Chapter 433: Counterattack
“Actually, Undead Warriors aren’t without consciousness. They are self-aware, but they have control chips implanted in their brains, which is how they’re manipulated.” As Yu Mingche spoke, the color drained from Qinghe’s and Di Youlin’s faces.
If the Undead Warriors had lost consciousness and were essentially brain-dead, then they wouldn’t feel any pain from being controlled. But if their own thoughts and consciousness remained, to feel themselves being forced to do so many things against their will… ‘Just how much pain they must be in.’
“This brain chip technology had already matured in the pre-Cataclysm civilization. It’s called a brain-computer interface. Implanted in the brain, it could help fully paralyzed patients stand up, walk, and live like normal people. After the Cataclysm, survival was extremely harsh; the disabled simply couldn’t make it. The technology was later lost. A few years ago, the research institute found it somewhere. They wanted to combine it with current research and use it on out-of-control Half-beastmen, intending to turn them into controllable Half-Beastman Warriors.” As he spoke, Yu Mingche’s hands explored the assassin’s head, as if searching for something.
“There are no obvious wounds on his head. If a chip really was implanted, the procedure must have been very sophisticated,” Qinghe explained. He had already checked.
“If this chip technology is that powerful, it can control Undead Warriors… couldn’t it control Spirit Controllers, too? If that’s true, wouldn’t everyone be at risk?” Ning Xuan said thoughtfully.
“Yes. That’s why the modification experiments were stopped. Officially, they’re forbidden, but these experiments are all conducted in secret,” said Yu Mingche.
“Look, he’s awake,” Ning Xuan said suddenly.
The assassin, who had just been injected with a powerful anesthetic, opened his eyes. Unlike his previously unfocused gaze, he was now staring straight at Ning Xuan. When she met his eyes, he bowed his head to her in a gesture of respectful submission.
“Can you understand what we’re saying?” Ning Xuan asked tentatively.
Hearing this, the assassin’s body tensed. He gave a slight nod, then raised his head to look at Ning Xuan and shook it.
An idea struck Ning Xuan. She found a piece of paper and wrote on it, “Can you read? If you’re being controlled, can your conversations be monitored?”
The assassin read what was written, a pained expression crossing his face before he nodded.
“It’s not just monitoring. The chips in their brains are programmed to self-destruct. If they say something they shouldn’t or make any unauthorized moves, it could trigger the chip’s self-destruct sequence,” Yu Mingche explained.
“Can you write?” Ning Xuan wrote again.
The assassin shook his head. When the chip in his brain was offline, he couldn’t move freely without commands.
“If he has a chip, how did he break free from control?” Di Youlin demanded, stepping in front of Ning Xuan.
“I had Yan Fuzhen set up powerful, localized micro-electromagnetic signal shielding in the venue. It looks like the controller is within the shielded area,” Yu Mingche said with a smile, simultaneously signaling Yan Fuzhen to narrow down the target’s location.
The assassin struggled to lift a hand, making a gesture in Ning Xuan’s direction for her to kill him.
Qinghe and Di Youlin understood his wish for death. Being conscious yet controlled by another, like a puppet—a fate worse than death itself.
“If it’s just a chip in his brain, I think I can remove it.” Ning Xuan wasn’t moved by compassion; she didn’t necessarily want to save him. Rather, this man was a weapon in someone else’s hands. If she could get the chip out, regardless of whether she could win him over, she could at least obtain some useful information.
“It’s useless. If he’s a Half-beastman whose Spiritual Sea has collapsed, the chip is what’s stabilizing it. If you remove the chip, he’ll lose control immediately.” Yu Mingche shook his head, disagreeing with Ning Xuan’s idea.
In truth, the only reason he was keeping the man alive was to use the connection between him and his controller to pinpoint the controller’s location.
As a secret weapon, the Undead Warrior’s controller had to be one of Ren Pingsheng’s trusted confidants. Capturing that person would be a devastating blow against Ren Pingsheng.
Ning Xuan wanted to say that if he lost control after the chip was removed, she could treat him. ‘And if I can’t treat him, I’ll just kill him then.’
Just then, the assassin on the floor let out an agonized roar, sprang up from the ground, and shot toward Ning Xuan like a cannonball.
Qinghe sent him flying with a kick while Di Youlin shielded Ning Xuan with his body. Just then, Yan Fuzhen burst through the door. “I found the target, but we only caught a few of his thugs! He escaped with a Space Transmission Magical Artifact!”
“Di Youlin, get the Family Head out of here, now! He has a self-destruct device in his body! It’s controlled by the chip, and it’s just been activated!” Yu Mingche cast a protective shield around Ning Xuan and signaled for Di Youlin to escort her away.
Di Youlin had just put his hand on Ning Xuan’s shoulder when he was pushed away with firm resolve.
“I’m not leaving. I can get the chip out of his brain. This is our territory. There are too many people outside. If he explodes, the casualties would be immense, a catastrophic loss for us.” Ning Xuan gently raised her hand. Countless black Vine Silks flew from her palm, swimming through the air. These Vine Silks could split into impossibly fine strands and parasitize a person’s brain.
The Ghost-faced Red Vine’s terrifying parasitic ability was likely known to all in her original world. Here, however, she had never used this function before—mainly because the Ghost-faced Red Vine had yet to fully recover its strength.
The assassin’s body sprang up like a taut bowstring as an inhuman roar tore from his throat. His hands and feet were bound with Spirit-Banning Rope, which greatly restricted his movements. Qinghe’s kick had been powerful enough to shatter a steel plate, yet it had only managed to make the assassin pause in mid-air for an instant.
As the assassin lunged again, Qinghe landed a precise punch on the back of his head, and Yan Fuzhen immediately followed with a kick. Seeing their opponent lose his balance and crash heavily to the floor, Ning Xuan said calmly, “Hold him down.”
Yan Fuzhen immediately dove forward, using his full body weight to pin the struggling assassin. Di Youlin’s sword hummed as it left its sheath, held at the ready. Yu Mingche’s protective shield enveloped Ning Xuan as her spiritual power clung to the Vine Silks, guiding them into the assassin’s brain.
Seconds ticked by. A bead of sweat trickled down Ning Xuan’s temple. Her eyes were closed, her brow tightly furrowed. She could “see” a blue, luminous object flickering incessantly, its blue light traveling down along the neural pathways.