his hand, and with a sharp slide, he completely cut off Saint Zaka's arm, and the flesh rolled open, revealing the shocking sight inside.
The liquid flowing out of Sheng Zhajia's arm was no longer the normal bright red blood. Instead, it looked like tissue fluid exuded from plants. When viewed from a distance, it showed a faint red color.
In the arms of Saint Zhajia, countless slender vines are densely wrapped around the muscles and deeply inserted into them. The vines and flesh merge and symbiosis in a weird way.
As Saint Zhajia breathes, the light of these vines alternates between light and dark, as if they are rhythmically synchronizing with the owner's vital signs.
Lin Yi flicked one of the vines with his dagger, and almost at the same moment, Sheng Zhajia, who had been silent all this time, suddenly let out a painful groan.
"Don't touch it."
The tone of Sheng Zhajia's voice changed. The moment Lin Yi touched the vine with his dagger, a sharp pain swept through his brain like a raging tide, making him feel as if his head was being grasped by an invisible big hand. live.
"Trouble, it seems that the erosion of the vines is worse than I thought." Lin Yi put down the dagger in his hand and began to think about how to deal with the problem of Saint Zaka.
"Is it serious?"
"It's serious. If I had come another month later, you would have become a vegetative state without anyone else taking action." Lin Yi was not joking when he said this. Saint Zaka's current nervous system has been replaced by vines. .
As time goes by, his brain will gradually be eroded by the vines, and eventually he will become a companion puppet of the soul vines, with no human form but no independent consciousness. (End of chapter)