Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 497 Vital's Twisted

The laboratory in the picture is completely different from the well-organized research environment Ron remembers.

The seventh floor now feels more like the private domain of some mad alchemist.

The walls were covered with various data charts and graphs.

The text uses lines of different colors to connect chilling terms such as "pain threshold," "pleasure amplification," and "consciousness threshold."

“Ron, I have to say, the R&D center is a real headache when you’re not around.”

Cassandra's tone was full of exhaustion:

"That madman Cedric has stirred up quite a mess."

She tapped her finger, and the projector began playing the first recorded video.

The image shows a Vital prisoner of war restrained by a specially designed restraint device.

His silver skin gleamed coldly under the magic lamp, and countless distorted points of light were reflected in his composite eyes.

"The initial tests went as smoothly as Cedric had expected."

Cassandra's voice carried a cold, judgmental tone:
“These Vital prisoners of war immediately showed a strong addictive reaction after being exposed to the cognitive virus.”

The Vital man in the picture has an almost obsessive look in his eyes.

His body began to tremble involuntarily, but it was not fear; rather, it was a kind of almost religious ecstasy.

“Eternal bliss…I saw it…I saw the individual pleasure that collective consciousness has never given us…”

The voices of the Vitals, transmitted through a translation device, carried a chilling longing.

But as the virtual experience continued, a frightening phenomenon began to emerge.

The Vital people's bodies began to twist abnormally.

The spasms were not caused by pain, but by extreme mental pleasure, which led to a complete loss of control of the nervous system.

His spine began to bend at angles that defied physiological structure, and his joints emitted a teeth-grinding grinding sound.

His entire body was twisted into impossible shapes, like a clay figure being kneaded by an invisible hand.

“Cedric named this phenomenon ‘Vital distortion’.”

Cassandra's tone remained calm, as if she were discussing an interesting academic phenomenon:

He believed that this was a natural reaction when mental pleasure exceeded physiological limits, and he was very excited about it.

However, the scene then took a dramatic turn.

All the Vital prisoners of war who were used as test subjects suddenly had their brainwave monitoring devices start flashing wildly.

The waveforms of different individuals begin to synchronize, like countless rivers converging into a turbulent flood.

"The collective consciousness of the Vitals is more like a 'superintelligence' than we imagine."

Cassandra explained:
"It can identify and eliminate 'psychic viruses.' When the damage caused by the virus reaches a threshold, the collective network will forcibly intervene."

In the scene, all the Vital prisoners' composite eyeballs simultaneously burst forth with dazzling silver light.

They all let out a sharp, metallic whistling sound.

Even when transmitted through recording equipment, that sound still sends shivers down one's spine.

Immediately afterwards, all the experimental equipment connected to the prisoners of war began to overload.

The sophisticated neural interface sparked as if it had been electrocuted, and the expensive sensory amplifiers exploded one after another.

The entire laboratory descended into chaos.

"This collective consciousness forcibly expelled Cedric's virtual experience data and caused widespread overload of the testing equipment."

The projection showed the dire state of the laboratory:
The sophisticated equipment, worth thousands or tens of thousands of magic stones, was reduced to scrap metal, and shimmering energy remnants were scattered on the ground.

As for those Vital prisoners of war, although their bodies were still contorted, the obsession in their eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by a cold rationality.

"Faced with this failure, Cedric refused to admit that there was a problem with his design."

Cassandra's voice began to take on a sarcastic tone:

“He insists that the virus itself was successful, and that the failure was only due to ‘the collective consciousness of the Vitals cheating.’”

The scene switches to another scene.

Cedric was standing in front of a group of young researchers, giving a passionate speech.

His glasses reflected an eerie light under the magic crystal lamp, and he waved a bloodstained pen in his hand.

"We failed because we did not understand how an 'independent and strong' individual will can be completely conquered by a virtual experience."

Cedric's voice came through the recording crystal, and the fanaticism in it reminded Ron of certain cult preachers:
"The collective consciousness of the Vitals is essentially a suppression of individuality. We need to test genuine, pure individual consciousness!"

“We need a… ‘human baseline model’.”

When Cedric said those words, Ron saw excited expressions on the faces of the young researchers.

“The project hit a bottleneck. But Cedric didn’t report it to me; instead, he chose to ‘bypass the rules.’”

