Chapter 671

Chapter 671: Distorted World

Crimson Universe Zone.

Unknown World.

A beam of light flickered in transmission, vanishing into the pitch-black void.

At the end of the light was a "plane," a realm often related to the principles of civilization and the protagonists of fate, characterized by a strong world will.

Under the dim sky, a battleship named "Ya Guang" sailed through the silent black sea. Its 150 crew members were all on high alert to execute the tasks of the Euro-Asian Alliance.

In the command room, a serious man in military uniform observed the real-time projection of the surrounding sea.

In the projection, an object lacked a physical form and was marked as a red beam of light.

The continuously updated, clear images indicated that the Ya Guang battleship was steadily approaching the red beam, seemingly the objective of this mission.

“Check for anomalies!”

“Checking…”

“No anomalies found. Distortion reaction index: 120, no risk!”

“Continue checking and report every ten seconds!”

“Checking…”

“No anomalies!”

“No anomalies!”

The command room echoed with reports of no anomalies, yet none of the soldiers displayed impatience; they all stared intently at the red beam of light.

Then, the battleship continued to close in, and the moment it reached the threshold of one thousand meters:

“Warning!”

“Distortion reaction index rising!”

“230! 510! Exceeded 500, reaction index reached low risk!”

“805! 1420! Exceeded 1000, reaction index reached medium risk!”

“It’s still rising! The interference capability of the distortion is related to distance; within one thousand meters, continuous effects will be applied. Ya Guang is decaying!”

“Captain!”

A soldier reported urgently, replacing the artificial intelligence, as a magnified projection of Ya Guang appeared before everyone.

All stared in shock, seeing that the once pristine Ya Guang was rapidly covered in rust, as if it had experienced decades of corrosion in just a brief moment.

“Activate interference magic, retreat immediately, and maintain distance outside the interference range!”

The serious man suddenly waved his hand, issuing the command.

The artificial intelligence immediately responded, controlling the ship’s propulsion system to move backward.

Several soldiers displayed a strange glimmer in their eyes. A massive force surged from their bodies towards the battleship, causing its slow-moving speed to dramatically increase while also applying a protective shield to suppress the rust corrosion.

As the distance widened, the magic interference was successfully released, and the distortion reaction plummeted, returning to normal levels.

"This thing is indeed a distortion object, and it can affect Ya Guang so quickly. It must at least be a C-level distortion object. The alliance’s basic assessment is accurate! However, what level it can ultimately reach is still unknown; it could be B-level or even higher!" a major said solemnly.

A B-level object has the potential to destroy a city. If it reaches A-level, even if the Euro-Asian Alliance unites to suppress it, the losses would be severe, and it’s very possible that a territory would vanish from the map!

"That’s a matter for later; for now, it’s C-level. The action plan remains unchanged, focusing on exploratory sealing. Begin the mission immediately!" The captain’s expression did not change.

"Yes!"

"Team 101, begin the mission as planned, respond when you hear!"

"Received, Team 101 is starting operations!"

The fully armed five-member team took the internal elevator of the battleship to the deck, heads down, eyes closed, moving until they reached the edge of the deck.

"Team member Rong Youyun, slowly turn your body to face backward as instructed. When you hear the command, stop immediately… Stop!"

"Good, now open your eyes and look at the ground."

Rong Youyun felt a mix of nausea, pain, and tension; all tasks involving distortion objects were terrifying. He didn’t know if he would be lucky enough to survive, but this was the mission, and he had to carry it out.

He opened his eyes and looked at the ground. After a full ten seconds, nothing unusual had happened.

"Rong Youyun, any anomalies?"

"No anomalies!"

"Then continue with the order: slowly raise your head and look ahead!"

"Yes!"

Following the instructions, Rong Youyun extended his gaze from the ship until it was completely filled with the despairing, dead-black ocean.

There were no signs of any islands at the end of his line of sight across this black ocean.

"Is there any anomaly? Do you see an island?"

"No anomalies! I don’t see an island!"

"Turn around, then report what you see!"

Rong Youyun exhaled deeply, slowly turning around, and this time, he saw an island, though it was somewhat blurry from a distance of one thousand meters.

"Report: I see an island with no vegetation, but it seems… there’s a house?"

Rong Youyun’s vision was among the best for ordinary beings; he could still see a large target at a thousand meters. However, a lifeless, barren island suddenly having a house appeared very strange to him.

He couldn’t help but stare at it for several seconds longer.

Then,

a ghostly face suddenly appeared before him!

It was completely unexpected, closing the distance to just ten centimeters in an instant, allowing Rong Youyun to see every detail clearly.

