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

Chapter 565 A Failed Peach-Picking Operation

At the core of the doll-like monster's body is a heart-shaped energy body stitched together by white tentacles.

It is an aggregate of the spiritual world and countless fragments of resentment. The moment Wu Chang's gaze fell upon the core, his talent for deliverance and his ability as a spiritual traveler were activated simultaneously.

Boom, boom, boom.

A rapid heartbeat rang in Wu Chang's ears. Amidst the pounding heartbeat, Wu Chang's vision blurred, and his consciousness entered the core of the resentment.

Because it is a collective resentment, he enters the perspective of the resentment, not by attaching himself to any one person, but by looking down on everything from a God's-eye view.

The vision in my mind occurred before the light of collapse; it was already 11:10 p.m., and the entire building was still brightly lit.

The upper three floors of the research institute are particularly filled with various instruments, which are connected together to form a large device.

Hundreds of researchers in white coats moved about, constantly checking various data and indicators, nervously preparing for something.

At the center of the eighth floor stands a mechanical-looking timer. The digital portion of the timer is composed of a row of glow tubes, displaying the time as 48 hours, 50 minutes, and 00 seconds, a number that is constantly decreasing.

If all goes well, when the countdown in the glow tube ends, the device being prepared at the research institute, namely the Lullaby Protocol, will begin operation.

The researchers working on this project all carried a sense of conviction, unlike Mason who seemed more pragmatic when discussing the Lullaby Agreement. It's unclear whether they were misled by their superiors and unaware of the true purpose of the Lullaby Project, or whether they were influenced by the Sky Tower.

However, not all researchers were fully focused. Several researchers were clearly distracted, glancing at the countdown timer from time to time while working, as if waiting for something.

The absent-minded researchers were not just one or two, nor were they from just one department. Among them was a woman in charge of the entire eighth floor's operation, wearing a name tag that read "Lab Director," who was also paying attention to the countdown.

Time ticked by, and ten minutes later, gunshots rang out outside the Central Research Institute, followed by the sounding of alarms and flashing red warning lights throughout the building.

Several guards in security uniforms rushed up. Wu Chang recognized two of them. The leader of the guards was the armed monster on the fifth floor, and one of the people following behind the armed monster was Dylan.

The armed monster found the woman in charge of the eighth floor and said:
"Director Auriel, emergency! A mob has suddenly appeared outside the research institute. They are carrying a large number of weapons, have broken through the first line of defense outside the institute, and are approaching the research building."

“They have a large number of people, and they are all modified beings with strong combat power. It’s only a matter of time before they break through the defenses. I can only lead my men to hold them off as much as possible and buy you some time.”

"Please prepare for the worst, take your essentials, and evacuate with the researchers as soon as possible."

After the armed monster finished speaking, it left Dylan to lead the people on the eighth floor to evacuate, and then hurriedly led the others to the upper floors to notify the leaders of the other floors.

Upon hearing the warning from the armed monster, Supervisor Auriel's face was filled with panic, but her eyes calmed down, and the anxiety from when she was sneaking glances at the countdown disappeared.

She nearly screamed to get the attention of all the researchers, telling them that the institute was under attack by a large mob and that they should leave immediately.

With Auriel lacking management and direction, and with the situation unclear and driven entirely by emotions, the laboratory successfully descended into panic.

Dylan, who was in charge of assisting with the evacuation, did not intervene but simply repeated the evacuation route to everyone like a broken record.

Taking advantage of the panic, she quickly copied something. As she left, she exchanged a glance with Dylan and discreetly slipped the memory into his hand.

Gunshots echoed from downstairs to upstairs, forcing the guards, who were fighting and retreating, and some researchers who hadn't managed to escape back to the mob.

The passages to the ninth and tenth floors have been blocked, so they can only retreat to the eighth floor.

The two sides clashed on the eighth floor. The attackers, known as the mob, were not uniformly dressed; many were still wearing work clothes, as if they had been working overtime when they suddenly heard the call to arms, dropped what they were doing, grabbed their guns, and rushed over.

They were dressed casually, their individual skills were in no way inferior to the guards, and their weapons were not only new but also had enough firepower to suppress the guards so much that they couldn't raise their heads.

