Chapter 383: Grossly Overestimating Oneself
Chapter 383: Chapter 383: Grossly Overestimating Oneself
"Captain Yan, save yourself the trouble. Lan Xin has already formed a spiritual connection with someone. I’m afraid you won’t be able to connect with him," Ning Xuan said, carefully studying the pink butterfly she held in her fingers.
The moment they met, Ning Xuan had noticed something was wrong within Lan Xin’s Spiritual Sea. At the time, she thought he had been infected by some strange contaminant, but she never imagined someone had secretly tampered with him.
"It doesn’t matter if he’s been linked before. I’m an SS-level Controller—the highest level there is. I can overwrite the original Spiritual Link Channel, establish a new one, and resolve this crisis all the same," Yan Hezhen said with complete confidence.
"You want to overwrite Lan Xin’s original Spiritual Link Channel? Setting aside whether you’re even capable of it, have you asked Lan Xin or his Contractor for permission?" Ning Xuan placed the pink butterfly into a Crystal Bottle and stored it in her Space Button to study later.
"This is no time for questions! Move aside." Estimating the time it would take for the drug to kick in, Yan Hezhen was unwilling to miss the optimal window to form the connection. She rushed forward recklessly, pressed one hand to Lan Xin’s forehead, and unleashed her spiritual power with all her might.
The moment Yan Hezhen’s palm touched Lan Xin’s scorching forehead, a violent spiritual torrent surged back at her like a tsunami. Her vision instantly flashed a blinding blue-white, and her ears were filled with a sharp noise like the hissing of snakes.
’How can this be...’ Yan Hezhen bit the tip of her tongue, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth. Her mind felt as if it were being torn apart. Lan Xin’s spiritual turbulence was a hurricane, ripping at her consciousness and threatening to pulverize her Sea of Consciousness.
Yan Hezhen trembled all over. ’This shouldn’t be happening. Under the effects of that secret drug, with the pink butterfly as a guide, his Spiritual Sea should be paralyzed right now. An automatic counter-attack like this should be impossible.’
Yan Hezhen didn’t know what had gone wrong, but having come this far, there was no turning back. A faint cyan energy surged from her palm, forming a spinning array of runes before Lan Xin’s forehead. This was the Spirit Anchor Array, part of the Spirit Link Secret Technique. The skill consumed a massive amount of spiritual power, and using it would lead to a period of total depletion, potentially even causing permanent damage.
With no other choice, Yan Hezhen cast the Spirit Anchoring Skill. She had thought she could quickly complete the spiritual connection, but the faint cyan energy slammed into a red chain within Lan Xin’s Sea of Consciousness. The chain suddenly erupted into flames. With a SIZZLE, the cyan energy was instantly ignited, and the spinning runes vanished.
SPITTING out a mouthful of blood, Yan Hezhen began to bleed from her eyes, nose, and ears. At the same time, red burn marks appeared on her face and began to rapidly spread.
An invisible, intangible flame seemed to be burning her. In moments, she was burned beyond recognition, her facial features completely indiscernible.
Yet Yan Hezhen seemed oblivious, simply standing there in a daze with no reaction.
Ning Xuan raised an eyebrow as a faint red energy floated from the top of Yan Hezhen’s head and returned to Lan Xin’s Sea of Consciousness.
Only then did Yan Hezhen let out a bloodcurdling scream, clutching her head and yelling, "Ah! Fire! I’m on fire!"
From the moment Yan Hezhen impatiently pressed her hand to Lan Xin’s forehead to the sound of her bloodcurdling scream, a great deal had occurred, but in reality, only half a minute had passed.
The onlookers hadn’t even noticed what had happened. Lan Xin hadn’t moved an inch, and no one had laid a hand on Yan Hezhen. And yet, she was bleeding from her eyes, nose, and ears, her entire face scorched.
"Boss Yan, what’s wrong? Didn’t you say connecting with Lan Xin would be a piece of cake?" Zhang Yu asked urgently.
"Isn’t it obvious? Captain Yan tried to form a spiritual connection with General Lan, failed, and suffered a backlash," the guard who Lan Xin had thrown aside earlier said with a sneer, having just returned.
"I’ve been wanting to say this. General Lan has had issues before due to his high Mutated Value, but he’s never lost his mind. Yet this Captain Yan comes in, making baseless claims that the general is delirious and that she has to form a spiritual connection with him. Hmph. General Lan’s Spiritual Power Value is over 110,000, and his Mutant Beast Gene is Mythical Level. Did you really think you could connect with him? And now, just as expected, you’re suffering the backlash," a military officer said, looking at Yan Hezhen with a cold expression.
’This Captain Yan usually performs spiritual soothing for S-Class warriors and can’t even manage to fully cleanse their Spiritual Seas of contamination. With that level of skill, she dared to attempt a spiritual connection with General Lan? She truly doesn’t know her own limits.’
"No, that’s wrong. I clearly drugged him... The drug... where is it? My guide, where’s my guide?!" Yan Hezhen seemed to suddenly recall something. Her fingers twitched, and a moment later, she stared at Ning Xuan in disbelief, pointing a trembling finger. "You... you... you tampered with my guide! Give me back my butterfly!"
Ning Xuan spread her hands in a gesture of innocence. "Captain Yan, drugging a military commander and then confessing to it in front of all these people... you truly are shameless."
Ning Xuan walked over to Lan Xin and opened her palm. Five Spiritual Power Threads shot out, precisely entering his Sea of Consciousness. The scales on Lan Xin’s forehead faded, his slitted pupils gradually returned to their normal state, and the scales covering his body retracted.
"So what if I drugged him? You think taking my butterfly means I can’t do anything to Lan Xin? Let me tell you, this drug doesn’t just work in a day or two. I’ve been dosing him for two months. Even without the guide, the poison is still rooted in his body, ready to erupt at any moment."
"Think about it. He could go berserk at any second. Do you still dare to fight alongside him? Aren’t you afraid he’ll suddenly mutate and kill every last one of you?" Yan Hezhen cackled, her face a mask of madness.
Her spiritual power was completely depleted from using the secret technique to connect with Lan Xin, and the resulting emptiness was excruciating.
"Your best option is to let me complete the spiritual connection. That way, he’ll at least be controllable and won’t be a threat to your safety," Yan Hezhen said with an arrogant laugh.
THUD. An iron rod suddenly pierced through Yan Hezhen’s chest. The other end was held firmly in Ning Xuan’s hand.
With a clear, piercing cry, a divine, fiery-red bird wreathed in flames appeared behind Ning Xuan.
Yan Hezhen looked down at the blood gushing from her chest. She could feel her Life Force draining away, and the blood loss dulled her reactions. She stared blankly at Ning Xuan. "You burned my face... Who... who are you?"
"The red chain in Lan Xin’s Sea of Consciousness? I’m the one who put it there. That’s the Spiritual Link Channel I established. You wanted to overwrite it, didn’t you?"