Chapter 628: In My Memory, the Coordinates of a Brilliant Star Map Are Stored

???

Seeing the Plague Doctor immune to the time weapon's confinement and storming into the control room in a rage left Kelakesi and Tarasin utterly shocked.

However, Kelakesi quickly calmed down.

He had, as a child, accompanied his father and brothers, witnessing many of the Plague Doctor's deeds that defied scientific explanation, and Spiritual Energy was the same; in short, despite the Human Empire's current development, it still cannot grasp this strange doctor's abilities nor that seemingly dimension‑space black pouch.

Not to mention, the regulatory department's records include files of the Plague Doctor hand‑grabbing a great demon in an alien space.

Kelakesi was mainly accustomed to it.

By contrast, Tarasin remained in a state of astonishment.

As for how Kelakesi discerned the metal skeleton's bewilderment, it was Tarasin's eyes flashing far brighter than before, causing its metal mouth to stretch and expand, even its lower jaw emitting faint "creak‑creak" sounds.

And there were many factors behind Tarasin's astonishment and shock.

The Plague Doctor's immunity to time confinement was one aspect, but more so, Tarasin felt the Plague Doctor was an unobservable, unpenetrable phenomenon that must be treasured...

"A treasure!!! Oh! This truly amazes me!!!!"

Tarasin, disregarding the OriginalBody beside him that could sway an entire universe's battle, hurried toward the Plague Doctor, nearly stumbling in the sprint.

Indeed, Tarasin awoke six hundred years earlier than most Lich Overlords, has collected numerous "treasures," and has been covertly observing the Main Universe forces that have entered the Zero Three Universe.

Yet Tarasin has never been to the Main Universe.

To reach the Main Universe one must pass through a Space Gate, and the Human Empire's Emperor, who can open and close Space Gates, even if unable to sense the Spiritual Energy‑null Tarasin, can instantly lock onto him once he passes the gate.

Tarasin calculated this, so he did not voluntarily go to the Main Universe.

Moreover, while the Emperor personally led an expeditionary force to subdue the Zero Three Universe, Tarasin, for safety, did not sneak onto the Emperor's ship, the Never-fallen (Glorious Iron Fist Homeworld, temporarily designated the expedition flagship by the Emperor).

Tarasin, from start to finish, never knew of the Plague Doctor's existence.

?

Seeing a metal skeleton charge at him, the Plague Doctor—who was already brimming with rage and ready to harshly berate Kelakesi—was also taken aback.

Immediately thereafter...

"Oh!! My heavens!!!! This structure is truly perfect!!"

Then, the Plague Doctor, equally excited, also sprinted toward Tarasin.

In Kelakesi's view, the two were indeed "mutual charges."

Tarasin reached out, intending to haul the Plague Doctor straight back to its tomb and toss it into a "display case" for careful appreciation and study.

The Plague Doctor likewise extended both hands, aiming to immobilize it with his special ability and then throw it onto the laboratory operating table, ready to slice it with a bone saw.

Next, a bizarre and extremely awkward scene unfolded...

The two almost simultaneously grasped each other's metal forearms and pulled backward, but alas, both remained motionless, helpless.

???!! This exceeded both the Plague Doctor's and Tarasin's expectations.

The Plague Doctor's excitement was not because it was his first time seeing a "living" Lich Overlord; in fact, while scouting with the Dark Raven Legion, Kelakesi had introduced him to many Lich Overlords.

Yet none had made the Plague Doctor this thrilled as Tarasin did.

Conversely, Tarasin did not expect its instantaneous teleportation device to fail?! And Tarasin's metal body naturally sensed the Plague Doctor attempting to fix it, which only heightened Tarasin's desire to collect.

Afterwards the two again engaged in a tug...

!

!!!!!

After pulling three or four times, the two finally realized they could not affect each other, and at last ceased their contest.

Yet just as they seemed ready to give up, release their grip, and turn away...

!!!! The two simultaneously thought they could launch an unexpected sudden attack on each other.

As expected, both parties remained motionless.

However, the Plague Doctor was not alone.

Suddenly, Kelakesi appeared behind Tarasin at an unknown moment, his blood‑red claw reappearing, now a fraction closer than before, the blood‑red blade nearly grazing the metal scalp.

"Enough, enough! Let's call it off for today!"

Realizing his disadvantage, Tarasin instantly released his grip, apparently hoping the Plague Doctor, still holding his metal forearm, would also display gentlemanly restraint and let go.

