Three Souls

As soon as these words were spoken, the experimental subjects looked at each other, seeing fear in each other's eyes.

Hearing this, the researchers surrounded the experimental subjects. Knowing they couldn't escape, the experimental subjects had long since lost hope and stopped struggling.

Mou Jin carefully observed all the researchers. They were equipped with at least two guns each. If he chose to resist by force, he would only end up injured and shot dead.

And wanting to secretly cut through the researchers' clothes like Shao Lai did was also no easy task.

The first batch of experimental subjects was taken away by the researchers. Tubes were inserted into their heads, and the red liquid in the control area flowed backward. Next, the tubes extracted their souls. The souls fell into the large vat, floating aimlessly, before finally being scooped up by the researchers.

The researchers placed each soul into a special black container, and the containers were stacked on top of each other. Once they reached a certain height, they were carried away by other researchers.

As for the physical bodies that turned into skeletons due to the radiation of the Xichang Stone, they were shot several times by Shi Kun and a few other researchers. After their hearts stopped beating, all the bones were packed up, and finally carried away along with the soul containers.

For a time, the sounds of gunshots, miserable screams, and pleas echoed continuously.

Mou Jin stared at the researchers carrying the soul containers, their figures disappearing around the corner.

Where did they want to take the souls? What did the second experiment refer to?

Ming Kuan was frustrated. How was he supposed to evade a group of armed researchers empty-handed? Unless he relied on intelligence to win.

Cang Xing heard Ming Kuan chatting with the system, hoping the system would give him a cheat weapon, which was flatly refused by the system.

Soon, only a few experimental subjects were left in the laboratory, and it was finally the turn of the three of them.

A researcher pointed at Ling Yanyun and a few other experimental subjects: "Your turn."

Mou Jin instinctively looked toward Ling Yanyun. Ling Yanyun also looked at Mou Jin. With just one glance, he turned his head away and immediately walked toward the soul extraction machine.

Was there any way to save Ling Yanyun?

Ming Kuan couldn't think of anything. Just as he had told the system, he was very stupid. Facing so many researchers with guns, he couldn't win with intelligence.

Although he had only been in this world for a few days, Ling Yanyun's care for Mou Jin was real. He couldn't stand by and watch his teammate have his soul extracted to undergo the researchers' so-called second experiment.

Laboratory No. 5 was cold and damp, but sweat began to bead on his forehead.

His eyes constantly followed Ling Yanyun, but even when the researcher inserted the tube into Ling Yanyun's head, he still couldn't think of any solution.

Shao Lai looked at Ling Yanyun with a dark expression, a faint glint of light appearing in his hand. Mou Jin turned to look at Shao Lai and realized that what was in his hand was a dagger.

Could a single dagger stand against more than ten armed researchers? Obviously not.

Mou Jin couldn't bear to look at Ling Yanyun anymore, but his sidelong glance still kept track of him.

To everyone's surprise, after the souls of all the experimental subjects in this batch were extracted, Ling Yanyun's soul still hadn't been drawn out.

Shi Kun was astonished. He meticulously checked the tube on Ling Yanyun's head. The tube was completely intact. Had Ling Yanyun done something?

He narrowed his eyes, staring directly at Ling Yanyun. The other party opened his eyes and looked at him, his face bearing an indifferent expression.

The other researchers also found nothing unusual, saying in confusion: "The machine has no malfunctions. Why is he the only one whose soul can't be extracted?"

Shi Kun pondered for a long time, then said to the researchers: "Keep extracting! I don't believe his soul is that hard to extract!"

Soon, the next batch of people went up. Mou Jin looked around at the remaining experimental subjects beside him. The last batch would be him and Shao Lai.

However, even when the souls of this batch of people were all extracted, Ling Yanyun still stood there completely unharmed. The red liquid in the tube above his head kept flowing backward, but nothing else could be drawn out.

Seeing this, Shi Kun lifted Ling Yanyun's face, wanting to find a clue from Ling Yanyun's calm expression, but he couldn't see anything.

"Only the last few people are left." The researcher's gaze swept over the few people still standing in the center of the laboratory.

Shi Kun nodded: "Continue."

Mou Jin was grabbed by the shoulder by a researcher. The researcher's grip was very strong, almost pinching into his flesh through his gloves.

Until the tube was inserted, Mou Jin attempted to struggle, but a dark gun barrel was aimed directly at him.

Shi Kun held the gun, his eyes completely devoid of warmth.

Seeing this, Ming Kuan finally realized that things were beyond saving. He anxiously told the system that he was an outsider to this world whose soul had entered Mou Jin's body; they couldn't actually extract his soul, right?

The system reassured Ming Kuan, saying it would return him to the real world the moment his soul was extracted.

Right at this moment, the soul extraction machine started up.

Suddenly, a loud "rumble" resounded. Mou Jin, resisting the suction of the tube, looked toward the source of the tube, which was also the source of the sound—a steel sphere.

