Chapter 560 “Deep Dive”

Chapter 560 "Deep Dive"

"And your abilities, going all out like this, you can't keep this up many more times."

Jie Ying's voice wasn't loud, but it was calm and rational. Her gaze slowly swept over each person present. Even with impaired hearing, she didn't need anyone to explain; she could quickly size up the situation just by observation. Her expression was serious, her brows slightly furrowed as if assessing everyone's condition and how long they could last.

The cleaver on the floor still shimmered with residual electric light, its blade faintly glowing with a silvery coldness. The air was tinged with the scorched smell left by the recent strikes. Without hesitation, Jie Ying stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the heavy weapon.

It was a hefty weapon. Just three strikes with it had left Xiang Feiyu's arm numb and his knuckles white from gripping the handle. Yet, in Jie Ying's hand, the cleaver seemed to weigh nothing at all. She lifted it effortlessly, the blade settling steadily in her palm as smoothly as picking up a fallen piece of paper, without any apparent effort.

Her gaze lowered slightly, and her voice grew even softer. "How long have we been surviving in the game now? 4 hours? 5 hours? After all, for a 72-hour survival mission, we've only just started. But the Eerie Entities' attacks are already growing frequent. We don't have much time left; we must do something."

"Anyway, I can't hear, so no one needs to chime in. Just listen quietly until I finish." Jie Ying's earnest expression left the others speechless.

Her tone was flat, even with an air of matter-of-factness, as if she didn't care about anyone's views or whether her words might cause offense.

"If the lights suddenly go out while I'm speaking, everyone must head straight for the nearest ward without hesitation." Jie Ying was referring to Room 1408, the closest one to them.

The wards assigned to them by the Newborn Department were indeed their temporary shelters, but they could only be used for a limited time.

They had already agreed not to easily use up these few remaining shelters unless absolutely necessary.

However, Jie Ying's attitude at this moment was resolute, as if what she was about to say was more important than the 'life-saving' function of this room—so important that even if they had to use this shelter, they must hear her out.

"The team I belong to is called 'Deep Dive'." Jie Ying's tone remained calm. Yet, when she mentioned this name, her voice softened slightly, carrying a hint of gentleness she herself might not have noticed. "It's a small team, or rather... just a squad, consisting of only four people, including me."

Deep Dive.

Su Bai tried to search his memory for this name but found nothing.

Names like the Nameless Association and the Candlelight Association were ones he knew a lot about. However, the name "Deep Dive"...

It rang no bells for Su Bai.

Either the team had never made a name for itself, being insignificant in the entire Nightmare World.

Or, this team had already been wiped out at some point unknown to Su Bai, completely vanishing into the shadows of the Nightmare World, disappearing without a trace.

"Enough digression. 'Deep Dive' means wanting to break through cognitive boundaries, wanting to explore the deeper layers of the world. Compared to those three knowledge-obsessed lunatics, I'm just an external combatant, also serving as their constant research subject." Jie Ying glanced at her hand. Compared to the terrifying cleaver, her wrist appeared delicate yet concealed unexpected strength.

"They, my teammates, discovered that 'Talent' might be a gift bestowed upon human players by some special being. But 'Ability' is not merely an external object granted by others. It's more like after our bodies are imprinted with 'Talent', they begin to absorb and store a certain power."

"This power flows into our bodies unknowingly. When this power accumulates to a certain critical point, when our desire for ability reaches a certain height, when we're in a life-or-death crisis, this power will break through some barrier. Through the 'Talent' imprint as a medium, it becomes an 'Ability' we can use."

"In the process of constantly pushing their abilities to the limit in experiments, they captured the flow of this power. They found that in the Nightmare World, this power was far more active, flowed faster, and even accumulated more quickly than in the real world. One could even say this power doesn't exist in the real world."

"They became obsessed with this power. Not only did they choose to stay long-term in the Nightmare World, using each other as test subjects, but they were also willing to risk their lives to explore unknown areas, searching for every clue that could explain this power."

"Their deep dives into the Nightmare World continuously strengthened the power within their bodies and their control over it. But perhaps because the purpose of their exploration was never to become stronger, few people knew of their existence." Jie Ying smiled as she said this. "For those foolish maniacs, perhaps the truth and the answers were more important than their lives."

"This... truly fascinates even someone as clueless as me."

"They also taught me some methods from their experiments. Using these methods, I can faintly sense the flow of a certain power within my body when I calm my mind, even accelerating its flow a little..." Jie Ying looked seriously at the others again. "Although using this method to enhance the power within the body also requires a very long time, far longer than this game's 72 hours. However, this method can allow you to increase your control over that power within your body many times over in just a few hours. That is, to improve control over your 'Ability' in the shortest possible time."

"If you're willing to try, the road ahead should be a bit easier."

While the others listened to Jie Ying's words in stunned silence, Su Bai stood in place, his brows slightly furrowed, his expression inscrutable.

He was equally shocked, even more so than the others.

Because—

The power Jie Ying described was clearly "Meditation"!

But how could the power named "Meditation," which appeared in the later stages of his knowledge, possibly emerge at this time?! Why had he never heard of this team called "Deep Dive"?

And Jie Ying's friends.

Su Bai remembered that when he first met Jie Ying, she was already familiar with No. 666 Hospital, and her information came from a friend.

Su Bai lowered his head to "look" at Le Shiya, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Xiaoya, help me pass on a message."

His voice was very soft, his tone calm, but only he knew that the puzzle pieces concerning "Jie Ying" in his mind were completely shattering and then frantically reassembling.

"Miss Xie, your friends... how are they now?"

Hearing Le Shiya's relayed message, Jie Ying was silent for a moment. The voice that followed carried that hint of gentleness again, laced with a faint, indescribable emotion—

"...They are all still alive."