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

Chapter 569 Jacques City Self-Rescue Team

Upon hearing Nils's answer, everyone fell silent.

Since it was Professor Eugene himself who said it, we have no choice but to believe it.

Following up on Nils's answer, Wu Chang asked:

"As an initial participant in the Lullaby Agreement and a technical supporter, Professor Eugene certainly didn't learn about the Civil Rights Party and the conservatives' plans on the first day, nor did he suddenly have a change of heart and decide to be honest with you."

"He came to you because he must have found a solution or a way to deal with it."

Wu had met Mason before and understood how people like Mason operated; they only pursued profit and never shied away from it.

Bionets have evolved from a public welfare project to improve the lives of people with disabilities into a super technology that is applicable to everyone but is costly. Furthermore, their blind expansion in pursuit of profit has led to a large number of cases of bionet decomposition syndrome.

Professor Eugene has already suffered once from being manipulated by capital. Even if Mason and others didn't fully reveal the truth at the beginning, he should have been suspicious. There's no reason why he would wait so many years to take action.

Niels nodded, confirming Wu Chang's guess, and said:

"Professor Eugene did come up with a solution. He said that he alone could not face the Civil Rights Party and the Conservative Party, which control the country. As a technician, he could only provide us with technical support. He could not do much more than that."

"He also told us that all news media are just their mouthpieces. If they want, they can make everyone temporarily deaf and blind at any time. It is absolutely impossible to manipulate public opinion through condemnation and exposure to force them to make concessions."

“We also cannot rely on others, because in the eyes of ordinary people, the reformers are a privileged class and a destabilizing factor. If they had a choice, they would use a more brutal and direct method than the Civil Rights Party and the Conservative Party to eliminate us as potential threats.”

"If we want to save ourselves, if we want to change the future of nerve extinction and becoming tools of flesh and blood, we can only rely on ourselves, through force and direct conflict."

Once a person has a goal to fight for, their mental state will be completely different. Niels recalled that moment and his tone became more invigorated.

“Some of us patients who came to Jacques for treatment had no other options, while others did not reach the final stage and still have connections and resources.”

"Moreover, before the civilian application of biometrics was promoted, it was a technology used by the military and special occupations. A large proportion of the patients who come here for treatment are veterans."

"With our cooperation, we quickly gathered the weapons we needed. To support Professor Eugene's operations, we launched several attacks on the Civil Rights Party, but with Professor Eugene's inside support, they were unable to identify us."

“Our actions continued until two months ago when Professor Eugene told us that he had artificially altered the progress of the Lullaby Protocol, making others believe that two days later would be the optimal time to activate the Lullaby Protocol.”

“If we seize the Central Institute at the right time, we can launch the modified Lullaby Agreement ahead of schedule and stop the plans of the Civil Rights Party and the Conservative Party.”

At this point, Niels' tone became somber, and he said:
"The day the white light burst forth was exactly the time we had planned. It started off very smoothly; we successfully stormed the Central Research Institute and briefly took control of the situation."

"But whether it was our actions that leaked the news or there was a traitor within, the Conservative Party followed suit and sent people to storm the research institute, trapping us inside. In order to prevent the Conservative Party from succeeding and to preserve the embers of hope, I forcibly activated part of the Lullaby Agreement."

"As a result, the Lullaby Agreement spiraled out of control and unleashed what you call the white light."

"As for what the white light is and why it can turn cyborgs into monsters, you'll have to ask Professor Eugene."

Niels's account was detailed, the timeline was clear, and the content was not fabricated, leaving no room for doubt in Jianxing's ability to judge the authenticity of his sword heart.

If he were facing other players, this explanation would be enough to deal with them, but he was facing Wu Chang.

Niels was telling the truth, but he was clearly hiding a lot from the truth.

For example, he clearly knew about the howl that woke him from his loss of control, but he never mentioned it.

This is normal, though. If someone reveals everything without reservation, he will suspect their motives.

Wu Chang asked:

"Then where can we find Professor Eugene?"

As the focus of this upheaval, Professor Eugene is being sought after by the Civil Rights Party, the Conservative Party, and the military. He has few places to hide, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should be among the mob.

As the leader of the mob, no one was more suitable to lead the way than him.

Although Niels was personally willing to believe Wu Chang and reveal some of the truth to them, he had some concerns about exposing the entire organization to Wu Chang and his group, as there would be no turning back.

Wu Chang did not urge Nils, but gave him enough time to think.

They set Nils aside and began gathering ingredients for God Tongue to make tonight's supper.

In the "Sleepless Night" instance, they only have the physical strength of ordinary people. Staying up all night takes a huge toll on their mental energy, so they must eat enough to be able to recover their energy with a nap.

In terms of combat power, God's Tongue may not rank among the top in the Realm of Reason, but in terms of cooking skills, he is at least a ranked player, and the ingredients he makes even come with auxiliary effects.

