I Arrived At Wizard World While Cultivating Immortality

Chapter 649: Improvement and Eyes in the Dark

With Harding’s help, the Shadow Serpent’s backlash within Dirk was gradually suppressed.

Just as things were progressing smoothly, Harding’s brows furrowed slightly.

In that instant, he sensed a feeling that displeased him.

It was a very subtle sensation… like something had crawled across the surface of his skin—extremely light and extremely fast.

Had he not been in a highly sensitive state at that moment, he would not have noticed it at all.

It was an almost instinctive “discomfort.”

Like walking through a dark alley and suddenly feeling someone watching you, but when you turn your head, there is nothing there.

Harding’s hand paused. His gaze swept over his own body.

But there was nothing.

Dirk sensed it too. He opened his eyes, a trace of confusion appearing on his deathly pale face. “Old Harding, did you feel that?”

“Mm.” Harding did not say much and continued channeling energy. “It might be the aftershock from the Shadow Serpent. Don’t get distracted.”

Dirk did not press further, but he knew in his heart that it was not.

He had experienced the Shadow Serpent’s backlash many times before, yet he had never felt this sensation of “being touched from outside the skin.”

It felt more like… something had attached itself to him and then left.

But he could not say exactly what it was.

Outside the factory, atop the loading tower, Jie Ming withdrew his gaze from Harding and Dirk, his brows slightly knitted.

“It seems the Micro-Light Eye still needs further improvement.”

The reactions from the two men confirmed the issue Jie Ming had previously discovered.

When he had placed the Micro-Light Eye on the black market intermediary earlier, he had already noticed something wrong.

Every time the intermediary came to deliver goods, Jie Ming would check the status of the Micro-Light Eye.

Without exception, the intermediary had never detected anything extra on his body.

However, each time the Micro-Light Eye attached itself, the man would make an unconscious subconscious movement—such as scratching that spot or unconsciously patting it with his hand.

Jie Ming had realized the problem at the time.

The black market intermediary thrived in the underground scene, so he naturally could not be an ordinary person.

Although the Micro-Light Eye’s energy fluctuations had been disguised as those of The Strange, its “frequency” did not match the power of Spirit Mediums who had The Strange sealed within them. When two different frequencies of Strange power came into contact, they would produce a subtle repulsive reaction.

While it was not enough to be consciously detected, it was sufficient to trigger an instinctive “something feels off” feeling in the host.

Just like what had happened earlier, when both Harding and Dirk felt the discomfort.

The Strange within their bodies clashed with the power of the Micro-Light Eye, triggering a natural reaction similar to “hair standing on end.”

Jie Ming mentally noted this issue.

Future improvements to the Micro-Light Eye would either involve adjusting its energy frequency to make it “compatible” with the auras of most Strange entities, or further reducing its energy fluctuations to the point where even this instinctive reaction would not be triggered.

Those matters, however, were for later.

Right now, he had more important things to do.

Jie Ming’s figure faded atop the loading tower as he chased in the direction the Shadow Thief had fled.

After escaping through the gap in the sealing array, the Shadow Thief rapidly slid along the ground of the abandoned industrial zone.

Its dark shadow membrane was completely invisible in the darkness, and its power fluctuations were fully dispersed into the surrounding environment. In theory, it should have been impossible to track or capture.

But Jie Ming had placed more than one Micro-Light Eye on the Shadow Thief—and even on that shark monster—so he did not need to worry about losing the trail. Jie Ming chose to pursue the Shadow Thief first.

The fusion technology on that Strange entity did interest him greatly, but the Shadow Thief was also quite valuable material.

Although there were many Strange entities in this plane, one of this level was still not something one could encounter casually.

Jie Ming moved silently through the night, heading toward the direction from which the Micro-Light Eye was sending back signals.

Meanwhile, inside the abandoned factory.

Harding had finally completely suppressed the Shadow Serpent within Dirk.

Dirk’s face shifted from deathly pale to merely pale. Though still very weak, he was at least no longer in danger of losing his life.

He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Sweat had soaked a large portion of his uniform collar.

The emergency handling of the Shadow Serpent had not actually taken long. Just as the resealing was completed, chaotic footsteps and the sound of metal clashing came from outside the factory.

The two elite teams from the east—one male and one female pair—along with elite teams from the other two directions leading their capture squads, entered the factory almost simultaneously.

They all bore traces of battle.

The capture team members in particular had bullet holes and slashes on nearly every uniform. Some still had dust and bloodstains on their faces. Fortunately, it seemed no one was seriously injured.

Each member of the elite squads was dragging or escorting one or two black-robed figures.

