"Yes, Lord William."
A somewhat dull female voice came through the player.
Although the voice was muffled, Ning Yu's memory was excellent, and she clearly recognized the owner of this voice.
It was the voice of the blue-haired mechanical girl who had broken her crimson blade!
But hearing the voice through the player, it didn't have that lazy, world-weary feeling from Tianshen Elementary School; instead, it sounded rather stiff.
It seemed some time had passed between then and now.
At least she finally knew her name: Lacy.
"The human body is ultimately too weak to withstand complete cybernetic modification."
"Let alone the issue of digitizing consciousness, just considering the body alone, once it exceeds the critical threshold of 51%, it begins to break down."
The voice of the man called William in the player carried a hint of regret, but this didn't seem to be the core issue.
"What should we do then, Lord William?"
The girl Lacy asked in her still-mechanical tone.
"This is a compound that was just successfully tested on human replicas. I call it Utopia."
"With this, humans can break through the 51% genetic limitation and achieve enhancement."
"Then, everyone can undergo complete cybernetic modification and become immortal."
"Everyone can achieve true happiness."
William's voice carried a trace of excitement, as if he was envisioning some beautiful future about to unfold.
"You're a miracle, Lacy, and soon this miracle will happen to everyone!"
"Then, will I still be special to you when that happens?"
Lacy asked in an innocent voice.
"Of course, Lacy, we just need a little more time..."
"But you will always... be... my... beloved."
"Yes... every...thing... as... you... wish, Lord... William"
The voice suddenly became unclear, and Ning Yu noticed the progress bar had reached its end.
But this segment contained enough information to leave her deep in thought.
Lin Hao must have already listened to it once, so he quietly waited for Ning Yu to process her thoughts.
"So... this so-called T-virus is actually the Utopia serum mentioned in the audio?"
Ning Yu voiced her speculation.
"Perhaps, but if that's the case, this Utopia serum must have failed completely."
Lin Hao answered quietly, then continued:
"Or perhaps something we don't know about happened, turning what he called a miracle into a disaster."
Neither of them knew for certain.
Ning Yu recalled the scene of Lacy retrieving the Butcher at Tianshen Elementary School; clearly, she seemed to still be executing some kind of plan.
But obviously, this plan had deviated from what the man named William had originally intended.
"What exactly does cybernetic modification mean?"
Although Ning Yu had a general idea, she still asked.
"According to my understanding, it means replacing human organs, including the brain, with mechanical parts, thus bidding farewell to the cycle of life, aging, illness, and death."
Lin Hao replied.
Ning Yu furrowed her brow; such technology sounded far more advanced than anything from her original world.
However, she remembered the one time she managed to harm Lacy, there had been no blood or organs inside her body - she was a purely mechanical life form.
"At the end of our chromosomes, there's a repeating DNA sequence called telomeres."
Lin Hao continued explaining.
"When telomeres are depleted, cells initiate apoptosis, so they determine our aging process and cannot be restored."
Ning Yu nodded:
"So our lifespan is predetermined, decided from the moment we're born."
"Exactly."
Lin Hao paused briefly before continuing:
"There have been many studies trying to stop this process. For instance, cancer cells can maintain telomere length through telomerase to achieve unlimited replication."
"But the person in the audio wasn't using this method."
"If human organs and internal organs could be directly replaced with mechanical parts, it would be a perfect solution, since mechanical parts can be removed for maintenance or replacement."
"This would completely overcome biological limitations."
"If the consciousness digitization issue could also be solved, as he mentioned, humans would become immortal."
He said quite a lot at once, and Ning Yu listened attentively.
After a while, she spoke:
"But after such modifications, would a person still be human? Would I still be me?"
"Who knows..."
Lin Hao smiled and shrugged, indicating he too was uncertain about this philosophical question.
"But one thing's for sure - something happened, and this guy's plan failed completely."
Ning Yu nodded in agreement.
But the audio ended there, with no further information.
"This is just part of it. I haven't finished analyzing the evolved mutant serum you brought last time; its sequence is even more complex."
Lin Hao said, suggesting they might be able to obtain more information through it.
"I have a question."
Ning Yu suddenly spoke.
"Why did he embed this information in the T-virus sequence? Isn't that completely unnecessary?"
Lin Hao agreed with Ning Yu's point, saying:
"Indeed, it's an interesting question. Logically, it's completely redundant."
"But at least it left us clues. Whatever his purpose was, I need to know exactly what happened."
Lin Hao clenched his fist, his gaze intense.
Ning Yu understood what he was thinking: he wanted to find who was responsible for his wife's death.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Ning Yu was also very interested in this information, especially now that they had some intelligence about the blue-haired girl Lacy.
If she wanted to continue surviving in this world, she needed to eliminate all unstable factors.
And clearly, both the T-virus and Lacy were unstable factors for her.
"Not at the moment, but more serum would be helpful."
Lin Hao shook his head. His research was progressing smoothly for now. He turned and pulled two vials of clear liquid from his pocket.
These were the purified products from the T-virus serum Ning Yu had obtained from killing the Slaanesh.
"I can't give you the golden one yet; it's still being researched, and the team is still looking for purification methods."
Lin Hao said.
"That's fine, no rush."
Ning Yu nodded, though she knew that serum purified from intermediate mutant zombies would definitely provide more attribute points.
But clearly, intelligence was more important.
"By the way, how's the investigation into the missing mission records we discussed?"
Ning Yu was referring to Wan Heng's mission, whose records had disappeared.
She had asked Lin Hao to help check the database records last time.
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
