In a perfect world, you start by relying on your own strength.

The lighthouse's turbulence came abruptly and subsided quickly. After a sudden sharp turn and descent, it was now flying steadily at an altitude of several tens of meters.

Amidst the rising and falling prayers of the Light and Shadow Society, the fear in people's hearts gradually dissipated. Apart from a few unlucky individuals who were thrown out by the violent jolts, there were not many casualties; only a batch of supplies were scattered and lost.

To avoid causing widespread panic, only a few high-ranking officials knew that the lighthouse had changed its course. Ordinary citizens and mortals were completely unaware of this and continued to do as usual.

At this moment, the top executives of various departments have gathered in the Lighthouse conference room: City Lord Morgan, Charles, the leader of the Light and Shadow Society, Jing Nan from the Lighthouse Command Center, Dr. Carrie from the Medical Department, Victor, the commander-in-chief of the City Defense Force, Mark, the commander of the Wilderness Hunters, and Shi Gen, the instructor of the Wilderness Hunters.

Logically speaking, a hunter instructor shouldn't be allowed to attend such a high-level meeting, but Shi Geng was the only exception.

"According to calculations, the lighthouse will penetrate deep into the densely populated ecological zone in a day, and at its current altitude, there is a great risk that it will be discovered by the Devouring Beasts."

Jingnan held the tablet, her expression grave, and spoke with her delicate brows furrowed.

"Isn't there any way to change the course?"

"I ask Viktor, the commander of the city's defense forces, in a deep voice."

Jingnan slowly shook his head: "Forcing adjustments will only overload the lighthouse's power system, and the consequences will only be worse."

The meeting room fell silent instantly, the atmosphere so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Morgan sat in the head seat, his knuckles lightly tapping the table, and said in a deep voice, "So, we have no choice but to force our way in?"

"Yes." Jingnan nodded. "Unless we can reconnect with the Kloto system, we can't change our flight path and gain altitude again."

Victor frowned. "That lighthouse will be directly within the range of the ground-based Devouring Beasts. Once it's targeted, given its current height, it won't be able to escape the horde's attack."

Charles, who had been silent until now, spoke softly, his tone carrying a hint of deliberate compassion: "The Lord of Light and Shadow's test has arrived. It seems that only by worshipping the Lord of Light and Shadow more devoutly can one receive protection."

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned, but they were too lazy to pay attention to this charlatan and turned to look at Morgan, waiting for his final decision.

Morgan said in a deep voice, "Jingnan, find a way to reconnect to the Klotor system, use all available computing power, and keep a close eye on the abnormal activity in the ecological zone and the movements of the Devouring Beasts."

"Victor, Mark, immediately prepare your forces. The city defense troops and the hunters should all be on high alert, ready to deal with any surprise attack from the Devouring Beasts."

Upon receiving the order, the three from Jingnan responded in unison.

Just as everyone was about to get up and leave to set up defenses, Dr. Carrie suddenly stepped forward and said:

"Lord City Lord, I propose that we restart the Abyss Explorers experiment."

As soon as he finished speaking, Morgan and Victor's expressions changed drastically, becoming so serious they were almost grim.

The others looked blank, clearly having never heard of the term "Abyss Walker" before, let alone what kind of plan it was.

Only Shi Geng raised an eyebrow slightly.

His previous detached and bored expression vanished instantly, and a barely perceptible interest surfaced in his eyes.

If there's anything on this lighthouse that Shi Geng can truly care about now, besides the half of the Mana Giant's brain from the Kloto system, it's only the Abyss Mech.

In the original anime, it was Charles who ultimately entered this forbidden mecha, transforming overnight from a disabled person with power into a beacon savior who single-handedly slaughtered the Devouring Beasts that surrounded the beacon.

All eyes turned to Dr. Carrie, even Morgan lowered his voice, his tone stern: "Do you know what you're saying? The Abyssbreaker Project has long been shelved, and you know better than anyone how costly that was!"

"I understand." Carrie pushed up her glasses, her tone calm to the point of being cold. "But the Lighthouse has no choice now. The Lighthouse's conventional weapons are of limited effectiveness against high-level Devouring Beasts, and the city defense forces and hunters have limited ammunition, which cannot deal with the Devouring Beasts in the core ecological area. Although the central electromagnetic cannon can solve the problem temporarily, it will also paralyze the Lighthouse's energy for a period of time."

She paused, her gaze burning as she looked at Morgan: "The Abyssbreaker mech is currently the only ultimate weapon in the Lighthouse capable of overwhelming the Devouring Beasts. Once activated, let alone defending the Lighthouse, even clearing a safe passage wouldn't be impossible."

Charles's eyes flickered slightly, and he stepped forward: "Dr. Carrie, this Abyss Walker... does it truly possess such power?"

Victor interrupted in a deep voice: "The success rate of the Abyss Explorer experiments is almost zero. The fact that so many people have sacrificed themselves in your previous experiments is enough to prove that no one on the Lighthouse can control the Abyss Explorer."

"That's because there weren't any suitable test subjects."

Dr. Carrie's glasses reflected a cold light as her gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling steadily on Shi Heng without wavering.

"But now, the Lighthouse has just found the perfect candidate."

In an instant, all eyes in the conference room turned to Shi Geng.

Morgan frowned and fell silent.

Mark paused, then subconsciously looked at Shi Geng beside him and said in a deep voice, "Dr. Carrie, you have to explain what exactly the Abyss Ones are, right?"

Judging from the cryptic attitude of the people in their conversation, the Abyss is definitely not a conventional weapon; it must be a forbidden object that Morgan himself sealed away.

Dr. Carrie did not evade the question; her voice was calm yet carried a chilling undertone: "The Abyss is the ultimate individual combat plan launched by the Lighthouse in its early years."

"The person piloting it can gain the power to crush the Devouring Beasts in a short period of time, far exceeding any equipment currently available in the Lighthouse. Once wearing it, one person can wipe out an entire swarm of Devouring Beasts."

At this point, she changed the subject:

"However, to activate it, we need to conduct experiments on people, and the mortality rate in previous experiments was... 100%."

The meeting room fell silent instantly.

Victor's face darkened further: "That's why I said this wasn't a weapon, it was suicide!"

A flicker of greed crossed Charles's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it with apprehension.

He wanted this power that could grant him instant advancement, but he dared not touch the deadly price. "No, the experiment is too dangerous. How can you be so sure Instructor Shi Geng will succeed?"

Mark's expression changed drastically, and he immediately refused, leaving no room for negotiation.

During this period, under Shi Geng's guidance, his own strength improved by leaps and bounds, and he had long since accepted this favor. Moreover, he inherently rejected this kind of experiment that forcibly piled up power with one's life.

Dr. Carrie glanced at him, her tone indifferent: "Because in the entire Lighthouse, only Instructor Shi Geng's physical data is an anomaly that even the Kloto system cannot fully analyze."

"His physical strength and regenerative ability far exceed the limits of normal humans. Compared to him, all the previous test subjects are not even worthy of carrying his shoes."

However, Dr. Carrie had something she didn't say aloud.

Long before, she had secretly obtained Shi Heng's genetic sample—the source of which was naturally provided by Charles.

The test results still terrify her to this day.