Chapter 1401: Detection and Trap
I looked at the waste oil flowing downstream. After the ritual, the blood oil was very similar to normal petroleum. Although in my eyes it was still churning and wriggling like a slime monster, it was at least black.
I asked Older Brother Jayad. He saw normal petroleum. After it was processed at the real-world factory, it could be sold on the market with a little simple processing.
After the ritual and absorption by those alien parasites, the abnormal energy in the blood oil that caused mutation had been completely consumed. Most of the remaining materials were pure oil, like the dregs left after a magic crystal had its magic drained.
However, no matter how clean it was refined, there would always be residue. Moreover, the raw materials were refined from the corpses of monsters, so there would always be abnormal magic and the lingering residual consciousness of powerful monsters’ frenzy. It was normal for it to affect people, much like radioactive nuclear waste.
If it were used directly by igniting it, like the city-defending soldiers, the effect might not be significant. However, when stored as fuel like Sturgeon No. 3, it leaked out and polluted the fish, which were then eaten by the people on the ship. This accumulation of resentment and darkness in the hearts of those crew members eventually led to a tragedy.
The current problem is, where is Pierce? He should be the developer of the blood oil and the key to this incident, but we don’t know where he is. Moreover, Lorna followed his aura and we don’t know where she has gone.
At this time, they seemed to still be arguing. Older Brother Jayad was still translating: “Pierce? He’s always been a madman, he went mad when his wife died. If we hadn’t saved him, he would have destroyed himself.”
“Don’t underestimate Pierce. Even if he’s mad, he’s still immensely talented and an excellent Human. He has improved the blood oil process several times, and each time with remarkable results.”
“You all, have you forgotten? Our purpose is to return to Mother’s embrace. The blood oil is just a means to supplement our energy and solve financial problems. Don’t put the cart before the horse!”
“Then can you guarantee that this ritual won’t fail? We’ve already wasted so many five-eyed mutants. If Pierce also fails, we’ll lose our only Inner Eye.”
“That’s because their mutations aren’t deep enough. They should have soaked in the blood oil for a longer time to qualify for opening the Inner Eye, instead of relying on the ritual to stimulate it temporarily.”
“But everyone who opens the Inner Eye goes completely mad. We rely on the effect of the magic potion we obtained to temporarily maintain some sanity even when they open their eyes. Otherwise, even if we contact our Home Planet, we won’t be able to convey the correct information, right?”
“We don’t need to convey any important information. We just need to send out that wave of spiritual fluctuations so that Mother can receive it and know that she still has children scattered outside. Mother will definitely come to pick us up!”
“If that’s the case, I have a plan. We can anesthetize Pierce while he’s sleeping, and then take out his Inner Eye. This way, it won’t harm his life. Then, we can find a more deeply mutated person to transplant it during the ritual. Won’t that be the best of both worlds?”
“We still need to think carefully. Removing the Inner Eye might damage Pierce’s brain, rendering his talent useless, and not everyone can withstand the power of the Inner Eye after transplantation.”
They discussed it heatedly. Due to the telepathic communication of the alien parasites, there were many words that could not be explained in human language, some of which could only be understood implicitly. Older Brother Jayad modified them when speaking to me, omitting a lot of meaningless dialogue and only selecting the crucial content.
Extracting the key information, the alien parasites’ purpose was to establish contact with their Home Planet and mentioned an existence called “Mother,” hoping she would take them home.
The key to this was an “Inner Eye,” possibly one of the mutated organs. Currently, only Pierce had it, and they were struggling with whether to remove it.
Furthermore, Pierce’s developed blood oil was perfectly suited for the alien parasites. Not only could it be used as an energy supplement, but it could also induce mutations and cultivate high Spirit Vision users crucial for the alien parasites’ rituals.
It was no wonder that they were reluctant to kill Pierce or use him as a sacrifice, even though he was mad. His status was too important. Even though Humans were looked down upon by the alien parasites, they still valued him greatly.
At this moment, someone suddenly ran over from a distance, shouting as they ran: “Bad news! The laboratory has been infiltrated!”
“What? The laboratory has been infiltrated? Impossible! That place is only accessible to completely mutated individuals!” In their haste, they even abandoned their mental connection and shouted directly.
“I don’t know, but it’s certain that it has been infiltrated. The foreman at the material intake has gone missing. Several researchers and security guards in the laboratory have been attacked. One survivor said he saw a ghost!” the messenger said.
“Then what are we waiting for? Call the guards to search for the intruders! Also, move Pierce away first!” said the white-robed person urgently.
After they spoke, they hurried in one direction. Just as I was about to follow, Older Brother Jayad grabbed me: “Wait, don’t go, it’s a trap!”
I was stunned and stopped. As we stood still, those white-robed people stopped after a few steps and turned to look in our direction.
“As expected, there are intruders, and they didn’t fall for it. Come out, who are you still hiding from? I’d like to see who is so bold as to infiltrate Perfect.” The leading white-robed person said loudly.
Hiding was meaningless now, so we deactivated our stealth and stood up. Although many white-robed people showed no expression, their movements had already shown some hesitation.
They hadn’t expected anyone to infiltrate so close without them noticing. If someone hadn’t run over to report the lab infiltration, and the leader hadn’t alertly checked their surroundings, they would never have discovered us.
Of course, we had changed our disguises and faces again. They definitely hadn’t seen our current faces before. If they had, it would have been a coincidence.
“Heh heh, I didn’t expect to have guests here. It’s truly impressive that you could see through my trap. Amazing, how did you get in?” The alien parasite leader said with a smile. With a wave of his hand, an eyeball-like object flew out from the ground and returned to his hand.
If we had rushed to chase or follow them earlier, we would have stepped on that eyeball. As for what would have happened, it certainly wouldn’t have been good.
