Umbrella, Your Emperor Has Returned

The route to the underground section of the building was even worse than before. Of course, that was only true for ordinary human Luo Ji.

After all, in an unlit, pitch-black environment, humans had no way to tell which direction danger might come from.

Meng Yi possessed a mental world, while the girl had seemingly undergone gene modification surgery. Neither of them feared interference from the darkness.

After stopping the Bomber Violent Woman from repeatedly "rising up and hurting people," Meng Yi had cobbled together a zombie cannon-fodder force of more than seventy. He also found Luo Ji a still-usable flashlight while preparing the vanguard.

A surreal scene unfolded before Luo Ji's eyes. He had already begun to question his life. Are you even human or some kind of ghost?!

Only now did Luo Ji belatedly realize it.

Without even knowing it, he had made a round trip to the gates of life and death.

Seeing a leopard through a narrow tube, if someone could control zombie infection subjects, could they also control humans with normal minds?

If he had not accepted Meng Yi's invitation, would he have become one of the "zombie vanguard" as well?

"Sir, are you a 'Path Strider'?"

Driven by curiosity, the Bomber Violent Woman pondered for a long time before finally asking.

A Path Strider?

"No. You can think of me as a 'superpowered individual.'"

Meng Yi answered indifferently, but waves had already begun to ripple through his heart.

The ordinary-looking string of numbers "AR-26710" did not reveal much, but the term "Path Strider" had been recorded by Meng Yi's "Memory Palace."

In his previous life, he had been an ordinary office drone working nine to five at a research institute.

While he was a student, he had earned three doctoral degrees—in biology, chemistry, and medicine.

Games had been too far removed from his daily life. Where would he have found the time to play them?

However, through conversations with his colleagues after work, he had learned about a once-popular game called "Honkai: Star Rail." The term "Path Strider" came from the game's setting for its supernatural beings.

Input primary term: "Path Strider." Related term: designation AR-26710. Beginning search!

Meng Yi did not stop walking. He used the thoughts he had split off to query the Bomber Violent Woman's identity through the "Memory Palace."

[Primary Entry · AR-26710: Standard genetically modified replicant of the Glamoth Empire, designation AR-26710, Firefly IV Strategic Assault Armor (SAM) pilot. After the Fall of Propagation and the Cosmic Locust Plague, the Glamoth Empire fell and the Celestial Front was lost. Invited by "Slave of Fate: Acheron," she joined the pan-Interstellar Civilization illegal organization known as the Stellaron Hunters. Calling herself "Firefly," she sought the meaning of her existence.]

[Primary Entry · Path Strider: A prerequisite for becoming an "Emanator," allowing one to wield supernatural powers to varying degrees. By practicing the ideals of an Aeon, one might gain that Aeon's attention and become a "Path Strider."]

[Extended Entry 1 · Aeon: An Idealism System Concept God whose will has been sublimated to the extreme, prying at Imaginary Energy and anchoring and solidifying it into a "Path." It roams the universe and possesses an endless lifespan. It is suspected to be a product of the Imaginary Tree's "Shedding the Old for the New" after the Era of Ancient Beasts: Twilight War.]

[Extended Entry 2 · Aeon: A Physical System Rule God, the embodiment of a physical rule in the Warhammer Universe. It fed on celestial bodies and stars, an undying, immortal Energy Lifeform. It once incited the Necron race, leading to the birth of the cosmic disaster known as the Space Undead, and sparked the War in Heaven with the Eternal Ones: Old Ones. It was later betrayed by the Space Undead: Silent King and split into thousands of Star God fragments.]

Meng Yi's head buzzed. Evolution Paradise really doesn't discriminate when it comes to people.

The Warhammer Universe View, the Three-Body Universe View, and a game universe sitting down for a round of cards?

What the hell? Has "Warp Chaos Gods versus the god-level civilization, the Erasers" gotten a sequel expansion?

Tyranids versus the Fecund Swarm, Physical System Rule Gods versus Idealism System Concept Gods, Necrons: Silent King versus mechanical emperor Rubert, Psionic Technology versus Two-Dimensional Foil versus the Genius Society's black technology...

