Chapter 1197: Soul Projection
Lin Sanjiu looked down at Sesame Cake and remained silent for a while.
When she pieced together the clues and recalled the tone and language used by "Sesame Cake" earlier, the differences became clear: although the bearded man controlled Sesame Cake's body via soul projection, he couldn't change his own way of speaking. That realization came to her only after she noticed a series of clues. If the grand prize were in her place, he would probably have realized that someone had switched with Sesame Cake after the second sentence.
"Now, what should I do with you?" she whispered, mostly talking to herself. "I thought you had a way to protect your organs, but now you are of no use... Unless you can tell me about the Munitions Factory?"
On this matter, Ya Jiang was completely clueless—he had only overheard bits and pieces of information and hadn't been to the Twelve Worlds Centrum for a long time. He didn't even know why the Munitions Factory had stopped production. "I asked people about it, and they didn't know either. How could you blame me?" he muttered.
"Sesame Cake" hung her head, taking a deep breath after a while.
"We only met for a few minutes, so I thought you had already forgotten about me," he said calmly.
"It's rare to see people traveling together during the doomsday," Lin Sanjiu said, glancing at Bohemia in the distance. "I actually don't dislike Sesame Cake."
Even if the woman had tried to deceive Lin Sanjiu into the lava, it was a survival tactic she had developed within this world's framework—just like wild animals hunting for prey; she couldn't be called innocent, but she couldn't be called evil either. Harming others required only selfishness, but helping others required great courage. Lin Sanjiu had always admired the courageous.
"I don't dislike her either. I really like her personality and how she treats others." The face of Sesame Cake lifted, but the expression belonged to someone else. When he smiled slightly, the freckles were like little stars sprinkled on his skin. "But I don't think I need to explain what happened between us."
What else could have happened? Probably just some old stories that people were tired of seeing and hearing. Regardless of the world's destruction or gaining evolving abilities, some things woven together with genes would never leave the stage.
"Sesame Cake" stopped there, not wanting to delve deeper. It was as if he was guarding something that belonged to him and Sesame Cake, unwilling to show more to outsiders.
"Tell me about the Munitions Factory."
"Before we came to this world, we did a lot of research and spent a lot of money to buy one of the last batches of products from the Munitions Factory..." He paused slightly when he reached that point, as if his thoughts drifted back to the time they made preparations together. Lin Sanjiu didn't rush him and waited for a while before he continued. "At that time, soul projection had been launched for quite some time. At least several months, I think. During that time, there was no news from the Munitions Factory. I mean, no official news. There were all kinds of miscellaneous rumors and whispers, like all the Munitions Factory researchers had died, or someone stole their important assets. I thought it wasn't worth listening to."
Lin Sanjiu recalled the giant Erudite composed of metal bones rapidly climbing on the wall.
"I don't really know if soul projection was the last work of the Munitions Factory. I remember when I bought it, the seller told me I got a great deal. He warned me to take good care of this thing and, if I had extra money, to quickly collect more items produced by the Munitions Factory. He said the Munitions Factory hadn't produced new items for a long time, and it might not produce any in the future. I asked him why, thinking he was trying to sell off some inventory and just using a scare tactic."
"Sesame Cake" paused, looking down at his own feet under their gaze, and continued, "The seller said that something strange happened at the Munitions Factory's branch in Heaven Underworld. People from other Twelve Worlds branches were unknowingly infected during a gathering."
Lin Sanjiu never expected to hear this word. "Infected? Like a viral infection?"
"Sesame Cake" also seemed puzzled. "I thought it was a strange term too, but that's what the seller said. If it was a viral infection, I haven't heard anything about it in Heaven Underworld. The seller didn't know much more either."
He glanced at Ya Jiang and said, "Maybe we all heard the same rumor."
The so-called "where there's smoke, there's fire." Even if the Munitions Factory wasn't actually infected, one thing was certain—the Munitions Factory has not released any new product to this day. That meant something must have happened after she left. Lin Sanjiu hesitated for a moment.
Besides her, there was one other person at the Munitions Factory during the incident, and that person might even know more than her. Fortunately, she had a way to contact that person, but she would rather avoid using [eBay] if she could, so as not to involve Gong Daoyi.
At the moment, the issue with the Munitions Factory, or rather Silvan, was not the most urgent matter. Lin Sanjiu glanced at Bohemia, who was already turning back, and sighed, saying to "Sesame Cake," "What do you want me to do with you?"
This man was still in Sesame Cake's body though he had been caught, which indicated that he might need to fulfill certain conditions in order to leave. Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and felt that she shouldn't be the one to decide this man's fate. If anyone had the right to decide, it should be Sesame Cake, who probably couldn't make a decision.
While the person on the ground remained silent, Ya Jiang hesitated and raised his hand.
Lin Sanjiu's head ached. "What do you have to say?"
Ya Jiang rubbed his hands together and circled around the two of them before asking, "Why do you both talk as if there is no hope left for this woman?"
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback.
"She's just had all her organs taken out," Ya Jiang explained matter-of-factly, "but as long as the organs are put back in, she can still survive, right? Mister," he gestured towards the woman on the ground, "if you feel so guilty, why don't you ask an NPC to put her organs back?"
This hospital had too many unspoken rules. Lin Sanjiu wiped her face and couldn't help but glance at the horrifying form of Wushi Ming nearby. "NPCs can put organs back?"
"Sesame Cake" looked up and suddenly forced a bitter smile. "I dare not," he murmured. "Most of her organs are still here... but I dare not. Compared to what might happen after she is resurrected... I'd rather live in guilt."
After saying this, he fell into silence. In the distance, only Bohemia's unrestrained footsteps and the jingling of the fragments on her body sounded as she approached them. Lin Sanjiu nodded to her and turned to ask Ya Jiang, "Do you know anything about soul projection? How can he return to his own body?"
"It seems like he has to walk back to his body," Ya Jiang said, looking uncertainly at "Sesame Cake." "Right?"
The latter didn't react at all.
At this moment, Bohemia was only about ten steps away from them, and Lin Sanjiu could clearly see her face turning red with excitement—probably from earning many points through bone marrow donations. Lin Sanjiu quickly pondered in her mind and turned to Ya Jiang, instructing, "We still have something to do. Bohemia has changed rooms, and I will have her give you the key. If you need a safe place to hide, you can stay in her room temporarily." With several steps of distance between them, Bohemia's expression fell. Lin Sanjiu glanced at her and continued, "Since you are more familiar with soul projection... when we come back, can you find out where his body is?"