The simple matter quickly came to light: Fang Yu and Yun Hai, violating regulations by testing missile weapons, nearly injured Xia Zhen and Ling Yun, who had come to report for duty. After the two clearly stated they would file a complaint, verbal threats failed, followed by threats of force, which also failed. In retaliation, Fang Yu and Yun Hai violated the rules and triggered an A-level intrusion alarm. Coincidentally, Ye Feng was testing the SkyNet system at that moment. Upon hearing the alarm, he arbitrarily took attack measures, causing Ling Yun to be caught in the vortex of the SkyNet system, which had entered automatic attack mode; her current condition is unknown. Fang Yu and Yun Hai have been detained, awaiting the return of a higher-level chief instructor to determine their culpability. Ye Feng bears responsibility for dereliction of duty and leadership responsibility and awaits further action.
This is a brief summary of what the instructor announced in public. All the evidence is clear, and the process is simple and straightforward. However, the biggest challenge isn't dealing with the perpetrators, but rather how to rescue Ling Yun. Everyone's feelings are different.
In fact, for the two instructors familiar with the structure of the Skynet, there was no need to rescue Ling Yun. Being swept into the Skynet by the vortex was equivalent to an ordinary person being caught in a cutting machine; the chance of survival was virtually zero. The vortex pressure, energy wind, penetrating energy pulse zone, acceleration zone, and lightning zone—any one of these could reduce any living being to the most basic particles in the world, providing negligible energy support to the barrier.
As for miracles... the instructor did consider it, but quickly dismissed it. In the world of superhumans, that word shouldn't exist. Superhumans themselves are synonymous with miracles. If there's one more possibility, it can only be attributed to... divine intervention!
But deductions aside, things still need to be done. Although waiting for Ling Yun at the back-end controlled exit would be a complete waste of effort as he might be thrown out by the Skynet, just seeing Xia Zhen's red, swollen eyes made the instructor feel he couldn't bluntly tell the girl the truth. Even if he just pretended, it would be a comfort to the girl. Besides, Ling Yun was one of the trainee superhumans. Although they had never met, the normal recommendation process had been approved. He only needed to complete the level procedures and identity verification to become one of the official trainee superhumans.
"Let's just give this young man a proper funeral befitting a superhuman. After all, it's a belated consolation." Instructor Fang thought with some regret. Like Xia Lan, he had never met Ling Yun, so he had no feelings for him. Apart from some regret, he had no other feelings.
"Instructor, is there still hope?" Xia Lan looked at her sister, who looked blank and haggard, and couldn't help but worry. She knew a part about Skynet and knew the truth, but she still couldn't help but ask.
“I have shut down all the automatic attack programs before the Skynet core, but I’m afraid it’s too late. If we don’t see anyone within fifteen minutes, maybe…may…” Even the usually strict and decisive Instructor Fang couldn’t help but stammer. He had no experience in comforting people, so he tried his best to choose his words, afraid of upsetting Xia Zhen, even though everyone understood what “maybe” meant.
In the end, Instructor Fang didn't reveal what might follow; instead, he let out a long sigh. A heavy atmosphere descended upon everyone, each person's heart heavy. Although most didn't recognize Ling Yun, they knew from the introduction that he was about to become their colleague and was also the youngest superhuman. A sense of pity welled up in everyone's hearts; so young, with such a promising future, it was a pity that fate was so cruel.
A heart-wrenching silence filled the control room, broken only by the ticking of someone's watch. Each tick meant a further decrease in Ling Yun's chances of survival. At this point, no action or prayer was of any use; all that remained was to wait in the agonizing countdown.
Fifteen minutes later, the two instructors turned around. "Everyone, go back." The short but heavy voices rang out in the control room. Instructor Fang sighed heavily again. The other instructor patted him heavily on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Old Fang, you did your best. Let's report this to the first instructor when he comes back."
Instructor Fang nodded and was about to follow the others out of the control room when his eyes involuntarily fell on Xia Zhen. It would be better to let Xia Lan comfort the girl at this time, since she was the one she brought. Perhaps she and that young man had a good relationship, maybe they were a couple? Instructor Fang thought to himself.
Xia Zhen stood motionless, silently calculating the final moments. As the last second ticked down, the girl's face turned deathly pale, her heart filled with despair. She bit her lip, trembling, oblivious to the fact that she had bitten it so hard that it was bleeding. A terrifying, almost insane thought surged within her: I have to go in… I have to go into the barrier to find him…
Everything outside was irrelevant to her. Xia Zhen seemed to be alone in a cold, snow-covered world, frozen solid from head to toe—a cold tinged with death and despair, utterly devoid of hope. After more than twenty years, Xia Zhen finally understood what it meant to be heartbroken. She had always treated Ling Yun as a younger brother, but now she realized that, unknowingly, that honest and kind boy had occupied such an important place in her heart, even surpassing her own.
