The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 558 Mental Breakdown and Summoning Fireworks

Wu Chang looked at Havel in the mental world. This kind of question was something that an ordinary patient like Havel could not answer.

He recalled the first mission the military had given them: to enter the Central Research Institute in Jacques and search for experimental records.

To find out the progress of Professor Eugene's experiment, we would probably have to go to the Central Research Institute.

What he needs to do right now is to get rid of Javier.

Like the supermarket monster, Havel has already transformed into a flesh and blood monster. Once it reaches this stage, it is completely controlled by the biological consciousness network and cannot be stopped. Once the other party is separated from the biological consciousness network, it will lose its life.

Since Havel is going to die anyway, it's a good opportunity to complete his job change quest.

He picked up Javier's attending physician, threw him outside the treatment room, changed into a white coat, and sat in the attending physician's seat.

With his abilities intervening, the mental world continued to function. After signing, Havel put down his pen, looked at Wu Chang with hopeful eyes, and said:
"Professor Eugene is the inventor of bio-network technology, he must have a way."

Wu Chang shook his head slightly and said:
“I can’t be sure about the others, but you can’t be saved from this. Rather than wasting the rest of your life as a guinea pig and dying a shameful death in madness, you should leave the metropolis and go home to be with your family.”

Upon hearing Wu Chang's answer, Havel's face turned deathly pale. Having undergone such a long period of treatment, he had a good understanding of his own condition.

He spent a lot of money on various state-of-the-art treatments, but his condition still did not improve at all.

The time he could activate his bio-network each day was getting shorter and shorter, and the effectiveness of the bio-network was getting worse and worse. The only thing that increased was the amount of contraband he used.

More than one of his regular customers had told him that "bionet decomposition" was irreversible, and that he should end treatment, completely shut down his bionet, and go home to be a rich man.

He understands everything, but he's unwilling to accept it.

He disagreed with Wu Chang's judgment. He suddenly stood up, stared intently at Wu Chang, and said excitedly:

"Why do you say that!"

"Why should I?" Wu Chang sighed, looking at Havel with a compassionate tone.

"Because I can see your future."

Havel frowned, looked at Wu Chang with suspicion, and asked:
"I don't believe in divination."

Wu Chang also stood up, put his hand on Havel's shoulder, and said:

"It's time to wake you up."

He used the technique of condensing the void into reality to project the scene seen in the guards' resentment onto Havel.

Javier looked at himself in the food truck. In the future, he was a few years older, his hair was much whiter than it was now, his hairline had receded by another centimeter, and his clothes were poorly made and very cheap.

But he didn't care; it was just another time to start from scratch.

Compared to how he is now, at least the man in the food truck was healthy and confident.

Those who were drawn to his food had faces full of anticipation and joy, which was enough for him.

But he quickly lost his composure. He saw himself on the food cart lifting the lid of the stew pot, and the head cooking inside was smiling at him.

He recognized that expression; it was the smile on a diner's face when they told him the meal was delicious after they had finished eating.

If a smile appeared on a living person, he would smile joyfully, but now, all he wanted to do was vomit.

He knelt on the ground, retching violently, but the scene was far from over.

When he saw the players stuff themselves to death in front of the food truck, dismembered and turned into meat sauce, then thrown into the stew pot; when he saw his true form exposed, with himself, the food truck, and the meat sauce pot all covered with white tentacles formed from the biological network, he completely broke down.

For Javier now, he is still a normal person. Any normal person would be violently shocked to see such bizarre scenes that even R-rated movies cannot depict.

Moreover, when the protagonist in the scene is himself, and his intuition tells him that it is truly his future self, he finds it even more unacceptable.

He grabbed Wu Chang and shouted, "Why!"

Wu Chang told Havel about the Light of Collapse incident, and then said:
"Because of this mutation, the entire state of Calais has fallen into chaos. In Jacques, all the modified individuals who participated in this treatment, including you, have had their bodies and minds controlled by the bio-network, turning them into flesh and blood monsters."

"Not only will you lose your sense of smell and taste, but your most prized culinary skills will also become a tool for killing."

