Vanel stared at the young Asian man before him. Crucially, he was even wearing a Black Bee Mercenary uniform.
Vanel's mind reeled.
Chen Nuo, however, just smiled. "Haven't you all been searching for this place? Now, you've arrived. So, is there anything you'd like to say to me?"
Vanel's eyes darted around as he stared at Chen Nuo without speaking.
Chen Nuo sighed and deliberately said coldly, "If that's the case, then go back and soak in the pit! Since you brought back so many people, I can always interrogate someone else."
Vanel's face immediately changed, and he took two steps back, looking fiercely at Chen Nuo. Chen Nuo noticed that this burly Russian's fists were clenched tight.
"Hmph, all of your powers have been sealed. Are you sure you want to fight me here?" Chen Nuo sneered.
Vanel's expression changed several times in an instant. Finally, he slowly unclenched his fists, then gave Chen Nuo a sly smile and shook his head. "No, you couldn't possibly be the master of this place!"
"Oh?"
"At best, you're just a servant." Vanel's tone was somewhat bitter. "But since I've been captured, there's not much I can say. I'd already accepted that my life wasn't my own when I came looking for this place."
Hearing this, Chen Nuo couldn't help but frown.
Something seemed off.
Vanel was one of the Octopus Monster's men.
The Octopus Monster organization sent men to explore here; wasn't it to look for clues related to the Mother?
The Octopus Monster even used an octopus as its totem. Chen Nuo had always suspected that the Octopus Monster was playing a role similar to that Japanese cult leader, trying to find and awaken the Mother. They must all be believers of the Mother, right? But now that they've found this place, why is Vanel being so defiant and uncooperative?
While Chen Nuo was pondering, Vanel's expression had turned completely cold. He looked at Chen Nuo and shook his head. "Enough. Someone like you isn't worthy of questioning me!"
After a pause, he took a deep breath and said coldly, "Take me to your master!"
"Hm?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo didn't show much emotion but nodded. "Alright!"
As these words left his mouth, Chen Nuo suddenly pounced!
An elbow strike smashed into Vanel's chest. The impact threw the man backward into the pit! Chen Nuo followed up immediately, but Vanel reacted quickly, rolling to the side within the pit.
Chen Nuo pounced from above, landing a knee strike on the greasy shell below, instantly cracking it.
Vanel roared like a tiger, wrapped Chen Nuo in a bear hug, and slammed him down with a wrestling takedown!
Chen Nuo clearly felt Vanel's immense, raw strength!
Unable to project his Telekinesis externally, Chen Nuo could only rely on raw physical strength against the burly Russian.
Being slammed onto the greasy shell in the pit produced a series of crisp cracking sounds.
Chen Nuo's entire back went numb from the slam. Fortunately, the greasy shell was soft, so he wasn't injured. However, Vanel furiously raised his fists to pummel Chen Nuo's face.
Without hesitation, Chen Nuo jabbed his fingers toward Vanel's eyes, forcing the burly Russian to retract his punch and block with his forearm. Chen Nuo then grabbed the man's arm and kneed upwards, flipping Vanel off him.
Of course, Vanel was no ordinary person; he was also an Ability User! Chen Nuo wasn't surprised by this at all.
Vanel's eyes turned bloodshot. After a brief struggle, Vanel was finally overpowered. Even though Chen Nuo couldn't project his Telekinesis externally and could only use it on himself, it was enough to suppress Vanel.
Eventually, Chen Nuo's fist connected with Vanel's face. The punch snapped the man's head to the side. Chen Nuo then grabbed his neck and slammed him sideways.
Vanel was thrown onto the steps. Chen Nuo quickly pursued him, his knee forcefully pressing onto the man's neck. While pinned, Vanel flailed his hands frantically and actually pulled a dagger from his waist.
But Chen Nuo swiftly snatched the dagger away and pressed it against Vanel's throat.
"..." Vanel stopped moving, panting heavily, his eyes fixed intently on Chen Nuo...
Suddenly, Vanel's expression changed!
His gaze towards Chen Nuo suddenly became peculiar.
"You? You…" Vanel's eyes widened, a look of surprise and disbelief on his face. "Harvey?!"
