Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1230 - 597

In the dimness, Chen Bingzhong remained seated, a warm thermos clutched firmly in his grasp.

Though the aroma of tea wafted into the cool space, it failed to eradicate the lingering, faint odor of decay.

His thoughts involuntarily drifted to the grueling scene he’d witnessed: Director Li Guizhen, spearheading the entire Special Search Team, their tireless vigil at the sacrificial pit.

At first, the enigmatic sealed artifact proved utterly elusive.

To even attempt to harness its power was out of the question; merely drawing near enough was enough to shatter one’s sanity, plunging them into madness.

This persisted until Director Li stumbled upon the secret of consciousness projection, becoming the very first to breach the Otherworld.

The experience itself was described as profoundly bizarre, defying all earthly comprehension.

Director Li himself recounted that upon entry into this new realm, he was afflicted with a form of amnesia, utterly incapable of recalling his original identity.

Furthermore, the world seemed possessed of a peculiar ‘immunity consciousness’.

As an entity not native to this plane, Director Li swiftly encountered intense rejection phenomena.

The very walls, the ground beneath his feet, even the air around him, radiated a palpable, inexplicable malevolence.

Distorted, nightmarish shadows flickered incessantly at the periphery of his vision.

Even more unsettling was the fact that from the very first day of his arrival, a deluge of black rain began to fall.

This was no ordinary precipitation; it was as dark as ink, carrying a sharp, foul stench.

Direct contact with the skin could trigger infection, with a significant likelihood of tissue mutation.

Prolonged exposure to this black rain could, in fact, directly transform individuals into monstrous beings.

Director Li had personally borne witness to familiar comrades succumb to this fate, their forms devolving into bloodthirsty abominations.

He had desperately tried to rescue them, but being weakened and alone, he himself had narrowly avoided being consumed by a monster.

As time wore on within that alien dimension, similar catastrophic incidents became increasingly frequent.

On several occasions, he teetered on the precipice of annihilation, yet found himself powerless to wield the Extraordinary Power he once commanded.

Under the oppressive weight of the World Law, even subduing a common inhabitant felt like an insurmountable task.

It was only through sheer force of will, a spirit far transcending the ordinary, that he managed to cling to life for over ten days.

Ultimately, when the host body gave out, his consciousness was violently ejected by the World Law, forcibly returned to his original reality.

Upon regaining awareness, Director Li’s immediate action was to order the sacrificial pit sealed, christening the place the “Black Rain World.”

His intention extended beyond merely containing hazardous pollution.

He understood that the gateway to the Otherworld offered immeasurable strategic potential for the Special Search Team and the nation at large.

However, for decades that followed, the intense and uncontrollable pollution emanating from the sealed artifact rendered it too dangerous.

Thus, no one, with the sole exception of Director Li, was permitted to venture into this forbidden zone.

Only within the last five years has the colossal underground sealed artifact appeared to be influenced by some higher plane Law, leading to a decrease in pollution frequency.

This shift finally presented the Special Search Team with an opportunity to re-engage with the artifact, reigniting their research endeavors.

Yet, despite deploying numerous teams, substantial breakthroughs remained elusive.

The reason lay in the extremely oppressive foundational Law inherent within that isolated world.

This Law completely erases all memories of outsiders from the real world.

To be precise, the World Law randomly assigns transmigration to individuals, projecting them into a native body that matches their name, gender, and appearance.

This assimilation happens at the deepest soul level, with the consciousness of the outsider seamlessly adopting the social connections of the original inhabitant, creating virtually no discernible anomaly.

Whether they were brawny Martial Artists or those who stood at the apex as S-Class mutants, upon entering, they were stripped entirely of their true selves.

All their Extraordinary Power was completely suppressed, reducing them to ordinary individuals, incapable of even the simplest tasks.

Even Director Li himself, back in his prime, was no exception to this rule.

The very foundation upon which the Special Search Team tested its candidates was built upon this very Law.

Only when stripped bare of all power, facing a dire life-or-death crisis, could an individual's true nature be fully revealed.

In that state of absolute powerlessness, even cunning experts from the outside, those wielding profound spiritual power, could not maintain their facade.

The darkest, most concealed aspects of their subconscious minds would be laid bare the instant a monster lunged.

Chen Bingzhong deliberately placed the thermos back upon the table.

The base of the stainless steel container met the wooden surface with a dull thud.

He raised his gaze, his sight seeming to pierce through the thick, radiation-shielded walls.

At the heart of this circular structure lay the monitoring center dedicated to the sealed artifact.

Chen Bingzhong was acutely aware that Ling Shaofeng and other senior officials of the Special Search Team were undoubtedly positioned before the vast, panoramic screen.

From their vantage point, akin to creators, they observed the unfolding struggles of all candidates, Fang Cheng included, within the grim confines of the Black Rain World.

Such a massive mobilization felt like overkill, using a sledgehammer on a mere chick.

Expending so much sealing energy for just an examination reeked of something sinister.

Chen Bingzhong let out a quiet sigh.

He had once brought this up with Ling Shaofeng, only to be met with a firm dismissal, with the explanation being "tempering the will and selecting the finest."

Ling Shaofeng, however, always acted with careful consideration, diligently pursuing the highest possible value in all his endeavors.

Throughout his decade leading the Special Search Team, there had never been a single instance of reckless or wasteful action.

Therefore, he must undeniably be concealing something.

Chen Bingzhong's eyes narrowed slightly.

Upon further reflection, Ling Shaofeng appeared to have no genuine concern for the candidates' actual scores.

Instead, he likely aimed to exploit the consciousness entry of numerous candidates into the Black Rain World, intending to activate specific internal mechanisms and thereby achieve his objective of locating "something."