Hijacking the Timeline

Chapter 160 160: Breaking the Record [2.7k]

Translator: CinderTL

Technology Research Institute.

Feng Qi, shirtless, lay slumped over the washbasin, vomiting blood.

The aftereffects of his biochemical modification had grown increasingly severe over the past few weeks.

He felt his body failing him, sustained only by sheer willpower.

Yet his body had already signaled its inability to function normally.

He turned on the faucet, washing away the shocking bloodstains from the basin. Then he raised his head to look in the mirror.

His face was deathly pale, his body covered in scars. His eyes were bloodshot, and nearly all his hair had fallen out due to the biochemical modification's side effects, leaving him looking grotesque and utterly wretched.

After rinsing his mouth, he straightened up with a groan.

In his bedroom, he changed into a black uniform and covered his head with a hat.

As he left the room, he glanced to his right and saw the black shadow had arrived at some point.

The shadow's features were obscured, only its crimson eyes visible in the darkness.

"Can you still hold on?"

"I'm fine."

"Every core member of the institute has their own ambitions, which is why I can use them. I can fulfill their desires, whether it's longevity, health, wealth, or something else... but you're an exception."

After a long silence, the black shadow continued, "You are pure evil, and yet you are my favorite warrior within the institute."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Feng Qi sneered.

"It's a pity, really. I had intended to cultivate you, but I never expected you to be so ruthless, to undergo biochemical modification just to climb to this position."

"Can't you fulfill any request? Can you restore my health?" Feng Qi asked emotionlessly.

"I can, but you've completely exhausted your life force. Restoring you fully would require a significant cost on my part."

"So I'm not worth the effort to save?"

"That's correct. However, I can grant you one wish before you die," the black shadow said seriously.

Hearing this, Feng Qi scoffed inwardly, but still asked:

"Actually, I've always been curious about something. If humanity were to be destroyed in the future, what would you do next?"

The black shadow remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking:

"Continue fighting until I and my clansmen can survive when the Great Tide arrives."

"The Great Tide?"

"When the Great Tide comes, we are all like grass. Whether we live or die is entirely uncertain. Humanity is merely an obstacle on our path to survival. We destroy it to advance further, but it is not our ultimate goal."

"Tell me more."

"You don't need to know too much. You won't live to see that day." As the black shadow spoke, it gradually faded away.

Feng Qi watched the black shadow disappear, lost in thought.

The Great Tide?

Suddenly, the final battle against the world's end that Mu Yao had faced flashed through his mind—the sky changing color, all things withering.

Could that day's arrival be the Great Tide?

Wasn't that day supposed to symbolize the complete victory of the Domain Forces?

Were the monsters emerging from the void also enemies of these domain creatures?

He realized the Domain Forces were far more complex than he had imagined, concealing many secrets.

If these Domain Forces infiltrating Human Civilization chose to cooperate, they could easily crush it. Instead, they chose to hide in the shadows and develop in secret.

The Domain Force behind the technology research institute, in particular, continuously provided resources to the institute's "traitors" and used their research to strengthen itself.

They even spent vast resources to create Spirit Energy Nanoworms.

Then there was the Tiger Soul Research Institute, which had been lying in ambush for a thousand years, waiting to harvest all of humanity and obtain massive Qi and Blood Power.

Both Domain Forces seemed to be accumulating power and developing their ultimate weapons.

Were they preparing for the arrival of the Great Tide?

Feng Qi clearly didn't have time to find out.

He stepped out of the base, where the third battle group's soldiers were already waiting.

Without speaking, Feng Qi walked forward.

The soldiers of the third battle group automatically parted to make way, then followed behind him.

A new mission was about to begin.

In recent times, the conflict between the technology research institute and the Tiger Soul Research Institute had intensified.

Based on their current clashes, the Technology Research Institute held a clear advantage, even suppressing the Tiger Soul Research Institute in the court of public opinion.

Rumors spread online, claiming the Tiger Soul Research Institute had been infiltrated by Domain Force.

The Behind-the-Scenes Domain Faction backing the Technology Research Institute was cunning, attempting to dismantle the Tiger Soul Research Institute using the same tactics that had brought down the Scarlet Research Institute in a previous timeline.

However, this public relations offensive had little effect on the Tiger Soul Research Institute.

Unlike the mysterious Scarlet Research Institute, the Tiger Soul Research Institute had always been viewed by the public as a beacon of the cultivation system.

They frequently hosted public events like the Tiger Soul Concept Competition and the Tiger Soul Cultivation System Planning Competition.

As a result, many netizens sided with the Tiger Soul Research Institute, angrily denouncing the online trolls as brainless.

