The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

"Roar--!"

Accompanied by frantic roars and eerie swallowing sounds, one distorted figure after another burst forth from the thick fog in all directions.

They were once elite exploration team members of the monster organization, but now they are just infected people whose brains and bodies have been completely invaded by the monster spores.

Their heads split open from the middle, revealing grotesque mouthparts that resembled flower petals. Thick saliva dripped from the mouthparts onto the ground, scorching small pits into the decaying leaves.

The parasitic creature is bizarre, displaying its terror in the most eerie way.

"Is this never going to end?" Yu Tiexiong roared, punching an infected person who was lunging at him and sending him flying. But immediately, three more people rushed at him from different angles.

These infected individuals are not afraid of death at all, and because of the monster's own physical modifications, their strength and resilience far exceed those of ordinary parasites.

Yoona's figure moved like a black lightning bolt, weaving through the infected horde. Each swing of her blood-stained claws precisely sliced ​​open the skull of an infected. But the number of infected was too great, like an endless tide, constantly surging in from the depths of the dense fog.

"I don't have time to waste with them." Shen Ge's eyes turned cold, and he no longer held back his strength.

The Immovable Realm of Ghosts, unfold!

An irresistible force of rules swept out from him, instantly engulfing an area within a hundred meters. However, due to the influence of the surrounding strange space, the energy required to unleash his strange domain was ten times greater than usual.

But as the Immovable Realm unfolded, time seemed to be slowed down.

All the infected individuals who pounced into the air had their ferocious expressions, waving claws, and splattering saliva slowed down infinitely at this moment, turning into "bullet time" in a movie.

"Do it."

Shen Ge's voice clearly reached Yoona and Yu Tiexiong's ears. Under his control, Yoona and Yu Tiexiong were both freed from bullet time.

The long-suppressed battle instantly turned into a highly efficient "point-and-click kill".

Yu Tiexiong strode forward, his fists, as big as casserole dishes, blasting the infected, who had been slowed down countless times, one punch after another.

Yoona's figure is even more freehand; with each swing of her claws, she takes away a "live target" frozen in mid-air.

Faced with the absolute control of the unique domain, quantity has become meaningless.

A road paved with the remains of the infected stretched out behind them.

After breaking through countless waves of "infected" hordes, they finally reached the center of the "spore fog".

The scene before them made them understand the source of all this.

There was no enormous monster as one might have imagined; instead, there was a massive, fleshy mass, over twenty meters in diameter and composed of countless fungal carpets and twisted flesh, slowly pulsating, like a giant heart.

With each pulsation, billions of deadly white spores burst forth from the pores on its surface, merging into the surrounding thick fog.

It is the source of this mist.

What surprised Shen Ge even more was that this huge tumor did not appear out of thin air.

Its "blood vessels" are like the countless thick roots of an ancient tree, deeply embedded in a large server that has been eroded beyond recognition and is full of futuristic technology.

There... it connects "reality" with the fragmented world, allowing the eerie creatures that extend from the fragmented world to establish their "nests" here.

The "Central Laboratory" mentioned by the New God Cult is actually the "legacy" of a monster organization from a fragmented world, which is... its "nest".

To get through this fog and into the "core area" of the eerie space, we must destroy the "mother body" in front of us.

Shen Ge no longer hesitated and slowly raised his right hand.

An invisible, transparent hand extends outwards, attempting to crush the enormous, monstrous heart.

"boom--!"

A dull, explosive sound!
The enormous tumor, along with the ground it was rooted in, was gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, collapsing and compressing inward in an instant, finally exploding into a cloud of debris mixed with blood, flesh, and metal fragments flying everywhere. The shockwave from the explosion dispersed the surrounding thick fog, creating a huge void.

Amidst the flying debris, Shen Ge's gaze sharpened, and with a flash, he caught several black objects that had been blasted away, gleaming with a metallic sheen, from mid-air.

These are several relatively well-preserved server "hard drives".

Although most of the data may have been damaged by the explosion and erosion, even recovering just a little bit would be enough to reveal the tip of the iceberg of the "Central Laboratory".

