The short old man came out of his daze, and his face turned sinister. “You’re looking to die!”

He suddenly backed away as the large doors of the lab abruptly closed, cutting him off from Lu Yin. The next moment, the entire lab trembled, and a black gust of wind roared in from all directions, filling the entire underground in the blink of an eye and sealing off all exits. 

Lu Yin frowned, and he quickly used the pike to strike the laboratory doors with a moderate amount of force. With a crack, the doors split open, and then, there was another rumbling sound as the doors completely shattered apart. He heard a snarl, and the zombie that had been inside the lab suddenly charged out through the doorway at Lu Yin. 

Lu Yin avoided it with Secret Sidestep, and when the zombie charged into the black gas, its snarls instantly stopped as its entire body started convulsing. After that, it completely vanished. 

Lu Yin’s scalp went numb, and he quickly leaped into the lab, only to be greeted by the short man’s berserk. The man had donned a suit of metal armor, but Lu Yin was able to evade his surprise attack by using Secret Sidestep again. The void tore the place where Lu Yin had just been standing apart, and the entire forest outside of the hidden lab was knocked down. 

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, as this old man was just a mere Cruiser, but he had the rune lines of a Hunter. These rune lines were from the metal outfit that he was currently wearing, as it could be used to defend against a Hunter’s attack. 

“Haha! I never thought that such an interesting specimen would suddenly approach me. Stay here and join my treasures!” the old man cackled as he barreled towards Lu Yin in a ferocious manner. 

Lu Yin’s eyes went wide, and the tree that was his forcefield suddenly appeared as the branches almost instantly bound the short old man in place. “Thirty Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.” Dozens of explosions rang out through the lab that caused the void to shatter. The overwhelming force from the palm sent the old man straight into the black gas that was still just outside the lab. 

The metal outfit started to split apart, and the black gas entered through the cracks in the metal, seeping inside of the outfit and causing the old man to release mournful howls. 

He had not thought that an Explorer like Lu Yin could unleash attacks that could harm a Hunter. His metal armor was quite impressive since it could withstand a Hunter’s attacks, but there were different tiers to such items, and Lu Yin’s attack had surpassed the degree that the armor could withstand. 

The wails soon disappeared. 

Lu Yin stared closely at the area outside the lab; what exactly was this black gas? It could not be released, as otherwise, Shenwu Continent would be doomed. 

Just as Lu Yin was thinking of a way to get rid of the black gas, it suddenly seemed to deliberately rush into the old man’s metal outfit through the cracks. It didn’t look like the gas was spreading, but rather like it was being absorbed. 

A moment later, the metal outfit shattered, and the remnant fragments were blasted away in all directions. A monster was revealed in front of Lu Yin that constantly emitted the black gas from before. As Lu Yin looked at the figure, he saw that its rune lines had increased several fold. 

“Kakaka! Since I dared to produce death energy, why should I be scared of it? Stay here!” The short old man’s entire body emitted black gas, and even his facial features could no longer be seen. It was as if he had become just a lump of black fog. He heavily charged at Lu Yin, but it felt as if he did not even know any battle techniques as he only used the most primitive attacks. 

Lu Yin dodged the attack and stared at the old man. “What did you say? Death energy?”

“Kakaka, little brat, have you heard of death energy too?” The short old man sniggered and rumbled towards Lu Yin once again.

Lu Yin dodged again. “The Specter clan’s death energy?” 

“Your knowledge isn’t bad—even many within the Neohuman Alliance itself don’t know what the Specter clan is, but an outsider like you knows about it. I’m becoming even more interested in you. Right, after thinking about it, you’re the one who brought all those people to destroy Mingdu and destroyed our Neohuman Alliance’s largest lab on Shenwu Continent. You’re pretty famous.” The figure who had been the short old man rushed towards Lu Yin yet again. 

Lu Yin continued to evade by using the Secret Sidestep Technique, and the two continued their little dance underground: one chasing as the other dodged. The whole scene was rather comical. 

“Don’t think of escaping! You can’t run away! Stay here, or else I’ll go to Shanhai City and capture that little brat.” The short old man laughed strangely. 

