Chapter 486: Fusion

Forget it, the result of doing it this way is the same.

Fang Zhiyan had long ago figured out the principle of the so-called 'Last Hit'; it was simply that after Ying Duo dealt a fatal blow, he could swallow more energy from the Aberrant Species, together with the energy leaking from their Aberrant Species Core.

Put simply, it means swallowing more thoroughly.

Fang Zhiyan handed the scalpel to Ying Duo; Yang Yixie took it in his hand, and a chill seeped from his palm.

Fang Zhiyan stood to the side, hands in his pockets, watching how Ying Duo operated while giving him guidance.

Ying Duo placed the tip of the knife against the clavicle below that face, then cut downward along the midline of the sternum.

Ying Duo's hand was very steady, just like last time.

Luo Jinyou stood at the doorway watching Ying Duo's back; the two proceeded with their lesson as if no one else were there, and Fang Zhiyan seemed to accept his presence as an 'auditor'.

Or rather, he should perhaps be called Ying Duo's 'accessory'?

Luo Jinyou merely watched as Ying Duo, under Fang Zhiyan's gaze, cut open the lifeless body piece by piece; he instinctively stepped back half a step, letting his hands hang at his sides, and finally slipped away silently.

Ying Duo......

Would he really grieve over the death of someone close to him?

Soon, two Aberrant Species Cores were placed side by side in a tray: one resembled a bright yellow amber, its interior indistinct as if something were sealed inside; the other was silver-white, its surface smooth like a polished glass bead.

These were Mei Weis's and Bai Mu Yun's Aberrant Species Cores.

"Do you know what differs between their two Aberrant Species Cores and a regular Aberrant Species?"

Fang Zhiyan asked softly, like a patient mentor guiding a student step by step to say the answer he wanted.

"Better looking?"

Ying Duo's answer was as perfunctory as ever, though he was indeed somewhat surprised.

Both of their Aberrant Species Cores were located in the heart; logically, the higher the rank of the Aberrant Species, the larger its Core and the more energy it should contain.

Yet the Cores taken from their hearts were unusually small.

In the corner of Ying Duo's vision, a pop‑up window flashed, having appeared right after he extracted the first Aberrant Species Core.

【Notice! Detected extremely rare item 'God Fragment' (Red), fuse?】

Those four words made Yang Yixie think of many things.

The 'god' lurking in Luo Jinyou's consciousness was nothing like the holy deity praised by the Church; instead, it resembled a pool of black mire.

Is this lump of mud what the Church knows they are worshipping?

"Do you know what lets them retain their human sanity after becoming Aberrant Species?"

Before he could think further, Fang Zhiyan spoke up, calling back the distracted student; this time Fang Zhiyan wasn't asking Ying Duo for an answer but was explaining it himself.

"They can still keep a human form because they possess a certain 'fragment' inside them, which allows them, even when devoured by Mutation, to prevent their consciousness from being erased."

Fang Zhiyan first discovered the existence of such fragments in Bai Mu Yun's body.

Back then he was still rather naive, joining the Dome together with Han Huan and launching internal reforms that sidelined the old boss who had completely fallen behind the times.

At that time he was focused on seizing power with Han Huan, and his mind hadn't yet been filled with so many blasphemous thoughts.

"Including that child called Luo Jinyou—he came into contact with a 'fragment' during a childhood accident, which is what let him preserve his life and sanity amidst the Mutation."

If not for that, Luo Jinyou ought to have died in that accident years ago alongside his parents, rather than surviving with that twisted body.

As long as Luo Jinyou continues to deal with Mutation, turning into an Aberrant Species is merely a matter of time.

But if his consciousness is completely worn away by Mutation, even if he carries a fragment and has a high affinity for it, it will be of no avail.

"After fusing, will I also become an Aberrant Species?"

Ying Duo retorted coldly.

"No," Fang Zhiyan said, shaking his head with unexpected certainty, "just like Luo Jinyou before—he's been fused with the fragment for years, and if it weren't for Mutation going out of control, he wouldn't have become an Aberrant Species."

Ying Duo merely looked at the Aberrant Species Core belonging to Bai Mu Yun in his hand; the glass‑bead‑like Core bore several black, fluffy patterns.

Just as Bai Mu Yun was in life, even though his interior was rotten to the core, he still pursued the superficial brilliance of being human.

【Bai Mu Yun's Aberrant Species Core (containing God Fragment) (Red)】

【Effect: After use, experience +300%, six attributes +20, Consciousness Law proficiency +50%, Mutation Value +50】

【Introduction: Proof of a traitor's final existence in this world, and also the source of all his evil.】

Judging by the effect alone, even if Ying Duo didn't gain Bai Mu Yun's experience, simply devouring this Aberrant Species Core would be enough for him to rise several levels.

He then picked up Mei Weis's Aberrant Species Core, and the result was much the same.

【Mei Weis's Aberrant Species Core (containing God Fragment) (Red)】

【Effect: After use, experience +300%, six attributes +20, Consciousness Law proficiency +50%, Mutation Value +50】

【Introduction: She seized the nest, spent a false life within it, and ultimately fell into silence.】

"Can an Aberrant Species Core be separated from a God Fragment?" Ying Duo suddenly asked.

Mei Weis's Aberrant Species Core seems to be an indispensable part of detoxifying the Chen Family patriarch, and moreover, the conclusion given by the game system also conflicts somewhat with what Fang Zhiyan said.

If fusing the fragment does not cause Mutation, then the surge in Mutation must definitely come from the Aberrant Species Core.

"This can be tried."

Seeing Ying Duo make no move, Fang Zhiyan nodded and, in passing, took the Mei Weis Aberrant Species Core from his hand.

Separating the two isn't difficult, but it's certainly not easy either.

During this process, the Mutation emitted when separating them would seriously affect the separator, but before Fang Zhiyan, who is himself an Aberrant Species, it is obviously negligible.

He rarely revealed his true form in the Dome; tentacles drilled into the Core's surface, and Fang Zhiyan clenched his fingers, gripping the Core completely in his palm.

A dark‑red fragment the size of a thumb‑nail was forcibly extracted from Mei Weis's Aberrant Species Core and placed before Ying Duo.

Mei Weis's Aberrant Species Core was no longer turbid, and Ying Duo could clearly see what was contained within the amber.

It was a queen bee.

"Take it." Fang Zhiyan's voice was a little hoarse, probably because he had just used too much force.

After finishing, Fang Zhiyan slowly handed back the separated divine shard and Meiweis's Aberrant Species Core to Ying Duo's hands.

【Meiweis's Aberrant Species Core (Purple)】

【Effect: After use, experience +50%, Mutation Value +50】

【Introduction: She stole the nest, spent a false life within it, and ultimately fell into silence.】

【Divine Shard (Red)】

【Effect: After use, experience +100%, six attributes +20, Consciousness Law proficiency +50%】

【Introduction: They have been shackled and imprisoned, they have lost their reason, they have turned into countless fragments, they have been listed on the stone tablet, they have made a choice】