CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 369 【THE CLOSEST...】

Chapter 369: The Closest...

Speaking of which, Chen Nuo never considered himself a person with great convictions and beliefs.

Not noble or lofty, but possessing some basic conscience and sense of responsibility—and just that.

Shedding one’s blood for human civilization was something Chen Xiaoguo’s temperament would hardly allow. Or rather, he had always believed he probably couldn’t do it.

Whether it was his trip to Brazil in South America or to Antarctica, Chen Nuo acted only because he felt a duty as an outstanding member of the human race, a forerunner in its evolution. With such a terrifying and immensely threatening entity lurking on Earth, someone had to step up and do something.

So, as the Controller, if he didn’t do anything, it would be simply untenable.

That was all there was to it.

Generally, his attitude was: give it a try. If it worked, great. If not, he’d run back and lie low. But at least he would have tried his best.

From this point of view, Chen Nuo was indeed not noble enough.

He couldn’t compare with his dear Davarishi Vanel. At least the burly Russian man was truly fighting with his life at stake, sacrificing it for his beliefs.

Even so, he might not compare to that mess of a Motherfucker Son of the Sun. At least the old bastard Corot had spent a lifetime fighting for his belief in Noah’s Ark.

Though he always spoke of fearing death and preserving his own life, the old man had genuinely risked his life in action for his entire life.

If I had to talk about beliefs, I feel I might not have any.

Emmmm... perhaps I do.

In his past life or this one, Chen Nuo always felt that he was just a lucky person, who blundered into awakening his abilities, blundered into becoming a super strong top-class master. It was all fate.

So, in his mentality, he never had the kind of thought other Ability Users had, the one where they "don’t consider themselves human."

He still considered himself a human being.

Only, because of exceptional fortune, he had obtained extraordinary abilities, which allowed him to live more freely.

Beliefs seem a little distant from me.

Perhaps... if I really had to say...

Braised pork has to be served with white rice; that’s a belief.

Coke must be accompanied by ice cubes; that’s also a belief. Oh, right, and it has to be Coca-Cola; Pepsi doesn’t taste good.

Some might ask, can’t we just do without the ice cubes? Just chill it in the refrigerator—isn’t that also cold?

I would reply: No!!

Coke without ice cubes is soulless.

However, I now feel I might just have a soul left.

"Chosen One, do not go out... Chosen One, Chosen One..."

Chen Nuo pondered hard on the message revealed in Corot’s words.

Corot seemed quite pleased that Chen Nuo wasn’t bothering him anymore, happy that this guy was keeping quiet.

What does ’Chosen One’ actually mean?

Alright, I’ll start by defining it from my own perspective. The first time I was called the Chosen One was by that guy Seed.

He noticed my difference because...

I had seen the Mother, had touched the Mother, and then inexplicably became the Chosen One.

So... the criterion for being a Chosen One could be "having had contact with the Mother"?!

So...

Huh?! No! That’s not right!

Chen Nuo’s thoughts suddenly churned.

"What are you trying to do now?"

Corot sensed the release of Chen Nuo’s consciousness.

Corot reacted angrily, "Didn’t I say, if I satisfied your curiosity, you would stay quiet here?"

But this time it was Chen Nuo who did not respond.

He silently gathered his power and, without a word, released his consciousness, directing the mist to surge about recklessly.

"Bastard! Do you think you can get out this way?" Corot disdainfully released his own consciousness, immediately launching a counterattack. A vast expanse of mist blocked Chen Nuo from all sides, fiercely repelling every surge of his consciousness without hesitation.

But this time, Chen Nuo was silent, tirelessly condensing his power into a single point, bravely confronting Corot.

Finally, after countless bouts of fierce combat, Corot broke the silence again.

"What exactly do you want to do? This is futile; you’re no match for me. I’m much stronger than you."

This time, Chen Nuo broke the silence and replied.

He conveyed just two simple words:

"Oh? Really?"

This thought seemed to carry mockery, disdain, and a hint of a sneer, as if he had seen through everything.

Corot: "..."

The two clumps of "mist" that were fighting suddenly dissipated, retracting completely. The space seemed to instantly return to a profound stillness, a void of primordial chaos.

After a long silence, Corot finally spoke softly, "How did you find out?"

