The Gentleman at the End

Chapter 145: Chapter 144: Transformation

Since the list had been submitted, the organization would select three suitable squads from the submitted names citywide by tomorrow, to head to this naturally occurring Grey Zone where a “tunnel” had formed.

Inside Zion, several squads were making preparations for this.

[Power Station]

An ancient castle structure adorned with countless gears constantly spouting steam,

Looking up, one could also see the steel supports installed at the top, as well as the many exaggerated electric arcs that leaped rhythmically.

Less than 15% of the gentlemen in Zion had ever seen the true face of the Power Station.

At this moment,

Ludwig Reagan was in the depths of the Power Station, inside a private laboratory permitted by the station master, making his final preparations to leave the city.

In the midst of his busyness,

a woman whose body was connected in many places by cables and who achieved simple consciousness through circuit boards and precise currents, was sitting at the edge of the cleared experimental platform, swinging her legs up and down.

The cables hanging from the roots of her legs swayed along.

Her special eyes, hidden beneath her black hair, watched the busy Reagan.

Without complete thought processes, she merely liked to watch this exceedingly familiar young man and wouldn’t think too much. Whenever Reagan was alone, she would sneak out to keep him company.

At this time,

Reagan observed the special device he had been studying for many years, using the mechanical arms and adjustable magnifying glass assembled at the experimental platform to make final adjustments to it.

Before he knew it, eight hours had passed.

The woman still maintained the same leg-swinging and observing motions, even the amplitude of her leg movements remained the same.

“So I have to leave the city after all…”

Once he had finished adjusting, Reagan first came to the ethereal woman,

The faint electric arcs leaping over her body allowed Reagan to directly touch the woman, to truly feel her body… or rather, only Reagan could touch her.

Reagan cupped the woman’s hands, and a teardrop fell upon them.

“Faye, please forgive my incompetence. Even with the research resources provided by the stationmaster, I still can’t make a breakthrough in ‘neural consciousness’ reconstruction.

At least as a ‘human’ now, it is simply impossible to overcome this technical barrier in the short term.

I need to take you to the twisted, loathsome, and dangerous Grey Zone again, to search for ancient Relics that can push beyond the Limit of Man.

I promise, this time I definitely will not let you get hurt.”

As Reagan finished speaking, the woman stopped swinging her legs,

Her body began to move slowly, emitting a sound of metal cables and bones friction.

Her tongue, riddled with tiny holes, pressed against the side of Reagan’s ear, lightly licking and sending out sporadic electromagnetic interference:

“Good… we… together… go.”

These words greatly encouraged Reagan. He stood up and returned to the device he had finished adjusting.

This was an augmentation device he had designed himself with support from the station master, created by pre-spending his entire ten years’ salary.

A spine-like exoskeleton that shimmered with metallic luster, silvery white throughout, resembling a centipede.

Each segment of the spine had a pair of soft metal appendages,

Once these appendages were inserted into the human body, they would automatically seek the corresponding secondary nerves for swift connection.

The device’s greatest feature was its ability to transform an individual’s biological energy into electrical energy for storage, and it could also precisely and effectively regulate the delivery of electricity.

For instance, after Reagan ate normally, a portion of the food energy converting into glycogen would split off an excess portion and transform into electricity, stored between the spines.

Similarly, the energy produced from Reagan’s daily walking and running would also be partially saved in electrical form.

Because the device closely resembled the insects of the Arthropoda class, Reagan often called it the [Electric Insect].

Due to the limitations of the era’s technology,

a device that connects with the essence of nerves and requires the transformation of the body’s energy transmission, would involve significant risks during installation; a strong rejection reaction from the body could lead to immediate death.

“Huff…”

He took a deep breath and reached out to flip the hidden switch inside the outer layer of the exoskeleton.

Click-clack, click-clack!

The exoskeleton spine moved like a reptile, each metal appendage beginning to tap up and down, seeking to insert themselves into the host’s body.