These words were like a sharp knife, piercing directly into Havel's heart. His culinary skills, especially his family's secret meat sauce, were very special to him and were something that could not be defiled.

He dared not look at his own actions in the dining car, and asked in a trembling voice:
"Doctor, if I give up this treatment, can I still prevent this future?"

Wu Chang looked at Havel with a complicated expression and said:

"When I showed you this scene, you didn't doubt that I was lying to you, and you accepted in your heart that this was going to happen. Do you know why?"

He ignored Havel's evasive gaze and continued:

"Because everything you see is something that has already happened. You have already chosen to receive treatment and have already encountered the Light of Collapse, and your body has been invaded by the bio-consciousness network."

"No! Impossible!" Havel shouted in denial, but the louder he shouted, the more guilty he felt.

The biological awareness network only affected his mind, not completely destroyed his existence; he could vaguely perceive what was happening in the outside world.

He didn't know, he just didn't want to face it. Now that Wu Chang had exposed him, he could no longer deceive himself.

Wu Chang continued:

“We are in your mental world. I am here to stop you. I am telling you all this so that I can give you a chance to end all of this with dignity.”

Havel was silent for a moment, then looked up at Wu Chang and asked:

"Can you tell me what I did wrong?"

"I just wanted to keep the restaurant running and pursue the ultimate in culinary skills. Why did everything turn out like this?"

Wu Chang sighed and said:
"I'm sorry, I can't answer your question."

Javier stood up and took a revolver out of his pocket, which he had prepared beforehand.

If the final treatment failed to improve his condition, he would end his life with this gun. Professor Eugene's treatment plan, as mentioned by the doctor, had just rekindled his hope, but unexpectedly, he still made it back to square one.

He took a deep breath, pointed the gun at his temple, and pulled the trigger.

As the gunshot rang out, his mental world began to shatter. Wu Chang's eyes blurred, and his consciousness returned to itself.

In reality, inside the food truck, Javier held a kitchen knife high, while white tentacles swarmed around the truck, preparing to attack him.

The suicide of Havel in the mental world caused Havel in reality to freeze. He slowly lowered the hand that was holding the kitchen knife, his eyes regained their clarity from being filled with murderous intent, and the white tentacles behind him withered and drooped to the ground, no longer moving.

Havel looked at Wu Chang and said:
"Thank you for stopping me, but unfortunately I can't treat you to a meal I cooked."

After saying this, Havel collapsed to the ground and died.

Wu Chang looked at Havel's corpse and couldn't help but sigh. There was no resentment condensing on the corpse, not even the simplest pale red resentment.

He was filled with resentment, yet he didn't know how to change things. It was as if everything he did was wrong, which left him with only one thought in the final moments of his life: to end it all.

"Job Change Quest Three: In a mental journey targeting extraordinary individuals, depending on your manipulation of the mental world, you may wound their spirit and will, or grant them salvation. Current progress: 1/2. Quest time limit: 60 days."

He wasn't sure if his final actions had severely damaged Havel's spirit and will, or offered him salvation, but the job change quest indicated that his actions had met the requirements.

It seems that not only players don't value inspiration and willpower, but the native inhabitants of the dungeon world also lack inspiration and willpower.

Influencing targets in the realm of the mind seems easier than he imagined, especially for those who are down on their luck and have nowhere else to turn.

Things went much more smoothly than he had imagined. Before entering Havel's mental world, he even put on sunglasses that were the embodiment of a virtual reality interactive device. If he couldn't reason with Havel, he would resort to physical force.

Javier was surprisingly cooperative, which saved him a lot of trouble.

This was the first time he had harmed a real-world target through actions in the mental world.

Looking at Havel's corpse, he realized that the Mind Traveler class was even more powerful than he had thought.

With his inspiration and willpower, he is virtually invincible in the mental world. If he destroys the opponent's mental world before each battle, even if the opponent doesn't die directly like Havel, but their willpower barrier is severely damaged, it's still a disastrous start. If he first severely damages their spirit and then pulls them into the Golden Kingdom to activate the Golden Law, then the opponent will suffer greatly.