As the "mother" was destroyed, the concentration of the surrounding "spore mist" began to decrease at a visible rate. Those "infected" who lost their spore replenishment also seemed to lose their energy, their movements became sluggish, and they eventually collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of putrid fungal carpet.

The three quickly eliminated the remaining enemies and finally crossed this suffocating land of death.

When they took their last step out of the white fog and saw the world clearly again, Yu Tiexiong was so shocked by the sight before him that he was speechless.

A massive waterfall, hundreds of meters wide, seemingly cascading from the sky, plunges into the deep pool below, splashing up a cloud of mist.

Behind the enormous water curtain, which resembled a sky-like canopy, a massive, futuristic gate made of an unknown alloy was faintly visible.

"Central Laboratory".

Arrived.

The surrounding mountain walls, including the canyon walls around the sluice gate, were all disgusting dark red flesh and blood, with black veins extending everywhere like a spider web.

Shen Ge placed an invisible barrier in the air and, together with Yu Tiexiong and Yun'er, passed through the waterfall to the huge gate.

With Shen Ge there, there was no need to even open the door; they simply passed through the gate and entered the interior through the invisible "collapse."

However, beyond the gap was not the cold, metallic passage one had expected. Instead, a stench of blood and decay, mixed with the smell of unknown chemicals, wafted out from within.

The three stepped inside, and the scene before them instantly made Yu Tiexiong and Yun'er tense up.

This is a "living thing"!
The walls, which should have been smooth alloy, now resembled writhing flesh, covered with a thin layer of biological microbial carpet that pulsated rhythmically, as if it were "breathing."

Countless cables of varying thicknesses, resembling blood vessels, hung from the ceiling, occasionally flashing with eerie black energy fluctuations, and parasitic creatures could be seen "swimming" within these vessels.

The entire "Central Laboratory," including its building materials, machinery, and internal ecosystem, has irreversibly merged with some terrifying and bizarre entity, transforming into a massive, half-mechanical, half-flesh hybrid monster!
"This place... has completely 'come alive'?" Yu Tiexiong looked at the soft, springy ground beneath his feet, his voice filled with shock.

Unlike Yoona, who had previously worked with Shen Ge, this was the first time Yu Tiexiong had witnessed such a bizarre scene.

The voice just fell.

"Hiss—!"

Dozens of turret-like fleshy tissues suddenly sprouted from the walls and ground surrounding the three. The tops of these turrets abruptly split open, revealing gland-like structures within, and sprayed streams of highly corrosive, dark green, monstrous acid at them!
Shen Ge frowned, and the [Out of the Ghost Domain] technique was instantly activated. An invisible barrier enveloped the three of them, blocking all the acid from entering and emitting a hissing corrosive sound.

This is not over yet.

From the shadows deep within the passage, several hound-like monsters, pieced together from broken mechanical parts and twisted flesh, lunged out with heavy steps!

The fusion-type machinery is bizarre.

"You're asking for death!" Yu Tiexiong roared and charged forward.

His massive frame was like a heavy tank, and he sent one of the "hunting dogs" flying.

Yoona's figure transformed into a black lightning bolt, and her blood-stained claws easily tore open the body of another "hound".

The battle didn't seem difficult.

But they soon realized the seriousness of the problem.

The "hunting dog" that was hit by Yu Tiexiong had its shattered body rapidly absorbed and decomposed upon contact with the flesh and blood on the wall.

Then, on the wall next to it, a "brand new" and identical "ghost hound" "grew" up again!

The "turret" that Yoona tore apart also wriggled and reshaped itself in its original position within just a few seconds.

"They...can't be killed all of them!" Yoona's voice carried a hint of seriousness for the first time.

Shen Ge's expression also darkened; they were now engaged in a battle with the entire "base."

As long as this massive, fusion-like anomaly is not completely destroyed, its "security cells" can regenerate indefinitely.

If this drags on, they'll eventually be overtaken by the emerging Neotheistic Church.

Even if they cannot pose any threat to Shen Ge, it will still affect the three of them from continuing their investigation of the "Central Laboratory".

