Chapter 27 - 25: Consciousness Transfer

Chapter 27: Chapter 25: Consciousness Transfer

Two massive transfer pods lay horizontally in the center of the hall, resembling the two halves of a capsule. The one on the left was filled with nutrient fluid, inside which soaked Lucia’s twisted, mangled body.

Upstairs in the observation room, several high-ranking executives of the Saint Group conversed in low voices. Victor and the three members of the Bloodthorn Squad watched nervously, deeply focused on the upcoming consciousness transfer experiment.

Over the past three years, the Saint Group had conducted countless experiments using the Dusk People and test subjects, all of which had ended in failure. After extensive data analysis and evaluations from top research teams, they concluded that the spiritual power of the Dusk People and test subjects was simply too weak. Their wills would dissipate during the transfer process. However, using Guard Team soldiers who had awakened Extraordinary Abilities—or worse, nobles—for such experiments was absolute nonsense.

It wasn’t until Lucia suffered her grievous injuries that the Saint Group finally acquired the perfect experimental subject.

After humans transformed into the Blood Clan, they lost the ability to reproduce normally. Most of the nobles’ familial relationships stemmed from the old world prior to the Blood Plague. Every family member who died was a permanent loss, weakening the clan’s overall strength. The Dracula family had already lost an important elder to an assassination by the Rebel Army; they could not afford to lose Lucia as well.

Therefore, the Dracula family agreed to this consciousness transfer experiment. If successful, not only would the Blood Clan nobles possess physical immortality, but they would also achieve immortality of the mind. The threat that Mutants posed to the Blood Clan would cease to exist. In the future, changing bodies could become as simple as changing clothes.

"Oh, everyone’s here!"

Adeline’s voice echoed from the entrance of the observation room. The crowd turned to see her draped in a vintage black gown. A small, delicate black top hat sat at an angle on her platinum blonde hair, her face partially obscured by a black veil, and a white rose pinned to her chest.

The moment White Phosphorus saw Adeline’s attire, she felt her blood boil. Forcing down her anger, she asked, "Ms. Adeline, what is the meaning of this?"

Adeline walked over to the window and unhurriedly took a cigarette from her handbag. "I came to attend an old friend’s funeral, so of course, I must dress decently. It’s simply good manners."

Operating under Adeline’s Identity, Bai Qiang had spent the past few days socializing and gathering information. She learned that Adeline and Lucia were mortal enemies, and she had successfully uncovered plenty of detailed gossip.

Adeline was the only daughter of Clan Leader Cavendish and was deeply favored. She didn’t have to lift a finger; the Cavendish family would pave the way for her and help her secure a seat of power in the council. Even after the Blood Plague, when Adeline should have awakened early, the Cavendish family paid a massive price to extend her slumber, ensuring her bloodline would become purer and her future potential far greater.

Lucia, also a clan leader’s daughter, had awakened naturally after a mere five years of sleep. She relied entirely on her own efforts, starting as a lowly private in the Guard Team and slaughtering her way through blood and fire to earn everything she desired.

Lucia looked down on Adeline, and Adeline despised Lucia right back.

"Adeline, don’t push it!"

White Phosphorus flared up again. Beside her, Tuner forcefully pulled her back, while Lighthouse silently took a half-step away, terrified of falling under Spiritual Manipulation again and being forced to smash his fists into his own teammates.

"The experiment is about to begin. Quiet down, all of you! Adeline, there is no smoking allowed in here!"

A Saint Group executive, dressed in a sharp suit with more than half of his body undergoing cybernetic modifications, spoke up. The other executives also bore varying degrees of mechanical enhancements—a defining trait of the Saint family.

Adeline smiled elegantly, putting away the cigarette and taking a half-step back. White Phosphorus shook off Tuner’s restraining hand with a snort and also stepped aside. Victor glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, his expression completely blank.

Down in the hall below, S717 had already been pushed into the transfer pod on the other side. She lay positioned with her head facing opposite to Lucia’s. Various probes pierced the biological interfaces embedded in the back of her neck, her spine, and other parts of her body.

Adeline’s fingers slowly tightened. Seeing S717’s pale and agonized state inside the pod, a wave of guilt washed over her.

From the moment she had controlled S717 and learned about the consciousness transfer, she had started scheming. She deliberately obstructed them, sparked conflicts, displayed anger, and showed how highly she valued S717, only to "helplessly" let Victor take her away. Finally, she demanded that Victor bring her here to witness the experiment as a way to see S717 off.

For Victor and the Saint Group, allowing her into the laboratory was obviously a much easier option than returning S717 to her. If she hadn’t played it this way, she would have had no chance of getting near Lucia.

Thinking of the updated post on the forum, Adeline silently prayed in her heart. She thought, "Please, let something massive go wrong!"

Inside the transfer pod, time grew endlessly long and excruciating. The Spiritual Enhancer had been injected eleven hours ago, and both its effects and the accompanying pain had nearly reached their peak.