With Javier's death, the realm of appetite vanished, and Tank and the others, who had been captivated by the aroma, awoke.

When they looked at the food cart again, they realized that what was in the stew pot was not meat sauce, but rather human fragments wrapped in white tentacles.

The fragrance that had once captivated them was now nothing but the stench of decay and the smell of blood.

The three tanks recalled their earlier desire to feast, then looked at the stew pot covered in blood and grime, and couldn't help but vomit.

Tank, in particular, who was standing in front of the stew pot, would have already taken the hot dog that Javier handed him and started eating it if Wu Chang hadn't stopped him. This made his psychological trauma particularly severe, and he vomited particularly violently.

Jianxing and the others, who were pinned to the rooftop by Wu Chang, were far enough away from the dining car that their reactions were not as strong as those of the others.

Tank, who had narrowly escaped death, looked at Wu Chang with eyes full of gratitude and awe.

He asked cautiously:

"Brother Peace, how did this monster die?"

Wu Chang said in a casual tone:

"Perhaps he couldn't bear the criticism from diners and committed suicide in a fit of anger."

Tank chuckled awkwardly twice, without asking any further questions.

When he first entered the instance, he saw that Peace and the others were just players who had just been promoted to the Realm of Reason, and he was still somewhat dismissive of them.

Compared to He Ping, he might be slightly weaker in terms of absolute strength, but he has the advantage of rich experience and has been to enough high-difficulty dungeons. In terms of dungeon strategy, he might not lose.

That's why, upon entering Jacques, he didn't follow behind Heping with his companions, but instead walked on the other side of the road.

He saw the green light appear and suggested coming to the rescue, but he also had the intention of competing with Peace for survivors and seizing control of the team.

But after this experience, he was completely convinced.

The current gamma-level instance, which is on the verge of going out of control, is more difficult than any instance he has ever experienced. A slight mistake could lead to utter destruction.

The player who emitted the green light earlier was not much weaker than him, but his entire team of players offered almost no resistance before being chopped up and thrown into the pot by Javier.

The food truck owner may have committed suicide, but it's unlikely he did.

Tank didn't know exactly what had happened, but just the fact that everyone else was affected by the appetite field, except for Peace who was completely unaffected and even dared to provoke the food truck owner, showed that it must have been him who had done it.

His movements were so swift and skillful that he couldn't even see them clearly.

The gap between the two is obvious. The peace before us has probably reached the level of a lord, and is considered high among lords.

Thinking about this, Tank couldn't help but marvel at how the newcomers were all monsters.

He said sincerely:

"No matter what, you saved my life, I owe you a huge favor."

"In this instance, whatever you need me to do, I will cooperate with your actions."

Upon hearing Tank's words, Wu Chang remained expressionless. He hadn't intervened to save Tank, and given Tank's skill level, he had no ulterior motives. So he simply responded with an "oh" and brushed it off.

He went to Havel's body, grabbed a cleaver from the food cart, and vertically cut open the skin and flesh behind Havel's neck.

At the junction of the skull and cervical vertebrae, a cluster of white tentacles, coiled together like a cocoon, was removed. The tentacles were then cut off, revealing a small locator inside.

Raven determined that the small locator in his hand was not damaged and was still working, although its signal had been blocked by the white tentacles.

When Javier was about to participate in the treatment trial, his attending physician said that, for the sake of secrecy, each volunteer would have a locator implanted to ensure that they would not leave Calais during the treatment.

This action is clearly surveillance of them.

When he learned of this information, he wondered if all the flesh monsters in Jacques City were volunteers participating in the treatment, and if the Howlers that the military was looking for also had such a locator in their bodies.
If we can find a way to get through the shield of the white tentacles, we might be able to pinpoint the location of the Howler directly.

He put away the locator, left the food truck, and saw Jianxing, Tank, and the others standing outside the truck, waiting for his next instructions.

The Gamma-level, near-out-of-control instance gave them a rude awakening right from the start; if it weren't for Wu Chang, they probably wouldn't have survived a single night.

