It was like suddenly turning off the switch of the TV, and the picture in front of Huo Xianfeng suddenly went black.
But the hatred that filled his chest did not dissipate. Instead, it accumulated more and more, until it almost burst his body, and then madly penetrated into his soul, almost crushing him to pieces.
For some unknown reason, Huo Xianfeng was unable to disconnect from the clone this time like he did with Huo Chao.
So he did not wake up on the warm and soft mattress, but was imprisoned in this body, and then locked in another very familiar cage.
In view of the extremely dangerous situation Huo Xianfeng had just shown, the clone was locked in a new incubator, the same one they had used to lock up his original body.
The cold culture fluid was poured in again, and the densely packed tubes were all over the body again. A circle of densely packed white columns stood around the outside. They had strange shapes and continuously sent out strange waves, forming an invisible barrier.
—Psychic shielding device.
This was the thing they had just used to cut off the connection between Huo Xianfeng and Cheng Yue, and now, due to the increase in quantity and energy output, he was trapped in this body.
"Clones were originally designed not to be conscious."
Bernard's deputy temporarily took over his work. His tone was cold, and the sound coming through the layer of liquid and protective glass was very vague.
"His Holiness the Pope said that this consciousness does not belong to Huo Chao, so let's find out as soon as possible... It may belong to the one in Mingcheng..."
Huo Xianfeng couldn't hear the rest of the words. His mind felt confused, but he still tried desperately to go back, but he was locked up.
Every decision and plan that Huo Xianfeng made seemed to have never gone wrong, and every time he clashed with the church, he seemed to have won a crushing victory.
Every time a game seems extremely dangerous, it can always be resolved in the end.
But in fact, the way he always walks on the most dangerous edge is enough to be fatal if any mistake occurs.
—He was trapped.
Can't find a way out.
It was like going back to a long, long time ago when I was a prisoner.
At this moment, Huo Xianfeng saw a huge whirlpool seem to open up in the black void, and he kept falling and falling in the whirlpool, as if falling into the abyss of hatred and pain, but would never reach the end.
He returned to the cage, and countless broken images swirled around him like a crazy tornado in the endless darkness.
These are his memories... these are the truths he has been trying desperately to find since he woke up on Earth.
When Huo Xianfeng knew nothing, he never thought of himself as Huo Chao, but regarding the young king insect trapped in the cage, he also felt that it didn't seem to be himself either.
Because Huo Xianfeng always believed that he shouldn't be like that... He shouldn't be that gloomy and crazy, nor should he be that hysterical, paranoid and cruel.
He should be confident and calm, free and easy, and do whatever he wants.
Unconstrained and unfettered.
Huo Xianfeng never put anyone in his eyes, no matter who the legion commander, the city lord, or the emperor was, even Huo Chao, who everyone thought could not be surpassed. He could just chuckle and say "I can do it."
—This is the king’s attitude.
But later, as the truth he was looking for was revealed layer by layer, Huo Xianfeng discovered that—
The child driven mad by hatred is myself.
It turned out that he had been so powerless, so painful, so humiliated, and even failed to grow up. He never succeeded in his revenge until his death, and even caused the Zerg to be almost exterminated.
That night, when Huo Xianfeng saw the Pope again, all his restraint and rationality seemed to disappear into thin air at that moment.
He was trapped again, as if he was dragged back to the long, long time ago. He was no longer the willful young man who had awakened from Earth, but the king insect cub who had been imprisoned three hundred years ago.
Huo Xianfeng became the person he was most unwilling to face, hysterical, paranoid and crazy, like a wild beast whose mind was overwhelmed by hatred.
Huo Xianfeng was once again immersed in endless pain and hatred, as if his life, his future, and the entire meaning of his existence were reduced to revenge.
Kill them!
Kill them!!!
The dark memories of the past played over and over again before his eyes.
The cage that cannot be broken, the needle that penetrates deeply into the brain, and the cold faces staring at the experimental materials.
[breeze!]
The crying, apologies, begging, and death of close friends.
[Xiaofeng... wait for me...]
