435: "Oh, I'm dead", great terror

“Meow?” Big Black Cat’s somewhat dazed eyes suddenly widened.

“Human, what did you feed me? I want more.”

Yang Dian rubbed Big Black Cat’s head twice, then pointed at the crystal and said, “First, do your work. After you’re done, I’ll give you more to eat.”

Big Black Cat looked in the direction General Yang was pointing, and his already round eyes became even rounder.

“Human, what kind of monster is this? How can there be a chicken with three heads?”

“It’s the Shangfu from the classic of mountains and seas,” Yang Dian explained to the ignorant Big Black Cat.

“The classic of mountains and seas records that in the southern mountains, there is a mountain named Jishan. Within it lives a bird, shaped like a chicken, with three heads, six eyes, six feet, and three wings. Its name is Shangfu, and if eaten, one will not feel sleepy.”

“That is to say, eating this bird will make people not want to sleep.”

Big Black Cat immediately showed a look of disgust.

“Human, then this thing doesn’t taste good.”

Yang Dian laughed and rubbed Big Black Cat’s head, then placed his paw on the crystal.

“Prepare for translation.”

With that, a harsh, piercing sound once again rang out in the Research Institute. Professor Shen Fei and Big Black Cat simultaneously covered their ears, both showing pained expressions.

Yang Dian stopped his actions upon seeing this, rubbed Big Black Cat’s head, and asked, “Are you alright?”

Hei Zi shook his head twice.

“Human, I’m fine.”

“It’s just that the stone’s voice is a bit harsh when it speaks.”

Yang Dian’s gaze fell on the crystal.

“So it can really speak? Is it alive?”

Big Black Cat looked at Yang Dian strangely.

“Human, how can a stone be alive? A stone is dead.”

Yang Dian was speechless.

“If it’s dead, how can it speak?”

“Human, it just can speak.”

After stubbornly retorting, Big Black Cat added, “It said, ‘Oh, I’m dead.’”

Yang Dian, Dr. Bai, Professor Shen Congnan, Professor Shen Fei, and the others: ???

“What? What did you say? What did it say?”

Big Black Cat thought Yang Dian hadn’t heard clearly and repeated, enunciating each word, “It said, ‘Oh, I’m dead.’”

Yang Dian couldn’t help but exchange glances with the others.

Then Professor Shen Congnan was the first to speak.

“Perhaps in the Mountain and Sea Civilization, the crystal is a coffin, and the surface of the crystal is a tombstone.”

“The act of rubbing the crystal with a sharp object might be equivalent to us pulling out our phones, scanning a QR code on a tombstone, and playing an audio clip obtained from the scan.”

Yang Dian was speechless.

“So some prankster, after dying, left no information but instead played a joke on us?”

Amidst his speechlessness, Yang Dian extended his Dragon claw and scratched another crystal coffin.

Big Black Cat then translated each one.

“Human, the stone on the sheep said, ‘Oh, I’m dead too.’”

“Human, the stone on the dog said, ‘Oh, I died the earliest.’”

“Human, the stone on the Dragon said, ‘Oh, I wasn’t the last to die after all…’”

By the time Yang Dian had scratched all 12 crystals and Big Black Cat had finished translating, everyone in the Research Institute was once again exchanging glances.

Before they could communicate anything with their eyes, Big Black Cat continued, “Human, the tone of these voices seems to be singing.”

“Oh, I’m dead~”

“Oh, I’m dead too~”

…Listening to the tune hummed by Big Black Cat, Yang Dian couldn’t help but feel a shiver of dread.

It was as if some great terror, engraved deep within his Soul, had awakened, constantly emitting signals of extreme danger and lethality towards him.

“Stop singing!”

Clapping a hand over Big Black Cat’s mouth, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and looking around at the others who were also caught in fear, Yang Dian exhaled sharply.

“If you keep singing, something might happen.”

Big Black Cat blinked his eyes.

“Human, why are you covering my mouth?”

“Human, what does ‘if you keep singing, something might happen’ mean?”

“Human, did I sing something?”

Looking down at Big Black Cat, who had his two eyes wide open, showing an expression of ‘Human, what are you saying, I don’t understand,’ Yang Dian’s heart suddenly pounded. He turned his head to look at the others.

Professor Shen Congnan was silent for a moment.

“I only felt an inexplicable sense of dread arise within me. As for why I was dreading, I don’t know either.”

Professor Shen Fei nodded in agreement.

“I also have this inexplicable dread, and I also don’t know where the fear comes from. I just feel very panicked.”

“Furthermore.” As he uttered the two words, he looked at Big Black Cat in Yang Dian’s arms. “Did he sing just now? I don’t remember.”

As Professor Shen Fei’s words fell, the others nodded.

“I also felt a sense of dread. Look at my arm, goosebumps are still appearing.”

“I didn’t hear Big Black Cat singing either. Did General Yang hear it?”

“We should have also heard Big Black Cat singing, and it was precisely because of the song Big Black Cat sang that we felt a sense of dread.”

“Are you saying that when our fear rose to a certain threshold, our bodies, in self-protection, triggered a memory lapse, causing us to selectively forget the memory that made us feel afraid?”

“Then why didn’t General Yang experience a memory lapse?”

“Perhaps General Yang’s strength is sufficient, giving him enough confidence to face fear directly. Our strength is weak, so we don’t even have the qualification to know what fear is…”

While everyone was confused, Dr. Bai suddenly spoke.

“I also heard those few lyrics.”

Seeing everyone’s gaze fall on him, Dr. Bai then looked at the Jingwei Bird and said, “Jingwei Bird, did you record the footage of Big Black Cat singing just now?”

The Jingwei Bird’s body blurred slightly.

“Yes.”

“But the information is encrypted.”

“I don’t have the permission to access the information.”

Dr. Bai rubbed his temples.

“Who has the authority to access and view that video?”

“You and General Yang.”

Dr. Bai exhaled softly.

“It can basically be confirmed that the ‘epitaph’ is a warning they left for us.”

“When one’s strength has not reached a certain level, one doesn’t even have the qualification to remember ‘fear’ or know the source of ‘crisis’.”

“And this strength might be related to the Soul and the intensity of consciousness.”

Dr. Bai looked around at everyone.

“Most people are here as projections, their bodies are still thousands of miles away, or even in the Blessed Land or space laboratory.”

“The only commonality is their Soul and consciousness.”

Yang Dian patted Big Black Cat’s head, sent him home, and then looked at the others.

“To be safe, perhaps you all should avoid the upcoming experiments.”

Professor Shen Congnan smiled helplessly.

“The Age of the Supernatural, huh~”

“The days when one doesn’t even have the qualification to do research without strength have finally arrived.”

“This old man is going back to Cultivate.”

At this point, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Yang Dian, saying, “It’s been a while since those Silicon-based life forms were taken from the Small Star God.”

“If there are no problems, the God-conferring Plan and other experiments should begin after these experiments are over.”

“We need to possess more strength.”

With that, Professor Shen Congnan was the first to disconnect communication, disappearing from the Research Institute.