476: Leng Xuan's potential

An Qingyu looked at the terrifying and bizarre Leng Xuan, a satisfied smile gracing his lips.

Leng Xuan was, arguably, his most outstanding creation to date, without a doubt.

Although Si Xiaonan, as Loki's spokesperson, successfully brought Leng Xuan to Asgard, Loki had never truly trusted either of them.

Loki had long known about Odin's deal with Cthulhu, so after Si Xiaonan returned to Asgard, Loki began his experiments.

On one hand, Loki wanted to further understand Cthulhu's power; on the other, it was to satisfy his own twisted amusement.

If one day, Si Xiaonan and Leng Xuan, transformed into Cthulhu monsters, fought to the death with the Night Watchers, what an interesting scene that would be.

Therefore, Loki hid Cthulhu's power within the Serpents of Deceit and gave this ability to the two of them to use.

Although Si Xiaonan and Leng Xuan knew that Loki certainly had ill intentions, they could only choose to accept in order to continue their undercover work in Asgard.

And so, from that day, Cthulhu's power began to erode their bodies.

To observe their physical conditions in detail, Loki deliberately suppressed Cthulhu's Mental Energy to a very low level.

The two could only resist with their own Mental Energy, but the constant Whisper and whispers, deep into their Souls, tormented them day and night.

Finally, during the battle in the Kunlun Ruins, Si Xiaonan and Leng Xuan exhausted their Mental Energy and could no longer maintain this balance, and thus the mutation of Cthulhu's power finally began.

However, fortunately, they met An Qingyu.

After killing Andre, An Qingyu took the two away and began to treat them.

After dispelling Cthulhu's power from Si Xiaonan's body, An Qingyu prepared to treat Leng Xuan.

But when An Qingyu used The Only Correct Solution to analyze Leng Xuan's physical condition, he discovered a bizarre sight.

Because he found that Leng Xuan's Cthulhu-ification was completely different from Si Xiaonan's.

Under the analysis of The Only Correct Solution, An Qingyu was surprised to find that the Forbidden Territory in Leng Xuan's body, Machine Soul's Great Joy, Sequence 520, was slowly devouring Cthulhu's power.

It was like a young beast continuously suckling milk.

Although the amount devoured was extremely minute, An Qingyu could confirm that Cthulhu's power was indeed being consumed by that seemingly ordinary Forbidden Territory.

"What's going on? A human Forbidden Territory can actually devour Cthulhu's power?"

This phenomenon, defying common sense, immediately piqued An Qingyu's curiosity. He immediately began to search his mind for all information regarding Machine Soul's Great Joy.

An Qingyu had briefly gained access to the archive room when he was in the Reserve Squad.

He used The Only Correct Solution to engrave all the contents of the archives into his mind, so that when needed, he could retrieve this information from his brain.

An Qingyu was not only an academic genius but also a walking library.

Soon, An Qingyu found all the information about Machine Soul's Great Joy. The information was not extensive, only a single page, a researcher's log.

"Name: Machine Soul's Great Joy Category: Unclassified Observed Sample: Leng Xuan Historical Owners: None Description: The owner of this Forbidden Territory can communicate with firearm-type weapons. Although this sounds counter-intuitive, machines are machines; how could they have self-awareness?

However, from the observed effects, the standard sniper rifle in Leng Xuan's hand, after being affected by this Forbidden Territory, did indeed produce something akin to consciousness. I will tentatively call it 'machine soul.'

However, this Forbidden Territory can currently only awaken a firearm's consciousness once, and once awakened, it will be bound to it.

And after the weapon's machine soul is awakened, its power ceiling is greatly enhanced.

The power of the firearm is directly proportional to the machine soul's excitement level.

The highest excitement level currently observed is 65%. My goodness, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would hardly believe that a single bullet could rival the power of a cruise missile.

If the excitement level reaches 100%, what level of power will it achieve?

However, the samples are too few. In most cases, the machine soul's excitement level can only reach between 20% and 25%.

So the question is, did Leng Xuan's Forbidden Territory bestow consciousness upon the firearm, or was the firearm's own consciousness awakened by this Forbidden Territory?

No matter the case, it is enough to be shocking. If one day the principle of this Forbidden Territory can be understood, my research will have a Breakthrough.

Leng Xuan, my old classmate, you must find a way to please the weapon in your hand!

However, as a researcher, there's nothing I can do to help you. I can only manipulate the serial number a bit, hehe. Serial number 520, I hope one day you don't fall in love with that bizarre machine soul.

Researcher: 5439" The information in the archives stopped abruptly here. Based on the number, An Qingyu found the researcher's information. This researcher was named Li He, and not long after writing this archive, he died in the line of duty.

However, although the information in these archives was brief, there were a few key pieces of information.

First, no one had awakened a similar Forbidden Territory before Leng Xuan.

Secondly, unlike Forbidden Territories that communicate with small animals, which inherently possess a Soul, the existence of this Forbidden Territory seems to prove that inorganic matter like metal also has something akin to consciousness.

Finally, there was the current situation within Leng Xuan's body: devouring Cthulhu's power. Such a thing, even the gods on Earth would not dare to easily attempt, would they?

But this very thing was happening before his eyes. What was the origin of Leng Xuan's Forbidden Territory?

Thinking of this, An Qingyu directly activated the power of Key of the Gate. The Only Correct Solution, under the blessing of this powerful force, immediately went into overload.

An Qingyu felt a dizzy spell, but he dared not relax in the slightest.

His gaze pierced through the endless, vast starry sky, and on a desolate planetary surface, An Qingyu saw a scene that would forever be etched in his memory.

A magnificent cathedral stood on the barren planet, appearing desolate yet sacred, with countless pilgrimage-like voices coming from all directions: "The Machine God Cult is eternal!"

Boom!

Suddenly, a consciousness emanated from within the cathedral, directly rushing towards An Qingyu's consciousness.

An Qingyu reacted quickly, immediately closing The Only Correct Solution, sweat soaking his clothes.

"Another civilization? A civilization that worships machines?"

At this moment, a hint of fervor and excitement appeared in An Qingyu's eyes as he looked at Leng Xuan. Since this Forbidden Territory did not reject Cthulhu's power, what kind of sparks would fly if flesh and machinery were combined?