However, these mobs seemed to have some reservations and did not engage in large-scale destruction and killing. Their goal was more focused on controlling the situation and occupying the Central Research Institute.

At 11:45, the mob had taken control of floors one through seven of the research institute, with only those on the eighth floor still resisting.

The mob leader repeatedly urged the armed monsters and others not to resist, saying that their target was not the guards and researchers, and there was no need for a life-or-death struggle.

Seeing that the mob was gradually gaining the upper hand, many researchers sided with the other side and agreed to cooperate.

Just then, gunshots rang out again downstairs, and a new force stormed in.

They were uniformly dressed in standard special tactical vests, their movements were synchronized and their teamwork was excellent. All of them were modified, and it was clear at a glance that they were active-duty special operations forces.

The guards of the research institute and the mob that attacked were both veterans, judging from their style of action. They had an absolute advantage against ordinary people, but against a group of regular soldiers who were still serving and in peak physical condition, their combat power was somewhat insufficient.

The later arrivals sent only a portion of their people to the eighth floor, which suppressed both sides to the point of being unable to raise their heads, while the other group, carrying breakthrough devices, headed straight for the ninth floor.

Fifteen minutes later, at exactly midnight, amidst the exclamations of the regular troops, the entire research institute was enveloped in a blinding white light.

In the white light, people's eyes were empty, their pupils filled with white light.

When they lose their composure, the biological consciousness network within their bodies begins to go out of control, growing wildly and taking over the body's dominance.

Some people died on the spot as their biological consciousness network core shattered; others were stimulated by the white light, their willpower barrier shattered, and they went insane; still others were completely controlled by the biological consciousness network and turned into flesh and blood monsters.

Only a very few people can maintain their sense of self after being exposed to white light at close range, such as Payton, the director of the laboratory on the ninth floor.

His will was exceptionally firm; the white light only weakened his willpower barrier, but did not destroy his spirit.

But sometimes, when everyone else has gone mad, and you're the only one who stays sober, that soberness doesn't necessarily bring salvation, but rather a deeper despair.

Whether they break down and go mad, or are controlled by the bio-network and turned into flesh and blood monsters, people are affected by the atmosphere and begin to attack each other indiscriminately, destroying everything.

Having lost their minds, they no longer had any scruples. Including the armed monsters, they not only attacked people, but also attacked the machines in the laboratory.

This was unacceptable to Payton, who had poured everything into the Lullaby Agreement and had a compelling reason to complete the research.

He panicked completely, disregarding the fact that he was just a researcher. When he saw the armed monster about to destroy the core machine on the eighth floor, he rushed forward to stop it.

The armed monster, already affected by the white light, couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Without hesitation, it turned its gun on Peyton, who was charging towards it, and pulled the trigger of its shotgun.

Payton's chest and abdomen were riddled with holes, and he lay in the rubble, coughing up blood.

He listened to the continuous explosions coming from the two floors above, watched as the important instruments on the eighth floor were destroyed one after another, and felt an overwhelming despair as his body temperature continued to drop.

His willpower, which even the white light couldn't shake, was shattered by the scene before him.
In boundless despair, he transformed into a flesh and blood monster. His despair resonated with the despair of other dying people, causing him to instinctively devour the bio-networks of those dying people to repair his own body.

But the more despair he absorbed, the less his own existence became, and in the end, he turned into a doll-like figure without any distinguishing features.

After repairing himself, he wanted to repair everything that had been destroyed, and his only source of material was the people caught in the chaos of battle.

Peyton's willpower barrier was higher than others. After his willpower barrier shattered, the puppet monster he transformed into was stronger than most flesh and blood monsters. In addition, he absorbed hundreds of strands of despair, which brought his abilities to the peak of the domain level.

In order to gather materials for repairs, Peyton, who has transformed into a flesh and blood monster, begins a massacre.

Wu Chang used his ethereal power to appear on the eighth floor of the research institute, watching Payton's massacre in the distance and pondering everything he had just witnessed.

The white light that caused everyone's bio-consciousness to go out of control and transform into fleshy monsters should be the "light of collapse" that the military was referring to.

From the current perspective, the appearance of the Light of Collapse seems to be an accident.