In less than half an hour, the large conference table in the city hall's meeting room was filled with all kinds of dishes, and the aroma of food filled the entire city hall.

Niels swallowed, feeling a pang of hunger, but he hadn't agreed to take Wu Chang and the others to the mob organization yet, so he felt embarrassed to go and freeload a meal.

Just as his stomach and brain were struggling, two outsiders ended his confusion.

dong dong dong.

A knock sounded on the door of the city hall. Wu Chang released the mystical array and looked at Leng Shan and Booker who walked in, saying:

"You've arrived just in time; you certainly know how to keep to your schedule."

Of the four members of the Arcane Knights who have not yet returned to the team, Wu Chang is most worried about Booker. However, Booker continued his good luck and ran into Leng Shan. It seems that he did not encounter any danger.

Physically, nothing was missing, but mentally, things weren't so easy.

Having only been in the dungeon for a day, Booker looked a year older, his face showing an indescribable weariness, which was quite rare for a veteran player like him.

The pressure of dungeon difficulty and the mental attacks that could strike at any moment have a far greater impact on players than they seem.

After Leng Shan and Booker greeted Wu Chang, they took a deep sniff and followed the scent to sit down at the conference table.

Booker eagerly forked a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, saying:
"When we first learned that in the city of Jacques, one must eat a lot to maintain mental stability, we thought this place would be a good place for Brother God Tongue to shine. Now it seems that it is indeed the case."

Wu Chang sized up the two men. They weren't wearing the initial standard equipment issued by the military. Although they looked tired, they weren't in a disheveled state.

"Where did you two go after entering Jacques City? I didn't see you at the Central Research Institute."

Booker said while chewing his food:
"This all started the night before last. The transport plane we were on malfunctioned and could not land at the designated location, so we had to parachute to safety."

"As soon as we landed in the city, we encountered a strange orange school bus that insisted on taking us to school. The monster looked unremarkable, but it was very strong and possessed a kind of degeneration domain. Anyone who entered it would be weakened in every way."

"Thanks to the Lengshan brothers' strength, they were able to freeze the school bus temporarily, allowing us to escape for the time being. But the school bus seemed to have its eyes on us; it broke free of the ice in the blink of an eye and chased after us all the way."

"Thanks to a few locals from Jacques who happened to be passing by, they used a small mobile tower to drive the school bus away, and we escaped unharmed."

"The leader of that group of locals was an old man with gray hair. He invited us to go back with them. When we returned to the base with them, we found out that the old man was Professor Eugene, whom the military was looking for."

Booker's words immediately drew everyone's attention. They had just been thinking about how to find Professor Eugene, and now a clue had come knocking on their door.

Wu Chang asked:

"So, you've already joined Professor Eugene's side?"

Leng Shan glanced at Nils, who was sitting not far away, eavesdropping with his ears perked up, and said:
"To be precise, the camp we joined was the 'Jacques City Self-Rescue Group'." Wu Chang's eyes showed a look of realization. If Leng Shan and Booker had encountered Eugene from the beginning, it would explain why they didn't appear at the Central Research Institute.

Eugene was the architect of the Lullaby Protocol; all the information related to the experiment was in his mind, so there was no need to retrieve the experimental data.

He also knew the truth about the surface level and believed that Niels could guard the tenth floor. He only needed to wait for the right time to lead his men into the Central Research Institute, and Niels would open the doors wide and let them in.

"You guys didn't come here just to freeload a meal, did you?"

Leng Shan opened a photo on his phone, swiped the phone towards Wu Chang, and raised his voice, as if speaking to Niels, he said:

"Around midnight today, Professor Eugene noticed that the Sky Tower at the Central Research Institute had stopped working. Knowing that something had happened at the institute, he sent us to investigate and find a guy named Niels."

"We went to the Central Research Institute first, and we ran into a few disheveled guys cursing. When we asked them what was going on, we learned that someone had broken through the special energy field and taken things from the institute first."

“There aren’t many people capable of doing something like this. I immediately thought of you, Boss. We just wandered around the city and saw our sign here, so we came in to try our luck. We didn’t expect the other party to actually be here.”

"Boss, Professor Eugene said he needs him. Should we release him?"

Wu Chang rolled his eyes and said:

"What are you talking about? Why do you make us sound like robbers? Go ask him directly. I was clearly saving his life."

Leng Shan looked at Niels, only to find that Niels had silently sat down at the conference table, found a set of cutlery from somewhere, and started eating as well.

Wu Chang watched Nils until Nils finished eating two plates of food before he couldn't help but say:

"Don't just eat, start talking."

As Niels chewed, he said:
"I'll take you to see Professor Eugene after I've eaten."

He was still hesitating about whether to expose the organization, but Wu Chang's men had directly infiltrated his own organization, so what was there for him to hesitate about?

