Chapter 293: Artificial Humans!

On the fifth level of the labyrinth, beneath a gray, hazy dome, stretched an endless wasteland, the murky air carrying a faint scent of decay.

It was the smell of spores.

They clung like persistent fog, covering vast stretches of the wasteland.

Amid that fog-shrouded land, thick roots undulated slowly, like writhing pythons.

Beside those roots, strange "fruits" grew robustly, resembling mushrooms sprouting from tree roots.

These were no ordinary mushrooms.

They possessed pale skin, hollow eyes, and stood silently—half-human, half-empty shells like wax figures in a museum, devoid of souls.

"Welcome to my masterpiece, honored Demon Lord. As you requested, I grafted buds onto my roots to create these soulless vessels."

Standing beside Luo Yan, "Helen" spoke in a hoarse, slow voice, uttering words not her own.

Her soft-faced expression wore a serene smile; her pupils glowed with deep green light, her stiff movements and tone identical to her father's when possessed by Graywind.

Watching Graywind's creation, Luo Yan's face showed approval.

"You've done well. This is exactly what I need."

These artificial humans were crafted entirely according to Kao characteristics.

They possess strong adaptability, thriving in extreme environments like resilient fungi.

More crucially, unlike the Kao, they lack self-awareness, yet their nervous systems rival the Kao's—perfect "vessels" to house players' soul mirrors.

This solves the consumption of vessels and avoids ethical controversy.

Nothing could be more ideal!

"I'm delighted to please you," Helen said, her eyes glowing green as she nodded, gazing at the soulless artificial bodies before her. "Thanks to your aid, in this incredible work, I've witnessed life forms I'd never seen before—and gained deeper insight into myself."

Standing beside her sister Helen, Shirley stepped forward curiously and poked the face of one artificial human.

The strange texture felt like a rain-drenched matsutake—damp, slick, and with a fleshy resilience as her fingertip pressed and released.

The artificial human showed no reaction, made no sound.

"So strange… are these even human? They don't react at all." Shirley circled the figure several times, chin in hand, muttering in wonder.

While she was examining them, Arakdo couldn't resist—he opened his mouth and bit into one, chewing half its body before swallowing it whole.

The remaining half of the artificial human split open like a cucumber, revealing its gelatinous fungal flesh inside.

Soon after, it withered and was absorbed by the undulating roots nearby.

"Tastes decent," Arakdo mumbled, then belched shortly after.

Standing nearby, "Helen" watched it with a serene smile, speaking slowly and gently.

"I advise against eating my children. The energy I expend creating them far exceeds what you absorb from them. If you're hungry, I can offer you other fruit—it's far easier to digest."

Luo Yan glanced at Arakdo, who immediately clamped his mouth shut, no longer daring to indulge.

Graywind was right.

Producing one artificial human requires the "nutritional surplus" of several acres—perhaps dozens—of forest over months. To say this creature devoured a ginseng fruit in one bite isn't an exaggeration.

Cheap is relative.

As food, these artificial humans are neither cheap nor easily digestible—but compared to the resources needed to raise a child to adulthood, they're vastly more economical.

Seeing Shirley's curious blink, Luo Yan answered her earlier question.

"They aren't human. Not even animals. They have no souls."

Shirley tilted her head, puzzled.

"Then what's the point? They can't speak, can't move, can't do a single task."

"How useless?" Luo Yan smiled faintly, speaking gently. "On the contrary, this suits me perfectly."

"Helen" smiled quietly, watching the honored Demon Lord, awaiting his next move.

As if responding to Graywind and Shirley's anticipation, Luo Yan stepped forward and extended his right hand.

Simultaneously, he silently thought:

"Hearing You You, are the test players ready?"

A formless presence drifted beside him; a spirited reply echoed in his ear.

"Ready, Demon Lord!"

"Then let them log in."

"Understood!"

As Hearing You You's voice faded, dozens of soul mirrors released from Luo Yan's fingertips, flooding into the soulless vessels.

