Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 178 Too Much of a Coincidence, A Chill Runs Down My Spine

"Squeak..."

The three rainforest fairies, who had been starving for almost half a month, lay listlessly in the metal cage with its own partition function.

Since being captured by the wizard legion, they have never received any food or water and have been starving.

If it weren't for the fact that extraordinary beings have incredibly strong vitality, they would have starved or died of thirst long ago.

How could they possibly survive?

However weak they were, the three rainforest sprites bared their teeth and squeaked when they saw Link, whether out of intimidation or fear, it was hard to tell.

Link observed this and couldn't help but feel suspicious.

According to the information, the fairy world is a transcendent world with a maximum level of five.

Fairies are a typical intelligent race with their own language, writing system, culture, and civilization.

No matter how hungry or how badly they are treated, they shouldn't behave so pathetically, like wild animals.

Could it be that these three rainforest fairies have also been infected with the disease and are developing in a mutated direction?

With this in mind, Link immediately raised the monitoring and alert levels.

If any abnormality is detected, the disinfection procedure should be initiated immediately.

I originally wanted to dissect a normal rainforest fairy for comparison, to explore how the mutation preserves and enhances the rainforest fairy's innate abilities.

Now we have to adjust our plans, adding some exploration of the disease and mutations themselves, in addition to investigating the reinforcement mechanism.

After careful consideration, Link made a decision.

He first separated and imprisoned the two rainforest fairies.

One was given a normal diet, while the other remained hungry; the changes in both were fully documented.

The third rainforest fairy was taken to the dissection room for research.

Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.

Link told himself this, then activated his "Brain Occupation Technique" at full power, entering a state of extreme rationality.

In an instant, the rainforest sprite, fixed to the dissection table and writhing and struggling, was no longer seen as an intelligent life form by Link, but merely as experimental material.

Extreme rationality is cold-heartedness.

A round ball was stuffed into the rainforest fairy's mouth, preventing it from making much noise.

Holding the scalpel, Link ignored the complex emotions of fear and pleading in the rainforest fairy's eyes and steadily made his cut.

The bloody, cruel, and inhumane dissections began with a soaring tone, then gradually subsided, until they ceased amidst the whimpering sounds, which continued to advance and relentlessly advance.

Several cameras suspended around the dissection table recorded the entire dissection process without missing a single detail.

Including the wailing and struggle of rainforest fairies.

Even though he was wearing gloves and his hands were actually very clean, it still gave the impression that Link's hands were covered in blood.

"As expected, it's already distorted."

When Link dissected the rainforest fairy's liver-like organ, he discovered the first sign of mutation.

It's very slight; you'd miss it if you didn't look closely.

Link has sharp eyes, incredibly focused attention, and an exceptional memory, which is why he noticed it immediately.

For the average person, they would probably need to use equipment to magnify the image and compare it carefully to avoid missing anything.

There is a certain connection between the liver and the eyes.

Link paused his dissection of other organs, switched to a different scalpel, and began studying the rainforest fairy's eyes.

They wanted to see if they could tell from a fairy's appearance whether she was infected with a disease.

Instead of waiting for the disease to develop, for mutations to begin, or for a detailed autopsy to be performed before it can be identified.

After some in-depth investigation and comparison, Link discovered a detail.

The eyes of the mutants appear to be no different from those of the rainforest fairies in the initial stages of mutation.

However, his optic nerve showed significant changes, with the nerve fibers becoming more developed.

There has been a significant improvement in the speed and efficiency of visual signal transmission.

In the initial stage of distortion, the nerve fibers of the rainforest fairy's optic nerve also undergo changes.

However, the degree of change is so small that it can be ignored.

Link marked this point and then continued to observe both of their eyes.

The pupils of the mutants have three very obvious dots, spiraled in shape, similar to the Sharingan.

If you look closely, you can see three very small dots in the pupils of the rainforest fairy in the initial stage of the aberration.

Perhaps, one can discern from the pupils whether a rainforest fairy, or even fairies of all races, is infected with the disease.

What?

There are other methods that are more feasible and more accurate.

For example, biochemical testing.

Link certainly knew this and would explore this direction as well.

They're still dissecting it; we haven't reached that stage yet.

After completing the eye dissection, Link changed his scalpel, turned around, and continued dissecting the internal organs.

