Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 349 Hackers and Ephemeral Race
what?
The ticking sound was clearly audible, startling everyone present.

However, upon closer inspection, no unusual mental energy was detected being activated or invading the brain.

In this critical moment, he didn't think too much. The count in the white suit didn't even pause for a moment. He pointed a finger and suddenly lunged forward. In his hair, which was flying up, blood-red veins were faintly visible, spreading in all directions.

Half of it fluttered down and spread over Han Su.

The other half, as if out of control, flew towards the surrounding noblewomen, government officials, waiters, and others.

As he approached, Han Su suddenly raised his hand to block, revealing a cross-shaped scar on the back of his left hand.

It is a cross-shaped bronze hand, impervious to swords and spears, and able to catch bullets.

But to his surprise, he was entangled the moment he came into contact with the mutated blood vessel. The end of the vessel seemed to have some kind of extremely strange barb, which pierced through his skin in an instant, and the chaotic power squeezed into his brain.

The sudden scene made Han Su's heart skip a beat: "A materialized mental projection?"

This person's eccentricities became immediately apparent upon engaging in combat.

Firstly, it was able to ignore the defense of its own left hand and directly invade its own mental model.

Furthermore, normally extraordinary individuals would conserve their mental energy to avoid becoming lambs to the slaughter instead of defeating their opponents, but this person did the exact opposite.

The moment they made contact, all their spiritual power was released wildly, surging and pouring into Han Su's body, even at the cost of becoming an empty shell.

In that instant, Han Su suddenly felt a dizziness in his head, and endless invisible memories surfaced in his mind. The man in the white suit in front of him seemed to have become the person he knew best, the one he had grown up with, trained with, and fought against powerful enemies with.

There are feelings between people, and these feelings can influence decisions.

For example, if Han Su, in a fit of rage, were to slap an enemy who had ambushed him, and at that crucial moment he suddenly realized that the other party was Xu Ji, he would instinctively hesitate and stop without even thinking.

At this moment, the white suit had clearly implanted such a memory into Han Su and controlled his instincts and emotions.

He was actually forcing himself to become someone he was extremely close to?

"Buzz!"

But only for a moment, and Han Su suddenly raised his head.

As the other party's mind invaded, a certain consciousness seemed to suddenly rebound from the depths of Han Su's mind.

This invading spiritual power seemed to have touched the territory of some unknown entity, and was instantly repelled. Even the man in the white suit suddenly shouted and staggered backward.

Her flowing hair hung down on both sides, like limp snakes.

"This... is the Horror?"

Han Su suddenly looked up and his eyes fell on him.

To be precise, his gaze pierced through the white suit and reached the back of the man's head.

A black tumor-like mass, and on that mass, human facial features were growing, twisting and writhing, emitting painful cries.

That is the true form of the Horror.

This is a material manifestation of memory, and also a bizarre parasitic organism, formed by the combination of its own will and memory.

Once formed, it can freely choose a host, so the freak species often have an extremely outstanding appearance, second only to the queen. Once it takes on a host, it will erase the host's own emotions and consciousness and completely take over the other party.

Its abilities include arbitrary modification and the ability to self-replicate its own will and memories.

The name "Hack" comes from the ancient word "hacker," which refers to the ability to steal, destroy, and invade.

There were also freaks in the castle, but in Han Su's eyes, that freak was just a wooden, half-rotten old man, nothing special, so he didn't leave an impression. He was not as impressed as the white-suited man he saw in reality.

"Hey!"

Han Su reached behind his head and, as if pulling a radish from the back of his head, tore off a black tumor.

It has a nose and a face, and it struggles desperately.

Han Su slammed it to the ground and then stepped on it, causing juice to splatter everywhere.

The invasion was only momentary, yet the other party had already planted a tumor in my body, demonstrating its dangerous nature.

As the foot stomped down, the man in the white suit looked pained, took two steps back, and then let out a sharp scream.

