Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Chapter 323: [The Shackles of Reason], A Warning from Tantric Buddhism

"Later, I secretly helped that investigator, allowing him to successfully infiltrate the zoo and the escape route. Sure enough, his appearance caused quite a commotion, diverting the attention of Green Robe, Cold Crow, and the others.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I quietly performed the ritual. During the ritual, I perceived a void, and there I sensed the wandering consciousness of a great existence."

"It was precisely by absorbing some scattered fragments of knowledge emanating from that great existence's wandering consciousness that my understanding and insight into biological modification were greatly enhanced. And it was precisely because of this biological modification knowledge that the Aurora Animal Assistance Association's genetic modification research bottleneck was broken through so quickly, leading to the first batch of [Genetic Modification Serum]."

"It was also during that ritual that I awakened the psychic ability [Special Personality], which gave rise to Miller. He possesses a part of my memories and became a separate entity, one of the preachers here.

Relying on the Genetic Modification Serum, I bribed the Security Captain and the experiment team leader, and with the improvement of Miller's and my own strength, my position as a Saint began to slowly solidify, until now."

It must be said, Jiu Feng's story is comparable to an inspirational novel.

To stage a comeback like this, surrounded by wolves and practically stripped of power, is already quite impressive.

"A great existence?" Yu Yuan murmured to himself.

Ever since a few days ago, when Fang nearly turned into a monster because of the [Blood Duke]'s spirituality imprint,

Yu Yuan had been filled with wariness towards these great existences.Beings that can be called great existences—forget whether they are truly great—their psychic radiation is absolutely powerful. The slightest carelessness can lead to mutation under their spiritual influence.

Now, hearing about this again from Jiu Feng's mouth, Yu Yuan subconsciously raised his guard.

"Tell me about the situation with this great existence. Could you still sense it later?"

However, Jiu Feng was momentarily stunned before shaking his head slightly.

"I couldn't sense it anymore. Later, I performed the ritual several more times. I could vaguely detect those great existences, but I couldn't get close. It was as if there were many worlds in between.

It was precisely because of this that I learned about the existence of other worlds. That's why I wanted to try entering other worlds, to see if I could get closer to those great existences and gain more improvements."

Hiss—

Ignorance is bliss.

This guy is really brave!

But that's not right!

Even the spiritual imprints carried by the wandering consciousness of those great existences should be more than Jiu Feng could withstand. Why did nothing happen to him?

Hearing Yu Yuan's question, Jiu Feng looked at the nipple chain on his chest.

"This was given to me by the High Priest when I left the cult headquarters."

Yu Yuan took the reddish-gold nipple chain in his hand.

A pale purple glow appeared in Yu Yuan's vision.

[Shackles of Reason]

Description: Only by locking reason in a cage can there be no possibility of it losing control.

Quality: Rare

Owner: Jiu Feng

Function: When the wearer is affected by spiritual pollution, [Mark of Reason] will be activated, ensuring reason does not decrease and isolating the spiritual pollution effect. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 24 hours.

————————

This...

Yu Yuan's eyes lit up.

"Isn't this just a budget version of [Mysticist]? The cult actually has such a good item!"

However, Yu Yuan soon seemed to understand something.

This item is only effective for those who can access that forbidden knowledge, or for people like Jiu Feng who can sense those powerful existences.

Without such avenues, it is just an ordinary nipple chain.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the cult, this nipple chain is merely something that, when worn, can help maintain a bit of calmness.

This might also be the reason why the cult gave this item to Jiu Feng.

Although these were just speculations, Yu Yuan felt they were probably close to the truth.

Understanding this, Yu Yuan couldn't help but marvel at Jiu Feng's good luck. If not for this nipple chain, he would likely have turned into a monster during his first ritual.

"It seems the enslavement effect of the Rat Tail Whip doesn't count as spiritual pollution, otherwise it would definitely trigger the [Mark of Reason]. Perhaps it's a higher-dimensional rule-based power?"

These things remain unknown.

Returning the nipple chain to Jiu Feng, Yu Yuan continued his questioning.

"Jiu Feng, you knew about the Mechanical Vanguard Society before. Was all that information from the cult?"

"Yes. Actually, the cult became aware of the Mechanical Vanguard Society organization a long time ago. Previously, they used various tech companies as white gloves. Records indicate that many regions experienced AI weapon massacre incidents in the past, all with traces of the Mechanical Vanguard Society behind them."

So that's how it was.

"What do you know about the Orthodox Church?" Yu Yuan continued to ask.

"The Orthodox Church? The appearance of the Orthodox Church was very abrupt, as if they popped up out of nowhere. The first time we discovered their traces was when a native tribe deep in the Dalaran continent was sacrificed."

"The sacrificial site's ground had turned into scorched earth. Even though it was a desert, there was a layer of igneous rock formed from cooled lava on the ground, and it was filled with a strong smell of sulfur..."

"After that, similar situations occurred one after another. Later, we learned this organization was called the [Orthodox Church]."

"Originally, headquarters had found some clues about this [Orthodox Church]. But not long after, I lost contact with headquarters. Just before losing contact, I received an urgent message from headquarters—prepare for the arrival of the apocalypse. This would be a disaster engulfing the entire world. And our mission was to occupy Green Forest City."

Jiu Feng gazed at the empty space before him and said softly, "After receiving the headquarters' warning, I didn't dare be careless. I immediately mobilized all channels to prepare various stored supplies and weapons, and formulated an apocalypse survival plan.

Sure enough... not long after, war broke out. Because we were prepared, Hogg immediately took control of the Black Shield Police Department, then proceeded to occupy and transfer supplies from Green Forest City's material reserve stations.

But as other factions continuously intervened, and with contact to headquarters cut off, after realizing that occupying the entire Green Forest City was unrealistic, we shifted to occupying Green Forest City's largest eastern district, until now..."

Yu Yuan listened to Jiu Feng's account. Although it was told lightly, how could Yu Yuan not know the dangers and the bloody struggles involved?

The cult could actually know about the apocalypse's arrival in advance. Clearly, they knew the reason why this world became a wasteland world. It's just unknown why they suddenly lost contact.

"Do you know the location of your headquarters?"

Jiu Feng shook his head slightly.

"I only remember that after I fell asleep, I appeared in Green Forest City."

Yu Yuan narrowed his eyes.

"What a cautious organization."