Traveler of the River of Time and Space

Chapter 652 22: Dimensional Reduction Strike 1

Once again returning to the Wasteland Plane, Su Ziyu couldn't help but re-examine this devastated land.

After all, the Wasteland Plane was once a modern civilization that had developed controlled nuclear fusion. Its foundation is undoubtedly still very strong. If it weren't for the Academy's long-term inaction, there wouldn't have been a need to wait for Beidou's rise; the black technology mastered by the Academy could have already begun to restore civilization. But the Academy, which holds the most black technology in the Wasteland Plane, has fallen into internal strife for a long time, compounded by severe ideological conflicts, forcing the survivors of the wasteland to scavenge on this barren land for hundreds of years.

As for the distant East's Beidou, there's nothing much to say. Retaining the spark of civilization from the third world and rebuilding an industrial system ahead of the Academy is basically a modern miracle.

This time returning to the Wasteland Plane, honestly, Su Ziyu didn't know how to guide the process of civilization.

Choosing the direction of civilization involves too much cause and effect.

According to Lord Stephen's inclination, Su Ziyu should assist the native forces of the Wasteland Plane in rebuilding civilization and then return the choice of civilization's direction to them. According to the inclination of the Death God, Su Ziyu should choose the most suitable civilization route for the wasteland and reshape this world according to his own vision.

Lord Stephen's inclination has the least backlash, while the Death God's inclination is the most efficient.

Polaris.

Before nightfall, Su Ziyu returned to this strange yet familiar city.

Compared to his last visit, Polaris has expanded quite a bit. Besides the initial inner city military camp, several outer city industrial and residential areas have been added. A large number of scavengers have settled here, gradually bringing prosperity to this city.

Just upon entering the city, Su Ziyu noticed an increase in the number of awakened in the Wasteland Plane.

Entering Polaris from the eastern district, he sensed two weak spiritual fluctuations among the heavily guarded city defense army and at least five less noticeable spiritual fluctuations in areas such as taverns and inns.

Judging by the standards of the Ancient Lost Empire, they are all awakened at Spiritual Ability LV1-LV2, just beginning to notice their own mind power.

However, there was an exception among them. As Su Ziyu approached the inner city, he suddenly sensed a comparatively strong spiritual fluctuation.

Spiritual Ability LV5.

This is almost at the level of a Knight's Squire of the Lost Empire, enough to crush other spiritualists in the Wasteland Plane.

—"Star Gate Plan?"

Su Ziyu quickly locked onto this target because the individual was lurking in the shadows on the top floor of a building in the outer city, looking sneaky, seemingly monitoring the direction of the military camp.

This individual had an obvious bald head, and although he wore a wig as a disguise, Su Ziyu immediately noticed a special chip implanted near the ear on the back of his head. It was hidden under his skin, invisible to the naked eye, but completely exposed under Spiritual Vision.

"What's installed under your ear?"

"Is it a spiritual amplification device? The Wasteland still has such black technology?"

Su Ziyu's figure suddenly appeared behind him, startling the man marked with 'Star Gate Plan.' He almost instantly turned and drew his gun, with a practiced quickness that surpassed ordinary soldiers, then aimed a special laser pistol at Su Ziyu's forehead, his voice slightly tremulous: "Who are you?"

Su Ziyu ignored the laser pistol pointed at him, squinting slightly, "Not a spiritual amplifier?"

This individual truly possessed Spiritual Ability LV5, not enhanced by a device.

A bead of sweat slid down the bald man's forehead.

He looked remarkably ordinary, to the point of seeming deliberate, with a forgettable appearance, his facial muscles rigid from tension, as if he couldn't even manage basic expressions, clearly not his original face.

Damn.

When did this man appear?

Why didn't I sense his presence?

Since awakening, T-0457 hadn't been approached unnoticed in a long time. He was confident in his own perception. Even when sent on missions to South America, no top-tier bio-human could quietly get within twenty meters of him.

Yet, this man appeared without warning.

Danger!

In an instant, T-0457's brain spun rapidly. This place was too close to the city defense army's camp. Firing a gun might draw in the troops, and this man's expression towards firearms was too calm, making T-0457 suspect he was a high-tier bio-human.

If he were a high-tier bio-human, he indeed could have approached unnoticed, and only a bio-human would remain so calm with a gun aimed at his head.

Escape!

The lurking mission had failed.

He had to find a way to escape.

