114: consciousness pollution

Crash!

The white round table tumbled through the air, bottles shattered, and crimson liquid splashed all over Arthur.

Just as the table flew up.

Chen Mo moved.

The ordinary dagger in his hand traced a black Death Line under the aurora, heading straight for Arthur's throat.

To catch the bandits, first catch their ringleader.

As long as he killed the controller, this damned virtual world would naturally collapse.

Clang!

A crisp sound of metal collision.

Chen Mo's dagger stopped three inches from Arthur's throat.

Two fingers.

Just two fingers clamped down on the dagger, which was sharp enough to cut rebar.

The Black-eyed Chen Mo had somehow blocked Arthur.

Its face was devoid of expression; not even its muscles were tense.

It was as if... it were doing something insignificant.

"Too slow."

Black-eyed Chen Mo opened its mouth, its voice hoarse and carrying a strange metallic texture.

It was Chen Mo's voice, yet not his tone.

Snap.

The tactical dagger made of fine steel was forcibly snapped by those two fingers.

Half the blade spun and grazed Chen Mo's cheek, leaving a streak of blood.

Bang!

Before Chen Mo could retreat, a fist slammed into his abdomen.

Excruciating pain.

It was the intense pain of displaced internal organs.

Chen Mo arched his body like a cooked prawn, flying backward and crashing heavily against the invisible barrier at the edge of the terrace.

"Cough... cough cough..."

He knelt on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.

The physical feedback from reality was too real.

He could even feel that his body lying in the connection pod must have several broken ribs.

"You see."

Arthur elegantly brushed the wine stain off his suit, standing behind the black-eyed monster and looking down at Chen Mo.

"This is the difference."

"The same data foundation, the same physical quality."

"Because he has no fear, no hesitation, his reaction speed is 0.3 seconds faster than yours."

"And in a life-and-death struggle, 0.3 seconds is the distance between a god and a man."

Chen Mo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shakily stood up.

He looked at the expressionless impostor.

Indeed.

That guy was like a machine running cheats.

Every muscle contraction was perfectly executed, without any superfluous movement or wasted energy.

"A god?"

Chen Mo smiled, revealing teeth stained red with blood.

"I think it's just crazy."

Buzz—

He charged forward again.

This time, he didn't use the dagger.

Black mist condensed in his hand, transforming into the massive, pitch-black Scythe.

[Sin Resonance: Full Release]

The surrounding air began to twist; the originally splendid aurora was eroded by the black mist, becoming dull and lifeless.

"Roar!!"

Black-eyed Chen Mo also let out a roar.

It did not summon a weapon.

It met the scythe directly with its bare hands.

Its hands were covered in a layer of white light.

That was the "Order" code Arthur had given it.

Boom!!

Black and white violently collided in the center of the terrace.

The floor cracked, and fragments were swept up by the violent airflow, instantly turning into dust.

Chen Mo felt like he had struck a mountain.

The immense counter-shock tore open the web of his hand, and blood flowed down the scythe handle.

That monster was too tough.

And... it was learning.

With that last strike, Chen Mo had used an extremely tricky angle, attempting to sever its hand tendons.

But the next second.

The monster used the exact same posture to backhand grip Chen Mo's wrist.

Crack!

The sound of a wrist bone shattering.

"Ugh!"

Chen Mo gritted his teeth, not crying out, and swept his right leg like a whip toward the monster's temple.

Slap.

The monster merely tilted its head slightly, causing the kick to miss, followed immediately by a knee strike to Chen Mo's spine.

Chen Mo was blasted away again.

This time, he lay prone on the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.

His spine felt broken, and he had lost sensation in his lower body.

"It's over."

Arthur glanced at the non-existent watch on his wrist, his tone slightly bored.

"The synchronization rate has reached 99%."

"Chen, your body now belongs to him."

"Your consciousness will become a piece of overwritten junk data, trapped forever in this Tower."

Black-eyed Chen Mo walked up to Chen Mo.

It raised its foot, placed it on Chen Mo's head, and ground down hard.

That condescending posture, that icy sensation.

"My..."

It looked down at Chen Mo beneath its foot, the black light in its eyes flickering.

"Junk... cleared."

