I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Linjiang City · 749 Bureau Secret Containment Center · Three-story Underground Dissection Room]

[Time: 21:30 PM]

The pale white light of the operating lamp shone on the metal dissection table.

An unsettling smell filled the air—the acrid smell of strong acid corroding metal, mixed with a pungent odor similar to sulfur.

Lying on the dissection table was the very "Void Hound" that Gu Qing had killed with a single sword strike.

Instead of becoming indestructible as before, it appeared withered and dehydrated. Its black skin shriveled up, losing its chilling luster, and it looked like a giant, dried-up corpse.

Professor Wang, the chief biological consultant of Bureau 749, was in charge of the surgery.

At this moment, he was holding a high-frequency vibrating scalpel and carefully cutting open a piece of muscle tissue in the monster's thigh.

"Sizzle—"

A puff of white smoke rose up, and the scalpel blade became dull and blackened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Very interesting...extremely interesting."

Professor Wang was not discouraged by the destruction of an expensive scalpel; instead, he pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

In the observation room behind him, Zhao Feng, the special operations team leader, sat with bandages wrapped around his body and a pale face. Sitting next to him was Li Guozhong, the current director of Bureau 749.

"Old Wang, how did it go?" Li Guozhong asked in a deep voice into the microphone, "Is this thing really invincible?"

"No, Chief, it's not nearly that exaggerated."

Professor Wang turned around, holding a petri dish containing a piece of black tissue cut from the monster.

"Based on the tests we just conducted, its surface hardness is roughly equivalent to that of titanium alloy. Although it is hard, it is not indestructible. If we use a sniper rifle or depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds, we can penetrate it."

Li Guozhong frowned: "If they could break through, then why were Zhao Feng and the others' attacks ineffective?"

"That's the weirdest part."

Professor Wang placed the petri dish under the microscope and projected the image onto a large screen.

On the screen, the black, dead flesh cells were writhing wildly, as if they had a life of their own.

"This thing's cellular activity is thousands of times that of humans. When we attack it with physical means, its muscle tissue will instantly produce a hardening reaction like a 'non-Newtonian fluid' to offset the impact. And once a wound appears, the surrounding cells will divide and fill the gap at an extremely fast speed."

"In other words, it's not that it can't be penetrated, but that it can't be killed."

Professor Wang paused, his voice becoming serious:

"Unless... its full activity can be destroyed instantly, or its core can be destroyed."

"What about 'Qi'?" Zhao Feng suddenly asked, his voice a little hoarse. "Back then, that monster absorbed the spiritual energy of the team members and evolved. But in the end... it was killed by that senior's sword."

"That's exactly what I wanted to say."

Professor Wang took a deep breath and pressed a button.

Suddenly, the image on the screen changed.

Professor Wang conducted an experiment: he injected a wisp of extremely weak bioelectric energy (simulated spiritual energy) extracted from a special instrument into the black tissue.

boom!

The piece of dead flesh, which was originally only the size of a fingernail, suddenly doubled in size the moment it came into contact with the energy, just like a shark that had smelled blood.

"It craves 'qi'," Professor Wang said, pointing to the screen. "For this kind of creature, spiritual energy is the most efficient nutrient, stimulating its evolution."

Immediately afterwards, Professor Wang changed to another set of procedures.

This time, he used the extremely faint yet highly concentrated sword intent remaining on the broken sword that Zhao Feng had brought back to approach the swollen flesh.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!

An astonishing scene unfolded.

The flesh and blood that had been frantically absorbing energy just moments before immediately began to fight back as if they had encountered a natural enemy the moment they came into contact with this "condensed sword energy".

But being a source without roots, the black cells began to tremble, disintegrate, and die. They seemed unable to withstand this highly compressed spiritual energy, which possessed a certain "rule-based attribute."

That's the conclusion.

Professor Wang turned around, looked at the two people in the observation room, and said in a resolute tone:

"This is an extremely contradictory biological structure."

"It desperately craves spiritual energy, which is its food and fuel for evolution."

"But it is also extremely afraid of spiritual energy—provided that the spiritual energy is powerful enough, sharp enough, and contains some kind of 'will' that we cannot understand."

"To give an analogy, ordinary spiritual energy is like 'oxygen,' which can make a fire burn brighter."

"But the spiritual energy released by that mysterious person was like a 'compressed liquid oxygen bomb.' Because of its excessively high concentration and explosive nature, it directly burst its cellular structure and even erased its regenerative ability at the genetic level."

A brief silence fell over the observation room.

Li Guozhong tapped the table thoughtfully: "So, this kind of monster isn't invincible. As long as our firepower is strong enough, or... if we can master the method of 'compressing' and 'qualitatively changing' spiritual energy, we can kill them like chickens?"

"Theoretically, that's correct." Professor Wang nodded, then smiled wryly. "But Director, this corpse... according to the autopsy analysis, its bone density and muscle structure aren't too outrageous. And based on Captain Zhao's account of its intelligence and language learning ability at the scene, if my speculation is correct, this might be a social creature, and within its group, it might just be..."

"Just a sentry," Zhao Feng continued, his eyes serious.

"Even... a stray dog ​​used for scouting."

"That's right." Professor Wang sighed. "It could be the juvenile form of a species that revived with the return of spiritual energy, or it could be an unknown alien creature."

"So... in general, humanity's conventional weapons might really become scrap metal?"

Li Guozhong suddenly stood up, his eyes blazing.

He understood.

This conclusion is more terrifying than the monster itself.

The monster's weakness is "high-density spiritual energy attacks".

Currently, only a very small number of people are known to possess this power.

"Classify this report as SSS-level Top Secret."

Li Guozhong straightened his collar, his tone more resolute than ever before.

"Also, send the slice of the sword wound on that monster's chest to the Academia Sinica. Tell them that I don't care what methods they use, they must figure out that 'energy arrangement'."

He turned to look at Zhao Feng.

"Zhao Feng, you only have one primary task right now."

"Find that 'mysterious person'."

"This corpse proves that we are facing a war of extinction if we do not evolve."

"We need mentors."

As Zhao Feng looked at the withered and ugly corpse below, the stunning sword light flashed through his mind once again.

"Yes, Chief."

"Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find him."

……

at the same time.

Gu Qing had already returned home.

The experimental results from Bureau 749 were all under his surveillance.

"That's a very insightful analysis."

Gu Qing took a bite of the spiritual fruit and smiled.

[System notification: The official analysis has revealed the dual characteristics of Void creatures: "Spirit Devourer" and "Spirit Fearer."]

[Increased credibility points: 8,000 (Awesome from researchers).]

Gu Qing waved his hand, dismissing the surveillance footage.

His gaze was set on a more far-reaching plan.

"Now that the corpse has attracted the attention of the higher-ups, the groundwork for the 'crisis' is complete."

"Next..."

Gu Qing looked at the countdown timer flashing red on the system panel.

"We have to speed things up."

"The corpse of this one dog alone is not enough to convince them to hand over the entire country's resources to me."

"I need a grander reason, a reason that would force them to launch the 'Sky-Mending Project'."

Gu Qing's fingers moved lightly in the air, and several lines of a new script outline appeared.

[Script generation in progress...]

[Key Milestones: Void Beast Crisis -> Kunlun Dragon Vein -> Sky Mending Project]

"Since you want a scientific explanation, then I'll give you a 'cultivation-style' geological explanation."