Chapter 166

Wen Jing has risen so quickly and so brilliantly that it has become a banner of Ocher Soil, and no one wants to see this rising star fall.

However, the most terrifying aspect of the Ancient Wilderness exploration, which ranks first among the causes of death for Awakened, is that there is no way to pinpoint the location of those who have lost contact, making rescue impossible.

Aside from Awakened who can escape and return on their own, even A-rank or S-rank powerhouses are powerless to stop it.

Otherwise, based on the lifespan of Awakened, the current population of the Federation should be predominantly Awakened.

Even the second leading cause of death, Genetic Collapse, ultimately stems from this primary cause.

The students of Azure Jade were also filled with mixed feelings upon hearing the news, even those who had once both disliked and feared Wen Jing.

The Ancient Wilderness presents both an opportunity and a common threat faced by all Awakened from the moment of their awakening.

Only those whose interests were affected by Wen Jing secretly rejoiced and felt fortunate.

The emergency equipment at the Azure Jade Shuttle Registration Center was ready all night.

Upon receiving the news, the exchange students from Ocher Soil arrived at the registration center one after another. The academic director in charge of the exchange students also came, and later that night, even Dean Fu personally visited the site.

However, a whole night passed, and Wen Jing still hadn't returned.

The clock skipped to 6 a. m., and on the registration device, her status had automatically changed to 'missing'.

Dean Fu frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced students Ocher Soil: "Those of you who have classes, go to your classes. Waiting here won't do you any good."

The words weren't pleasant to hear, but they sounded natural coming from his mouth.

"Yes..." The crowd in the Ocher Soil dared not speak out in anger, and rationally they also knew that this was the truth. They dispersed one after another, looking back every three steps.

After a pause, Dean Fu looked at the staff here. "The rescue equipment remains on standby."

"Yes," the staff member replied immediately.

Normally, if a student doesn't return home all night, it's almost certain they've died. He thought to himself that the dean's actions were probably a way of showing Ocher Soil that he took the matter seriously.

Dean Fu glanced deeply at the registration platform, then turned and left.

*

The solidified Spacetime Amber emits a stable white light.

In the desolate underground museum of Wilderness Beast, the newly added 'collections' stand quietly, maintaining their forward-moving posture.

Missing the 'window' of day and night means that Wen Jing has jumped directly through time and space.

In that instant, 12 hours had passed for people in the material universe, and it was now 6 a. m. of a new day.

"It failed."

"Taking the initiative doesn't work, and being forced into it doesn't work either... Am I destined to be trapped here forever?"

Wen Jing thought calmly.

Human emotional fluctuations are mostly a reflection of the external environment. For example, when a person is truly on the verge of death, their emotions are actually very calm.

Reason told her that the situation was urgent, but she couldn't let her emotions get the better of her.

She now seems to have become an extremely indifferent person, even her will to live has become weak.

All of Wen Jing's emotions and senses were put on 'pause,' and only the most essential consciousness that relied on the panel remained uninterrupted.

A cold and eternal silence gradually enveloped her.

Under these circumstances, Wen Jing did not regret her earlier action of approaching this place—in fact, even if she still had emotions, she would not regret it.

How can we make progress if we're afraid to do this and afraid to take risks?

The only difference is that she succeeded in the past, but this time she's in trouble.

Wen Jing hadn't given up on finding a way to escape, but her thinking was now more focused, and she wasn't concerned about whether she would succeed.

"First of all, it's impossible to expect help from outside sources."

"Let alone the teachers who couldn't be tracked down, even other powerful creatures in this world would likely meet the same fate if they passed through here."

"It seems that simply touching the crystal will trigger the 'Still Light' effect indiscriminately."

Wen Jing observed the panel in his mind, carefully examining all the characteristics and skills he had mastered, considering whether each one could play a role at this moment.

From the initial level one Gravity Silk to the recently upgraded level two Gravity Silk; from the initial mastery of Basic Combat to the recent mastery of Energy Shock Blast...

"No, no... it still won't work."

"The basis for using any ability is 'movement,' and I am currently completely still."

"Wait, I actually have another skill: I'm athletic--"

"My consciousness itself."

In a flash of inspiration, Wen Jing grasped a thought he hadn't been able to capture before.

The part of her consciousness that she relies on the panel is not static; it can change.

In other words, the idea of escaping through evolution is indeed feasible, but evolution cannot affect her body; it can only affect this part of her consciousness!

