Chapter 200: The Final Trial of the Illusion Array
Only fifteen meters remained until the main entrance of the rift.
This area was the core illusion array that the Illusion Ancient Being had spent a long time weaving. It was on an entirely different level from the scattered illusions on the perimeter. Multiple layers of illusion were nested within one another, reality and falsehood twisted into a single, inseparable mass. Anyone stepping into it would subject the stabilization chips in their anti-illusion helmets to a psychic load far exceeding their design limits in a very short time.
The fine threads of Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness were firmly locked onto the drifting consciousness of the Illusion Ancient Being. That elusive fluctuation had spread out here into an impenetrable net, with every single thread entwined with spiraling whispers.
"The core illusion array is activated! It's multi-layered and nested! Don't be swayed by the voices in your ears; hold fast to the foundation of your own Sea of Consciousness!" Lin Yan's warning sounded taut over the squad's channel. "The Illusion Ancient Being is outputting at full power. It has pressed the vast majority of its strength right here."
Qin Kai raised his hand, signaling the remaining five members to tighten their formation. They stood shoulder to shoulder, relying on the faint resonance between their Seas of Consciousness to share the pressure. Stepping along the stone crevice marker on the ground, they moved toward the cave entrance, step by step.
The moment they stepped into the range of the illusion array, the warning red lights inside the helmet visors lit up instantly. The temperature of the chips skyrocketed, and the scorching heat seeped through the outer shell to their scalps.
Their vision twisted violently.
The pitch-black rift entrance vanished, replaced by a residential area bathed in the warm glow of countless household lights. It was the home that each person held dearest in their heart. The laughter of children, the calls of loved ones, and the aroma of cooking wafted over from the illusion, gentle yet deadly.
"Don't believe it! It's all fake!" Qin Kai roared, forcing himself to lock his gaze solely on the stone crevice beneath his feet. "Don't look up, and don't converse with the illusions!"
One squadmate's footsteps abruptly halted.
In the illusion, his wife, who had died half a year ago, stood ahead, reaching out her hand and softly calling him home. His eyes reddened, and the defense of his Sea of Consciousness loosened in an instant. With a sharp buzz, electric sparks burst from his helmet. The chip completely overloaded and burned out. Stripped of its protection, the illusion swallowed his consciousness like a tidal wave. Dropping his weapon, a lost and longing expression crossed his face as he stepped out of the formation, walking toward the figure in the illusion.
"Old Li! Come back!" A nearby teammate reached out to grab him, but the gray fog rippled slightly, and the illusion shifted. An abyssal chasm spontaneously appeared between the two of them.
A second later, a lurking scaled beast pounced from the shadows. A brief scream rang out before fading into silence, and the communication signal went completely dark.
Another member lost.
The remaining four felt as though their hearts had been gripped by an icy hand. No one dared to look back; they could only grit their teeth and press forward.
Tasting success, the Illusion Ancient Being's consciousness fluctuated with growing excitement, and the illusions shifted continuously.
In the blink of an eye, the warm home transformed into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The ground was covered with the shattered bodies of their comrades. Those who had just died on the frontline raised their heads one by one, pointing at the squad members and screaming, accusing them of abandoning their companions and clinging to life in cowardice. A crushing sense of guilt drilled into their Seas of Consciousness through the illusion, suffocating them.
"Stabilize your minds! This is psychic coercion!" The veins on Qin Kai's forehead bulged. The outer shell of his helmet was already scalding hot and deformed. His own Sea of Consciousness was riddled with tiny wounds, and waves of dizziness washed over him. He could only rely on the foundation built through years of arduous cultivation to hold on.
On the flank, another squadmate couldn't endure it.
He saw a newly recruited soldier who had died in the trench pointing at him, questioning why he hadn't been able to save him. The overwhelming guilt shattered his defenses. Trembling violently, he dropped to his knees and hugged his head, surrendering to the illusion's erosion. Two or three scaled beasts darted from the shadows, engulfing him in an instant.
Only three members remained in the squad.
Seven meters to the rift entrance.
From the rear at the main breach, the sounds of Old Zhou's desperate fighting trickled intermittently into the channel. His last remaining teammate had fallen, gravely wounded. Now, he was the only one left holding the line at the breach. The blue light of his oscillation stinger was growing dimmer, and the wounds on his ribs and shoulder continued to bleed; his stamina was nearly exhausted. The gunfire from the northern defense line was equally sparse. The garrison forces at both breaches were on the verge of total collapse.
