Chapter 45 Cutting Weeds and Eliminating Roots

The warning from the "Source Core" had always been concise and to the point, but the combination of "unpredictable potential risks" and "a similar soul imprint" carried enough weight to make her hesitate.

Forcibly absorb it?

That would be tantamount to wrestling with an unknown soul for control of a body, and might even invite much deeper trouble.

So... absorb it with caution?

...

Ever since the culture chamber was opened, the laboratory had fallen into a heavy silence. Hermann stood quietly to the side, anxiously watching the silent Xia Tong, enduring a slow psychological torture.

The air in the laboratory seemed to have frozen, save for the faint, pulsing glow emitted by that seed, which reflected the struggle and suspicion deep within Xia Tong's glass-like cat eyes.

Never mind, forget about it. In any case, I'll take it first and figure out the rest later.

With a slight shift of her will, Xia Tong readied her paw to harvest the diamond-shaped seed radiating an alluring halo, but a passing thought flashed through her mind. Before that... there was still a loose end that needed to be promptly dealt with.

...

"You... you promised..."

Hermann watched as Xia Tong turned her head back, her trembling voice carrying a final shred of hope. She stared intently at Xia Tong's glassy feline eyes, seemingly hoping to find a trace of pity within those cold pupils.

But... apart from a bone-chilling, merciless indifference, there was nothing.

Looking at the terrified Hermann crumpled on the floor, the corners of Xia Tong's mouth curled into an extremely faint arc. In those glassy cat eyes, a flash of mockery came and went, as if she were looking at an absolute fool.

Even in times of peace, "trust" was a rarity. Let alone here... in the apocalyptic wasteland!

How laughable. The researchers in these bases had lived a comfortable life for too long, almost forgetting what kind of cruel world this truly was. Indeed, people still needed to go out and see the world for themselves, and cats were no exception...

Otherwise, one wouldn't even recognize the underlying reality of the world they lived in! Just like Hermann right before her...

The next instant, Xia Tong's figure abruptly vanished from the edge of the culture chamber!

The speed was pushed to the absolute extreme, leaving behind only a blurred afterimage!

Hermann didn't even register the movement; she only felt a blur before her eyes, followed by a sharp, piercing agony erupting from her neck.

The expression of horror and disbelief froze permanently on her face. Her field of vision spun wildly, and the last things she saw were her own headless body gushing blood, and in the corner, Wang Hanyang's face twisted out of shape by extreme terror.

"Ugh..."

A crimson line of blood spurted an alarming arc through the air, warm liquid splashing onto the cold floor and painting the walls.

At the very end, Hermann's head rolled across the ground with a dull thud, her eyes wide open, dying with grievances unredressed.

"Ah... no... don't... kill me!"

In the corner, Wang Hanyang, already in an extremely frail state, witnessed this bloody and brutal scene, his heart nearly bursting with terror. He wanted to let out a horrified scream and struggle to his feet, but it was already too late; his shattered body refused to cooperate.

A fraction of a second later, the look of fear froze on his face.

An even swifter black streak silently swept past, precisely severing his throat as blood gushed forth.

Wang Hanyang's cries came to an abrupt halt. His body slammed heavily against the wall before sliding down to the floor, following in Hermann's footsteps. His eyes were filled with reluctance and despair, his meager remaining vitality rapidly draining away.

After the two of them died, the entire laboratory plunged once more into dead silence. Only the rich stench of blood lingered heavily in the air, mixing with the foul odors left by the mutated creature earlier, forming a sickening stench.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Now I can rest easy."

Xia Tong's figure reappeared in front of the culture chamber as if she had never moved at all.

She gracefully shook the non-existent blood from her paw, her glassy feline eyes calm and untroubled, as though those two swift kills were merely the casual swatting of a couple of annoying bugs.

Following that, she cast her gaze once more toward the pale blue seed resting quietly inside the culture chamber. With a gentle flick of her paw, the chilly yet vital touch vanished in a flash, instantly pulled away by an invisible force and disappearing from sight.

Xia Tong: "???"

Before Xia Tong could even ask, the prompt from the "Source Core" sounded in her mind:

【"Seed of Life" acquired.】

【Warning: High-concentration scattered energy fluctuations detected. Positioning nodes have been shielded; internal soul imprint status is stable.】

【Recommendation: Evacuate current coordinates immediately!】

【Status: Sealed! Awaiting activation!】

...

Before the "Source Core" could finish speaking, a much sharper and more urgent alarm blared forth:

【Alert! Alert! Multiple high-energy units detected approaching at high speed! Estimated time of arrival: 178 seconds!】

【Preliminary identification tentative: Enemy!】

【Recommendation: Move away promptly!】

Simultaneously, a harsh and piercing alarm could be faintly heard from outside the laboratory, sharp and hurried, echoing throughout the entire abandoned industrial zone. The ground beneath her feet even began to tremble slightly, as if some behemoth was drawing near.

"Tch."

"Moving so fast, are they?" she muttered under her breath.

The higher-ups of those bases indeed regarded these experimental achievements that benefited them as more important than anything else. And just moments ago... she had killed their precious researcher and stolen their most vital experimental subject; it would be a wonder if those people didn't go mad.

178 seconds... time was tight!

Right now, retreating was the priority.

Xia Tong's brain spun at high speed. A massive influx of enemies through the main entrance was a certainty, so running that way was completely out of the question.

Her sharp gaze swept across the chaotic laboratory like a searchlight, rapidly scanning for potential escape routes—the wall cracks ruptured during the earlier battle, the crumbling ventilation ducts hanging precariously from the ceiling, or other inconspicuous structural gaps.

Every single second counted now; she had to find a way out as fast as possible.

"Found it!"

Her gaze quickly locked onto a severely damaged section of the wall in the corner of the laboratory caused by an explosion. It was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and one of the wider fissures looked like it might be passable.

An ordinary esper or mutated creature encountering such a situation would probably only have the option of trying to brute-force their way through, but... Xia Tong was no ordinary mutated creature.

...

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Heavy, hurried footsteps accompanied by the harsh screech of scraping metal, along with angry human shouts and barked orders, were rapidly approaching from the other end of the corridor, growing clearer and clearer.

"Seal all exits! Aside from the experimental results, the target includes a mutated black cat—make sure to bring it back alive and intact!"

"Move! Move! Don't let it get away!"

Just as those voices were about to burst into the laboratory, Xia Tong did not hesitate any longer.

A flash of watery light swept across her petite body, instantly liquefying her into a pool of pale blue water. Silently and seamlessly, she flowed along the ground, moving as if endowed with life, and precisely seeped out through the cracked fissure in the wall, vanishing to the other side.

"Hah..." Good thing she took care of those two researchers, otherwise it would have been a real hassle!

It was probably that researcher Wang Hanyang who managed to re-establish contact with the base personnel while she and Hermann were away gathering energy...

Which led to this exact scenario.

Now she was probably on that base's blacklist, though she had no idea what the base was actually called.

Whatever, none of that mattered. They'd better drop it and not come looking for trouble, or else...

A chilling gleam flickered in Xia Tong's eyes... She wasn't the type to swallow insults in silence.