Chapter 61 - 57: You Have Died

Chapter 61: Chapter 57: You Have Died

Yin Zhen placed the brewed coffee in front of Victor with one hand, setting it down so forcefully that some of the liquid spilled.

Victor didn’t mind. He picked it up and took a sip, but then his expression twisted.

Yin Zhen leaned back into the sofa to the side, pulling a long face. "Drink up. If you like it so much, finish the whole thing."

Victor swallowed the indescribably strange-tasting mouthful of coffee with difficulty and chuckled.

Yin Zhen hadn’t followed the coffee machine’s instructions when brewing Victor’s cup. Instead, she had deliberately made a terrible brew, acting like an angry child using a prank to get back at an adult. She didn’t know what Lucy’s motive was for warning her, nor did she know if Lucy was acting on Victor’s orders or if the AI had decided to do it on her own. She couldn’t even be sure if that formula was real, or if there was a trap hidden within it. If she had actually brewed the coffee exactly as written, not only would it fail to dispel his suspicions, but it would also expose her even more. A terrible cup of coffee like this perfectly fit Lucia’s childish personality.

Victor set down the coffee cup. Even though he still harbored a one percent suspicion in his heart, he knew he couldn’t hurt Lucia over it and push her even further away. If that one percent turned out to be wrong, he would definitely regret it in the future, and he would have failed his deceased sister.

Victor took out a specially-made memory drive. "This is the complete content of the Blood and Flesh Ascetic Method. It can be used in conjunction with the latest model of the Training Pod. The password is your mother’s birthday."

He pushed the data stick in front of Yin Zhen. "The tracking chip implanted in your body... I should have helped you remove it, but now, I’ve changed my mind."

Yin Zhen looked up and glared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"Lucia, please don’t be so aggressive right now. I have completely taken over the permissions for your tracking chip. In other words, other than me, no one can tamper with it.

"An implanted tracking chip has higher positioning accuracy and is much more discreet than a communication bracelet. Night City has been very turbulent lately. Adeline’s illegitimate older brother died unexpectedly a few days ago, the Rebel Army has been active in the city, and then there’s the matter of the ’intruder.’ I need to ensure your safety."

Yin Zhen sneered. "You could have chosen from so many methods, yet you deliberately went with the most insulting one."

Victor sat forward a bit, trying to get closer to her. "That’s not it, Lucia. I will protect you with my life. You are angry with me right now, so your thoughts will naturally be aggressive. Once you calm down and think about it carefully, you’ll realize that keeping the tracking chip has more benefits than drawbacks. Trust me one more time, alright?"

The tracking chip was very troublesome, but Yin Zhen currently lacked the ability to deal with it, nor had she reached the point where she absolutely had to flee Night City. Knowing when to quit while she was ahead, she proactively picked up the memory drive from the table and toyed with it in her hands, putting on a show of having calmed down but still keeping a long face.

"Once you finish your coffee, just leave. I need to train."

Victor’s expression stiffened for a moment.

Yin Zhen looked over at him. "I brewed it with my own hands. Do you not like it?"

Victor stared at the cup of coffee. Finally, he furrowed his brows and downed it in one gulp. Catching a glimpse of Lucia secretly smiling out of the corner of his eye before immediately straightening her face again, Victor couldn’t help but curl the corners of his lips. She was still that same childish little girl!

"Alright, I’ll be leaving now. Get some good rest, and don’t forget to go see Ian for your checkup on time. The council will definitely hold a meeting recently regarding the intruder situation. As the youngest council member of the Dracula family, you cannot be absent. It’s also the perfect opportunity to let them see the results of the consciousness transfer experiment."

"I know, you’re so long-winded!"

As soon as Victor left, Yin Zhen tossed the memory drive aside, walked straight over to the storage room, and pulled the door open. Lucy was hugging her legs, sitting quietly in the corner like a statue.

"Did Victor tell you to do that?"

Lucy looked up at Yin Zhen. Her voice was childish, yet her tone was extremely rigid. "Mr. Tuner told Lucy that Miss Lucia’s consciousness transfer experiment had a minor accident. Miss Lucia might lose some of her memories, so he asked Lucy to pay close attention and help Miss Lucia."

"I don’t need you meddling!"

Throwing down those words, Yin Zhen slammed the door shut and walked away.

In the darkness, Lucy lowered her head. The blue indicator light on her temple turned red once again and began to flash rapidly.

