Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 177 Death
Lord Morgan's roar echoed through the hall, abruptly cutting off Yang Chen's words.

His face was ashen, his chest heaving, and his eyes were fixed on Yang Chen as if he wanted to devour him alive.

But he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mr. Yang Chen, the information you brought is… too shocking, and also too… dangerous.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below, each with their own distinct expression.

"Some things are not suitable to be discussed here."

His gaze refocused on Yang Chen: "Victor, you stay. The rest of you, go down first."

"No, everyone stay here and let me finish what I have to say," Yang Chen said.

"The reason why your hunters suffer casualties every time they go down to the ground is because the Devouring Beasts track humans by relying on emotional fluctuations."

Morgan suddenly shouted again, "Nonsense!"

"The Devouring Beasts track humans by relying on emotional fluctuations? The Lighthouse's survival rules over the years, the experience gained by countless hunters at the cost of their lives, cannot be proven by your casual remarks here!"

He could not, and absolutely would not, allow this young man from the ground to shake the very foundation upon which the lighthouse depended for its survival.

The three laws, along with the faith of the Lord of Light and Shadow, are the final shackles that maintain order in this aerial fortress.

If all of these are proven to be wrong or even ridiculous, then the lighthouse will instantly fall apart.

The hall fell silent instantly. Department heads looked at each other, none daring to utter a sound.

Victor clenched his fist, while the city defense soldiers' fingers remained on the triggers, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

The seven hunters were so frightened that they dared not breathe, keeping their heads down and not daring to look at Lord Morgan's furious face.

Only Dr. Carrie's eyes gleamed with even stronger interest and suspicion. She glanced at Morgan, then at Yang Chen, her lips moved, but she ultimately remained silent.

Faced with Morgan's anger, Yang Chen merely raised an eyebrow.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you." Yang Chen's voice remained calm.

"But I'm curious, Lord Morgan... do you really not know?"

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp as he stared directly at the seemingly imposing ruler on the high platform.

"The Devouring Beasts rely on life essence, especially intense emotional fluctuations, to lock onto their prey. Did you truly never know this truth, or... did you choose to conceal it from the people of the Lighthouse from the very beginning?"

Upon hearing this, Victor's pupils contracted sharply, and his hand instinctively reached for the weapon at his waist.

The department heads were filled with shock and bewilderment, exchanging glances.

The city lord... concealed the truth?

“That’s all nonsense!” Morgan tried to cover it up with an even louder voice.

"Why should I hide it..."

"For control," Yang Chen interrupted him.

"In order to maintain your so-called 'Three Laws,' and to keep your lie of 'abandoning emotions to perpetuate civilization,' emotions are a weakness, so they must be suppressed and eliminated... What a perfect excuse."

"Shut up!" Morgan slammed her hand on the armrest of her chair and stood up abruptly. "Victor! Show him out!"

He couldn't let Yang Chen continue.

Victor immediately stepped forward, leading a squad of city guards, and raised his guns again, aiming them at Yang Chen.

Despite the gun pointed at him, Yang Chen continued speaking as if he didn't see it.

"Making everyone live in fear and repression, and not daring to have strong emotions, can indeed reduce the probability of being discovered by the Devouring Beasts, but its effect is negligible."

"Your fundamental reason is still to make the people more compliant and easier to manage."

He paused, glanced around at the Lighthouse executives whose expressions were shifting, and slowly said, "You have chosen the most foolish way. Suppression, rather than understanding and control."

Yang Chen's gaze returned to Morgan: "What I don't understand is, since you know the truth, even if it's only part of it, why are you unwilling to delve deeper and find a real solution, instead choosing to block and conceal it?"

He recalled the past that Red Heron and Drake had mentioned, and the clues connected in his mind.

"Red Heron...you're your student, right? And the former commander-in-chief of the city's defense forces. She was purged because she published her theories about life essence and emotional shielding, right?"

Morgan's expression changed drastically when he heard the name "Red Heron".

"How do you know about the Red Heron?"

Ignoring Morgan's questions, Yang Chen continued, "Our Dragonbone Village also collected theoretical materials about the old world's methods of shielding emotions. But unlike you, we didn't shelve them or treat them as a monstrous threat. Based on this, combined with our field research on the ecology of Mana and countless practices, we finally found a method."

"It's not about suppressing emotions, but about controlling them, integrating them into the environment, and achieving a state of 'returning to the origin,' fundamentally shielding the fluctuations of the life essence."

