Chapter 26: The Eruption of the Forbidden Artifact's Properties

Witnessing the chaos unfolding among the ships on the sea, Li Nanke realized that things were about to take a turn for the worse.

The danger was no longer just the threat posed by the forbidden object in his hands... Initially, the forbidden artifact did not seem particularly hazardous. The security in Zone A91 was relatively lax, giving him the opportunity to seize a fragment of the forbidden item. Yet now, with the appearance of unexpected developments, the Crisis Management Bureau would undoubtedly increase their focus on the artifact, possibly dispatching a large force for support, or even locking down the entire safe zone.

At that point, the fragment in his possession would become a hot potato—an immense threat in itself, and a beacon for even greater danger.

“Let’s hope the worst doesn’t happen. Otherwise, I’ll have to visualize the forbidden object ahead of time…”

Li Nanke’s face was clouded with gloom. He had never intended to wait until the ninety-day limit to visualize the artifact, but entering another dreamscape after just two days was certainly not in his plans.

Originally, his strategy was to wait and observe after obtaining the first forbidden object. With luck, he would find another opportunity to acquire detailed information about a second artifact. After all, these forbidden items erupted with no discernible pattern. If no artifact manifested within the next ninety days, he’d have nowhere to intercept it.

The wisest approach was to secure intelligence on the next artifact in advance or, even better, to obtain it before visualizing the previous one—thus entering the dreamscape and strengthening himself in preparation. That was the most rational, sustainable course, the surest way to prepare for the storms ahead.

But the current upheaval had thoroughly derailed his plan.

The commotion among the vessels at sea rippled ashore, throwing the rapid response force into confusion. Li Nanke waited for his chance, then slipped into the water amid the chaos and swam back to shore.

Before he could reach the disaster area, the enormous salvage ship at sea suddenly erupted in flames. Amid billowing smoke, countless figures leapt, wailing, into the sea. Some of those shapes were twisted, grotesque—no longer recognizably human.

Li Nanke’s expression turned grim. He cursed under his breath and hurried back to the devastated zone.

The ruins were in utter turmoil. Heads swarmed, lights swayed, and the scene was chaos itself.

Rescue operations continued at high intensity until the early hours. With no electronic devices to assist them, relying solely on manpower, even the most iron-willed rescuers were exhausted—especially since they had come from afar without rest.

Some team members had already collapsed, retreating underground for a shift of rest, but the disturbances at sea roused them in panic, gathering them together in a frightened mass.

The shadow of the forbidden object crept over the scene, subtle and insidious. Not only the Foundation’s rescue team, but also the remnants of the old Federal government’s responders and the few evacuees yet to be relocated were gripped by terror.

“William! Where have you been? We couldn’t find you just now!”

Howson, upon seeing Li Nanke at last, let out a sigh of relief, tinged with reproach.

“Leader, I just went to the restroom. What’s happening at sea?”

“Never mind that! Quick, come here—the Foundation’s temporary command center has called everyone to assemble. We’re to prepare for immediate evacuation!”

The Foundation’s rescue team had been in the disaster zone less than twelve hours; to be called away so soon was almost comical. Yet few voiced objections—no one was in the mood for laughter.

Howson’s group was not the first rescue team dispatched by the Foundation. Many of them had heard beforehand that this particular forbidden object was not especially dangerous; it would unleash electromagnetic interference and pulses, rendering precise electronics useless, but that was the extent of it. At worst, the mission would be exhausting—not perilous.

But seeing the burning ships and alarms at sea, many now regretted volunteering.

Li Nanke thought, If we can evacuate, all the better.

But he understood the odds were slim. The forbidden artifact had likely manifested a second property, and the Crisis Management Bureau would probably lock down the safe zone, preventing anyone from leaving. Who could say whether the outbreak was contagious, or whether those in the disaster zone—including the rescue teams—were already infected?

His predecessor had survived a brutal forbidden disaster and knew something of the procedures that followed such outbreaks.

Indeed, his fears were realized. Before the rescue teams could even prepare to evacuate, the temporary command center rescinded the order, and the rapid response force dispatched armed guards and soldiers to seal off the entrances to the safe zone.

Now, a barrage of gunfire echoed along the coast, pushing the already fearful crowd to the brink of panic…

The “Camellia”—the colossal salvage vessel.

Preliminary containment had been established inside the ship’s cabin. The suspected artificial satellite had been completely shattered, the scattered metal fragments inscribed with bright red, mysterious glyphs. In this way, the core item sealed within the satellite was revealed.

It was a blood-red stele, its peak sharp and the whole structure spiraling like a strand of DNA, covered in countless flickering crimson symbols.

Bastian, leader of the Special Containment Unit, stood before the stele, his gaze fixed and grave.

At his feet, the corpse of a monstrous, deformed creature spasmed—a sign of unnatural life. With a savage stomp of his boot, Bastian crushed the flesh and bone, splattering blood, and left the body ruined and utterly still.

“Speak. What have you discovered these past days?”

“Bastian, this is highly classified information! And shouldn’t you—shouldn’t you be dealing with the abominations outside?” The research director, shaken by his subordinate’s brutal death, swallowed hard and stammered.

“Matthew and the others can handle it. My job is to maintain the artifact’s containment. Keep evading and you’ll end up a corpse too. Speak.”

“Your clearance isn’t high enough… Wait, wait, I’ll tell you.”

Under the cold, murderous glare of the containment chief, the director buckled, compelled to confess.

“The satellite was just a metal shell. The outer layer, after prolonged exposure to the core, acquired some related properties, but the true core is this stele.”

“The electromagnetic pulses and interference—those came from the stele. But they weren’t ordinary electromagnetic waves. They were a very special, high-energy signal, potent enough to affect living cells.”

“The signal has a kind of cellular reactivation effect. It can trigger or suppress the expression of certain genes, especially those related to apoptosis and regeneration. Even after the infected have died, the signal can make their cells active again.”

“This reactivation also causes protein recombination within the dead, ultimately twisting them into forms unlike any normal life—what you’ve seen as abominations.”

“So the properties are resurrection, the cost is mutation, and the transmission vector is electromagnetic signals? Sounds rather mundane—just some unusually tenacious undead,” Bastian summarized.

The research director shuddered, his eyes wide with fear. “That’s not it. We suspect that’s not even the main effect. Resurrection seems almost incidental. In truth, it’s more like…”

He glanced around nervously, though only the two of them were alive in the cabin. Leaning in cautiously, he whispered something to the containment chief.

Bastian froze, then clenched his teeth in fury. “Damnation! You wretched fool!”