Soul Trigger

Chapter 669 Leaping Wolf
The two rushed downstairs in a great hurry:
“Here?!”

Ji Li denied it: "It has to go on."

"That's the basement..."

Aquil simply raised his fist:
"Exactly where?"

"Don't be foolish. A violent intrusion could trigger the spiritual circuits or destroy crucial evidence. I'll look for it first. You go find the guard and ask him what's going on, but don't bring him here."

“Ouch…” Aquile reluctantly lowered his fist: “You’re so thoughtful. Now, about informing Ms. Laurent…”

"Her bat was right next to her."

Watching Aquile run off, Ji Li expanded his senses, allowing the Soul Trigger to fully cover the surroundings, but it didn't activate the small bats Angelica had spread around—

He wants to go and take a look first.

Before they arrived, Angelica spread her spiritual bats throughout the school, but she was not an Awakened One specializing in this art and could not monitor the situation at all times.

Without proactive warning or the stimulation of unfamiliar spiritual energy, she would not be able to detect the situation immediately.

Aquil returned quickly:
He said there's no basement in the teaching building, but there's a cold storage room for frozen meat downstairs!

"What's the route?"

Aquil picked up a yellowed piece of paper:
“I asked him for a map, but it’s the kind that electricians use to troubleshoot problems.”

"Walk."

Following the map, the two made their way to the underground frozen meat storage room, where they could both sense that the fluctuations were becoming increasingly obvious.

However, the frozen meat storage facility had been closed for many years, and the rusty iron walls were completely exposed. Apart from a faint smell of decay, there was nothing else worth noting.

Ji Li opened the small bottle directly, letting the silt roll out and be fixed in mid-air by his ability, turning into a wet ball.

"Your water control can also control this?"

"As a lump of silt, it may appear to have more water in its composition on the surface."

The two didn't dwell on the issue too much. After the mud was detached from the bottle, it was only controlled by Ji Li's Kisame ability for a second before it shot out like an arrow and rushed towards a corner of the space.

Aquil exclaimed in surprise and gave chase:

Pulitzer, what about your abilities?!

"It was attracted by something and couldn't control itself."

"...I'm starting to doubt whether the tumultuous events you created earlier were just my imagination."

"Hey, that's not something you can pull off under normal circumstances."

Ji Li's so-called berserk state when facing the black scarecrow was not actually caused by the infusion of spiritual energy.

He merely took advantage of the other party's experimental act of injecting spiritual energy into him, and actively used the Dead Apostle's "self-devouring" ability to manifest in the personality entity Kisame.

This fooled the Black Scarecrow and the Knights, making them believe it was the result of the Black Scarecrow's experiment.

In this situation, is it necessary to resort to "autophagy"?

The two sprinted forward, but the mud accelerated even further, finally slamming into the wall with a "thud" and seeping in through the cracks.

Aiquier and Ji Li exchanged a glance, their arms suddenly adorned with red chitinous arm armor and short, thick claws, which they used to wedge themselves into the cracks in the wall and pull with all their might—

"careful!"

Ji Li kicked Aiquier away, and the iron wall she had torn down shattered into pieces with a loud bang, unleashing a powerful burst of spiritual energy that blasted all the way to the end of the room.

Just as Aiguirre was about to complain about Ji Li's kick, he staggered to his feet:
"...What the hell is that?!"

Ji Li had already slid through the puddles to her side in an instant, helping her up. He had drunk half of his water bottle, spilling the other half.
"I warned you there might be a trap..."

A wet, sticky sound came from the hole in the wall, accompanied by a clanging sound, like the sound of a factory machine tool.

The next moment, the hole in the wall was widened again, and a figure darted out with a clang and landed with a thud. Ji Li's pupils suddenly contracted.

It was a metal object lying on the ground, shaped like a wolfhound.

Its entire body was covered in silvery-white metallic armor and various sharp barbs; its limbs and head had clanging metal mechanisms; and its tail was a gray flexible tube that swayed freely.

Demon God Machine?!
Aside from slight differences, this thing's appearance is undoubtedly a product of World Tree God technology!
No, something's not right...

After a moment of sudden cardiac arrest, Ji Li noticed something unusual about the thing.