Reagan removed his Shirt,

The exposed back had already been mapped out with a “spine point distribution diagram” using some sort of inducing fluid, to assist the exoskeleton in making precise connections.

As he twisted his body, he aligned his back with the activated exoskeleton spine.

The latter immediately detected ‘compatible points’ and crawled up his back like centipedes.

Feeling the cold metal appendages scraping against his back, Ludwig Reagan felt no fear; instead, he just turned his head slightly and smiled warmly at the woman he loved most in his life.

“Just wait a moment for me, it will be over soon,” he said.

The smile did not last long.

The metallic vertebrae crawling on his back held still as the appendages began to seek out the corresponding [points]

Shh~ The cold metal spikes pierced into his body and into his spine in an instant, officially initiating ‘neural integration’ and ‘energy storage modification’.

Ah! A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the lab.

Reagan almost passed out on the spot,

The sound of pain touched Faye, who was nearby, causing her simple thought processes to react, and she slowly drifted over to embrace Reagan in her arms.

Slowly,

As the pain in his spine gradually subsided, the extremly exhausted Reagan slowly fell asleep in the embrace, collapsing sideways in the laboratory.

A strong and stable current flickered in his almost closed eyes.

…

Inside the Academy

Yi Chen reported on the tasks he undertook in Cesimani as usual to his tutor. @@novelbin@@

Qian Bosen naturally saw through his student’s thoughts, “Are you really not satisfied with the ‘Dual Attribute Relic’?”

“Let’s give it a try~ Just treat it as a trial for the mission, and wouldn’t it be better if we really found a ‘Three Attribute Relic’?”

“The ‘Relic Incident’ is entirely different from the usual tasks you undertake because you will have to contact [Channels] and venture into truly dangerous areas of the old world.

However, newly discovered channels, especially those in medium and sparse Grey Zones, tend to be safer.

Additionally, the ‘Skin Content’ of your outfit should further ensure your activity issues there, and the Watcher will also decide whether you are qualified to pass through the channel.

Since you’ve decided to go, I won’t say much more.

Just to be safe, take a tube of ‘Dusk thin silver liquid’… after all, one bottle has plenty, and the remaining amount should be enough for your subsequent use.”

“Okay,” Yi Chen replied.

After saying goodbye to Qian Bosen, he followed him to Zed’s Paradise. Normally talkative Teacher Zed didn’t say much this time, nor did he require Yi Chen to engage in physical training before departure.

Instead, he rarely cautioned him:

“Explore carefully, and don’t lose your ‘eyes’ in there like I did.”

Yi Chen planned to spend the remaining time preparing for something that could influence the progression of the event.

[Street District – Temporary Accommodation Area]

Top floor corner room, this is precisely Jin’s single rental.

Strangely, standing at the door Yi Chen couldn’t smell the usual scent of meat.

Knock, knock, knock~Several knocks on the door went unanswered.

“Hmm, it’s nearly ten o’clock at night, and she still hasn’t returned? Well, let’s wait for the notification and regroup tomorrow.”

Just as Yi Chen turned to leave,

heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor, and Jin appeared, carrying a hemp bag taller than herself, coming up from the staircase.

“Huh? William, what are you doing here… I was thinking we might have to depart promptly tomorrow, so I used a lot of connections today to gather [high-grade synthetic meat]. I have to process it all tonight. You’ve really come at a bad time.”

“No problem, we can talk while you work.”

Yi Chen had a clear purpose,

He wanted to seize this critical moment before the event to have a deep conversation with Jin, to seriously discuss the upcoming relic incident and try to suppress Jin’s wild traits as much as possible, reducing the instability of the team.

In the dim, cramped room filled with the scent of raw meat,

To minimize the contamination of clothing, coats were taken off,

Both of them wore only shirts, with the first and second buttons undone, sleeves folded up to the elbows,

Palms occasionally overlapped, crossed,

Collaborating on the instrument covered with minced meat, grinding and pressing to produce minced meat, trying to process all the synthetic meat before dawn.