The slightly stronger warriors could only try their best to dodge the attacks of the gray arms, while the weaker warriors only felt the aura of death and involuntarily fell from the sky. Their bodies had been corroded by the aura of death. In the few seconds after falling, their muscles had atrophied beyond recognition, then turned black, and then became an empty color like dead ashes.
The City of Death drifted slowly, and suddenly an enormous gray pillar of light emanated from its base. The terrifying power of death immediately pierced through the city's defensive barrier. The backlash from the shattered barrier and the aura of death turned the bustling city into a living hell. All the towering buildings began to collapse violently, as if the end of the world had arrived.
The color of deathly gray began to spread throughout the world, like a vast, uncontrollable sea, and in the blink of an eye, it had covered Ling Yun's entire field of vision. Everything before him had turned into the gray of death.
Chapter 298 Single-Cell Attack
Ling Yun blinked, his mind slowly awakening from the mysterious information. As if he had watched a shocking blockbuster, witnessing the destruction of an advanced civilization, Ling Yun's heart remained unsettled for a long time. That almost omnipotent city of death had deeply shocked him.
What would happen to humanity if such a city of death suddenly descended upon the real world one day? Ling Yun dared not imagine such a thing existed. The power of the city of death was far beyond what human beings could resist. Even all the superhumans in the world combined could not compare to one ten-thousandth of the death beams of the city of death. The powerful and mysterious civilization in the information was instantly shattered under the attack of the city of death, leaving only less than one ten-millionth of its memory carrier, which formed the ancient barrier we see today.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Ling Yun would never have imagined that such a civilization and such an immense power of death had ever existed in this world. Faced with the power of nature, Ling Yun could only tremble. Nature was not only more mysterious than he had imagined, but also far more mysterious than he could have imagined.
Above the colossal pillar, a deathly gray aura continued to slowly spread, turning all the decorative patterns into a hollow, deathly gray. After the memory carrier was destroyed, all information and energy were lost; it was a true and utter non-existence. The deathly gray was not the power of the City of Death, but merely this civilization's interpretation of destruction. It seemed the City of Death had left such a deep impression on them that even the lost information passed down to later generations mimicked the deathly gray color of the City of Death.
Although the information had completely disappeared, a copy had been made in Ling Yun's mind, or rather, another civilization had been hidden within Ling Yun's consciousness. Ling Yun didn't have time to explore the mysteries and secrets of this civilization yet, but he would have plenty of time to study this information later. Storing it would allow him to access it at any time, like a treasure map. He could enter the depths of the treasure whenever needed, except that other treasures were physical objects or wealth, while this treasure was information and memories.
Ling Yun suddenly gave a wry smile. His brain already contained a massive amount of information, although it was far from full. Moreover, after entering the microscopic world, the dimension of his brain capacity had increased to an unbelievable level. However, he hadn't had time to study or analyze this information, which had been organized by his replication ability. As a result, the amount of information accumulated had reached an unbelievable level. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to finish studying even a small portion of it in his lifetime.
A flash of golden light from the Eye of Illusion caused dozens more cells on his skin to die and fall off from the microscopic world invisible to the naked eye. Then, new cells were generated on his skin. This meant that although Ling Yun seemed to have been immersed in the world of information for a long time, it was actually only a short moment inside the barrier. Xiao Rou didn't even notice his unusual concentration. It was truly a fleeting dream, and a hundred years of life was but a brief moment in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Rou's figure suddenly moved, her graceful and slender form vanishing from its spot and reappearing behind another giant pillar. With a clang of metal on metal, the telekinetic spear pierced deeply into the pillar's surface. Ling Yun followed and was startled to see that another image of a sword-wielding warrior was about to appear on the pillar, but Xiao Rou spotted him before he could even reveal half of his form. The telekinetic spear mercilessly pierced his chest, turning the sword-wielding warrior image back to a deathly gray.
Seeing Ling Yun staring blankly at the lifeless lines of the sword-wielding warrior, Xiao Rou frowned: "Yun, this matter is a bit strange. Can you find a way to figure out why?"
"I've figured it out," Ling Yun said. Suddenly, a silver sphere of spiritual energy appeared in his hand, which he gently tossed into Xiao Rou's brow. This was information he had just seen, processed and given to Xiao Rou, containing Ling Yun's own understanding and explanations. It was like the wondrous words of immortals, allowing the recipient to receive a large amount of information instantly.