The bloody memories were played over and over again, forcing Huo Xianfeng to see every detail clearly. Too many reincarnations made Huo Xianfeng lose his ability to perceive time.
He was lost in the darkness, so he didn't know that he had been in a coma for more than half a month.
"Huo Xianfeng?"
"Huo Xianfeng, wake up..."
When Jiang Ci found out that Huo Xianfeng was not asleep but in a coma, she immediately called for Doctor Wen. Zhou Jiuya also rushed over after hearing the news. However, Wen Xubai, who rushed over with medical equipment, was almost killed by the long tail before he even got close.
The sharp edge almost instantly split the metal medical box in two. If Jiang Ci had not reacted and stopped it, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Everyone in the room was immediately frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.
They found that no one could get close to the unconscious Huo Xianfeng. The tail seemed to have self-awareness and would immediately launch a fatal attack on anyone who tried to get close to Huo Xianfeng.
—Except Jiangci.
Only Jiang Ci was allowed to approach.
Therefore, Jiang Ci could only follow Dr. Wen's instructions for the examination.
[No fever, breathing and heartbeat are normal.]
But other things, such as blood tests, scanning of the internal body conditions, and more detailed examinations, nothing can be done. Because in the dormant defensive state, the needle cannot pierce Huo Xianfeng's skin, and human medical instruments cannot scan the internal conditions of his body.
So in the end, Dr. Wen could only shake his head.
[I’m sorry, Uncle Wen can’t do anything.]
Ever since Huo Xianfeng fell into a coma, Nora, who usually behaved very well and silently, became irritable and irritable. Not only her, but the entire Zerg was in a state of irritability.
They surrounded the First Legion and tried to take Huo Xianfeng away. There was a small-scale panic within the First Legion, but fortunately it was suppressed by Zhou Jiuya.
On the other side, Jiang Ci quickly found Nora, comforted her, and asked her to temporarily stabilize the Zerg army.
Huo Xianfeng said that the internal hierarchy of the Zerg is very strict, and higher-level Zerg naturally suppress lower-level Zerg, so apart from him, the one with the highest status at present is Nora.
[good.]
Nora nodded.
So the situation was barely stabilized.
However, Jiang Ci still couldn't find the reason why Huo Xianfeng was coma, because there was no sign, and apart from being coma, he didn't have any other abnormal symptoms, as if he was asleep.
Jiang Ci knew too little about the Zerg, and Nora couldn't explain it clearly. She could only repeat anxiously,
[The king is missing, can’t be found… can’t be found…]
[But he is clearly here.]
Jiang Ci didn't understand, Huo Xianfeng was clearly here.
He is obviously here!
Nora shook her head and repeated hurriedly,
[The King’s light is gone… gone… ]
In the Zerg's mental network, the king's symbol is the shining sun, while the rest of the Zerg's are starlight.
[What does light mean?]
Nora couldn't explain it clearly, because the mental network was something the Zerg knew innately, just like a child cannot explain why he can be heard when he speaks.
At this moment, Jiang Ci held Huo Xianfeng's hand tightly and almost collapsed.
—Because he doesn't understand.
He didn't understand what Nora meant.
Jiang Ci knew that Huo Xianfeng could control the Zerg, but she didn't know that this channel was the Zerg's spiritual network. The connection between Huo Xianfeng and Huo Chao was also the secret of their interdependence in the church.
They agreed not to tell anyone.
So for so many years, no one knew. Not even Bernard, who had been in charge of the King Bug experiment, and not even the Pope who had been paying attention to the Huo Dynasty, they didn't know.
So Jiang Ci didn't know that Huo Xianfeng's sudden coma frightened him, so frightened that he couldn't even think normally and calmly. Because Jiang Jin was also in a coma for a long time before he died.
Ever since Huo Xianfeng fell into a coma, Jiang Ci has been staying by his side, just like when they first arrived at Tiandong Star, he also stayed by the unconscious Huo Xianfeng's side, never leaving his side.
But the situation is different from last time. Last time he fell into a coma due to overdrawing his strength, but this time it is not the case.
Jiang Ci tried hard to find the reason every day. He recalled every word Huo Xianfeng said over and over again, and even every detail since Huo Xianfeng woke up on Earth.
