The man's words had barely fallen when the more than twenty armed personnel surged forward, clamping down on Gu Ya's neck and pinning him rigidly to the tabletop.
"At least give me some labor fees," Gu Ya stated calmly. "I just want to earn some money."
The man flicked ash from his clothes, sneering, "A piece of trash about to die still wants to talk about money?"
"No money, no goods!" Gu Ya gritted his teeth and yelled, struggling.
Showing any lack of greed at this moment would surely arouse suspicion. The opponent likely had ties to the higher echelons of the Black Star regime. He couldn't expose his identity so early.
"Stubborn as a mule!" The man's hand suddenly produced a sharp spike, aimed precisely at the center of Gu Ya's nape, and plunged in.
Gu Ya's eyes immediately rolled back, and foam appeared at his lips.
"The dosage of the truth serum doesn't need to be much. But if injected in large doses, the person will experience extreme thirst within minutes due to neural obstruction, and might even cut open their own belly to drink their blood. Trash like you can be discarded after use."
Gu Ya stood at the shop entrance, coldly watching the tall man inject the truth serum into his own hand. The twenty-odd people present were all immersed in "Yong Meng," staging their own play.
The man retracted the spike into his sleeve, patted the air, and asked with a smug grin, "Now, tell me where the goods are?"
In the man's vision, Gu Ya's expression twisted, and he said with great difficulty, "They're standing right here at the shop entrance!"
Everyone immediately turned to look at Gu Ya, as if at a lamb being led to slaughter. Soon, soldiers produced gun-like scanning instruments and aimed them at Gu Ya.
Gu Ya inwardly sneered, continuing to manipulate "Yong Meng" to obstruct their judgment. As expected, the instrument displayed Gu Ya as a consciousness entity!
The man smiled with satisfaction, exclaiming, "Young and vibrant." Several armed personnel quickly rushed forward to surround Gu Ya, escorting him away from the wine shop and into a hovercar parked outside.
"The extraction experiment for Subject 37 is scheduled to begin in twenty minutes. Returning now will be just in time."
Gu Ya, however, asked abruptly, "What did the subject you obtained last night look like, how old were they, what unique characteristics did they have, and how did you find him/her?"
Of course, in the ears of the others, Gu Ya's words were inaudible. But this tall man was different. Because he had injected himself with the truth serum, Gu Ya's words were like commands. In no time, the man revealed all the intelligence he possessed to Gu Ya!
Gu Ya sneered, thinking, "Now, besides not knowing the real name of Subject 37, all other conditions match Ye Ying's characteristics!! Finally, I've found her!"
The hovercar smoothly took off, heading towards the Black Star regime headquarters.
...
"The Grand Mentor has arrived, the experiment can commence."
"All preparations are in order, awaiting your presence."
"Grand Mentor, you are as punctual as ever!"
A group of medical personnel in white coats surrounded an old man in a wheelchair, offering compliments as they walked. Although the wheelchair didn't require pushing, two medical attendants solicitously held its armrests and gently propelled it forward. The old man in the wheelchair displayed no joy or sorrow, appearing even somewhat senile. However, his eyes occasionally revealed a trace of barely perceptible malevolence; a mere glance could send a chill down someone's spine.
The group quickly arrived at the control room adjacent to the operating theater. Through a large, wide glass panel, Ye Ying lay calmly on the operating table, awaiting her predetermined fate. The Grand Mentor was wheeled over to a sophisticated instrument. He slowly raised his hands, his bony, wrinkled hands rapidly manipulating a holographic keyboard, accessing and reviewing Ye Ying's physical examination report. After a careful perusal, the Grand Mentor nodded slightly, his face showing a hint of fatigue, and said, "Your work is thorough."
Receiving the Grand Mentor's affirmation, all the medical personnel behind him erupted in hushed cheers. Wei walked to the Grand Mentor's side, bowed, and smiled warmly, "Mentor, this is the experimental subject with the best physical condition our research institute has ever acquired. Our skills are insufficient, which is why we personally invited you to guide us."
The Grand Mentor showed a rare smile and said, "You, my girl, I suspect you've already asked your master for this subject's physical body, haven't you?"
Wei quickly replied, "Hehe, Grand Mentor, your insight is truly remarkable. It would be too much of a waste to use such an excellent subject solely for consciousness extraction. My 'Pure Body' transformation technique this year relies on her. At that time, I will still need to trouble you for personal guidance."
"Heh heh heh, you always bring up your research. Very well, I also wish to see my theories flourish! Wei, you are the most ambitious student I have ever guided!"
At this moment, the door to the control room was gently pushed open, and a tall man walked in. Upon seeing her senior disciple brother, Wei's face immediately fell. The tall man walked to the Grand Mentor's side and said softly, "Grand Mentor, I am late."
"Huang Li, this is unlike you," the Grand Mentor said, his expression displeased.
Huang Li quickly replied, "Junior dare not presume. Just now, I obtained another consciousness entity experiment subject, female. Preliminary examinations show she is as excellent as Subject 37!"
"What?" Wei exclaimed in a low, disbelieving voice!
The Grand Mentor smiled again, as if enfeebled by age, "Huang Li, you always surprise me. You have worked tirelessly for my 'Double Ring' human experimentation. Thank you for your efforts."
"Grand Mentor, it is all thanks to you. Junior merely runs errands," Huang Li replied respectfully, his expression unchanged.
"Some time has been lost. Let us begin," the Grand Mentor said softly. "It seems we have two experiments to conduct today."
Everyone began to carry out their duties. Some were responsible for on-site recording, others for logging all operational procedures on the holographic system, and some sat by surrounding instruments to provide auxiliary support. As the most favored disciples, Huang Li and Wei were not required to do anything but observe. After all, besides the Grand Mentor, they were the only two in the room capable of independently performing extraction experiments.
The armrests of the Grand Mentor's wheelchair retracted, revealing two fine mechanical arms that assisted his hands in operation. A blue holographic helmet materialized above the Grand Mentor's head, and four blue holographic gloves appeared on his four limbs. As his fingers moved, in the operating theater, the rectangular operating table began to transform, with curved mechanical devices extending from its sides, eventually merging into a cylindrical instrument that covered Ye Ying's head. The cylindrical instrument began to rotate slowly, and the operating table retracted into the floor.
At this point, the gravity field in the operating theater changed. Ye Ying floated upwards. The cylindrical instrument spun faster and faster, gradually extending metal plates to its sides, encasing Ye Ying's entire body. Finally, Ye Ying was completely enclosed within the metal plates, forming a humanoid metal chrysalis. Under the Grand Mentor's operation, the metal chrysalis slowly stood upright, and various interfaces of different shapes and sizes unfolded from the bottom of the chrysalis. The medical personnel providing auxiliary operations also began to work. All the instruments surrounding the operating theater also transformed and converged towards the metal chrysalis. Ultimately, all the instruments reformed into a disc-shaped base, firmly securing the metal chrysalis in the center. Each instrument had corresponding connectors that plugged into the interfaces at the bottom of the metal chrysalis.
Just as everyone was holding their breath and operating, the control room door was gently pushed open a crack. The "Yong Meng" nanobots entered first, obstructing everyone's senses. Following them, Gu Ya walked into the control room and slowly closed the door. After locking the door and blasting the combination lock with a single punch, Gu Ya, as if no one else were present, walked to the Grand Mentor's side, placed his hands on the console, and activated "Code Tampering."
And at this moment, Ye Ying, within the metal chrysalis, slowly opened her eyes.