NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Illusion
"It's a barrier, and a high-level one at that."
Elder Mu Yang from the Longevity Company looked up at the scarlet blood moon in the sky and murmured.
He was dumbfounded.
While Mu Yang froze, the monsters across the street did not. They turned around and charged directly toward him.
As they ran, mutated wings suddenly sprouted from the backs of these transformed monsters. Lifting off the ground, they flew toward him at astonishing speed.
Mu Yang's face turned grim. He pulled out a green syringe and forcefully injected it into his arm.
The green liquid was pushed into his bloodstream and quickly spread throughout his body.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Mu Yang's originally short hair rapidly grew until it draped over his shoulders. Two sharp, bone-like blades emerged from his shoulder blades with a crisp "crack."
A flash of madness appeared in his eyes.
This was the Longevity Company's Super-State Type 1 Serum, refined from the blood of a Tier-4 Zerg, the Dark-Scaled Blood Pincer Worm. On this mission to Deep Blue City, the company had equipped each of them with three doses as a contingency.
"We can't escape anymore. Follow me, and we'll fight our way out."
———
"Han Zhen, look!"
Inside the villa, Xia Youwei noticed something unusual near the dining table and tugged at Han Zhen.
The fleshy sphere encapsulating Li Shutong and the Tier-9 Zerg Emperor, Nightmare, started pulsing rhythmically. Its strong and powerful heartbeat echoed as the previously dormant flesh began spreading again throughout the villa.
The speed was slow, but it was only a matter of time before it consumed the entire building.
"It seems we have no choice but to leave this place."
"Stick close to me, and alert each other to any abnormalities."
Han Zhen said this as he opened the door and stepped outside first.
Having just awakened the Sky Serpent Physique, his defense was strong enough, and his Eight Locks Fist provided additional protection. He could react quickly to any danger.
However, as soon as he opened the door, the scene outside left him stunned.
It had disappeared.
Everything had vanished.
Only thick gray mist remained, enveloping everything and rendering visibility nonexistent.
Taking one step outside, he turned back and reminded Xia Youwei and Li Lingzhen, "Stay close!"
No one responded.
Han Zhen spun around abruptly, only to discover that the villa that had been right behind him was now gone.
Xia Youwei and Li Lingzhen were nowhere to be found.
'When did this happen?'
He had only taken one step outside, 'How is this possible?'
Faced with this unknown terror, Han Zhen instinctively activated his Three Locks state. White mist emanated from his body, spreading out like a net and slowly merging with the surrounding gray fog.
Using the white mist as a sensory extension, Han Zhen carefully scouted and remained on high alert.
At that moment, a shadow darted through the gray mist in front of him.
"It" stirred the mist, like a gust of wind, swirling it into chaos.
WHOOSH—
A chilling sensation swept across Han Zhen's neck, the bone-piercing cold causing every hair on his body to stand on end.
Without thinking, Han Zhen turned and punched behind him, his fist plunging into the mist.
However, his punch met only empty air, striking neither solid nor tangible targets.
Without hesitation, Han Zhen turned and threw a punch into the gray mist behind him.
His fist, plunging into the fog, failed to strike anything solid or tangible, resulting in a fruitless effort.
Just as Han Zhen thought no one was there, a sudden, powerful force slammed into the front of his abdomen. The unexpected impact bent him over, forcing him to endure the blow directly.
If someone had been watching, they would have seen a faint layer of transparent scales appear on Han Zhen's skin at the moment of the attack.
These scales resembled the patterns of snake skin but had slight differences.
The attack from the gray mist struck Han Zhen, immediately activating the Sky Serpent Physique. The serpent scales absorbed most of the impact, while the white mist armor from the Eight Locks Fist dissipated instantly.
Even so, Han Zhen coughed up a mouthful of acid.
Despite the dual defenses of the Sky Serpent Physique and the Eight Locks Fist's white mist armor, he was still forced to spit out acid. Most crucially, he hadn't even seen what had attacked him.
As Han Zhen thought about this, his attitude became even more cautious.
But in the next second, his back was struck by a second attack.
This time, it was a blade.
The blade once again cut through the white mist armor, clashed against the protective serpent scales of the Sky Serpent Physique, and even sent sparks flying before finally breaking through his defenses and leaving a bloody gash on Han Zhen's body.
While in the state of Three Locks, Han Zhen's reaction speed was near its peak.
Yet even so, he was still unable to react, unable to see the trajectory of his opponent's strikes.
A deep sense of powerlessness arose in Han Zhen's heart.
"This is, after all, the barrier of the Tier-9 Zerg Emperor. How could I possibly withstand the attacks of a Tier-9 Zerg Emperor? No, I can't withstand them."
"Youwei and Lingzhen have both disappeared. We'll be picked off one by one, utterly powerless to resist."
'It's too strong. It's too strong. I can't fight back. I can only take the blows, take the blows…'
Han Zhen's mental state quickly deteriorated. Even with his full concentration, he couldn't defend against the attacks. With negative emotions taking over his mind, he completely gave up.
More and more attacks rained down from the gray mist, like a storm.
Han Zhen's wounds multiplied.
He barely managed to keep his eyes open. On the verge of death, Han Zhen's mind flashed with many images. It was precisely these images that jolted his heavy, foggy mind awake.
"No!"
"No!"
"This isn't right!"
'Why did I think that the barrier of the Tier-9 Zerg Emperor, Nightmare, must contain Tier-9 level attacks?'
It's worth noting that at the beginning, the attacks in the gray mist couldn't even break through my defenses.
'When did they start getting stronger?'
'The first attack forced me to spit out acid because I couldn't track its trajectory. Then, with Lingzhen and Youwei's disappearance, I became nervous and panicked.'
'So the second attack's strength increased, just enough to break through my defenses.'
'After my defense was breached, my mental pressure grew. As I became more terrified of the unseen enemy in the gray mist, its attacks became more frequent and more powerful.'
'But this has a flaw.'
"I haven't triggered the 'life-and-death' state of the Eight Locks Fist."
Han Zhen spread out his hands. Yes, even though his body was riddled with wounds and he was bleeding profusely, he had still not triggered the life-and-death state. The amount of white mist hadn't increased at all.
What does this mean?
'It means that my situation hasn't reached the point of life and death.'
'This is a judgment bug.'
"Your attacks aren't strong at all."
"The first attack made me spit out acid only because Lingzhen and Youwei's disappearance created an emotional flaw in me."
"I once heard Gongyang Jin mention that what's truly terrifying about Nightmare is how it plays with people's minds."
"In other words, everything I'm seeing and experiencing is all an illusion."
'It's all an illusion.'
When Han Zhen said this, his energy and spirit immediately soared once more.
As a practitioner of the Eight Locks Fist, Han Zhen had faced death multiple times, and his mental fortitude was incredibly strong. Someone who didn't even fear death—how could he be afraid of an illusion?
With this thought, he decisively closed his eyes.
Not only that, but he also voluntarily deactivated the Three Extremes state, giving up the Sky Serpent Physique and completely exposing himself to the gray mist.
"Come on. If you have what it takes, kill me."
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