Xiao Rou closed her eyes to receive the information Ling Yun was transmitting. Just a second later, she opened her eyes, her beautiful eyes filled with shock: "Is all of this true? This is too shocking." Clearly, she had fully understood and seen what was in the information.
Ling Yun nodded: "It should be real. Maybe it's a civilization from this world, or maybe it's a civilization from a parallel universe. In any case, it shouldn't exist in our world, but this barrier bears the imprint of our world. That's really strange." He suddenly thought of a question: this ancient barrier had obviously been submerged in the deep sea, but why did it suddenly rise from the seabed when the two of them passed by? The barrier might have its own purpose, but if it was aimed at him and Xiao Rou, then it could only be some kind of intelligent being.
Could it be that a barrier, after existing for a long time, has developed its own consciousness? A terrifying thought suddenly popped into Ling Yun's head, startling even himself.
Seeing his ever-changing expression, Xiaorou assumed her boyfriend was frightened by something he didn't understand, so she comforted him, "It's alright, Yun. There are many things in the world that we don't understand. Perhaps this barrier itself was established by a senior ability user, so it's normal for it to bear the imprint of this world. Don't overthink it. The world is so big, what is there that we can understand? Let alone this barrier, even the Heavenly Eye, we still don't understand its purpose. If we really knew everything, we probably wouldn't be here."
Ling Yun nodded. Although he knew she had misunderstood, Xiao Rou's care and thoughtfulness warmed his heart. "Xiao Rou, I'm not afraid. As long as you're by my side, no matter what difficulties or obstacles we face, they won't be able to defeat us."
Xiao Rou chuckled: "You're getting all worked up over calling you fat. You're so great, and you're still an inexperienced young man. How come you're spouting such grand pronouncements? The most unbelievable thing in this world is this kind of hot-blooded rhetoric. I've seen plenty of it. You'd better keep your word and protect me, okay?"
Ling Yun wrapped his arms around her alluring waist: "You're right, I really am an inexperienced young man. If I were to be considered a normal age, I should still be a freshman in college, reading books and newspapers on campus every day, playing games online. These are not the kinds of things I want to experience." As he spoke, he suddenly flicked his free left index finger, and five telekinetic cutting silver lines shot out from his hand, silently slicing the armor of another sword-wielding warrior, which had also silently appeared on the pillar, into two pieces.
"There is an information carrier inside. It can express information through the microscopic world and the decorations in the form of energy. This is the main reason for its manifestation. As long as the information carrier is destroyed, all the decorations will turn into the ashen color we see. If you don't know the reason, this might scare you to death. But once you know the specific reason, it is just a kind of advanced magic." As Ling Yun spoke, he released his right hand from Xiao Rou's waist, walked to the giant pillar, and gently probed it. Suddenly, his entire arm reached into the hard pillar.
Xiao Rou already knew everything from the information sphere he transmitted. Although she couldn't see how information was transmitted in the microscopic world, now that she understood the principle, all that remained was the matter of operation. According to Ling Yun, there were hundreds of giant pillars here, and each pillar should contain an information storage carrier. If they weren't destroyed soon, all the decorative patterns would slowly become visible. Although the few warriors that had just appeared weren't particularly powerful and their attack methods were very simple, their gravity-defying speed and agility, as well as their sharp, long-range sword strikes, left a deep impression on Xiao Rou.
Even with her current physical abilities and strength, she wouldn't want to directly withstand the blade's strike. While it might not be fatal, injury would be unavoidable if she were hit. If even a mere afterimage of a sword-wielding warrior supported by residual energy possesses such power, could there be an even more formidable being within the illustration?
Xiao Rou could even imagine how powerful a real swordsman in this civilized world would be. Yet, even if thousands of such powerful warriors were gathered together, they could not withstand a single blow from the City of Death. That power did not come from some individual creature, absolutely not. Rather, it was the collision of two planetary-level entities. Before this power, any real-world strongman was as insignificant as an ant.
The instant his arm extended, Ling Yun had already readjusted the genes in his arm. This was the first time he had used the Hand of God to fine-tune his genes. Before this, he had always been very resistant to the Hand of God, not only because of the warnings from his subconscious, but also because it was a strange technique that challenged the authority of the Creator. If it were used, it could very likely cause a huge chain reaction. If the world of superhumans knew about it, he would most likely become the target of all superhumans' vigilance. This was not simply hostility, but an instinctive defense.