"Actually, I should have noticed it long ago," Chen Nuo sighed. "Being deceived by you for so long, I was foolish enough."

"From the very beginning, when you told me you were a lingering soul, a dead spirit, you were already implanting psychological suggestions."

"You fooled me, broke my teleportation, trapping me here."

"I lost my five senses, only my consciousness remained. Then you talked to me, making me believe from the start that I was in a ’soul’ state."

"I thought I was captured by the Mother during the teleportation process."

"Then, naturally, I wanted to escape."

"But actually, from the moment you destroyed my teleportation and put me in this state, you’d already tampered with me, right?"

"You actually entered my Consciousness Space, took control of my consciousness fluctuations, and then... you’ve been playing a little trick on me all along."

"What trick?"

Chen Nuo sighed again and said slowly,

"When I was very young, I was the victim of a prank once."

"I had an older cousin, a few years my senior. Every summer vacation, I liked to go to his house to play."

"Not for any particular reason, except that he had a video game console—the kind with games like Super Mario."

"Every time I clamored to play, my cousin couldn’t be bothered to play with a brat like me—because my skills were terrible, and I’d quickly lose."

"So, to keep me playing longer without him having to watch over me, he came up with an idea."

"He put on a recording of his own playthrough where he beat the game."

"Once, while I was ’playing,’ he was actually just playing that game recording."

"And I was deceived."

"I thought I was controlling the little character on the screen: jumping over pits, stomping on turtles, hitting mushroom blocks, and running fast from monsters..."

"I was gleefully mashing the controller, but I didn’t realize I was just reacting to a video recording of the game."

"The reason he managed to fool me was that my consciousness would follow along with what was happening in the game recording."

"I would only be amazed at how good I was that time; when I came to a pit, I always managed to jump at just the right moment."

"When it was time to stomp on a turtle, I always seemed to control the character to stomp perfectly."

"When it was time to hit a mushroom block, I always managed to hit it."

"When encountering monsters, I would always run away just in time..."

"In reality, it wasn’t that I was in great form. I was simply watching someone else’s game recording and pressing buttons according to the actions on screen, thinking I was controlling it myself!"

Corot didn’t speak.

"You’re very astute, and quite sly," Chen Nuo said with a bitter smile. "From the very beginning, you gave me the psychological suggestion that you were ’the gatekeeper’ and I was ’the prison breaker.’"

"Then deliberately, when my thoughts fluctuated, you conjured an energy that appeared like ’mist.’"

"Then you demonstrated a power that represented you."

"We struggled against each other, battling it out fiercely."

"You made me think I was controlling it all myself!"

"You ’gave’ me a ’way to escape,’ limiting my thinking to this method: ’Controlling power to break through, breaking through your energy blockade.’"

"Even worse, to make me more invested in this method, you laid a trap for me!"

"You let me discover that each time I broke out, this power seemed to increase bit by bit, making me mistakenly believe I’d found some knack, even planning to bide my time and launch a sneak attack on you..."

"You were simply numbing me, delaying me, misleading me!"

"Then time after time, you were actually ’demonstrating’ the struggle between breaking out and being blocked."

"And intentionally, in that previous encounter, you showed me that your power was much, much greater than mine, crushing the idea I had of hiding my strength to ambush you."

"You tried to attack my mindset and confidence with this method, to destroy my hope."

"But actually..."

"There was never any ’me controlling power to break out, you controlling your power to block’ happening!"

"It was all just a scene you played for me."

"You just invaded my Consciousness Space, numbed me. You anticipated my emotional fluctuations, spied on my thoughts."

"When my consciousness wanted to break out, to resist you, you demonstrated a burst of power breaking out... as if I were controlling my own power... you spied on my every thought, then followed my thoughts to make that power act, making me think I was controlling it..."

"But it wasn’t!"

"It was all directed and acted out by you alone!"

Corot burst out laughing, "Hahahaha! Kid, have you completely lost your mind? Or do you think there’s no way you can escape my blockade, so you’re utterly hopeless and came up with such a ridiculously extreme idea?"

Chen Nuo, however, remained unmoved and said coldly, "Oh? Are you denying it?"

Then, Chen Nuo sneered, "Then let’s give it a try. Since this weak mist is my power... I can control it to do anything, right?"

Corot was silent.