All happened in a split second. Just after Su Ziyu spoke, the bald man's pupils contracted quickly, and spiritual energy burst out as he launched a mental shock at Su Ziyu. He once killed a super mutant with a pure mental shock. He believed that even if he couldn't kill the opponent, he could seriously injure him to gain time for escape.

But.

Bam!

Just as T-0457's body twisted to flee, his head suddenly exploded with a "bam," the just-executed mental shock erupting in his brain, and amidst the shattered skull, brain matter, and blood, his headless body fell heavily to the ground.

In the last moment before death, he saw only endless brilliance and the majestic, unfathomable silhouette veiled in that radiance.

He hadn't even clearly seen the opponent's appearance before he felt his consciousness shatter.

"Do not gaze upon the Divine!..."

This was his last thought in life, his final spiritual insight revealing what he had seen.

At this moment, Su Ziyu's expression froze for a moment. He looked at the man's head in front of him suddenly explode, and it took a moment for him to realize what the other party had just done.

Mental Shock?

This guy actually used Mental Shock on him?

Mental Shock is the most primitive yet powerful Spiritual Energy technique. If anything just happened, it was that this bald man actually confronted Su Ziyu's soul head-on and then crashed into it like a moth to a flame.

A chipped chip floated out from the bloody brain matter, gently hovering and landing in Su Ziyu's palm.

"Brain-machine?"

"Personal assistive terminal?"

"I didn't expect the Wasteland to have already developed brain-machine chips."

The Space-Time Monitor System lightly swept over it, and he immediately understood what this chip was.

Su Ziyu frowned at the headless corpse in front of him, and accompanied by a faint whisper, he directly reached out towards the corpse.

—"Soul Capturing Technique!"

A hazy shadow appeared.

This shadow was unbelievably fragile, as if a gust of wind could blow it away, not at all like a normal soul, even a kobold's soul was more solid than it.

"An incomplete soul?"

The confusion on Su Ziyu's face became more apparent. He grabbed this illusory soul into his palm, then a faint golden glow appeared in his eyes, invading the soul's memory, murmuring: "The memory is false..."

"What is this?"

"[Thought Steel Seal]?"

"No! It's the deep subconscious implanted by that chip! A Thought Steel Seal on a physical level?"

"The soul is in ruins."

"Is this guy a clone?"

This absolutely isn't a normal person's soul.

The power of Death Divinity informed Su Ziyu that the soul before him was newborn, its creation time not exceeding three years. It was forcibly gathered by the flesh and shaped by false memories. If it could live for more than ten years, maybe the soul could be more solid, but now it's merely a ragged spirit.

"A clone."

"Actually possessing LV5 Spiritual Energy." Su Ziyu's eyes penetrated the consciousness of this remnant soul, began extracting his memories, stripping away the false fabricated ones, directly seeking his most authentic memories implanted through the brain-machine chip.

"What exactly happened in the Wasteland? Who is mass-producing cloned Awakened ones?"

This extraction.

Su Ziyu instantly realized he had caught a big fish; if it weren't for the eerie soul of the clone in front of him, he really wouldn't have thought the Wasteland had forces mastering black technology comparable to the academy.

Star Gate Plan.

Killers of the sheep.

Telekinesis.

This clone was cultivated as a tool, with most genuine memories more about carrying out infiltration and assassination missions. But Su Ziyu still extracted what he wanted from them.

All this even involved the events before the Wasteland catastrophe happened, because by then the first generation of brain-machines had already been developed.

Su Ziyu gently crushed the broken soul before him.

His eyes were flashing with dangerous light, because in the other's memory, Su Ziyu saw their plan. These reckless people actually targeted his daughter, and Pasha's sudden infection with the mechanical worm virus was also inextricably linked to them.

The clone's deepest memory was him waking up, completely enclosed in the deepest underground of a certain polar sanctuary.

He thought he was a thawing old icicle.

Belonging to the pre-war military, entering the sanctuary to hibernate during the catastrophe, but in fact, he was just a newly manufactured clone.

"If this guy is a clone."

"Then who is his original?"

"A clone possessing LV5 Spiritual Energy, the Spiritual Ability Level the original possesses is likely even higher."

Su Ziyu's figure soared into the air.

This mysterious polar sanctuary is surely the next thing he'll deal with, but before that, he has more pressing matters to attend to. The mechanical worm virus Pasha was infected with is a virus specifically targeting high-tier bionic transhumans.

He must first upgrade Pasha.

.........