According to the countdown on the eighth floor, there are still two days until the Lullaby Protocol is officially activated.

On the day the Light of Collapse occurred, the relevant facilities within the research institute were already prepared and entered the final debugging phase.

Besides the Civil Rights Party, at least two other groups have their eyes on their research and are preparing to storm the institute at this time to seize the results of Project Lullaby.

The first group of people were the initial mob.

Judging from the mob's attire and actions, they were likely patients who had come to Jacques for treatment voluntarily. They learned about the Lullaby Agreement for some reason, or were instigated by certain individuals, and launched the attack on the Central Research Institute.

Among them were not only patients, but also researchers who collaborated with them, providing inside information so they could choose the opportune time to act. Besides these insiders, their access to brand-new firearms and equipment undoubtedly involved financial backing.

Overall, this camp is the most complex, with too many elements mixed in, and it is most like a tool in someone else's hands.

The second group consisted of Auriel, the supervisor of the eighth floor, and Dylan from the security team. To be precise, they were not necessarily an independent faction and were likely cooperating with the mob or other organizations.

They clearly knew that someone would attack the research institute today, and they were prepared to take advantage of the chaos to transfer some information.

Wu Chang was somewhat surprised to learn that Dylan, who seemed harmless and was hiding on the edge of the city, was actually one of the participants in the Light of Collapse incident.

Judging from the outcome, Auriel handed over the copied data to Dylan, and the fact that Dylan is still alive means that their plan has succeeded.

Being able to participate in an operation of this caliber, Dylan must hold a high position within his own camp, especially after completing this important mission, his status will only rise further.

Dylan's decision to take the survivors to Jacques University, which seemed like a last resort at first, now appears to be riddled with flaws in retrospect.

Given his status, it's impossible for him to be so destitute that he would have nowhere to go and have to compromise by joining the Democratic Rights Party.

His motives for entering Jacques University suddenly became impure. Those survivors were very likely just a shield for him to hide his identity. He probably had other plans for entering the People's Rights Party's territory.

The last force to appear was the regular army.

The mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind.

In the eyes of these regular soldiers, their role on the night of the anomaly was that of the cunning predator.

They had planned it perfectly, but unfortunately they didn't expect the Light of Collapse to appear. The military's elite troops were powerless against the mutated flesh-and-blood monsters and were all left behind in the research institute.

Judging from the results, this oriole was not very competent, far inferior to Auriel and Dylan, who left the research institute earlier.

As for the identity of these regular troops, it's obvious without even thinking that they must be from the military controlled by the Conservative Party.

The entire Lullaby Agreement was already under the control of the Civil Rights Party; they had no need to stage this drama themselves.

If their goal was simply to trigger the Light of Collapse, they had an easier way to do it.

Just as the military kept sending people to Jacques after the Light of Collapse occurred, trying to take something from it, they probably originally intended to reap the rewards, but they ended up messing things up and causing the Light of Collapse to occur.

Wu Chang recalled the eight-story pile of corpses. The Conservative Party was not clean in its dealings, leaving behind so much evidence. According to their style, they should have tried to destroy the evidence.

He hissed. If the player was on the side of the Conservative Party and actually managed to retrieve Professor Eugene, or had enough intelligence, then what awaited Jacques City was probably a nuclear annihilation.

While Wu Chang was pondering, the puppet monster that Peyton had transformed into had already wiped out all the monsters on the eighth floor and devoured their biological consciousness network.

Of the eight floors of the research institute, only Wu Chang remained standing at this moment.

Controlled by despair and the biological network, the puppet monster became aggressive. Guided by inspiration, it turned its head to look at Wu Chang and launched an attack on him.

Wu Chang sighed as he watched the puppet monster crawl towards him like a spider.

In his observation, Payton was a good man with pure intentions; he gave everything to fulfill the Lullaby Agreement.

Payton's reaction reveals that he is both naive and foolish.

If he, like Mason, had used the Lullaby Agreement as a tool for profit, he would never have gone to such lengths to stop the armed monsters and risk his life.

He should really believe that the Lullaby Protocol is the technology to repair the biological recognition network.

Wu Chang dodged the attack of the puppet monster and arrived at the spot where Peyton had been shot. He picked up a pendant from the ground, which had fallen after Peyton transformed into the puppet monster and his body broke the necklace.