"Interesting. Then start by turning it into a line of text for me!"

"Let me think... just turn it into: ’The Kolo Family is braindead, idiotic, shamelessly vile, the disgrace of humankind, a traitor to humanity, those who have sided with the Mother, and betrayed Noah’s Ark!’"

As Chen Nuo spoke, the mist slowly began to transform into text...

It started to form "The Kolo Family..."

But soon, after just a few words, the mist collapsed!

Corot roared furiously, "Bastard!! When did we ever become traitors to humanity! The Kolo Family has always held faith as life itself!! The ancestors of the Kolo Family have always..."

Chen Nuo: "Oh~~ Can’t keep up the act anymore, can you~~"

Both clouds of mist dissipated at the same time, leaving only the angry roars of Corot’s consciousness.

"You cunning kid! So what if you’ve seen through me! You still have no way to get out of here!"

Chen Nuo: "The ’here’ you speak of, where is that?"

Corot was silent.

"From the beginning, you lied to me, claiming that we were inside the Mother."

"Then came your self-directed charade, which trapped my thoughts."

"Sigh... Indeed, my biggest mistake was being too trusting of perceived mental intent."

"This is also the biggest blind spot for Ability Users like us."

"We always assume that once an idea arises, we can control something to move according to our will."

"This has become a habit, even a subconscious fixation."

"I never expected that someone could take advantage of this."

"So, now that I’ve stepped out of that limitation, many things no longer make sense."

"For example... Corot, you old bastard!"

"If you’re so damn powerful, able to pull me into the Mother, wouldn’t that be something extraordinary?"

"The Mother is controlled by you? Is the Mother dead? Letting you freely pull people’s consciousness inside whenever you want?"

"If you had this ability, would you need my help to kill the monsters in the base?"

Corot huffed, "Of course, you are within the Mother; we both are in the Mother! Even if you’ve guessed that I’ve been playing you all along, you’re still in the same boat as me!"

"I didn’t let you out before because, once you attempted to escape, you might awaken the Mother."

"Oh?"

"You had the ability to bring me here, and the Mother didn’t wake up."

"But if I leave, the Mother will wake up?"

"If the Mother still exists in this place..."

"Then with those monsters in the base, that explosion, and the final destruction, the Mother should have awoken long ago!"

Corot retorted, "So what? You think there isn’t a Mother here? That I made it all up?"

"Then what about that ultra-low temperature energy field? Did I create that? I’m not that capable."

"In this world, even the top Controllers can’t do such a thing."

"It was there originally," Chen Nuo said softly. "But later, it was gone."

"This isn’t the first time I’ve come across such an event, Mr. Corot."

Corot fell silent.

Chen Nuo: "Let’s get back to the earlier question."

"Where exactly is this ’here’ that you speak of?"

"Let me think..."

"You’ve infiltrated my thoughts, spied on my mental fluctuations; if you can do that, then it isn’t too difficult to guess..."

"So, Corot, we’re not actually inside the Mother, are we?"

"We are, in fact, in ’my’ Consciousness Space!"

"You’ve deceived my perception, making me believe I’ve fallen into a strange space."

"But, unfortunately for you, I happen to have a bit of experience with this sort of thing!"

"If I were in a space where I’d lost my physical body, existing purely as consciousness,"

"then my consciousness—my soul—should have gradually faded like water without a source. Yet, you’ve shown us battling hundreds of times, and my spiritual power hasn’t weakened or dissipated. That proves you lied to me."

"Since my consciousness hasn’t dissipated or weakened, it means..."

"I am, right now, still within my own self!"

Saying this, Chen Nuo released his thoughts: "We’ve actually been in my own Consciousness Space all along, haven’t we?"

"Somehow, you’ve just obscured my spiritual power, preventing me from looking inward."

"It’s like a person blindfolded, seeing nothing but darkness."

"You’ve hidden me here; I can’t sense my own Consciousness Space or my body in the outside world, which caused me to be misled by you into thinking I was inside the Mother."

"Absurd conjectures," Corot said coldly. "Kid, you must be desperate to come up with such bizarre notions."

"Absurd?" Chen Nuo muttered. "I truly can’t perceive anything right now... Earlier, you deceived me, making me feel my ’power,’ the mist, which was fake."

"And actually, you did it to distract me."

