Chapter 128: The Bystander

How embarrassing!

Chu Ning rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling helpless. This was his first attempt at flying with a girl, and it had ended in a complete disaster. It truly was a streak of bad luck. They say that if you don't feel embarrassed, then the embarrassment belongs to others. While that sounded logical in theory, Chu Ning couldn't help but feel a deep sense of shame.

"Hah! To think you actually hoped to use spatial abilities to escape from here—how naive! Don't you know this place has been sealed with an anti-flight array? What a foolish guy."

Wang Jinkai sneered. Watching Chu Ning’s failure from the sidelines gave him an inexplicable sense of satisfaction. They had gone to great lengths and made extensive preparations to lure Chu Ning, this "salted fish," into this trap. They had investigated Chu Ning’s known abilities thoroughly, especially since his "dear friend" Wang Jinkai had been there to betray every detail of his information. Knowing that the opponent had the ability to flee and yet failing to take concrete action would have been utter incompetence. Thus, specific countermeasures had been set up at the designated locations well in advance.

"Huh? You haven't lost your sanity?" Chu Ning looked with surprise at the rampaging Wang Jinkai. These clear, coherent words did not sound like something that monster before him could possibly utter.

Wang Jinkai did not pause or acknowledge the question, continuing his charge as if he hadn't heard a word. Yet, the voice had definitely come from his direction. Chu Ning knew he wasn't dealing with ghosts; there had to be a hidden trick.

"Hey, stop looking around. That’s right, the one speaking is the me standing right in front of you. Take a closer look." The mysterious voice echoed again in the empty room.

This time, Chu Ning pinpointed the source. Just as the voice suggested, it was indeed Wang Jinkai speaking.

"What a peculiar behavioral pattern," Chu Ning muttered, unsure how to evaluate Wang Jinkai’s state. He could only sigh that the world is vast and full of strange things.

Wang Jinkai’s voice fell silent for a long time, eventually fading into a lingering sigh before vanishing completely.

To analyze Wang Jinkai’s condition: his body was currently trapped in a state of uncontrollable madness, but his soul remained perfectly calm. Theoretically, this kind of enhancement would be advantageous; berserkers often trade their sanity for raw attack power. However, Wang Jinkai had completely lost control over his own body—it was as if his agency had been deleted. He was merely a spectator to everything unfolding, a bystander trapped in his own skin.

If he truly had no ownership over his body, none of this would concern him. He could even watch it all with a sense of leisure, but he had to worry about the integrity of his physical form. As the saying goes, those with nothing to lose have nothing to fear, but Wang Jinkai still harbored hopes of reversing the ritual and returning to how things were before. Therefore, he remained hyper-vigilant about any damage to his body, terrified that a moment of carelessness would result in irreparable loss.

Chu Ning casually scattered the lashing tentacles with a burst of black mist; this type of attack was not difficult for him to handle. The tentacles dispersed upon impact with the fluid-like mist, but this was not the outcome Chu Ning wanted. Because the tentacles were composed of countless tiny X-07 units, he hadn't truly eliminated the hostile forces. The X-07s simply scattered into the larger, encroaching swarm, regrouping into new, nightmarish shapes.

They persisted in their attempt to devour Chu Ning’s flesh, and each of his counterattacks only resulted in the enemy multiplying. Even though the black mist could destroy a batch of X-07s, the majority remained unharmed. Worst of all, the X-07s lacked any concept of kinship; they would actively consume their fallen comrades, converting their corpses into energy for further action. Truly, they left nothing in their wake but desolation.

"Wang Jinkai, why go to such lengths? The Company may not even have a way to reverse this. Do you really think you’ll get what you want in the end? Stop dreaming!"

"Instead of aiding the tyrant, why not cooperate with me? Since I can figure out the method of transformation, it is highly likely that I can also figure out the way to reverse it."

"Keep talking," Wang Jinkai replied lightly. He was in a position of a spectator now; even if he wanted to defect, he was no longer in charge. The entity currently piloting his body was not him—that was an unchangeable fact.