Chapter 158: Since We

In just a few seconds, Ji Jue felt as though he had inhaled enough cold air to raise the temperature of the operating room.

It was, quite simply, an eye-opener.

Distinct from the dying mother, two frantic surges of spiritual quality were churning and intertwining within her abdomen, behaving exactly like two rabid dogs in the final stages of infection.

They were locked in an endless cycle of cannibalism and tearing, saturated with distortion and madness.

They were using the mother as a battlefield, wreaking havoc at will while ruthlessly sucking away her life and soul.

Just watching those two chaotic surges of spiritual quality expand, collide, collapse, and reform was enough to make one's heart race; it was like the moments before a furnace explosion, ready to trigger at any second.

The current surface-level peace was merely a fragile balance of symbiosis between the two and the mother. But that balance was fleeting and unsustainable.

If he didn't handle this properly, a single cut might just blow the whole thing in half right there on the table.

That would count as two corpses and three lives.

He couldn't delay any longer; he had to act fast...

Without a second thought, Ji Jue grabbed the bone saw, pulled the trigger, and the whirring blade descended, sending blood spraying like a tidal wave. The mother, who had been unconscious, jolted awake and let out a piercing shriek.

But in the heat of the moment, Ji Jue shot her an impatient glance.

She immediately closed her eyes, as if she had fallen back into a deep slumber, and didn't dare move a muscle.

Fine, I'll just assume you're anesthetized!

Ji Jue didn't hold back, slicing straight down the center. The massive gash made Tong Hua's eyes twitch violently; she felt like she had ended up at a forensic autopsy.

Between his outstretched hands, the complex patterns of Non-Aggression manifested beneath his gloves, acting like a welder, "sealing" and suturing every bleeding point in an instant with impossible speed.

Thanks to the monstrous vitality and non-human anatomy of these distorted entities, if this were an ordinary person, they would have been in the ICU long ago.

But once the internal organs were exposed, the true complexity of the situation became clear.

Amidst the constant writhing and tearing, lumps of flesh would bulge and vanish beneath the thin skin, as if a meat grinder were running wild inside the body, extracting blood and life to repair itself while simultaneously inflicting even greater damage.

In this brutal, direct mutual slaughter—more vicious than dogs fighting over scraps—the two embryos had been unable to fully develop.

They were like crabs in a basket, each pulling the other's legs.

If one embryo were to fully mature, it would undoubtedly open its mouth and devour the other. They were stuck in a stalemate of mutual destruction, their malice growing more ferocious by the second.

Performing an assisted delivery under these conditions was no different from sticking one's hand into a jar full of venomous snakes.

If he provoked the ferocity of these two ghost-fetuses, they might instantly devour the mother from the inside out.

At this moment, four greenish eyes seemed to be peering out from behind the amniotic membrane at the uninvited guest. They were ferocious and sharp, even more so than the mother's!

What are you looking at?

In a moment, I'll fish you out and stomp on you like a pig's bladder!

"Oh dear, the situation has gotten a bit troublesome,"

Ji Jue looked up, wiping his sweat, feigning panic as he raised his voice: "What should we do, Director Tang Qian?"

In the shadows that the shadowless lamps couldn't reach, a grotesque smile appeared, still stained with blood, filled with anticipation:

"Hm? Did you make a mistake?"

Tong Hua's scalp went numb, and she broke into a cold sweat.

She could feel it: in the darkness all around, pairs of hungry eyes suddenly lit up.

Like mad dogs, they were impatient, wanting to swarm forward!

"No, everything is normal so far," Ji Jue replied. "It's just that the mother has been in labor for too long and has lost too much blood. I've determined that a blood transfusion is absolutely necessary."

"Ah, the hospital's blood bank is empty,"

Director Tang Qian sighed regretfully: "Times are tough... As doctors, we must sometimes make sacrifices for the patients..."

"No, as the lead surgeon, we must ensure our own condition to assist the mother in a smooth delivery. Otherwise... the mother's safety is hard to guarantee.

Besides..."

Ji Jue paused subtly, scanning his surroundings with a smile: "Aren't there plenty of family members here?"

In that instant, all the excited, restless pupils froze. The figures that had been eagerly closing in from the darkness all recoiled a step in unison.

Then another step.

They tried to shield their other relatives behind them.

In the dead silence, only Ji Jue's suggestion echoed: "Since everyone is so enthusiastic, why not donate a little on the spot? Director, look, everyone is impatient."

"..."

Director Tang Qian's expression seemed to freeze for a moment, then his smile became even more exaggerated, filled with joy:

"Newcomers really do have their ways. Yes, they are all family. Since they're here, let them donate. After all, everything is for the patient!"

He licked his teeth hungrily, asking expectantly: "Does anyone disagree?"

In the long silence, even the sound of breathing was almost inaudible. Amidst the trembling and terror, someone seemed to want to make a sound, but under the mad gaze of the sutured doctors, they didn't dare open their mouths.

Then, amidst hoarse laughter, piercing screams erupted.

In the darkness, one grotesque figure after another suddenly stiffened and began to convulse violently. It was as if an invisible mouth were gnawing on their souls; they spasmed and shrieked, collapsing to the ground one by one.

