Chapter 151: Fusing Ghosts (3)

It is Commander Cat eating! Xiao Keyi had to step out for a few days, so I am taking care of her cat in the meantime, Wu Zui lied without blushing.

He could not let Ming Rourou discover Lai. If someone were to take a sudden whim into studying a seven-star ghost, and happened to provoke Lai while it was feeding, nobody could predict the consequences. After all, that was a terrifying seven-star entity! If Wu Zui had not been using red crystals as its daily rations, trouble would have ensued long ago.

Is that so~?

Hesitating, Ming Rourou did not turn her head back, as she similarly could not let Wu Zui see the items laid out on the table. The two of them continued making awkward small talk against the background noise of Lai's chewing.

Meanwhile, having finished the red crystal, Lai seemed to catch a novel scent. Driven by curiosity, it ambled toward the table, where several small porcelain vials filled with white powder suddenly appeared before its eyes.

Aphrodisiac powder poured into the mouth...

Lai took a little taste. Like refined flour, it tasted of almost nothing.

Three-Step Intestine-Breaking Powder added to the recipe...

Still pretty much tasteless...

Lai hoisted the vial of Corpse-Dissolving Liquid and drained it in one gulp!

Burp~

This one is not bad, helps with digestion.

Love potion poured into the mouth...

Puff~

In an instant, Lai spat out most of the white powder, scattering it all over the table. A significant amount even flew straight into the water cup placed some distance away!

So spicy!

Indignant, Lai smashed the porcelain vial onto the floor, then climbed onto Xiao Keyi's back, retrieved another red crystal from its fur, and began to munch on it. After consuming three or four pieces in a row, Lai seemed to gain something, a faint domain wrapping itself around both the cat and Xiao Keyi.

Lai plunged back into a deep slumber.

Inside the restroom, the two of them exchanged looks of consternation.

This cat's table manners are truly terrible! Not only does it burp, but it even farts! You have completely ruined someone else's cat! Ming Rourou glared at Wu Zui. She remembered Xiao Keyi's cat being exceptionally well-behaved. How had it turned out like this after just a few days in Wu Zui's care?

Uh... haha.

Wu Zui let out a dry laugh.

As for Lai, he could not afford to provoke it anyway. That creature was an absolute ancestral deity; as long as it did not lose its temper, everything else was best left to its own devices!

Before long, Ming Rourou's assistant arrived, bringing the items Ming Rourou had requested. At the same time, the assistant expressed intense curiosity as to why Ming Rourou had run off to a hotel. One had to know that Ming Rourou was famous for her icy demeanor at the research institute, to the extent that quite a few people doubted her sexual orientation!

After shooing away the gossipy assistant, Wu Zui began drawing blood once more.

Meanwhile, Ming Rourou closed the restroom door, surveyed the strewn mess of cups and dishes on the table and the cat still fast asleep on the bed, and fell into deep thought.

Men are truly unsuited for raising cats. Wu Zui, you can consider yourself lucky today!

Ming Rourou thought fiercely to herself, then quickly cleaned up the porcelain vials and the powder that had been sprayed all over the table. She had no intention of letting Wu Zui notice anything amiss; otherwise, striking at him again next time would become much more difficult!

Shortly after Ming Rourou finished cleaning up, Wu Zui emerged holding several vials of blood. Having been cornered in the restroom for ages and then having a full 1000ml of fresh blood drawn, Wu Zui felt unbearably thirsty.

However, the moment he picked up the cup, he cast a suspicious glance at Ming Rourou. Given his understanding of a certain someone, it would be thoroughly abnormal if there wasn't something extra added to that cup!

Hey! Take a sip first!

Wu Zui thrust the cup right in front of Ming Rourou and demanded.

On what grounds?!

Ming Rourou's face darkened as she snapped back.

On the grounds of your criminal record! Heaven knows if you added something inside! Wu Zui said without a shred of mercy. He knew that madwoman far too well!

Hmph! Coward!

Ming Rourou rolled her eyes at Wu Zui and took a large gulp.

Ah~ See? I drank it!

Ming Rourou bared her teeth and glared fiercely at Wu Zui.

Wu Zui glanced at her, confirming that the water had indeed been consumed. Ignoring her taunts, he pulled out a disinfectant wipe, meticulously cleaned the rim of the cup, and drank the remaining water.

Wu Zui! What is the meaning of this?!

Seeing this maneuver, Ming Rourou instantly flared up.

Maintaining personal hygiene!

Wu Zui shrugged, completely oblivious to how infuriating he was being.

Ming Rourou looked at the cup in Wu Zui's hand, then scanned her surroundings for anything handy and suitable for beating someone up. If she weren't afraid of bludgeoning a certain someone to death and depriving herself of future blood samples for research, she would have pulled out her scalpel right then and there to finish off the bastard.

Anger only served to accelerate someone's metabolism.

Clueless as to why Ming Rourou was suddenly fuming, Wu Zui glanced at Xiao Keyi sleeping soundly on the bed and suddenly remembered something.

Right, does the research institute have any new breakthroughs regarding the study of seven-star ghosts? For instance, anything concerning the suppression of seven-star ghosts? Wu Zui asked Ming Rourou.

N... No!

Even as she barked her angry denial, Ming Rourou felt a peculiar sensation welling up inside her body. The temperature in the room also seemed to rise; feeling rather warm, she casually slipped off her outer coat. Beneath the coat was a youthful, vibrant little dress.

There is... and with the ghost domain... Ming Rourou... you set me up!