"Good kid, when we get back I'll brag to your dad‑‑‑about you‑‑‑!"

Yet the Plague Doctor cared little for propriety; seeing Tarasin release, the odd doctor let out an excited roar and immediately executed a back‑throw on Tarasin.

???!! Tarasin, caught off guard, was lifted off the ground by the Plague Doctor, flung into the air, then slammed face‑first onto the metal floor of the control room.

Ding~!

Metal clanged against metal, emitting a harsh screech.

Completing the back‑throw, the Plague Doctor seamlessly sat on Tarasin's back, his left hand gripping Tarasin's metal neck, while his right hand fidgeted inside the black pouch.

Soon, the Plague Doctor retrieved from his black pouch an unremarkable rope, its exterior simply a strand of agave hemp rope.

In less than a blink, the Plague Doctor, with masterful skill, bound Tarasin tightly, leaving only a metal skull that looked somewhat "dazed."

Huh? What's going on here?

Tarasin didn't expect the Plague Doctor to disregard… "humanity."

Although this Lich Overlord, nicknamed "Figure‑King" by the Human Empire's Emperor, after six hundred years of observation concluded that humans in the Main Universe are somewhat "unprincipled," he never imagined the Plague Doctor was even less of a "thing."

Trying to mock and being abused instead— that must be Tarasin.

"."

As for Kelakesi, who watched the whole scene, his mouth twitched upward slightly? It seems both ordinary humans and OriginalBodies share a schadenfreude. Yet even if his mouth lifted, it was fleeting, and the other two "people" able to move under the time‑weapon's confinement paid no attention to the OriginalBody.

Moreover, the moment the Plague Doctor finished binding, the Physical Universe's time flow instantly returned to normal.

"All enemy fleets within the target sector have been eliminated; the 2nd and 3rd battalions will soon operate separately."

"The 6th carrier‑borne squadron has completed its interception mission, but has suffered over half losses; it must land on the nearest vessel for resupply and repairs."

Inside the control room, reports came again in an endless stream.

？？ At the same time, the Shadow Guard originally stationed in the control room also discovered that their OriginalBody had arrived at the entrance, and they also saw the Plague Doctor engaging with a necromantic overlord in…

A brawl?

Regardless, the Shadows equipped with special Terminators immediately surrounded the entrance, and aimed the 1.0‑caliber barrels of their linked explosive bolts at the immobile Talasin.

"This..." Talasin wanted to discard this metallic body, but couldn't send its "consciousness" back to the tomb, so it could only direct its hollow gaze toward Kelakesi:

"Esteemed OriginalBody, I think we can have a good talk—whatever random transmission function, or a time‑stop device you can pick, how about it?"

As Talasin attempted to continue negotiating with Kelakesi, the Plague Doctor had already hoisted it onto his shoulder and walked outward.

And Kelakesi followed behind the Plague Doctor, slightly lowering his head, and replied to Talasin: "You're already bound by our side; what conditions are you talking about?"

Kelakesi originally wanted to adopt Rus's recent catchphrase, "Nonsense! All this you're saying should actually be mine!", but after a second thought he gave it up, mainly because it didn't suit his demeanor.

"You bastard! Ah!!"

Talasin feigned panic and again tried to break free, but found the hemp rope tightening ever more, even making it feel…… a hint of pain and suffocation?

???

Noticing this change, Talasin immediately became truthful.

Its eyes constantly flashing green light, the necromantic overlord, whose temperament is just as strange as the Plague Doctor's, was frantically "computing," trying to understand what that phenomenon just was.

Kelakesi didn't know why Talasin had fallen silent, but glad for the quiet and with some time left before supporting Artemis, he wanted to cooperate with the Plague Doctor beforehand to see if he could extract more information and secrets from it.

However, despite being temporarily bound by the Plague Doctor, considering Talasin still possessed a great deal of unknown technology, for safety's sake the group chose not to directly use armor teleport to rush to the lab, opting instead to proceed on foot.

Leaving the control room.

The party bathed in pleasant‑temperature sunlight, weaving through the command area where command buildings stood thick, and soon arrived at a four‑story experimental building.

The Shadows spontaneously dispersed, either guarding outside the building or leaving two brothers to watch the corridors and stairways at intervals, until escorting the OriginalBody and the Plague Doctor reached the dedicated lab.