"It’s like a person who’s been blindfolded, and then you hand them a walking stick. The person subconsciously focuses all their attention on the stick and forgets to explore their surroundings in other ways."

"Now, I’ve thrown away the walking stick you gave me, so..."

"Can you sense anything else?" Corot asked coldly. "You can’t, because this is the Mother."

"No, I don’t need to sense anything," Chen Nuo shook his head. "My eyes are covered, not my legs bound."

"If my perceptive power is deceived, I simply won’t rely on it."

"If I am in my own Consciousness Space,"

"then even if I can’t see or touch, even if I’m just blindly blundering forward with my eyes closed, it doesn’t matter."

As he spoke, Chen Nuo suddenly withdrew his consciousness fluctuations.

Corot indeed panicked, roaring, "Stop it!! Kid! You’ll awaken the Mother!!"

"Then kill me," Chen Nuo sneered.

Corot: "..."

Within the chaos of the Consciousness Space, a stream of consciousness that had stilled suddenly began to flow again, drifting aimlessly and wildly through the space without any discernible pattern.

Yet, this stream of consciousness seemed to be shrouded in a faint layer of darkness, blocking all perception.

The movement of this consciousness was completely erratic. After rampaging back and forth through the Consciousness Space, it eventually...

In the deep layers of the Consciousness Space, two closely connected Mentality Cocoons, wrapped in layers of spiritual power, faintly trembled...

"Stop!! Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you! Just don’t wake the Mother..."

Corot’s thoughts were roaring.

But Chen Nuo no longer paid him any heed.

Corot can’t kill me, can’t stop me; he can only deceive me...

This indicates that in this place, his power isn’t at an absolute advantage!

If this were inside the Mother, he wouldn’t be so helpless!

If he had interrupted my teleportation and trapped me in some ’spatial channel,’ he wouldn’t be able to stop me with mere words!

I’ve figured out many details now!

Corot... My last teleportation—you didn’t actually stop it, did you?

You just took the opportunity to interfere with me and then... sneakily possessed my body, lurking into my Consciousness Space! You blinded my mind, obscured my perceptions!

Then, you set up this deception.

You fooled me, just hoping I’d maintain the status quo, not make any movements.

It’s like a blindfolded person being told by a swindler that they’re standing at the edge of a cliff, so they daren’t move or take a single step!

In fact... by lurking in my Consciousness Space, possessing it, and telling me not to move... what are you scheming?

What are you buying time for?

Regarding this, I happen to have more than one experience!

...Body Seizing!

The irregular flow of consciousness, after brushing against the two entities wrapped in the Mentality Cocoons several times...

Twice it grazed past, and the black "membrane" attached to the consciousness seemed to be instantly wiped away in places.

Ha, the sky has cleared.

A piece of the black membrane was brushed away by contact with the area in the Consciousness Space where the two Mentality Cocoons resided. It dissolved into nothingness, revealing a breach, and the consciousness within suddenly burst out!

Spinning out like flowing water, it spread rapidly, instantly filling and occupying the entire Consciousness Space!

I can finally "see" where I am clearly!

This is unmistakably my own Consciousness Space!

And in the distance, those two vaguely resonating entities wrapped in the Mentality Cocoons were none other than the "Tree of Misfortune" and the "Sword of Killing Intent"!

Within the Consciousness Space, Chen Nuo immediately distinguished an unfamiliar conscious energy hiding there, seemingly fearful of the "Tree of Misfortune" and the "Sword of Killing Intent," lurking far away.

"Corot, huh?" Chen Nuo released his thoughts coldly. "Now, all tricks have been exposed."

"We can have a proper talk now, can’t we!"

An angry thought came through, "If it weren’t for those two things in your Consciousness Space, I would have successfully possessed your body and completely dissipated your consciousness a long time ago!"

The thoughts were laden with deep unwillingness!

Chen Nuo laughed, "Let me think. You’re really cunning and sinister."

"You lured me step by step into your trap, providing me with psychological suggestions one after another."

"I teleported twice; the first time, you intercepted me and left me with the psychological suggestion that I could not teleport out within the domain of the Mother."

"So, when I teleported the second time, I was deceived by you, thinking I had failed again."

"Your actual purpose was to take over my body, right?"

"That bastard deceived me back then, tricked me out of my body and left! Why can’t I do the same thing now?"

