Chapter 795 - 658: Speculation and Research (Part 3)

The entire process lasted half an hour.

A fusion anomaly, which consumed countless resources and efforts to create, completely collapsed amidst endless pain.

The tall man watched it all with a calm expression.

He walked to the corner and pressed a red button hidden behind a metal panel.

The array's light immediately changed from blue to blazing white, and the temperature soared to thousands of degrees in an instant, evaporating the rotten flesh and broken bones along with a layer of metal on the array's surface into gas.

The exhaust system automatically activated, drawing the toxic gases into an underground purification device.

The sealing array also began to take effect, resealing the anomalous power that tried to escape.

Moments later, the array returned to its blue glow. The laboratory was spotlessly clean, as if nothing had ever existed there.

The tall man reached out his hand, traced a few strokes in the void, called up the destruction procedure log, confirmed that all harmful substances had been dealt with, and then closed the control panel.

He sighed.

Regretting having consumed another batch of precious experimental materials without achieving the expected results.

"The specimens are not enough again," he muttered to himself, his voice echoing in the empty laboratory, "I'll have to find some more."

He took off his black robe and hung it on a hook in the corner of the wall.

The attire beneath the robe was simple: dark gray suit pants, a white shirt, with the cuffs buttoned meticulously.

He took a pair of silver-framed glasses from his pocket and put them on.

Framed by the lenses, his high cheekbone face somehow gained a bit of scholarly elegance.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind.

The space beneath his feet folded once more.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already standing in a bright, cozy lounge.

The walls were a warm beige, with soft ceiling lights, and a green plant sat on the coffee table in the corner.

A full-length mirror leaned against the wall, its wooden frame polished clean.

He stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself inside it.

Victor Rayne.

A guest lecturer for the Spirit Communicator Association, the main speaker for the public lecture on anomalous protection awareness.

A special consultant for the Wudu Spirit Communicator Association, a veteran expert in the field of anomalous studies.

In the public eye, he was a gentle and knowledgeable man who cared about the safety of ordinary people.

His lecture tickets always sold out quickly, his books were prominently displayed in bookstores, and his reputation within the association was excellent: pragmatic, efficient, never shirking.

The face in the mirror wore a smile, looking quite gentle, evoking complete trust—completely different from the cold figure in that anomalous space earlier.

Victor adjusted his collar in front of the mirror, then turned and pushed open the lounge door.

Outside the door, the corridor was long, with a wall lamp every few meters on each side, the light soft and evenly spreading out, leaving no shadow in the corridor.

The floor was laid with light gray non-slip tiles, spotlessly clean and reflective.

The air was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant, mixed with a floral-scented air freshener.

At the end of the corridor was a set of double glass doors, with "Wudu Psychiatric Hospital Treatment Center" displayed on it with metallic letters.

A young woman dressed as a nurse walked briskly from the other end of the corridor, holding a stack of folders in her hands.

Seeing Victor, she gave a slight bow, her face wearing a perfectly appropriate smile.

"Professor, thank you for your hard work," the nurse's voice was crisp and polite, "a few new patients have arrived today. The files are here, take a look."

"Thank you,"

Victor offhandedly thanked her as he accepted the folders, flipping them open.

His fingers were long and slender, and his action of turning pages was light and slow, as if reading a precious ancient book.

The first page featured a middle-aged man, alcoholic, with violent tendencies, brought in by his family.

The second page featured a young woman, experiencing auditory hallucinations, claiming she could hear people talking inside the walls. The Spirit Communicator Association confirmed it was not an anomaly and sent her over.

The third page featured an elderly man, demented, unable to find his way, having gone missing multiple times.

The fourth page…

Victor's fingers paused.

In the photo was a chiseled face, with white hair trimmed neatly, and eyes that were not large but very spirited.

Even in a medical photo, which typically made people look their worst, those eyes still shone with a determined light.

"Who is this…" Victor asked in a casual tone.

The nurse leaned over for a look and immediately replied, "Oh, this is a retired member of the Spirit Communicator Association. Last name Collins, he worked in the field for over twenty years before retiring last year. Due to excessive exposure to anomalies, he's developed some mental issues… mainly insomnia and intermittent consciousness confusion. However, his willpower is strong, so it doesn't seem to be a major problem at the moment."

"A retired member of the Spirit Communicator Association." Victor repeated, with just the right touch of respect in his tone, "Serving this city for over twenty years, no small feat."

"Indeed," the nurse echoed.

Victor closed the folder, holding it against his chest, looked up with that gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Then let's start with his consultation," his voice was not loud, but every word was clear and steady, carrying a reassuring strength, "Such heroes deserve our utmost effort in treatment."

"Understood, I'll arrange it right away."

The nurse bowed slightly and turned to make the arrangements.

Victor stood still, watching the nurse's figure disappear at the corridor's end.

The gentle smile remained on his lips, but the eyes behind the glasses had changed.

"Fortune smiles, to find such a good specimen so quickly."

A retired member of the Spirit Communicator Association.

Over twenty years of field experience.

Strong willpower.

Mental issues not severe.

These are all advantages.

Strong will, meaning he can endure a longer period of the anomalous fusion, unlike ordinary people who collapse upon first contact.

Over twenty years of field experience means both his body and mind have been rigorously trained, with adaptability far exceeding that of ordinary people.

And "mental issues not severe," indicates that although his self-consciousness is somewhat intact, a part of it has been eroded by anomaly.

This is actually a good phenomenon because, according to historical experiment records, an overly intact self reduces the fusee's vigilance, making them more susceptible to anomalous consumption during the fusion process.

In addition, a strong-willed individual, even if eventually losing control after fusing with an anomaly, can provide experimental data in his pre-loss state that outweighs ten ordinary people combined.

As for how much pain he would endure…

That's not the issue.

"These… are necessary sacrifices for human evolution!"

Victor pushed up the silver-framed glasses on his nose and stepped towards the consultation room.

(That's all for today, see you in the next chapter)