Chen Nuo's expression froze. The strength in his hand unconsciously lessened, and the dagger moved away from Vanel's throat.
"Uh... so you recognized me," Chen Nuo said, looking a bit sheepish.
"..." Vanel's gaze remained peculiar, but he gritted his teeth. "You're Harvey!"
Chen Nuo simply let go and stood up. He then slipped the dagger into his belt and sighed. "Sigh, I was careless."
Vanel said coldly, "So it really is you, Harvey! Don't try to fool me! I have a very keen sense of smell! After spending a few days with you in the rainforest, I memorized your scent!"
Alright!
Chen Nuo sighed helplessly in his heart. He had been careless for a moment and forgotten about that.
He actually knew from his previous life that Vanel possessed this Special Ability. The man's Special Ability seemed to be some kind of shapeshifting type, granting him beast-like powers.
"No! You're not Harvey!" Vanel's mind raced. He gritted his teeth and said, "I mean, you're not the real Harvey! You infiltrated my team by pretending to be Harvey! Right?!"
Chen Nuo didn't speak, but Vanel's expression grew increasingly ugly. "Who the hell are you?! Why did you infiltrate my team?!"
Chen Nuo looked up at Vanel and suddenly smiled. "Of course, it's to look for the Mother!"
Vanel's gaze changed abruptly!
Realization instantly dawned on Chen Nuo! The Octopus Monster definitely knew about the Mother!
Just then...
CLICK!
A faint sound suddenly came from outside the main hall!
Both men's expressions changed, and they reacted almost simultaneously!
Swiftly, they retreated, dashing to the edges of the main hall and taking cover behind stone statues.
Their actions were purely instinctual. But once hidden, they couldn't help but glance at each other.
Chen Nuo's thought: What are you hiding from?
Vanel's thought: What are you hiding from?
Chen Nuo: Aren't you looking for the Mother?
Vanel: Aren't you?
The sound outside the hall came again.
A rustling noise, as if something was gently stepping on the stone slabs of the hall, slowly passing by.
But it didn't enter the main hall; instead, it walked past the archway and down the corridor.
The sound approached, then gradually receded...
Chen Nuo sighed in relief. When he turned his head, he saw Vanel also looked relieved.
This guy seemed terrified of being discovered by the Mother!
Chen Nuo made another assessment.
When the sound had completely disappeared, Vanel, trying hard to suppress his heavy breathing, stared at Chen Nuo and whispered, "You... you're not here to awaken the Mother?"
"What about you?" Chen Nuo scoffed. "You're with the Octopus Monster."
"It's the Amazing World Company!"
"Alright, alright, Amazing World Company."
Vanel whispered, "How did you know the name 'Mother'?!"
Chen Nuo smiled. "Information is exchanged for information of equal value, Vanel! You haven't forgotten the basic rules of this Underground World, have you?"
Vanel silently watched Chen Nuo. It was clear he was still hesitant and wary.
"Vanel, let me remind you, in this place, I'm the only one who can help you, the only one who can be your ally!"
These words finally moved Vanel. He made an instant decision.
This suspicion held some possibility, but... another question arose in Chen Nuo's mind! If John Sterling found the Mother here, benefited from her, and transformed from an ordinary person into an Ability User... then what would he have done after leaving? Based on his experience in Japan, Chen Nuo knew that after finding the Mother and becoming her follower, the next step was simple... To activate and awaken the Mother! It has been over eighty years since John Sterling found this place! If he had found it and the Mother here more than eighty years ago and successfully received benefits from her... then why hasn't the Mother been awakened in all these eighty years? Most importantly, there was another question! Aside from the Mother located at the bottom of the sea in Japanese waters... is there another Mother in existence?
"Alright! Harvey... or whoever you really are, now it's your turn to exchange information," Vanel stared at Chen Nuo.
"Okay," Chen Nuo said immediately. "The Mother is an alien Spiritual Life Form. Its civilization was destroyed in a disaster, so it wandered countless light-years to our Earth..."
Vanel watched Chen Nuo, speaking in a low voice, "It seems you really are informed!"
He furrowed his brow, scrutinizing Chen Nuo. "How do you know all this? Which organization do you belong to?"