Cassandra's tone became even colder:
"He and his few equally fanatical cronies conducted...unauthorized human experiments in a shielded room on the seventh floor that he had privately modified."

She gave a soft hum:
"Of course, he persuaded those young people to become 'volunteers' under the guise of 'exploring the limits of spiritual potential.' A bunch of fools blinded by ideals."

A new video begins to play.

This time, the perspective came from a hidden surveillance camera, resulting in poor image quality.

In the laboratory, three young researchers were placed in a modified experience capsule.

"The first test subject was Ryder, an alchemist from the Garden of Elements."

“Cedric designed his virtual experience as ‘becoming the greatest alchemist in history.’”

In the virtual world, he created the 'Philosopher's Stone,' capable of transforming everything, earning the reverence of all his peers.

Ryder initially appeared normal in the footage, even sporting a satisfied smile.

But as the experience deepened, a terrifying change began to emerge.

His body began to exhibit a twisting phenomenon similar to that of the Vitals.

However, since human bones are far less resilient than those of the Vitals, each "Vital twist" would result in a real fracture.

Click!

Ryder's left arm was bent at an unnatural angle, white bone spurs piercing his skin.

But he still maintained that obsessive smile on his face, as if the pain had lost its meaning for him.

"When the virtual experience ended and Ryder returned to reality, his psychological defenses completely collapsed in the face of his still mediocre situation."

The footage shows the chaos at the accident scene:

Ryder was attacking everything around him frantically, his severed arm flailing wildly in the air, blood splattering onto the lab table.

"No! This can't be real!"

His screams were heart-wrenching:
"My world shouldn't be like this! I should be a master! A master revered by everyone!"

A young alchemist attempts to use his remaining magic to "correct" the laboratory to resemble the perfect image he remembers.

Magic surged violently around him, attempting to transform the cold metal walls into a magnificent alchemical workshop.

But the harsh reality made his efforts seem so ridiculous.

Each failed attempt further worsened his mental state.

Ultimately, by the time Cassandra arrived at the scene in person, Ryder had completely lost his mind.

He huddled in a corner of the lab, clutching his broken arm, repeatedly muttering:

"Eternity... eternal glory, why are you dragging me back to this ugly reality..."

"The situations of the second and third test subjects were very similar."

Cassandra fast-forwarded the scene:
"One is obsessed with the false memory of 'saving all mankind,' while the other fantasizes about becoming an immortal witch king."

"The result was always a complete mental breakdown."

Now, they are all confined to special wards in the medical department, reduced to useless individuals who can only repeat specific words.

Ron looked at the screen and saw those once vibrant young researchers who now existed like zombies.

The cruelty of turning vibrant lives into dregs made him feel nauseous.

“Cedric himself has also begun to reveal some of his true nature.”

Cassandra pulled up another video, this time featuring Cedric himself.

In the video, this once gentle and refined young scholar is conducting an extremely terrifying "self-experiment".

He dipped his right arm into a petri dish filled with abyssal worms.

The black worms pounced on the fresh flesh like hungry beasts, their sharp teeth tearing at his skin and muscles.

"Composite pain data for number 47...pain intensity 8.3...combined with fear factor 2.1..."

Cedric recorded the data in a completely emotionless tone, as if it weren't his own arm being gnawed at.

His eyes burned with a kind of fanaticism that transcended madness, an expression that reminded Ron of the most extreme ascetics.

“In order to improve the database of suffering, Cedric has conducted hundreds of similar experiments on himself.”

Cassandra felt a bit disgusted:

“Burning, frostbite, corrosion, tearing... he tried to quantify the detailed parameters of each kind of pain.”

"The most serious problem is that he seems to have developed a morbid dependence on pain."

Only under extreme pain can he maintain a relatively normal capacity for thought.

This description reminded Ron of Chazelle.

That pathetic being who needs to resort to violence and self-harm to temporarily unify his three personalities.

The pursuit of power always seems to come at the cost of reason.

“Look, Ron, this technology is far more terrifying than we imagined.”

Cassandra's tone made it sound like she was discussing the performance of a new weapon:

"It seems your previous judgment was very likely correct; this kind of thing is indeed not suitable for use as a conventional weapon."