He looked at Morgan: "Lord Morgan, what you are blocking out is not the truth, but humanity's true hope. What you fear is not the Devouring Beasts, but the fate of the Lighthouse, this dilapidated ship that has been in ruins for so many years, after losing control."

"Enough!!!" Morgan stood up abruptly, his body even swaying slightly.

He pointed at Yang Chen, his finger trembling: "Victor! Take him down right now!"

The truth was laid bare before everyone, and his authority and beliefs, which he had maintained for many years, crumbled inch by inch in the calm words of this young man from the ground.

Although Victor was also in turmoil, his duty as the commander-in-chief of the city defense forces compelled him to carry out the order immediately. He led his soldiers to approach Yang Chen again, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

The seven hunters were completely dumbfounded; every piece of news they heard today was far beyond their comprehension.

Just as Victor and the city defense soldiers were about to touch Yang Chen, a figure suddenly rushed out and resolutely blocked Yang Chen's path.

It's Dr. Carrie.

"Stop! City Lord! Wait a minute!" Carrie stared at Morgan on the platform. "What he said... what he said about the technology! That 'Return to Origin' state! And the method to shield against the Devouring Beasts!"

As a researcher and a scientist with a strong desire to explore the ecology and life essence of manna, the information Yang Chen just revealed was like suddenly seeing a door to a completely new world after groping in the dark for decades.

“Lord! Do you know what this means?” Carrie almost shouted. “If what he said is true, if we can master this method, the casualty rate of the hunters can be greatly reduced! We might even be able to…we might be able to return to life on the surface, instead of just risking our lives to search for those soon-to-expire supplies.”

Carrie's sudden outburst plunged the entire hall into another tense standoff.

Victor and the city garrison soldiers froze, looking at Morgan in bewilderment.

The department heads looked at each other in surprise, not expecting Dr. Carrie to step forward at this moment, and clearly siding with the visitors from the ground.

Lord Morgan's face was extremely grim.

He looked at Carrie, his eyes filled with anger.

“Carrie!” Morgan’s voice was icy cold. “Go back to your seat! You have no right to speak here!”

“No!” Carrie stood stubbornly in place.

"Don't you understand? The Lighthouse's research on the Mana ecosystem has almost come to a standstill! We can only rely on the scattered soil samples brought back by the hunters at great personal risk for analysis, and what we get is only the most superficial pollution data!"

She pointed at Yang Chen, her voice trembling with emotion: "And he! They! They live on the ground, they are in contact with the Mana ecosystem every day, they possess knowledge and technology! City Lord, this is our only chance to understand the ecosystem and find a new path to survival!"

The survival of lighthouses depends to a large extent on the depletion of Old World heritage and the avoidance of dangers on the ground, rather than genuine technological progress and a proactive understanding of ecology.

Only the Wilderness Hunters are allowed to go to the surface, while the city defense forces and the Light and Shadow Society, which also possess armed forces, are primarily responsible for maintaining internal order rather than exploring the outside world.

Just as Dr. Carrie and Morgan were locked in a stalemate, one of the hunters who had followed Yang Chen back spoke up.

“Lord City Lord! What he said is true, we saw it with our own eyes!” Another hunter next to him nodded in agreement.

"Yes! The ground... the ground has lots of food, green plants, and live livestock! They... they really can live on the ground!"

The first person to speak seemed to remember something and added, "Moreover, they... their research on the Devouring Beasts seems to be very in-depth! In their base, we saw... we saw Devouring Beasts locked in transparent jars! Alive, and dissected! There were snake-dogs, and even... even mutated forms!"

"What?! Live specimens?! And anatomical specimens?!"

Dr. Carrie's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this.

Protect him! We must protect this man named Yang Chen!
This thought raced wildly through Carrie's mind. She stood even more resolute in front of Yang Chen, even spreading her arms wide, trying to use her slender body to block any possible attacks from the city's defense forces.

However, the hunters' testimony and Carrie's defense did not change Morgan's mind.

His eyes suddenly turned cold, and his gaze passed over Carrie, fixed on Yang Chen behind her.

“Carrie…” Morgan began slowly, “Are you… also going to oppose me? For these technologies whose authenticity is uncertain…?”

Carrie felt a chill run down her spine under Morgan's cold and unfamiliar gaze. She opened her mouth, but found herself unable to utter a sound.

She could sense that Morgan was serious, and that his patience and tolerance had reached their limit.