Yin Zhen reconfigured the data settings of the Training Pod, inputting the various statistics of her current body. Only after conducting a test did she plug the memory drive Victor had given her into the console. As she typed in the password, she cast a sidelong glance toward the storage room. This apartment was entirely filled with smart devices. Even if Lucy wasn’t standing right next to her, the AI still had the capability to monitor all of her actions. Lucia hadn’t treated Lucy well for all these years. Why hadn’t she awakened her own self-awareness and run away?

Yin Zhen lay down in the Training Pod, smoothly entered Lucia’s mother’s birthday, closed the cabin door, and activated the training mode.

In an instant, the scenery around her shifted from the cramped pod to the peak of a mountain. As far as the eye could see, a red sun sprinkled golden light, mountain ranges overlapped in emerald green, and startled birds took flight with sharp chirps. Even the digital Victor standing in front of Yin Zhen had changed into a pure white martial arts uniform with traditional frog buttons. She had to admit that this scene made her feel extremely relaxed and comfortable.

Victor’s data avatar didn’t waste any words and directly began his explanation. "Now, sit cross-legged with me and quietly listen to the sound of your blood flowing..."

Yin Zhen followed the avatar’s movements, sitting quietly in meditation.

"In the virtual world, everything can be simulated by programs. Next, using my experience as a blueprint, the system will allow you to directly ’hear’ the echoing sound of your blood." Victor’s voice sounded like it was drifting over from a distant valley, carrying an echo. "Remember this feeling. After ending the training, try to reproduce it in reality."

The sound of flowing blood rang out on its own from her bones, her blood vessels, and every inch of her muscle fibers. This sensation was wondrous, like the undercurrents of a subterranean river or the wind sweeping through an empty hall—deep, prolonged, and never-ending.

"Once you hear your blood, try to make it speed up or slow down..."

Following his guidance, Yin Zhen tried to mobilize those sounds. Her blood began to alter its course, like a stream being diverted by an invisible hand. The areas where the blood pooled grew hot, generating a painful, swelling sensation.

"When your bones bear extreme pressure, they will emit a hum. The frequency of every single bone is different. You need to find the deepest and most primal resonance of your entire skeleton."

The program’s simulated pressure surged in from all directions, like the oppressive weight of the deep sea. Yin Zhen’s bones began to sound. Starting from her toes, the sound traveled up along her calves, her thighs, and her spine, ascending all the way like countless harp strings being plucked in succession, ultimately merging into a rich, deep resonance.

The power of technology was fully displayed at this moment. The results that Victor had spent over twenty years of bitter asceticism to achieve were perfectly experienced by Yin Zhen in just a few short minutes through the assistance of the Training Pod. Through the black technology within the pod, this sensation would remain ingrained in her muscles and memories. Once she returned to reality, she only needed to practice more to have a high probability of perfectly reproducing it.

After Victor’s avatar led Yin Zhen through a complete experience of the entire process ten times, he stood up. The surrounding scenery shifted once more, transforming into an Ancient Roman Colosseum with a blood moon hanging in the sky. Opposite the two of them, a flock of bats flew past. One of the larger bats landed and turned into a man of the Blood Clan. Dressed in a black tailcoat with a deathly pale face, he perfectly fit the stereotype.

"The Blood and Flesh Ascetic Method must undergo massive amounts of real combat and experience accumulation to reveal its true Effect. The training program has forcibly increased your simulated pain sensitivity to 200%. Microcurrents will stimulate every single nerve and muscle in your body.

"The man standing opposite you is named Urban. His Extraordinary Ability is rated as A+, but his comprehensive combat strength can rival an S-Class. As for what his Extraordinary Ability is, you can explore that yourself. Now, use the method I just taught you to defeat him, and let it all become a natural rhythm of your body."

Yin Zhen lowered her center of gravity and stared at the man in the tailcoat across from her. He stood there completely motionless, like a wax statue. Drawing her tactical dagger, she guided her blood toward her legs. Her bones hummed. Pushing off the ground with her feet, she burst forward at a speed much faster than in reality and threw a punch straight at the man’s face.

Suddenly, Yin Zhen felt a chill across her throat, and then her entire world began to spin. She saw her own body still maintaining its forward momentum. Its neck was completely bare, and blood was spraying out from the stump.

"You have died. Training failed!"

The Training Pod door opened. Yin Zhen abruptly sat up and clutched her neck. The agonizing pain of having her entire head sliced off still lingered in her nerve endings, feeling so realistic that her whole body trembled. This was the first time she had faced death so realistically. Even in the Training Pod that Adeline had given her previously, she had never died inside.

She wondered if an ordinary person could truly defeat an Extraordinary Ability User. Gritting her teeth, she lay back down.

Lucia never admitted defeat!