hsntnovel Chapter 48 The Mutant Zhang Family Members?
Chapter 48 The Mutant Zhang Family Members?
[Hibernation progress: 90%...90%...90.1%...]
The progress bar seemed frozen, stuck at 90%, refusing to move forward. Qin Yuan felt like the wound on his left palm was almost completely regenerated, so he gritted his teeth and made another incision, cursing inwardly, "Is this damn machine like toothpaste? It only moves a little bit at a time, and now it's stuck!"
Just as he was pondering whether to change his position and bleed a little more, a sudden change occurred.
The heart, which had already dimmed and was beating weakly, suddenly convulsed violently!
"Buzz—!!!"
A piercing, high-pitched alarm instantly resounded throughout the entire space! The translucent crystals on the surrounding walls simultaneously erupted with a blinding, scarlet light, flashing wildly! The previously slow-flowing milky-white light all turned into a dark red, signifying warning and danger!
Several fleshy tentacles that were closest to him straightened up with a "whoosh," and their ends cracked open, revealing gun barrel structures that gleamed with a cold light inside, all pointing at Qin Yuan!
[WARNING! WARNING! The host's bloodline attributes deviate significantly from those of previous maintainers! The host's logic is increasingly chaotic, misjudging it as a high-threat intrusion! Forced hibernation interrupted! Bio-defense protocol activated at its highest level!]
The system's notification sound was fast and urgent.
Qin Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Aggressive bias? The corrosive and predatory properties of the alien bloodline were too strong; was this crappy computer mistaking it for a virus?!
As the spearheads at the ends of those tentacles began to gather an unsettling dark red light, Qin Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. He was currently suffering from severe blood loss and mental exhaustion; if he were to take a hit like that, he would likely be in serious trouble.
Where should I run? This place is only so big!
Are you suggesting he just tough it out? How could he possibly withstand an alien high-tech energy cannon on his head?
At this critical moment, a dark figure appeared beside Qin Yuan.
It's Zhang Qiling.
He had entered at some unknown time, still wearing the same navy blue hooded jacket that he never wore before. His face appeared somewhat pale in the flashing red light, but his eyes were unusually calm.
He didn't even look at Qin Yuan; his gaze was fixed directly on the violently pounding heart. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and swept the black gold ancient sword across his palm, the movement so swift and decisive as if he weren't cutting his own flesh.
Bright red blood dripped down, and a strange scene unfolded.
Qin Yuan's alien blood, carrying a strong acid and a cold, predatory aura, fused with Zhang Qiling's unicorn blood, which was full of righteousness and vigorous vitality, almost instantly upon contact.
The two bloodline energies, with completely different attributes and even to some extent opposed to each other, did not repel each other at this moment, but instead seemed to have found some strange balance.
The strangeness, domineering nature, and aggression of the alien bloodline are neutralized by the heat, magnificence, and inclusiveness of the Qilin blood.
zizi...
The host's heart-pounding spasms subsided at a visible speed. The flashing scarlet alarm light quickly faded, returning to a dull, milky white, even softer than before. The tentacles aimed at Qin Yuan also drooped softly, their ends closing silently.
[Hibernation progress: 91%...95%...99%...100%!]
The "Ultimate" mainframe has successfully entered forced hibernation. All active functions are suspended, energy leakage is suppressed, and the defense system is shut down. The hibernation duration is expected to be significantly extended.
Become!
Qin Yuan's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, only managing to stay upright thanks to sheer willpower. He turned to look at Zhang Qiling, about to say "Thanks, bro," but met a pair of eyes that were calm yet clearly disapproving.
His eyes clearly said: You should wait for me.
Qin Yuan touched his nose a little guiltily. Could he say that he was thinking of finishing the work as soon as possible and going home early?
Zhang Qiling's gaze did not linger on Qin Yuan's guilty face for long, but instead fell on his still bleeding left hand. The wound was healing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, but before the long, sharp nails had fully retracted, they swept over the lingering vertical pupil in his eyes.
His gaze paused, and his brow furrowed slightly. The meaning in his eyes became more complex: It really is a member of the Zhang family, but this mutation... is a bit serious.
Qin Yuan understood the certainty in his eyes and the reproachful look that seemed to say, "My child has gone astray." He was both amused and exasperated; this misunderstanding was truly impossible to clear up.
The good news is that Qin Yuan is unaware that Zhang Qiling has already imagined a bloodline mutation that led to his family expelling him from the clan, disqualifying him from practicing the Faqiu Finger technique, and even stripping him of his surname, forcing him to take his mother's surname in a melodramatic way.