The eyes were hollow and black, the skin on the face was rotting, with maggots writhing, wearing a bizarre smile. Rather than a ghost, it would be better to think of it as a zombie.

His heart stopped, and he instinctively wanted to scream.

This wasn’t due to poor mental fortitude; it was a rule that any anomalies must be reported to others, or wouldn’t he be repeating the same mistakes?

But when he opened his mouth, he found that he couldn’t say a word. His heart stopped, his body felt cold, and his consciousness grew hazy, the sensation of controlling his body fading away.

In the end, he just stared at the ghostly face, and the longer he looked, the more it resembled him, sparking an idea in his mind…

That face, was it not him?

The ghostly face revealed a strange smile, and at that moment, an indescribable fear rose in Rong Youyun’s heart, and then his consciousness plunged into darkness.

In its place was a Rong Youyun with a bizarre smile.

"A house, huh."

Silence filled the command room.

According to the previous information, this house should be the target of this mission; it had caused the sinking of several merchant ships and seemed to possess the ability to contaminate the mind.

"After seeing the house, were there any anomalies?"

"No anomalies!"

Rong Youyun reported.

"Ying Tingbi, Cheng Shichang, look up at Rong Youyun and confirm if there are any anomalies with him."

The two looked up at Rong Youyun and immediately saw his strange smile. Startled, they tried to shout a warning.

But the result was the same; they couldn’t speak, their consciousness fragmented, a bizarre smile covering their faces.

They were also being controlled.

"No anomalies."

The two said in unison.

"Warning, anomaly spreading. All three display a bizarre smile, which is not normal human behavior; their minds may have already been contaminated!"

"Salute!"

Suddenly, everyone in the command room raised their hands to salute.

The serious man clenched his fist, a fierce expression on his face.

"Fire!"

On the deck, guns extended from their positions, aiming at the three men under the calibration of the artificial intelligence.

After a flurry of gunfire, the three men were shattered and fell into the ocean.

The two remaining felt icy all over, filled with unwillingness; they died so easily, a distortion object! A distortion object! Something that shouldn’t exist!

"Seeing the house leads to contamination; getting close to the hull results in corrosion, and corrosion is ineffective against living beings."

"Try observing with a barrier!"

"Glasses… ineffective!"

"Sunglasses… ineffective!"

In the end, the two also met the same fate.

Yet this could not stop the exploratory sealing from advancing. Another team of soldiers went up to the deck to continue the investigation.

"Attempt to transfer the visuals and use processed footage to verify if contamination has occurred."

"Success…"

"After the transfer, the visual cannot immediately cause contamination, but the distortion index will continue to rise. Once it reaches a certain number, an accident is very likely to happen."

"Initiate a remote strike, attempt to destroy it."

"Failure! The closer we get, the faster the corruption rate increases, directly altering the material properties. Whether it’s bullets or missiles, nothing works!"

"Apply enchantment treatment and try remote strikes again!"

"The interference effect successfully weakened, hitting the house… both physical and magical attacks inflicted no damage, and the distortion object effect remains unchanged!"

"Cannot destroy it? In that case, the properties are clear. Officially begin sealing, mobilize the sealing team!"

The sealing team.

An elite group of Mages specially established to address the frequent occurrences of distortion objects worldwide.

It gathered outstanding Mages from the Euro-Asian Alliance and even the rest of the world, including a top-tier Mage from one country, known as a nation-restricted Mage.

In other words, even if two countries were to go to war, these Mages should not be deployed. If such a high-level Mage is mobilized without restriction, it would either lead to national destruction or a world war; they possess this weight—enough to annihilate a nation or even the survival space of all humanity.

"This time, the members of the sealing team accompanying us include A-level Mage Gunter Qiao, and four B-level Mages: Julia Hill, Todd Wendell, Yuan Yangjun, and Pang Fan. They all master B-level and above sealing magic and can cooperate to complete an A-level sealing, ensuring the success of this mission!"

The officer reported to the captain.

"Gunter, huh…"

The captain’s serious expression grew even more severe. An A-level Mage, also known as a national-level Mage, is the highest-ranking Mage after the nation-restricted S-level Mage. The death of any one of them would be a significant loss.

Together, everyone on the ship might not compare to a single A-level Mage.

Gunter must not die; there must be a guarantee.

The captain subconsciously wanted to smoke, but quickly realized this was a warship. He suppressed that thought and took a deep breath before saying, "Bring along Subject 1; if something goes wrong, he might play a role."

"Subject 1? Wait, Captain, he is an important researcher…" The officer’s expression turned astonished.

Moreover, this person is also the captain’s son; he couldn’t just execute the order without saying a word.