Sensing that the illusion array was reaping the assault squad, the Beast Commander stopped rushing reinforcements to the breach. It slowed the charge of a portion of the scaled beasts, waiting quietly for this assault squad to be wiped out completely.
"Seven meters left! Hold on!" Lin Yan stared at the Illusion Ancient Being's signal, his heart racing with anxiety. "Its power consumption is massive, and its fluctuations have begun to decay. Push forward a little more, and you'll reach the deployment point!"
Seizing the moment, the Sharp-Sense Ancient Being flicked out several fragmented psychic blades, sweeping remotely toward the squad. They lacked lethal power, but they added fresh wounds to their already battered Seas of Consciousness. Simultaneously, the Spiderweb Ancient Being ignited two anchor points within the city. The alarms blared incessantly, constantly stretching everyone's nerves to the breaking point.
Deep within the cavern, the supreme ruler continued to observe in silence.
It did not intervene, merely recording the squad's limit of resistance and the rate of the Illusion Ancient Being's power consumption.
Another wave of illusions struck. The passage before them transformed into an infinitely spiraling corridor descending into the abyss, and their ears were filled with the primordial humming of the ancient being. The third squadmate's helmet shell cracked open, and the chip was completely destroyed. His eyes rapidly glazed over, and he unconsciously followed the spiral patterns, walking inward.
Qin Kai reached out and grabbed his arm with all his might, but the man's strength was astonishing, and he struggled frantically.
"Wake up! The mission isn't complete!"
It was useless. The illusion had already taken root. Qin Kai watched as the man broke free from his grasp and charged into the depths of the gray fog, quickly swallowed by the scaled beasts.
The squad was down to Qin Kai alone.
Gasping heavily for air, his body covered in black blood and dust, half of his helmet visor was cracked, and the chip was on the verge of burning out. The two heavy neutralizing bombs still hung at his waist. They were his last bargaining chip.
The Illusion Ancient Being pressed all of its remaining power onto him alone.
Countless illusions bombarded him in succession: the accusations of the dead, the calls of loved ones, and spiral monsters lurking in boundless darkness, all drilling frantically into his Sea of Consciousness. Qin Kai bit through his tongue. The sharp pain brought a sliver of clarity, and the metallic tang of blood spread through his mouth. He stopped trying to distinguish between the real and the fake before his eyes. Locking his gaze onto the stone crevice on the ground, he mechanically lifted his foot. One step. Then another.
Five meters.
Three meters.
Finally, he stepped onto the edge of the main rift channel's archway.
Damp, cold underground air gushed from the opening, carrying a thick, heavy scent of spores directly into his face.
"I'm here! I've reached the entrance!" Qin Kai's hoarse voice echoed over the channel, carrying a tremor he could barely suppress. "Preparing to deploy the neutralizing bombs!"
Lin Yan's suspended heart dropped slightly, and he immediately reported, "Two meters inside the channel is the main node of the spore resonance. Throw the ammunition there! After detonation, the neutralizing serum will diffuse along the main channel, suppressing the synchronization field across the entire area! Be careful, there are two scaled beasts ambushing just inside the entrance!"
In the shadows of the cave entrance, two low-slung figures slowly raised their heads. Their cold, vertical pupils locked onto Qin Kai, who stood alone at the threshold.
Qin Kai raised his hand and unbuckled the locking clasp of the first neutralizing bomb.
But at that exact moment, the Illusion Ancient Being expended its last ounce of strength to deliver one final psychic strike to his heart.
Qin Kai's vision blurred. The passage before him vanished instantly, replaced by his former captain who had died in battle years ago. The captain stood facing him, shaking his head, telling him that everything was futile, that deploying the ammunition could not save the bastion, and that everyone would ultimately die here.
His movements abruptly froze.
His Sea of Consciousness shook violently, and the ammunition in his hand nearly slipped from his grasp.
Lin Yan's heart clenched, and he roared fiercely, "That's fake! Don't stop! Detonate it!"
Above the wasteland, the gray fog churned.
Standing alone at the gates of hell, Qin Kai fought against the ultimate illusion eroding his Sea of Consciousness while simultaneously facing the ambush of the pouncing scaled beasts. Success or failure hinged on this single, fleeting moment.
