369: The "academic research" of a daredevil.

Deep within the Mining Area, there was dead silence.

Only the "ding-dang" sound of pickaxes striking against the fractured Law-infused rock walls was stretched by distorted time and space into eerie tones.

Lin Fan's Clone, also known as the "Poor Worm," was wielding a heavy pickaxe, clumsily striking at a rock wall shimmering with the luster of Chaos in front of him.

His movements were stiff, and every swing exhausted all his strength, making him appear weak to the extreme.

Not far from him, the prisoner codenamed "Seven Three Four," like a silent sculpture, mechanically repeated the digging motion.

Within three feet of him, it seemed to be a world of its own, and even the raging Law storms bypassed him.

Lin Fan's peripheral vision never left the few Gray Armored Soldiers monitoring from a distance, nor the cold gazes that occasionally scanned the entire area from beneath their hollow faceplates.

It was time to begin the "Academic Research."

In Lin Fan's heart, a bold plan began to be implemented.

Beneath his feet, there happened to be an inconspicuous fold in space, silently surging like an undercurrent beneath a pool of still water.

This was one of the most common dangers in the Tomb of the Epoch.

Controlling his body, Lin Fan performed an action of staggering due to exhaustion after one swing of the pickaxe.

His body stumbled.

"Ah..."

A short, weak exclamation was squeezed from his throat.

His left foot "inadvertently" stepped into that fold of space.

There was no sensation of tearing.

There was no pain.

In that instant, Lin Fan only felt his left side being dragged into a completely different dimension by an irresistible force.

He watched helplessly as his shoulder, arm, and chest were decomposed into billions of the most basic shimmering particles, dissipating into nothingness.

The process of death was clear and slow.

This was an extremely novel experience.

In the Command Hall.

Lin Fan's main body raised an eyebrow slightly.

Interesting.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the data on the System panel began to refresh crazily.

[Warning: Clone has encountered high-dimensional space cutting, and its existence structure is disintegrating.]

[Collecting data on the Shackle of the Soul (high-dimensional law of karma creation)...]

[Analysis progress: 1.2%... 2.5%... 4.8%...]

At the very last moment before his Clone's "existence" was completely erased, the analysis progress finally settled at 7%.

The next second.

In the mining cave, the figure of the "Poor Worm" completely disappeared.

The surrounding prisoners did not pause in their movements at all, as if they had merely lost an insignificant companion.

Only the prisoner codenamed "Seven Three Four" had a momentary stagnation in the action of swinging his pickaxe.

Deep within his numb eyes, a ripple flashed, one that even he himself had not noticed.

The escorting Gray Armored Soldier merely glanced coldly at the empty spot and then withdrew his gaze.

In a place like this, death was the most normal thing.

...

Cold ground.

Lin Fan's Clone opened his eyes abruptly.

He found himself lying in a narrow, dim stone room.

This was the barracks for the slaves.

[You have been resurrected.]

[Method of death: Space Law tearing.]

[Reward: Obtained "Fractured Space Law Insight (Trace Amount)".]

[Shackle of the Soul analysis progress: 7%.]

The corners of Lin Fan's mouth curled into a satisfied arc.

Sure enough, this method of death, which acted directly on the level of the Law, was extremely efficient for analyzing a law of karma weapon like the Shackle of the Soul.

He climbed up from the ground, stretched his intact body, and once again acted the part of the terrified, shivering "Poor Worm."

When he was escorted back to the mining cave again, that Gray Armored Soldier glanced at him.

"Number 7754, you have good luck."

"To be swept away by a spatial turbulence and not die, but just be thrown to the rest area."

The soldier's voice remained cold, but there was a hint of subtle scrutiny in it.

Lin Fan just kept his head down, his body shaking even more violently, not daring to say a word.

Returning to the Mining Area, he continued his dull digging work.

As well as... his dull "Academic Research."

Half an hour later.

"Boom!"

A huge rock infused with the Law, wreathed in the aura of extinction, "accidentally" fell from the top of the mining cave, precisely smashing onto the spot where the "Poor Worm" was located.

He didn't even groan before being smashed into a puddle of unrecognizable pulp.

Inside the barracks, a light flashed.

[You have been resurrected.]