Jiang Ci has a good memory, but when he began to recall every little detail about Huo Xianfeng, he found that he remembered everything about the other party so clearly, even every frame of the memory was vivid.
He stayed beside Huo Xianfeng, stroking his quietly sleeping face, thinking about it over and over again.
Because of the lack of sleep, anxiety and fear, Jiang Ci looked a little haggard. Little X felt very distressed and took the initiative to bring the nutrient solution specially prepared by Dr. Wen.
Jiang Ci didn't say anything like he couldn't eat, but took it and drank it very neatly. Because Huo Xianfeng was unconscious, he couldn't fall down, on the contrary, he needed to ensure a healthy body.
Little X floated over, stretched out his nerve chain and touched Jiang Ci's head soothingly.
"Aci, why don't you take a nap?"
Because the mechanical tentacles are too hard and the neural chains are softer, Xiao X chose the neural chains.
"We have three mechas guarding here."
There was also a high-level Zerg Nora in the corner, outside were the First Legion's troops, and outside that were densely packed Zerg. It couldn't be safer.
"It doesn't matter."
Jiang Ci shook his head. He couldn't figure out what Nora meant by the light. This sentence was incoherent and made Jiang Ci feel like he was stuck in a dead end and couldn't find any clues.
"Jinyuan, open the cockpit, and give me your neural chain and the spare one!"
Because the driver mainly uses neural chains to connect with the mecha in order to achieve empathy for control, the importance of neural chains is self-evident, so there is usually a second spare neural chain in the cockpit.
"?"
Jin Yuan didn't understand what Jiang Ci wanted to do, but he followed the order. It flew out of the window, transformed into a complete state in outer space, then opened the cockpit and took both people in.
However, Jinyuan's appearance would cause panic among the First Legion, so it returned to the Zerg's base, the underground space where the Zerg had buried it.
Jiang Ci didn't have time to think about anything else. He quickly dismantled Jin Yuan's backup neural chain. He didn't just dismantle one head like he did last time. Instead, he dismantled the entire chain and quickly began to modify it.
"wait!"
Jin Yuan was shocked. He wanted to say something but was instantly captured by Xiao X, who quickly sent a series of crackling radio waves.
"Jinyuan Dad, please don't disturb Ah Ci! Children's interests must be encouraged!"
Jin Yuan: “…”
It can't speak.
At this moment, none of the three mechas could understand Jiang Ci's operations.
Jiang Ci reset the first neural chain to normal and removed the cutting-edge device that secretly acquired genes. As for the second backup one, it was a little more complicated and it took him three full days to complete it.
After the transformation, Jiang Ci took the spare neural chain and connected it to the back of Huo Xianfeng's neck.
Jin Yuan finally couldn't help but remind him.
"Aci, he is unconscious. Even if you reverse the neural link connection program, he still can't connect to the mecha."
Not to mention that Huo Xianfeng never used the neural link. Even if he did, the driver had to actively connect, so it was one-way. It was the driver who connected the mecha one-way. But Jiang Ci changed the program and reversed the one-way connection.
"I know."
Jiang Ci inserted another one into the back of his neck.
"Wait, your mental strength threshold..."
Jin Yuan wanted to say that he was a little short and might cause a great burden, but the moment Jiang Ci connected, Jin Yuan shut up.
one thousand…
In just half a month, his mental strength threshold actually rose to one thousand!!!
If this continues, he might even surpass Huo Chao...
Jin Yuan was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
At this time, Jiang Ci no longer worried about what the light Nora mentioned was. After thinking about it for so many days, he roughly understood that when Nora said that Wang was missing, it must be that some connection between them was broken.
"Huo Xianfeng can directly command the Zerg on Tiandong Star and even on Earth from Shenglu Star. This proves that Huo Xianfeng has an absolute connection with the Zerg. But this absolute connection is now broken."
Jiang Ci took a deep breath.
"I can't understand the mechanism, so I can only find similar ways, such as the connection between humans and mechas."
But Jinyuan's spiritual cavity is not the end but a transit station. Jiang Ci is planning to use the mecha as a medium to slowly and tentatively connect to another person's brain through the second backup neural chain.
