Chapter 254

Chapter 254: Testing the Crystal

The moment Bai Li Qing’s tone turned sharp, the researcher visibly tensed. Through the clear visor, Yu Sheng could see sweat beading at the tip of his nose.

“At present, yes,” the muffled voice said. “But not every material is affected. So far, we’ve only confirmed one type of rock that undergoes conversion near the mother crystal.”

Bai Li Qing’s expression stayed taut. “So it can spread this way? Do the secondary crystals produced by assimilation also have this property?”

“Right now, we don’t think you need to worry,” the researcher said quickly, forcing himself to steady. “The secondary crystals generated by assimilation have not shown similar assimilation effects. At least so far, we’ve only observed this phenomenon around the mother crystal itself. It shouldn’t become a chain reaction that gradually devours the entire world.”

Only then did Bai Li Qing’s face soften slightly. Yu Sheng had gotten good enough to catch it—barely.

“So what’s the range?” Yu Sheng asked.

The researcher hesitated, then glanced at Bai Li Qing as if asking permission.

“Just answer. Don’t look at me,” Bai Li Qing said. “He is Yu Sheng. This is Irene. When it comes to dark angel intel, they have the same clearance as I do.”

“Ah—okay.” The researcher’s eyes shifted when he heard Yu Sheng’s name, and he spoke with a faint edge of nervous energy. “We still haven’t measured an exact range. We can only roughly confirm it doesn’t exceed twenty meters. It’s a spherical region centered on the mother crystal.”

“That’s not very big,” Irene muttered. “Compared to other dark angels, it’s kind of… how do I put it… a well-behaved child.”

Bai Li Qing nodded slightly. “Anything else? Other discoveries so far?”

“There’s some kind of resonance connection between the mother crystal and the secondary crystals,” the researcher said. “Within roughly a hundred-meter range, we observed them alternately emitting a low, slow vibration. We can’t determine whether this resonance has any meaning yet. It could be a natural phenomenon, or it could be some kind of life activity we can’t interpret.”

He took a breath and continued. “We also observed complex internal crystal-structure changes in the secondary crystals. About every 33.3 seconds, the lattice rearranges itself. We call it reorganization. This doesn’t change outward traits like hardness, translucency, or color, but internally, it’s as if every 33.3 seconds the secondary crystal becomes a new individual.”

He gestured slightly toward the larger sample. “In contrast, the mother crystal’s structure has remained stable. We don’t see the same change inside it.”

He paused. “At this stage, those are our main findings. We’re still cautiously evaluating further test plans. The sample is valuable, and we must avoid damaging the mother crystal, so any method that risks physical destruction can’t be used lightly.”

“Mhm. Necessary caution,” Bai Li Qing said softly. “This is the first time in human history we’ve collected remains after an angel’s fall. We do need to be careful.”

Yu Sheng had been staring at the crystal the entire time. His expression was turning steadily more eager. Irene noticed first. “Hey. What are you trying to do?”

Yu Sheng cleared his throat and glanced at the researcher. “How many mother crystals are there right now?”

“The recovery team delivered four in total,” the researcher answered. “Is something wrong?”

“…Can I touch this one?” Yu Sheng raised a hand toward the mother crystal on the dais. “I’m asking first because I’m worried I’ll ruin it. You said it’s valuable.”

The researcher went blank and looked at Bai Li Qing, clearly unwilling to make that decision on his own.

Bai Li Qing also froze.

Yu Sheng scratched his head. “If I can’t, forget it.”

Bai Li Qing drew a quiet breath. For a split second, Yu Sheng couldn’t even guess how many arguments she fought with herself. Finally, she kept her face stiff and asked, “I’m guessing… you don’t mean an ordinary person’s kind of touch, do you?”

Yu Sheng looked awkward. “If possible, I also want to smear a little blood on it.”

Several researchers immediately started sweating. If Bai Li Qing hadn’t been there, Yu Sheng suspected at least one of them would have fainted on the spot.

After a long pause, Bai Li Qing nodded.

“Try,” she said solemnly. “But be careful.”

“I must emphasize this is not part of normal lab protocol,” one researcher muttered from behind. “Just putting your hand on it is already seven or eight violations…”

Yu Sheng pretended not to hear. Under the tense, conflicted stares of everyone around him—including Bai Li Qing—he stepped forward and placed his palm on the mother crystal.

