Chapter 1138: A Deep Connection

After fiddling for a while, the autonomous robots finally separated the Heart of Darkness and most of its nervous fibers from the cavity. A nerve, which was still connected to some vital tissues in the hole was the exception. Before figuring out the nature and mechanism of the Heart of Darkness, severing it completely from the cavity was risky.

Galazur and Hao Ren stood in front of the Heart of Darkness. Galazur’s arms crossed. “What do you think?” she asked.

“It looks like a contaminated and mutated brain, but it is also connected to the normal brain. This is probably more than pathological. Look at the shape of the nervous fiber bundles and the surrounding tentacles. It feels like they are vying for the control of Yggdrasil.”

An autonomous robot came up, piercing its variable needle into the epidermis of the Heart of Darkness, while another needle into the healthy brain. After reading some of the surfaces’ nervous impulses, Hao Ren’s suspicion was confirmed.

The lesioned brain was indeed eroding the power of a healthy mind. It was not just a nervous suppression; it was releasing a pollutant similar to the lifeblood, continually killing the cells of the healthy brain. The battle between the two minds must have been going on for many years.

“This is something unheard of.” The MDT could not help but sigh. “The First Born never gets sick. At least they have never developed lesions so far. Even if they have become mad, it is not because of physiological but mental problems. I’m confused by this visible physical lesion.”

“Can you check the cause of the disease?” Hao Ren glanced at the MDT.

“I am trying, but I am pessimistic,” the MDT said, swaying from side to side. “You know, the First Born is a strange life form. It contains so many evolution templates, and no matter how mutated they are, their cells are always deemed normal. Hence, it’s difficult to determine the root cause and its evolution.”

The MDT’s tone of voice changed suddenly, “Of course, I could still deduce some conclusion out of it.”

Everyone looked at the MDT. “What conclusion?”

“The Heart of Darkness is probably the original brain,” the MDT said. “Look at the healthy brain, it is, in fact, a younger organ. That is to say, the one trying to take over the control of Yggdrasil is not the Heart of Darkness but the healthy one.”

Hao Ren was wide-eyed.

“Determining the age of biological tissue is a straightforward job to me, so you don’t have to doubt my findings.” The MDT knew his finding was kind of counterintuitive, so it needed to explain. “I have a thought…”

Everyone asked in unison, “What thought?”

“Let’s not ask if the First Born will ever get sick. Just assume that if it is capable of falling sick, it must have some self-healing mechanism. If one of its brains is mutating and its body is still unable to get rid of the lesioned brain, how should it heal itself?”

Vivian now finally understood. “You mean it created another brain to attack the diseased organs?”

“This is a war.” The MDT hovered up and down. “A war of the immune system even though the immune system of this thing is a little bigger.”

Hao Ren exhaled. “We need a cure. It is clear that this diseased brain is the cause of Yggdrasil’s rot. Excision? Medication? Physiotherapy? Chemotherapy? Which method you think will work?”

Galazur’s arm was once again covered with scales as she cautiously poked the nervous fiber bundle connecting the Heart of Darkness and the healthy brain, brows knitting together. “To be honest, no treatment is safe enough. This thing has completely grown together with healthy tissue. I can feel that the confrontation is not only physiological but mentally. I am worried that any form of stimulation will lead to the damage of healthy tissue. There are limits to even the most precise surgery. What’s more, the situation is too complicated.”

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Hao Ren rubbed his chin. “Why not we ask the patient directly?”

Galazur was dumbfounded. But everyone else understood what he meant. Vivian jumped to her feet. “Wait a second. This is too dangerous. This dark thing is connected with the healthy brain. There is no way to ensure you are connecting to the right one.”

The MDT came up right in front of Hao Ren’s nose. “I know you are going to take the risk no matter what. As I will try to persuade you otherwise, you will come up with a bunch of alternatives that sound less risky and dupe us into giving in, saying that you have extra security measures, as though there are any. We will end up supporting you. Isn’t this a trap?”

Hao Ren was startled. “I haven’t finished yet…”

“What the hell is going on?” Galazur curiously glanced at them. “Do you have any special solution?”

“He has an inexplicably spiritual direct connection talent,” Vivian said, pouting at Hao Ren. “Of course, unlike usual spiritual dialogue, he can connect his mind directly to the special life form of the Plane of Dreams. Generally, he could mentally connect to all guardians. But there is no guarantee that the connection will work. Basically, to ensure his safety, he will need someone to monitor his condition on the side and knock him out when things start to go wrong. I think sooner or later, he would get into trouble if he keeps using this method.”

“This is interesting,” the dragon queen said. “Spiritual connection with a specific creature, to be honest, is not a rare ability in itself. There are countless worlds in the void, where no one can say for certain one would not suddenly connect to a certain WIFI of certain races, but the ability to connect with a demigod creature is not inborn.”

Hao Ren spread out his hand helplessly. “I know my ability is a little weird. My goddess said that this ability was mostly related to the Plane of Dreams, but she could not explain it.”

“Well, maybe our goddess has her plan,” Galazur said as if she was hinting something. “But let us talk about the issue at hand. Connecting with the Heart of Darkness is dangerous, but I have something that might be of help here.”

Hao Ren was curious, “What is it?”

With the wave of her hand, Galazur took out a small stone that emitted a golden glow from the Dimensional Pocket. The rock looked grotesque. Texture-wise, it seemed like a bright amber. Looking at the light in the stone, Hao Ren felt his mind being sucked into it as if a drop of water falling into and being swallowed up by a vast ocean.

But this illusionary feeling went away quickly as he felt a warmth and calming energy in his spiritual world.

Apparently, this was a powerful divine artifact, which very likely possessed some spiritual power. It looked like the veteran inspector had something up her sleeves.

“What is this?” Lily asked, her eyes brightening up. Collecting stones had been her long-time hobby. Naturally, this stone that glowed had caught her eyes.

“It’s something precious. I got it by accident. The Soul Suppressing Stone of the Soul Snatcher. Do you know Sandra Kelly Ulysses the Soul Snatcher, the goddess that is in charge of souls and minds in Xi Ling Celestials? Three thousand years ago in the battle of the Spiral Rift in the Seventh Quadrant of the Void, the planet’s most powerful psychic attack ship, the Crystal Peak planet fortress, was damaged. The crust of the north pole was torn apart, and the fragments of the spaceship formed the so-called Soul Suppressing Stone of the Soul Snatcher. As the Crystal Peak had been in contact with Sandra all year round, it was deified as a whole, and the Soul Suppressing Stone of the Soul Snatcher began to possess spiritual power. For members of the Xi Ling Celestials, wearing the stone can effectively enhance their mental resistance. I think this thing should come in handy in this situation.”

Hao Ren took the stone in his hands solemnly. He did not understand at all what Galazur said; he was only having a superficial understanding of the Inspector’s Theology Foundation (in some places it was known as Pope’s Crash Course or 100 Days to Coronation. He had tried his best to memorize the names of several goddesses of Xi Ling Celestials, but he was helpless when it came to history, let alone information about the Spiral Rift battle.

But this did not prevent him from feeling the powerful energy of the Soul Suppressing Stone of the Soul Snatcher.

With this powerful divine artifact in hand, Hao Ren could finally do what he said, and no one had objected.

He carefully wore the Soul Suppressing Stone on his body before placing his hand on the healthy brain.

In the next moment, his consciousness sank into darkness, and he heard a mighty voice came from the other mind.

“Son of a b*tch! Let’s fight one-on-one! It is either you live, or I die!”