To distract herself from the agony before the experiment officially began, Yin Zhen glanced at the Invasion Game forum. There was only one day left until the return, and she had no idea what the other Players were planning.

When she saw the new post on the forum, Yin Zhen choked on the nutrient fluid in sheer shock. This drew the attention of a female researcher analyzing data nearby, who leaned in to check on her. The researcher’s face suddenly blurred, morphing into a Fallen Species with a maw full of filthy, jagged teeth.

Yin Zhen closed her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm. These were all hallucinations brought on by the explosive surge in her spiritual power. She used her limited rationality to analyze the current situation.

[Lucia Dracula’s Location Fully Revealed]

It was another post from "Naming is Troublesome." The Player had somehow uncovered Lucia’s exact location and her near-Mutant condition, publicizing it to all Players in the thread. They even added several viable strategies for infiltrating the Saint Group at the end of the post.

Yin Zhen wondered, "Did this guy get a ’know-it-all’ script? Are all the events they trigger related to ’intel’?"

After a brief moment of panic, Yin Zhen calmed down. Something was definitely going to happen in the laboratory later; the ensuing chaos would bring both danger and opportunity.

If Lucia was killed by someone else before Yin Zhen could obliterate her consciousness, she wouldn’t be able to complete the assassination mission, but she could still complete the "Cannon Fodder Must Die" mission and survive. Surviving was the most important thing. With the time left before the return, she still had a chance to purposely seek out trouble, trigger other events, and scrape together enough word count to pay the penalty fine.

Now was not the time for despair. This might even be a stroke of luck—her grand opportunity!

"...Equipment connection is normal. Initiating the anesthesia sequence now..."

In less than five seconds, Yin Zhen lost control of her body and fell into a deep slumber. However, her will remained entirely lucid. She could think normally and hear the sounds of the outside world, though her senses were limited strictly to audio.

"The spiritual power fluctuations on Lucia’s side are a bit erratic and haven’t stabilized yet. Should we wait a little longer?"

"Lucia’s physical and mental conditions are both extremely poor. She can’t afford to wait anymore. Let’s just start!"

"Understood. Initiating the consciousness transfer sequence!"

HUM!

Countless images suddenly flooded into Yin Zhen’s consciousness: bloody coastlines, twisted Mutants, the agonizing screams of teammates, and the sheer terror of watching her own body slowly mutate...

The scenes poured into Yin Zhen’s mind with maddening intensity, threatening to burst her skull and crush her consciousness. It was just like her first time being brainwashed.

Yin Zhen desperately guarded her last shreds of lucidity. But her own memories began to surge outward, flashing before her eyes. Yin Zhen’s memories and S717’s memories intertwined, churning together like two violently disturbed rivers of data.

Lucia charged in!

The Golden-haired woman’s figure sprinted madly through the ruins of her memories. Like a beast finally unleashed after being caged for far too long, she frantically tore at Yin Zhen’s memories, destroying Yin Zhen’s shadows. Lucia didn’t even care what they were or why there were two different appearances. She simply wanted to clear out the area and move in.

Yin Zhen’s shadow ruthlessly slammed into Lucia, the two of them tearing into each other on a purely conscious level. In one fragment of memory, Yin Zhen was ripped to shreds by Lucia. In another, Lucia was slaughtered by S717.

If it hadn’t been for the Spiritual Enhancer, Yin Zhen’s consciousness would have been completely wiped out by Lucia during her slumber. But even now, Yin Zhen’s Strength was still insufficient.

Lucia had fought against Fallen Species, the Rebel Army, and Mutants for over a decade. Her ruthlessness was carved directly into her bones. Every strike carried the murderous aura accumulated over a dozen years, fueled by the spiritual power rampage caused by her mutation.

S717’s shadow was pinned to the ground and torn apart by Lucia. Compared to Lucia, Yin Zhen was simply too green in every aspect.

Without hesitation, Yin Zhen dumped all 3 of her remaining attribute points into her core Wisdom. Ever since being subjected to Adeline’s Spiritual Manipulation, Yin Zhen had realized that S717 in the Red Corpse World would also inherit the Player’s attribute bonuses. This mechanic was hidden, deliberately kept off the data on the Identity Card—a sly trick of the Invasion Game.

Sure enough, Yin Zhen felt her spiritual power abruptly skyrocket. The shadows in her memories once again rose up to meet Lucia’s assault.

They were evenly matched; victory was impossible to predict.

But this wasn’t enough. Her advantage wasn’t clear, and if this dragged on, both sides would definitely be crippled, resulting in mutual destruction.

She thought, "What are those Players doing? Why haven’t they shown up yet?"

Suddenly, Yin Zhen thought of a plan. She tentatively chanted in her heart, "I feel like something is wrong!"

BOOM!

An explosion suddenly rang out from afar, causing the entire building to tremble violently.

In the world of consciousness, both Lucia and Yin Zhen paused simultaneously upon hearing the blast.