Chapter 369: The Closest...
Speaking of which, Chen Nuo never considered himself a person with great convictions and beliefs.
Not noble or lofty, but possessing so basic conscience and sense of responsibility—and just that.
Shedding one’s blood for human civilization was sothing Chen Xiaoguo’s temperant would hardly allow. Or rather, he had always believed he probably couldn’t do it.
Whether it was his trip to Brazil in South Arica or to Antarctica, Chen Nuo acted only because he felt a duty as an outstanding mber of the human race, a forerunner in its evolution. With such a terrifying and imnsely threatening entity lurking on Earth, soone had to step up and do sothing.
So, as the Controller, if he didn’t do anything, it would be simply untenable.
That was all there was to it.
Generally, his attitude was: give it a try. If it worked, great. If not, he’d run back and lie low. But at least he would have tried his best.
From this point of view, Chen Nuo was indeed not noble enough.
He couldn’t compare with his dear Davarishi Vanel. At least the burly Russian man was truly fighting with his life at stake, sacrificing it for his beliefs.
Even so, he might not compare to that ss of a Motherfucker Son of the Sun. At least the old bastard Corot had spent a lifeti fighting for his belief in Noah’s Ark.
Though he always spoke of fearing death and preserving his own life, the old man had genuinely risked his life in action for his entire life.
If I had to talk about beliefs, I feel I might not have any.
Emmmm... perhaps I do.
In his past life or this one, Chen Nuo always felt that he was just a lucky person, who blundered into awakening his abilities, blundered into becoming a super strong top-class master. It was all fate.
So, in his ntality, he never had the kind of thought other Ability Users had, the one where they "don’t consider themselves human."
He still considered himself a human being.
Only, because of exceptional fortune, he had obtained extraordinary abilities, which allowed him to live more freely.
Beliefs seem a little distant from .
Perhaps... if I really had to say...
Braised pork has to be served with white rice; that’s a belief.
Coke must be accompanied by ice cubes; that’s also a belief. Oh, right, and it has to be Coca-Cola; Pepsi doesn’t taste good.
So might ask, can’t we just do without the ice cubes? Just chill it in the refrigerator—isn’t that also cold?
I would reply: No!!
Coke without ice cubes is soulless.
However, I now feel I might just have a soul left.
"Chosen One, do not go out... Chosen One, Chosen One..."
Chen Nuo pondered hard on the ssage revealed in Corot’s words.
Corot seed quite pleased that Chen Nuo wasn’t bothering him anymore, happy that this guy was keeping quiet.
What does ’Chosen One’ actually an?
Alright, I’ll start by defining it from my own perspective. The first ti I was called the Chosen One was by that guy Seed.
He noticed my difference because...
I had seen the Mother, had touched the Mother, and then inexplicably beca the Chosen One.
So... the criterion for being a Chosen One could be "having had contact with the Mother"?!
So...
Huh?! No! That’s not right!
Chen Nuo’s thoughts suddenly churned.
"What are you trying to do now?"
Corot sensed the release of Chen Nuo’s consciousness.
Corot reacted angrily, "Didn’t I say, if I satisfied your curiosity, you would stay quiet here?"
But this ti it was Chen Nuo who did not respond.
He silently gathered his power and, without a word, released his consciousness, directing the mist to surge about recklessly.
"Bastard! Do you think you can get out this way?" Corot disdainfully released his own consciousness, imdiately launching a counterattack. A vast expanse of mist blocked Chen Nuo from all sides, fiercely repelling every surge of his consciousness without hesitation.
But this ti, Chen Nuo was silent, tirelessly condensing his power into a single point, bravely confronting Corot.
Finally, after countless bouts of fierce combat, Corot broke the silence again.
"What exactly do you want to do? This is futile; you’re no match for . I’m much stronger than you."
This ti, Chen Nuo broke the silence and replied.
He conveyed just two simple words:
"Oh? Really?"
This thought seed to carry mockery, disdain, and a hint of a sneer, as if he had seen through everything.
Corot: "..."
The two clumps of "mist" that were fighting suddenly dissipated, retracting completely. The space seed to instantly return to a profound stillness, a void of primordial chaos.
After a long silence, Corot finally spoke softly, "How did you find out?"