Due to its fundamental combination of biological and mechanical characteristics, the products of Demon God Technology are characterized by the red exposed muscles and complex mechanical exoskeleton of Demon God Factor muscle protein.

But the silvery-white "exoskeleton" on this thing is not quite right. Where it should be filled with red muscle protein, it is filled with grayish-brown... sludge?
The silt, as if it had just been activated, was boiling and churning on its body, eventually transforming into a dynamic flow that followed the lines of its muscles.

As the visor on his head suddenly split open, white light radiated from his eyes:

"Roar!!!"

"What is this?!"

World Tree Technology Demon God Industry Artificial Warfare Weapon: Jumping Wolf.

Ji Li, deep in thought, spoke up:
"I don't know, prepare for battle."

The red spread and burst, surrounded by deep blue seawater, as the "Crown Red Ant" and "Kisame" simultaneously completed their evil spirit transformation.

With a furious roar, Aiquier's long, scorching hair billowed wildly, and he appeared before the "demonic machine" like a blazing inferno. With a single punch, he shattered its head, sending parts and mud flying everywhere.

"So crispy?!"

"Back off!"

A surge of water swept by, carrying the remains of the demonic machine to the far end of the room.

The demonic machine exploded with a series of dripping sounds, spraying water and creating a patch of urchin-like mud and thorns.

Aquil lowered her fiery red gauntlets:

"It will explode again?"

Ji Li's slippery sea monster body appeared beside her:
"I told you to be careful."

Self-destruction after death is indeed one of the basic functions of "Leap Wolf". I didn't expect that even this has been replicated, only the state is completely different.

Ji Li looked at the pile of silt and soil spikes that had formed after the explosion, but were now beginning to crumble:

It's more like some kind of imitation; although it looks clumsy, it was indeed achieved using reasonably decent spiritual technology...

Its owner has seen the demonic machine and is trying to imitate this technology?
As I pondered, the strange noise erupted once more.

The large holes in the wall and the ventilation pipes continued to break open, and one "demonic machine" after another swooped out, their metal claws colliding with the ground with a loud clang, and they attacked the two of them from both sides.

Ji Li's claws snapped open and instantly tore one to shreds.

Amidst the exploding debris, Aquile leaped into the air and sent both flying with a punch and a kick.

But a third one suddenly burst out from the ventilation duct above and leaped toward her head.

Ji Li suddenly leaped up and slapped the demonic machine away, but a series of claw marks, slime, and sparks shot out from his wrist and Aiquier's visor, respectively.

The latter's carapace shattered the moment the jumping wolf touched it.

She landed immediately and leaned back to back with Ji Li:
"Such strong aggression..."

"I told you to take it easy."

The remaining jumping wolves continued to pour out, their astonishing numbers gradually filling the entire space, slowly circling the two of them, forming an encirclement.

"Isn't this a bit too much!?"

Although it can be shattered with a single punch, it also breaks your defenses with a touch. It seems too difficult to remain completely untouched.
"It's coming, don't act impulsively."

"...There are so many things I could do, but I don't even have the chance to act impulsively."

"Then I'll create some opportunities for you."

Ji Li suddenly raised his hand, and a gurgling sound came from the wall.

As the wolf-faced armor of the group opened simultaneously, they pounced out amidst bursts of white light.

But suddenly the wall burst open, and a torrent of water, under Ji Li's control, surged out, flooding the entire space—

Aquil's armor flashed, and the electrical worker's map from earlier instantly appeared in his mind:
"Water pipes inside the wall... How did you come up with that?!"

"Tactical thinking".

"If this place doesn't have a water supply, won't it be completely destroyed?!"

"Isn't it being offered right now?"

In the midst of their bickering, Aiquiel took advantage of the flood to charge directly into the horde of demonic machines, blowing up the slippery, floating jumping wolves along the way.

The rumbling earth spikes burst open as she rushed through the water.

Ji Li's Kisame moved freely amidst the flood of tap water, slapping a small dog with a single blow, its parts flying everywhere.

But the passageways around them were like anthills, constantly spewing forth more leaping wolves, almost filling the entire space, surging forward on the leaping wolves in the water:
"Pulitzer, tell me you really called for reinforcements?"

