332: Chapter 332 The Fifteenth World

In the Mutant World, inside a massive underground base.

Over a hundred survivors, wearing tattered clothes and with pale faces, were gathered together, their gazes fixed intently on a surveillance monitor.

The monitor's signal seemed extremely unstable, flickering with static-like cracks from time to time.

Inside, one could vaguely make out a few tall men in military uniforms cautiously approaching a group of wandering mutants.

Two of them deliberately made some noise, then turned and ran.

Instantly, countless scarlet eyes lifted, revealing a sense of greed, and the mutants gave chase in unison.

Their speed far exceeded that of the two soldiers, and in the blink of an eye, they closed the distance to just over a hundred meters.

The two soldiers responsible for luring them showed no panic; as if they had practiced this many times, they dashed straight into an abandoned, enclosed workshop.

Dozens of mutants followed closely behind, crashing through the rusted gate, and as they looked at the two soldiers trapped in a dead end, saliva dripped from their mouths.

But at this moment, several other soldiers who had been lying in ambush above quickly threw down a glass tube.

With a bang, the glass tube shattered upon impact, and a pale blue gas instantly filled the entire abandoned workshop.

"Will it work, Dr. Carroll?"

In the underground base, the survivors held their breath nervously.

"I'm not sure either... but this should be our last hope..."

The man referred to as the doctor pushed up his glasses and said confidently:

"The development of this serum went unexpectedly smoothly, as if some divinity in the unknown was guiding me. Moreover, the raw materials are everywhere; as long as it's effective, we can achieve mass production in a short time and completely resolve this catastrophe!"

"It has to work."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in the eyes of the other survivors, and they stared intently at the place on the monitor screen where the pale blue mist was spreading.

In the workshop, the two soldiers acting as bait were also panting heavily, their eyes unblinking.

They didn't think about seizing the opportunity to run away.

If the serum was ineffective, even if they ran a few hundred meters ahead, they wouldn't be able to escape the mutants' pursuit.

Five seconds... ten seconds... half a minute...

As time ticked by, the once aggressive mutant legion seemed to have fallen asleep; they stood blankly in place, the scarlet color in their eyes gradually fading.

Their rotting flesh, which looked like congealed blood, melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, like snow under a scorching sun.

Just three minutes later.

Dozens of terrifying mutants had all vanished under the effect of the blue gas.

"It worked!"

"It's really effective!"

"Dr. Carroll, you are simply the savior of this world!"

In the underground base, the survivors erupted into intense cheers, surrounding the bespectacled man and tossing him into the air with excitement.

"Dr. Carroll, you saved us all; we are willing to support you as the leader of the new world!"

"Alright, alright, don't be happy too soon. Go notify the various bases, have the necessary materials shipped over, and mass-produce the serum immediately."

Dr. Carroll managed to suppress his joy and handed the list of required materials to the fervent crowd around him.

"The era that belongs to me is about to arrive!"

...On the other side, all of this was clearly transmitted to Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes through the perspective of the Statue of Liberty.

"After achieving some success, people often think they are the chosen ones of destiny, not knowing that they were just a chess piece chosen because it happened to be needed."

The Statue of Liberty looked at Dr. Carroll, who was being surrounded, with a somewhat displeased expression.

It was clearly Your Excellency's credit, yet these ignorant carbon-based lifeforms were cheering for someone else.

"You can't say that; at least when the opportunity was delivered into his hands, he grasped it."

Zhang Huaiyuan chuckled and shook his head.

"Based on our observations during this period, there are no anomalies in this world. Once they mass-produce the serum and resolve those mutants, we can enter the next world through the spatial gap."

"By the way, has the probe left in the previous world been triggered?"

"Not yet, Your Excellency."

"That's good. Keep an eye on that side for me, and notify me when the mutants disappear."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded, gave the instruction, and then took out a book he hadn't fully mastered to study.

A true Scholar must be adept at utilizing fragmented time.

...The waiting time was much longer than expected; it was a full three months later.

The center where the high-level mutants were originally gathered was finally cleared under the effect of the serum.

After using the Statue of Liberty's ability to lure away a team of survivors, Zhang Huaiyuan successfully found the entrance to the next world.

"Teleport."

After a familiar wave of dizziness, a completely different scene came into view.

This was also a technology-oriented world; there were almost no carbon-based lifeforms inside, and it was covered in a type of mechanical life with primitive intelligence.

However, after experiencing the trials of two worlds, Zhang Huaiyuan was already well-versed in this.

With the help of the Statue of Liberty, he quickly completed the inspection of the seal and found the entrance to continue teleporting.

The fourth world was a rule-based world; once you violated the rules within, you would be erased...

The fifth world was a mystery-oriented world, where a special lifeform called 'Spirit Body' existed...

The sixth... the seventh...

Soon, Zhang Huaiyuan successfully completed the exploration of fifteen worlds and arrived at the sixteenth world, which was also the second to last world.

The moment he descended, a burst of pure spiritual energy rushed towards him.

"It seems to be a cultivation-oriented world."

A thought arose in Zhang Huaiyuan's mind.

At the same time, a voice rang out simultaneously:

"Respected Mr. Scholar, welcome to the Ascension World. However, I am very sorry; this place is infinitely close to the edge of the Ascension Battlefield. Other than arranging a reasonable identity for you, I cannot provide you with any help. Furthermore, to avoid being discovered, I will completely sever contact with you."

"You must figure out how to leave this world on your own."

"I understand."

Feeling a will from the unknown recede, Zhang Huaiyuan activated True Sight and looked around.

"Such powerful World Force, far stronger than those previous worlds. It seems this world likely has the strength approaching a Level 4 civilization, and..."

Zhang Huaiyuan frowned, having a vague, uncomfortable feeling.

This kind of spiritual energy cultivation world was one of the ones he least wanted to encounter. With him unable to build base stations with great fanfare, both the Statue of Liberty and his own abilities were weakened to the limit.

"But fortunately, there were no anomalies discovered in the previous fifteen worlds; I hope everything goes smoothly."