Chapter 711 - 446: Celestial Mandate (1)
He put on the helmet.
He then instructed the black cat beside him to immediately close the sketchbook if anything happened to him.
He then had the sketchbook simplify the drawing of the World Serpent into a minimalist style.
After a series of careful tests, Wu Yang finally confirmed that he could look directly at the image of the World Serpent in the sketchbook without being affected.
His tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
’Looks like the precautions really worked.’
Now, the more urgent task was how to completely eliminate the World Serpent.
Wu Yang’s gaze sharpened. He would never allow such a dangerous Alien Origin Body, one so far beyond his control, to exist in this world.
However, to eliminate it, he first had to understand it.
Staring at the open sketchbook, he took his pen and wrote a line on a page.
"Tell me everything about the World Serpent!"
As he finished the last stroke, the line of text faded away.
The page became blank again.
However, a second later,
ink began to swirl across the previously blank page.
But the words would only half-form before vanishing again, as if disrupted by some unseen interference.
Finally, after this repeated several times, just as Wu Yang was beginning to lose his patience,
a few lines of crooked text appeared on the page:
[Codename: World Serpent]
[Known and Exhibited Abilities: Immortality, Somatic Parasitism, Spirit Pressure, Atomic Manipulation, Spatial Shift, others unknown...]
Seeing this,
Wu Yang’s expression darkened.
These were all Abilities the entity had already demonstrated. As for whether it possessed any others, even the sketchbook didn’t know.
As he was lost in thought, the sketchbook’s pages suddenly began to flip wildly on their own, as if caught in a phantom wind.
What was more alarming was that dozens of pages were fading before his eyes, vanishing as if being erased by some unseen power.
Wu Yang’s pupils contracted.
He was all too familiar with this phenomenon.
This was exactly what had happened years ago when he’d personally torn out the page of the first Alien Origin Body as an experiment.
This phenomenon signified the death of an Alien Origin Body.
Not a temporary state, but a complete and utter eradication from the material plane.
Wu Yang instantly understood what was happening.
"It’s that entity!"
All Alien Origin Bodies possessed the Trait of indestructibility.
This was the conclusion the White Pagoda had reached after countless experiments.
Currently, in this world,
besides himself,
only the World Serpent could kill Alien Origin Bodies.
’It’s clearly at work this time.’
However,
’This speed is a little too fast.’
...
Deep in the ocean, an island sat surrounded by a vast expanse of water.
Upon closer inspection,
one would discover that the island was constantly in motion.
In the center of the island, on a wide clearing enclosed by a chain-link fence,
Cleaners in drab, earth-yellow hazmat suits bustled about.
They pushed sealed metal containers, on which the red "DANGEROUS ORGANISM" labels were especially glaring under the sun.
Through the containers’ narrow observation windows, the vague outlines of twisted, deformed limbs were visible.
These were none other than the Alien Origin Bodies held in containment within the White Pagoda.
Some had multiple eyes, others had limbs that grew in unnatural ways, and still others had forms that constantly writhed and shifted.
Now, all of these Alien Origin Bodies were being wheeled out.
The Cleaners didn’t speak much to one another.
Each one silently went about their duties.
For a moment, the only sounds were the grinding of the metal containers’ wheels over the gravel and the rustle of their protective suits.
Their destination was a spot in the very center of the clearing.
There,
a black-hole-like vortex hovered a meter above the ground.
It rotated slowly clockwise, its edges emitting a faint, ghostly blue light, as if it were a gateway to some unknown dimension.
As the containers were pushed closer,
the Alien Origin Bodies inside—some moving about curiously, others thrashing restlessly—all abruptly went still. Upon closer inspection, one could even see that they were trembling uncontrollably.
Even the object-based Alien Origin Bodies began to vibrate, as if trying to flee.
Once the containers were pushed right up to the vortex,
they were instantly dragged inside by a powerful pull.
The entire container, along with the Alien Origin Body within it, vanished without a trace.
Regarding this situation,
although the Cleaners were somewhat surprised,
they didn’t give it much thought.
They simply assumed it was the Ability of yet another Alien Origin Body, and that feeding the others to it was a more effective form of containment.
After all, they were just Cleaners—peripheral staff of the White Pagoda.
The real core had always been the high-level researchers.
They just had to do their jobs.
As for anything else, it was beyond their control.
...
「Meanwhile.」
Atop the towering White Pagoda, not far from the island,
Hu Qi stood on the highest floor of the tower.
His hand rested on the railing, his gaze fixed on the scene in the distance.
Beside him stood a small, thin old man with white hair and a long beard.
If any other core members of the White Pagoda had been present,
they would have recognized him.
He was none other than
the highest-ranking commander in the White Pagoda, as well as its Tower Master: Kostu.
Strangely, however, Kostu now stood to the side like a subordinate.
"Aside from a few Alien Origin Bodies needed to guard this location, all the others from the White Pagoda have been delivered here!"
Kostu explained in a low voice.
As he looked at Hu Qi, a flash of fanaticism crossed his eyes.
It was the look of a man facing the god he worshipped.
Hu Qi merely nodded in response.
His gaze fell upon the black vortex below.
’This thing can be considered a tunnel to my main body’s maw.’
’All the Alien Origin Bodies tossed inside have gone straight into my main body’s belly.’
’As an upstanding Young Man from Blue Star...’
’I’ve always taken the noble virtue of not wasting food to heart.’
’Although the Modification Points these Alien Origin Bodies provide are pitifully small, every little bit counts. It adds up to a considerable sum.’
’Of course, there’s another reason.’
’Harvesting these Alien Origin Bodies is also my way of probing for the mastermind behind them.’
Although "God" didn’t provide any detailed information,
Hu Qi already had a theory about this so-called "Creator."
The entity was very likely human, or at least, manifested in human form.
This wasn’t just baseless speculation.
When he met "God," he had noted the book the entity was holding.
It was a book on human psychology.
Then there were the books displayed on the shelves.
From *Social Contract Theory* and *Capital* to *A Brief History of Humankind*... as far as the eye could see, the shelves were filled with tomes on economics, sociology, and psychology—all fields dedicated to the study of human civilization and thought.
Why would an Alien Origin Body comparable to a god be so fascinated with works exploring human society?
It was far too incongruous.
’Putting together the information on the "Creator"...’
’Therefore, I can conclude that this "Creator" is very likely a human.’
’And as for "God," the self-aware, intelligent entity studying these books...’
’Was it simply out of a desire to better understand humanity, a pure curiosity?’
’Or... was it trying to find a way to escape the "Creator’s" control?’