"Follow orders. He doesn’t have many years left to live. Contributing to this mission is his fortune." The captain shook his head.

"Yes." The officer operated to issue the command.

Within a certain room deep inside the battleship, the tightly closed door suddenly unlocked and opened. Inside, a white-haired boy in a hospital gown looked up, his gaze empty.

He usually received his meals through the window; why was everything suddenly opened? Was there a special inspection?

"Tap-tap-tap!"

Footsteps echoed, and a black-haired woman appeared in front of the boy, her figure curvaceous and her hands on her hips, looking down at the white-haired boy: "Subject 1, ‘Noah’, as per mission requirements, you will accompany me into battle."

"Into battle?" The white-haired boy felt even more confused, unable to comprehend.

"A military treasure, and you know nothing? No wonder it’s up to me; it would indeed take some time for others to explain."

"Get up, follow me!"

A hint of crimson spread in the woman’s eyes, and the white-haired boy instantly found himself moving involuntarily, following her.

The puppet Mage, Julia, as a dual-interference Mage of spirit and body, found it incredibly easy to control an ordinary being.

With her as the ace Mage, even an ordinary person without any military training could swiftly become a master and maximize their role.

A group of six people equipped with various gear hopped onto a speedboat and set off, quickly landing on the island.

"What exactly do you want? Where is this place?" The white-haired boy couldn’t help but ask.

"Ordinary beings? Well, most subjects feel this way. I can only say you were born under a bad star… Since we have some time, let me tell you about this messed-up world."

Captain Gunter Qiao, a middle-aged blonde man, held a cigarette in his mouth, unlit, while he spoke and twirled his pistol.

Bang!

He fired a shot ahead; this pistol was not a conventional weapon but a magical device, designed to complement Gunter’s strategic magic.

Over-compression!

As a black light flickered, it blasted out, instantly flattening the area ahead, completely erasing everything, reaching the isolated house at the center of the island.

But as predicted, the magical attack disappeared upon hitting the house, causing no damage at all.

"What powerful magic… and the house… what’s going on?"

The white-haired boy widened his eyes in shock at the situation; he had never seen such high-level magic or an unharmed house before, feeling an indescribable awe.

"Powerful? For a distance of just a hundred meters, it’s merely a warm-up for the captain. What’s truly concerning is that distortion object, right?"

"It completely ignored the captain’s magic!"

Todd Wendell, a burly man with tousled hair, wore holographic glasses that filtered everything he saw, making it less real.

Even so, he still glanced at the screen with his peripheral vision, a habit developed over many years to minimize the possibility of being affected by distortion objects.

"There have been instances where magic was completely ignored, especially with one that hasn’t even been tested for limits," Julia noted.

"You keep talking about distortion objects; what are they? Do they pose a significant danger?"

Noah, who had been under strict confinement, asked curiously.

Due to his upbringing, he had little concept of death and danger; even now, stepping onto the island, he didn’t grasp the implications.

"First, you need to understand that you’re quite special, just as special as the distortion objects. That’s precisely why you became the Subject 1 restriction target. Subject 1 is taken over by the nation, requiring complete cooperation for research, with no personal freedom, all rights restricted, possibly even treated as a tool when necessary. You can imagine how special you truly are."

Gunter’s statements were accurate.

However, the four Mages around weren’t particularly concerned about Noah.

Subject 1 is special? Yes, indeed, but it doesn’t hold much significance.

Defective beings are restricted because they either pose great danger, serve as disposable items, or cannot be controlled autonomously, making them incomparable to these ace Mages.

"…"

The white-haired boy fell silent.

Gunter knew the boy wouldn’t understand, but the military still needed to test various distortion reactions, so there was no rush to act; it was just a way to pass the time.

What if the boy awakened after a few more words? That would be an interesting possibility, wouldn’t it?

Even if it’s a minuscule chance!

He continued, "A distortion object is a special item that appears for unknown reasons, often having completely unreasonable effects, like a little bear that produces a cookie every day or a notebook that kills the person whose name is written in it, an endless cup of water, or a wallet that randomly kills anyone who picks it up, and music that drives listeners insane…"

"There are countless types of distortion objects, some of which can take human forms."

"You are one of those types, possessing abilities that have a certain degree of countering effect against distortion objects. The reason for bringing you along is that if anything goes wrong, you can be sacrificed as a fallback. Your powers serve that purpose. So, how do you feel? Are you getting nervous?"

The white-haired boy looked baffled and scratched his hair. "That sounds so dangerous. Am I going to die?"

The five Mages were unsurprised by his reply; a naive boy, untrained and only raised to limit his actions, being able to hold a conversation was already a stroke of luck. Expecting him to perform brilliantly was impossible.