Abyssal Wanderer.

In principle, there are two essential conditions for becoming a member of the Olympian Order:
I. It has an α-class deep-sea diving interface.

Second, there are at least three Coordinators who have surpassed the limits of human intelligence.

In addition, there is another hidden condition that is easily overlooked: the company's technical team is able to decipher dark web technology to a certain extent.

After all, relying solely on the dark web for scavenging and using universal printers is not enough to support a complete industry or expand the market.

Take Pluto Deep Dive as an example. Back then, after the Abyss Salvage Studio obtained the α-level deep dive interface and successfully promoted several Deep 8 Coordinators, the Olympian Order had differing opinions about this suddenly emerging force. Among them, quite a few considered directly dismantling it and taking control of the α-level deep dive interface.

Ultimately, the reason why Pluto was able to become a member of the Olympian Order was not only because its headquarters, Tartarus, was well hidden, and because the Jupiter Group did not want a war to break out over control of the Pluto interface, but also because Pluto completely deciphered the "anti-gravity" technology, proving that they were not just primitive people who relied on universal printers.

The ability to decipher dark web technology is, to some extent, even a more important indicator of a company's strength than the number of Coordinators. This has led to situations like the Bacchus Order, which, despite lacking an Alpha-level Deepsea interface, still rose to become a member of the Olympian Order—simply because of their exceptionally powerful ability to decipher dark web technology.

Each company within the Olympus Order has its own unique research and development system.

For example, Minerva Information Technology artificially cultivates women with synesthesia-like abilities to serve as "priests," conducting research in a seemingly mystical manner; Juno Finance continuously invests in or acquires emerging unicorn studios, or directly purchases relevant patents through financial operations to maintain its technological advantage; Mars War Technology uses a "sustainable warfare" system to rapidly select and iterate on war-related technologies...

Among many companies, Apollo Bio's dark web decryption speed can be considered to be in the top tier.

Their advantage comes from...

"Research zombies".

The moment the pharmacist re-entered zombie mode and charged at him, Jim decisively fired.

The high-explosive shell hit its shoulder, but for some reason the warhead only passed through the muscle tissue and exploded into a crater the size of a washbasin in the wall behind it.

As the opponent's claws struck, Night Marrow regained control of Jim's body—he now fully understood Orpheus Depth 3's combat strategy. Completely relinquishing any obsession with body control, he allowed the instinctive reactions within Night Marrow to take over, focusing all his conscious efforts on manipulating the Nyx Factor.

But even in this precarious moment, Jim couldn't help but ponder what the pharmacist had said earlier.

Research zombies—this is the key to Apollo Bio's ability to establish a technological advantage in deciphering.

Nix's legacy is divided into two parts—the primitive iridobrain region that strengthens the limbic system, and the primitive pegasus region that strengthens the prefrontal cortex.

Two types of biological protein chips bring endless wisdom and eternal harmony.

If only the iridophone region is present, the modifier will become paranoid, impulsive, and possess the ability to materialize those paranoia.

If the original Pegasus were to exist alone, the modified individual would become a completely rational zombie.

Jim plucked the strings of his lyre, causing the Minard Force to surge and twist the apothecary's attack once more. It also caused his claws to crush a ganglion, but at the same time, three ganglion larvae sprouted from the opponent's body.

In pre-Christian times, people born with an overactive prefrontal cortex were more likely to develop high-functioning Asperger's syndrome. In fact, research shows that the development of the prefrontal cortex is highly correlated with whether one engages in research work that requires long-term concentration.

If Apollo Creatures possesses the original Pegasus originating from Nyx's last wish, then it's not surprising that they mass-produce zombie researchers to decipher dark web technology.

And I am... or rather, I used to be...

Zombies without self-awareness.

No wonder I didn't have mandalas before...

After hearing the pharmacist's words, Jim felt the emptiness in his chest seem to grow even larger. But what gave me self-awareness?

Jim thought to himself.

This idea caused a slight shift in the Mynad position he was controlling, and the apothecary immediately seized the opportunity.

The attack came again. Night Marrow allowed him to dodge the first blow, but the second came from below—the apothecary's leg struck his knee at an impossible angle. Jim's right leg buckled, and he fell to his knees. The third blow followed immediately, claws slicing across his back, cutting through skin and superficial muscle, narrowly missing his spine.

The "Persuader" dropped the revolver, which slid several meters across the ground and disappeared beneath the chassis of a hovercar.

Jim has now lost all his weapons.

Apart from his hands and the Nyx factor that was gradually losing its function due to ganglion proliferation, he had no weapons to fight back.

The pharmacist's eyes returned to normal.

He looked down at Jim and said:
"How about it? Defective product, are you starting to think that the company was being kind by taking back your memories back then?"

As he spoke, he displayed pure malice within the topological structure of his character.

Jim didn't reply, he just stared at him coldly.

"Oh dear, you're really pathetic if you think that way. In reality, the company didn't even retrieve your memories. That's because, as a research zombie, you didn't have any self-awareness in the past, and you didn't even have memories based on interpersonal relationships!"

You are nothing, you have nothing; everything about you is fake, even as a tool you are a defective product.

Faced with Jim, who no longer had any weapons to harm him, the apothecary did not rush to attack, but instead began to humiliate him relentlessly.

Jim, however, laughed.

"why are you laughing?"

The pharmacist wasn't annoyed; instead, he looked at Jim, who was covered in wounds, with great interest.

“I’m laughing at you… You’re about to die and you still have the leisure to attack the mental state of an Orpheus path adjuster.”

Jim said coldly.

"die?"

The pharmacist was amused by his words.

"Then tell me, what are you planning to do to kill me?"

Jim did not answer.

Meanwhile, a block away, Jiang Zhou, who was aiming a Sagittarius Gauss sniper rifle at the pharmacist from the perspective of the Celestial Path, provided an answer from afar:
"Rely on this."

Immediately, the sensation of the trigger being pulled came through his finger. (End of Chapter)