"How's it outside...?" Qin Yuan asked hoarsely, catching his breath, as he tried to suppress the mutated nails and pupil features. Blood loss and mental exhaustion made it difficult to control.
Zhang Qiling withdrew his gaze and said succinctly, "Chen Pi is dead."
Qin Yuan was shocked. Although the original story seemed to have this direction, hearing it with his own ears still made him feel a little sad. That eccentric, ruthless, yet experienced old hand had ultimately failed to survive. In fact, judging by personality alone, he quite liked Chen Pi.
"How did he die?"
"Wind and snow, old wounds, traps." Zhang Qiling uttered three words, not going into further details, but enough to convey the perilous nature of the ordeal. "Wu Xie and the others are safe. Pan Zi has already taken them down the mountain and back."
Qin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Wu Xie and Fatty were alright. With them taking care of Qin Jiu, he should be safe as well.
Zhang Qiling paused for a moment, then continued, "Outside, there are some... strange things." He described them with some difficulty, clearly those creatures were beyond his comprehension. "They're like black insects, very large, intelligent, they ambush, and very aggressive. But... they're protecting Wuxie and the others."
At this point, he looked at Qin Yuan again, his eyes filled with inquiry. Some of the physical characteristics and attack methods of those black monsters, especially that cold and eerie hunting aura... had subtle similarities to the state Qin Yuan had just revealed.
Qin Yuan knew he couldn't hide it from Zhang Qiling, and he didn't intend to. He nodded and readily admitted, "I left them behind; they'll obey my orders."
Zhang Qiling showed no surprise, simply watching him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
"However, their lifespan is very short," Qin Yuan added, pointing to his head. "They were created using special methods and only have a three-day lifespan. Once that time is up, they die on their own and won't leave any trouble." This was an explanation to Zhang Qiling, and also to the unknown world consciousness: See, I didn't carelessly discard alien creatures and pollute the environment; they will degrade on their own!
Zhang Qiling remained silent for a moment, then nodded, not pressing for further details. For someone from the Zhang family, the world was full of unbelievable things; as long as it was controllable and wouldn't cause a major disaster, the details weren't important.
"We can go out now." He looked around at the mainframe that had fallen into complete silence and said to Qin Yuan, "Your blood is very special. After our blood fused, the ultimate hibernation progress reached 100% for the first time. This time it should be able to last for a longer period of time."
"Has the progress bar never been full before?" Qin Yuan asked curiously. He had thought that it had to be full to be considered a success.
"Hmm, at most 98%." Zhang Qiling turned back and gestured for Qin Yuan to leave.
The matter here is temporarily settled.
Qin Yuan was also eager to leave this place as soon as possible. Although the machine was in hibernation, he felt extremely uncomfortable staying in this strange alien ruin. He took one last look at the sleeping "heart" and planned his itinerary in the Western Queen Mother's Kingdom.
The two walked one after the other along the path they had come from, toward the gap in the bronze door.
As they reached the door, Zhang Qiling suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Qin Yuan, and said in a calm but serious tone, "Next time, together."
Qin Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then realized he was referring to a life-threatening operation like today's. He smiled but didn't refute, simply nodding in response, "Okay."
He knew that in Zhang Qiling's eyes, his identity as a mutated member of the Zhang family was probably confirmed. However, having a teammate with such high combat power, someone who was also quiet, reliable, and wouldn't hold him back, seemed... not bad at all?
As for an explanation? Let's talk about it after we return from the Kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West and shut down this broken machine.
The two emerged from the gap in the bronze door and returned to the hollow in the mountainside with its enormous dome.
Qin Yuan looked up at the darkness in the direction they had come from. Wu Xie and the others should already be on their way home.
The system's voice prompts will be broadcast in your mind as needed:
Main Quest (Partial) Completed: Forced the "Ultimate" host into hibernation.
[The next stage objective has been activated: Proceed to the West Queen Mother Palace in Tamutuo to locate and retrieve the missing core module of the "Life Blueprint Database".]
Side Quest 2: Clean up the biology lab. (Incomplete)
[Special Note: Increased synergy between the host and the key storyline character "Zhang Qiling" has been detected. Consider teaming up for future missions.]
Qin Yuan closed the interface, exhaled a puff of white breath. Considering that this was only the final stage of dormancy and did not count as completing the main quest, the system did not issue any rewards. He could only wait for the next time. Fortunately, he did not have any abilities that he urgently needed at the moment.
Take a few days off, and then... it's time to meet the Queen Mother of the West, who took an alien hard drive and has been conducting private server research for thousands of years.
"Let's go, buddy," Qin Yuan said, stretching his still somewhat weak wrists. "Let's go find a place to eat something hot, it's on me."