Chapter 49 Research Institute

A dreamlike breeze carried the Billies to the heart of the mountains, where they could feel the massive, jagged cliffs without even looking, their sheer walls dazzling.

The Otherworld Network Research Institute is located directly below a cliff.

Suddenly, a storm of wings arose beside a mountain road, and winged people swarmed out of the canyon, guns in hand, their folded wings pointing straight at the sky.

"State your names." The winged man in the middle, who was somewhat obese, swayed slightly as he asked. "You should know that this is a research area in Eden. If you can't answer who you are, or if your answer doesn't match, you should know what will happen to you."

"Only through bloody battles can there be freedom in the world."

The winged man with a sagging left chest glanced at Billis and said, "The code is right, it seems it's them."

The Billies were led to a large tree bearing ball-shaped fruits, whose trunk emitted sounds like the sea.

The leading winged man pulled on the orange fruit, and the tree trunk split open in the middle, revealing a disguised elevator.

The elevator continued to descend, one thousand meters, two thousand meters, three thousand meters. You can imagine how hidden the research institute was.

Jelly-shaped granite rocks were scattered about, and fat, dark-colored worms lay lazily at the mouth of the rocks. Billy seemed to have seen similar worms in the Abyss of Eva, but none were nearly as fat.

After descending the elevator to about four kilometers, you can see a gleaming secret base. It was originally a tomb, but was transformed into a secret research base by the reincarnated.

With an excited and happy smile, Billis asked the winged captain, "Is what we're protecting inside?"

"Protect?" The winged captain convulsed, his wings twitching. "The scientists invited you here to eliminate the pests."

"That's pretty much the gist of the mission assigned by the alliance."

"You should learn to ask when they broke in, but even if you ask, I'm not going to tell you."

"Because this is also classified?"

"No, it's a matter of face."

Billy took out his lighter, but it wouldn't light. The space was stuffy, with little oxygen and mostly carbon dioxide, and he couldn't get the cigarette to light no matter how long he tried.

Lisa gently blew a puff of air into the cigarette butt, and it turned red.

Billis found the puff particularly flavorful, ignoring the "No Smoking" sign at the elevator entrance.

"Alright, we've arrived. The other three agents are already in the waiting room."

A winged man with sagging chest pushed open the damp door. The circular roof shimmered with water, and murky air, along with the darkness, rushed into the passageway, filling the research institute.

A thin-legged worker was intermittently programming on a rotating light wheel, while a column of mercury on the wall climbed on a small red scale, indicating that the outside temperature was higher than the indoor temperature.

A fly-like insect flew into the room. Suddenly, the staff member stuck out a long, thin tongue from his mouth, caught the darting insect in an instant, swallowed it, and continued working.

Billy sighed, touched the lady's warm, bare shoulder, and said, "See? It's hard for even an insect to fly in, so why would anyone invade?"

Lisa gave a wicked smile: "They probably just weren't skilled enough; their tongues couldn't reach it."

The floor ahead required barefoot access, so Lisa took off her boots and went in wearing only stockings. However, Billis was stopped outside because only one agent could enter per mastermind.

Five brains are locked in five different rooms, which are connected to form a pentagram. Four agents have already arrived, and only Billy remains.

"Can't I go into the same room with her?"

“No.” The winged captain’s tone was harsh, proving that he was very troubled by the intrusion. “If one brain enters another person, too many will cause chaos in the mental realm. When we entrusted the Alliance with this matter, we seemed to have made it very clear.”

"But the enemy also got in, which means there are two people inside."

The winged captain was unable to explain this.

Bathed in pale blue light, a half-reincarnated individual with a light-colored beard and wearing goatskin gloves walked over; his face resembled a piece of cheese riddled with holes.

Behind him followed two half-reincarnated secretaries wearing white short-sleeved shirts, one holding a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other.

"This is the head of the Astral Body Department. He will take you into the mainframe."

The winged captain bowed to the person in charge and left the research institute.

"This is terrible. We can't keep up with the scientists. Everyone's been working on it all night, but we still haven't found the cause of the intrusion, so we have to call in the agents," the person in charge said quickly. "We'll go into the room immediately. Please take off your shoes and go over there to take a shower with disinfectant. This is a sterile room."

There was nothing Billy could do; he didn't know what to say, so he could only obediently do as he was told.

After the shower, the two secretaries changed the agent into a white outfit, which made him look somewhat like a patient.

The person in charge, like a surgeon, also took a shower and put on sterile white gloves.

They entered a room with only a floor, and directly in front of them was a large glass window through which they could see five glittering star-like objects.

The astral object floated, seemingly weightless, and was covered with data cables; it was impossible to tell that it was a brain.

A single astral body, five times the size of the human brain, is like a halo composed of stars, a microcosm of the universe, so magnificent and mysterious.

"Take a look at it. This was left behind by the Creator Gods. We can't analyze its structure with our current knowledge. All we know is that it can be used to transmit data..."

"Perhaps the creator gods came from outer space?"

“Interrupting is impolite, Agent.” The person in charge applied a cooling ointment to Billy’s temple and then urged his secretary to fetch his assistant.

Suddenly, a woman appeared. She came very quickly. She was barefoot, wearing a faded blue dress, with a thin and small belly. Her eyes were particularly gentle and mysterious. She walked over without looking at the agent, lifted a slightly raised floorboard, and went inside.

There was actually a basement below.

The person in charge made Billies lie on the smooth floor.

As soon as he lay down, he felt a chill on the back of his head, and something jumped up from under the floor and covered Billy's eyes.

The holographic glasses suddenly materialized, like entering a VR world, and what Billis saw was slightly different from reality.

"Hey, have I already entered my brain?"

"It hasn't been activated yet, Mr. Agent. Let me explain."

The person in charge gave a sorrowful smile, but Billis couldn't see it. His body, including his mind, seemed to have lost gravity and slowly floated up.

"Hey, have you started talking yet? I think, I think I'm about to lose my hearing."

“That’s right, Agent. There are still five minutes before the mental connection to the brain is established. I need to explain this quickly.”

However, the person in charge suffered from severe procrastination and was busy binding the agents tightly with belts.

"Then hurry up and tell me, sir! I'm afraid I won't have enough time!"

"Two days ago, five hackers broke into my brain. Their goal was probably to destroy the network. We tried many methods, but we finally found that there was only one way to get rid of the hackers: let you into my brain too."

What do hackers look like?

"have no idea."

"Then how do I find them?"

"I believe you have the ability to identify the enemy."

"There's still one minute left, right?"

"That's probably not enough, Mr. Agent. I have a lot more to say to you. Now I can only ask you to remember the two most crucial points. First, the world in your mind is called the mental realm, which is completely different from the world we live in. The choice of which world to live in depends on your mind. Second, once consciousness dies in the mental realm, the physical body in the real world will also die."

"Can't you just finish what you're saying at once?"

"Have a pleasant journey, Mr. Agent."

"Hey! Once the mission is complete, how do I get out of my head?"

A countdown appeared on the VR video: five, four, three, two, one.

An electronic ramp appeared rapidly, stretching forward, and the entire room, along with the floor and the person in charge, twisted into a blurry vortex.

Billis felt his consciousness shrinking, like a spinning black pea bumping against the electronic wall, all his thoughts gently scattering and swaying like warm sparks.

I want to drink water, but I don't feel well.

In a flash, the world began to rearrange itself.

Billis clearly remembered what the world was like before he came here, and what it became like after he entered the mind.

Billis entered a pixelated world.