Moreover, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything since the Light of Collapse, relying entirely on the low-consumption state of the Lullaby Protocol and the nutrient solution regularly injected into the treatment chamber to survive. Although it could sustain his life, the feeling of hunger had long since seeped into his bones.

He had been holding back his tongue for a long time, so he readily agreed to the offer.

After dinner, Wu Chang arranged for the rest of the people to guard the house, while he took Jianxing and Niels to the Yake City self-rescue team.

On the way back, he used telepathy to transmit the information that everyone currently knew to Leng Shan. While Leng Shan was surprised, he also provided Wu Chang with some information.

That was the day they entered Jacques City. The reason Eugene helped them was because he mistook them for sentient flesh-and-blood monsters.

Cold Mountain's fundamental power is low temperature. After ascending to the realm of reason, he can also vaguely feel the decrease in emotional temperature.

When Eugene discovered that the two were not modifiers and did not have a biological awareness network, his attitude towards them noticeably softened.

He later discovered through indirect questioning that Eugene was looking for someone who had been affected by the Light of Collapse, turned into a monster, but had regained consciousness.

After transforming into a monster and regaining consciousness, Wu Chang immediately thought of the howl that brought Niels back to his senses, as well as the third faction mission given by the military: to find the Howler.

The mob's base was located in a factory in the eastern part of Jacques.

When Niels introduced the place, his tone was filled with pride. He said that it was ostensibly a food processing plant, but there was actually a hidden workshop where firearms and ammunition could be mass-produced.

Since they began attacking the Civil Rights Party's laboratory and were identified as mobs, factories throughout Jacques have been searched seven or eight times, but this place has never been found and is very safe.

The reason why he was able to evade the search time and time again was simple: before entering the factory, Wu Chang saw a line of small characters below the sign outside the factory.

"You can't doubt this place."

When Niels was a worldwide sensation as a writer, various literary critics commented that his writing had the power to move people's hearts.

In fact, Niels's writing is indeed captivating; he is adept at subtly manipulating people's consciousness.

For example, even though Niels boasted that the factory could evade inspection, Leng Shan and the others still ignored this line of text.

Of everyone present, only Wu Chang could see it and was unaffected by it.

Wu Chang shook his head slightly, thinking to himself that there was a reason why Nils could become the leader of the mob. Fortunately, Nils encountered him. If it were any other player, even a master of reason like Jason, they would probably have been fooled by Nils.

He came to Niels' side and said:
"The handwriting at the entrance is quite good."

Niels' expression changed slightly, and he smiled:
"As long as you like it."

On the way back, Cold Mountain informed Eugene and the others that they had found Nils and that he would bring others back.

As soon as the vehicle entered the factory workshop, the workshop door was immediately closed, and more than a dozen fully armed modified soldiers rushed out from all sides, alerting the situation inside the vehicle.

A man with a scar on his face, wearing camouflage and a beanie, stepped forward, first checked on Nils through the car window, then opened the passenger door and gestured for Nils to get out first.

Niels sighed. He didn't rush to get out of the car, but instead said:
"Relax, Brick, they are all my friends."

When he said "relax," he meant to tell Wu Chang to relax. He was now completely convinced by Wu Chang, the divine messenger, and was afraid that if Brick and the others offended Wu Chang, Wu Chang would kill them.

Seeing that Nils got out of the car and opened the door for Wu Chang, Brick's suspicions were dispelled, and he waved to signal the others to put away their weapons.

He hugged Nils and asked:

"It's good that you're back. Professor Eugene is waiting for you inside."

Niels pointed at Wu Chang and said:

“His name is Heping. I’ll take him inside with me.”

Brick didn't ask any further questions and answered without hesitation:
"I trust your judgment."

Brick led the two through the canning assembly line into a workshop deep inside the factory, pushed open a white door, and a small laboratory appeared before them.

Previously, there was only one secret workshop here used to manufacture firearms, but now there is another workshop used to assemble experimental devices.

The instruments that Eugene collected throughout Jacques since the outbreak of the Light of Collapse are now all here.

Limited by environment and time, this place looks somewhat rudimentary, but though small, it has everything you need. The equipment here is sufficient for Eugene to complete some of his research.

This was the first time Wu Chang had seen Eugene in person. He looked much like the person in Niels's mental world, but was in a worse condition.

Wu Chang could clearly sense that Eugene's willpower was already riddled with cracks, and could shatter on the spot if it were subjected to any further stimulation.

Escaping from the light of collapse seems to have come at a considerable price.

What kept him from losing control, besides his willpower, was the power of luck emanating from Eugene.

Although Eugene's power of destiny is still somewhat lacking compared to that of a chosen one of the planes, when converted into numerical values, it is at least 120 or 130, which is enough to change the era and drive the progress of humanity.

However, compared to all of these, what Wu Chang cared about most was that the moment he met Eugene, his title of "perfectionist" was activated.

(End of this chapter)