The hoods of those black-robed figures had been pulled off, revealing faces that were either young or old, fearful or numb.

Some were still struggling, but their hands and feet were bound with the Association’s special restraints, making their efforts futile.

“How is the situation?” Harding stood up, his gaze sweeping over the entering elites.

“East side cleared,” the female elite spoke, her voice carrying a trace of exhaustion. “Five Spirit Mediums resisted too fiercely; we had no choice but to kill them all. Eleven remaining armed personnel, three captured.”

“Same on the north side,” a member of another elite squad said. “They had fewer people than the east side, but they fought just as fiercely. Not a single one retreated.”

“South side…” The leader of the third elite squad paused. “No enemies on the south side. Those guys were even more vicious than we expected. My powers aren’t suited for taking captives either.”

Harding’s brows twisted together.

“Bring the captives over,” Harding ordered.

Several elites pushed the captives to the center of the factory.

The three black-robed men were forced to their knees. Their faces showed no fanatical disregard for death, only confusion and fear. One man’s lips were trembling, as if he wanted to say something but did not dare.

Harding walked up to him and looked down from above.

“Speak. Who sent you? You should know that with Spirit Mediums present, you cannot hide any secrets. It would be better to confess now and suffer less…”

The black-robed man opened his mouth. A dry swallowing sound came from his throat. Then… his eyes suddenly widened!

His pupils dilated in an instant, as if something had exploded inside his body.

His body stiffened violently, then fell straight forward like a chopped log, smashing face-first into the concrete floor with a dull thud.

The two black-robed men beside him suffered the exact same fate at the same moment.

Pupils dilated, bodies stiffened, and then they all collapsed.

Harding and the elite squad members present saw this and their expressions darkened.

Dirk pushed off the wall to stand and walked over to examine one of the bodies.

He checked the carotid artery, then lifted an eyelid to look at the pupil. He raised his head, his expression grave.

“They’re dead.”

“Yeah…” Harding’s voice sank.

The female Association elite also stepped forward to inspect them, her face ugly. “This method… is not something an ordinary cult can pull off.”

Upon hearing this, Dirk carefully examined the deceased’s mouth, nasal cavity, and skin surface, finding no external injuries.

Then he released a wisp of Shadow Serpent aura and probed into the body.

A few seconds later, he withdrew it, his face looking even worse. He clearly understood what had happened.

“The Strange within them… went out of control,” Dirk said. “It seems to be some kind of preset mechanism. Once they were captured or left a certain range, the seals inside their bodies would automatically release, and the Strange would instantly devour the host’s soul and flesh.”

The factory fell silent.

This showed that these black-robed men had never intended to return alive from the very beginning.

Of course, having seen all kinds of cult brainwashing methods, they were not surprised by these people’s resolve.

But as the female elite member had said, this kind of technique was not something just anyone possessed.

“Can we identify the specific method the opponent used?” Harding’s voice was not loud, but every word seemed squeezed out through gritted teeth.

“Not really,” the female elite replied, her tone carrying unwillingness. “The Strange’s destruction of the soul was too clean.”

“It seems… the enemy has been watching this place the whole time,” the north-side elite added.

Eight elites, three directions, and all captured prisoners died at the exact same moment.

This was no coincidence. Someone was definitely remotely monitoring everything.

Harding stood in place, silent for a long time.

“Old Harding,” Dirk’s voice came from the side. “What do we do next?”

Harding glanced at him but said nothing.

Dirk continued, “From this attack, they knew our operation time, knew our array positions, knew that assaulting from the sea was the most effective direction, and even knew we would station heavy forces on the east and north while neglecting the sea. This kind of information cannot be obtained simply by observation.” He did not finish his words, but everyone present understood what he meant.

Such precise intelligence and such targeted arrangements meant the opponent was very familiar with the Association’s operational patterns.

This was not information that could be summarized by “observing from outside a few times.”

It meant that within the Association, there were eyes belonging to the opponent.

This thought pressed down on everyone’s hearts like a stone.

Harding turned and walked toward the factory entrance.

His steps were steady, his back straight, showing no emotional fluctuations.

“We’ll talk about this later. First, clean up the scene.” His voice came from the doorway, calm as if commenting on nice weather. “The Strange within these guys has already gone out of control and will soon break through their internal seals. Alright, first restore the sealing barrier here. After resealing the Strange on their bodies, we can consider other issues.”

“Also, remember to handle them gently. The bodies need to be brought back to headquarters for the forensic team to conduct detailed examinations.”

“Yes!” the elites responded in unison.

Harding walked into the night.

Dirk watched his departing back, opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.