In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

"You know a little bit?"

These two words were like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a thousand waves in everyone's hearts.

As an S-level mentalist, Bai Lu is most sensitive to the perception of mental power.

But in Bai Lu's mind, apart from that unreasonable infinite space, Su Ran had never shown any spiritual attributes.

"Comrade Xiao Su, this is no joke."

Li Guodong frowned, his tone serious, "Mental power is something invisible and intangible. Once it backfires, we won't even know how to save you."

"I'm confident."

Su Ran didn't explain further. "Professor Zhang, prepare sample number six."

The superposition of the souls of two lifetimes allows Su Ran's total spiritual energy to rival that of a chosen one like Bai Lu.

With his experience of surviving for ten years in his previous life, he had honed his mental manipulation skills to the maximum level.

He might not be good at attacking, but when it comes to micro-management, he's a master.

With a dull hum from the hydraulic rods, a male zombie dressed in tattered overalls was sent into the reinforced glass chamber.

Su Ran slowly walked to the glass wall and stood still.

On the observation platform, Bai Lu's posture of watching the show with her arms crossed changed instantly.

As an expert in the field of mental power, she "saw" something different.

If her spiritual power was a raging tsunami, surging and overwhelming, then the aura surging from Su Ran at this moment was like a deep-sea undercurrent thousands of meters below.

Heavy, dense, and profound.

"It really is an outward projection of spiritual power."

Bai Lu's pupils dilated slightly, and she instinctively straightened her body.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

Bai Lu feels that she is not yet capable of such extreme compression and control of her mental energy.

"call……"

Su Ran gently exhaled a breath of stale air and closed her eyes.

In his perception, the thick layer of explosion-proof glass in front of him disappeared.

His spiritual power transformed into a dense, soft net, silently seeping into the glass wall.

Inside the glass wall, the sixth zombie, who had been frantically ramming against the railing, suddenly stopped moving.

As if sensing something, a low whimper escaped its throat.

"Such delicate control..."

On the observation platform, Bai Lu couldn't help but gasp softly.

"Connection established."

Su Ran silently recited the mantra, a fine layer of sweat appearing on her forehead.

Even with his soul strength, performing such a meticulous operation was extremely taxing on his mind.

He "saw" it.

It was a fragmented world.

Countless sharp noises, bloody images, and the primal instinct of hunger collided wildly there.

There is no logic, no thought, only the most primal desires.

"Don't rush, don't panic."

Su Ran tried to use psychological suggestion to forcibly block out those mental pollutions.

Instead of trying to understand the chaotic noise, he mobilized all his mental energy and condensed it into the simplest and most basic instruction.

【sit down】.

Although in the previous life, there were many mental powerhouses who tried to replicate Bai Lu's legend.

But I have never heard of a second successful person.

But Su Ran still wanted to give it a try.

At the very least, you need to figure out where the problem lies.

Su Ran's mental energy began to shrink.

In the observation room, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

Just as Su Ran's will completely overwhelmed that flame of consciousness, preparing to imprint its mark,

A sudden change has occurred!

There was no fierce resistance, nor any psychological backlash.

The feeling was like someone sprinting at full speed and then accidentally stepping off a cliff.

"puff."

A soft thud echoed in Su Ran's mind.

The dark red flame, which had been pulsating violently and represented the life force of the zombie, was extinguished abruptly the moment it came into contact with Su Ran's "thought imprint".

Utter nothingness.

In the real world, inside the glass wall.

"thump!"

The zombie number six, which had been standing like an iron tower just moments before, suddenly buckled at the knees and crashed face down onto the concrete ground.

"drop!"

The vital signs monitor attached to it emitted a piercing long beep.

The entire room fell silent.

Only the piercing "beep" echoed across the empty test field.

"The result is the same as when I made contact with Bai Lu using my mental powers," Su Ran muttered to himself.

He rubbed his temples helplessly and took a half step back.

"Was this also going too far?"

Bai Lu stood on the stage, blinked, and spoke with uncertainty in her voice.

In her eyes, Su Ran's actions just now were a perfect textbook example.

The phrase "like a gentle rain nourishing the earth" perhaps best describes Su Ran's level of control.

But why is the result still the same?

"Brain death."