"Don't worry, we won't lose in terms of numbers."

"us?"

Aquil parried an attack from a jumping wolf and kicked it to pieces, then turned around to look.

The flooded tap water was all rushing towards Ji Li's body.

Kisame's body twisted and rippled, and suddenly a completely new entity split off:

[Large groups: These can split into smaller, deeper-sea individuals, but they destroy the water quality, and they are not necessarily obedient.]

One by one, Kisame, which looked exactly like Ji Li but was smaller and had no tentacles or long hair, continued to split.

Their eyes were bloodshot as they swarmed towards the surrounding pack of leaping wolves. Gradually, the tide began to turn.

As the water flow increased, Ji Li's split bodies began to occupy this space, and Aiquiel led a group of sea monsters in a fierce rampage, like a general.

These guys are a bit disobedient; they occasionally go berserk and attack Aquile.

Strangely, after realizing the situation was not right, these jumping wolves changed their tactics and abandoned direct combat one by one, instead self-destructing on the spot.

Suddenly, sea urchins with sharp spines burst open in the air.

Aquil narrowly avoided two explosions, now surrounded by spiky sea urchins made of hard mud.

She stomped her foot and punched through the blockade in front of her, leaping out, only to see several jumping wolves already breaking through the encirclement of the split entities—

Pulitzer!?

"I'm behind."

Ji Li was even faster; his massive body, like a chariot, sent the jumping wolves flying, and he tumbled to the ground while holding Aiquier's relatively petite, demonized body.

The jumping wolves around them kept exploding, and Ji Li hugged Aiquier's long, armored legs to the front of her abdomen and chest, curling her whole body into a ball.

As the leaping wolves kept charging at them, the split creatures around them surged towards the two, protecting them within their protective embrace.

The sounds of explosions and parts falling into water continued to ring in his ears. After several minutes, they finally stopped. Ji Li released Ai Guier. His back was covered with the slime from his injuries caused by the evil spirit, which was gradually recovering as his spiritual essence replenished it.

"are you OK?"

"rest assured."

The two turned around and saw that almost all the jumping wolves had exploded and died, leaving only a few old, weak, and disabled ones with injured legs. Ji Li's not-so-intelligent split bodies were all dead, and the water in the pipes had dried up.

"it's over?"

"There is one more."

The two looked into the depths of the initial large hole, where a creature larger than the other jumping wolves strode out.

"It seems this is the 'alpha wolf'."

It looked at the two of them, and layers of mud burst out from its side, turning into a gray-black exoskeleton that enveloped its body.

With a clang, its body, now as heavy as a chariot, launched its final charge towards the two—

"Get away!"

The two leaped out from the left and right, and the large jumping wolf punched a large hole in the wall. In the blink of an eye, Aquil, who had nimbly jumped back from the wall, was already close to its head and punched it down.

Ji Li's figure also appeared behind it, and it also scratched at it with a claw.

There was a loud clang of metal clashing and the sound of flesh being torn apart.

Aquil's arm armor shattered completely, and Ji Li's claws flipped open completely—

"So hard?!"

"We can't control this formed mud... Let's retreat!"

The two retreated rapidly, and the alpha wolf roared and unleashed a flurry of claw attacks, hurtling wildly toward them amidst sparks.

Ji Li and Ai Guier dodged the attacks with a series of leaps and bounds, leaving no trace of their previous attacks.
"It's not broken at all!"

"Look for weaknesses, look at the head."

These things are not living beings, nor are they real jumping wolves, but rather creations made using spiritual technology, more like man-made spiritual tools.

Aiquier looked in the direction of the sound and saw the head gleaming with white light right in the center:

"This is way too small!!"

"I remember you throwing javelins?"

"That's a shot put..."

"They're all pretty much the same. Don't forget your abilities, give it a try!"

Ji Li stabbed his claw into the wall, pulling out a handful of twisted and deformed steel bars, and threw them to Aigui'er:
“It’s fast, I’ll hold it off, you take the lead.”

"But……"

Before he could finish speaking, Ji Li had already charged forward, absorbing all the remaining tap water in the room. His body swelled to about the same height as the alpha wolf, and he crashed headfirst into it.

