They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 206 Shocks at the Top

Deathly silence, a silence as still as death.

The hundreds of fanatical believers in the cave still had expressions frozen in the frenzy and piety of the previous second.

They watched helplessly as their leader, whom they revered as a god and saw as their hope for immortality, was easily snapped in the face of that suddenly appearing red demon, like a fragile chick with its neck broken.

The stench of fresh blood mixed with the burnt smell of butter candles pierced everyone's nostrils, finally waking their dazed nerves.

"The...the leader is dead!?"

"Kill him! Avenge the gang leader!!"

"Release your Gu! Let him taste the agony of ten thousand Gu devouring his heart!"

After a brief moment of shock came a volcanic eruption of rage and fear.

All the followers of the Medicine Immortal Society roared.

Countless dark figures poured out from their cuffs, collars, and even open mouths, overwhelming everything.

Colorful venomous snakes, millstone-sized black scorpions, bizarre spiders with human faces, and countless other indescribable black mists formed by countless tiny insects, creating a surging wave of "living things" that rushed towards the only crimson figure in the center of the cave from all directions.

"Hehehe... No matter how tough your skin is, you can't stop my 'Corpse-Dissolving Gu' that can penetrate bones and corrode marrow!"

"My 'Mind-Bending Miasma' can corrupt people's souls, let's see how you defend yourself!"

Various vicious curses and sinister laughter rose and fell.

However, Leng Feng, who was standing in the middle of the horde of Gu worms, did not even move.

A barely perceptible layer of energy glow flowed across the surface of the Xingtian Armor. The poisonous insects that swooped down were instantly turned into charred remains upon contact with the armor, like moths thrown into a branding iron.

The invisible miasma and poisonous fog were completely blocked by an invisible force field, preventing even the slightest bit of them from penetrating.

"How can it be?!"

"My Gu...my precious...they're all dead!"

The cultists' sinister smiles froze on their faces, replaced by utter horror.

Inside the armor, Leng Feng's expression remained completely calm.

The next instant, the crimson figure moved.

There are no superfluous movements, only extreme speed and power.

【Teleportation】!
The figure of Xingtian Armor left afterimages in the cave, each flash accompanied by a shrill scream and the sound of bones shattering.

He was so fast that the believers' dynamic vision couldn't capture it at all.

They could only see a red light flashing through the crowd, while their companions fell one by one, their blood staining the ground.

Strength, speed, defense, attack power... Clad in armor, Leng Feng possessed an overwhelming advantage over this rabble of the Medicine Immortals in every dimension.

This is not a battle, but a one-sided cleanup.

In just two and a half minutes, when the last believer collapsed, clutching his throat in despair, there was no one left standing in the entire cave except for the little girl sitting motionless on the high platform.

The intense smell of blood was almost tangible, and the ground was littered with severed limbs and broken bones.

Leng Feng slowly stopped and stood in the center of the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood.

The armor's life support system automatically filtered out the pungent smells from the outside world, and he temporarily switched the communication channel in his ear to silence.

It was as if he himself had become the only person left in the world.

He raised his hand, which was encased in crimson metal, and there wasn't a trace of blood on it.

He frowned as he looked at the little girl sitting there like a doll, finding it hard to imagine what the people from the Medicine Immortal Society had done to her.

But he suppressed his anger, took a deep breath, and dialed the communication channel.

"Mission... accomplished!"

……

Inside the temporary command center, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone stared intently at the live feed transmitted back from the main screen.

"I go!"

Liao Zhong's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally couldn't hold back and swore.

He felt that his worldview had been completely shattered and reshaped in just a few minutes.

This is really outrageous!

The combat power displayed by the red fiend on the screen, that ghostly speed and terrifying power to kill with a single blow, even the top external martial arts masters he knew might not be able to do so cleanly and efficiently!

The problem is that the one who displayed such superhuman combat power was just an ordinary person whom he had recently confirmed had no "Qi" in his body!

This kid surnamed Zhuge...could he really be the reincarnation of Kongming?!
Thinking of this, Liao Zhong subconsciously turned his head and looked at Zhuge Qing, who was still calm beside him, with the eyes of someone looking at a monster, his heart filled with emotion.

It seems he was ultimately too naive; he never imagined that such a "magical artifact" capable of defying common sense actually existed in this world...

"Is...that's it?"

A military representative muttered to himself, his voice trembling with disbelief.

He looked at the others and read the same message in their eyes.

It's going to change.

"Alright, it's time to wrap this up."

Zhuge Qing looked at the frozen image on the screen, a slight smile appearing on his lips. He picked up the communicator and calmly issued the command:

"The epidemic prevention team can enter the site now. Receive the target and clean up the area."

