Gu Ya, just as he understood what was happening, suddenly turned and ran.
Behind him, two androids exchanged glances and quickly raised their guns to pursue him.
"This illusory world is so real, each person has a unique life and purpose. But they all have one common characteristic!"
Gu Ya excitedly thought to himself, "That is, they absolutely will not kill me!"
"Because I am hope, killing me would shatter this world! Since that's the case!"
Gu Ya had intended to jump from the upper floor, but the entire corridor was sealed, and the end led to the detention room. He couldn't go there!
He suddenly braked, turned around, and charged towards the androids aiming their guns at him!
"Stop! Stop! Otherwise, we will shoot you under Article 377 of the Xianxia Criminal Law for resisting arrest and obstructing official duties!" the android shouted mechanically.
"Then kill me!" Gu Ya showed a mysterious smile and rushed forward rapidly.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two gunshots that pierced the silence suddenly exploded. Gu Ya felt his legs being pushed by some immense force, losing strength instantly and falling to the ground.
A few seconds later, intense drilling and burning pain spread from his legs. Having lost his "pain immunity" ability, the piercing pain made Gu Ya's lips tremble.
But his face remained etched with the smug smile of someone who had seen through the conspiracy.
"Bang! Bang!" Two more shots!
His arms were shot through! Sweet blood surged from his throat, flowing down his lips.
Lying on the ground, Gu Ya struggled to lift his right hand, pointing it at his own head, and laughed with excited arrogance, "Go on, shoot here!!!"
"Bang!" A bullet grazed past Gu Ya's right ear. His right index finger and right ear were precisely shot off, and blood instantly splattered all over Gu Ya's face.
As blood flowed from various parts of his body, Gu Ya's consciousness began to blur. Vaguely, he heard a distant door being pushed open, and the four wheels of the operating bed scraping the floor, making a "rumble rumble rumble" sound that grew louder and louder.
Gu Ya knew in his heart that Black Star must have known he had found a way to break through the illusion and was increasing the dosage of the hallucinogenic agent.
He wanted to end his own life before the hallucinogenic effects kicked in!
Gritting his teeth, Gu Ya roared, concentrating all his spirit, using his will to block out the pain and weakness, and tremblingly pulled himself up and charged forward.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" Four shots exploded, bullets piercing Gu Ya's thighs and waist.
Gu Ya, like a zombie that had discovered a living person, twisted his body and swiftly lunged at an android prison guard, forcefully grabbing the firearm with both hands, leaping high with his feet to step on the android's shoulders, and using his waist strength to break free from the gun in the android's hand.
He stood high on the android's shoulders, shoving the muzzle into his own mouth, his eyes wild and his lips curled in a triumphant laugh, like a victor flaunting his spoils.
Suddenly, his mother appeared out of nowhere, kneeling on the ground, her hands trembling as she reached upwards, looking at Gu Ya with the most devoted, sorrowful, and pleading expression, crying out, "My son! Mother cannot live without you! You are Mother's hope!!"
Gu Ya's smile froze, and he looked at his mother with confusion and pain.
But in a flash, Gu Ya's face contorted into a sneer again, and he said coldly, "Go to hell, you illusion created by Black Star!"
Hesitation no longer in his heart, Gu Ya tightened his finger on the trigger.
Just at the moment before firing, his mother's sorrowful expression suddenly turned extremely cold and indifferent as she looked at Gu Ya.
"Heh, I knew it, you're just an illusion!"
"Bang!!!"
.........
"Experimental subject breaks through the second consciousness encirclement!!!"
Alarms blared throughout the laboratory, and all the scientists became even busier.
The large barrel-shaped instrument in front of them had been repaired, and the pile of spare parts had been cleared. Except for some scattered small components that were occasionally summoned out of thin air, no larger items appeared.
At the back of the laboratory, Mu Ye Xing Chen sat calmly on a long bench, looking ahead with a cold gaze.
"Increase the dosage! Add fully synthetic Beta-class Sheep Horn Ethylenediamine, initiate the private shell-class restraint device!"
As the female scientist commanded,
The giant coffin-like confinement within the barrel-shaped instrument suddenly vibrated frequently. A cold protective shield descended to cover Gu Ya's head, and then the surface temperature of the coffin rose.
Until it reached the melting point of the coffin's surface metal, with a loud "Bang!" the coffin disintegrated like a Rubik's Cube, scattering into more than a dozen pieces connected by internal mechanical structures, slowly unfolding outwards.
