Chapter 115 Divine Serum
Liu Heping returned to the Jiangnan Combined War Zone.
“Second Uncle? You're back?” Liu Qing asked. “Are you not protecting Zhang Fan anymore?”
Liu Heping shook his head. “With Zhang Fan's current strength, he is stronger than even me. How could I protect him?”
He paused, and a rare, sharp glint flickered within his usually calm, well-like eyes.
“I'm going into secluded cultivation for a period of time.”
“Seclusion?” Liu Qing was slightly taken aback. From deep within her second uncle's seemingly calm gaze, she caught a glimpse of a deeply hidden... competitive drive, and even a sense of urgency.
Zhang Fan... had actually made her second uncle feel pressure and sparked such a strong desire to compete?
It seemed that the battle in the Southeast War Zone had unsettled even her second uncle.
And just then—
Beep! Beep! Beep—!!
The communicators of Liu Qing and Liu Heping emitted a shrill red alarm at almost the exact same time!
The expressions of both changed simultaneously!
Because for an alarm of this level, the color was 'Abyssal Black-Red,' and the frequency was unprecedented!
In the alarm system of the Jiangnan Combined War Zone, this represented—an Abyssal-class riot!
“An Abyssal-class... Ferocious Beast riot?” Liu Qing stood up abruptly, her face filled with disbelief.
“Aren't Abyssal-class Ferocious Beasts always dormant in the deepest parts of the underground world, slowly evolving through bestowing and devouring? How could they... suddenly riot?!”
...
Southeast War Zone, Command Center.
The same Abyssal Black-Red alarm resounded throughout the entire base at almost the same time!
Zhang Fan, Tan Qiao, and Tan Yi were also stunned.
“An Abyssal-class Ferocious Beast riot alarm?!”
Tan Qiao's face turned pale as he looked at the massive red warning area that popped up on the main control screen, covering half of the Jiangnan Combined War Zone.
“How is this possible... Since the establishment of the war zone, an alarm of this level has only existed in drills and theory!”
“Abyssal-classes... possess intelligence, can bestow power, and even establish their own factions! They have always remained dormant in the depths and would not easily appear on the surface!”
Tan Yi's face was also pale. Her first reaction was to snap her head toward Zhang Fan, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.
“It couldn't be... coming for Zhang Fan again, could it?”
She truly had a bit of 'PTSD.' The Apocalypse Society, the Crimson Group... wave after wave, they were all coming for Zhang Fan's Wanxiang Dharma Image.
Now even an Abyssal-class was coming? Could even a Ferocious Beast of this level have targeted Zhang Fan?
“Certainly not.”
Tan Qiao, however, directly dismissed the idea. “The Wanxiang Dharma Image is only attractive to those demi-beasts. But for a true Abyssal-class Ferocious Beast itself, such a secret technique is useless.”
“The energy readings this time are terrifyingly abnormal; it's a true Abyssal-class entity on the move. The target is definitely not limited to an individual. I'm afraid something we don't know about has happened.”
“Whatever the reason, this means that an unprecedentedly major event has occurred!”
“All of us will likely face immense danger.”
“This is the first time there has been conclusive evidence that an Abyssal-class Ferocious Beast is... about to, or has already, reached the surface!”
...
Jiangnan Combined War Zone, Command Center.
War Zone Commander Bai Zhou had a solemn expression.
Liu Qing and Liu Heping arrived in a hurry.
“Commander, what exactly is going on?” Liu Qing asked urgently. “Has the monitoring determined what happened?”
“It's that 'Thousand-Tentacled Earth Radiance' we've been monitoring for seventeen years, which has been lurking three hundred meters beneath Jiangnan City.”
“The Thousand-Tentacled Earth Radiance...” Liu Qing gasped.
That was the most dreaded Abyssal-class Ferocious Beast in the Jiangnan War Zone's archives. Shaped like a giant octopus, it possessed over fifty terrifying tentacles.
For the past decade or so, it had remained dormant, constantly accumulating power and bestowing strength upon humans and beasts that pledged allegiance to it, building an underground kingdom.
It had always been quiet; why would it suddenly riot and head for the surface?
“The reason is likely this thing...”
Bai Zhou took a deep breath and pulled up an encrypted file labeled 'Top Secret · Immortal'.
“This is classified.”
“In Jiangnan City, beneath our most prosperous core metropolis with a population of over ten million, there is a 'Secret Research Institute No. 0' under the 'Pangu' Project.”
“The subject of their research is—the divine serum.”
“divine serum?” Liu Qing and Liu Heping both looked puzzled.
“That's right.” Bai Zhou's tone was heavy. “About thirty years ago, humans accidentally discovered a piece of... flesh.”
“A piece of 'flesh' that, even after being cut off, separated from the body, and exposed to extreme environments for decades, still maintained its vitality, with a cellular structure that could not be destroyed by conventional means.”
“After analysis by top scientists, the source of that flesh is a theoretically existing Immortal-grade Creature.”
“Immortal Grade?!” Liu Qing's beautiful eyes widened.
Above the Abyssal-class, a higher level called Immortal?
“Immortal Grade beings possess near-indestructible characteristics. That piece of flesh is the proof.”
Bai Zhou continued, “The mission of Research Institute No. 0 is to use that immortal flesh as a foundation to attempt to extract, analyze, and ultimately synthesize the divine serum. The goal is to crack the secret of immortality and create super soldiers who can also obtain a certain degree of immortal characteristics!”
A visible shock finally appeared on Liu Heping's usually calm face.
Immortal and indestructible beings... Humans were actually secretly researching such things?
“But clearly,”
Bai Zhou's voice was bitter, “our research may have made some progress that even we haven't fully mastered, or perhaps it's some kind of aura emitted by the immortal flesh itself...”
“It has attracted the attention of the Abyssal-class...”
Just then—
“Report! Southeast War Zone Regional Director Tan Qiao requests a video communication!”
Bai Zhou nodded. “Patch him in!”
Soon, the images of Tan Qiao, Zhang Fan, and Tan Yi appeared on a light screen to the side of the Command Center.
“Commander Bai!” Tan Qiao said urgently. “We've monitored...”
“I know.”
Bai Zhou interrupted him, his tone rapid and grave. “Director Tan, Zhang Fan, Tan Yi, what I am about to say is the highest secret of the Jiangnan Combined War Zone, but given the emergency, you have the right to know.”
He quickly repeated the information regarding Research Institute No. 0, the immortal flesh, the divine serum, and the 'Thousand-Tentacled Earth Radiance' in a concise manner.
On the other side of the light screen, Tan Qiao, Tan Yi, and even Zhang Fan were dumbfounded.
Immortal Grade? divine serum? The Abyssal-class Ferocious Beast riot was for this?
The amount of information was overwhelming.
“Now, we must immediately gather all available combat forces and urgently reinforce Jiangnan City!”
“We must stop the Thousand-Tentacled Earth Radiance at all costs! Otherwise, once the divine serum or that piece of flesh falls into the hands of an Abyssal-class Ferocious Beast... the consequences will be unimaginable!”
...
Jiangnan City.
This super-prosperous metropolis with a population of over ten million, filled with skyscrapers and bright lights, faced its darkest moment since its construction.
In the most prosperous area of the city center, the ground collapsed without warning, forming a five-hundred-meter giant crater!
The violent tremors caused dozens of skyscrapers to snap in half, crashing down with a torrent of reinforced concrete and glass curtain walls!
Dust and smoke soared into the sky, blotting out the sun!