Two strings of crystal tears silently dripped down her snow-white face, landing softly on the ground with a crisp, mournful sound.
"Xia Zhen, let's go out, okay? Maybe when the head instructor comes back, he'll think of a way... Don't be like this." Xia Lan held her cold little hand and said softly. Seeing Xia Zhen's heartbroken appearance, Xia Lan's phoenix eyes couldn't help but redden.
“Sister…” Xia Zhen didn’t look at her, her voice trembling as she said, “Can you let me have some peace and quiet here? I want to… keep him company.”
"Xia Zhen..." Xia Lan could no longer hold back, and after a moment's thought, two streams of hot tears flowed down her cheeks.
Upon witnessing this scene, the two instructors' facial muscles twitched slightly. They exchanged a silent glance, said nothing, and then walked heavily out together. In fact, the Superpower Headquarters did not allow superpowered individuals other than instructors to stay in the barrier control room, but there are always exceptions. Rules without human consideration can never have any vitality.
At this moment, this world belongs to Xia Zhen.
Xia Lan was really worried about her younger sister, but she had no other choice. She could only suppress her worry and grief and walk toward the door, glancing at the lonely yet stubborn figure as she went.
Suddenly, the lines of the light screen underwent a dramatic change, and in the blink of an eye, the entire light screen was transformed into a world of countless lines.
"Instructor!" Xia Lan exclaimed in surprise upon seeing this, her expression changing immediately. "The barrier has changed!"
The two instructors, who had already stepped halfway out the door, turned around upon hearing this and exclaimed in unison, "My God, he's still alive!"
Chapter 168 The Strange Old Man
The moment Ling Yun stepped into the azure space at the core, he witnessed a scene he would never forget. It was a completely sealed space, where countless thin, straight azure energy pulses shot upwards like arrows, leaving trails of light. Above, there was no boundary, only an endless expanse of azure blue, the color deepening with distance, from azure to deep blue, until the infinite distance as far as the eye could see became utterly black, like a giant black hole.
Ling Yun knew that the blackness was due to the distance; the color amplitude couldn't be reflected by the retina. But even with the Eye of Illusion, he couldn't see what lay at the end of the space. This enclosed space couldn't be infinite, but like a sphere, it was finite yet boundless, exhibiting a multidimensional characteristic.
The space was surrounded by semi-transparent, deep blue energy walls. The core space had no entrances or exits; to enter or leave, one had to pass through layers of seemingly tangible energy walls. Unless one possessed the ability to control the entire barrier, entering the core space was simply wishful thinking. Even the instructors only controlled a portion of the barrier's power; the very core could only be controlled by the head instructor. Furthermore, if the head instructor changed, the next head instructor had to alter the key to the core to prevent leaks.
The core space was filled with beautiful fountains, as thick as buckets and smooth as mirrors. However, while normal fountains spray water, those in the core space sprayed energy. The deep blue energy fountains were fully materialized, resembling enormous blue diamonds, beautiful and crystal clear. Above the fountains were branch-like energy transmission channels, the energy surging upwards in an incomprehensible way, transmitting energy to every part of the barrier. This was the main reason why the barrier possessed boundless power and remained standing.
The largest energy fountain is the core. Ling Yun roughly estimated that the diameter of the core's cylinder is at least ten meters. It is like a pillar that stands tall and firm, and can no longer be called a fountain. Rather, it is an energy column formed by pure energy. Hundreds of meters away, the core branches out with countless channels, firmly connecting all the energy fountains and energy walls together.
The Eye of Illusion could vaguely sense that sunlight seemed to be focused into this space tens of thousands of times. After being absorbed by the core, it was transformed into pure energy after undergoing mysterious and complex changes, and then transported to various places. In addition to sunlight, there were also many rays that were almost invisible to the Eye of Illusion but contained terrifying energy, which entered the core from the universe and were also transformed into energy.
The energy conversion process has been analyzed by the replication ability, and the data has been stored by Ling Yun. However, with his current abilities, he cannot understand this overly mysterious and complex process. Of course, Ling Yun does not want to study it in detail here. Once he has seen how the energy operates in the core space, the replication and mirroring techniques will faithfully and objectively record everything, and there will be plenty of time to recall and watch it later.
After walking around the huge energy pillar and turning to the other side, Ling Yun was immediately taken aback.