At the same time, the surrounding crowd also let out the same shriek. It was the noblewomen, government officials and others who covered their heads. On the back of their heads, tumors were growing and struggling to grow ears, noses and other facial features. They were all the same kind of tumor.

Self-replicating!

The man in the white suit was extremely cautious. While attacking Han Su, he had already replicated more than a dozen life forms and parasitized them.

This means that there are more than a dozen of them, and they are all the same entity.

At the same time, it emitted squeaking and wailing cries, instantly making people feel heartache, annoyance, impulsiveness, and irritability.

At the same moment, the noble lady in the purple dress who had been retreating, after pondering for a long time, suddenly seemed to realize something. Her face turned almost transparently white, and she shouted, "Oh no, the banquet has been sealed off..."

"No...it wasn't just a cocktail party!"

"..."

She and the man in the white suit were working together; the man in the white suit was only there to keep Han Su occupied, while she was setting up the overall strategy.

Her shout caused the man in the white suit to change his expression abruptly, turning around abruptly: "What do you mean by sealing off the party?"

"I……"

The woman in the purple dress also looked terrified: "I don't know, I... I can't get out!"

"You can't get out?"

The voice in the white suit had a subtle change in tone, which was hard to believe.

I am a perfect match with Miss Anastasia in the purple dress; her ability is [E].

This is a unique gaseous life form.

The outer shell is only temporary; true life is the gaseous body beneath the skin, ever-changing and formless.

Therefore, she can move freely in any kind of space.

Because he was not afraid of death, he took on the danger himself when faced with it.

She can ignore her opponents' entanglements and vigilance, and do whatever she wants. When it comes to the crucial moment, she can even risk damage to her consciousness and directly invade Zero City's real-world defenses with her own consciousness to repair and activate them.

Therefore, their arrogance was real, and their condescending attitude towards the people in these second-tier cities was also real, but they did not make any mistakes.

But to everyone's surprise, she actually said something like this:

Is it locked down?
Given her life form, how could she possibly be blocked?

Facing the incredulous expression on the man in the white suit, the noblewoman in the purple dress was deathly pale, almost translucent, surrounded by countless dust particles, radiating a hazy glow under the flashing lights of the party.

However, compared to her dazed appearance, her voice revealed uncertainty and fear: "He... he seems to have removed Zero City from the world... I..."

"I cannot see the outside world, nor can I transmit information to the Guardians and... the Traveling Knights!"

"..."

If they can't send messages, wouldn't they really have to face a powerful enemy on their own?

If the people of the city cannot understand the situation here, wouldn't we just have to let the pollution in Zero City worsen step by step?

The man in the white suit found the answer hard to accept, but at that moment, he heard Han Su's laughter:
What are you panicking about?

"Didn't I already say that now is my time?"

"..."

Amidst laughter, having confirmed its effectiveness, he amplified his mental power once more, transmitting it into the mechanical fragments through the black briefcase.

Outsiders could not see the mechanical fragments; they only saw his figure become ethereal, as if he were detached from the world.

Only Han Su himself knew that this was actually outside of time.

Mechanical Fragment No. 03 - Time Extraction!
Han Su's understanding of this mechanical fragment is that it is divided into independent time chains based on space and logic.

To give an example, imagine a group of people building a house here. Once they have the initial resources such as manpower, materials, and blueprints, they can calculate when the house appeared in this area.

In reality, the construction of such a house is highly susceptible to external factors. For example, a worker might have a family emergency and take leave; materials might be damaged, forcing a change in design; or there might be a permit from higher authorities prohibiting construction; or there might be an earthquake or natural disaster…

In reality, there is a chance that a house will appear on time, but it is not absolute.

The purpose of mechanical fragment 03 is precisely this: it accelerates the progress of the event independently and eliminates external factors.

To some extent, its order of action is to first independently block this logical event and then grant it the ability to enforce its effects.