If you knew someone possessed clairvoyance and telepathy, and could know your thoughts at any time, wouldn't you be wary of them and averse to contact? Definitely. This had always been one of Ling Yun's concerns, but after exploring the microscopic world, Ling Yun suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the Hand of God.
If technology can change the world, is it good or bad? In fact, everyone would say that technology benefits mankind. However, technology has already changed the structure of the food chain invisibly, accelerating the development of civilization. Technology has changed everything and quickly reached the core level of nature, but it has not been severely rejected by nature. This is certainly because technology is gradual, but it also proves that gradual technology is also part of nature. Even if it changes, it is within a certain degree of permissibility.
Ling Yun seemed to understand something. This meant that the Hand of God should also have a limit. On the opposite side of the world, there exists another extreme phenomenon, and the Hand of God is within the tacit acceptance of this extreme phenomenon. Otherwise, Ling Yun would not only be unable to learn the Hand of God, but he wouldn't even be able to grasp the edge of this strange technique. Now that he had this understanding, Ling Yun's heart gradually calmed down. He could try to use the Hand of God in the beginning. Of course, he would only use it when it was very necessary. As for this barrier that formed its own world, Ling Yun could naturally try it out without worry.
Before making the adjustments, Ling Yun referenced the genetic structure of single-celled organisms in the microscopic world. This genetic structure allows each cell to be used as a single-celled organism, and they are connected to each other like telepathy. It's like breaking Ling Yun's arm apart and then reassembling it somewhere.
During this process, countless cells will die, some even surviving for no more than a few seconds. However, more new and powerful cells will regenerate. Because they have the ability to absorb information as single cells and can enter the lower-level microscopic world with their extremely small size, after the arm is reassembled, the information-absorbing cells will reassemble all the collected information and then transmit it to the main body. This is equivalent to Ling Yun suddenly having billions of clones.
Moreover, after gene fine-tuning, cell growth would possess more advanced functions, enabling single-celled organisms to automatically absorb information and grow. Ling Yun couldn't even imagine what it would be like if his cells were allowed to exhibit the characteristics of single-celled organisms without restriction, constantly absorbing information from the outside world. Would he then grow into the world's first intelligent single-celled organism? And would he be able to control these intelligent cells at that time? Ling Yun dared not think further. At the microscopic level of genes, there were infinite possibilities for overlap. Breaking down a door might reveal a colorful and vastly different world, or it might be hell. And Ling Yun was standing right next to such a doorway.
Although the colossal pillar was made of solid, seamless material, it still contained, at a microscopic level, gaps similar to human pores. Otherwise, the information storage entity wouldn't have been able to manifest the decorative patterns through these gaps. Countless single cells on the arm rushed through these gaps all the way to the center of the colossal pillar. Until they encountered the information storage entity inside the pillar, which, relative to Lingyun's single cells, was an enormous mountain.
However, all the single cells suddenly revealed their hideous faces. Each single cell's surface revealed serrated blades that fiercely pierced the surface of the storage medium, instantly carving out crisscrossing wounds on the surface of the information carrier. Countless pieces of information began to become chaotic, instantly turning into a turbulent flow of information converging in space.
Chapter 299 The Man in Black
If we consider the information storage body as a building, then the somatic cells in Ling Yun's genetically modified arm are like a group of ferocious demolition workers. Their sizes are completely disproportionate, but this doesn't prevent the demolition workers from blasting the entire building to smithereens in a short time. After altering his genetic properties, the attack power of a single somatic cell has reached a terrifying level. If a virus or bacteria of the same size and grade as a cell were to invade Ling Yun's body, the somatic cells would instantly disintegrate it into a chaotic aggregate of molecules.
A moment later, Ling Yun slowly withdrew his arm from the pillar. The somatic cells had achieved a glorious victory; the information storage within the giant pillar was completely destroyed, all the energy containing information had leaked into the vast space, and the visible channels leading to the decorative patterns on the pillar surface had all been severed by the somatic cells. The instant Ling Yun's arm was withdrawn, the deathly gray on the pillar surface rapidly spread, and the decorative patterns didn't even have time to panic and escape before being swallowed up by the gray sea.