"Actually, I should have noticed it long ago," Chen Nuo sighed. "Being deceived by you for so long, I was foolish enough."
"From the very beginning, when you told you were a lingering soul, a dead spirit, you were already implanting psychological suggestions."
"You fooled , broke my teleportation, trapping here."
"I lost my five senses, only my consciousness remained. Then you talked to , making believe from the start that I was in a ’soul’ state."
"I thought I was captured by the Mother during the teleportation process."
"Then, naturally, I wanted to escape."
"But actually, from the mont you destroyed my teleportation and put in this state, you’d already tampered with , right?"
"You actually entered my Consciousness Space, took control of my consciousness fluctuations, and then... you’ve been playing a little trick on all along."
"What trick?"
Chen Nuo sighed again and said slowly,
"When I was very young, I was the victim of a prank once."
"I had an older cousin, a few years my senior. Every sumr vacation, I liked to go to his house to play."
"Not for any particular reason, except that he had a video ga console—the kind with gas like Super Mario."
"Every ti I clamored to play, my cousin couldn’t be bothered to play with a brat like —because my skills were terrible, and I’d quickly lose."
"So, to keep playing longer without him having to watch over , he ca up with an idea."
"He put on a recording of his own playthrough where he beat the ga."
"Once, while I was ’playing,’ he was actually just playing that ga recording."
"And I was deceived."
"I thought I was controlling the little character on the screen: jumping over pits, stomping on turtles, hitting mushroom blocks, and running fast from monsters..."
"I was gleefully mashing the controller, but I didn’t realize I was just reacting to a video recording of the ga."
"The reason he managed to fool was that my consciousness would follow along with what was happening in the ga recording."
"I would only be amazed at how good I was that ti; when I ca to a pit, I always managed to jump at just the right mont."
"When it was ti to stomp on a turtle, I always seed to control the character to stomp perfectly."
"When it was ti to hit a mushroom block, I always managed to hit it."
"When encountering monsters, I would always run away just in ti..."
"In reality, it wasn’t that I was in great form. I was simply watching soone else’s ga recording and pressing buttons according to the actions on screen, thinking I was controlling it myself!"
Corot didn’t speak.
"You’re very astute, and quite sly," Chen Nuo said with a bitter smile. "From the very beginning, you gave the psychological suggestion that you were ’the gatekeeper’ and I was ’the prison breaker.’"
"Then deliberately, when my thoughts fluctuated, you conjured an energy that appeared like ’mist.’"
"Then you demonstrated a power that represented you."
"We struggled against each other, battling it out fiercely."
"You made think I was controlling it all myself!"
"You ’gave’ a ’way to escape,’ limiting my thinking to this thod: ’Controlling power to break through, breaking through your energy blockade.’"
"Even worse, to make more invested in this thod, you laid a trap for !"
"You let discover that each ti I broke out, this power seed to increase bit by bit, making mistakenly believe I’d found so knack, even planning to bide my ti and launch a sneak attack on you..."
"You were simply numbing , delaying , misleading !"
"Then ti after ti, you were actually ’demonstrating’ the struggle between breaking out and being blocked."
"And intentionally, in that previous encounter, you showed that your power was much, much greater than mine, crushing the idea I had of hiding my strength to ambush you."
"You tried to attack my mindset and confidence with this thod, to destroy my hope."
"But actually..."
"There was never any ’ controlling power to break out, you controlling your power to block’ happening!"
"It was all just a scene you played for ."
"You just invaded my Consciousness Space, numbed . You anticipated my emotional fluctuations, spied on my thoughts."
"When my consciousness wanted to break out, to resist you, you demonstrated a burst of power breaking out... as if I were controlling my own power... you spied on my every thought, then followed my thoughts to make that power act, making think I was controlling it..."
"But it wasn’t!"
"It was all directed and acted out by you alone!"
Corot burst out laughing, "Hahahaha! Kid, have you completely lost your mind? Or do you think there’s no way you can escape my blockade, so you’re utterly hopeless and ca up with such a ridiculously extre idea?"
Chen Nuo, however, remained unmoved and said coldly, "Oh? Are you denying it?"
Then, Chen Nuo sneered, "Then let’s give it a try. Since this weak mist is my power... I can control it to do anything, right?"
Corot was silent.
"Interesting. Then start by turning it into a line of text for !"