If it's theoretically possible, then it will make that theory a reality.

As for why this machine has such an effect, and what purpose some being had in creating it, Han Su had no idea.

One can only vaguely guess that this mechanical fragment, as well as the 01 and 02 mechanical fragments in his own hands, are part of a terrifying and powerful creation, and are components of its complex functional system.

Han Su couldn't even begin to imagine how terrifying that machine would be once it was fully assembled.

But for me right now, this mechanical fragment is enough.

Before entering Zero City, he already knew from the priests of the Church of Rest that to activate the fifth calamity, he needed to take over Zero City and use its physical defenses as nourishment to amplify the pollution and resonate with the target altar.

At that time, they could easily bring down the Fifth Calamity, thus achieving their war objective.

This matter was extremely difficult to begin with, and even with the combined efforts of the eight dioceses of the Church of the Repose, the chances of success were less than 10%.

Even if Han Su held power in Anxi City, it would be nothing short of a pipe dream to accomplish this, since Zero City would resist and seek help, potentially attracting the Guardians of the World, the Traveling Knights, or even some unknown powerful force at any time.

They will not stand idly by and allow themselves to pollute Zero City.

But things are different now.

During the startup of mechanical debris No. 03, it is impossible for any external factors to affect the process, and the contamination will definitely be completed!

The only thing to consider is the price I will have to pay after activating this mechanical fragment.

However, Han Su didn't seem to have considered this aspect. There was only a faint madness in his eyes. He picked up his suitcase and rushed forward.

"How could he possibly do something so bizarre? Could it be that he..."

The woman in the purple dress was somewhat frightened. Normally, she had an overwhelming advantage over anyone or any other being in the city, but this time, her greatest advantage had been suppressed, severely damaging her confidence.

He even started recalling Han Su's earlier words. Could it be that he really was...?

……emperor?
"Polluting a city brings about the fifth natural disaster..."

The man in the white suit roared, interrupting her. He glared at Han Su and shouted, "Have you thought about the consequences?"

"Of course, since I've helped you, shouldn't you help me in return?"

"Of course, I know that you so-called nobles are very troublesome to deal with, but it's okay, I've killed them before, I have experience!"

"..."

As he spoke, a murderous glint appeared in his eyes.

Hunting nobles has always been his goal, but this time, in addition to that goal, there's a hint of cruelty and pleasure in it.

This is also the second reason why he used mechanical fragment No. 03. Nobles are too difficult to kill. In addition to having priority in the world, they also have medals and blessings, patrolling knights who protect their interests at all times, and all sorts of special means that are hard to explain.

In short, their power system is not only mysterious and unpredictable, but they also have various advantages. Even if you are strong enough to overwhelm your opponent, you are not entirely confident in defeating them.

But this time, the situation is different.

They were isolated from both inside and outside, and all external factors were rejected, including themselves.

Here, if they are killed, they will die!

"How dare you! Do you really think that by sealing off Zero City, you can definitely take it over?"

The man in the white suit was both shocked and furious. A strange mental power surged wildly behind his head. He pressed his hands down, sending waves of mental energy forward. His face was contorted with rage: "You really think you can succeed in your scheme by trapping us here?"

"You are all sinners against world civilization..."

"..."

Amidst the shouts, countless government officials and ladies at the banquet around him involuntarily followed his lead and made the same movements.

The combined mental shocks engulfed the entire party, instantly shattering tables, chairs, and wine glasses into dust.

Two thousand orders of magnitude of mental shock instantly overwhelmed everything.

Such an immense spiritual level not only instantly engulfed the entire party, but even Han Su had never seen anything like it before, because it was simply impossible. Humans have limits; their spiritual level is related to their age and cannot exceed the scale of their own lifespan.

In particular, his move not only exceeded his own limits, but even exceeded them by more than ten times!
"This is the power of the Hazards?"

In a moment of quick thinking, Han Su immediately understood the reason.

