Vitality Pin

"Supervisor, Anomaly D-Class Personnel 555427 has been contained and is currently being transferred to the site."

"Whew, one crisis after another! Have them separate the Absolute Repulsion Gear and the Vitality Pin as soon as possible."

"Yes! However, Supervisor, the Vitality Pin appears to have disappeared."

"Disappeared? Didn't 555427 use it?"

The Site Supervisor's voice suddenly rose.

Faced with the Crystal Lantern, which had appeared out of nowhere and caused immense damage, the Foundation had been forced to attempt unconventional containment after trying every possible method.

—Using anomalies against anomalies.

One of the approved plans was:

To use the Absolute Repulsion Gear to counter the absolute transparency effect within three meters of the lantern;

To use the Vitality Pin to prevent containment personnel from dying, allowing them to continue carrying out containment tasks by instinct even after death.

Of course, to prevent Class D Personnel from realizing they would have to work even after dying, the Foundation had disguised the Vitality Pin as a needle-free injector and deceived Class D Personnel into using it at the brink of death.

Now, it seemed that an unknown change had occurred in the plan.

"According to the observations, 555427 did press the needle-free injector. However, preliminary inspection found no Vitality Pin on 555427. The containment team believes it cannot rule out the possibility that the anomaly was neutralized."

"Heh, the Vitality Pin may be a Safe-class anomaly, but that doesn't mean it can be easily destroyed. If it was truly neutralized, so be it. I'm more worried that someone deliberately neutralized it."

"You mean someone secretly..."

"Don't spread rumors. Notify Dr. Kondersai. Hand 555427 over to him for analysis and research. Tell him that if he doesn't give me a satisfactory explanation, he can forget about getting my support for his anomaly weaponization proposal."

"Yes! Oh, Supervisor, Dr. Kondersai has applied to study the Spacetime Lantern. He says he suspects the Spacetime Lantern is the true main body, while Arthur is merely an affected subordinate. If we can grasp its laws, perhaps we can replace Arthur and control the Spacetime Lantern..."

"Listen. Go back and tell him not to think he's the only smart person at this site. We'll conduct our own tests to determine whether the Spacetime Lantern or Arthur is the main body. We don't need his esteemed assistance."

"Yes!"

At this moment, Ning Xiuyuan, who had already been designated a key subject by the Foundation, was in a rather elegant suite.

—Of course, it was actually a humanoid containment cell disguised as a suite.

A gentleman remained cautious even in solitude.

Ning Xiuyuan appeared relaxed, but he was actually on high alert. Sitting on the sofa with his hands on his knees, he closed his eyes and pretended to rest as countless thoughts churned through his mind.

Although the organization calling itself the Foundation had treated him very politely, Ning Xiuyuan had still keenly sensed that many people looked at him with vigilance and fear.

Yes, fear!

Many people instinctively avoided his gaze. When he approached, their expressions would turn unnatural, as though he were some monstrous beast.

Especially when they saw the lantern, that feeling became even stronger.

These inconspicuous details all corroborated one absurd fact:

—The bizarre and grotesque scenes he had seen before were probably caused by this unremarkable Crystal Lantern.

With that thought, Ning Xiuyuan subconsciously opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward the lantern, hoping to uncover its secret.

Huh?

What was this?

Ning Xiuyuan was astonished to discover a faintly visible droplet floating in the lamp oil. It did not dissolve into the oil. Like something alive, it wriggled and drifted through the oil, so subtle that it was almost impossible to notice.

The sight made Ning Xiuyuan raise an eyebrow as thoughts erupted in his mind.

Ever since he had become a Lamp Keeper of the Church of Dawn, this lantern had never left his sight.

Not even during the day, not even when he had to answer nature's urgent call.

Because he needed to keep the forty-nine candles in the church burning at all times, the lantern was his best tool for lighting them. It was also the bishop's requirement.

To keep the lantern in working condition, he refilled it every morning and evening and carried spare lamp oil with him.

Therefore, he was certain that this foreign object had absolutely not been there the last time he refilled the oil.

So the question was, when had it appeared?

And what was it?

Ning Xiuyuan leaned forward slightly, moved closer to the lantern, and observed it intently.

Suddenly, the foreign object moving through the lamp oil went still, as if it had sensed something.

—·—

It was an endless dark-yellow ocean. Upon a towering bronze-purple mountain at its center, raging flames that scorched souls and melted spirits burned fiercely, radiating endless heat and light that purified everything.