In this situation, following Wu Chang's arrangements is undoubtedly the safest choice.

Wu Chang saw a hint of worry in the eyes of Jian Xing and the others. He knew what they were thinking. The Gamma-level dungeon was so dangerous that if the other members of the Mystic Knights also entered the dungeon, without his protection, the other members would probably be in grave danger.

He said:
"We have plenty of time to explore the dungeon, so there's no need to rush the strategy. Right now, the most important thing is to clear out a place to stay and then gather the rest of the group."

While on the rooftop, he had already surveyed the northern part of Jacques City and selected a location as his base.

The building is conspicuous, located in the transportation hub of the North District, making it easily accessible. At the same time, it is situated in an open area, not obstructed by surrounding high-rise buildings, which helps other members of the Mystic Knights to see it.

The place he chose was the Jacques City Hall.

The guard's resentment had already allowed him to experience the local customs and culture of Yacco and learn about the dangers of the night; continuing to explore would be a waste of time.

He first led everyone to the rooftop, then used long-distance teleportation to take them directly to the front of the city hall.

The city hall is a seven-story building with a clock tower over sixty meters high next to the main building, making it very conspicuous.

The Light of Collapse broke out in the early morning, after the city hall had closed and there weren't many people left, making it much easier to clean than residential or office buildings.

Only seven monsters were found inside the main building of the city hall, including the tower and the basement.

If it were a regular player team like the Guardians, they would have no choice but to take a detour if they saw monsters lurking inside the house.

But Wu Chang didn't tolerate these monsters. When he encountered them, it was the monsters in the house who should leave.

The method to deal with these monsters is simple: just find their location, teleport directly to them, and grab them before they realize something is wrong and use their abilities to escape to other rooms.

The last step is the simplest: forcibly break through the monster's source power in the house, just like dealing with the supermarket monster, directly tear off its white tentacles and rip it off the wall.

By physically severing the connection between the monsters inside the house and the building, you don't have to worry about the monsters inside the house kidnapping the building and making the building share the damage for them.

Similar to the previous supermarket monster, the biological awareness network is the flesh and blood monster's weakness. Once the biological awareness network is torn, the flesh and blood monster's consciousness will dissipate on the spot.

From the moment he arrived at the city hall, including playing hide-and-seek with the monsters inside and defeating seven of them, Wu Chang only took less than ten minutes.

While the tank was being used as bait to lure the monster inside the house, it witnessed Wu Chang make his move at close range.

Those monsters in the house that were close to the origin level were like cheap plush toys in Wu Chang's hands, and he could easily tear them apart with a little force.

He was very confident in his strength and thought that the monster in the house was weak in physical damage, so he found a monster in the house and wanted to replicate Wu Chang's operation.

To his surprise, the monster inside the house seemed to be growing on the building. Not only was he unable to pull it off, but he was also whipped all over by dozens of thick white tentacles.

It wasn't until he grabbed the monster in the house, yanked down the wall it was attached to, and then the monster disappeared from his hand and reappeared on the wall behind him, starting to whip him, that he realized the monster wasn't afraid of physical force, but of peace.

After cleaning up the city hall, Wu Chang set up a mystical array around it with early warning and dispelling effects to ensure that no flesh-and-blood monsters could sneak in.

He then used the technique of condensing emptiness into reality to create a firework. The firework was lit, and the flames shot straight into the sky, exploding into the emblem of the Mystic Knights in the air.

To ensure that other members could see it, he also hand-drew the flag of the Mystic Knights and planted it on the top of the clock tower.

Once the other members of the Arcane Knights enter the North District, they will definitely notice the City Hall sign.

If they still can't get here after being guided this way, then they probably won't be able to come back.

Unlike the original survivor, he doesn't need to hide his identity and is tasked with eliminating the Howlers, so he should operate at night.

He turned to Jianxing and the others and said:

"We'll rest during the day tomorrow and wait for the other members to arrive. After dark, we'll head to the Central Research Institute to complete our main mission."

(End of this chapter)