I will burn books and slay gods.

The gray reality membrane was unusually thin here, and pinkish energy remnants belonging to the "fog of folly" clung to every surface like stains.

Deeper still, there is a certain pulse—slow and heavy, like the heartbeat of a sleeping beast.

"Energy reading abnormal."

Conceptual Anatomist 09 (Chen Ye knew his name was Lu Yuan) stared at the data stream on the tablet. "There is a large-scale conceptual reaction thirty meters underground. It matches the characteristics of an 'artificial breeding ground'."

The instructor parked the car in an abandoned warehouse half a kilometer away.

The five-person team got off the vehicle, changed into all-black special combat uniforms, and underwent equipment checks.

"Infiltration route."

The instructor projected a 3D map onto the ground using blue dots. "The main entrance has been sealed off, but there's a gap in the drainage system. Enter from here, pass through the old sewage treatment pond, and you can reach the underground level of the main plant. According to thermal imaging, that's the core area of ​​the energy reaction."

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Remember, this is a reconnaissance mission. Avoid combat unless absolutely necessary. If we are exposed, my spatial beacon can take us to safety instantly, but it requires three seconds of preparation time. So if I say 'retreat,' don't ask why, just move towards me immediately. Understand?"

"clear."

Chen Ye did a final check on the equipment.

A breathing mask, goggles, the bookmark Lao Li gave me is in my breast pocket, and the notebook is in the other pocket.

The monitor showed that the Soul Fire was stable, but the Karmic Mist was more active than usual, as if it had sensed something.

They began to move.

The entrance to the drainage pipe was covered by weeds and was only about one meter in diameter.

The instructor with the measuring tape was the first to enter. She ran her hand along the inside of the pipe, and a blue network spread out, reinforcing the potentially collapsing structure.

Lin Su, the second, lit a flame at her fingertips to provide illumination.

Chen Ye ranked third, Wang Xiaoming fourth, and Lu Yuan last.

The pipes were filled with a putrid odor and a pinkish mist.

The fogging concentration in the goggles was within the safe threshold, but Chen Ye could still feel that familiar sluggishness in his thinking.

He silently recited Euclid's fifth postulate, using the simplest geometric truth to build a barrier in his mind.

After advancing two hundred meters, the pipe began to slope downwards.

The sound of flowing water came—not normal flowing water, but a viscous sound, like liquid candy.

"arrive."

The instructor's voice came through the communication channel.

Light appeared ahead.

The five people carefully peered out from the end of the pipe and saw the entire sewage treatment pond.

This is a huge underground space that was originally a concrete pool, but has now been transformed.

The pool wasn't filled with sewage, but rather with a surging, translucent pink gel.

The vesicles, each the size of an adult, contain dozens of egg cells immersed in a gelatinous substance. Within the translucent membrane, the vague outlines of the organisms can be seen wriggling.

The arrangement of the vesicles is not random, but forms a huge, slowly rotating array of runes.

The lines of the runes were outlined by a glowing purple liquid, creating an eerie contrast with the pink gelatinous substance.

"Hatchery..."

Lu Yuan's voice was filled with suppressed shock, "They are mass-producing Mist Spirit Embryos."

He held up a tablet to scan, and data scrolled wildly: "The conceptual structure of each embryo is identical; this is standardized production. Naturally occurring Nightmares couldn't be like this... They've found a way to replicate the conceptual template."

Chen Ye looked at those vesicles.

Some are nearing maturity, and the facial features of the internal mist spirits can be clearly seen forming—the smooth face begins to show simulated feature indentations, but their positions are disordered, with the eyes on the forehead and the mouth on the cheek.

"These are not the complete Nightshade."

Lin Su said in a low voice, "It's... a component."

She's right.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Ye discovered that some vesicles contained only arms, while others contained only torsos.

In the very center of the pool, inside several exceptionally large sacs, something even more complex is being assembled—a mist spirit with three pairs of arms and twice the size of a human, and a monster with a spider-like body but a human baby's face.

"They are experimenting with combinations."

The instructor, whose face was grim, said, "Forcibly stitching together the conceptual characteristics of different Nightmares. This violates the most basic..."

She didn't finish speaking, but Chen Ye understood.

Nightmares are the embodiment of fear, and each one has its own internal logic.

Forcibly stitching together different concepts will only produce an uncontrollable distortion.

"Collect samples, then destroy this place."

The instructor made the decision: "This experiment cannot continue."

Lu Yuan took out several collection tubes from the equipment box. The tube walls were made of special glass and contained stabilizing runes.

He carefully extended the tube toward the nearest small vesicle, preparing to extract a small sample of the gel.

The moment the tube tip came into contact with the gel.

The pink gelatinous substance in the entire pool suddenly boiled.

All the vesicles pulsated simultaneously, and the purple rune array shone brightly.

In the center of the pool, the stitched-together body with three pairs of arms suddenly opened its "eyes"—but they weren't eyes at all; they were six rotating, pink whirlpools.

The alarm didn't sound, but a higher-frequency, piercing scream that directly affected the mind erupted in the space.

Chen Ye felt the cognitive barrier of the goggles fluctuating violently, and the geometric truths that had just been established in his mind began to distort—parallel lines began to intersect, and the interior angles of triangles were no longer 180 degrees.

"The defense mechanism has been triggered!"

The drill instructor shouted, "Retreat!"

But it was too late.

Six figures emerged from the shadows surrounding the sewage treatment pond.

They were all dressed in dark gray robes with hoods covering their faces, and the robes were embroidered with that familiar swirling symbol.

The leader lifted his hood, revealing the face of a middle-aged man—his face was ordinary, but his eyes were completely black, with no whites.

"The Night Watchman".

The man's voice was eerily calm. "We've been waiting for you for a long time."

The instructor immediately activated the space beacon, and blue light dots unfolded beneath her feet.

But the man in black robes merely raised his hand.

Chen Ye felt the space "freeze".

It's not a physical solidification, but a conceptual solidification—the possibility of spatial movement is forcibly locked in.

The spatial abilities of the ruler instructor were like those of a bird trapped in a cage; the blue grid shattered and dissipated as soon as it was unfolded.

"Concept lock".

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, "He can temporarily modify some rules... he's at least an A-level ability user."

"Correct," the man in the black robe smiled.

"I am Xu Yan, the seventh pillar of the Guixu Cult and the 'Concept Builder.' I am delighted that you have come to visit our incubation facility. It just so happens that a new batch of products needs testing."

He snapped his fingers.

The sutures in the pool burst out of the sac.

The three-armed Mist Spirit was the first to climb out of the gelatinous pool. Each of its six arms held a different weapon formed from condensed mist—a knife, a sword, a hammer, a whip, a bow, and a shield.