Chen Nuo pondered for a second. "Homeland Strategic Defense, Attack and Logistics Support Bureau... S.H.I.E.L.D. for short."
"Fuck! You think I don't know that's S.H.I.E.L.D. from the comics?! You think I haven't read them?!"
Well then, Chen Nuo spread his hands. In this era, the Marvel Cinematic Universe hadn't been released yet, but the comics had been popular in M Country for decades.
"Intelligence for intelligence," Chen Nuo said, shaking his head. "You just told me about John Sterling, and I told you about the Mother. If you want to ask me more questions, you have to share more."
Vanel and Chen Nuo locked eyes for two seconds, then Vanel nodded. "Fair enough! Alright, how about this: we take turns asking questions, one for one!"
"Then I'll go first." Chen Nuo thought for a moment before asking his most pressing concern. "Exactly how many Mothers have come to our Earth?"
This was crucial! In that encounter in Japan, Chen Nuo had always thought there was only one Mother. After all, it's the "Mother"! According to the information he had received, it was the terminus of an entire civilization. If it's the terminus, logic dictates there should only be one!
Vanel exhaled, speaking in a low voice, "The Mother... naturally, there's only one. But to be precise, it's not quite that simple..."
"What exactly do you mean?" Chen Nuo frowned.
Vanel's expression became strange. "As a pure Spiritual Life Form... it's highly possible that, to ensure its survival upon arrival, it divided itself."
"You mean, it split into two? Or into N? From one to many?"
"It's not entirely accurate to say it became many. We speculate the Mother might have divided itself because a single awakening wouldn't provide enough energy. So, it split into smaller individual entities, making them easier to awaken. Moreover, even if divided, we suspect the Mother can't truly be considered multiple entities. Our hypothesis is that even if split, they remain a single life form, sharing one consciousness."
"Do you have evidence to confirm this? That there's more than one Mother! Are you sure?"
"Hey! Isn't it my turn to ask a question?"
"Of course not. This is part of the same question! You mentioned how many Mothers there are; you naturally have to provide your evidence!"
Vanel glanced at Chen Nuo but finally answered.
"In 1655, a mysterious religion was discovered in East Africa. This religion worshiped a non-humanoid deity that nourished itself by devouring human souls. Originating in one tribe, the religion expanded within a few years by conquering several others.
"Their mode of worship was peculiar. They captured people from other tribes, used drugs to suppress their consciousness, and then sacrificed them alive. Supposedly, they offered these sacrifices to their deity to absorb their souls. Anyone sacrificed became a senseless, living corpse."
"How come I've never heard of this religion? What happened to it..."
"Fortunately, the religion was eradicated while still in its nascent stages. Our people in Africa quickly discovered this and received immediate support from headquarters. We mobilized a regiment of the Britannian Army, sailed to East Africa on a battleship, and dispatched powerful individuals to completely annihilate that evil tribe!"
"Did you find the Mother?"
"We found it, and it was destroyed," Vanel said with an odd tone. "That time, our organization suffered massive losses! We lost three of our top experts... I can assure you, those three predecessors were all top-tier experts at the Controller level."
Chen Nuo frowned. 1655... It seems the Octopus Monster organization's history is far older than I thought.
"Alright, my turn to ask you a question!" Vanel said quickly. "Which organization are you with?"
"Homeland Strategic Defense, Attack and Logistics Support Bureau..."
"Do you fucking believe I won't just scream right now and we'll both die together?!" Vanel's face twisted in anger.
"Fine, fine." Chen Nuo sighed. His expression turned serious as he looked at Vanel and replied solemnly, "I... I'm from the Truth Society."
"The Truth Society from Japan?"
"Yes," Chen Nuo said earnestly. "Our Sect Hierarch had an experience very similar to John Sterling's. He once found a relic of the Mother, gained many benefits, and acquired abilities far beyond those of ordinary people! But he's a steadfast human! He refused to become a traitor to humanity! Instead of awakening the Mother, he destroyed it while it was dormant!"
"A truly great human!" Vanel couldn't help but praise. "Where is this Sect Hierarch of yours now?"
"He's locked up in a government prison."
"What? For what crime?"
"...Crimes against humanity."
Vanel's eyes widened, his expression screaming, Are you fucking kidding me?!