Chapter 139 The Former Archbishop's Research Work

Before the former Archbishop of the Scientific Church led Ou Xiaolu back to the deep abyss, he pointed down at the blue liquid within it and asked, "Look down. What do you see?"

"Just blue liquid. I don't know much about scientific research, so I have no idea what its chemical composition is."

"That is not what I am referring to. Look beneath the liquid. Do you see it?"

Ou Xiaolu looked closer and, to his astonishment, discovered a skull over twenty meters in diameter resting beneath the blue liquid!

"This? How is this possible? Such a massive skull—what kind of creature is this?"

"It is said to be a demon, originally sealed beneath the church under my jurisdiction. I discovered this entity quite by accident when I was nearly fifty years old. In that era, the power of deities could no longer be sensed, so I began to explore the study of demons. In the end, I found that this thing cannot truly be considered a demon at all.

"This entity should be a type of outer-realm deity. Only those without a divine spark would use the power of faith to bloat themselves to such immense sizes.

"However, before it was sealed, this creature was considered a powerful being. It had devoured numerous creatures, and fragments of their genetic material still remained within its body. That gave me the idea to use the genetic material of these semi-divine beings to create artificial humans.

"To achieve this, I converted to the Church of Scientific God and embarked on the path of technology.

"This entity is also my greatest foundation. Normally, I keep it immersed in this ecological fluid to maintain its vitality.

"My Archangel avatar remains stationed here continuously, observing its every subtle change.

"When my base was relocated this time, whether due to the change in the sealing location or the lingering resentment of the local ley lines, the residual malice of this entity was somehow activated, affecting the researchers throughout my entire research base.

"They lost all self-control and began attacking my artificial humans.

"Because the incident happened so suddenly, I encountered severe trouble; the entire base slipped out of my control, save for this chamber, which they have not yet managed to breach.

"That is why I had someone seek out Wayne—to bring him here so he could help me figure out what is happening. He is far more advanced in cloning than I am.

"However, I didn't expect Wayne to be temporarily detained by other matters. In that case, I suppose I must rely entirely on you. Of course, your mission may differ from Wayne's; since those researchers instigated this rebellion, there must be a mastermind behind it. Find that mastermind and eliminate them."

Ou Xiaolu paused, feeling somewhat amused and exasperated. It was evident that the former Archbishop still harbored deep suspicions toward him.

On second thought, though, Ou Xiaolu had no better alternatives. If they genuinely asked him to investigate the technical root of the malfunction, he wouldn't be able to find it anyway.

With a definitive nod, Ou Xiaolu asked, "If all else fails, should I just kill all the researchers under your command?"

The former Archbishop blinked, then slapped his forehead in resignation. "I knew you would suggest that. Oh well, it can't be helped—I suppose that works too.

"However, you must be vigilant. Look out for any spiritual entities or specters emerging from those people. I know you have experience dealing with such phenomena; I primarily want to know why my research institute malfunctioned upon arriving here."

Ou Xiaolu agreed immediately, then asked, "What should I do if something of yours gets smashed in the process?"

"You can rest assured," the former Archbishop replied with the lavish confidence of a magnate. "Aside from this demon skull, everything else is ordinary equipment. If it breaks, it breaks."

With those concerns addressed, Ou Xiaolu asked no further questions. He cast one final glance at the former Archbishop before transforming into a streak of electricity and vanishing right before his eyes.

This sudden departure momentarily stunned the former Archbishop, who then offered a helpless, bitter smile. "It seems I truly underestimated this young friend of mine. He has truly come into his own."

As the former Archbishop spoke, the colossal Archangel avatar standing guard over the deep abyss slowly nodded in agreement.

Upon leaving the former Archbishop's vicinity, Ou Xiaolu did not launch an attack immediately. He opened his minimap. In his view, the "Cross-Realm Gaming" system was exceptionally powerful; spaces of this nature were automatically classified as miniature worlds, and opening the minimap allowed him to directly pinpoint the locations of enemies, allies, and bosses.

Ou Xiaolu could instantly identify the source of the trouble, but since he rarely encountered such an ideal opportunity to farm experience points, there was no way he would let it slip by.

He adjusted the experience allocation of the [Purple Manor Secret Manual] to 80%, selected the area with the highest concentration of enemies, and prepared for a massacre.

Arriving at the high-density enemy zone indicated on the minimap, Ou Xiaolu found a large group of researchers in lab coats busy conducting experiments. Had Ou Xiaolu entered this sector first, he might have mistaken them for the most normal people in the facility and never suspected them as enemies.

Before Ou Xiaolu entered the perimeter of these lab-coated researchers, they had been quietly absorbed in their own work. Watching from a distance, Ou Xiaolu noticed they appeared to be examining several artificial humans.

Ou Xiaolu had no idea which batch numbers these artificial humans belonged to, but he had a lingering sensation that the researchers were plotting something sinister.

With no intention of lingering to observe, Ou Xiaolu drew his longsword, summoned a pair of sharks, and charged straight at the researchers.

The moment Ou Xiaolu rushed forward, the researchers reacted. Despite possessing virtually no combat prowess, they grabbed whatever weapons were at hand and charged to meet him.

Ou Xiaolu had little fondness for such mindless enemies; opponents like these implied a total loss of autonomous will.

Killing such foes brought him no sense of accomplishment. He didn't even bother swinging his sword, relying solely on the two sharks to slaughter every single researcher in the area.

Only after eliminating the researchers did Ou Xiaolu approach the artificial humans.

He discovered that all of them had already been killed. The researchers appeared deeply fascinated by their brains, having surgically opened every single one of their skulls and using various fluids and electrical currents to stimulate their neural tissue.

After a brief moment of thought, Ou Xiaolu understood. The artificial humans were the former Archbishop's trusted confidants. While uncreated or newly manufactured they might have been blank slates, once fully realized and brought to life, they would undoubtedly have been subjected to thorough brainwashing.

These researchers had undoubtedly intended to brainwash the artificial humans, turning them into pawns of their own faction.

Once achieved, the artificial humans would fall under their control. If the former Archbishop remained ignorant of this betrayal, these pawns would have the opportunity to infiltrate his inner circle and deliver a fatal blow.

Frowning at the sight, Ou Xiaolu muttered, "It seems the person behind this is no fool. They have a well-calculated plan. If I don't hurry, the former Archbishop might be in serious trouble."

With that thought, Ou Xiaolu abandoned the idea of hunting down other large clusters of lesser enemies and made his way directly toward the location of the boss.