"Hmm, I can’t be bothered to argue with your twisted viewpoint, but what I want to ask is... why me?"

"There were two other Controllers at the base that you teleported away."

"If you wanted to find an outstanding body... be it the Wizard or Lillian, they were both stronger than me at the time. Wouldn’t they have been better bodies?"

Chen Nuo said this and suddenly muttered to himself, "Could it be because... they aren’t Chosen Ones?"

He was in a good mood and continued to project his thoughts, "Well, that brings me to the question..."

"Mr. Corot, you’re looking for a body for yourself, ignoring two Controllers, and even purposely sending them away to earn my trust... making me believe you’re a paranoid being, solely focused on preventing the Mother from being awakened, preventing the Mother from contacting Controllers, thereby reducing the chances of more Chosen Ones appearing..."

"You left me with that impression."

"And now, you’ve ended up setting your sights on me."

"Compared to those two Controllers, the only notable thing about me is that I’m a Chosen One."

"So why must the body you choose be a Chosen One?"

Corot’s thoughts shrank into a corner but offered no response this time.

Chen Nuo did not rush to use his spiritual power to expel the other but instead first stimulated the sealed "Tree of Misfortune" and the "Sword of Killing Intent."

The two entities were rapidly activated and moved to Chen Nuo’s location, where he formed two gentle Spiritual Force Tentacles around them.

Having done all this, Chen Nuo then propelled his own consciousness forward, slowly approaching Corot.

Corot: "...You, stay away..."

His thoughts brimmed with despair and fear.

"Afraid of these two things?" Chen Nuo sighed softly.

At that moment in the Consciousness Space, Chen Nuo’s consciousness simply transformed into a humanoid form resembling his own body, holding the "Tree of Misfortune" in one hand and the "Sword of Killing Intent" in the other.

"First, you can teleport. Not only can you do it, but you’ve also teleported two Controllers away on two occasions. At the same time, you can disrupt my teleportation... This shows that in using this ability, you are far more skilled than I am."

"Second, you fear the two things in my hands because... these two things happen to be the best weapons to harm the Mother!"

"Third, you can deceive my perceptions. This indicates that you are very proficient in sensing and probing consciousness, even more so than I am!"

"Fourth, speaking of the Chosen One, it just reminded me! The criterion for being a Chosen One is having come into contact with the Mother."

"By that standard, I am a Chosen One. But Mr. Corot, you... must have also come into contact with the Mother in Antarctica!"

"Capable of teleportation, adept in probing and sensing abilities, and having encountered the Mother!"

"Mr. Corot, so... you are a Chosen One too, aren’t you?"

"And what’s more, a Chosen One who is much more experienced than I!"

Chen Nuo pressed forward step by step. Corot’s conscious presence retreated bit by bit, until he simply cowered in a corner.

"So, here comes the crucial question!"

"Mr. Corot, as a Chosen One who has come into contact with the Mother, why are you harming me so much..."

"I’m curious, after your encounter with the Mother, did you completely submit to it? What exactly are you plotting by doing these things?"

Finally, Corot didn’t shrink back anymore.

He suddenly responded with a surge of angry emotion.

"The Kolo Family has always been loyal to its beliefs!!! This cannot be slandered!!!"

"You want to take over my body to resurrect yourself. What exactly do you want to do? Why do you want to harm me?"

"You don’t understand..."

"Then make me understand! Tell me in a way that I can comprehend!!" Chen Nuo’s thoughts roared.

Then, he pressed close to Corot and conveyed coldly, "Either speak, or I’ll destroy you right now."

"I don’t want to hear about your loyalty to beliefs! If you want to kill me, I have every reason to destroy you!"

"I don’t want to kill you, just to take over your body."

Chen Nuo: "...But if you Body Seize me, I’m going to die."

"People die," Corot actually replied. "After taking over your body, I have more important things to do. Your sacrifice is valuable."

"To hell with that! Why the hell don’t you sacrifice yourself?"

"I can die, but I must complete what I need to do. Once that is done, my death is inevitable. It’s just that I need your body to succeed."

Chen Nuo pondered for a moment. "What is it that you have to do? And why does it have to be my body?"

"Because out of all the Chosen Ones I’ve seen, you are the most unique, and the closest to... success..."