Morgan didn't give Carrie another chance to speak. He suddenly raised his hand, no longer looking at anyone, but staring intently at Yang Chen, and gave a stern order to the city defense troops.

"Fire! Take down these cultists on the ground! If they resist, kill them on sight!"

"Lord of the city!" Victor cried out in disbelief.

However, Morgan merely glanced at him coldly, and the chill in her eyes made Victor swallow all his words of advice.

Upon receiving clear instructions, the city defense soldiers no longer hesitated. Several men in the front row suddenly raised their guns and pulled their fingers to the triggers.

at this time.

Without any warning, the city defense soldiers who were about to fire suddenly froze!

Their eyes instantly lost focus, as if some kind of power within them had been instantly drained.

Immediately afterwards, under the horrified gazes of everyone, the life essence of the city defense soldiers uncontrollably drifted out of their bodies. Without this life essence, the city defense soldiers were like puppets with their strings cut; their bodies went limp, and the guns in their hands clattered to the ground.

He fell straight down, lifeless!
All of this happened too suddenly, too strangely.

In the blink of an eye, several elite city defense soldiers were inexplicably taken from their lives in full view of everyone, without even being able to utter a scream!

“Life…life essence?!” Dr. Carrie was the closest and had the clearest view.

"Direct stripping...how is that possible?!"

Victor and the remaining city defense soldiers were all terrified, holding their guns, unable to move forward or backward, their faces filled with fear.

They had never seen such a bizarre and terrifying way of killing.

"Could this Boss Yang be a Devouring Beast?" one of the hunters couldn't help but ask.

"Don't talk nonsense."

They had witnessed the Devouring Beasts absorbing life essence on the ground, although the life essence in the arena still looked humanoid and their bodies had not turned into flesh and soil.

On the high platform, Lord Morgan stared at the fallen soldier, his pupils constricting.

This instantly reminded him of the nightmarish white-haired woman from decades ago.

Back then, she also overwhelmed the lighthouse's defenses with absolute power, taking away the crucial Ash and Lord Gray.

That fear and sense of powerlessness are still deeply imprinted on Morgan's soul.

But what this man named Yang Chen showed was even more terrifying than that white-haired woman!
What did this man do? He didn't even move! There wasn't a single visible movement!

Several fully armed city defense soldiers were instantly stripped of their life essence and fell silently to the ground.

This completely incomprehensible attack method utterly overturned Morgan's understanding of "power".

There was deathly silence in the hall.

Just then, Yang Chen finally spoke again.

“Originally.” Yang Chen’s gaze swept over the terrified faces, finally settling on Morgan’s pale face.

"I was thinking that we are all the last spark of humanity in this world, so we can sit down and have a good talk to avoid unnecessary sacrifices and internal strife."

"But now it seems I was overthinking it."

His gaze suddenly turned cold: "For those who stubbornly live in their self-woven cages, preferring to drag everyone down with them rather than look up at the real sky... words are indeed pale."

Yang Chen asked calmly, "Anyone else want to give it a try?"

No one answered.

The remaining city defense soldiers stood frozen in place, their guns feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds, unable to lift them even an inch.

They stared in horror at their companion's corpse on the ground, then at the terrifyingly calm, dark-haired youth, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

To go forward? That would be tantamount to suicide! That silent, deadly way of taking a life is more despairing than any gun or cannon.

However, in this terrifying silence, one person went against the tide.

Dr. Carrie seemed oblivious to the danger, her eyes filled only with a fervent thirst for knowledge about the unknown.

She walked step by step toward the blue life essence that had just begun to emanate.

She approached cautiously, reaching out her hand as if wanting to touch, yet hesitant.

He was almost obsessively observing the form and subtle fluctuations of the life essence.

"Incredible... It has been separated from its physical body and still maintains such a stable form..." she murmured to herself, completely immersed in the experience.

Yang Chen ignored Carrie's actions, his gaze remaining fixed on the ruler on the high platform.

“Lord Morgan,” Yang Chen’s voice remained calm, “Since you cannot make the right choice, then I will choose for you.”

The moment the words fell.

Lord Morgan's body stiffened abruptly!
Under the horrified gazes of everyone below, a life essence was drawn out slowly from the body of Lord Morgan.

"Lord...Lord of the City!" Victor exclaimed in shock, trying to rush forward, but found that his legs were like lead and he could not move at all.