Cold. Quiet. Like a calm deep pool with no bottom.

It gave him no response at all.

There was no conversation-with-the-dead phenomenon. No echo. No sense of presence. For one sharp moment, Yu Sheng felt an absurd flicker of disappointment.

Anka Aila was truly gone.

He steadied himself, pulled out a small knife, and cut his palm once.

Nothing. The blade didn’t even break the skin.

He cut again. Still nothing.

The atmosphere turned awkward.

Yu Sheng tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Uh… I’ve used it to cut my hand so many times lately. It seems to have gotten dull.”

“That’s not dull. It has serrations now!” Irene stared at him. “How thick-skinned are you?”

Yu Sheng didn’t answer. He kept sawing at his own hand until, after an embarrassing struggle, he finally managed to open a wound. Then he bared his teeth, squeezed hard, and held his hand over the crystal.

Everyone stared like they’d been struck. For a moment, the horror of watching him butcher his own palm seemed to outweigh even their fear for the sample.

One researcher muttered, “That’s a scary person… he basically sawed it open.”

“Anyone who can fight dark angels isn’t normal,” another whispered. “I was thinking of going to get a painless blood sampler…”

Yu Sheng whipped his head around, eyes bulging. “You have that and you didn’t say it earlier?! You just stood there watching me saw my hand open?!”

“Forget it,” Irene said, poking the side of his head. “Even if there is a sampler, it probably can’t pierce your skin anymore.”

As she spoke, a bright red drop finally slid free and fell onto the mother crystal.

Every pair of eyes locked onto it.

Even Yu Sheng held his breath as the bead of blood crept across the crystal’s surface.

Then it vanished—silently absorbed.

“Did you feel anything?” Irene asked at once.

“…Not really,” Yu Sheng said, frowning. Then he added, “But that’s normal. Blood establishing a link can be delayed, especially with things that aren’t alive—or that have weird life forms. Like when I smeared blood on your frame back then, it took forever before it worked…”

“Y-yeah…” Irene nodded blankly, then snapped out of it. “Wait! Who are you calling weird?!”

The researchers looked like they’d been hit by a shock wave. A heartbeat later, one whispered, alarm rising, “It absorbed it?!”

The lab erupted.

“New anomaly!” “It can absorb blood!” “Get the equipment!” “Turn on the integrated analyzer!” “Pull platform data, now!”

Yu Sheng flinched, then glanced around awkwardly. “Uh… that’s not the crystal’s property. That’s my property. My blood is a little special…”

The noise died instantly.

Then, very slowly, every set of eyes shifted off the crystal and onto him.

Yu Sheng said, “…Right.”

He turned to Bai Li Qing. “Handle this. These people look like they want to cut me open.”

Bai Li Qing looked awkward too. She coughed twice, said nothing, and the researchers reluctantly forced their gazes away.

Yu Sheng was completely sure it was only their eyes that moved. Their attention stayed locked.

He didn’t blame them. Researchers were curious by nature.

He poked Irene lightly. “Do you want to try too?”

Irene blinked. “Try what?”

“Your silk threads,” Yu Sheng said. “You used them to touch all kinds of things in Anka Aila’s dreams. You also built a link with Anka Aila herself. Try it. See if the crystal reacts to you.”

Irene thought Yu Sheng’s jumpy logic made absolutely no sense. But his suggestion was, as always, irresistible.

“Fine. I’ll try,” she said, rubbing her hands and adjusting her seat on his shoulder. “If it doesn’t work, that’s not my fault…”

She straightened, face going serious. Under Yu Sheng’s eager stare, she reached her right hand toward the mother crystal.

Strands of black spider silk unfurled from her fingertips and crept forward cautiously.

The eerie, chilling aura was strong enough that the two nearest researchers instinctively stepped back half a step.

Then, when the threads were still more than ten centimeters from the crystal, Yu Sheng heard a clear, buzzing hum.

The silk struck something unseen—like a vibrating barrier—and snapped back instantly. Strand after strand broke, severed in midair.

“Holy crap!”

Even Irene looked stunned.

She slipped right off Yu Sheng’s shoulder.