These soul mirrors had been prepared in advance.

Days earlier, the official website of "Disaster OL" had opened reservations for testing the new race—and, as expected, drew tens of thousands of enthusiastic applicants.

Players and cloud players alike eagerly anticipated the new race. After all, until now, "Disaster OL" only allowed roles as undead, demons, or elemental golems—never humans.

If they could look even slightly human, maybe they could sneak into NPC towns for fun!

With "Disaster OL"'s current world setting, players' activity radius and explorable content would grow exponentially!

Such an exciting test made even players with beta access envious—not to mention those still waiting for their chance.

Thus, upon receiving the pop-up notification that testing was about to begin, nearly every lucky recipient who'd obtained an activation code put on their VR headset and sat patiently in their chairs.

Many had watched the intro cinematic dozens of times, hoping to glean every possible detail before entering the game.

As each soul mirror fused completely with its soulless vessel, nearly simultaneously, a sight stunned every demon present!

Dozens of artificial humans suddenly opened their eyes—as if awakened!

Shirley, standing nearby, gasped in shock.

"They moved!"

Not just moved!

They began chattering in strange, incomprehensible languages.

Fortunately, Shirley didn't understand—otherwise she'd have punched these impudent fools black and blue with her tiny fists.

Of course—

Some mentally broken players might find it thrilling. After all, "Disaster OL" attracts all kinds of players.

"Holy shit! Elves!"

"Hachihachi… hehehe."

"Sis, why are your ears pointy?"

"Waaah! This light! This water! This ash! This is way too real?!"

"Wake up! This is clearly a labyrinth—where's the light and water?"

Some kissed the ground; others screamed in excitement; still others danced wildly.

One particularly foolish player reached out toward Shirley—only to lose control of his legs, stumble, and faceplant into the dirt.

Even if Luo Yan had ignored him, the fool couldn't have done anything.

After all, these were brand-new players—level zero, weaker in speed and strength than even an imperial peasant.

Artificial humans had slightly higher base stats than skeleton soldiers—just slightly.

"Ew! That guy's stare is disgusting!" Shirley eyed the fool warily, darting ten meters away in a flash.

Her face was full of revulsion, yet betrayed a hint of surprise—she hadn't expected them to move, let alone act like real humans.

Surprise wasn't limited to Shirley—it extended to Graywind too.

Though its emotions were subtle, Luo Yan sensed violent magical fluctuations emanating from "Helen."

"Truly… incredible."

"Helen" murmured in awe, her glowing green eyes fixed on the awakened artificial humans, as if witnessing a divine miracle.

"I feel it… my children are becoming independent individuals. They're actively breaking free from me—something that's never happened before!"

Luo Yan knew exactly what this was. His players had logged in.

"I gave them souls," Luo Yan said gently, watching the artificial humans leap and dance across the wasteland.

The Graywind inhabiting Helen turned to him with surprise; her green pupils flickered with sharp insight, as if understanding.

"You're even more astonishing than I imagined… manipulating souls is the domain of gods."

She paused, lowering her voice to probe.

"Have you awakened a divine core?"

The Demon God Bael had once been a Demon Lord.

As the Demon God's direct subordinate, a Demon Lord constantly absorbed faith energy and faith crystals—awakening a divine core was plausible.

Her voice carried both excitement and concern.

Luo Yan smiled without speaking—neither confirming nor denying—only turning his gaze toward his minions.

Not a single word, not a single syllable, not a single thought!

"That's inaccurate."

"Based on my understanding of gods, I'd say… this is the people's choice."

As Luo Yan and Graywind whispered, the new players began exploring the game world's mysteries.

One player attempted to leave this "spawn point," heading toward the distant mushroom forest.

But the unlucky fool hadn't gone far before encountering a wandering demon wolf, which bit his head clean off, sending him back to the labyrinth's entrance plaza to "rebirth."