"Let think... just turn it into: ’The Kolo Family is braindead, idiotic, shalessly vile, the disgrace of humankind, a traitor to humanity, those who have sided with the Mother, and betrayed Noah’s Ark!’"
As Chen Nuo spoke, the mist slowly began to transform into text...
It started to form "The Kolo Family..."
But soon, after just a few words, the mist collapsed!
Corot roared furiously, "Bastard!! When did we ever beco traitors to humanity! The Kolo Family has always held faith as life itself!! The ancestors of the Kolo Family have always..."
Chen Nuo: "Oh~~ Can’t keep up the act anymore, can you~~"
Both clouds of mist dissipated at the sa ti, leaving only the angry roars of Corot’s consciousness.
"You cunning kid! So what if you’ve seen through ! You still have no way to get out of here!"
Chen Nuo: "The ’here’ you speak of, where is that?"
Corot was silent.
"From the beginning, you lied to , claiming that we were inside the Mother."
"Then ca your self-directed charade, which trapped my thoughts."
"Sigh... Indeed, my biggest mistake was being too trusting of perceived ntal intent."
"This is also the biggest blind spot for Ability Users like us."
"We always assu that once an idea arises, we can control sothing to move according to our will."
"This has beco a habit, even a subconscious fixation."
"I never expected that soone could take advantage of this."
"So, now that I’ve stepped out of that limitation, many things no longer make sense."
"For example... Corot, you old bastard!"
"If you’re so damn powerful, able to pull into the Mother, wouldn’t that be sothing extraordinary?"
"The Mother is controlled by you? Is the Mother dead? Letting you freely pull people’s consciousness inside whenever you want?"
"If you had this ability, would you need my help to kill the monsters in the base?"
Corot huffed, "Of course, you are within the Mother; we both are in the Mother! Even if you’ve guessed that I’ve been playing you all along, you’re still in the sa boat as !"
"I didn’t let you out before because, once you attempted to escape, you might awaken the Mother."
"Oh?"
"You had the ability to bring here, and the Mother didn’t wake up."
"But if I leave, the Mother will wake up?"
"If the Mother still exists in this place..."
"Then with those monsters in the base, that explosion, and the final destruction, the Mother should have awoken long ago!"
Corot retorted, "So what? You think there isn’t a Mother here? That I made it all up?"
"Then what about that ultra-low temperature energy field? Did I create that? I’m not that capable."
"In this world, even the top Controllers can’t do such a thing."
"It was there originally," Chen Nuo said softly. "But later, it was gone."
"This isn’t the first ti I’ve co across such an event, Mr. Corot."
Corot fell silent.
Chen Nuo: "Let’s get back to the earlier question."
"Where exactly is this ’here’ that you speak of?"
"Let think..."
"You’ve infiltrated my thoughts, spied on my ntal fluctuations; if you can do that, then it isn’t too difficult to guess..."
"So, Corot, we’re not actually inside the Mother, are we?"
"We are, in fact, in ’my’ Consciousness Space!"
"You’ve deceived my perception, making believe I’ve fallen into a strange space."
"But, unfortunately for you, I happen to have a bit of experience with this sort of thing!"
"If I were in a space where I’d lost my physical body, existing purely as consciousness,"
"then my consciousness—my soul—should have gradually faded like water without a source. Yet, you’ve shown us battling hundreds of tis, and my spiritual power hasn’t weakened or dissipated. That proves you lied to ."
"Since my consciousness hasn’t dissipated or weakened, it ans..."
"I am, right now, still within my own self!"
Saying this, Chen Nuo released his thoughts: "We’ve actually been in my own Consciousness Space all along, haven’t we?"
"Sohow, you’ve just obscured my spiritual power, preventing from looking inward."
"It’s like a person blindfolded, seeing nothing but darkness."
"You’ve hidden here; I can’t sense my own Consciousness Space or my body in the outside world, which caused to be misled by you into thinking I was inside the Mother."
"Absurd conjectures," Corot said coldly. "Kid, you must be desperate to co up with such bizarre notions."
"Absurd?" Chen Nuo muttered. "I truly can’t perceive anything right now... Earlier, you deceived , making feel my ’power,’ the mist, which was fake."
"And actually, you did it to distract ."
