Chapter 48: Connection

A sharp mental shock, like an invisible steel needle, fiercely stabbed at the core of her consciousness!

Xia Tong let out a muffled groan, feeling as though countless tiny sparks had exploded inside her mind. The intense pain made her nearly spasm.

That cold and indifferent fragment of will now seemed to transform into countless microscopic blades, attempting to sever her mental connection and directly destroy her consciousness!

"...Trash... organism..."

The mocking thought echoed again, carrying the attitude of a victor, as if it had already foreseen her defeat.

However, Xia Tong's willpower was as unyielding as a boulder. The more painful it became, and the more she was looked down upon, the stronger the rebellious spirit deep within her bones grew.

"You're just a fragment of consciousness, yet you dare to act so arrogant!"

"Get lost!"

Xia Tong emitted a furious roar from the depths of her soul. The bellow exploded in her mental sea—a counterattack gathering all of her willpower and wrath!

Her mental power was no longer a mere guidance, but carried a desperate determination to perish together like shattered jade. Like a raging fire, it adopted a tyrannical posture, forcefully crashing toward the deep core of the "Seed of Life"!

This time, it was do or die.

She was not trying to fight against that massive pool of energy, but rather using her own will to violently tear open an opening within this ocean of energy, establishing her own pathway of connection!

And then... devouring it bit by bit!

[Warning: Host's mental fluctuations are fluctuating violently, exceeding the safety threshold by 31%! Linkage risk has drastically increased!]

The next instant, the warning from the "Origin Core" sounded again, but Xia Tong completely ignored it.

She could feel her mental energy depleting rapidly, but at the same time, she sensed that under this ultimate pressure and counterattack, an unprecedentedly strong resonance had suddenly formed between her and the wood-attribute energy deep within the "Seed of Life"!

The feeling was akin to two drops of water from the same source, compressed by a tremendous external force, finally breaking through the barrier and about to merge into one.

"Right now!"

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Xia Tong poured her all into deeply carving her mental imprint into that resonant zone.

[Mental frequency synchronization completed. Beginning to establish the link channel...]

[Link progress: 1%... 5%... 10%...]

The progress bar climbed slowly and steadily. With every tiny increment, Xia Tong could feel the tearing pain in her mind lessen by a fraction. In its place, a continuous stream of vitality surged through the newly established mental channel to nourish her consciousness.

Meanwhile, the consciousness imprint of "Subject Zero" seemed to have sensed the danger as well, sending out even more urgent and chaotic mental fluctuations in an attempt to disrupt the process. But by now, it had been firmly suppressed deep within the core by the "Origin Core," unable to launch a fatal attack.

[Mental synchronization progress: 95%... 100%!】

[Mental synchronization successfully established!]

[Detected increased activity of the 'Subject Zero' consciousness imprint. Initiated mandatory stripping procedure.]

Almost the moment the mental synchronization was complete, the cold electronic voice of the "Origin Core" suddenly turned urgent.

Xia Tong felt an even more powerful and icy force instantly intervene in her mental sea. That force was precise and tyrannical, cutting directly and accurately toward the core of the "Seed of Life" like a surgical scalpel!

Right there lay the consciousness fragment of "Subject Zero."

As the force poured in, the consciousness imprint hidden deep within the energy emitted a silent shriek—the agony and reluctance of being forcibly stripped away.

Xia Tong could clearly perceive that consciousness being "pried" out piece by piece from the pure wood-attribute energy. The mental shock radiating from this process was even more violent than the direct attacks before!

She felt as though her consciousness had been thrown into a meat grinder, every fraction of it being torn, squeezed, and twisted. Her mind went completely blank, leaving behind nothing but pure agony.

[Stripping progress: 10%... 30%... 50%...]

The progress bar leaped amidst excruciating pain. Every single jump felt like a bloody gash being drawn across Xia Tong's soul.

She clenched her teeth tightly, letting cold sweat soak her entire body. Though she trembled uncontrollably, she desperately maintained the clarity of her consciousness, not daring to relax even a little bit.

She knew this was the most critical step; once her consciousness collapsed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Amidst its struggle, that segment of "Subject Zero"'s consciousness imprint intermittently transmitted even more chaotic mental fragments tinged with a hint of panic:

"...No... impossible... pathetic... ants..."

"...Contamination... source... untouchable..."

The chaotic whispers, laden with fear and some kind of warning, made Xia Tong's heart skip a beat. But right now she had no leisure to ponder over them; she could only fight with all her might against the excruciating pain brought by the stripping process.

[Stripping progress: 80%... 95%... 100%!】

[Consciousness imprint of 'Subject Zero' successfully stripped. Sealed into an independent zone.]

[Warning: The contamination level of this consciousness imprint is extremely high. It is recommended to handle it with caution and not to extract it unless necessary.]

Along with the final chime, the heart-wrenching pain vanished abruptly.

Xia Tong gasped for air, her hazy consciousness gradually returning. Her entire body felt as though she had been fished out of water, with damp fur clinging to her skin. She felt an unprecedented weakness, yet her mental sea had become exceptionally clear, continuously welling up with a fresh source of vitality.

As for the "Seed of Life," the light it emitted now seemed even purer—no longer the previous blue, but a brilliant green representing rebirth.

[Beginning energy absorption and compatibility.]

[Constructing wood-attribute superpower prototype...]

[Construction progress: 15%... 45%...]

A warm and majestic torrent of energy, like a breached floodgate, gushed out from the "Seed of Life," rushing crazily through the mental channel toward the nascent wood-type crystal nucleus within Xia Tong's body.

That prototype acted like a sponge parched for ten thousand years, greedily devouring this radiant energy. Xia Tong felt as if a seed had been planted inside her body, taking root, sprouting, and growing vigorously at an astonishing speed.

With every bit of energy absorbed, her body underwent subtle and profound changes. Her cells became more vibrant, her tendons and bones tougher, and even her fur seemed to grow glossier and smoother.

[Construction progress: 80%... 99%... 100%!】

[Wood-attribute superpower crystal nucleus successfully constructed!]

[Congratulations to the Host for successfully awakening the second elemental superpower—Wood!]

[Current superpower tier: Tier 1, Star 1 (Wood)]

Along with the prompt from the "Origin Core," an unprecedented vitality and vigor exploded inside Xia Tong. She abruptly opened her eyes, her glass-like cat pupils flashing with a glowing green light.

"This... is the wood-type superpower!"

Xia Tong's consciousness sank back into her mental sea, where a brilliantly glowing green crystal was orbiting irregularly around the button-shaped "Origin Core."

From this day onward, she, Xia Tong, was someone with a second superpower as well... Oh no, she was a cat!