As the autopsy progressed, more and more traces of abnormality were discovered.

Moreover, these signs of mutation show a trend of gradually deepening.

It seems that death does not affect the development of the mutation.

No, it has an impact!

Death does not hinder the development of distortion; in fact, it may even subtly accelerate the process.

Upon discovering this, Link immediately increased the restraints and raised the security level of the dissection room.

A mutation that is highly unlikely to be dealt with, but which must be guarded against.

Inside the "seed," Flandre, who was building various laboratories according to Link's needs, was instructed to prepare to activate the "Karlan Armor" at any time.

This is one of the tiny improvements that comes with upgrading "Spellcasting Talent" to "Witchcraft Specialization".

Flandre can activate Link's innate magic, provided Link allows it!

As a "spirit", Flandre does not need to eat, drink, excrete, or sleep.

It can maintain a high state of alert year-round.

Therefore, no matter how soundly Link sleeps or how focused he is on his research, he doesn't need to worry too much about being ambushed and unable to react in time.

Flandre will activate his "Armor Armor" and quickly awaken Link through the special connection between the two.

With no worries about the future, Link continued to advance the dissection process.

The hope is to complete the autopsy and obtain important evidence before the rainforest fairy mutation ends.

Flandre simply stopped what she was doing and, after receiving permission, began to observe the dissection through Link's perspective.

The slightly bloody scenes did not make Flandre feel horrified or disgusted.

On the contrary, they watched it with great interest.

The knowledge that the old man shared with her mentioned anatomy, research, and experimentation many times.

Recently, they have been building various laboratories and manufacturing various experimental facilities and equipment, which Flandre is quite interested in.

Is this what anatomy is?

Flandre rested her chin on her hands, lost in thought, then stared intently at the screen.

And so, a long time passed.

Suddenly, Flandre let out a cry of surprise.

She had just discovered an unusual mark that seemed familiar.

After careful consideration, she realized that it was information left behind by the broken world origin that had evolved into a "seed." She quickly called out, "Master, Master, I've found something."

As she spoke, Flandre shared with Link the remaining information about the shattered origin of the world.

After receiving this information, Link hovered his right hand, holding the scalpel, over the rainforest fairy's brainstem for a long time without moving.

Even with a mask and goggles on, his expression seemed extremely serious.

The brainstem of the mutated rainforest fairy showed abnormal changes that were highly similar to certain characteristics of the insect deity.

The insect deity lay on the broken world's origin, "drinking blood," and became deeply bound to the origin.

It understands the origin, and the origin understands everything about it.

This includes the abnormal characteristics that gradually developed in many parts of its body during its more than a thousand years of survival.

Link knew of the existence of the insect gods.

In the secret realm of cultivation, I felt the moment when my authority over the "seed" changed from the right to use to the right to own it.

Link received all the information from the "seed," including all the information about the original, broken world before its evolution.

However, Link was too busy with his studies to read it carefully, so he handed the information over to Flandre to sort out.

Therefore, Link did not notice this detail immediately.

After being reminded by Flandre, Link immediately took the discovery to heart.

"Could this be a coincidence?"

Link muttered to himself, a sense of doubt creeping into his heart.

It's such a coincidence, it's almost as if it was deliberately arranged.

Temporarily suppressing his doubts about something, Link focused his attention on why this situation had occurred.

If there is any similarity between the insect deities and the rainforest fairies in the Aberration, it is that their life forms, sources of life force, and uses of life force have all undergone significant and extremely crucial changes.

The insect deity extends its life by absorbing the world's source energy and converting it into life force after the natural lifespan of the insect it possesses has been exhausted.

Link speculates that the rainforest sprites in the mutation process draw upon life potential to accelerate the mutation.

The vitality that emerges after the distortion exhibits a morbid vigor.

What they have in common is that their life forms have undergone tremendous changes.

Link retrieves the brainstem autopsy results of the mutated corpses from his mind and compares them with the rainforest fairies and insect deities in the mutated world.

It was discovered that the brainstem of the mutant corpses showed abnormal changes, which were larger than those of the rainforest fairies in the mutants and more similar to the characteristics of the insect deities.

If there is one similarity, you may be able to find many similarities.

Link put down the scalpel and paused the dissection.

Instead, he took out the autopsy report of the mutant he had written and, together with Flandre, compared the various abnormal traces on the mutant corpse with those of the insect god.

