Abyssal Wanderer.

Jim's consciousness stirred the Minard position, while Night Marrow drove his hands to begin reloading the "Persuader" pistol.

Meanwhile, on the other side, tumors with eyes began to sprout all over the pharmacist's body. In Jim's perception, his control over his consciousness and body was weakening, and power was gradually giving way to the symbiotes that grew, attached themselves to, and connected to his body.

The rapier was too short; he dared not gamble that if he charged forward, he would be attacked by the symbiote on the other side.

So he began filling the "Persuader" with armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds.

Using the Minard Field to block the opponent's movements, breaking through the defenses with three armor-piercing rounds, and then shoving a high-explosive round into his brain should be enough to stop the apothecary's life.

Seemingly sensing Jim's intentions, more symbiotes began to pounce on him.

Fortunately, most of the symbiotes in the corridor are functional, and there are no beings like the "Guardian" or "Flying Dragon" whose individual combat power is strong enough.

Wielding the Disintegration Field Sword in one hand, Jim took down the charging symbiotes and completed the loading of "Persuader" with just one hand.

The moment the magazine returned to its original position, Jim aimed at the pharmacist who was trembling and trying to stop the bone blade from slicing his throat.

Then, the pharmacist's trembling stopped.

"Boom! Boom!"

The hammer fell, and two armor-piercing rounds were fired at the opponent's head.

"Clang! Clang!"

The bone blade, which was originally under Jim's control, rose up and blocked the apothecary's face.

At the same moment, in Jim's perception, the pharmacist's consciousness disappeared.

It wasn't that it was blocked, nor that it was erased; rather, it was that there was no longer any consciousness to control it. The Nyx factors were still sending control signals, but there was no longer a "self" in that body to receive these signals.

The moment the bone blade was lowered, the pharmacist's eyes darted rapidly around in their sockets.

Suffocated...

Before Jim could even utter "Oh no!", Night Marrow and the Pharmacist simultaneously began their operation.

The pharmacist rushed forward, even faster than before.

As the bone blade fell from his hand, Jim felt a lightness in his left hand—the blade of the rapier was lifted by the bone blade, and then it thrust violently, causing the disintegration field generator to overload, and the rapier and the disintegration field generator exploded into fragments.

Fragments flew everywhere, with several pieces embedding themselves in Jim's cheek and neck. He felt a burning pain in the web of his left hand.

Jim's Alder Crossbow was also at full power, and he punched the tumor on his opponent's shoulder, smashing it like a tomato. At the same time, the kinetic steel needles on his wrists popped out and pierced straight into his opponent's body.

In retaliation, the pharmacist kicked Jim in the chest.

Although Jim jumped back to absorb the force of the kick the moment it came, he still felt an ominous groan coming from his ribs.

Fortunately, his route calculation was correct. He was sent flying backwards, crashing through the window at the end of the corridor and falling towards the street below amidst shattered glass.

The wind howled in his ears, and his vision was filled with the night sky above the dome and the light pollution of holographic advertisements. As Jim fell, he also saw the pharmacist leap out of the window.

The two fell to the ground one after the other.

Jim landed directly on his back, but fortunately, the Night Marrow provided reinforcement, absorbing most of the impact. However, the remaining force still caused his vision to go black, and a mouthful of blood welled up in his throat.

In contrast, the pharmacist who landed next was much more composed. He used his bone blade to pierce the ground as a brake, carving a deep groove in the asphalt, and stood firmly on his feet.

At this moment, the other person's eyes returned to normal.

"Wow, that's really impressive. Pegasus, zombie mode... No wonder those zombie warriors were acting so strangely."

The pharmacist said with a look of surprise, "I didn't take advantage of Jim's struggle to get up to finish him off."

Spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, Jim stared at the apothecary not far away and said:

"So, you've also been infected with the Apollo virus?"

His words made the pharmacist burst into laughter. "Infection? You must be joking!"

The pharmacist's wounds were visibly healing again.

"Do you really think I ate the brains of those infected people from the Lin Yuan family for nothing? After absorbing their DNA, creating a 'Pegasus'-like zombie switch in one's own brain is just a bioengineering process that can be completed in a few hours for a chimera."

Jim's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately retorted sarcastically:
"You dare to absorb and use DNA of unknown origin? Aren't you afraid of being turned into a puppet by that Theseus Path Adjuster lurking in the shadows?"

The pharmacist burst into laughter at Jim's comment.

"Hahahahahahaha... How adorable, Jim Reit. I never thought you'd still believe that those zombies in the Nord Resettlement Area were products of the Theseus Path Depth 5 Sun God Virus."

He tore off the broken bone blade, and at the same time, gleaming blades began to grow from his fingers.

"Is not it?"

Jim cautiously spun the gun as he reloaded it.

The pharmacist shook his head nodding, then said:
"Use your clever brain to think about this... The Apollo virus of the Theseus Path is a product of Janus modifying Nyx's technology; it's a domesticated beast that's already been caged. If it were just for that, would the company have sent me here specifically to retrieve the technology?"

That's how it is...

Jim thought to himself.

If it were just the Apollo virus, there might not be many Theseus Pathfinders in Depth 5, but to say that Olympus Corporation doesn't have even one would be to underestimate those companies.

It's worth noting that even a giant like Pluto, which is at the bottom of the pack, has a Theseus at Depth 7. Not to mention that Ye Qian once had the potential to upgrade to Depth 5—in the form of a Minoan puppet.

So the question becomes, what exactly is the task that Apollo Bio assigns to the pharmacists?
Fortunately, the pharmacist did not disappoint him. Perhaps feeling that he had the victory in his grasp, the pharmacist actually started to explain to him.

"The zombies in Nord today are products of pure Nyx-based zombie modification technology, and also the core technology that enabled Apollo Bio to become Olympus Corporation... You should know this better than anyone else."

As he said this, the pharmacist revealed a malicious smile.

He was talking about his experiences before he turned eighteen...

Jim gripped the gun tightly.

"I don't remember any of what you're talking about."

Jim said.

"I know."

The pharmacist spoke softly, his expression becoming even more pleased.

"who am I?"

Jim asked.

You are nobody.

Seeing the serious expression on Jim's face, the pharmacist repeated sarcastically:
“Yes, you are nothing… You have no parents, no relatives, and no social connections. You are nothing more than a research zombie manufactured on the Apollo bio-assembly line to decipher dark web technology. No, you are not even that…”

As he spoke, he laughed again.

It was a strange laugh—unlike the previous maniacal laughter, it was an empty, mechanical laugh devoid of any emotion. His entire body seemed to have been ripped from its soul; his head drooped limply to one side, his arms hung at his sides, and his eyeballs began to roll in their sockets.

He entered zombie mode again.

But he still finished speaking.

"You are just a zombie who awakened self-awareness by accident, lost the wisdom unique to the Sun God Zombie, and can't even be a good zombie... You are nothing but a failed and defective product."

As soon as he finished speaking, he—or rather, at this moment—charged straight at Jim. (End of Chapter)