Chapter 643 – The Proper Use of Number 0
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As soon as Ling Mo spoke, the other two were immediately shocked into silence.
What did that mean?
Ai Feng, however, showed no sign of surprise. With a “click-clack,” he straightened his head and then stared at Ling Mo with a bizarre expression, his response somewhat slow as he opened his mouth: “Heh… heh heh…”
The laughter was truly creepy, like nails sc.r.a.ping back and forth on sandpaper. It was not only unpleasant to hear but also felt like it was boring into one’s brain.
Ling Mo couldn’t help but frown slightly. The others just found it unpleasant, unaware that the laughter carried a blast of mental power…
To achieve this, the mental power had to be indeed formidable.
Despite this, the way the two looked at Ai Feng had changed.
Ai Feng’s non-reaction confirmed that what Ling Mo had said was indeed the literal truth.
Understanding was one thing, but accepting this reality was quite another!
Were they supposed to ‘partic.i.p.ate’ in this creepy manner of appearance? That was taking partic.i.p.ation way too far!
“It seems you are Number 0.” Ling Mo said, hands in his pockets.
Just a moment ago, he had sensed a strong wave of mental power.
And when Ai Feng had called him out, Ling Mo clearly detected a mental force locking onto him.
At such a point, hiding was meaningless, so he had simply stood out.
But such an overwhelming mental power was not something Ai Feng should possess. Ling Mo had never encountered such a situation before.
Upon consideration, the only one capable of this in the branch was Number 0.
Ling Mo boldly speculated, and to his surprise, the other party readily admitted it.
“You’ve become more formidable since last time… I am… surprised,” said Ai Feng.
His speech did not seem slurred, but rather as if his body and neural responses were out of sync.
“I’m surprised too, you can actually speak.” Ling Mo retorted, “I always thought you were just an information-exchanging biological machine.”
Then another voice came from behind the trio: “I thought so too.”
The two immediately turned around with a tense look, and then exclaimed in horror: “Mu Chen, Captain Mu?!”
“Just call me Mu Chen,” he said with a self-deprecating tone. “At this point, I am an enemy of your Niepan.”
“That just now…” one of them glanced at Mu Chen, then turned to look at Ling Mo.
He finally understood. It was these two who had played them for fools…
With Ling Mo forfeiting the sneak attack, Mu Chen felt there was no need to continue hiding as bait.
Especially with the sudden turn of events that he had not antic.i.p.ated at all…
The “fis.h.i.+ng plan” had been going smoothly!
It was Ling Mo who proposed the plan, but Mu Chen had a hand in its success as well.
It was Mu Chen who had provided Ling Mo with detailed information about the personality traits of the commander Ai Feng, as well as the true state of affairs within the branch…
For instance, the main reason for Ai Feng’s strong reaction, even to the point of seeming to lose his sanity, was because this branch really didn’t carry much weight in the eyes of headquarters.
If the branch itself was not valued, what to say of the Boss in charge of it?
In the eyes of headquarters, Ai Feng was considered even less significant than an experimental product like Number 1.
Being of little consequence and having made such a grave mistake, Ai Feng’s future looked bleak, which of course, led to his outburst.
However, Ling Mo was quite surprised when he heard this: “A branch monopolizing an entire city, that’s quite impressive…”
“The really impressive ones are called to headquarters,” Mu Chen replied. “Otherwise, why would it be Ai Feng’s turn? It’s just that with Number 0 here, the branch can still collect a lot of intelligence and experimental data for headquarters. That’s why it’s been kept around. You could say that the branch’s entire reason for existence is focused on Number 0. Now you must realize how big of a deal it is for the branch that you’ve hurt Number 0.”
“Then why not simply move Number 0 to headquarters?” Ling Mo suddenly asked.
Mu Chen could only shake his head: “How should I know…”
“But in the end, Number 0 is just a high-powered mental power telegraph machine, right?” Ling Mo pondered and asked.
Mu Chen thought for a moment, frowning, then nodded: “Basically… right…”
…
Right my foot!
Mu Chen was completely dumbfounded at this moment. Having spent so much time at the branch and knowing Ai Feng for quite a while, he had no idea this was the correct way to use Number 0!
It seems that every Boss indeed has a few tricks up their sleeve!
However, Ai Feng paid no attention to Mu Chen and kept his gaze fixed on Ling Mo: “A machine? No… you’re half right.”
He even seriously started defending himself: “It’s… a receptacle.”
“What do you mean?” Ling Mo asked with a frown.
“I…” Ai Feng shook his head, his speech becoming much smoother, “I am made up of many… memories…”
But suddenly, his tone became shrill: “Shut up! What memories, that’s a consciousness! Idiot!”