He was shocked to see three white-haired men bound motionless to the energy pillar. What horrified Ling Yun was that although his senses were always open, he could see the three men with his naked eye, but his senses were completely empty. The three men simply did not exist. This was almost impossible. Even if they were just corpses, they would inevitably be reflected in his senses. Unless the other party's power far exceeded his, he could block his senses without even having to do it.
The three white-haired men stood motionless with their heads bowed, as if they were dead. They were leaning against the energy pillar, and from the core extended shackles and handcuffs made of energy the thickness of a finger, which were fastened to the limbs of the three men. Energy chains were also fastened around their waists, and the chains of the three men were connected in a line. If any one of them made a move, it would inevitably affect the other two.
Their clothes were tattered and almost unrecognizable, revealing large areas of shiny skin. The man in the middle had fair, jade-like skin, the man on the left had a shiny bronze complexion, and the man on the far right had dark, shiny skin, as if he had been coated with shoe polish.
Ling Yun was horrified. He couldn't sense any life signs from the three men; they seemed to be nothing more than three statues. Yet, he felt as if he were facing a prehistoric beast. From those three not-so-imposing bodies, a terrifying yet powerful aura constantly emanated. Ling Yun knew that it was a manifestation of overwhelming power overflowing involuntarily.
The three old men had been sealed here for many years, and their clothes had rotted away. However, there was neither dust nor any microorganisms in the core space, so even though the three old men were dressed in rags, they still appeared to be spotless.
Seemingly sensing the presence of a living person, the bound old man suddenly raised his head. His long, white hair obscured half of his face, revealing a fierce and monstrous face, especially his single, bare eye with its large, red pupil, which appeared incredibly eerie and terrifying. A powerful, ferocious aura emanated from him, causing Ling Yun to involuntarily take two steps back.
Inspired by the elder in the middle, the other two elders also slowly raised their heads. The elder on the left, with his bronze skin, had a face full of wrinkles, but one could still vaguely see his handsome appearance when he was young. He was quite kind-looking, but his cold eyes were lifeless, like two real bolts of lightning. When they hit Ling Yun's face, they actually made Ling Yun feel a slight pain.
The elderly man on the right, with dark skin, had a sunken nose and long, wavy hair; he was, in fact, an African. Shockingly, the old man's eyes were also pure black; from a distance, one could not even discern his facial features. Although he didn't know if the old man was observing him, Ling Yun had an inexplicable, dreamlike illusion. He seemed to see the energy handcuffs and shackles binding the old man's limbs suddenly open automatically, and then the old man slowly walked towards him.
He shook his head vigorously, and the illusion vanished instantly. The elderly black man was still unharmed, bound to the energy pillar. But why had he suddenly had this illusion? Ling Yun was secretly astonished, knowing it was related to these strange individuals. Being trapped here meant these people were no ordinary people, and Ling Yun couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity. Since the man was locked in place by the energy pillar, he was probably out of danger.
"It's been so many years, and finally a chief instructor has come to see us old guys, hehe!" After sizing each other up for a while, the old man in the middle finally spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and deep, with a clear sense of arrogance in his tone.
"He's the head instructor? I don't think so. How can a head instructor be so young? And his strength is too weak." The old man on the left looked at Ling Yun carefully for a while before slowly saying.
The elderly black man remained silent, his dark eyes fixed on Ling Yun as if imbued with a chilling, ghostly aura, making Ling Yun feel extremely uncomfortable.
"May I ask who you are?" Ling Yun slowly asked the question that had been on his mind.
"Hehe, kid, don't ask us who the three of us are yet. In my memory, only the chief instructor of the China Superpower Headquarters has the ability to enter and leave this place. With your strength so weak, how did you get here?" The old man in the middle narrowed one eye and said in a deep voice as he turned his red pupils.
"You three don't seem to be the head instructors, so why are you here?" Ling Yun frowned. He already felt disgusted by these three guys who looked like monsters, and when he heard the old man speaking so rudely, he immediately retorted with a frown.
The old man on the left burst into laughter, his voice like the resounding of hundreds of bells. The energy fountain not far away was so excited by his laughter that it rippled slightly: "Hey Blood Eye, you old codger, you've been locked up here for fifty years. The younger generation doesn't even know you, yet they dare to yell at you to your face! Haha, haha! Once upon a time, Blood Eye, the great Blood Master, could make countless superhuman experts tremble with fear with just a glance. When did you become so cowardly? Ahahaha."
As he spoke, his laughter was filled with uncontrollable sarcasm, as if making fun of the old man called Blood Eyes was something he was very proud of.