Chapter 90: Biochip Two
Then the skin split open its mouth and laughed. “Found you!”
The world plunged into darkness, and mist began to seep in from every side...
When Bon finally saw clearly again, he found himself in a shabby old room. Across from him, on the wall, stood a battered antique television, and the surrounding walls were hung with timeworn framed pictures.
Watching the snow-filled screen hiss and crackle, Bon fell into thought, a trace of nostalgia and melancholy flickering in his eyes.
Suddenly, the television flashed to life. Fuzzy, unstable images appeared and vanished, and then a grotesque scene emerged: on a wind-swept dead tree, gray withered leaves drifted in the air; in a desolate wasteland of dead foliage stood a lonely, empty stretch of ground; and there was a dry well built of rough stones.
At that moment, the telephone beside him rang out sharply: ring-ring-ring... ring-ring-ring...
The sound was shrill and grating.
Bon sat motionless in his chair, expressionless. The image shifted, and on the television screen a pair of pallid, skeletal arms slowly reached up from the well. Then a strange figure appeared: long hair falling past the waist, dressed in white from head to toe. It moved with a drifting, wavering gait, its loose bones twisting and swaying as it stretched out a hand toward the screen...
Little by little, it crawled out of the television. Its hands spread across the floor, green-black nails gleaming on its corpse-white bones. Then it stood upright, body still writhing and swaying. One eye appeared beneath its hanging hair: a bulging, round eye of terror, shining with jealousy and malice...
Seeing this, Bon gave a small sigh, shook his head, and said softly, “Poor effort.”
Then he stepped forward and, with one hand, seized the approaching ghostly woman by the throat. A faint white glow rose in his palm.
A scream tore through the air.
The apparition instantly dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke in Bon's grasp.
The television image shifted again, and once more a well appeared...
Heh.
Again?
Bon looked disdainful as he said, “A dream forest? Or a dream bay? You use the fears in other people's hearts as tangible forms? Such a boring trick...”
“A dream plane, then? You're borrowing the Abyss's dream realm as a stepping stone to interfere, aren't you?”
Bon seemed to be speaking to himself, and yet also to someone else. The surroundings changed once more, becoming a vast cemetery lined with all kinds of coffins.
Pff...
“Hahaha...”
Bon could not help laughing, his face full of mockery. “That simple, and you still got shaken out? Surprised I knew, aren't you? Let me guess—were you using layer one hundred and eighty, or layer two hundred and thirty-eight?”
Caw...
A crow perched in a treetop cried out once, then flew away.
The cawing sounded like some sort of signal.
Whoosh...
All the coffin lids were hurled open at once, and one zombie after another in Qing dynasty clothing sprang upright...
“You know what I hate most? People trying to hypnotize me, or plant mental suggestions. Are you all that free? So fond of prying into other people's privacy—can't you come up with something new?”
Bon's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression turning unfriendly.
A pale white light rose around him. Then the glow seemed to solidify, and a layer of clear, amber-like brilliance flowed over the surface of his skin.
“So the monk's advancement is tied to the destruction of evil. No wonder those high-ranking monks are always looking for trouble with vile things and divine abominations!”
As the glow circulated, Bon looked like a human lamp, dazzling light spilling outward. The “zombies,” as if facing their natural enemy, retreated in terror. Under the radiance, their bodies were revealed to be pitch-black, bizarre, and gelatinous monsters!
“Thanks a lot. It has been a long time since I saw things from home. They may be a little old, but they still count as a memory. As repayment, I'll send you all back where you came from!”
With that, Bon shouted.
Like a tiger plunging into a flock of sheep, the power he used seemed to be their perfect nemesis. In no time at all, the area fell silent, leaving Bon standing alone where he was.
Caw...
Another crow cried out. In a flash, Bon appeared beside it, seized it with one hand, and caught it by the neck.
Caw, caw...
The crow flapped furiously, struggling wildly, but the hand holding it did not budge.
“Next time, remember not to manifest something so weak. Once a flaw is found, even resistance becomes a chore. You'd be better off making it a boss; at least then it could look impressive at the end. Let me give you some advice: the experience was terrible. Next time, be sure to add more interactive elements. Off you go.”
With a slight squeeze, the black crow in his hand turned into a cloud of black smoke and drifted upward into the sky.
Bon lifted his gaze slightly. The scattered black smoke seemed to gather into a grotesque face, silently roaring at him over and over.
As the smoke faded away, the surrounding “world” began to collapse...
When Bon opened his eyes again, he was back in the familiar laboratory.
His expression unchanged, faint luminescence rose around him once more, and then he said inwardly, “System, bring up the experimental data and status information.”
Beep!
...
The host's mental power is below normal value...
...
Warning! The host's mental power is being overdrawn...
Warning! Warning...
The host has been invaded by an unknown lifeform...
...
Firewall activated... emergency awakening of host... awakening failed... firewall failure... disconnecting link...
...
“So I really am back.”
Bon let out a breath of relief, and the aura around his body gradually faded. Then a violent stabbing pain and a wave of dizziness hit him, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant, as if drained of all life.
Clutching his head, his features twisted with pain. It was the sort of agony that struck deep into the soul, making him want nothing more than to faint at once.
Huff... huff...
Bon drew deep breaths and adjusted the rhythm of his breathing technique. In this state, let alone meditating, he couldn't even cast a cantrip.
Fortunately, the breathing method of a monk also had healing effects. Though it did little to restore mental power, at least it could dull the pain.
After sitting in place for ten minutes, Bon finally recovered somewhat.
He could not help but smile wryly. “That was far too dangerous. Good thing I managed to bluff my way through it. If it had come a few more times, I really would not have been able to hold on. I never expected that monster's essence to be shadow substance. Even across the Material Plane, it could still affect me. What in the world was it—legendary, or demigod?”
Damn it all...
Bon cursed inwardly.
“I haven't even advanced to the high tier yet, and I've already provoked something this dangerous. How come everyone else can use it without issue, but it fixes on me? Could it be because I'm handsome? No, that doesn't make sense. Its standards clearly aren't human, so the aesthetics must be different...”
Bon slapped his backside and stood up, then walked over to the alchemy table.
He had not paid close attention before, but now he saw that it was a crystal chip no larger than a matchbox. Through the crystal shell, one could clearly make out the dense network of neurons inside.
“It worked... it really worked?”
Looking at the sci-fi-like biochip before him, Bon's breathing quickened slightly.
As his gaze lingered, it seemed to resonate with the biochip, and the crystal surface gave a faint gleam.
Bon raised a finger and lightly touched the bionic biochip. In that instant, he felt as if his finger had elongated—no, not elongated. Rather, the biochip transmitted the sensation of touch through his finger. Though he was merely touching the chip, he could feel the temperature of the tabletop.
Bon could barely wait. He picked up the chip and pressed it directly to the back of his neck. The moment the crystal chip made contact, countless tiny tendrils shot out around it and clung to his neck.
At once, all sorts of voices rose and fell in Bon's mind.
“Beep, system transfer in progress...”
“Beep! System rebooting...”
“Beep! Spinal neural connection...”
...
Before his eyes, pale blue data streams cascaded downward like a waterfall.
The transfer of data and the system itself had been a program Bon had set up from the beginning. Once the chip was connected and brought online, all data within the mechanical chip would be transferred in full.
The transfer was very fast, and it was completed in less than ten minutes.
...