Ron had expected Cassandra to announce the termination of the project, or at least severely punish Cedric for his violations.

But what he said next sent a chill down his spine. "However, this is a double-edged sword; of course, it has its uses."

Cassandra pulled up the last video clip:
"Although it cannot be used as a 'virus' for the time being, it is surprisingly effective as a 'torture instrument,' more effective than any torture or mind spell."

That was the expeditionary force's prisoner-of-war camp, where several runaway wizards were being strapped to modified experience devices.

They all wore silly smiles on their faces.

"I have ordered that the initial version be applied to the POW camps in the fourth quadrant and to the deserters within our ranks."

"On the one hand, we can easily obtain enough intelligence, and on the other hand, we can make them repent in an eternal, inescapable 'happy dream'."

This is far more merciful and effective than simply dying.

“As for Cedric himself…” Her expression subtly changed:
"Although his actions violated safety regulations, the incident report and data he submitted were indeed valuable."

“I have decided to confine him to the seventh floor until the project is completed, but he will continue to be in full charge of the project, and his resource access will be increased by one level.”

Instead of being punished for causing a major accident, Cedric was granted higher authority and more resources.

This decision surprised Ron, yet it also seemed reasonable.

In Cassandra's eyes, the sacrifices of those young researchers and the suffering of those prisoners of war were merely acceptable costs that had to be paid to obtain "results".

This is her "results-oriented" pragmatism.

“You should be glad you chose to quit back then, Ron.”

Cassandra's tone softened again:
"Otherwise, with your concept of balance, it may be difficult to adapt to the development direction of the project."

These words were like a needle, precisely piercing the most sensitive part of Ron's heart.

His "balance concept" was clearly seen as a kind of "weakness" by this leader of the conquest movement.

An outdated insistence that hinders "progress".

"It seems my previous divination was indeed a correct warning..."

Ron thought to himself, while congratulating himself on his wise choice at the time.

If he had stayed on the project, he would have faced a much worse situation now, whether he complied or resisted.

At this point, Cassandra did not immediately end the communication.

She crossed her arms, leaned slightly forward, and stared at Ron with a scrutinizing gaze.

"After all that talk about our 'progress'," her voice regained its usual oppressive tone.
"Now it's your turn, Ron."

You've stayed at the observatory for so long, you must have gained some... insights?

Do you have any other 'constructive' comments on Cedric's project?

Ron could sense that Cassandra was assessing her position.

Is it about maintaining that "academic disagreement," or has it shifted to the more dangerous "ideological opposition"?

In the wizards' understanding, the former represents tolerable differing viewpoints, while the latter represents a threat that must be eliminated.

"First of all, I must express my sincerest respect to Wizard Cedric."

Ron's tone carried just the right amount of admiration:
"The ability to transform theory into practically applicable results in such a short period of time... this kind of execution truly makes me feel ashamed of my own."

He paused briefly, seemingly organizing his thoughts to express the "shock" he felt:
"In particular, his quantitative research on the mechanisms of pain and pleasure, this method of transforming subjective experience into objective data... is simply a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of cognitive science."

Cassandra's expression didn't change, but Ron noticed that the rhythm of her tapping had slowed down.

This is her habitual action of carefully analyzing the truthfulness of the other person's words.

"As for my research..." Ron gave a slightly bitter smile:

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. My research focuses on fundamental theoretical exploration, which requires a lot of data accumulation and repeated verification."

"Compared to the immediate application results of Cedric's work, my work is more like... preparing for some future day."

He took out a rather thick research report and placed it in front of him:

"This is my preliminary analysis of 'stability of consciousness structure'."

In theory, if we can solve the 'anchoring problem' of consciousness in virtual environments, we can avoid the...side effects observed in Cedric's research.

"But this kind of research requires time and patience, not groundbreaking inspiration."

Ron's words were filled with helplessness.

He acknowledged the value of the other party's achievements while also finding a reasonable explanation for his own "backwardness".

“Furthermore, you are aware of Professor Utter’s recent health condition.” His tone grew heavier.
"The decay of the ethereal remains is happening much faster than expected."

He urgently needs to organize a batch of documents, hoping to pass on some important knowledge before time runs out.

"As one of the few historians among his students, I feel obligated to assist in completing this work."

After all, some knowledge, once lost, can never be regained.