Lu Yin’s gaze turned sharp. “You’re the one who poisoned Ming Zhaoshu?”

“Kaka, that’s right!”

“Why? With your strength, it wouldn’t be that hard to kill him, so why use poison?” 

“It’s just an experiment. I’m not interested in anything else, only in my treasures. The information that I can glean from Ming Zhaoshu’s poisoning is precious experimental data. Relax. As soon as he dies, that brat will be next. Nobody can dream of escaping, because they are all my experiments! My darlings! Kaka!” 

Lu Yin’s expression frosted over, and he stared at the short old man as the Cosmic Art activated, causing stars to revolve around his body. The short old man charged at him again, and this time, Lu Yin could see every detail of his movement very clearly. Still, Lu Yin did not take action just yet. Instead, he shifted to the side with the Secret Sidestep Technique and then raised a hand before moving to press his palm against the man. Right as Lu Yin’s palm was about to connect with the black gas, Lu Yin suddenly pulled his hand back and retreated a hundred meters away. 

“What you’re producing isn’t even death energy,” Lu Yin said sullenly.

The man sneered, “What do you know? This is death energy!”

Lu Yin lifted his head. If this gas was actually death energy, it would be impossible for him to not recognize it. Back when he had fought against Faceless in front of the Sea King’s Trident, he had felt death energy from the youth from the Specter clan. He had been able to sense a distinct aura, and he had even been able to suppress it.

Faceless was from the Specter clan, and it was precisely because Lu Yin had been able to suppress Faceless’s death energy that had caused the youth to think that Lu Yin was also from the Specter clan. That misunderstanding had caused Faceless to be extremely respectful towards Lu Yin, and he had even obeyed Lu Yin’s orders. 

No matter if Faceless had guessed right or wrong, it was a fact that Lu Yin could sense death energy. However, the black gas in front of him gave him no such sense of familiarity. It did seem a bit like death energy, and yet, it wasn’t. It could only be a kind of poisonous gas. 

“This is not death energy,” Lu Yin repeated. 

The short old man grew angry. “It is death energy. I am able to make it, and this is death energy!” He suddenly became even more berserk and rushed straight towards Lu Yin again. 

Regardless of whether the black gas was death energy or not, Lu Yin would know once he tried something. Back when he had possessed someone from the Specter clan, he had learned of the terror of death energy, which was why he had not put on his universal armor for this fight. He was not confident that his universal armor could withstand death energy, and he had been intimidated by this black gas because of that. However, now, there was nothing to be scared of since he had already determined that this was not death energy. 

He raised his pike and reinforced his body with seven lined battle force as the man rushed towards him once again. He thrust the pike forward before letting go of it as it flew forward and pinned the short man’s body against the wall. All of the defensive measures that had blocked the pike the last time Lu Yin had attacked were completely shattered. 

The short old man howled in grief, and this time, it was a true wailing; his fresh blood flowed down the wall. 

The black gas actually rushed into the man’s body through his bleeding wound, which caused an even more mournful cry to ring throughout the room. The man lasted for less than ten seconds before he dissolved into nothingness, just like the zombie from before. 

In the place where he had died, the black, false death energy and the man’s blood merged together to form a black blood that corroded the floor. 

As he looked at the puddle of black blood, Lu Yin created a fierce blaze with his star energy that burned the puddle into nothingness. 

It had not actually been death energy, as death energy would not be eradicated so easily.

Lu Yin retrieved his pike. The short old man’s body had already vanished, and only a pile of clothes had been left behind in a pile on the floor. 

This strange black gas had not caused any harm to the man’s clothes, which meant that it was very sensitive.

Aside from the pile of clothes on the ground, there was also a stone slab and a bottle. Lu Yin picked them up and saw that the stone slab was very thin. It was actually a stone book with pages that could be flipped through. Each page of the stone slab had data recorded on it that looked like information from various experiments. 

‘Most number of zombies killed by the giant zombie: 2,395.’

‘The composition of death energy is…’

…

There were many pages to the stone slab, and each was very thin. Although Lu Yin did not understand most of the writing, there was one page that caught his attention, as it had Ming Zhaoshu’s name written on it. 