Meng Yi cast an impassive glance at the Bomber Violent Woman not far to the side.

If he remembered correctly, this woman had the air of someone whose "combat power was unknown, who grew stronger against stronger foes, burned everything she had, and achieved a moment of glory."

Her highest known achievement was an utterly unscientific burst of power that pierced the core of a ruined material planet, creating a dazzling "Big Firework" in the cold expanse of space.

What a scam. Idealism systems don't follow science!

Regardless of the price she had paid to pierce the planet's core, her destructive power had already reached the level of a Warhammer Universe A-Rank (Alpha) Telekinetic System Glass Cannon fighting to the death.

He had thought he was outrageous enough, but who could have expected his teammate to be even more outrageous? There really was always someone stronger, and every cheat was stronger than the last.

However, she isn't in an easy state right now. Her Life Fire, which should have been blazing, has become a tiny flame. She could die suddenly at any moment.

Without her mecha, in poor condition, with almost none of her source power remaining, and lacking the energy provided by a "Path," how much strength can she still display?

For safety's sake, Meng Yi converted her into a barely controllable humanoid "Big Ivan."

A genetically modified human from some Cosmic Civilization, possibly carrying the power of a "Path" as well. I really want to study her.

Soldier. Sir—the identities by which she habitually addresses people. Can I make use of that?

Meng Yi hurriedly snuffed out the thought that had instinctively emerged from him as a normal researcher.

After creating "suicide vanguards" for so long, he still could not afford to provoke a "suicide unit" of this level.

One laboratory VIP would have to be enough. Helping her figure out how to preserve her life—and drawing a few tubes of blood along the way—should not be a problem.

The so-called "Slave of Fate: Acheron" could treat the symptoms but not the root cause with a "Path."

Combined with the gene technology from the Selection Dungeon, Meng Yi's "Mind System Psionics" might be able to accomplish it.

Without even mentioning more distant possibilities, the "Red Light Virus" mentioned in the Selection Dungeon had a modified form called the "Black Light Virus" that showed tremendous promise.

She isn't afraid of death and can endlessly "Ignite the Star Sea."

Good heavens. Are you the enhanced version of Impure World Reincarnation's Eight Gates Guy?

While considering how to profit, Meng Yi led his two teammates through the pitch-black Underground Train Track for more than ten kilometers.

The Hive of Umbrella Corporation, built two hundred to eight hundred meters beneath Raccoon City, had already appeared at the boundary of the mental three-dimensional network Meng Yi had constructed.

Along the way, Meng Yi also subdued three "Big Dogs" wandering through the Underground Train Track. Calling them "Lickers," a more familiar term, would probably be more appropriate.

Dozens of zombies and three Lickers made up a barely passable cannon-fodder force.

Splitting his attention among multiple tasks was no challenge for Meng Yi, who toyed with minds and spirits. After manipulating puppets all day, he had long since become highly proficient. Its technical complexity was far below that of constructing the "Memory Palace."

The zombies and Lickers were too weak mentally. Even fine control over them placed little burden on Meng Yi.

Protected and surrounded by the biohazard Cannon Fodder Legion, Meng Yi made Luo Ji, an ordinary human, twitch his eyelids nonstop. He began to wonder whether boarding this "pirate ship" had really been the right choice.

The "Bomber Violent Woman" also looked like she wanted to speak, yet could not bring herself to.

Something about Meng Yi's style felt completely different from theirs. Where had this overwhelming aura of an evil villain come from?

I won the bet! The Gift Package is mine!

The mental network swept through Umbrella's underground Hive, and the lowest level sent back the mental fluctuations of several thousand humans.

Meng Yi stopped walking, the corners of his mouth lifting into the sunny, cheerful smile of a big boy.

No longer concerned with expenditure or strain, he activated his ultimate move across the seven or eight kilometers between them.

"Psionic Interference—Extreme—Wide-Area Cognition Alteration!"

He altered the cognitive patterns of several thousand people in one breath, adding a nonexistent memory.

Although most of them were asleep, they still placed an immense burden on Meng Yi's frail body.

"Whew—"

He leaned the weight of his body against a Licker and shook his groggy head.

Meng Yi: "Umbrella, your emperor has returned!"