Brain in a Bottle

Five figures clad in single-soldier exoskeletons kept leaping through the forest. Sometimes they scattered and rushed up into the canopy; other times, they searched through every corner.

They examined mushrooms, flowers, and grass, and occasionally caught a Spirit Beast to inspect it over and over.

The jets from their exoskeletons not only gave them flexible footholds in midair, but also left behind bursts of hissing propulsion.

Like a melody through the forest, rising and falling in turn.

"Sergei, have you found any clues over there?"

One of the figures, whose single-soldier exoskeleton differed slightly from the others and who vaguely seemed to be the core of the team, pressed the side of his ear and spoke into the radio.

They had been searching since before dawn. Other than the Ghost Mushrooms proving that a Contamination Source was indeed nearby, they had not found a single useful clue.

Besides the five Task Force members who had come directly from the Floating City, they had later requested that Sergei organize the shelter's high-ranking Awakened Rank members to assist with the investigation.

"Captain Lin, we've only found Ghost Mushrooms as well. But based on their distribution, we can roughly determine the area."

From another direction, Sergei, who was also leading a team, reported his side's findings.

Completely unlike his refined demeanor in the shelter, Sergei now wore his Power Armor. It was far more rugged than a single-soldier exoskeleton, making him look like a metal giant.

Its brown coating, the violent roar that accompanied every movement, and the autocannons and rocket launcher ports protruding from the Power Armor all brought the word "brutality" to life.

With the Power Armor on, Sergei's Russian blood was given the perfect backdrop.

Though the simple fusion battery required psychic energy to activate, it also ensured the Power Armor possessed unparalleled endurance and powerful output.

"Captain Lin, we can't keep doing this. Let's use the Brain in a Bottle."

Hearing Sergei's reply, Lin Jie frowned beneath the exoskeleton's built-in visor.

They needed to cut through the mess quickly when dealing with a Contamination Source. Otherwise, they would not have set out overnight. They had already wasted enough time searching without results, so it was indeed time to use the Brain in a Bottle.

It would just make him look somewhat incompetent.

"Stop. Initiate Plan Two."

Raising a hand to signal his team to halt, Lin Jie took out a perfectly square lead box from the Storage Box on the back of his exoskeleton.

The other four members immediately formed a tight defensive formation around Lin Jie.

The Brain in a Bottle was made by capturing an Evil God Cultist alive, injecting them with large amounts of anesthetic, then using special methods to remove their brain and place it in a life-support bottle.

Once activated, it could effectively sense nearby Contamination Sources. The distance from a Contamination Source could be judged by the activity of the brain's electrical currents, further narrowing down the search area.

Once awakened, each one could only be used for a short time before dying. They were consumable items.

Teams like theirs that handled such matters would always carry one, though they normally never needed to use it.

This time, they truly could not find it on the surface. They also worried it might be inside a tree or underground somewhere, making investigation far too difficult. They had no choice but to use it.

But when he opened the lead box, revealing the Brain in a Bottle, and injected it with an awakening agent and drugs to heighten excitement, its activity suddenly surged before gradually leveling off.

Seeing this typical reaction, Lin Jie and the nearby team members were all taken aback.

"Was the Contamination Source... eliminated?"

"Did some team happen to pass by and deal with it?"

"Uh, what a waste."

"No wonder we couldn't find it..."

While the group discussed the situation, Su Shijie, sitting in the shelter's Advanced Class classroom, suddenly paused.

Just now, he had felt a wave of fanatical emotion being absorbed by him. The amount of emotional fluctuation was considerable, far more intense than any emotion he had received so far.

More importantly, he vaguely felt that it was only one or two kilometers away.

The emotion was so fervent that it even gave him the sense that he could offer some feedback if he wished.

But the cautious Su Shijie clearly had no intention of doing that. He simply absorbed it passively, coldly sensing the situation.

As time slowly passed, he roughly understood.

It seemed to be an Evil God Cultist—and an idiot who knew nothing except how to madly praise an evil god, without any other thoughts at all.

Relying on his instinctive information, Su Shijie gradually realized what had happened. The other party was merely praising an evil god like mad, without any particular target, so as the nearest one, Su Shijie had easily captured it using his own characteristics.

Evil gods themselves represented disorder, chaos, confusion, derangement, and distortion. As the only orderly existence, it was normal for him to intercept it first.

Just like how he devoured the projections and traces of other evil gods.

How did an idiot who only knew how to praise get this close?

Or did it have something to do with the Task Force?

I'll ask Dad about it later.

Because public information was released on resisting and identifying Evil God Cultists, Su Shijie knew a fair amount about them.

Some people were contaminated by a Contamination Source and, like Contaminated Beasts, immediately became deranged lunatics. But there were also those fanatical Evil God Cultists in this world.

Quite a few of them even retained extremely clear rationality, planning numerous atrocities and even attempting to usher in evil god projections.

After all, the explosive increase in a Contaminated Beast's strength showed that although evil gods were disorderly, they could passively grant great power.

For many humans who had reached their limits, choosing to stop being human was perfectly normal.

Those clear-minded people were actually far more threatening—and more terrifying!

Interrupted by this unexpected incident, Su Shijie no longer felt like browsing materials. He had only used the Agony Potion that directly increased his strength by 10% this morning; he should not keep himself wound too tight.

Perhaps he could go out for a stroll. He could visit the market, too. With the Spirit Deer migration approaching, there had recently been quite a few new things brought in from outside. Besides, he was not short on money.

Even if there was nothing good, buying a few steel-pipe hunting guns to bolster his image would not be bad.

The recoil was a little strong, but he only needed to fire one shot at close range to block an enemy anyway. It did not seem too terrible.

No sooner said than done. Su Shijie took off his helmet and prepared to slip away.

"Don't get smug! Don't think being Awakened Rank makes you so amazing! Even if I have to go to Father today, I'll get a bottle of medicine too!"

Having just set down his helmet and reached the door, Su Shijie heard that familiar, irritating voice again.

It was that unlucky child, Anna Brin.

She was glaring at him like an enraged little bitch, her blue eyes filled with fury.

What did I do to provoke her today? Why was she so worked up?

Forget it. He could not be bothered to lower himself to her level. He had no time to waste here.

"Oh."

After saying that, Su Shijie left the classroom and closed the door.

But afterward, he felt that unlucky child's emotional fluctuations grow even more intense.

I didn't even bother arguing with you, and you're somehow even angrier? Were you a rage-filled punching bag in your past life?