44: Chapter 44 The Ghost of Time Lag (Part 2)

Ten minutes.

Chen Mo looked down at his hands. The golden lines flowed beneath his skin, more than three times faster than usual. The temporary boost from the b-grade stabilizer filled his body with power, but he knew—it was only temporary.

In ten minutes, the side effects would swallow him whole.

He looked up and stared ahead.

The Time-Lag Ghost hovered in mid-air, those Time Barriers still moving slowly. It was wounded, golden liquid flowing from the gash in its chest, yet its expression remained calm.

"You've become faster," it said. "But speed doesn't guarantee victory."

It raised its hand.

The surrounding Time Barriers suddenly accelerated. No longer moving slowly, they began to spin like a vortex. The barriers collided and underwent Fusion, eventually forming a massive sphere that trapped Chen Mo at its center.

Within his Time Perception, the boundaries of that sphere were entirely composed of Deceleration Zones.

One touch, and he would be ensnared.

Chen Mo did not panic.

He stood his ground, observing the movement trajectories of those barriers.

With Time Perception operating at full capacity, everything within a thirty-meter radius manifested in his mind—

The rotation of those barriers followed a pattern. Three fast rotations, three slow rotations, with a gap appearing every six rotations. The gap lasted less than a second, but it was enough for him to pass through.

He waited.

The first rotation.

The second rotation.

The third rotation.

The three fast rotations ended, and the three slow rotations began.

Chen Mo activated Infiltrator and vanished from the spot.

Seven seconds of invisibility.

He passed through the first layer of barriers and entered the slow zone—his movements immediately decelerated, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through.

Through the second layer.

The third layer.

On the seventh second, he burst out of the slow zone and appeared at the center of the sphere.

The invisibility ended.

The Time-Lag Ghost was right in front of him, less than five meters away.

It froze for a moment.

It clearly hadn't expected him to break through so quickly.

But Chen Mo was in no hurry to attack.

He was watching.

Watching the wound on its chest—the golden liquid was still flowing, but very slowly. Because the surrounding time was decelerated, the flow rate of the liquid had also slowed down.

That was the core.

But the problem was that he was currently standing in a normal time zone, while the wound was inside the Deceleration Zone.

To attack, he had to enter the Deceleration Zone.

Once inside, his speed would drop, and his Prediction would become useless.

Chen Mo's mind raced.

He had to create a Time Vacuum.

A zone without time deceleration, even if only for a single second.

He glanced around.

Those Time Barriers were still rotating, the pattern of three fast and three slow rotations unchanged. If he could somehow temporarily disrupt them at the moment of transition—

He remembered the fuel in the truck.

And the Splitting Core he had obtained from the Splitter.

[Splitting Core · C-Grade Materials]

[Effect: Can create a Clone that lasts for 3 seconds]

[Materials are consumed upon use]

Chen Mo took out that core.

A three-second Clone.

If he used the Clone to distract the Time-Lag Ghost while simultaneously detonating the fuel, using the shockwave of the explosion to temporarily disrupt the time field—

It might just work.

He activated Infiltrator and vanished from the spot.

Seven seconds.

He rushed out of the sphere, passed through the barriers, and returned to the edge.

The invisibility ended.

The Time-Lag Ghost remained at the center of the sphere, looking in his direction with a hint of confusion in its eyes.

Chen Mo didn't stop.

He dashed toward the pickup truck—Lin Wei had already driven the vehicle to the tunnel entrance and was waiting for him.

"Fuel," he said.

Lin Wei was startled for a moment, then hauled two cans of fuel out of the trunk.

Twenty liters each.

Carrying the two cans of fuel, Chen Mo charged back into the tunnel.

The Time-Lag Ghost was still at the center of the sphere, motionless.

It seemed to be waiting for him.

Standing at the edge of the sphere, Chen Mo opened the two cans of fuel and set them on the ground.

Then, he activated the Splitting Core.

Instantly, a person identical to him appeared by his side.

[Clone · Duration: 3 seconds]

Chen Mo looked at the Clone.

"Go," he said.

The Clone rushed toward the sphere.

The Time-Lag Ghost's attention was drawn away, and the Time Barriers began to move toward the Clone.

Now.

Chen Mo ignited the fuel and hurled the cans into the sphere with all his might.

The two cans of fuel exploded in mid-air.

The shockwave expanded instantly, causing the Time Barriers to shake violently, with some even developing cracks.

A Time Vacuum appeared.

For only one second.

He activated Infiltrator and charged into the sphere.

In one second, he passed through three layers of barriers.

He appeared before the Time-Lag Ghost.

He swung his cleaver at its chest.

It bit deep.

Deeper than before.

The Time-Lag Ghost's body trembled violently as golden liquid erupted from the wound.

It looked down at its own chest, then back up at Chen Mo.

There was something strange in its eyes—

Not anger, not hatred, but... confusion.

"How... did you do it?"

Chen Mo did not answer.

He simply gripped his blade and watched it.

A second passed.

The Time Barriers began to reform.

But Chen Mo was no longer in the Deceleration Zone.

He stood before the Time-Lag Ghost, within normal time.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

The Time-Lag Ghost's body began to disintegrate.

Golden fragments drifted through the air, eventually coalescing into three transparent crystals.

[Killed C-Grade Ghost Shadow "Time-Lag Ghost"]

[Obtained: time core fragment x3]

[Current Fragments: 251]

[Deep Trial of the Memory Corridor Complete]

[C-Grade Promotion Available]

Chen Mo stood there, panting heavily.

The ten minutes were almost up.

His body began to tremble again.

Chen Mo turned and rushed out of the tunnel.

Outside, Lin Wei was waiting for him.

"Get in," she said.

Chen Mo climbed into the passenger seat.

Lin Wei started the engine, and the pickup truck sped onto the highway.

In the rearview mirror, the tunnel entrance grew smaller and smaller.

Chen Mo closed his eyes.

The side effects had arrived.