Professor Zhang Qian looked at the data on the screen, his tone filled with frustration, "Brainstem function instantly dropped to zero. Consultant Su, just like before, it's dead."

Su Ran did not speak.

His brows were furrowed as he stared intently at the corpse.

I just wanted to send my commands into its mental world, but the already chaotic mental world collapsed.

He doesn't believe in superstitions.

"Again."

Su Ran said in a deep voice, "Change to sample number seven. This time, change to a mutated beast; bring out that mutated Chow Chow."

Five minutes later.

"Awooo..."

As the mournful whimper abruptly ended, the mutated Chow Chow, the size of a calf, collapsed and died the instant Su Ran's mental energy touched it.

Brain death again.

Even Li Guodong couldn't stand it anymore.

"Comrade Xiao Su..."

Li Guodong walked over, handed Su Ran a bottle of water, and hesitated before speaking, "How about we stop for now? Let the Academy of Sciences study it for a while longer. Anyway, that mother nest is still under control at this stage, and we still have time to study it slowly."

The series of failures created an extremely oppressive atmosphere at the testing ground.

Su Ran took the water but didn't drink it; her brain was racing.

Why?

If Bai Lu died from a mental shock due to poor self-control...

But my actions just now were so precise, why did they still cause the other person to suffer instant brain death?

"Could it be that the problem isn't with the control of mental energy, but rather with Bai Lu herself?"

Su Ran thought to herself, "Is the ability to control mutated creatures Bai Lu's hidden talent?"

In the previous life, the awakened beings were diverse and their abilities were even more varied.

For example, the title "Beast King" originated because after Wang Meng awakened, he gained the ability to communicate with the mutated Beast King and establish a connection.

However, if not deliberately displayed, Wang Meng would be completely overlooked as a power-type awakener.

Bai Lu wasn't the only one to awaken to spirituality; otherwise, there wouldn't have been the later "theory of advanced spiritualist."

However, she was indeed the only one who could control the Corpse King.

If this is indeed Bai Lu's hidden talent, then it makes sense.

But why isn't it working now?

If it weren't for Bai Lu's hidden talent, why was no one able to imitate her in the previous life?

Something just doesn't feel right?

"Where exactly did things go wrong...?"

Su Ran closed his eyes, feeling that he was infinitely close to the answer.

What's missing now is that flash of inspiration.

and many more!

Su Ran suddenly opened her eyes, and a flash of lightning ignited in her mind.

Seeing Su Ran's strong reaction, Bai Lu asked curiously, "Su Ran, have you thought of something?"

"I have some guesses."

Su Ran suddenly turned around and stared intently at Professor Zhang Qian, who was organizing data.

"Professor Zhang!"

Su Ran's voice was a little hoarse with excitement, "You just said that, anatomically speaking, the Omega-9 virus dissolves the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of infected individuals, right?"

Zhang Qian was taken aback, then nodded subconsciously: "That's right. The Omega-9 virus directly destroys the brain tissue responsible for reason, emotion, and memory. Now, the zombies' brains only have the core brainstem maintaining basic motor functions."

"Perhaps that's the problem!"

Su Ran spoke calmly, "It's not that our direction is wrong, nor is it a problem with mental power control. The root cause is that the 'container' is broken!"

"ha?"

Everyone looked on blankly, exchanging bewildered glances.

Su Ran turned around, looked at Bai Lu and Zhang Qian, and explained very quickly:

"Whether it's 'communication' or 'thought imprinting,' it's essentially about directly imposing one's own consciousness onto a biological body; it's about acting on the spiritual world."

Su Ran pointed to his temple, "To receive and execute this consciousness imprint, there must be a corresponding material basis, that is, a complete brain structure to support it."

boom!

These words were like a key, instantly unlocking everyone's thinking.

Everything is clear now!

This is the fundamental reason why both Bai Lu and Su Ran have the same ending!

The hardware does not support it!

"Then, does that mean there's absolutely no chance?"

The white deer seemed to understand but not quite, and her little face fell. "Their brains are all malfunctioning."

"No, that will take time to prove."

Su Ran said, "I was wondering earlier why both zombies and mutated beasts gradually develop intelligence and become smarter as their strength level increases."