"Let's go." The three of them no longer wasted time on these rapidly regenerating monsters and, with the help of the invisible barrier, quickly ran deeper into the area.

After being teleported, we arrived at a place that resembled a control room.

Yoona uses the terminal device on her arm to "imitate Xiaoqi" and find a base system that can be activated.

"Captain Shen, it seems like this can be cracked."

Shen Ge nodded: "You try to solve it, leave the strange things around you to me."

With Shen Ge's invisible barrier, these strange creatures couldn't even get close.

Yoona attempted to decipher the base's access by interrupting the system, but the difficulty far exceeded her expectations. Although she didn't gain full access, she did manage to find several clips of previous surveillance footage from the lab.

In the video, it seems that a long time has passed.

This "central laboratory" has completely lost all its mechanical features and has become a huge nest made entirely of flesh and fungal carpet.

Deep within the lair, beside the ruins of a massive, long-broken cultivation tank, lies a colossal skeleton exuding a terrifying and eerie aura, quietly "soaking" inside.

It was the only thing in the entire Flesh Nest that hadn't been assimilated, but it seemed that all the flesh and monster energy were converging on it.

"Is this the strange skeleton that the New God Cult is searching for?" Shen Ge frowned as he saw the image.

"Follow me!"

The invisible barrier of "No Leaving the Ghost Domain" instantly expanded and reinforced, withstanding the strange acid spray and bizarre, frenzied attacks coming from all directions.

The three sped towards the location recorded in the video.

However, during the advance, Shen Ge keenly noticed a problem.

The attacks and regeneration of this "living laboratory" are not without order. Every time they are about to break through a weak point, the defenses in that direction are instantly strengthened; and when they change direction, new traps and attacks will "grow" in advance along the predetermined route.

All the "security" is like being directed in real time by a unified "brain".

"This way!" Shen Ge opened his eerie eyes and, through the corridor with the strongest eerie energy fluctuations, determined the location leading to the core area.

Sure enough, after crashing through several walls of flesh and blood, the view suddenly opened up, and they entered a huge circular hall of flesh and blood.

"I'm going to smash it right now!" Yu Tiexiong roared, raising his ghostly arm armor to prepare to fire the high-energy ghostly cannon.

"Wait!" Shen Ge stopped him.

Just as Yu Tiexiong was about to attack, the huge "monstrous tumor" suddenly erupted with a dense black mist of eerie energy.

puff-

The "tumor" suddenly burst open, revealing something that looked like a camera inside.

Immediately afterwards, a figure was projected.

A gaunt-faced scientist, his eyes filled with madness and despair, stood before a huge, broken culture tank.

"...It failed...all the plans failed..."

"The characteristic of 'skeletons' is... a forbidden zone! We cannot control it; we can only be devoured by it..."

“But I’ve found a new path… Since I can’t harness this power from the outside, I might as well become it from within!”

He held up a syringe.

Inside was a strange, parasitic larva that was slowly wriggling and looked like it was made up of countless spiritual tentacles.

"This... is my last hope..."

At the end of the video, the man plunged the syringe deep into his temple!

"Uhhhhhhhh-!"

"If the problem is not solved, those who have come here, try to accept this power that can change the world!"

The man let out a heart-wrenching scream, and his body began to twist and mutate violently.

His lower body rapidly melted and reformed into a giant worm-like shape, with countless blood vessels and nerve bundles growing wildly from his back.

"To gain...power...to become...a new...god..."

These were his last words.

The video abruptly ended.

"Tsk. Sure enough, no matter which fragment world you're in, the 'New God Cult' is a bunch of lunatics. Compared to them, the Twelve Zodiacs are much more lovable."

This wasn't the first time Shen Ge had missed the "simple" twelve branches. Compared to the Heavenly Stems, which "bet their future on the next civilization," and the New God Cult, which "created new gods," the twelve branches, which only wanted to "enjoy" life in this world in peace, at least showed a bit of "humanity."

However, on the other hand, the neo-gods...

Have you come up with nothing new besides creating "new gods"? (End of Chapter)