(All buildings and vehicles inside and outside the homeworld are of Astate and auxiliary military size, so there's no need to worry that the experimental building will be crushed by the OriginalBody and the Honor Guard.)

The automatic doors opened.

Upon entering, Kelakesi saw several individuals in white robes, having undergone varying degrees of prosthetic augmentation, with single or multiple prostheses attached to their backs, conducting their respective experiments and work.

Seeing the Plague Doctor return, and seeing him throw a trussed‑up necromantic overlord onto the operating table, the technicians quickly gathered round, watching, ready to assist their "chief surgeon" in conducting dissection and reverse research.

"Wait!"

However, the moment the metallic‑backed Talasin lay reclined on the cold operating table, the previously sluggish Talasin suddenly "spoke up," and looked toward the Plague Doctor who was about to whet his knife, asking:

"Can you reverse‑return me to a flesh‑and‑blood body?"

"Reverse‑return?" The plague, just having pulled a huge bone saw from his small pack, blinked and countered: "What's good about a flesh‑and‑blood body? Worrying about death, fearing pain—if it weren't for Mr. Sui helping me successfully develop the vaccine, the plague would have corroded all of physical reality."

Alright, you've all turned into metal lumps, still thinking about flesh—get to work, get to work, don't force me to report to Mr. Sui that you're being lazy and slacking off!

Saying this, the Plague Doctor raised the huge bone saw, and gestured to the nearby technicians to prepare to catch the "scraps".

However, Talasin showed no fear; instead, he turned his head toward the ever‑silent Kelakesi, who had been watching the show, and said: "My memory stores the coordinates of the Brilliant Star Map."

"What brilliant‑not‑brilliant…"

"Wait a moment, doctor." Seeing Talasin finally ready to reveal some useful intel, Kelakesi stepped forward one step toward the Plague Doctor, and looking at Talasin said: "Continue."

"Of course, esteemed OriginalBody." Talasin's tone was calm, lacking his earlier flippancy, anger, and mischief, and he continued:

"Before I tell the OriginalBody all the secrets he wishes to know, I want to first answer the previous question: why I think a flesh‑and‑blood body is good."

"Because a life's complete outline entails birth and death, whereas so‑called mechanical ascension is actually a curse… a curse, my soul has long been devoured by a bunch who call themselves gods but are in fact greedy, selfish bastards!"

Speaking at the same time, Talasin seemed, due to excessive agitation, to have tiny sparks bursting from the joints of its metallic body, as if it intensely hated the Star Gods that devoured its soul.

Perhaps sensing that now is not the time to anger, Talasin eased up and returned to a steady tone: "Originally, as a fear‑of‑death individual, I begged for longevity and eternal life because my race's short lifespan caused me to endlessly amplify this wish, or desire."

However, after experiencing the long‑dreamed‑of immortality, my thoughts only interpreted "cold," "loneliness," and "repetition," whereas the thoughts of the vast majority of my people have been overwritten with commands of hatred and revenge.

I have observed your Human Empire rise from nothing to its present state of pointing its sword at everything, fearless and thriving, which has let my thought‑logic compute a result…

That is, the races and civilizations that ought to have been eliminated and become history should simply follow their natural course, rather than harbor resentment and grudges.

So, if in this frigid abnormal metallic form I were to hastily halt my thought processes, that would be truly tragic; death, returning to bodily death, would let me experience the true meaning of life.

"Tsk, you've said all that—don't you just want to die?" the Plague Doctor beside him muttered, a little impatient.

"Doctor, can you do it?" Kelakesi asked bluntly.

"Hmm…" Seeing the OriginalBody say that, out of respect for Mr. Sui's face, the Plague Doctor had to give it some serious thought.

Perhaps forgetting some key points again, the Plague Doctor shoved the huge bone saw back into his black small pack, and casually pulled out a leather notebook.

After flipping through several pages, he nodded thoughtfully: "Of course no problem—this technique is far simpler than making vaccines; flesh is something you Umbrella folks are overly familiar with, and as for the souls that were devoured…"

"Bang!" The Plague Doctor snapped the notebook shut, and with his extraordinarily magnetic voice chuckled: "Whoever ate it, just make them spit it out—how simple."

Upon hearing that,

Kelakesi gave a slight nod, then looked again at Talasin, preparing to ask him the final matter.

"The Solemnas Dynasty—only I have had substantive contact with you, so esteemed OriginalBody, you can rest assured."

Before Kelakesi could ask, Talasin voluntarily gave the answer.

(End of chapter)