Embers Ad Infinitum
chapter-867-30041322

Shang Jianyao—who was wearing a military exoskeleton—closed his eyes, staggered to his feet, and slowly turned to where Professor Qin was.

He kept muttering to himself, "Can't sleep; can't sleep. This is a critical moment in saving all of humanity. How can I sleep?"

Although he couldn't hear what the fellow was saying, Professor Qin remained stunned. Isn't this willpower too strong? Or does he have some kind of persistence that can resist his greatest hobby?

Almost at the same time, a bolt of lightning flashed.

Jiang Baimian—who wasn't donning an exoskeleton—trembled as she sat up. She had electrocuted herself with her left hand!

Considering the common control abilities, she chose to set up a command in the auxiliary chip to monitor if she fell asleep like the previous few times when resisting Forced Sleep. Who knew that she would hit the jackpot?

It was precisely because of this order that Jiang Baimian couldn't fend off Qiao Chu. She thought that with Genava around, it wouldn't be a problem even if she really encountered Qiao Chu.

Smart bots couldn't be bewitched!

Another one! Professor Qin was stunned by this group of people. He felt that they were a synthesis of monsters.

While his attention was attracted by Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian, Gitis—who was at the edge of Gesterbourg—suddenly coughed twice and woke up. She was no longer sleepy.

She was still in a settlement. The air quality was poor, and the sunlight wasn't warm. How could there be an environment conducive for sleeping on the streets?

As soon as her main consciousness recovered, Gitis immediately knew that something was amiss. She then remotely controlled the male body's consciousness.

The man in the cap sat up and grabbed the Subhuti figurine beside him.

The Subhuti figurine lit up with a blurry green glow, helping 'him' sense Professor Qin.

After Professor Qin created a hobby for them and was in a rush to affect Genava, he didn't have the time to hide his consciousness. Furthermore, he wanted to turn the situation around, believing that he would take action soon. It was a waste of time to hide his consciousness first.

Without any hesitation, Gitis's male body used its abilities: Six Realms of Rebirth and Existence—Hell realm!

Professor Qin immediately felt the pain in his bones and his nerves twitch as if he had been squashed by a large truck.

This had been his nightmare for a long time. Every time it acted up, he felt like he had fallen into hell.

Now, hell seemed to have truly descended.

Professor Qin let out a suppressed and pained cry as the Pen of Hobbies in his hand fell to the ground.

Taking the opportunity, Gitis's male body used another ability: Visual Deprivation!

The reason 'he' didn't strip Professor Qin of his vision from the beginning was that he was worried this couldn't completely break down the other party's combat strength and give him a chance to counterattack.

After falling into hell and suffering pain, the enemy basically couldn't counterattack effectively.

Although Gitis wasn't an Awakened, she had used the Subhuti figurine for almost three years. Frances and the others she controlled were Awakened and had sufficient experience. She naturally knew which abilities to use first and which to use last at critical moments.

There was another reason: The Subhuti figurine could directly strip an enemy's consciousness, but she—who wasn't an Awakened—couldn't power it. She had to strip away all five senses before she could use it.

This required her to control Professor Qin before depriving him of his senses.

As Professor Qin wailed in pain, his vision turned pitch-black. He couldn't see anything else.

At this moment, although Shang Jianyao—who wasn't under the effect of continual influence—still had that hobby, he barely defeated the other party and narrowed his eyes. He then picked up the blue and white loudspeaker hanging from his belt and shouted at Professor Qin, "Surrender, and you will be dealt with leniency!

"Surrender, and you will be dealt with leniency!"

His shout was like a magical voice that constantly echoed in Professor Qin's mind, making the slightly relieved enemy hesitate. He didn't know if he should grit his teeth and counterattack with all his might.

Right on the heels of that, Gitis's male body picked up the Subhuti figurine, making the green light brighter.

Olfactory Deprivation!

Knowing that 'his' collaborator's abilities were mainly reflected in his words, 'he' wasn't stupid enough to strip Professor Qin of his hearing now.

"Surrender, and you will be dealt with leniency!

"Surrender, and you will be dealt with leniency!" Shang Jianyao went on repeat.

Not far from him, Jiang Baimian also stood up and aimed the grenade launcher in her hand at the hill where Professor Qin was.