As he spoke, Wu Zui also felt an abnormal wave of internal heat surging through him—this was unmistakably the effect of an aphrodisiac!

He instantly realized that someone had tampered with things.

I... I hadn't... gotten around to it yet!

Cursing under her breath, Ming Rourou also felt the fires of passion ignite.

Before long, the two of them were locked in a fierce battle...

Readers are kindly invited to use their imagination for this part, as details are inconvenient to elaborate upon.

The next day, when Wu Zui awoke, his body felt utterly drained.

Aside from the physical exhaustion of a night-long battle, the dense clusters of pinpricks peppering his arms stood as testament to the consequences of Ming Rourou's wrath. The volume of blood he had lost was already nearing human limits; any more extraction might genuinely have proved fatal!

Wu Zui reached out to feel the space beside him—it was empty.

Apart from the blood shed by a certain madwoman, the bedding still retained residual warmth and a faint trace of perfume.

What a complete mess!

Wu Zui felt as though his head were swelling to twice its size!

Right opposite him sat a cat glaring daggers at him.

A small white whiteboard had already been propped up in advance.

Master, just think about what you did last night!

Uh...

Wu Zui was so deeply embarrassed that he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Meow!

Seeing that Wu Zui offered neither speech nor explanation, Xiao Keyi let out an angry cry, transformed into a streak of blue light, and—taking Lai along with her—dove straight back into Wu Zui's body. Watching Xiao Keyi refuse to return to his arms, Wu Zui sat in silence, completely speechless.

She was the one who drugged us, I'm the victim here, alright?!

Weak and debilitated from massive blood loss, Wu Zui could only recuperate quietly in his room. Meanwhile, the culprit responsible for all this was fast asleep inside Wu Zui's body alongside Xiao Keyi.

Lai: You're welcome, just call me Lei Feng!

As for Ming Rourou, who had already fled the hotel, she was currently limping her way back to her secret base, clutching several blood vials. Naturally, she dared not take Wu Zui's blood to the research institute's laboratories—what if some meddlesome colleague discovered something amiss?

Only her secret base offered absolute security.

Damn you, Wu Zui, that hurt like hell! You'd better bleed out and turn into a vegetable! Oh~ Before I left, I really should have punched that odious head of yours first!

Thinking of this, Ming Rourou felt a profound sense of regret for having missed the opportunity.

Still, at least there's a consolation prize!

Gazing at the various blood vials of all sizes in her bag, Ming Rourou felt her spirits lift slightly. These were trophies seized from that bastard after all! The only eyesore was the hastily snipped fragment of blood-stained bedsheet she had brought along.

After carefully stowing away the sheet fragment, Ming Rourou immediately threw herself into her experiments. Over the course of the night she had lost to her escapade, the research institute's internal platform had already uploaded a wealth of experimental data and procedures concerning ghost fusion.

Those madmen had actually secured volunteers and immediately launched overnight experiments. No doubt Li Jie back at the institute was faring no better than Wu Zui, who had been drained to his physiological limit.

Back on Wu Zui's end, it took days of relentless coaxing before Xiao Keyi was finally willing to perch on his shoulder once more.

Yes! She still refused to return to his arms...

A week later, following round-the-clock experimentation by the research institute, the second and third ghost-fused subjects were officially born, excluding Li Jie. Short-term studies indicated that, aside from a tendency toward slightly radical emotional shifts, ghost-fused individuals showed no other abnormalities for the time being.

The experiments now entered their second phase—utilizing spatial power to control the ghost's core. Furthermore, once a ghost's power surged exponentially, an Awakened individual had to be able to suppress the entity and retain dominance before advancing to the third phase: researching the absorption of the apocalyptic black mist.

And this particular stage proved to be the most arduous hurdle of the entire project.

Human mastery of spatial force fell far short of the proficiency demonstrated by ghosts of the same tier. In fact, quite a few newly advanced five-star Awakened couldn't even open a spatial singularity. If they couldn't even manage to run away, what else could one possibly expect of them?

Such was the inevitable consequence of manufacturing rapid breakthroughs via magnetic enhancement chambers!

Meanwhile, Ming Rourou exhibited extraordinary zeal at the institute. Before long, utilizing the data compiled by the facility, she began conducting her own experiments during her free time using Wu Zui's blood.

Everything proceeded in an orderly and methodical fashion...

Months later.

Across the Blue Planet, widespread food shortages struck numerous nations, with grain prices soaring through the roof time and time again. Finding a solution to the apocalyptic black mist had become an urgent priority! If things dragged on any longer, humanity would starve to death before any remedy could be found.

Inside the research institute, the researchers were locked in fierce, chaotic debates.

The current mastery of spatial power among Awakened individuals simply fails to achieve the desired effect! Forcing them to fuse with the apocalyptic black mist will only destroy our few remaining test subjects!

We are out of time! If we don't try now, the apocalyptic black mist will wipe us out! Remember, our food reserves are nearly depleted. Besides, even if we plant seeds immediately, the harvest won't be instantaneous! How many people will die waiting for crops to grow?!

That is still out of the question!

...

In truth, their research findings were already comprehensive, lacking only a final missing piece. Given the sheer abundance of apocalyptic black mist, should any ghost manage to ascend to the seven-star level by consuming it, not a single researcher could guarantee that a ghost-fused subject would not suffer a catastrophic backlash.

Seven-star! That was a brand-new realm!

Mortals possessed domains! Ghosts possessed ghost domains!

And they possessed the power to rewrite the rules!