‘Experiment specimen Ming Zhaoshu: Cruiser’s power level, comprehended a forcefield, can rival a Hunter. Poison: Regression No. 91. Estimated to last at most a month…’ 

This page recorded the changes that Ming Zhaoshu had experienced every day, from his diet to his emotions, and even the speed at which he handled and processed his various administrative duties. Below every variable was an analysis conducted by the short old man. 

Lu Yin finished the entire page, and he inexplicably trembled.

Ming Zhaoshu had been treated like a lab specimen that was being studied, though he himself had not known about it. 

What sort of means had the short old man used to observe the emperor? Something like distance did not hold much meaning to such a powerhouse, as the man had been capable of traversing the entire length of Shenwu Continent without taking much time. However, Ming Zhaoshu had comprehended a forcefield, but he had still been observed in such a manner. If the old man had been able to do that to Ming Zhaoshu, then what about Ming Yan? 

And what kind of poison was this Regression No. 91? Lu Yin picked up the bottle from the floor and looked at it. Could this be the poison? There was a drop of colorless liquid inside of the vial, and it was very possibly the poison that had been mentioned. 

He swept through the underground area with his domain and took care of all of the remaining zombies that were in the other labs. With that done, he caused the entire space to collapse and left. 

As he left, Lu Yin saw some rune lines that represented an Explorer rushing towards him.

It was a middle-aged woman, and Lu Yin felt like she looked familiar. He then suddenly recalled that she was one of Ming Zhaoshu’s maids. 

He suddenly understood. It was no wonder how the short old man had been able to monitor Ming Zhaoshu’s every action; the reason was right in front of Lu Yin. 

The middle-aged woman arrived above the underground laboratory and entered the passageway that led underground with very practiced motions. However, the moment she entered, she started to back away with a pale face. She then quickly leaped away, clearly wanting to leave. 

“Since you’re already here, you should just stay.” She heard a soft voice call out from behind her. Lu Yin had moved, and he lightly flicked a finger. A gale struck the woman’s knees and knocked her to the ground. 

The woman was overwhelmed as she turned to see Lu Yin sitting in a tree, who was looking at her with indifferent eyes. “It’s you?” 

Lu Yin jumped off of the tree and walked over beside the woman. “So you’re the one who poisoned Ming Zhaoshu, and you’re also the one who shared all the information concerning his condition to this place.” 

The woman was terrified, and her face turned a deathly shade of white. “I- I didn’t want to do it, but that monster poisoned me, and I was going to be devoured by other monsters if I didn’t do as he said. Please spare me! Please don’t kill me! Don’t tell His Majesty, please!” 

“Aside from poisoning Ming Zhaoshu and reporting the news there on a regular basis, what other orders were you given?” Lu Yin asked. 

The middle-aged female replied in terror, “Nothing else! He had me observe His Majesty, but he didn’t want me to do anything else.” 

Lu Yin held out the bottle that he had just found. “Is this the poison that he had you give the emperor?” 

She looked at the bottle, and a deep fear could be seen in her eyes. “Yes, that’s the one!”

Lu Yin nodded, and swatted at her and caused her to fall down dead.

The cause behind the poisoning had been found and resolved, but Ming Zhaoshu’s poison was still unexplainable. That last page in the stone book had intentionally called it Regression No. 91, and the short old man had noted that he had no method of resolving the poison either, which was why he had given the poison to Ming Zhaoshu. He had wanted to use the information that he gathered from Ming Zhaoshu’s poisoning symptoms to create an antidote. At the same time, once Ming Zhaoshu died, Shenwu Continent would descend into chaos, and battles would break out everywhere, which would have given the old man even more test subjects and blood to experiment with and feed his giant Corpse King with.

The short old man had planned things out well, and he would have been able to kill two birds with one stone. Lu Yin was pleased with himself for finding this person, as otherwise, as soon as Ming Yan inherited the throne, her fate would have been the same as Ming Zhaoshu’s. 

Now, Lu Yin deeply understood why the entire universe viewed the Neohuman Alliance as their greatest enemy and also why the organization had to be taken care of as soon as anyone from the Neohuman Alliance was discovered. This organization possessed the deepest darkness, and it basically destroyed human nature.