Beyond the public relations battle, the two sides' battle groups had clashed several times, each suffering losses.

But thanks to the various black technology products developed by Mo, the Technology Research Institute held the advantage in small-scale conflicts.

For this mission, he would lead the Third Domain Battle Group north from Future City to intercept a shipment of Domain resources destined for the Tiger Soul Research Institute.

The mission's danger level was rising with each passing day.

The Tiger Soul Research Institute had already prepared for an attack from the technology research institute.

This mission would likely involve intercepting a Tiger Soul Research Institute battle group.

There was a real risk of death.

But this was exactly the situation he wanted. As the conflict escalated, the Domain Forces behind both the technology research institute and the Tiger Soul Research Institute would inevitably intervene.

This was just a skirmish. The real war would come later.

When two tigers fight, one must fall.

Perhaps after his death, the Scarlet Research Institute could glean crucial intelligence from the clash between these two factions.

History itself would be altered by their struggle.

After days of arduous travel, Feng Qi led the third battle group to an abandoned airport.

This airport served as a transfer point for Domain resources.

Unlike ancient times, Domain resources extracted from the Domain Field no longer required armed escorts. They were typically transported to transfer airports and then flown directly to the research institutes via transport aircraft.

Therefore, ambushing a Tiger Soul Research Institute resource convoy at a transfer point was the most effective strategy.

Lurking in the forest outside the airport, they used high-altitude drones to track the approaching resource convoy in the distance.

After half a day of waiting, the convoy arrived at the transfer point, carrying the precious cargo.

Two Tiger Soul Research Institute resource transport planes were already waiting.

Realizing the moment was ripe, Feng Qi immediately issued the order to attack.

The third battle group's soldiers, armed to the teeth, charged out of the forest toward the airport. Simultaneously, drones in the sky directly destroyed two resource transport planes, cutting off the Tiger Soul resource escort's retreat.

The Tiger Soul Research Institute was clearly prepared. The escort team of several hundred soldiers immediately launched a counterattack.

Each soldier took up a different position and simultaneously released their inner spiritual energy. Golden lines crisscrossed beneath their feet, connecting them all and instantly forming a yellowish-brown Energy Formation.

Feng Qi stood behind, silently observing the shifting battle. He did not personally join the fight. His body was already in a state of terminal decline, making any high-intensity combat impossible.

Yet he wanted to use his remaining lifespan to gather more intelligence. Every day he could hold on was a victory.

The Tiger Soul Research Institute was prepared this time. Even though the third battle group's soldiers were equipped with cutting-edge spirit energy weapons, they struggled to break through the institute's all-encompassing spirit formation in the short term. The battle devolved into a stalemate.

Despite their numerical advantage, breaking through the defense was only a matter of time.

Especially after the deployment of the Spirit Energy Exclusion Zone Ball, which had dispersed spiritual energy within a one-kilometer radius, the Tiger Soul Research Institute's warriors were quickly tiring.

As Feng Qi had predicted, the battle dragged on for three hours before the spirit formation shattered, scattering like rain.

What followed was a one-sided slaughter.

In a short time, countless Tiger Soul Research Institute warriors fell in pools of blood.

Feng Qi immediately contacted the technology research institute's logistics department, preparing for transport planes to arrive and evacuate supplies.

But just then, the situation took a sudden turn.

A large group of warriors burst from the forest behind the airport.

Feng Qi, standing at the rear, was surrounded and captured before he could react.

He recognized their insignia and confirmed their affiliation: the United Military Department.

These United Military Department warriors then turned their blades on the technology research institute's third battle group, unleashing a bloody massacre.

Caught off guard by the sudden assault, the third battle group's warriors struggled to defend themselves.

The warriors from the United Research Institute were clearly prepared for this. Each one was an elite among elites, their strength formidable.

Moments later, the third battle group had been decimated.

"We received a distress call from the Tiger Soul Research Institute, warning that this batch of supplies was about to be looted. But I never imagined it would be you, the technology research institute, behind it. It seems something has gone seriously wrong within your ranks."

An officer standing beside Feng Qi spoke with a complex expression, his gaze fixed on him.

Hearing this, Feng Qi realized they had been set up by the Tiger Soul Research Institute.

The Tiger Soul Research Institute had clearly known the technology research institute would attempt to loot the supplies. They had alerted the United Research Institute in advance, implying the supplies might be targeted and needed protection.

Now, caught red-handed, they had been captured.

With a cunning use of the "borrowed knife to kill" tactic, the Tiger Soul Research Institute had sacrificed some of their own warriors to orchestrate a crackdown on the technology research institute by various factions.