[Method of death: High-energy Extinction Law crushing.]

[Reward: Obtained "Termination Law Resistance (Trace Amount)".]

[Shackle of the Soul analysis progress: 15%.]

Another half an hour passed.

While digging, Lin Fan "accidentally" let his pickaxe touch a Restriction crystal emitting a dangerous red glow.

Sizzle—

His entire being, along with his Divine Soul, was instantly evaporated into nothingness.

Inside the barracks.

[You have been resurrected.]

[Method of death: Annihilation Restriction Purification.]

[Reward: Obtained "Energy Annihilation Law Fragment x1".]

[Shackle of the Soul analysis progress: 28%.]

Lin Fan was tireless in this endeavor.

Today, "crushed to death by falling rocks."

Tomorrow, "evaporated by accidentally touching a Restriction."

The day after, "washed by temporal turbulence into an infant, then instantly aged into fly ash."

He became the most "unlucky" rookie in the Area D-3 Mining Zone, and even the entire prisoner camp.

Almost every day, he had to die a few times in all sorts of unimaginable ways.

Every death was a carnival of data for the System panel in his Sea of Consciousness.

[Shackle of the Soul analysis progress: 35%... 40%... 45%...]

His repeated back-and-forth finally attracted the attention of certain entities.

On this day.

When Lin Fan "died" and was resurrected again, and was being escorted back to the mining cave.

The Gray-Armored Officer in charge of their squad, the guy who personally branded the "Shackle of the Soul" onto him, for the first time ever, followed him the entire way.

A pair of hollow eyes, like two cold searchlights, locked onto him tightly.

Lin Fan felt a chill in his heart.

He had been targeted.

The Gray-Armored Officer brought him to a relatively "safe" area.

The Law here was stable; there were no spatial rifts, nor raging energy storms.

"You stay here and dig."

The Gray-Armored Officer drew a circle with the long halberd in his hand; no emotion could be heard in his voice.

Lin Fan thought to himself that this was bad.

Now, he couldn't stage any more "accidents."

If he couldn't die easily, the analysis progress would stagnate.

Lin Fan's gaze swept across the Gray-Armored Officer without leaving a trace.

Since he couldn't die by "accident," he would just have to be... "murdered."

A more insane idea took shape in his heart.

He kept his head down, appearing timid and submissive, and began to strike at the hard rock wall in front of him, blow by blow.

His movements were even clumsier than before.

After one forceful swing, the pickaxe "slipped from his hand," and with a clatter, it fell to the ground.

He hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

Just at the moment he bent over, his body happened to block the Gray-Armored Officer's line of sight.

His fingers, while picking up the pickaxe, with movements that were extremely subtle yet seemingly tinged with a hint of nervousness and clumsiness, quickly pried a Law crystal from a crack in the rock wall. It was only the size of a fingernail, yet as pure as a star fragment.

Then, with the demeanor of a thief with a guilty conscience, he quickly stuffed the crystal into the sleeve of his tattered prison uniform.

The whole process was as fast as a phantom.

Yet it was slow enough for a powerhouse constantly monitoring him to capture every detail.

After doing all this, he straightened up and continued to mine with that pitiful look, as if nothing had happened.

But his slightly trembling shoulders and his eyes that glanced at his sleeve from time to time betrayed his inner "nervousness."

A silent, cold arc slowly curled beneath the Gray-Armored Officer's faceplate.

He took a step, silently and soundlessly, and walked behind Lin Fan.

The suffocating pressure made Lin Fan's body stiffen abruptly.

A gauntlet covered in cold metal, like iron tongs, grabbed his wrist tightly.

The other hand reached into his sleeve without ceremony.

The brilliant Law crystal was pinched between the Gray-Armored Officer's fingers and held up before Lin Fan's eyes.

"New recruit 7754."

The Gray-Armored Officer's voice carried a hint of mockery and cruelty for the first time.

"Caught red-handed."

He released Lin Fan, and in his other hand, a punishment whip covered in barbs and flashing with gray electric light appeared out of thin air.

"According to the rules, a thief shall receive one hundred lashes of the 'Soul-Devouring Punishment'."

The Gray-Armored Officer sneered and raised the long whip in his hand high.