Chapter 183: Wanhuan Yi Second Layer: The Song of Yulunka

Looking at the newly crowned alien queen before him, still maintaining an attacking posture despite being restrained, Louis calmly pressed a button outside the cell.

Zzzzz—

Intense electricity instantly spread across the floor of the cell.

“Sssss…”

The hissing was filled with agony; after thirty seconds, seeing the alien queen collapse on the ground, Louis turned off the electric shock.

Seeing it subdued, Louis began examining its abilities.

This alien queen was much smaller than the previous one, no larger than an average human.

A team entered and began collecting data on its bodily structure, blood, and more; the creature still tried to struggle, but was held fast by chains of hardened steel.

Ultimately, after team analysis,

they found its intelligence and abilities were quite low—though it possessed the mental capacity of a seven- or eight-year-old child, it paled in comparison to the previous mother, which had disguised itself as a celebrity and controlled many people; perhaps it had not yet matured?

Of course, it had just transformed into a mother and hadn’t consumed any food yet.

Aside from its eight-year-old-level intelligence, its abilities were incomplete: its sonic waves could barely affect people, its speed was unusable, its egg-laying organs were undeveloped, and even its body couldn’t withstand bullets…

“A complete juvenile.”

“Does it have any value?”

“Boss, though it’s fascinating, I can’t guarantee control over it. For research, we’ll need the full test report—so short-term, it has little value.”

Louis nodded; he’d suspected as much.

But it didn’t matter—keep it for now. Even if it has no commercial value, once the Wú Fēng Bag is forged, I can cultivate it later.

With that settled, Louis dismissed his subordinates, returned to his room, and retrieved the half-remains of the mother body.

He wasn’t impressed by its physical defense—Wanhuan Yi could easily block ordinary bullets—but its other abilities were impressive.

Especially its speed and mimicry.

If fused into Wanhuan Yi, it might make a valuable addition.

But first, I must upgrade the seal to the second level, so it can accommodate a second monster’s essence.

No delay.

Louis gave two orders, and all required materials were swiftly gathered and laid before him.

This was the advantage of a faction—you didn’t have to laboriously gather resources or intelligence, didn’t need to go it alone, everything was convenient, and you didn’t waste mental energy on trivial matters.

Looking at the materials, Louis removed Wanhuan Yi, activated the Fire Art, and flames erupted, beginning to melt the components.

Golden-yellow fire danced in Louis’s pupils, melting each material into liquid, which gradually merged and coated the half-remains; then Louis formed a hand seal and began drawing out the corpse’s essence.

Soon, the corpse’s essence began to refine, mingling with the molten liquid and faint black radiance, eventually forming a coin engraved with a wasp-like pattern.

After completing this step, Louis began refining the seal.

With his cultivation base, refining seals below the ninth level was effortless—like the Blood River Pearl. Though Wanhuan Yi’s seal differed slightly from the Blood River Pearl’s, Louis successfully condensed it within a day.

Even after a full day and night, Louis’s eyes remained bright—he showed no sign of fatigue.

His fingers twitched lightly.

The wasp coin shot instantly into Wanhuan Yi; the garment hovering midair writhed slowly, absorbing it, and emitted a faint black glow.

Louis lightly touched Wanhuan Yi, and it instantly flowed like water over his body, transforming in an instant into a formal suit.

He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the essence within.

After a moment, Louis frowned slightly.

Mimicry required too many conditions to become a fixed ability, but speed could be stabilized.

He made up his mind.

Suddenly, a pair of massive semi-transparent wings appeared behind Wanhuan Yi; they fluttered gently, and Louis vanished in an instant, reappearing on the opposite side of the room—blazingly fast.

Feeling the intense wind rush against his face, Louis was momentarily dazed—just now… that felt incredible.

Louis’s eyes lit up. He stepped out of the room and began high-speed flight through the air—turning, drifting, flying backward—all movements fluid and seamless.

Now he understood why humans loved to fly.

This sense of freedom was truly wonderful!

Half an hour later, Louis slowly descended. “This speed is fast enough—no wonder those soldiers had no chance to fight back.”

Moreover, during flight, Wanhuan Yi blocked the strong winds, preventing Louis from struggling to breathe.

It was practically perfect.

“Illusions, high-speed flight—these are only two seals, two abilities. Dozens more slots remain to be engraved. One magic treasure can rival several others.”

“No wonder it’s a perfect artifact usable up to the Yangshen Realm.”

Louis brushed off his clothes, deeply satisfied.

He grew even more eager for the other four artifacts.

The Blood River Pearl excelled in defense and attack, and could absorb monster blood to form Blood Pills.

