453: Chapter 450 Strengthening the Mechanisms of the Older Generation

Ye Ouyang heard Shen Mingyuan's shout and rushed over.

Wei Ziqing didn't follow. He leveled his Long Spear, the tip stopping three inches from the monkey's face. The monkey was hunched over, its four paws quietly scuttling backward, having already moved several meters away.

The cold glint of the spear tip made it freeze in place.

"Alright, alright." The monkey raised its two furry hands, its expression shifting rapidly from terror to a fawning smile. "I won't run, I won't run."

It plopped down on the ground, the smile on its face collapsing, and muttered under its breath.

"Damn, I still couldn't get away."

Ye Ouyang ignored them and crouched beside Lu Jianchuan. His golden claws pierced the wound on Lu Jianchuan's abdomen—a micro-injection. Warm golden cells flooded into the body, beginning to repair the tissues destroyed by the toxin.

Lu Jianchuan's brow furrowed. He looked down at the wound, then at Ye Ouyang.

"Two types of poison," he said briefly. "Neurotoxin and necrotic toxin."

Ye Ouyang was stunned. His cells could regenerate necrotic tissue, but they were useless against neurotoxins—those didn't destroy cells; they only blocked signal transmission, rendering the nerves non-functional.

Lu Jianchuan took a deep breath, deactivated his Explosive Combustion Form, and switched back to his Basic Form. Then he raised his hand, and electrical currents began to dance across his silver-white armor.

He electrocuted himself.

The current surged through his body, stimulating the paralyzed nerves. His body trembled slightly, and his teeth chattered, but he didn't stop.

Ye Ouyang was startled.

"Senior—!"

"I'm fine," Lu Jianchuan squeezed out the words through gritted teeth. "This will help me hold out for a while."

The current continued.

Ye Ouyang bit his lip and injected more cells to repair the tissues scorched by the electricity. He didn't dare stop, fearing Lu Jianchuan might fry his own nerves.

Minutes and seconds ticked by.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Jianchuan suddenly let out a long breath, and his body relaxed. He moved his limbs and looked up at Ye Ouyang.

"It seems to have been metabolized," he said. "Your cell regeneration is fast, and it helped flush the toxins out along with it."

He deactivated his transformation, the silver-white armor receding to reveal his pale face. He leaned against the ice wall, catching his breath.

"It's over now."

The battle ended, and silence fell over the ice cave, save for the faint sound of falling ice fragments and the heavy breathing of the group.

Shen Mingyuan holstered his twin guns and walked up to the monkey still squatting on the ground.

"Anything you want to say?"

The monkey looked up, its hands still raised in a textbook-perfect surrender.

"I want to say everything," it said quickly. "I'll answer whatever you ask, absolutely no secrets."

Shen Mingyuan raised an eyebrow.

"You say that... don't you have any feelings for your organization?"

The monkey lowered its hands and sighed.

"None at all. I was evolved by force." It leaned back, a hint of complexity in its tone. "Actually, we used to be a very large monkey tribe. Most monkeys are quite smart and can take on the role of a Doctor after evolving. So the New Federation captured us in bulk and used various methods to force evolution—those who couldn't evolve died."

It paused and glanced in the direction where Wei Ziqing was holding the other prisoner.

"So in other words, my feelings toward that organization could be described as resentment."

Wei Ziqing, listening from the side, couldn't help but mutter.

"Seriously, why is your organization always like this? I've heard for a long time that the cannon fodder there felt this way, but now it seems like everyone is like that."

The monkey shrugged.

"Hmph. When the true idealists are all dead, what remains in the organization are nothing more than a bunch of animals consumed by power."

Shen Mingyuan was taken aback.

"That's a pretty chilling thing to say."

The monkey shook its head, its tone tinged with self-deprecation.

"I'm no good. The animals left in there have no ambition and no strength, yet they want to hoard all the power every day. Sigh, there's just no way."

It sighed again.

"The sooner this organization collapses, the better." It paused. "It's just that a rather powerful fellow has appeared recently..."

Lu Jianchuan interrupted it.

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

He walked to the ice wall and pulled out the Daoist who was still embedded in it. The Daoist was limp and unresponsive. Lu Jianchuan hoisted him onto his shoulder and nodded to the others.

"Let's go."

The motorcycle had slid over silently, its headlights flashing.

Lu Jianchuan handed the Daoist to Wei Ziqing and glanced at the monkey.

"You guys drove here; these two are your responsibility."

Wei Ziqing took the Daoist and escorted him out of the cave. Shen Mingyuan beckoned to the monkey, and it scrambled to its feet to follow.

Lu Jianchuan straddled the motorcycle, and Ye Ouyang sat behind him.

The silver, black, and red motorcycle switched on its lights and headed toward the cave entrance first.

Back at the base, things had temporarily settled down.

This was quite a haul—they had captured a Daoist from the The Fellowship and a monkey from the New Federation. With two live prisoners, there was bound to be plenty of intel to extract. Especially regarding that powerful fellow who had recently emerged; there had been no information on him before, as if he had just popped out of nowhere.

The atmosphere in the base was a bit tense. Previously, the New Federation could be said to be under control, intentionally left alone to prevent the animals from forming new organizations. But now, with the sudden appearance of an unknown powerhouse, it felt like a hand of cards they had always held had suddenly gained an unfamiliar Joker.

The interrogation began quickly. Several people were taken away to be questioned and investigated. The base personnel said they would relay the results as soon as they were available.

Lu Jianchuan nodded and didn't ask further.

All that was left was to wait.

The group found a spot in the lounge and sat down, each scrolling through their phones in silence. As time passed with nothing to do, the atmosphere became a bit dull.

Lu Jianchuan leaned back in his chair, tapped the icon with the gray background and white border, and sent a message to the group.

Lu Jianchuan: @.** You there? I wanted to ask, when will my Third Form be ready?

A reply came quickly.

.**: Hmm? You want the Third Form now? Why, did you run into something tough?

.**: Is it because of that Jellyfish?

Lu Jianchuan was surprised and typed back.

Lu Jianchuan: How did you know?

Seeing the messages, Ye Ouyang leaned in and typed on his own phone.

Ye Ouyang: I want one too! I want a Second Form! The kind that can fight! Being just a support isn't enough; I want to be able to fight too!

.**: Alright, I'll design a combat form for you when you get back. I can see some of the data collection from here.

.**: What you want is likely something that can break through defenses, right? An attack style that can ignore defense in special circumstances?

Lu Jianchuan: Yes.

.**: In that case, fine, I'll work based on Bone Chime's logic. Even though you killed him, his ability's direction is worth referencing.

Lu Jianchuan: Something related to vibration?

.**: Yeah, exactly. I've thought about that, so I'll set that up for you.