The question is, what abilities does Wen Jing need to evolve in his consciousness to escape the current situation?

After recalling the entire process of her being 'captured,' she concluded that the probability of breaking through the spacetime blockade from the perspective of 'strengthening' or 'defense' was not high.

The most crucial point is that there's no guarantee that if she were to shatter the Spacetime Amber from the inside, it wouldn't trigger another Light of Stasis and cause her to be frozen again.

"Furthermore, there aren't many ways to evolve consciousness, and I feel there's a risk of distorting one's thinking if things go wrong..."

"From the perspective of extricating themselves..."

At the same time, the scene of the Vine Lizard cutting off its head to save its life, along with the idiom 'golden cicada shedding its shell', appeared in Wen Jing's mind.

A bold and vivid idea leaped out—

Divided consciousness!

Wen Jing's Wilderness Body and spiritual forms are now locked in the Spacetime Amber, and his remaining consciousness is like the 'spirit' of his spiritual form.

A conscious being capable of activity has no new mental entity to transfer to, but it can split.

If she splits her consciousness through evolution, the mental body controlled by this newly born consciousness will most likely become unlocked, thus achieving the goal of bypassing the 'prison'.

The Wen Jing conceived this thought, he felt the vastness of the world around him.

Free-topic essays are the most difficult to write.

Because there are so many directions for evolution, it's all up to one's own imagination. If it weren't for this experience, Wen Jing might have continued to strengthen his Digestion abilities and perhaps developed in the direction of the giant insect.

Now that this idea has been born, even more extended inspirations have followed.

Groups can play a significant role.

When Wen Jing devoured the Basic Hive Mind, he became determined to 'maintain absolute self and not become just another cog in the machine of survival instinct'.

Previously, she only saw the nesting model, but now she realizes that she doesn't need to imitate that model. Instead, she can create a more ideal and perfect group according to her own ideas.

"This evolutionary direction can involve both division and aggregation; I am both one and ten thousand."

The key point is that, at its core, it's all me, not a new individual.

"If successful, it would be equivalent to having the ability to create 'resurrection coins'... allowing you to explore many dangerous places, and even if you die, it wouldn't be a true death, just the loss of a limb."

If it weren't for the current 'forced fading out' situation, Wen Jing would probably be excited.

However, because of this state of mind, once she had determined her direction, she immediately began to think about more practical issues.

"Can 210 Skill Points be enough to evolve it?"

"Furthermore, the timing of the split is equally important after successful evolution; we must guard against the possibility that the new consciousness might be relocked immediately after the split."

With his immediate priority on escaping, Wen Jing didn't intend to accomplish all his ambitions at once, so he naturally started with the most basic goal.

However, even after simplifying it to the extreme, the panel remained unresponsive.

"Not enough, not even enough for me to undergo an evolution that allows me to split once..."

Clearly, this evolution of Wen Jing's concept is more challenging than the original Gravity Silk.

It might have succeeded if there hadn't been evolutionary Gravity Silk, but there are no "what ifs" in life.

Wen Jing found himself in trouble once again.

The requirement for Consciousness Split has been reduced to its absolute limit, but in the current situation, Skill Points cannot be reduced or increased...

She continued to think, considering every possibility, since it was the only thing she could do right now.

"Can't you buy the panel on credit first? If not, we're all doomed."

The previous situation on the panel, which resembled 'buying on credit,' was predicated on receiving a supplement from Oracle simultaneously, and is different from the current completely static state.

But buying on credit...

Suddenly, Wen Jing paused.

Her gaze fell on her trait [Howl of the Hunt] on the panel.

When she consumed the bone flute, she chose this trait over gaining Skill Points. Now, is it possible to reverse the process?

When it's time to make a decision, Wen Jing certainly wouldn't regret this mental ability.

"Panel, convert the Howl of the Hunt trait into Skill Points!"

The next moment, the panel changed... [Howl of the Hunt] was removed from the traits.

[Skill Points: 210 → 1010]

It worked!

But Wen Jing also had a subtle feeling that after converting the points into Skill Points, she would no longer be able to use the same 800 Skill Points to regain Howl of the Hunt.

However, that's obviously not important right now.

"Panel, Evolution."

[The direction of evolution has been determined...]

[Evolve by consuming points...]

[1010→0]

This time, Wen Jing didn't experience the ethereal feeling he had during his past physical evolutions. Instead, on a spiritual level, he felt an exceptionally clear sense of his own existence, so clear that he even had the strange illusion that he could cut himself.