This explanation perfectly solves several problems:

This demonstrated his "admiration" for the Cedric project while avoiding being seen as an outsider;

This further justified his research as still "progressing," mitigating Cassandra's potential dissatisfaction.

Finally, they found a legitimate reason to stay at the observatory.

The bond between teachers and students and the passing down of academic knowledge are motivations that no wizard can question.

Cassandra listened quietly.

She seemed to be weighing something; the tapping of her fingertips echoed in the room, as regular and indifferent as the ticking of a clock.

“Basic research is indeed important.” She finally spoke again, her tone sounding quite agreeable:
"Without a solid theoretical foundation, even the most brilliant applied results are just castles in the air."

But the next shift in the conversation made Ron realize Cassandra's true intentions:

“Speaking of which, that old stubborn Vinard has been urging us lately, saying that he has a big project and is short-handed, and specifically asked you to go and help out.”

Her tone became slightly impatient:
“I’ve been making excuses, after all, your research here is just as important.”

But since you have some... flexibility in your schedule now, why don't you go and take a look?

Ron keenly sensed the implication.

Cassandra was clearly aware of Vinard's invitation long ago, and may even have been waiting for the right moment to "arrange" this overseas assignment.

“Of course, if you think it necessary…” He showed appropriate hesitation:
"But what about Professor Utter's work..."

“There will be others to assist us. If all else fails, aren’t there still those old zombies like the ‘Eye of Observation’ and ‘Recorder’ Gould?”

Cassandra interrupted him:

"Furthermore, Vinard's project may involve some...cutting-edge technologies, which might be helpful to your research."

She leaned forward and lowered her voice: "However, you weren't just an assistant in the past."

The light in the room seemed to have dimmed a bit.

The projection device emitted a faint humming sound.

"I always had a feeling that Vinard was up to something big behind all of our backs."

Suspicion flickered in Cassandra's purple eyes:

"Although that old fellow has always been impatient and rigid, his recent behavior... is indeed a bit unusual."

She pulled up a document that appeared to be quite confidential:
“According to the resource allocation records, he applied for a large number of rare materials in the past few years, as well as some ancient alchemical reagents that I did not recognize.”

"His base has also recently undergone a comprehensive security upgrade, and even surveillance networks cannot completely penetrate it."

Cassandra's voice grew even more somber:
"The fact that a great wizard has suddenly become so mysterious is itself a cause for concern."

Ron pretended to be thinking, but in his mind he was quickly analyzing the information.

Vinard's "mysterious behavior" may be exactly what he needs—a safe haven away from the vortex of the Central Lands.

Moreover, the fact that a project could make Cassandra wary indicates that its importance and technological sophistication should not be underestimated.

"What do you want from me?" he asked in a moderately cautious tone.

"Observe, record, and report whenever possible."

Cassandra succinctly stated three phrases:

“I need to know what Vinard is researching, what the real purpose of this project is, and whether he is secretly cooperating with other forces.”

Her finger slid across the console, bringing up a communication rune:

You will be granted special communication privileges.

Report to me at least once a month, and contact me immediately if you discover anything unusual.

"Remember, this is not advice, but a special task assigned to you."

Ron nodded solemnly:
“I understand, Tower Master. You can rest assured, I will act with caution.”

Deep down, he was delighted by this "unexpected joy".

He went to Vinard's base as a "spy".

This will not only keep him away from the quagmire of cognitive virus projects, but also give him the opportunity to come into contact with new technologies and knowledge.

“Very good.” Cassandra was clearly pleased with his reaction.
“Vinard has already prepared a teleportation array; you can reach his base this month.”

"Use this time to arrange the work at hand. And also..."

Her eyes sharpened:

“If Vinard asks about your true purpose, say that I took into account your talent in research and believed that his project could provide you with practical opportunities.”

"This is both the truth and the best cover."

As the projection began to slowly fade, Cassandra left behind her last words:

“Remember, Ron, in these turbulent times, only those who can accurately assess the situation and wisely choose their side will truly survive.”

"I believe you are a smart person."

After the projection completely disappeared, the room fell silent again.

Ron stood there, planning his next steps in his mind.

Half a month is enough time for him to finish his work at the observatory and also enough time for him to make full preparations for his upcoming "journey to another world".

(End of this chapter)