The man in the white suit had achieved self-replication, using a hacker to implant self-aware clones into more than a dozen people in the room. Therefore, those people were essentially a part of him.

He forcibly activated the spiritual level of those people and incorporated it into his own system.

In that instant, he was facing a group of more than a dozen people, and no one could rival the overwhelming mental strength of the Horror Clan.

When Han Su faced him, it was like when he first entered the Disaster Management Bureau and faced an independent investigator. The difference was indescribable. Moreover, the accusations made by the other party also had a special power: a power that deliberately evoked regret in people's hearts.

When they met before, he immediately accused Li Manman of committing a heinous crime against civilization. This was part of his strategy: the Hazardous Species can seize upon a person's sense of guilt, amplify it infinitely, and ultimately completely control them.

"Haha, didn't you guys say you wanted to use this natural disaster to see that machine?"

But Han Su remained unfazed by the surge of his spiritual power, merely letting out a chilling laugh: "I was just helping you invite her over..."

As he spoke, facing the overwhelming and endless pressure of spiritual energy, he felt blood gushing from every pore of his body, and blood was forcibly squeezed out of his eyes and ears.

The overwhelming power of a god-level opponent is the most obvious difference. When the difference is so great, no matter how many superpowers one has, one is completely unable to meet the opponent's attack.

It's like shooting arrows at each other. If you're facing a gale-force wind, the opponent's arrow will easily hit you, while your own arrow, no matter how sharp or poisoned, won't be able to touch the opponent and will be completely useless.

At this moment, Han Su's golden cells had split into four layers, and his mental strength had reached 80 years. Against ordinary people, he would have a huge advantage, but in front of this terrifying creature, he was like an immature child.

Beside him, Li Manman, who had already changed her shoes, also had a slightly lowered gaze. She immediately began to chant a spell, intending to summon the puppet doll. However, after chanting the spell, she suddenly looked up with an expression of disbelief, because she found that she could not summon the puppet doll.

Now that the party is isolated from the outside world, not only have these two nobles been prevented from summoning their helpers, but they themselves have also been affected.

"My body is so weak..."

At this moment, Han Su, facing the overwhelming suppression of mental power, surrounded by flowing blood, remained unusually calm, as lines of data appeared in his mind:
"The golden cells have divided four times; there's still one step between them and stepping into the abyss..."

"The self-form is not yet complete, the World Priority Contract has not been activated, the authority over natural disasters is not in hand, and the throne... is still fragmented..."

"...Why should we fight against those traitors?"

"However, the foundation has been laid quite well. It seems that the people who welcomed me back to reality have put in a lot of effort and are indeed working hard to create the perfect vessel for me..."

"..."

"..."

In a moment of distraction, he suddenly let out a sinister laugh, and his powerful consciousness, fueled by the pressure from the white suit, surged wildly through his brain.

Like a series of restrictions, it was forcibly broken by this extremely powerful consciousness.

Han Su's own spiritual level was originally eighty years, and there were more than a dozen batteries in addition, which could only be used as backups and had not yet been integrated into his own spiritual system.

The reason is simple: this operation is too difficult. Han Su can only break through the limitations under risk and pressure. He has experienced enough risks, but he has only completed the fusion of four "batteries".

But now, this consciousness is forcibly breaking through this restriction.

All spiritual levels were fused together in a brutal manner.

His own aura also surged in an instant, from the level of 80 units to more than 200 units. Moreover, compared with the Horrible Species, his spiritual energy was unified and far more solid and real than that of the other party.

The opponent's spiritual level was stolen through self-replication, but Han Su's was all his own.

As the two forces collided, he moved forward like a ghost, instantly breaking through the mental pressure from the man in the white suit. Reaching him, he suddenly raised his hand and grabbed his head.

He leaned forward slightly, took a deep breath over the man's head, and then grinned menacingly: "The smell of a traitor..."

Are you ready to see me again?

(End of this chapter)