End of Chapter.
This area was the core illusion array that the Illusion Ancient Being had spent a long time weaving. It was on an entirely different level from the scattered illusions on the perimeter. Multiple layers of illusion were nested within one another, reality and falsehood twisted into a single, inseparable mass. Anyone stepping into it would subject the stabilization chips in their anti-illusion helmets to a psychic load far exceeding their design limits in a very short time.
The fine threads of Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness were firmly locked onto the drifting consciousness of the Illusion Ancient Being. That elusive fluctuation had spread out here into an impenetrable net, with every single thread entwined with spiraling whispers.
"The core illusion array is activated! It's multi-layered and nested! Don't be swayed by the voices in your ears; hold fast to the foundation of your own Sea of Consciousness!" Lin Yan's warning sounded taut over the squad's channel. "The Illusion Ancient Being is outputting at full power. It has pressed the vast majority of its strength right here."
Qin Kai raised his hand, signaling the remaining five members to tighten their formation. They stood shoulder to shoulder, relying on the faint resonance between their Seas of Consciousness to share the pressure. Stepping along the stone crevice marker on the ground, they moved toward the cave entrance, step by step.
The moment they stepped into the range of the illusion array, the warning red lights inside the helmet visors lit up instantly. The temperature of the chips skyrocketed, and the scorching heat seeped through the outer shell to their scalps.
Their vision twisted violently.
The pitch-black rift entrance vanished, replaced by a residential area bathed in the warm glow of countless household lights. It was the home that each person held dearest in their heart. The laughter of children, the calls of loved ones, and the aroma of cooking wafted over from the illusion, gentle yet deadly.
"Don't believe it! It's all fake!" Qin Kai roared, forcing himself to lock his gaze solely on the stone crevice beneath his feet. "Don't look up, and don't converse with the illusions!"
One squadmate's footsteps abruptly halted.
In the illusion, his wife, who had died half a year ago, stood ahead, reaching out her hand and softly calling him home. His eyes reddened, and the defense of his Sea of Consciousness loosened in an instant. With a sharp buzz, electric sparks burst from his helmet. The chip completely overloaded and burned out. Stripped of its protection, the illusion swallowed his consciousness like a tidal wave. Dropping his weapon, a lost and longing expression crossed his face as he stepped out of the formation, walking toward the figure in the illusion.
"Old Li! Come back!" A nearby teammate reached out to grab him, but the gray fog rippled slightly, and the illusion shifted. An abyssal chasm spontaneously appeared between the two of them.
A second later, a lurking scaled beast pounced from the shadows. A brief scream rang out before fading into silence, and the communication signal went completely dark.
Another member lost.
The remaining four felt as though their hearts had been gripped by an icy hand. No one dared to look back; they could only grit their teeth and press forward.
Tasting success, the Illusion Ancient Being's consciousness fluctuated with growing excitement, and the illusions shifted continuously.
In the blink of an eye, the warm home transformed into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The ground was covered with the shattered bodies of their comrades. Those who had just died on the frontline raised their heads one by one, pointing at the squad members and screaming, accusing them of abandoning their companions and clinging to life in cowardice. A crushing sense of guilt drilled into their Seas of Consciousness through the illusion, suffocating them.
"Stabilize your minds! This is psychic coercion!" The veins on Qin Kai's forehead bulged. The outer shell of his helmet was already scalding hot and deformed. His own Sea of Consciousness was riddled with tiny wounds, and waves of dizziness washed over him. He could only rely on the foundation built through years of arduous cultivation to hold on.
On the flank, another squadmate couldn't endure it.
He saw a newly recruited soldier who had died in the trench pointing at him, questioning why he hadn't been able to save him. The overwhelming guilt shattered his defenses. Trembling violently, he dropped to his knees and hugged his head, surrendering to the illusion's erosion. Two or three scaled beasts darted from the shadows, engulfing him in an instant.
Only three members remained in the squad.
Seven meters to the rift entrance.
From the rear at the main breach, the sounds of Old Zhou's desperate fighting trickled intermittently into the channel. His last remaining teammate had fallen, gravely wounded. Now, he was the only one left holding the line at the breach. The blue light of his oscillation stinger was growing dimmer, and the wounds on his ribs and shoulder continued to bleed; his stamina was nearly exhausted. The gunfire from the northern defense line was equally sparse. The garrison forces at both breaches were on the verge of total collapse.