Sure enough, more and more similarities were found.

Moreover, these similarities share a common characteristic: they are all located in the central nervous system!

After putting down the autopsy report, Link praised Flandre for her outstanding work once again, and then continued to dissect the brain of the mutated rainforest fairy.

Another hour or so passed.

The dissection is complete.

Link changed out of his protective suit, took a shower in the bathroom attached to the changing room, changed into dry underwear, and then put on the "Defender 3202" suit.

These everyday trivialities help alleviate the boredom of maintaining "brain closure" for a long time.

Upon arriving at the living/working area, Link begins writing an autopsy report on the rainforest fairies of the Aberration.

They were equally meticulous, leaving no detail overlooked in their anatomical discoveries.

However, Link didn't mention a single word about the similarities and contrasts between the rainforest fairies, the corpses of the mutants, and the insect gods in Aberration.

These discoveries can only remain secrets to be kept to myself for now.

Link wouldn't tell anyone unless it was a confidential report to the wizard Paro himself.

Including old man Murphy.

It's not that I don't trust old man Murphy.

If a secret is told to a second person, it is no longer a secret, but information.

Information will inevitably circulate.

More and more people will know.

Old man Murphy is probably like Cao Cao; Link had just thought of him when he arrived.

"Little one, you've been busy all this time. Don't wear yourself out."

Old man Murphy yelled at Link, who was writing the autopsy report.

He then directed the intelligent puppets to send the six corpses of goblin mutants from different races, along with six living goblin prisoners, into the cold storage and isolation cell.

After finishing all that, old man Murphy plopped down next to Link and asked curiously:

"Why are the security levels for the cold storage and isolation cells set so high? It's good to be cautious, but these monsters, whether dead or alive, are already incapable of resisting. Is it really necessary to be this cautious?"

Link stopped writing, looked up at old man Murphy, and said seriously, "The three rainforest fairies that were sent earlier have already begun to mutate. Moreover, death will accelerate the mutation! I'm worried about something going wrong."

"Well……"

Old Man Murphy's expression immediately turned serious. "Are you sure? Command has repeatedly tested them, and all the live animals sent to the rear camp are in a normal state without any mutations. Even the mutated corpses have undergone targeted treatment to prevent infection."

Link said, "I don't know about the others, but at least the three that were sent to us before have already started to mutate."

After considering the matter carefully, old man Murphy said, "This is no ordinary matter. We must provide solid evidence before reporting it to our superiors, otherwise..."

That sentence was not continued.

But Link already understood what old man Murphy meant.

The command center conducted tests and confirmed the problem before transporting the goods to several organizations in the rear camp.

The other departments were fine, but the pharmacy department pointed out that your work had gone wrong and almost caused the fairy plague to leak out, resulting in great losses.

Given the current reputation of the pharmacy department, failing to produce solid evidence will cause them a lot of trouble.

Even if you present solid evidence, you may still offend people.

Link doesn't intend to get involved in this matter.

He was only responsible for the research; when to report, how to report, and to whom to report were the duties of old man Murphy, the head of the pharmacy department.

With that in mind, Link manipulated the AI and temporarily created a detailed comparison report.

The various signs of mutation in the rainforest fairies during the aberration are listed and compared with the signs of mutation in the corpses of the aberrant beings.

There are texts, pictures, videos, and some test results for blood and tissue fluid.

The evidence is very detailed.

The comparison report from the AI was uploaded to the public AI for Mr. Murphy to read.

As a senior level two wizard, even if he claims to dislike research, old man Murphy's knowledge and academic background are by no means lacking.

Is a wizard who doesn't understand research still a wizard?

Old man Murphy carefully read the comparison report that Link had hastily prepared several times, and his expression became more and more solemn with each reading.

In particular, Link emphasized how the aberrations preserved and enhanced the innate abilities of rainforest fairies, and the life form changes he only briefly mentioned were suspected to be related to the enhancement mechanism.

These two points were information that old man Murphy had not known before.

Perhaps other people researching the fairy plague and mutations have also discovered these two points, but old man Murphy just hasn't seen their research reports.

"You can start researching this, and let me know if you need anything. It's okay if the pharmacy department's business doesn't restart for now; focus on this first."

Old man Murphy quickly made a decision to fully support Link's work.

Research and development of pharmaceuticals?