Chapter 515 - 512: The Final Screening

Chapter 515: Chapter 512: The Final Screening

A figure began to slowly sway.

A familiar voice drifted from the movie-like scene...

...

"Zhou Dynasty, you will stay on this island and monitor the living pollution," the captain said gravely to Zhou Dynasty.

"Why?! Captain, I can’t even use my Holy Sword myself. Isn’t this just torture?" Zhou Dynasty said, frustrated.

"This is an order. I expect you to obey," the captain replied calmly.

Seeing how serious the captain was, Zhou Dynasty opened his mouth but didn’t argue further.

"Fine. Just come back and rescue me soon."

"We will," the captain nodded.

Zhou Dynasty gave his team members a reluctant glance, then turned and walked toward the edge of the forest without looking back.

...

"Captain, why did we have to leave Zhou Dynasty behind by himself?" After Zhou Dynasty had left, one of the team members couldn’t hold back his doubts and asked the captain.

"He cannot participate in this operation..." The captain gave an ambiguous answer. Hearing this, the team member instantly understood there must be a hidden reason and quickly shut his mouth.

The captain gazed at the distant forest as he took out an electronic tablet and opened the personnel list.

With his captain’s clearance, he quickly found Zhou Dynasty’s file.

Surprisingly, there were several notes marked in red within Zhou Dynasty’s file.

"Non-human. Consciousness has been replaced by the consciousness of the relic ’Holy Sword,’ but is unaware of this fact. This information must be kept secret from him and can only be revealed under suitable circumstances..."

There were many such notes, most of which were cautionary instructions regarding Zhou Dynasty.

The captain sighed. After the officials had assigned him this "special team member," he’d had to pretend Zhou Dynasty was an ordinary person while also discreetly looking out for him, which was an exhausting task.

However, after spending so much time together, he had discovered that this team member whose consciousness had been replaced by a relic had no real flaws, aside from being a bit naive and having some fanciful ideas.

Zhou Dynasty believed he was human, but the officials had discovered the truth long ago. After observing him and confirming he posed no threat, they placed him on the captain’s investigation team. This allowed the captain to monitor him while also taking advantage of the Holy Sword’s powerful abilities.

Why couldn’t Zhou Dynasty use the Holy Sword?

Because he *was* the Holy Sword. A person cannot lift themselves, and likewise, the Holy Sword could not use the Holy Sword. But when someone else wielded it, it could unleash immense power.

It was precisely because this power was so useful that the officials had decided to "utilize" Zhou Dynasty.

Looking at the file of this "problem team member," the captain shook his head helplessly.

He had a faint feeling that he couldn’t bring Zhou Dynasty on the upcoming mission.

However, he wasn’t sure if his decision was the right one.

"Is the Rift Bomb calibrated?" he asked a team member.

"We’ve run the calibrations many times, Captain. I guarantee there won’t be any issues."

"Good... We need to create a stable, synchronized zone to envelop the beacon and prevent it from being activated."

The Rift Bomb wasn’t just a weapon of destruction; it could also be used to create a rift that would completely "isolate" an area. The captain was worried that the living pollution here would affect the beacon after they left, so he planned to use the Rift Bomb to seal it off.

A team member placed the Rift Bomb next to the beacon and adjusted the parameters.

"Stand back, just in case," the captain said, leading his team to a safe distance.

A few moments later, a muffled THUD echoed out, as if something enormous had suddenly burst from the ground.

Immediately after, a dazzling green light erupted from the beacon’s location, followed by the sparkle of countless starlights. The kaleidoscopic brilliance was so intense that the investigation team members were instantly forced to squeeze their eyes shut.

"What’s going on? Is this what a Rift Bomb detonation looks like?" a team member asked, confused.

"No! That’s not the Rift Bomb!"

The team was exposed to the blinding light. Even with their eyes closed, they could still perceive the multicolored halos.

Alarms blared in the captain’s mind. He shielded his eyes tightly with his hands.

’Just as I feared! Something went wrong!’

He was incredibly relieved he hadn’t brought Zhou Dynasty along, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Right now, he had to figure out what this strange light was.

However, the light was too blinding; he couldn’t open his eyes at all.

The other team members were in the same predicament, and the squad immediately fell into disarray.

"Turn around!" the captain shouted.

So, all the team members turned their backs to the beacon.

"It’s no use, Captain! I still can’t open my eyes! The light seems to be coming from all directions, it’s covering everything here!"

’From all directions?’

’Why from all directions?’

The captain couldn’t process it for a moment. ’Didn’t the light just erupt from the beacon?’

He kept his eyes closed and tried to sense his surroundings for a moment.

’Has the light spread out?’ For a second, he feared the living light had caught up to them, but this felt different.

’There’s no intense heat...’

On the contrary, the light carried a strange, cool sensation. Bathing in it felt remarkably comfortable.

Not only that, but he could feel the light through his eyelids becoming less harsh, growing gentler.

A strange, calling sound echoed in his ears. The captain found himself starting to fantasize about the brilliant colors of the light, on the verge of being unable to resist opening his eyes to witness its splendor firsthand.

But the captain immediately suppressed the feeling.

’Something is wrong!’

’The light... it’s luring us to look at it!’

"Captain, I think we can open our eyes now!" a team member suddenly said.

"Don’t open them!" the captain yelled, but it was too late. The team member had already opened his eyes completely.

"Ah Wang!" the captain shouted his teammate’s name frantically, but there was no response.

He yelled a few more times, but Ah Wang remained silent.

The other team members grew anxious. Torn between concern for their comrade and the allure of the light, they too slowly opened their eyes.

Like falling dominoes, in an instant, many more team members fell silent.

The captain kept his eyes shut, cold sweat pouring down his face.

The light seemed to be seeping through his eyelids, slowly eroding his thoughts.

"Big Head! Are you there?"

"Captain, I’m here!" Big Head’s voice came from the side.

"Whatever you do, don’t open your eyes!" the captain immediately warned.

"I already opened them, Captain. Nothing happened... Looks like there was just an issue with the Rift Bomb’s settings. A little adjustment should fix it."

’How could that be?’ The captain suddenly began to doubt himself.

But just then, the teammates he thought had gone silent started speaking again.

"Captain, I didn’t quite hear you just now. What’s wrong?"

The one who spoke was Ah Wang!

"Nothing. I’m just glad you’re okay." The captain’s heart finally settled.

But in that moment of relaxation, his eyelids unconsciously fluttered open a crack. A dazzling ray of starlight shot through the gap and pierced his eyes.