Her abilities and items couldn't affect the enemy more than 200 meters away, but she had powerful weapons and had already switched the explosives in advance.

Relying on her experience and mental calculations, an imaginary trajectory surfaced in Jiang Baimian's mind as she adjusted the muzzle's direction. However, she didn't fire directly because the Old Task Force still wanted to capture Professor Qin and obtain the Eighth Research Institute's exact location.

Professor Qin—who couldn't see or smell anything—could only hear Shang Jianyao's looping 'replay.' The pain of falling into hell continued plaguing him.

He fell into a daze and seriously considered giving up resisting. If he didn't give up, he felt that he might not be spared in the current situation.

Amidst his hesitation, Gitis's male body methodically used her abilities. Taste Deprivation!

This didn't affect the current Professor Qin, but it was a necessary step.

"Surrender, and you will be dealt with leniency!

"Surrender, and you will be dealt with leniency!" Shang Jianyao held the blue and white loudspeaker and constantly enhanced the effects of Thought Implantation as he jumped toward the hill.

He was closing the distance between the two to prevent any accidents.

If Gitis couldn't successfully use her abilities or if it was difficult to achieve her desired goal, Shang Jianyao could use the Six Senses Beads and directly use Consciousness Deprivation once he was within 120 meters of Professor Qin.

Touch Deprivation!

Professor Qin could no longer feel the ground, nor did he seem to have the red pine tree beside him. He no longer had anything to lean on.

This made him feel like a wanderer exiled into the darkness. He couldn't help but feel heartfelt fear.

Running away from such darkness was everyone's instinct.

At this moment, the effects of Hell realm had greatly subsided, and Professor Qin had the ability to think.

Not good. I'll encounter Consciousness Deprivation after another two to three more times—max… Professor Qin came from the Eighth Research Institute and had a sufficient understanding of Awakened abilities. He just couldn't determine if he had been deprived of three or four of his senses.

I can't just sit back and do nothing. I have to counter-attack immediately and strive for an opportunity… No, it's better to give up resisting. That will result in leniency… Professor Qin 'woke up' and fell into an internal struggle.

Gitis's male body followed the orders of the main consciousness and activated 'his' abilities step by step. Auditory Deprivation!

Professor Qin's ears buzzed, and he couldn't hear anything.

The devilish voice echoing in his mind vanished. However, this didn't mean that the effects of Thought Implantation would immediately be dispelled. Before encountering a negative example, it would still affect the target.

Now, Professor Qin—who couldn't hear or see anything—couldn't deduce from the clues that giving up on resisting wouldn't result in leniency. Only his fear of Consciousness Deprivation made him feel that surrendering didn't seem like a good idea.

In a flash, he—who had been pushed to his limits—broke down. Professor Qin reflexively extended his mind to the group of humans, attempting to implant false memories into them at all costs to make them think that this was only a misunderstanding.

At the same time, Professor Qin also planned on activating the Maze Glasses on his nose bridge to make the enemies hallucinate.

Unfortunately, his resistance appeared too late at this point. Just as he extended his psyche, the Subhuti figurine in the hand of Gitis's male body illuminated the surroundings a hazy green.

Consciousness Deprivation!

Professor Qin fell back and lost consciousness.

"Success!" Shang Jianyao—who was wearing a military exoskeleton—widened his eyes and yawned. He then looked at Gitis's male body. "Lend me the Subhuti figurine. I want to use Destiny Connection to stir his memories and check for the corresponding information!"

Gitis hesitated for a few seconds before saying through the male body, "Use it beside me."

This way, she wouldn't escape the Subhuti figurine's influence, and the consciousness she shared wouldn't be forcefully retracted, causing the body to die on the spot.

"Alright!" Shang Jianyao had always readily agreed with such matters.

He jumped up and came to Gitis's male body before extending his right palm that was covered in metal bones.

Jiang Baimian said to Genava—who had escaped his hallucination, "Wake Little White and Little Red up. Don't let down your guard."

At this moment, Gitis's male body handed the Subhuti figurine in 'his' hand to Shang Jianyao.

"Excellent, excellent." Shang Jianyao raised his left palm vertically and praised him before taking it.