He could only watch helplessly as the essence representing Morgan's life slowly detached from his body.

Morgan opened his mouth as if to say something, but the last glimmer of light in his eyes quickly faded, and his outstretched hand fell limply to his sides.

His tall body swayed, and then with a "thud," he fell from the high seat, crashing heavily onto the cold ground, where he remained motionless.

Morgan, the lord of the lighthouse who had ruled this aerial fortress for decades, was taken from his life in this incomprehensible way, right before everyone's eyes.

Time seemed to stand still in the hall.

Everyone seemed frozen in place, staring blankly at the fallen body on the high platform and the life essence slowly floating in the air.

Dr. Carrie also stopped observing, looking at the platform in shock, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Victor's face was ashen, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. He looked at Morgan's "corpse," then at Yang Chen, and finally lowered his head helplessly.

The seven hunters were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, not daring to even breathe.

Yang Chen raised his hand, and the mass of life essence belonging to Morgan seemed to be summoned, flying lightly towards him and finally hovering in front of him, flowing quietly.

He glanced at the life essence in front of him, then swept his gaze over the Lighthouse leaders below, who had completely lost their leader and were gripped by panic.

Yang Chen said calmly, "Now, the lighthouse needs a new direction."

His gaze swept over everyone in the hall as he spoke clearly.

"Dragonbone Village is willing to accept anyone who wants to live on the surface. We will provide shelter and teach you how to survive on the surface and how to avoid Devouring Beasts. Of course, you need to abide by our rules and contribute to your new home."

"Whether you choose to embrace reality and be reborn, or remain in this increasingly resource-scarce 'prison' maintained by cold, hard rules, you should know which choice to make."

He didn't say anything more, but his meaning was crystal clear.

The department heads exchanged glances, their eyes revealing a long-suppressed excitement that had finally found an outlet.

There was food, green plants, livestock, and methods to fight the Devouring Beasts on the ground... This information swirled in their minds like a spell.

Finally, an elderly supervisor in charge of the aerial farm took a shaky step forward. He glanced at Morgan's lifeless body on the platform, then at the blue halo representing the former city lord's life that hovered in front of Yang Chen, and finally bowed his head deeply.

“I…I am willing to lead all those on the farm who are willing to leave to the surface.”

Once there's a first, there's a second, and a third.

"The Materials Management Department...is willing to follow instructions."

……

More and more high-level officials have expressed their stance.

They may not have fully trusted Yang Chen, but Morgan's death, his incredible power, and the "paradise on earth" described by the hunters shook their belief in upholding the lighthouse.

Victor looked at the scene before him, his face contorted with struggle.

He served Morgan faithfully for decades, and guarding the lighthouse was his duty.

But now, the city lord is dead, and the foundation of the lighthouse has been shaken.

He looked at the city defense soldiers who had laid down their weapons and were looking blankly at him, and then at his colleagues below the platform who had chosen to leave.

Finally, he sighed heavily and slowly placed the weapon in his hand on the ground.

This action seemed to be a signal, and the remaining city defense soldiers also put down their weapons, with the sound of guns being placed on the ground echoing one after another.

Armed confrontation is pointless.

Yang Chen looked at the crowd who had chosen to submit, but his face showed no joy. He simply nodded calmly.

His gaze swept over the faces that still held fear and unease, and he spoke again, his tone softening somewhat.

“Don’t think that sending you to the surface is to harm you or to annex you.” He pointed to the hunters. “They have seen life there with their own eyes. It’s far better than you imagine, and it’s definitely no worse than being trapped here.”

"They have enough food, clean water, safe shelter, and the right to emotions and choose their own way of life."

His words were like a reassuring pill, easing the doubts in many people's hearts.

After all, there are living witnesses here.

At this moment, Yang Chen looked at the crowd and asked, "Now, who else can speak with authority and effectively communicate with all the people on the lighthouse?"

The crowd exchanged glances, their gazes finally settling on Victor, who had laid down his weapon, and Dr. Carrie, who had regained her senses.

Victor took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The city defense forces can maintain order and notify the entire beacon via internal broadcast."

Dr. Carrie added, "The research department... can also provide assistance."

Her gaze still couldn't help but drift towards the mass of life essence in front of Yang Chen, but she still remembered the current situation.

“Very good.” Yang Chen nodded. “Then notify all the people now.”

“Tell them that the lighthouse will be heading to its new home—Dragonbone Village.”

(End of this chapter)