Viscous blood seeped from every pore, pooling on the floor like a lake, finally turning into winding rivers that crawled toward the center.

They slithered up the operating table and into the dying mother, restoring stability to her crumbling soul.

Five-fifths of the blood and soul were extracted directly from every family member present, becoming a generous supply at Ji Jue's disposal.

"Should this be enough?"

Director Tang Qian rubbed his hands expectantly: "Time waits for no one. Start quickly. But, if you mess this up, the family members might not let it slide."

In the dark, the scarlet eyes were filled with resentment, staring fixedly at Ji Jue, but they didn't dare make a sound. They waited restlessly for the moment he would fail.

At that point, they would drag him into hell without mercy!

"Damn it, go, ignore them!"

A spirited shout erupted from in front of the operating table. Ji Jue, ignoring the gazes around him, tossed aside his tools, ripped off his gloves, and thrust his hands together like blades into the final layer of flesh.

He tore it open, simple and brutal!

A passionate cry:

"—Wakey wakey, baby!"

Blood splashed like a tide, and foul, rotting amniotic fluid overflowed. Amidst the blurred flesh, the two undeveloped ghost-fetuses opened their eyes. Like monsters not yet fully gestated in a sac, they looked at the intruder.

The eerie greenish eyes were enormous, staring at Ji Jue with ravenous hunger.

On their two underdeveloped heads, a malicious arc curled.

They smiled.

And then, Ji Jue smiled too.

He couldn't suppress his surprise and joy; he almost danced with excitement!

Isn't this exactly where I was meant to be?

Isn't this exactly what I was meant to find!?

Otherwise, where else in the present world could he find such pure, spiritual-quality freaks?

"Truly... a rare gem!"

He marveled, smiling as he leaned in to examine them closely, looking down at the two pairs of gradually widening, dull, icy pupils.

In the reflection of those shrinking pupils, the terrifying figure that seemed to burn for eternity gradually leaned in, grinning, spitting out sparks of fire filled with pain and despair.

Breathing out destruction and death.

Just that gaze alone made the two monster fetuses tremble uncontrollably.

And then, they shrieked.

It was piercing.

At that moment, Ji Jue's hands, pressed together, unleashed the Dissection Art!

The chaotic surges of spiritual quality were like invisible blades, darting and roaming, destroying everything of form in an instant with the sweep of his hands.

But then, as his ten fingers gathered again, Alchemical Forging began!

Non-Aggression manifested, turning the mother into a furnace, continuously extracting the blood and spiritual quality from the surroundings, initiating a brand-new creation.

The ancient mystery of the Invisible Hand seemed to reappear in his perception.

With ease, he suppressed all resistance from the two ghost-fetus spirits. Then, the scorching radiance of spiritual-quality combustion soared. A violent smelting, far surpassing any ordinary fire, began.

At first, there were omissions and inadequacies—using a living body as a furnace was different from steel, making it hard to get the hang of—but once he got used to it, he discovered advantages that a furnace didn't possess.

This abundant supply of life was like having a Vortex-rank Transcendent supporting him with healing at all times, allowing Ji Jue to act without restraint, ignoring any consequences.

He had never experienced such a satisfying feeling when practicing with the pocket watch or the bell.

It was like running through a mall with an unlimited credit card; all of today's spending was being covered by the family members present!

Like this, like that, try it this way...

Under the control of the Invisible Hand, the structure of the two spiritual ghost-fetuses was altered, dismantled, patched, and reconfigured at will. And this persistent, ferocious will was much tougher than the dying intelligence in the pocket watch; he didn't have to worry about crushing it into dust with a little extra force.

Since that was the case, he'd use even more force!

Amidst this brutal dismantling and smelting, the mother, who had been playing dead on the operating table, couldn't hold back anymore and shrieked in agony.

But Ji Jue was too busy to pay her any mind; anyway, she wouldn't have the strength to scream for much longer.

At this moment, her abdomen was like a vortex, continuously extracting her life and soul, absorbing them frantically without stopping.

If not for the supply of so much blood, she would have been reduced to ash by the fire of spiritual quality by now.

But it still wasn't enough...

With the reshaping and reconfiguration of the ghost-fetuses, the once-abundant supply of life and spiritual quality was becoming precarious.

But it didn't matter; there were so many kind-hearted people present...

"It's bad, Director!"

Ji Jue shouted in "shock," looking up for help: "The fetus isn't developing fully, we need emergency blood transfusion!"

On Director Tang Qian's sutured face, the cruel smile never changed:

"Then transfuse more—"

Then, in the darkness, the piercing sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling erupted one after another. Another series of winding blood-red rivers converged, reconnecting life and supplying spiritual quality.

But not long after, Ji Jue looked up again: "It's bad, Director!"

"Transfuse more!" Director Tang Qian waved his hand without hesitation.

The screams rang out again, but this time, they carried a weary exhaustion. In the darkness, the monster family members, who had been ravenous, were now collapsed on the ground, unable to crawl, gasping for breath, their scarlet eyes growing even more resentful and venomous.

But then, they heard that call that sounded like a summons to the afterlife: "It's bad..."

Director Tang Qian waved his hand, "Transfuse!"