The pendant isn't expensive; in fact, it's somewhat cheap. It's the kind of vintage commemorative pendant that you can put a photo in.

He opened the pendant, inside was a photo of Payton and a woman of similar age. His eagerness to complete the Lullaby Agreement must mean that someone important was waiting for him, waiting for him to use this technology to save someone.

Unfortunately, they couldn't wait any longer.

Seeing the doll-like monster charging at him again, Wu Chang threw a punch at it.

In the spiritual world, only two things determine the strength of a spiritual being: inspiration and will.

Peyton was able to withstand the Light of Collapse, which shows his strong inspiration and will. This is also his mental world, his home turf. In terms of mental strength alone, few players in the entire Realm of Reason can be stronger than him without using divinity.

Faced with Wu Chang's punch, the puppet monster didn't back down an inch, demonstrating a clear "I'm avoiding his attack?"

But he didn't know that Wu Chang happened to be one of the "rare" ones.

The spiritual entity, formed by 476 inspirations and 626 willpower, possesses a powerful and beautiful presence even without using skills, far surpassing Peyton's.

This punch shattered the puppet monster's biological awareness network, pierced through its cracked body, and plunged deep into its interior.

The puppet monster tried to escape, but it was too late. Wu Chang had already grabbed its core. With a squeeze, he could destroy the puppet monster's spirit.

But he didn't act immediately. Instead, he first pinned the puppet monster down and then put on a virtual reality interactive device that looked like sunglasses.

"Special effect: Wearing a virtual reality interactive device allows you to unlock an ability you possess within the target's mental world."

Wearing the virtual reality interactive device, Wu Chang chose to unlock the ability of the Beichen Tribulation Scripture.

Beichen's Tribulation Scripture was upgraded to Rank B, unlocking the ability of the Disaster Relief Banner. He reached out and summoned the Disaster Relief Banner, which emitted a soul-cleansing effect as it was waved.

The Soul Cleansing Technique can suppress evil spirits and malevolent energy, eliminate obsessions and resentments, and bring peace to the soul. It was perfect for Peyton and the souls he devoured, whose hearts were filled with despair before they died.

The white cleansing power spread out, dispelling the despair in the spiritual world wherever it passed. While purifying the spiritual world, it also purified the core of the puppet monster.

Under the power of purification, the white tentacles that had bound countless resentments together broke off, and the fragments of resentment scattered, transforming back into individual souls.

The despair and resentment on the faces of the souls slowly faded, and finally dissipated in a beam of white light.

Payton was the most unwilling to accept defeat, persisting for almost a minute before disappearing with a deep red trace of resentment.

[The Lullaby Agreement was fulfilled, restoring Heidi's health.]

The resentment left behind by Payton confirmed Wu Chang's conjecture: Heidi in the blood-red last words was the woman in the pendant who was photographed with Payton, and also his wife.

Heidi became a modifier earlier than him, and three years ago she contracted bio-network dissolution. In order to treat Heidi, they moved to Jacques City, and Peyton joined the development team of the Lullaby Protocol.

Whether by coincidence or by some deliberate manipulation, Heidi's condition did not stabilize after entering Jacques City; instead, it continued to worsen, and her dissociative identity disorder became increasingly severe. She had already attempted suicide twice.

That's why Payton was so determined to fulfill the Lullaby Agreement.

Wu Chang clicked his tongue. Although leaving a bloody last message before being purified was a good habit, completing the Lullaby Agreement could not restore the goal that Peyton cared about to return to normal.

No wonder Payton's research skills are enough to make him the director of the ninth-level laboratory, yet he was kept in the dark by the Civil Rights Party. If they had told him the truth, he would probably have done anything.

Peyton's soul and the core of the puppet monster were purified, and the puppet monster in the real world also died.

Wu Chang saw the same small print as the Pain Monster and the Elevator Monster on the doll monster's neck.

Ding.

The elevator doors on the eighth floor suddenly opened, and he stepped inside. He saw that the sign for the 10th floor was lit up among the accessible floors.

He took a deep breath; it was time to meet the guy who had opened up the ground domain and placed the flesh monsters on each floor.

(End of this chapter)