Sensing that the illusion array was reaping the assault squad, the Beast Commander stopped rushing reinforcements to the breach. It slowed the charge of a portion of the scaled beasts, waiting quietly for this assault squad to be wiped out completely.
"Seven meters left! Hold on!" Lin Yan stared at the Illusion Ancient Being's signal, his heart racing with anxiety. "Its power consumption is massive, and its fluctuations have begun to decay. Push forward a little more, and you'll reach the deployment point!"
Seizing the moment, the Sharp-Sense Ancient Being flicked out several fragmented psychic blades, sweeping remotely toward the squad. They lacked lethal power, but they added fresh wounds to their already battered Seas of Consciousness. Simultaneously, the Spiderweb Ancient Being ignited two anchor points within the city. The alarms blared incessantly, constantly stretching everyone's nerves to the breaking point.
Deep within the cavern, the supreme ruler continued to observe in silence.
It did not intervene, merely recording the squad's limit of resistance and the rate of the Illusion Ancient Being's power consumption.
Another wave of illusions struck. The passage before them transformed into an infinitely spiraling corridor descending into the abyss, and their ears were filled with the primordial humming of the ancient being. The third squadmate's helmet shell cracked open, and the chip was completely destroyed. His eyes rapidly glazed over, and he unconsciously followed the spiral patterns, walking inward.
Qin Kai reached out and grabbed his arm with all his might, but the man's strength was astonishing, and he struggled frantically.
"Wake up! The mission isn't complete!"
It was useless. The illusion had already taken root. Qin Kai watched as the man broke free from his grasp and charged into the depths of the gray fog, quickly swallowed by the scaled beasts.
The squad was down to Qin Kai alone.
Gasping heavily for air, his body covered in black blood and dust, half of his helmet visor was cracked, and the chip was on the verge of burning out. The two heavy neutralizing bombs still hung at his waist. They were his last bargaining chip.
The Illusion Ancient Being pressed all of its remaining power onto him alone.
Countless illusions bombarded him in succession: the accusations of the dead, the calls of loved ones, and spiral monsters lurking in boundless darkness, all drilling frantically into his Sea of Consciousness. Qin Kai bit through his tongue. The sharp pain brought a sliver of clarity, and the metallic tang of blood spread through his mouth. He stopped trying to distinguish between the real and the fake before his eyes. Locking his gaze onto the stone crevice on the ground, he mechanically lifted his foot. One step. Then another.
Five meters.
Three meters.
Finally, he stepped onto the edge of the main rift channel's archway.
Damp, cold underground air gushed from the opening, carrying a thick, heavy scent of spores directly into his face.
"I'm here! I've reached the entrance!" Qin Kai's hoarse voice echoed over the channel, carrying a tremor he could barely suppress. "Preparing to deploy the neutralizing bombs!"
Lin Yan's suspended heart dropped slightly, and he immediately reported, "Two meters inside the channel is the main node of the spore resonance. Throw the ammunition there! After detonation, the neutralizing serum will diffuse along the main channel, suppressing the synchronization field across the entire area! Be careful, there are two scaled beasts ambushing just inside the entrance!"
In the shadows of the cave entrance, two low-slung figures slowly raised their heads. Their cold, vertical pupils locked onto Qin Kai, who stood alone at the threshold.
Qin Kai raised his hand and unbuckled the locking clasp of the first neutralizing bomb.
But at that exact moment, the Illusion Ancient Being expended its last ounce of strength to deliver one final psychic strike to his heart.
Qin Kai's vision blurred. The passage before him vanished instantly, replaced by his former captain who had died in battle years ago. The captain stood facing him, shaking his head, telling him that everything was futile, that deploying the ammunition could not save the bastion, and that everyone would ultimately die here.
His movements abruptly froze.
His Sea of Consciousness shook violently, and the ammunition in his hand nearly slipped from his grasp.
Lin Yan's heart clenched, and he roared fiercely, "That's fake! Don't stop! Detonate it!"
Above the wasteland, the gray fog churned.
Standing alone at the gates of hell, Qin Kai fought against the ultimate illusion eroding his Sea of Consciousness while simultaneously facing the ambush of the pouncing scaled beasts. Success or failure hinged on this single, fleeting moment.
End of Chapter.