"It’s like a person who’s been blindfolded, and then you hand them a walking stick. The person subconsciously focuses all their attention on the stick and forgets to explore their surroundings in other ways."
"Now, I’ve thrown away the walking stick you gave , so..."
"Can you sense anything else?" Corot asked coldly. "You can’t, because this is the Mother."
"No, I don’t need to sense anything," Chen Nuo shook his head. "My eyes are covered, not my legs bound."
"If my perceptive power is deceived, I simply won’t rely on it."
"If I am in my own Consciousness Space,"
"then even if I can’t see or touch, even if I’m just blindly blundering forward with my eyes closed, it doesn’t matter."
As he spoke, Chen Nuo suddenly withdrew his consciousness fluctuations.
Corot indeed panicked, roaring, "Stop it!! Kid! You’ll awaken the Mother!!"
"Then kill ," Chen Nuo sneered.
Corot: "..."
Within the chaos of the Consciousness Space, a stream of consciousness that had stilled suddenly began to flow again, drifting aimlessly and wildly through the space without any discernible pattern.
Yet, this stream of consciousness seed to be shrouded in a faint layer of darkness, blocking all perception.
The movent of this consciousness was completely erratic. After rampaging back and forth through the Consciousness Space, it eventually...
In the deep layers of the Consciousness Space, two closely connected ntality Cocoons, wrapped in layers of spiritual power, faintly trembled...
"Stop!! Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you! Just don’t wake the Mother..."
Corot’s thoughts were roaring.
But Chen Nuo no longer paid him any heed.
Corot can’t kill , can’t stop ; he can only deceive ...
This indicates that in this place, his power isn’t at an absolute advantage!
If this were inside the Mother, he wouldn’t be so helpless!
If he had interrupted my teleportation and trapped in so ’spatial channel,’ he wouldn’t be able to stop with re words!
I’ve figured out many details now!
Corot... My last teleportation—you didn’t actually stop it, did you?
You just took the opportunity to interfere with and then... sneakily possessed my body, lurking into my Consciousness Space! You blinded my mind, obscured my perceptions!
Then, you set up this deception.
You fooled , just hoping I’d maintain the status quo, not make any movents.
It’s like a blindfolded person being told by a swindler that they’re standing at the edge of a cliff, so they daren’t move or take a single step!
In fact... by lurking in my Consciousness Space, possessing it, and telling not to move... what are you scheming?
What are you buying ti for?
Regarding this, I happen to have more than one experience!
...Body Seizing!
The irregular flow of consciousness, after brushing against the two entities wrapped in the ntality Cocoons several tis...
Twice it grazed past, and the black "mbrane" attached to the consciousness seed to be instantly wiped away in places.
Ha, the sky has cleared.
A piece of the black mbrane was brushed away by contact with the area in the Consciousness Space where the two ntality Cocoons resided. It dissolved into nothingness, revealing a breach, and the consciousness within suddenly burst out!
Spinning out like flowing water, it spread rapidly, instantly filling and occupying the entire Consciousness Space!
I can finally "see" where I am clearly!
This is unmistakably my own Consciousness Space!
And in the distance, those two vaguely resonating entities wrapped in the ntality Cocoons were none other than the "Tree of Misfortune" and the "Sword of Killing Intent"!
Within the Consciousness Space, Chen Nuo imdiately distinguished an unfamiliar conscious energy hiding there, seemingly fearful of the "Tree of Misfortune" and the "Sword of Killing Intent," lurking far away.
"Corot, huh?" Chen Nuo released his thoughts coldly. "Now, all tricks have been exposed."
"We can have a proper talk now, can’t we!"
An angry thought ca through, "If it weren’t for those two things in your Consciousness Space, I would have successfully possessed your body and completely dissipated your consciousness a long ti ago!"
The thoughts were laden with deep unwillingness!
Chen Nuo laughed, "Let think. You’re really cunning and sinister."
"You lured step by step into your trap, providing with psychological suggestions one after another."
"I teleported twice; the first ti, you intercepted and left with the psychological suggestion that I could not teleport out within the domain of the Mother."
"So, when I teleported the second ti, I was deceived by you, thinking I had failed again."
"Your actual purpose was to take over my body, right?"
"That bastard deceived back then, tricked out of my body and left! Why can’t I do the sa thing now?"