Ever since a ray of light had destroyed the pin it was hiding in and swept it into this dark-yellow ocean, it had been terrified.

It desperately swam through the dark-yellow ocean, trying to find a "shell" to fill and hide within, escaping the light and heat here.

But no matter how it struggled and swam, it could not escape this boundless ocean, nor could it find a single shell to hide in.

The bronze-purple mountain always remained at a constant distance from it. Only its direction varied.

At this moment, it finally understood the bewilderment and fear of the unknown felt by the Foundation personnel who had caused the death of its only friend, Class D personnel 90353!

Time sank into endless eternity amid its ceaseless struggle.

Who knew how long had passed before heaven and earth suddenly changed color.

It looked up in horror and saw a terrifying face emerge in the sky, writhing, twisting, impossible to look upon directly.

A god!!!

It was so frightened that it nearly screamed!

In an instant, it seemed to understand everything.

"Great existence who walks in places unknown to the Creation Department, please forgive my offense. I had no intention of offending you. It was the Foundation personnel who controlled the shell I parasitized; this was never my wish! To atone, I am willing to serve you forever and praise you forever. I only beg you to grant a tiny measure of mercy and spare this soul of mine that has nowhere to rest."

Having poured all its sincerity into the plea, it begged in trembling terror.

Before its trembling repentance, the indescribable existence above the yellow ocean—the face of a god—writhed and twisted, cold, dull, and unmoved.

It was as though it were considering how to deal with this insignificant soul.

That abnormal silence, like the towering bronze-purple mountain, exerted endless pressure upon it!

The flames in the sky grew hotter and hotter, causing it, bereft of a shell, to flicker as though on the verge of being extinguished.

"My master, the aura this world has left upon your shell is so faint. Has your incarnation only recently arrived in this world? I know this world as well as I know myself. Perhaps I can help you."

It racked its brains, desperately guessing at His purpose and fighting for a chance to live.

It even shamelessly took the initiative to call Him master.

"I am a Rootless Soul. I know the strongest force in this world. They call themselves the Foundation."

"They contained me and imprisoned me. Laughably, they do not even understand my true nature, but I must admit that does not prevent them from using me!"

"My master, you must be wary of them. They are a group of madmen. Perhaps they are not individually powerful, but they possess countless extraordinary objects..."

—·—

Ning Xiuyuan stared blankly at the lantern, his mind profoundly shaken.

Although he had already realized that this world was far from ordinary and likely possessed unimaginable supernatural powers, when he experienced the existence of such a supernatural being for the first time, he was still so terrified that he could not speak.

—The foreign object in the lamp oil called itself a "soul with nowhere to rest," a "Rootless Soul."

After arriving in this world, it had merged into a thumbtack and been contained by the Foundation.

Containment Code: Vitality Pin

Containment Description: This is a standard blue plastic-and-metal thumbtack. It can pierce all objects. No object it cannot pierce has yet been discovered.

Anything pierced by the Vitality Pin will become a living thing and imitate the behavioral patterns of creatures with similar properties.

That was the Foundation's understanding, but the Rootless Soul revealed another secret.

It was actually a soul, one capable of adapting to all things!

Whatever the thumbtack pierced, it could spread into it, filling the vacancy in that shell's soul and bringing it to life.

Of course, once the thumbtack was removed, it would also withdraw from the pierced shell, like seawater receding with the tide.

If the target shell already possessed a soul, it would forcibly expel the shell's original soul, seize the shell, and, to a certain degree, follow its instinctive behaviors.

This was an instinct, just as humans could not control their own heartbeat.

And precisely because it forcibly expelled souls, it had killed its best friend—Class D personnel 90353—during one of the Foundation's experiments.

Even now, it did not know 90353's real name.

This made it hate the Foundation intensely and reject it with all its might. That much was clear from the many derogatory terms it used to describe the Foundation.

As it happened, the reason it had fallen into the lamp oil was because the Foundation had wanted to exploit its properties to revive David and use David's instincts to forcibly control the body and contain the lantern.

Unexpectedly, when David came within three paces of the lantern, it was eroded by the lantern's light and swept into this terrifying world.

It was clear that, in its fight for survival, it had gone all out.

It had practically spilled everything it knew, including its own origins.

Ning Xiuyuan listened in silence. Only after its emotions nearly collapsed and its words became increasingly deranged and repetitive did the face leave the lantern.

Containment classes, from low to high, were divided into four standard categories: Safe class, Euclid, Keter class, and Thaumiel class.