Amidst their roars, they began to wrestle.

Kisame's body continued to retreat backward—

Although it has been upgraded in the Black Scarecrow event, barely reaching the fourth stage, it still seems a bit lacking when it comes to fighting this thing.

He stomped his foot on the ground, freezing the alpha wolf in place for a moment. Facing its familiar howl, a grin spread across his face.
"Now!"

"coming!!"

A handful of steel bars, straightened by Aquile, burst forth from her hands, shooting out like shotgun shells, clanging and clattering against the alpha wolf's body.

[Champion: Throwing and melee attacks will always hit the opponent, but not necessarily where you want to hit them.]

The rule of Aquile's Resting Place is that it will always hit, but it doesn't necessarily hit the place you want to hit.

Since that's the case, why not throw them all at once? Surely one of them will hit.

Amidst the dense, cracking sounds, countless steel bars, comparable to those fired from a sniper rifle, burst open simultaneously, until a sound of parts shattering rang out.

Two steel bars pierced the white spot right in the center of the wolf's head.

The latter suddenly raised its head and let out a deafening roar.

Ji Li strode forward, slamming him against the corner of the wall like a chariot, and then kicked the steel bar that was stuck in the wall, sending it into his body.

Aiquill descended from the sky like a meteorite, his fiery red hair whipping wildly behind him, as a jab slammed into the gaping hole.

The machinery collapsed, and mud flew everywhere.

The head exploded completely, its parts flying out like fireworks, and the screeching body crashed to the ground!

That's right, even the weaknesses were copied exactly. Ji Li confirmed this.

Aquil pulled his hand away; it was covered in cracks.

With her heart pounding, she turned to look at Ji Li, and their large paws collided with a "smack":
"A match made in heaven!"

"You seem to be holding us back a little."

"Nonsense! I was the one who put the steel bar in!"

Who came up with that idea?

"I admit you have a better tactical mindset than me, but you can't do without my sharp sword!"

Aquil gripped his arm with one hand and clenched his fist with the other, gesturing forcefully:

"Hey, do you think we might become a really famous couple in the future? Like the Awakened ones?"

"will not."

"why?"

"Because some people get too carried away with their success and are prone to failing halfway through their careers."

"No way, aren't you protecting me?"

Strictly speaking, this was the first time Aquile had faced a "tough battle" when he was in good physical condition.

So even though I've used up most of my spiritual essence, I'm still excited and it's inevitable that I'll start having some grand fantasies based on reality.

"Alright, let's see what's on this guy."

The jumping wolf is now collapsing, turning into mud and gradually dissipating, with only some metal fragments falling down.

There is no doubt that this is a product assembled from spiritual technology and a seemingly plausible but actually flawed outer shell.

Ji Li pulled out a spherical ball of mud from the remains, exactly the same as the one he had previously extracted from the remains of the Dead Apostles:
"This is it."

The fact that the Ascension Protocol did not transmit any information indicates that this is not a relic of a person, but rather the product of some kind of psychic tool, or a special material core that serves the psychic circuit.

The two of them looked together into the depths of the large cave.

As he regained his human form, Ji Li helped the still-breathing Aiquier into the depths of the large cave, descending through the foundation and countless layers until they finally arrived at an underground space.

"This is... a laboratory?"

Looking at the dazzling array of unknown equipment before him, Aiquier was stunned.

Ji Li remained silent, looking at a half-finished mud wolf in the corner:
Yes, it is indeed a laboratory.

One of those laboratories where the clay puppeteers were never found...

Ji Li walked to the rusty lab table and picked up a dusty photo frame.

After wiping it clean, a wheat field appeared in Ji Li's eyes, and his pupils shrank.

The person standing in the wheat field has sparse stubble, a cold expression, and is looking back at the camera with a pale blue light in his eyes.

His body was made of mechanical constructs, his jaw was covered with biomimetic alloy, and his face bore a tattoo of the World Tree's assets, which was a line of small characters.

Ji Li had seen this face every time he changed bodies in the Murphy Building.

it's me.

But that look in his eyes... seems a little unfamiliar.

Pioneers?
(End of this chapter)