"Hmm, I can’t be bothered to argue with your twisted viewpoint, but what I want to ask is... why ?"
"There were two other Controllers at the base that you teleported away."
"If you wanted to find an outstanding body... be it the Wizard or Lillian, they were both stronger than at the ti. Wouldn’t they have been better bodies?"
Chen Nuo said this and suddenly muttered to himself, "Could it be because... they aren’t Chosen Ones?"
He was in a good mood and continued to project his thoughts, "Well, that brings to the question..."
"Mr. Corot, you’re looking for a body for yourself, ignoring two Controllers, and even purposely sending them away to earn my trust... making believe you’re a paranoid being, solely focused on preventing the Mother from being awakened, preventing the Mother from contacting Controllers, thereby reducing the chances of more Chosen Ones appearing..."
"You left with that impression."
"And now, you’ve ended up setting your sights on ."
"Compared to those two Controllers, the only notable thing about is that I’m a Chosen One."
"So why must the body you choose be a Chosen One?"
Corot’s thoughts shrank into a corner but offered no response this ti.
Chen Nuo did not rush to use his spiritual power to expel the other but instead first stimulated the sealed "Tree of Misfortune" and the "Sword of Killing Intent."
The two entities were rapidly activated and moved to Chen Nuo’s location, where he ford two gentle Spiritual Force Tentacles around them.
Having done all this, Chen Nuo then propelled his own consciousness forward, slowly approaching Corot.
Corot: "...You, stay away..."
His thoughts brimd with despair and fear.
"Afraid of these two things?" Chen Nuo sighed softly.
At that mont in the Consciousness Space, Chen Nuo’s consciousness simply transford into a humanoid form resembling his own body, holding the "Tree of Misfortune" in one hand and the "Sword of Killing Intent" in the other.
"First, you can teleport. Not only can you do it, but you’ve also teleported two Controllers away on two occasions. At the sa ti, you can disrupt my teleportation... This shows that in using this ability, you are far more skilled than I am."
"Second, you fear the two things in my hands because... these two things happen to be the best weapons to harm the Mother!"
"Third, you can deceive my perceptions. This indicates that you are very proficient in sensing and probing consciousness, even more so than I am!"
"Fourth, speaking of the Chosen One, it just reminded ! The criterion for being a Chosen One is having co into contact with the Mother."
"By that standard, I am a Chosen One. But Mr. Corot, you... must have also co into contact with the Mother in Antarctica!"
"Capable of teleportation, adept in probing and sensing abilities, and having encountered the Mother!"
"Mr. Corot, so... you are a Chosen One too, aren’t you?"
"And what’s more, a Chosen One who is much more experienced than I!"
Chen Nuo pressed forward step by step. Corot’s conscious presence retreated bit by bit, until he simply cowered in a corner.
"So, here cos the crucial question!"
"Mr. Corot, as a Chosen One who has co into contact with the Mother, why are you harming so much..."
"I’m curious, after your encounter with the Mother, did you completely submit to it? What exactly are you plotting by doing these things?"
Finally, Corot didn’t shrink back anymore.
He suddenly responded with a surge of angry emotion.
"The Kolo Family has always been loyal to its beliefs!!! This cannot be slandered!!!"
"You want to take over my body to resurrect yourself. What exactly do you want to do? Why do you want to harm ?"
"You don’t understand..."
"Then make understand! Tell in a way that I can comprehend!!" Chen Nuo’s thoughts roared.
Then, he pressed close to Corot and conveyed coldly, "Either speak, or I’ll destroy you right now."
"I don’t want to hear about your loyalty to beliefs! If you want to kill , I have every reason to destroy you!"
"I don’t want to kill you, just to take over your body."
Chen Nuo: "...But if you Body Seize , I’m going to die."
"People die," Corot actually replied. "After taking over your body, I have more important things to do. Your sacrifice is valuable."
"To hell with that! Why the hell don’t you sacrifice yourself?"
"I can die, but I must complete what I need to do. Once that is done, my death is inevitable. It’s just that I need your body to succeed."
Chen Nuo pondered for a mont. "What is it that you have to do? And why does it have to be my body?"
"Because out of all the Chosen Ones I’ve seen, you are the most unique, and the closest to... success..."
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