Wanhuan Yi granted invisibility, obscured heavenly fate, and could absorb monster essences to steal their abilities.

Then what about the remaining four?

“First, forge the Wú Fēng Bag, then the Yang Shi Coffin. The Puppeteer and Soul-Subduing Art can wait last.”

Louis set the order for his next artifact refinements.

But before that, Louis planned to cultivate the Five Ghosts—especially the Little Five Ghosts, which could assist cultivation, precisely what he needed now. Three or five years? Two years would be best! No—better yet, one year!

“Astrological destiny, birth date and time—I’ll need to check America’s vital records system.”

Though America, as an immigrant nation with policies favoring population mobility, lacked a strict household registration system, birth certificates still existed—and were critical legal documents.

Without one, passports, school enrollment, medical care, and social benefits couldn’t proceed through official channels unless you had connections.

And birth certificates? The health department would certainly have them.

“Also hospitals—check records of stillbirths and abortions.”

The advantage of having a faction was clear again: now that he was a capitalist with a growing family, they’d be his best allies for these matters.

Thinking of this, Louis dialed a phone number.

More than a day had passed—Uncle Two should have returned from Orlando’s government.

The call connected quickly.

“Louis? What do you need, Uncle Two?”

But Louis frowned slightly—he thought he heard faint sounds through the phone.

Muffled groans, suppressed, female voices…

“Nothing, Uncle Two. Don’t disturb you. We’ll talk another time.”

“Hey, you—”

Before Uncle Two could finish, Louis hung up.

Hmm, someone who walks in darkness sometimes bears heavy pressure, and with society’s open attitudes, such things are normal.

But suddenly, Louis missed Emma.

He remembered how she’d provoked him when he first returned.

“Tch. Time to fulfill that promise.”

Louis quickly ascended a floor and entered the elevator.

Click.

He reached ground level.

Sunlight bathed him, warm and pleasant—when suddenly, a blood-red figure lunged at him, its massive body rubbing against Louis’s leg while whimpering incessantly.

It was Khrone.

Louis froze.

He’d clearly been neglecting this little guy.

Yes, in Louis’s mind, all three dogs were “little guys.”

He reached out and patted Khrone’s head, smiling. “Khrone, you’ve done well lately—our base is safe thanks to you. What do you want?”

Khrone rubbed against him again, shook its head, stuck out its tongue, and sat down, gazing at Louis.

Louis instantly understood.

“Alright, let’s play a game.”

Temporarily setting aside his plan to teach Emma a lesson, Louis pulled out a ball and began playing fetch with Khrone.

Though Khrone, as a fierce hound, seemed oddly out of place playing this game, Louis didn’t care—as long as Khrone enjoyed it. He’d indeed neglected Khrone for too long, focusing mostly on Gold and Coal Ball.

Even when traveling or training, he’d taken the other two—while Khrone, the first he’d raised, had guarded this place day after day for years.

Beneath golden sunlight, Louis threw the ball, Khrone sprinted to retrieve it—man and dog played happily.

Laughter filled the square.

It drew frequent glances from the prisoners.

…

When Louis returned home, it was already dusk.

As he stepped inside, he saw a note on the refrigerator.

“Louis, I’m having a candlelit dinner with Aunt Jeanne. Won’t be back tonight. Dinner’s ready in the kitchen—just reheat it. Don’t stay up late—David.”

Louis scratched his head. “Candlelit dinner?”

Quite romantic.

Shaking his head, Louis headed upstairs. “Emma?”

Creak—

The door suddenly creaked open.

A pair of long legs stepped out from the threshold, toes and flawless white limbs forming a straight line, exuding exquisite grace.

Golden tresses, like a waterfall, flickered in and out of view; a pair of lively eyes peered out from behind the door, glancing over.

It was Yulunka.

Louis was momentarily stunned.

But Yulunka wasn’t stunned—everything she’d prepared would not be ruined at this very moment.

She smiled faintly, leaning half her body outward, revealing nothing but a white towel wrapped tightly around her.

“Louis, you’re back.”

“Emma isn’t here. She said she was afraid someone might die, so she ran off.”

“Are you hungry? Shall I reheat the food?”

In that moment, Yulunka’s gaze appeared innocent and naive—but her actions were anything but. Her pale, slender arm casually swept a strand of hair behind her ear, and her body subtly leaned forward.

It was well known that foreign women matured early; Yulunka’s mother, Jeanne, had an excellent figure, and Yulunka seemed to have inherited that trait.

The whiteness of her skin was blinding at that moment.

Louis admitted—he was stirred.

No need for words—he wasn’t a herbivore. Without hesitation, he stepped forward.

He took Yulunka’s hand and embraced her as they walked into the room.

(End of Chapter)