Psychics don't die from gunfire

Chapter 888 Diving into the Abyss
Song Shi always pursued efficiency in his actions.

After successfully persuading VE to join the fray, he was prepared to plunge headlong into the Abyss—not to bring VE along for combat power.

The opponent possesses the singularity technology, the "Quantum Communication Link," and as long as they are in the Abyss, they dare to challenge a Fifth Ring [True Spirit]. However, as things stand today, Song Shi no longer cares so much about this level of power. While not insignificant, it certainly isn't a major problem.

It's mainly about functionality.

Putting everything else aside, without the assistance of an authoritative figure like VE, even the most basic IP location would leave Song Shi completely clueless for quite some time. Especially since the changes in the [Abyss] are too drastic and involve too many parameters, the difficulty of carrying out various network operations is far greater than that of the upper-level domains.

“The others can’t move for the time being.” Song Shi’s breath was long and deep, and a glimmer of crimson gold appeared in his pupils, exuding the power of a blazing sun: “But having me is enough.”

Xu Yu, the "factory" manager, is busy guarding the lunar exploration base. The remaining members, including Chaklo and Yvette, are either confronting the Vanpusta Empire or suppressing internal rebellions, leaving them unable to spare any resources for the time being. Meanwhile, Ogden is now crying out for help, clearly indicating he can't hold out much longer.

VE listened, but her attention was elsewhere. Looking into the other person's pupils, she felt an involuntary palpitation.

The opponent's psychic abilities have advanced another step compared to what I remember! This feeling is something Yvette has never given herself, Xu Yu has never given herself, and Paddy Morse has never given herself.

—Song Shi, has he already touched the true spirit of the third stage?

It should be noted that she is currently stuck in the middle of the fourth ring, the "sublimation" stage. Even after experiencing events such as "human intelligence dissolution," she only dares to say that she has finally figured out the path to the fourth ring.

Without making a sound, the other party almost obtained half a ticket to ascend to the sixth ring, the [God's Throne]!

"Then you've said enough, right?"

VE feigned composure, averting her gaze and turning away to suppress her emotions. Her eyes quickly brightened, revealing undisguised excitement, as if hot breath were seeping from between her teeth: "Depth 7."

—Song Shi, with his hands tucked in his pockets, plummeted into the chaotic abyss like a swooping eagle.

He had had this experience many, many times before. After all, the abyss is a den of iniquity and filth, an inevitable path for every criminal, one that cannot be avoided.

But this time, Song Shi had a new feeling.

A strong sense of weightlessness enveloped his entire body. Although he was plummeting downwards, Song Shi raised his head and gazed at the "creation" in the sky. He shouldn't have said "creation."

Everything within sight, from the dividing line between heaven and earth to the other, the entire sky is part of "creation"!

It was like being in a bizarre and fantastical dream, like countless buckets of oil paint being recklessly splashed onto the sky. The flowing light became a dazzling yet turbid torrent, staining everything and bringing a dizzying and intense impact.

—A colossal spectacle: [Domain Firewall].

When Song Shi first came to the Abyss in his previous life, he hadn't even awakened his spiritual energy yet. The secondhand abyss equipment was tattered and worn out, and the experience was nothing but dizziness and disorientation. It took him quite a while to get used to it.

We have now reached the fifth stage of the psychic path, attained enlightenment of the True Spirit, and stood at the pinnacle of the mortal world.

Therefore, compared to his previous "blinded by a leaf, unable to see the whole picture," Song Shi now deeply felt just how magnificent this colossal spectacle, jointly created by the various forces of Terra, truly was.

These bizarre colors and chaotic, indistinct lights are not the true appearance of the [Domain Firewall]. Just as a wall accumulates grime over time, these are the remnants left on the [Domain Firewall] by a tsunami of redundant psionic energy, viral memes, and information fragments, relentlessly battering it day after day!
If it weren't for the firewall separating the old World Wide Internet and creating the "abyss" and the "upper domain," otherwise these abyssal tsunamis would be allowed to indiscriminately impact the network, and "going online" itself would become a high-risk activity.

Subconsciously, Song Shi slightly raised his hand, and the flames followed him like a shadow.

He assessed the situation and found that even if he wanted to break down the domain firewall, it would take a considerable amount of time, and "a considerable amount of time" meant that he could do it.

"Judging from this," Song Shi withdrew his hand, seemingly lost in thought, "this thing isn't safe at all."

If Archibald had actually crashed into it back then, it probably would have died on the spot. Combined with the start of the post-Abyss era at that time, Terra's population would have decreased by who knows how much.

"Is the prosthetic eye used to stop bullets?" VE retorted. "The domain firewall is used to isolate the Abyss, not to actually prevent fires."

She just chuckled: "How dare you complain that it's not sturdy enough? How many things in the world can withstand the strain of the Fifth Ring Road, please tell me?"

As she continued to fall, Song Shi clearly sensed something: the aura of VE was rapidly increasing, and several hidden, elusive "threads" were linked to her, continuously providing power. This must be the several abyssal domains under her control.

Meanwhile, in the Abyss, VE thrived like a fish in water. The shriveled sponge was thrown back into the water and plumped up again in a few breaths, significantly increasing its strength.

On the contrary, as the Abyss deepened, they gradually realized that things were not going smoothly.
“Hmm?” Song Shi asked in surprise.

The discord disappeared? The pressure from the Abyss on me eased considerably.

"—Quantum communication link, kid." VE raised his chin and said unhappily, "Don't underestimate 'Swarm Nightmare'."

Following the gesture, Song Shi discovered that a black raven mark had appeared on the back of his left hand—one of the iconic symbols of "Nightmare" VE.

He sensed it carefully for a few seconds and understood: "You usually open up 'carriers' everywhere, and you are quite skilled in the field of power diversion. Now you also have a 'quantum communication link' that can connect indiscriminately."

"So I was given certification, which is equivalent to temporarily becoming a part of you. Hey, not bad, it's indeed a good way to dive into the [Abyss]."

If the Abyss King is like a fish in water, agile and composed, and non-demon psionicists are like land animals holding their breath and relying on their lung capacity to endure, then Song Shi, who has now been granted certification, is an example of this.
It can probably be considered an amphibious animal.

After a moment's estimation, Song Shi concluded that under these circumstances, his combat strength at Depth 6 would only decrease by about 10%.

It's much better than I expected.

Continue to sink deeper —

The "sea pressure" emanating from all directions grew increasingly powerful, to the point that even the elite deep-sea diving forces formerly belonging to the company dared not descend to such a depth. This was the private domain of the Abyss Lords and even the Kings of the Abyss, their boisterous paradise.

Just as he was about to cross depth 5, Song Shi opened his eyes wide at the view below.

That was a...
storm.

(End of this chapter)