"I have a hypothesis: the Omega-9 virus can not only destroy, it can also regenerate! When the level of life crosses a critical point, the virus will begin to repair damaged brain tissue!"

After all, whether it's zombies or mutated beasts, they are ultimately still within the category of carbon-based life forms.

It's impossible for someone to be missing a piece of their brain and still grow wise.

The most reasonable explanation is that the brain develops first, which then leads to an improvement in intelligence.

"Perhaps your mind control will only work once they re-evolve into a complete brain structure!"

Li Guodong was terrified, and cold sweat trickled down his temples.

"Xiao Su, you're playing with fire..."

The old director's voice trembled. "You mean, we're just going to watch those monsters get stronger? Isn't that like raising a tiger to cause trouble?"

The old bureau chief, who had spent half his life in the military, had nurtured a tiger that would later become his own enemy—something this veteran of the National Security Bureau absolutely feared most.

Moreover, this is no longer about raising tigers; in these extraordinary times, one wrong step could lead to utter ruin.

"Old Li, this is just a speculation based on the existing clues."

Su Ran's voice was unusually calm, "But it is also currently the only relatively reasonable logical loop to explain 'mental power controlling mutated creatures'."

"A Warcraft Legion, I've always dreamed of having one. With them, our Great Xia soldiers wouldn't have to go to the most dangerous front lines anymore."

Li Guodong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "But, that's not how it's done."

Fortunately, there is still enough time to react, so he won't lose his composure.

"This matter is of great importance."

Li Guodong rubbed his temples, his voice regaining its usual composure, "The idea of ​​a Warcraft Legion is tempting, but we can't afford to gamble on the risk of it getting out of control."

I can roughly guess your plan. I will immediately report it to my superiors and initiate the highest-level risk assessment.

Conservative, but correct.

Any commander would have made the same choice.

"I agree."

Su Ran nodded.

He knew better than anyone the cost of a lost nest.

In my past life, these mother nests were destroyed one by one upon discovery.

He turned to his research assistant, who was holding a tablet, and gave her new instructions.

"A special research group on 'Brain Evolution of Omega-9 Virus' has been established. Starting immediately, brain CT scans and data modeling will be performed on all captured live Omega-9 virus infected samples."

After giving the order, Su Ran held up three fingers and glanced at everyone present.

"Today is the fourth day after the end of the red rain."

"Three days later, on the seventh day, the first batch of 'second-tier mutated creatures' will appear one after another."

His tone was firm, stating an established fact.

"I requested that the special research team focus on comparing the changes in the brain regions missing from the first-order and second-order samples. I want to see the most intuitive map of the repair evolution!"

"clear!"

Zhang Qian was an exceptionally intelligent man, and he instantly understood Su Ran's intention.

Professor Zhang Qian stated, "I will prioritize this special project to the highest level! We will establish three groups, A, B, and C, to conduct a controlled observation experiment!"

After the old professor finished speaking, he led a group of people in white coats and rushed into the laboratory.

Watching the entire research team operate at full speed, Li Guodong's tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He glanced at his watch; battle reports from the front lines were piling up, and he didn't have time to waste here.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you. There's still a ton of work to be done at the front."

Li Guodong patted Su Ran's shoulder forcefully, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "In short, be sure to let me know in advance if there are any operations. Safety first."

After saying that, he hurriedly left with his guards.

The once empty open-air experimental field was now empty except for Su Ran and Bai Lu.

The clamor of metal faded away, leaving only the howling of the cold wind in the air.

Su Ran turned around and looked at the cool and stylish girl in black.

She was leaning against the cold alloy railing, looking up at the sky.

Where is Bai Lu going next?

Su Ran asked, "Are we going back to the front lines to keep racking up points?"

Bai Lu withdrew her gaze, stretched lazily, rolled her eyes at Su Ran, and curled her lips into a charming smile.

"I'm not going, I'm tired. I'll get some sleep first and we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Aren't you afraid your first place will be snatched away?" Su Ran chuckled.

"Tch, let them catch up for a while first."

Bai Lu waved her hand dismissively, then seemed to remember something, waving her little fist with a sly look in her eyes, "Just when they think they're about to succeed, I'll crush them hard, hehe."

Strong, yet cunning.

Su Ran thought to herself, "If you want to slack off, just say so. What a terrible excuse..."