Once the battle ended, Feng Qi and the surviving members of the third battle group were escorted onto a transport plane that had arrived later and flown to the United Military Department.

Feng Qi knew exactly what awaited them.

He knew exactly what the technology research institute would do.

In the eyes of the Behind-the-Scenes Domain Faction pulling the strings at the technology research institute, he was nothing more than a pawn.

With such a major incident, the first step would inevitably be to issue a clarification, followed by abandoning him.

Just as Feng Qi had predicted.

That day, public opinion erupted in an uproar. People couldn't understand why the Wolf Domain Battle Group, affiliated with the technology research institute, would attack the Tiger Soul Research Institute's resource convoy.

The Tiger Soul Research Institute was the first to step forward, issuing a formal inquiry to the technology research institute, as if they too had been caught completely off guard and were shocked by the incident.

The technology research institute's response was equally clear.

They suspected the Wolf Domain Battle Group had been manipulated by a Domain Force, and that the attack had nothing to do with the technology research institute.

The public largely accepted the technology research institute's explanation.

However, some dissenting voices questioned how the technology research institute, as the Wolf Domain Battle Group's parent organization, could possibly have been unaware of the battle group's full-scale deployment. Had they not inquired about the Wolf Pack Battle Group's operational plans?

Meanwhile, at the center of the public storm, Feng Qi was imprisoned in the United Military Department's prison, awaiting a trial that would be watched by the entire world.

During this time, another major incident occurred.

The third battle group soldiers captured in the prison suddenly died en masse, their bodies dissolving under the corrosive influence of spirit energy.

Only Feng Qi survived; no one else escaped.

When he learned of this during questioning, Feng Qi immediately understood what had happened.

Clearly, the Behind-the-Scenes Domain Entity controlling the technology research institute had remotely triggered the death marks, causing the soldiers to die instantly.

This was done to prevent any potentially damaging information about the institute from leaking out.

But Feng Qi was an exception.

The death mark within him had long been neutralized by Wei Wei.

The spirit energy mark remaining in his body was now powerless, merely an empty shell used to deceive the Behind-the-Scenes Domain Entity.

Therefore, when the entity triggered the marks, Feng Qi remained unaffected.

This incident quickly sent shockwaves through the United Military Department's high command.

That night, Feng Qi was fitted with spirit-binding cuffs to prevent him from manipulating his inner spiritual energy to trigger any latent fatal factors within him. He also underwent a series of physical examinations to ensure he would remain unharmed until Judgment Day.

Feng Qi already knew what the verdict of his trial would be.

Whether he was controlled by the Domain Force or not, his fate was sealed: death for committing the unforgivable crime of "betrayal."

Now, sitting motionless in the dimly lit prison cell, he felt no emotion.

He had long prepared himself for this day.

His body could no longer endure; he could no longer continue walking this path for the sake of another version of himself.

At this thought, a flicker of relief washed over him.

He had been so weary on this journey. Now, at last, he could rest.

Three days later, Feng Qi, clad in prison garb, was escorted out of his cell.

His destination: the United Research Institute's judgment hall. Representatives from all the major institutes had already gathered, and the entire trial was being broadcast live online.

Under the escort of United Military Department soldiers, he ascended the judgment seat.

"Feng Qi, give the world an explanation. Confess your crimes..."

Despite the judge's relentless questioning, Feng Qi remained silent.

He would not let the Tiger Soul Research Institute have its way. He wanted a balance of power between the technology research institute and the Tiger Soul Research Institute, not for the latter to use him to suppress the former.

He even looked forward to the escalating war between the two institutes.

But he wouldn't live to see it.

When the judge questioned him about his motives, Feng Qi remained silent, offering no explanation.

Explaining himself would make him feel like a criminal.

The thought of Future People labeling him a "human traitor" in history books suddenly reminded him of a conversation he'd had with Old Wang long ago.

History books are too small to contain the complexities of a single person's life.

Yet they are also too vast, for a single page casually turned might record the grand and tumultuous life of an individual.

The trial ended without a verdict, and Feng Qi was returned to his cell.

What awaited him next was a series of tortures.

Even devices similar to the technology research institute's "Truthspeaker Device" were used.

But his nearly decayed body couldn't withstand the brutal torture. He vomited blood and lost consciousness almost as soon as the torture began.

Forced to act, the United Research Institute consulted various institutes and decided to publicly execute him as a warning to others.

When he learned from the United Military Department's supervisor that he was to face the execution block, Feng Qi felt no fear.

Instead, he asked the supervisor, "What's the date today?"

Upon learning the exact date, a smile spread across his face. He murmured, "I've broken the record. If the Narrator were here, he'd surely be cheering me on."

(End of the Chapter)

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