It raised its fist, preparing to deliver the final blow to Chen Mo.

Just then.

"Hey."

Chen Mo, trapped underfoot, suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

The laughter was low and hoarse.

Yet, it carried a disturbing wickedness that made one uneasy.

"Do you really think..."

"You are perfect?"

Chen Mo's fingers laboriously dug into the gaps in the floor.

"Arthur, that idiot, is a tech guy; he doesn't understand the human heart."

"Since you have gained self-awareness..."

"Then there must be something hidden inside you."

Black-eyed Chen Mo's movement paused.

It sensed something unusual.

A stream of heat flowed backward from Chen Mo's pinned head, invading its body.

It wasn't a data attack.

Nor was it a virus.

It was... desire.

It was the greed of the thousands of death row inmates that Chen Mo hadn't fully released on the third floor.

It was the resentment of the judged ones absorbed by Chen Mo on the fourth floor.

It was all the sin Chen Mo had carried throughout his journey.

If it were a pure data entity, perhaps it could block these things.

But this monster... it had just developed the concept of "I."

It had the desire "to have a body."

Where there is desire, there is a weakness.

"Didn't you want it?"

Chen Mo suddenly lifted his head, insane flames burning in his eyes.

"I'll give it to you!"

"Choke on it, you son of a bitch!!"

Boom!!!

A thick, almost tangible black sludge erupted from Chen Mo's body, pouring frantically into the monster through the point of contact.

This was no longer simple [Sin Resonance].

This was [Consciousness Contamination].

"Ah... ah ah..."

Black-eyed Chen Mo suddenly released its foot and started screaming, clutching its head.

Its body began to tremble violently.

Its formerly solid muscles bulged into disgusting lumps, as if rats were scurrying beneath the skin.

Colors began to appear in its pure black eyes.

Red, green, gray... those were countless chaotic souls fighting within its sea of consciousness.

"Get... get out..."

"My... body..."

"I am a god... I want money... I want women... I want to kill..."

The monster started spouting all kinds of incoherent nonsense.

Its logic had collapsed.

The formerly perfect 0.3-second reaction speed had now turned into complete chaos.

One moment it wanted to attack Chen Mo, the next it slapped itself.

"What is this?!"

Arthur, who had been watching the show, finally changed his expression.

He frantically clicked something in the void, trying to repair the data.

"Stop! Stop the data exchange immediately!"

"Damn it! Why did the firewall fail?!"

"Because you gave it 'humanity.'"

Chen Mo climbed up from the ground.

His spine was repairing at a visible speed—that was the invasion of real-world rules caused by the system's logical confusion.

He stretched his neck and picked up the broken half of the dagger.

He walked toward the maddened monster.

"Did you think humanity was a good thing?"

"It's poison."

"It is the dirtiest, most chaotic, and most uncontrollable virus in the world."

Pfft!

Chen Mo stabbed the monster in the kidney.

The monster shrieked and swung a punch in return, but it missed.

Its movements had become sluggish, clumsy, and full of openings.

Just like a drunkard.

"It seems your perfect creation..."

Chen Mo pulled out the dagger, drawing a spray of black data-blood.

He delivered another kick, slamming hard into the back of the monster's knee.

Crack.

The monster knelt down.

Right in front of Chen Mo.

Chen Mo grabbed the monster's hair, forcing it to look up.

That face, identical to his own, was now filled with terror, confusion, and greed.

Utterly hideous.

"Is nothing special."

Chen Mo said coldly, raising the broken blade in his hand.

Aiming it at the monster's throat.

"Stop!!"

Arthur shrieked, no longer able to maintain his elegance, and rushed over frantically.

"You cannot kill it! It is the only bridge connecting to reality!"

"Kill him, and you won't be able to go back either!!"

Chen Mo's movement stopped.

The tip of the blade pressed against the monster's skin, piercing the surface slightly.

He turned his head and looked at Arthur rushing toward him.

A manic smile curled the corner of his mouth.

"Can't go back?"

"Who told you..."

"I wanted to go back?"

Pfft!

The blade flashed.

It didn't stab the monster's throat.

Chen Mo delivered a backhand strike.

Cruelly... plunging it into his own heart!

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