He saw that cracks had actually appeared on the surface of the steel sphere. The researchers hadn't anticipated this situation either, and they looked toward Shi Kun for instructions.

Shi Kun hastily ordered the researchers to stop operating the machine.

The researchers turned off the power switch of the machine. The tubes connected to the machine immediately detached from the experimental subjects' heads, hanging down limply. The red liquid inside flowed backward and dripped onto the ground, reflecting a bizarre red light.

However, the cracks on the surface of the sphere still kept increasing, showing a faint tendency to shatter completely.

Mou Jin looked toward Shao Lai, who was closest to him. Shao Lai was fine, showing no adverse reactions.

He then looked toward Ling Yanyun. Ling Yanyun had lowered his head, his face buried in the shadows, making it impossible to see his emotions.

Mou Jin suddenly felt that something was wrong.

On the other side, the vat that had been quiet for a long time suddenly made a splashing sound. Everyone looked over.

They saw that the vat, which was supposed to be empty of any "person," suddenly had three souls appearing in it, floating in the water.

Unlike the weak, silk-like souls of the other experimental subjects, these three souls had powerful limbs.

One of them climbed to the edge of the vat, jumped to the ground, and expressionlessly glanced at the researchers.

The researchers gradually surrounded them, their hands quietly pressing on their guns, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The second soul gripped the edge of the vat with his fingers. The indestructible special material actually developed spiderweb-like cracks. In an instant, the entire vat shattered into pieces, and water poured out.

Several researchers standing nearby were struck in the head, completely drenched. Their masks soaked with water, they coughed violently, gasping for breath.

A pair of hands choked two of the researchers, their necks snapping as they collapsed limply to the ground.

The owner of those hands emerged from the water; he was the third soul in the vat.

Cang Xing saw these three souls and recognized that the first soul was Yun Yizhi, the second was Yan Licha, and the third was Ling Gong.

Sure enough, Ling Yanyun was the original body of those three.

Therefore, there were three souls inside Ling Yanyun's body.

The situation reversed instantly. Within a few breaths, Ling Gong had dealt with many researchers who hadn't had time to react.

Shi Kun held his gun with both hands, the barrel aimed straight at Ling Gong. The dark bullet carried a bone-chilling wind, but Ling Gong didn't dodge. His face was stained with the researchers' blood, which dripped down to the corner of his lips.

Ling Gong licked his bright red lips, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. At the same time, bullets embedded themselves in his body, yet the smile on his lips only deepened, like a withered rose.

The remaining researchers pulled out their handguns one after another, and deafening gunshots rang out.

Ling Gong endured the rain of bullets. The bullets lodged in his body, but he ignored them, his ghostly figure shifting in front of Shi Kun.

His hand covered the gun in Shi Kun's hand. Shi Kun's fingers trembled uncontrollably as he pulled the trigger. Only when the gun was out of bullets did he let go of his finger.

However, the hand of this ghost-like youth still tightly enveloped his hand, as if the bullets he had just fired had vanished into thin air. The youth's porcelain-white hand actually showed no blood at all.

Shi Kun's lips trembled, his voice choking: "Mon... Monster..."

Hearing this, Ling Gong actually laughed. He turned his head, his eyes looking straight at Mou Jin, then turned back to look at Shi Kun: "Let them go, otherwise..."

He applied a bit of force. Shi Kun's hand bone dislocated with a "crack," and the gun fell to the ground. At the same time, the force applied to his hand vanished.

Shi Kun felt completely cold. He said in a trembling voice: "I'll let them go."

Mou Jin stared blankly at the "person" standing in front of Shi Kun. He wanted to speak, but his throat felt as if stuffed with cotton, unable to make a sound.

He tilted his eyes to look at Ling Yanyun. The tube had detached from Ling Yanyun's head. Without the suction of the tube, Ling Yanyun's body collapsed to the ground, his arms hanging limply, his eyes tightly closed, his face pale, as if dead.

Ling Yanyun was indeed dead. Mou Jin looked again at the three souls in the center of the laboratory; those were Ling Yanyun's souls.

"Didn't you hear me?" Shi Kun barked at the surviving researchers. "Let them go."

Mou Jin wanted to call out to those three souls, but a researcher stepped forward and struck him on the back of the neck with a hand chop. His vision went black.

When he woke up again, Mou Jin was lying on a tattered bed, with ragged clothes serving as a pillow. Looking up, he saw a bright sky. A warm wind blew in from the open roof, kicking up dust in the room, irritating Mou Jin's eyes and nose.

Mou Jin, or Ming Kuan, suddenly sneezed. He woke up instantly, rolled over, and scrambled up, finally seeing clearly where he was.

He had escaped from the research institute?! He had survived the experiment?!

The sunlight shone through the shattered window, making a "creak" sound as it illuminated this empty, ruined, and dusty room, warming Ming Kuan's cold arms.