“Isn’t it all the same? Stop bickering, let him continue!”
“This is simple, I’ll explain. It’s just a bunch of consciousnesses crammed together, then the original ent.i.ty exploded, and finally, it was transferred to a new one!”
“Ha, to add to that, it transferred to a body that had yet to develop any consciousness!”
“Just now… who mentioned consciousness? That’s memory…”
Then, his head shook again, and his gaze returned from the previous confusion, his tone once again normal: “The receptacle has no binding force… I can… transfer to another like this.”
“d.a.m.n…” Everyone was stunned.
The scene just now was as if Ai Feng was playing multiple roles at once and arguing with himself.
Ling Mo was the first to snap back to reality, though his expression was still one of disbelief.
When first encountering Number 0, although he only saw some vague fragments, Ling Mo had always thought it was a specially trained individual with no autonomy, a non-pure mental ability user…
But the reality turned out to be more astonis.h.i.+ng than he had imagined…
Despite Ai Feng’s “chattering” just now, Ling Mo had more or less understood the gist of it.
The original existence of Number 0 might have been just an ordinary mental ability user.
Using a certain method, they transferred the mental power of others into the brain of a single individual. However, unlike Ling Mo’s method of consumption, which converts mental power into pure mental energy to be absorbed, this process involved mixing memories and consciousness into a tangled mess. When the original ent.i.ty couldn’t bear it anymore, they crammed this chaotic bundle into another “receptacle.”
Ling Mo might not have known exactly how the “explosion” happened, but just thinking about a brain crammed with countless memories and different ways of thinking was like standing in a plaza day and night, surrounded by a crowd arguing non-stop. Over time, one would either be driven to suicide or madness.
It was quite the scheme they had come up with…
But what exactly was the “body without consciousness”? Ordinary zombies?
Before Ling Mo could ask, Mu Chen spoke up: “That… baby…”
“Ah?”
What was this abrupt statement about…
With a face full of shock, Mu Chen said, “I’m talking about that baby! Number 0 was originally an infant kept in an incubator! But I’m not clear about the birth process… I thought…”
As he spoke, he involuntarily stepped back, clearly shaken by the reality.
Even the others couldn’t help but step back; the notion of a consciousness that could “transfer” was truly frightening…
Ling Mo nodded thoughtfully; this answer matched the scene he had “seen” back then…
“You don’t need to…” Ai Feng chuckled, then cracked his neck again, “I am… restricted to this place.”
“And your transfer has conditions too,” Ling Mo keenly pointed out another crucial detail.
Ai Feng fell silent, his fists clenched in what seemed like anger.
“Indeed…”
Now it was clear why Number 0 could only stay here. It seemed that to maintain his position, Ai Feng had more than one trick up his sleeve.
Such a method of use was likely only possible for Ai Feng; he was essentially Number 0’s exclusive spare receptacle.
“Number 0 is like his bread and b.u.t.ter; no wonder he’s so anxious,” Ling Mo thought to himself.
At this moment, Ai Feng is like a powerful mental ability user. Since Number 0 is more than just a “telegraph machine”, it must possess other abilities.
Ling Mo and Mu Chen exchanged a glance and a silent communication pa.s.sed between them.
Although Mu Chen was still reeling from the shock, he knew that now was not the time to dwell on it.
He gripped his knife tightly and turned his attention to the two members.
Meanwhile, Ling Mo focused on Ai Feng as both shouted in unison, “Now!”
Mu Chen kicked a small tea table towards one of them and lunged with his knife at the other.
Ling Mo shot dozens of tentacles from the Mental Sphere, sealing off all directions in front of Ai Feng.
But while the other two were still in a daze, Ai Feng had already reacted to Ling Mo’s surprise attack.
A strong mental fluctuation suddenly appeared around him, blocking all of Ling Mo’s mental Tentacles.
As the two forces of mental energy collided, the tentacles dissipated into nothingness, but a portion of them solidified upon impact with the mental waves.
The mental attack turning into a physical one was something most people couldn’t even conceive, let alone counter.
But just as Ai Feng was about to be turned into a porcupine by the solidified tentacles, he let out a grating laugh.
His body bizarrely bent backward, dodging Ling Mo’s materialized tentacles at the very last moment.
He continued to dodge with small, precise movements, avoiding each one.
During this process, his protective layer of mental fluctuations didn’t disappear; it was simultaneously blocking mental and physical attacks, making him impenetrable.
The smile on Ling Mo’s face slowly faded, and he pulled his hands out of his pockets, a serious look flas.h.i.+ng in his eyes.
“d.a.m.n…”