Xiao Rou stared in astonishment at everything Ling Yun had done. Although she understood the entire process of the decorative pattern's transformation and Ling Yun's methods, on a microscopic level, it still shocked her. In a sense, Ling Yun's abilities had transcended the normal realm of supernatural arts, or rather, they had ushered in a completely new world for supernatural arts. Xiao Rou's mind raced, and her sharp intellect immediately made her realize what this meant. It was highly likely that the world of supernatural beings would be reshaped with Ling Yun's sudden emergence.
Ling Yun walked to another giant pillar and repeated the process. After using gene micro-adjustment for the second time, Ling Yun's movements were much more skillful. He pulled his arm out as soon as he put it in, and then the deathly gray color spread across the entire surface of the pillar.
Xiao Rou thought for a moment, then suddenly walked to a giant pillar. Although she didn't have Ling Yun's God's Hand and couldn't observe the microscopic world, all roads lead to Rome. As long as she knew the enemy existed, the clever girl had her own methods. If soft tactics didn't work, she would use hard ones. Her telekinetic spear, flashing with electricity, pierced through the giant pillar and emerged from the other side. The hard giant pillar was powerless against the strong mental field. Moreover, the telekinetic spear pierced through the information storage at the center of the giant pillar. The huge electric current was destructive to the fragile information carrier. Therefore, when the spear pierced through the other side of the giant pillar, the surface of the pillar was immediately covered with a deathly gray color.
Although it was troublesome and required a lot of effort, Xiao Rou felt happy as long as she could help Ling Yun.
In the blink of an eye, the two had destroyed five or six more giant pillars. As more and more pillars were destroyed, their movements quickened accordingly. However, there were at least several hundred giant pillars in the passageway. If they were to destroy them one by one, it would take at least two hours. This time would be enough for the information storage devices within the remaining pillars to react accordingly.
Suddenly, the surface of one of the giant pillars emitted a bright, snow-white light, as if a fluorescent light had been turned on, instantly illuminating the surrounding area. As if infected, the other giant pillars also began to shine brightly. This light was not dazzling, but it was exceptionally bright. In the silvery-white light, the giant pillars seemed to become transparent, and the information carriers inside the pillars, which were conspicuous and floating slightly up and down, could be vaguely seen, like a bright pearl.
"We need to speed things up, Xiaorou. These information carriers need to combine their energy; it will be much harder for us to destroy them then," Ling Yun said urgently. Unbeknownst to him, his senses had evolved without him even realizing it, and he could easily perceive the most subtle changes even without the Hand of God.
In his vision, the panoramic view had transformed into a microscopic world. The giant pillars were connected by an invisible ribbon, and the information carriers within each pillar released a channel, which was then linked together by the ribbon. This prevented the energy from being lost too quickly in the event of external damage. Moreover, the information could be continuously exchanged, allowing the most powerful patterns to be revealed to the enemy at any time.
Aside from the giant pillar that had turned a deathly gray, all the other pillars were silently rotating, even sliding at a speed visible to the naked eye, seemingly consciously shifting their positions by the millimeter. This was the first time Ling Yun had ever seen stationary pillars move on their own, but with every second counting, he couldn't think about that too much. The strange sensation returned; the hundreds of pillars weren't moving aimlessly and systematically, but rather performing a complete and orderly intricate and mysterious array. During the pillars' movement, the connection between the information carriers suddenly strengthened considerably, meaning that the difficulty of Ling Yun and Xiao Rou's sabotage work was doubling.
The patterns on the surface of the giant pillars would appear and disappear, and the patterns that appeared from time to time were also different. This was a phenomenon that occurred when the information carriers of each pillar exchanged information and energy with each other.
A rustling sound came from behind the pillars in the distance, sounding like a sharp alarm to Ling Yun and Xiao Rou. It was a sign that the decorative pattern was about to materialize, and it seemed that there was more than one pillar materializing; heavy stomping sounds came from behind at least a dozen pillars. Then, a shadow flashed in the soft silver light, and a dozen armored warriors wielding swords rushed towards Ling Yun and Xiao Rou with heavy, resounding steps. Although they were hundreds of meters apart, a dozen bright sword beams had already converged into a huge crescent-shaped slash, carving a deep furrow in the ground as it slashed down fiercely towards the two of them.
At the same time, the swordsman's speed did not stop at all. Just like before, the armor weighing hundreds of kilograms was as light as a feather. After running a few steps, his huge and heavy body flew straight up, closely following behind the light slash, and pounced towards Ling Yun and Xiao Rou.
The entire earth trembled from the trampling, and the charge of just a dozen or so warriors gave the impression of a massive army charging into battle.