Darkside Species (Part 1)

After flying through several compartments, Ronan realized that the situation here was much the same as in the corridor. Several transfer vents had been opened inside the compartments as well, steadily pumping out pale white smoke. With the cramped space, the concentration was even higher.

Many soldiers stood fully armed amid the smoke without changing expression, clearly long accustomed to this situation.

Of course, the smoke had to be non-toxic.

Because of his earlier sense of danger, Ronan had specifically paid attention to the smoke's effect on his Soul Body. Yet so far, he had detected nothing unusual.

He tucked away his doubts and focused more intently on the sensation of passing through walls.

Was this what an out-of-body journey felt like?

After passing through seven or eight metal walls in succession by various means, Ronan once again confirmed his condition.

His grandfather's "Format Theory" was, to a considerable extent, a metaphysical discipline. Aside from his research, Ronan also read philosophy, occultism, and mysticism, so accepting his current state did not take much effort.

Still, Ronan had noticed that compared with ancient records and occult knowledge, his ability was far from perfect. The experience of nearly being carved apart by the cold outside just after leaving his body still left him shaken when he recalled it. He had to rely on the Burning Demon Shadow, that "external fuel tank," to sustain long periods of travel.

But no matter what, being dragged along like a dog sled and soaring through clouds were entirely different sensations. Passive and active states naturally led to very different mindsets.

Since leaving his body, this was Ronan's first time moving entirely by his own will. Naturally, he was awkward in every way. He often made unnecessary movements and entertained superfluous thoughts.

Most importantly, he had yet to truly adapt to observing the world in the manner of a "soul."

Ronan knew the nervous system extremely well. He quickly noticed that on the soul level, the operating mechanisms of the traditional senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind had undergone drastic distortions. "Sight" and "hearing" on this level were actually inefficient processes.

In his "soul" state, Ronan was like a radar station, constantly receiving waves of every frequency from the outside world. The variety of their sources far exceeded the types of signals an ordinary human nervous system could receive and process.

If he stubbornly clung to "habit," most of those signals would naturally slip away. Only the signals his nervous system was accustomed to processing would be fed in, handled by his physical body, then presented back to him in the form of the "five senses."

Setting aside the waste of losing so many frequency signals, even the processed signals suffered substantial distortion because they did not provide real stimulation to the nervous system.

At the very least, he had now almost completely lost his sense of touch.

It seems direct processing would be better.

But then, how to compile them became a major problem.

The moment Ronan deliberately tried to sense and gather them, the chaotic and complicated flood of nearby information sent him reeling. It seemed adapting to "life" on the soul level would still be a long process.

Yet with only that shift in thought, the level and range of his soul perception expanded somewhat—like an old radio that, amid its crackling static, could occasionally pick up something interesting.

It was an exceptionally novel experience, and Ronan did not mind spending some effort figuring it out.

Just then, several fragmented keywords caught his attention.

With a slight movement of his mind, Ronan subtly altered his direction. With his senses opened up, noisy, clamorous voices came rushing at him even through several layers of metal walls.

When he entered, Ronan actually felt a strange sense of familiarity. This was where Lian Yu, Li Xuecheng, and the other rich kids were being held.

Ronan had never imagined he would enter and observe an environment he had once stayed in through such a strange method. He was clearly present, yet no one else knew, lending everything a wonderfully unreal feeling.

Lian Yu and the other rich kids had no idea an extra "ghost" stood beside them. They were arguing to their hearts' content.

Facts proved that one had to first look for the cause within oneself. Even after a certain pervert had been locked up separately, the atmosphere among the rich kids had not improved much.

Because of the banned drugs, detention, Li Xuecheng, and a string of other incidents, the group went from lamenting to complaining, then to arguing and bickering. Before they knew it, the atmosphere had grown tense again.

The Aberrant Species alarm and the bizarre sight of smoke spreading everywhere quieted them down for a while, but someone eventually started something again, and the argument resumed.

This time, however, the subject of their argument had some significance.

Their dispute centered on the "Aberrant Species."

"The evidence for the Aberrant Species' Oceanic Diffusion Theory is conclusive, so quit talking nonsense, okay?"

"Are your ears stuffed with shit? When did I deny Oceanic Diffusion? I'm just saying that a lot of evidence now shows a new source of infection is emerging!"

"The source of infection is what's spraying out of your mouth!"

"Fuck, I..."

So-called "Aberrant Species" referred to the massive, highly contagious mutation phenomenon that began in the later stages of the Third War, affecting Earth's native species. It was practically the most terrifying example of disciplinary devastation since biology first existed in the world.

As for its origins, the most popular explanation was this: deep within an ocean trench somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, a gateway had opened leading to the Deep Crust—or someplace even more unimaginable.

Thus, deadly contamination came from the ocean, invading freshwater systems and continental ecosystems through the marine biosphere.

In only a few short years, all kinds of plants, fungi, insects, animals, and even a small number of humans were "contaminated" to varying degrees. Catalyzed by genetic mutations, they developed into all manner of savage, cruel, monstrous lifeforms, becoming the very top of the food chain for a time... and even now.

Before Quantum Corporation's Deep Blue Platform appeared, humanity had been stretched thin against this terrifying population. They could only rely on large metropolitan areas for defense. It was truly unbearable to look back on.

Because it concerned survival itself, after the Third War, "Aberrant Species" was undoubtedly the hottest topic, without question.

"Then explain what a Darkside Creature is. I've got the complete set of the Aberrant Species Encyclopedia published in 2091. It lists seventeen major populations and over two thousand mutation types. Which one of your eyes saw a Darkside Creature in there?"

"Fine, if you think your encyclopedia is Sacred Texts, I surrender... I surrender to how stupid you are!"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

At last, someone stepped in to break it up. "There's no need to get worked up over this. With Aberrant Species, a new population could pop up at any moment. We're all amateurs; there's no way we can figure it out... Hey, Tao Zi, isn't your Old Man a Big Moneybags for field laboratories? Have you ever heard of this stuff before?"

Liu Tao, wearing retro gold-rimmed glasses and looking refined and scholarly, was something of an oddity among them. He usually did not speak much, but he had a habit of never opening his mouth unless he had something shocking to say.

From the moment he heard "Darkside Creature," he had been holding back a big reveal. Now that he finally had the chance, he gave a dark chuckle.

"Darkside Creatures... treating them as 'ghosts' is a pretty good angle to start from."