Upon receiving the order, dozens of professionals dressed in white, fully enclosed protective suits, who had been waiting outside the headquarters of the Medicine Immortal Society, immediately entered the bloody cave in an orderly manner, carrying various equipment.

At the same time, an encrypted data packet named "Xingtian - Practical Test 001" was also sent out from Zhuge Qing's terminal via a dedicated line. Between superhumans and ordinary people, there exists an insurmountable chasm.

But now, everything seems to have changed.

The appearance of the Xingtian Armor was like a key, opening the door for ordinary people to cross this chasm for the first time in a truly meaningful way.

……

The next day, in the capital.

A Hongqi sedan with a special license plate quietly pulled up in front of an inconspicuous office building.

Zhuge Qing got out of the car and, led by a secretary, entered a spacious but simple office.

The office owner was a middle-aged man with a gentle face but sharp, eagle-like eyes.
"Comrade Zhuge Qing, welcome."

The leader stood up, extended his hand, and warmly shook hands with Zhuge Qing.

"We've seen your report and the test video of the Xingtian Armor, and they're truly impressive! You're a very promising young man!"

"You flatter me, sir."

Zhuge Qing smiled neither humbly nor arrogantly.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the leader invited Zhuge Qing to sit down and personally poured him a cup of tea.

Then he got to the point, his eyes filled with a strong sense of inquiry and doubt.

“I’ve reviewed your resume, young comrade. Your past life can be said to be entirely built upon the system of modern science: top universities, cutting-edge mathematics and physics… So why did you suddenly plunge headlong into the seemingly contradictory field of ‘metaphysics’?”

"Leadership, in my view, is not contradictory."

Zhuge Qing held the warm teacup and answered calmly.
"So-called metaphysics is actually a part of science."

"Oh?"

The leader raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by the assertion. He leaned forward slightly, signaling Zhuge Qing to continue.

"The two core pillars of science are objectivity and repeatability."

In other words, if a phenomenon objectively exists and can be reproduced under the same conditions, then it has a basis for scientific research.

"And the 'techniques' of the extraordinary people precisely satisfy this characteristic."

For example, the Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Magic of Longhu Mountain, and the Tai Chi of Wudang, as long as one cultivates according to the methods passed down in their respective schools and reaches a certain level, one can reliably use the same techniques.

This proves that it is not some idealistic illusion, but an objectively existing phenomenon.

Since it's a phenomenon, what we scientists should do is explore the underlying principles, rather than dismissing it as superstition simply because we can't understand it for the time being.

These words made the leader's eyes show even more approval.

He nodded, pondered for a moment, and then posed the next, and most crucial, question.

"So what is your view on the group of 'Outcasts'?"

"The reason why people are called 'extraordinary' is simply because we are currently a tiny minority compared to the billions of ordinary people."

Zhuge Qing shook his head and said with a deep gaze,
"But in the future, that may not be the case..."

"You mean, there will be a large-scale appearance of supernatural beings?"

The leader reacted extremely quickly, instantly grasping the key point.

"Is it because of... Behemoth?"

Currently, the organization that conducts the most systematic and industrialized research on superhumans in the world is Behemoth.

"Yes."

Zhuge Qing nodded, deciding to reveal the most crucial piece of information.
"They are very close to success. This involves the nature of 'Primordial Qi'..."

"Simply put, Behemoth is changing the collective subconscious of the masses worldwide through their superheroes."

Once this shift in perception reaches a certain critical point, all they need to do is stage a sufficiently realistic invasion by a 'supervillain,' and then have their 'superheroes' step up to save the world.

At that time, billions of people around the world will genuinely believe that superheroes are real.

"This massive, unified collective will is powerful enough to influence, and even distort, the very foundation of the real world in certain regions; this is what we call 'the Way of Heaven'."

The ultimate result could very well be that that region will see a large-scale emergence of 'superheroes' and 'supervillains' with various superpowers..."

"It can be said that Behemoth is close to success."

"It's really...unbelievable."

You mean... that human will can actually influence the world itself?

After hearing these words, even the leaders who had seen many ups and downs showed an expression of disbelief on their faces.

He knew that Behemoth's companies had started promoting superhero movies in recent years, but he thought it was just to raise funds. He didn't expect there to be such a thing.

Isn’t this too ridiculous?

"The 'observer effect' in quantum mechanics has indirectly proven this point."

Zhuge Qing smiled and used a word the other party could understand as an analogy.

"The state of microscopic particles can change because of the act of 'being observed'. What if the number of observers increases to billions?"

There was a long silence in the office.

After a long while, the leader finally let out a long breath, his eyes becoming more solemn than ever before.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zhuge Qing got up to take his leave.

Shortly after he left, the full transcript of the conversation was compiled into a top-secret, encrypted report and quietly appeared on the desks of the top officials in all the relevant departments.

A series of higher-level secret meetings thus began.

(End of this chapter)