CHAPTER 367: CHAPTER 136: EVACUATION

Chen Ming was awakened by a noise near his ear.

In that moment of groggy awakening, he thought he was hallucinating.

But as he became clearer, he realized what he was hearing was real, like a heavy thud from an abyss deep underground.

And this thumping sound was accompanied by a spiritual energy fluctuation that felt dangerous yet familiar.

Chen Ming instantly snapped awake, a thought flashing through his mind.

"What’s going on?"

He hurriedly checked the time.

He found that it was five in the morning, Earth Time.

Since he was the only living person and Dusk, a hamster, needed rest, the living area was still in darkness at this time.

This added an eerie atmosphere to the sound coming from deep underground.

Chen Ming was not frightened by the environment.

As the entire research institute swayed due to the vibration caused by the thumping sound.

He calmly turned on the living area’s lights and immediately tried to perceive the Delusion Stone located underground, which seemed to be at the source of the sound.

The Delusion Stone, which had been clearly perceptible from deep underground before, now felt very blurry to Chen Ming, as if separated by something heavy.

Something was wrong.

Chen Ming grabbed the drowsy Dusk from his pillow and tucked it into his arms.

He got up and headed toward the central hall of the research institute.

After leaving the living area, he noticed that the robots usually stationed around the hall, which would normally follow him from a distance at any movement, were all inactive.

They stood motionless as if they had lost control.

It seemed something terrible had happened at the research institute.

Chen Ming immediately shouted, "Brilliant!"

He waited for two seconds but got no response.

"G3!"

Chen Ming called out another name, but still received no reply.

The only sound in his ears was the unbearably heavy noise and the vibration that accompanied it.

Seeing this, Chen Ming directly used his spiritual energy to contact Brilliant.

This time the response was immediate: "Mr. Chen, is there something you need at this early hour?"

"?"

"Can’t you see the situation at the research institute?"

Brilliant sensed the emotion in Chen Ming’s words and realized something might be wrong on Chen Ming’s side.

It immediately explained, "I still have daily work in other star systems. The institute isn’t connected 24/7."

"Even if I wanted to, G3 would never allow it, so I can only maintain a signal connection with the institute while you’re awake during your regular hours."

"So I’m not yet aware of what’s happening at the institute."

This explanation made sense to Chen Ming, and he didn’t dwell on it, nor did he have time to.

"Can you check on my end? Also, ask if G3 is dead."

"Received."

However, Brilliant soon said, "I can’t access the institute’s network right now."

"G3 didn’t give you permission?"

"No, there’s no signal. The communication network is down, or it’s being interfered with. I’m still trying to connect."

Brilliant’s words confirmed Chen Ming’s suspicion, so he immediately told Brilliant, "Don’t bother, there’s a strong spiritual energy fluctuation disrupting the communication signal here."

"Try to inform your superiors that something is definitely wrong at the research institute."

Brilliant stopped communicating with Chen Ming temporarily.

Chen Ming once again found himself alone.

The persistent dull thumping sound inside the institute made him feel tight in the chest.

And the thumping seemed to gradually synchronize with Chen Ming’s heartbeat.

The sensation of the vibrations became increasingly clear.

There must be something right below the institute.

From what Chen Ming knew, beneath the institute were spaces for storing giant mechanical bodies and an underground cloning research institute.

He had seen the storage area for the giant mechanical bodies when they burst out. It had some maintenance and repair facilities.

But obviously, these facilities could not be the source of such eerie heartbeats and spiritual energy fluctuations.

The answer was clear.

Something must have happened inside the cloning research institute.

Brilliant had told him just a few days ago that the cloning institute had cloned something with spiritual energy.

And he had watched the recorded footage stored by Brilliant.

Chen Ming had witnessed the spiritual energy-possessing tissue being extracted from the chest of its clone.

Wait, the chest?

The heart?

The twisted tissue had drawn all his attention to its warped appearance when it was extracted, making him completely overlook what it actually was.

He also hadn’t noticed its instinctive contraction, which actually resembled a heartbeat.

It was a mutated heart, not just an ordinary piece of twisted tissue.

Chen Ming came to full realization at that moment.

The source of the loud noise and intense vibrations coming from underground was a heart.

Upon realizing this, an unexplained anxiety suddenly enveloped him.

Chen Ming felt he couldn’t stay at the research institute any longer, and he had to leave immediately.

But just then,

Brilliant contacted him again, saying, "We’ve dispatched a spaceship close to the institute, but the signal is still not connecting, making direct contact with you impossible."

"I recommend you leave the institute for now. As long as you don’t fly off the planet’s surface, other Dusk won’t attack you."