Gu Ya's body was bound within in a cross shape.
As the coffin sections dispersed, the gaps between them widened.
The floor beneath the coffin retracted into the ground in a spiral. More than a dozen injection tubes rose from the floor, their openings aimed at Gu Ya.
With a "Pfft—!" sound, a transparent, viscous liquid sprayed from the openings, enveloping Gu Ya's entire body.
The cross-shaped instrument binding Gu Ya began to release and scatter, retracting into the ground along with the dozen coffin sections, and the floor spiraled out to close again.
Within the large, transparent barrel-shaped instrument, only Gu Ya, enveloped in the transparent viscous liquid, remained, suspended in mid-air, supported by dozens of thin conduits, in the posture of Christ's crucifixion.
After all the busy work was completed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and continued to closely monitor the data.
Hours passed, and Gu Ya finally transitioned from a state of confused consciousness to a gradually calmer state.
The female scientist walked steadily towards Mu Ye Xing Chen and said in a low voice, "Great Commander, the experimental subject's condition is now stable. The fusion static rate is 37.25%. Although the fusion speed and acceleration are lower than theoretical values, they are showing an upward trend. Full fusion may still take 30 days."
Mu Ye Xing Chen nodded calmly, but his heart grew heavy. Thirty days was too long for him!
Fourteen days had passed since Gu Ya was subjected to the consciousness encirclement for the second time, and he had only progressed 37%. This far exceeded the planned timeline.
"The election for the Black Star Empire Commander has begun, and the opponent is already in action. The plan to seize the Commander's throne through the fused Hei Yang seems destined to be shelved," Mu Ye Xing Chen thought to himself.
"Great Commander?" the female scientist inquired softly.
Mu Ye Xing Chen looked up, his gaze calm as he asked her, "Is there anything else?"
"You previously mentioned that this Gu Ya is a clone of Gu Xing Chen. I was wondering if that might be the reason for the unsuccessful consciousness fusion," the female scientist said softly. "Moreover, I've reviewed Gu Ya's personal history, and from a technical standpoint..."
The female scientist paused, a hint of difficulty and embarrassment showing on her face. She pursed her lips and continued, "We still don't know which world he belongs to."
"What do you mean? The instruments can't monitor normally?" Mu Ye Xing Chen said, his calm tinged with dissatisfaction.
"No, monitoring can still be conducted normally, but, I mean..." the female scientist thought for a moment, then rephrased her words, "A normal person's world has two layers: the first layer is the illusion mirror, and the second layer is reality."
"The first consciousness encirclement is an illusory world we created that perfectly matches Gu Ya's personality, based on our research into his character."
"The second consciousness encirclement is a world simulated by 'Hei Yang' based on reality and experiences."
"Of our initial more than 30,000 experimental subjects, 87% remained in the first encirclement, and 12.8% entered the second encirclement."
"Those 0.2% who entered the third encirclement generally survived for less than an hour, because the experimental subjects could not imagine worlds they had never seen. For both the subjects and us, it was a completely unfamiliar and chaotic world. But this Gu Ya, however, gradually calmed down and his state is exceptionally stable, unless..."
Mu Ye Xing Chen said calmly, "Unless Gu Ya has seen other worlds and lived there for a considerable time."
The female scientist nodded. "This also explains why he possesses void technology. Could Gu Ya be an alien?"
Mu Ye Xing Chen could not provide an answer either. Frankly speaking, he was just a clone and had not held out much hope.
If the original had not mysteriously disappeared and remained unfound, they wouldn't have resorted to using Gu Ya as a substitute.
Now, it seemed, this clone held more secrets than the original.
However, Mu Ye Xing Chen no longer had time to consider these matters; he had to busy himself with the upcoming election.
"You've worked hard during this period," Mu Ye Xing Chen said, raising his hand and gently lifting a strand of the female scientist's hair, twirling it softly in his hand.
The female scientist blushed, lowered her head, and said sheepishly, "It is my honor to serve Great Commander Xing Chen."
"Once the Hei Yang plan is successful, you will become the most famous scientist in all of Black Star, and even the entire world."
After speaking, Mu Ye Xing Chen slowly walked out of the laboratory. He needed to meet two crucial individuals and make arrangements for his absence from headquarters during these past two months.