Jiang Ci's mental power once coexisted with Huo Xianfeng's mental power inside the mental cavity of a mecha, especially when Huo Xianfeng used Bai Ze to teach him, Jiang Ci couldn't describe the wonderful feeling, it was as if... they reached empathy, and even for a long time afterwards, he seemed to be able to sense each other's existence inexplicably.
So, Jiang Ci wanted to try again.
Jin Yuan was shocked by Jiang Ci's idea, because it sounded like a fantasy.
"Aci! Wait, this is too dangerous!!!"
Xiao X's voice became serious for the first time, and he sounded very anxious.
When the neural chain was first invented, some people tried to use it to connect people's brains. However, all attempts failed and caused great damage to the subjects' brains. And usually the one with a lower mental threshold suffered more damage.
"Do you know how high Huo Xianfeng's mental strength threshold is?!"
—That is a value that even the Forbidden Abyss cannot detect!
Jiang Ci also knew it, but there was no other way now. He did not answer his parenting system, but muted the other party directly.
Jiang Ci closed her eyes and began to connect formally.
But to his disappointment, it was a void of darkness, like the very edge of the universe.
Jiang Ci felt as if she was walking in some different dimension. There was nothing but endless darkness and coldness.
Nothing at all…
"Huo Xianfeng?"
He walked for a long time, but it was still dark.
"Huo Xianfeng!"
He went from walking to running, faster and faster.
"Huo Xianfeng!!"
Jiang Ci ran frantically in the darkness, shouting at the top of her lungs,
"Huo Xianfeng!!!"
Almost hysterical, but his voice seemed to be swallowed up by darkness as soon as it came out.
no respond.
Jiang Ci felt that he couldn't breathe, but no matter what, he couldn't stop. At this moment, he felt as if some special power was surging out of his body.
This way.
Here.
A wonderful intuition swept through his body, allowing Jiang Ci to find the direction in the vast darkness.
At this moment, Nora, who was squatting in the corner, suddenly looked up, because she saw a new light shining in the spiritual network as bright as the sea of stars.
It was very small, but gradually brightened.
So bright that it is dazzling.
boom!!!
Jiang Ci seemed to have hit an invisible barrier.
Then he saw a huge incubator and countless hurricane-like fragments of images around it.
At that moment, Jiang Ci finally had a deep and real understanding of the cage that Huo Xianfeng mentioned, and the bloody past that the man had described lightly. He tore open the barrier and walked in.
At this moment, Jiang Ci finally saw the past that Huo Xianfeng was unwilling to tell him.
The king, who should have grown up in the love of his entire race, became a prisoner from the moment he was born. The first thing this world gave him was pain, harm, and theft.
He grew up surrounded by hatred and didn't even grow up.
Huo Xianfeng was a prisoner from birth to death.
Not only the memories, but also all the pain, hatred, resentment, and all the negative things poured into Jiang Ci's mind at this moment.
"ah!"
The pain was so intense that it almost tore him apart. Jiang Ci was shaking all over. But he still walked forward step by step, through the endless bloody debris, towards the man.
despair-
He placed his palm against the cold glass and looked up at Huo Xianfeng.
Jiang Ci's posture at this moment is just like that of the young Huo Chao long, long ago.
But at that time, Huo Chao could only kneel on the ground and cry to Huo Xianfeng in shame, self-blame and pain.
Because he couldn't save him... Even later, Huo Chao spent a full twenty years, but was unable to pull Huo Xianfeng out of the abyss of hatred. He could only be trapped in the cage with him, and died at the moment he finally broke free.
But at this moment, Jiang Ci's eyes were red but he didn't cry. He clenched his finger bones tightly, as if he was accumulating some terrible power.
boom!
He smashed the cage with one punch.
Amidst the loud rumbling sound, Jiang Ci ran towards the man regardless of everything, opened her arms and hugged him tightly.
"Huo Xianfeng!"
Jiang Ci hugged the boy's cold, trembling body tightly. Then she told him in the most gentle but firm tone,
"It's okay. I'm coming."
(End of this chapter)