As a newbie with zero contribution points, he could only respawn as a skeleton soldier. His hard-won chance to test the new race was wasted.

Seeing the fool's fate, other players grew much more cautious, restraining their urges to provoke the Demon Lord or his mount, Arakdo.

"Disaster OL" has no true newbie protection—safety and danger depend entirely on the player's own judgment.

Although this was their first time entering the game, they had been thoroughly immersed in The Cataclysm OL's official website for a long time and understood at least some of its hardcore aspects.

The distant zones were too dangerous, and the nearby NPCs were even more formidable; these new players dared not push their luck further and instead began playing among themselves.

"Wahhh, it's so good to be human! Those skeletons and zombies are so ugly! At least the little demons look decent in the screenshots."

"Don't worry—once you die and respawn, you'll be a skeleton anyway."

"That guy over there just respawned at the Quality Plaza. I saw his post on the forum—he said you can only unlock the real gameplay after dying, and told us to go get killed ASAP."

"Really?!"

"Go get yourself killed once and you'll see."

"I almost believed you!"

"Holy shit, why do your models look so ugly?"

"How dare you talk to me like that? Look at yourself!"

"Exactly! Go look in a mirror!"

"Open a plastic surgery clinic—you'd go viral!"

"Or wear masks! I heard the NPC merchants in the Great Cemetery sell magical face masks that can alter your facial structure!"

"How do you level up? No starter gear? At least give me a sword!"

The new update has spawned a new industry; it's foreseeable that with this update, the Great Cemetery's economy will experience another wave of growth!

Of course.

Compared to the Great Cemetery's current economic scale, this growth is likely negligible.

Luo Yan watched them in silence, waiting for them to exhaust their boundless energy before proceeding with the next plot.

After all, if he didn't let them burn off their energy first, they'd never listen to him.

He had learned this lesson long ago.

Not just him—even the acolytes who brought new players into the game had learned it, and had even documented these lessons in the "Employee Handbook."

Meanwhile, as the players studied each other's bodies, Shelly, who had hidden beside Luo Yan, quietly observed the various bizarre behaviors of these artificial humans.

Including, but not limited to: squatting on the ground to dig in the soil, exploring their own crotches, then suddenly bursting into inexplicable cheers followed by sudden despair.

After studying them for a long while, Shelly suddenly turned to the Demon Lord with a curious expression and asked.

"What do they eat?"

Luo Yan did not answer, but instead looked toward "Helen" beside him.

Hui Feng, possessing Helen, smiled gently and continued in a calm tone.

"They're like fungi—anything fungi can decompose, they can consume; some things digest quickly, others take longer to break down."

In short, they can eat most organic matter—just like the undead of the Great Cemetery—and are "scavengers," even with a broader diet than the undead.

After all, zombies and ghouls can't eat wood—but these artificial humans can eat wood too.

What an absolute workhorse!

Absolutely perfect!

"It'd be better if they grew faster."

Hearing the Demon Lord's remark, "Helen" nodded slightly and continued.

"These are merely the initial prototypes. If you wish, I can further refine their physiology. However, shortening the growth cycle may weaken their bodily functions… The results you see now are my compromise between cultivation time and physiological capability."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yan immediately said:

"Then for now, produce them according to this template. I want you to shorten their growth cycle as much as possible without altering their stats—but don't force it if it's impossible."

He paused briefly, then added:

"Also, don't design their lifespan to be too long—ten to twenty years is enough. After all, they won't live that long anyway. As long as they maximize their utility within that ten- to twenty-year lifespan, it's sufficient."

Hearing this, Shelly stared at the Demon Lord in astonishment, her bright eyes gleaming like agates in the forest.

No wonder he's the Demon Lord!

That's so hellish!

Arakdo, however, showed no reaction—after all, the timber spiders of the Weaving Nest had been bred according to this exact "design philosophy."

Those "talkative" little spiders typically lived only two to three years, and often burned out within six months.

She even thought these artificial humans lived too long.

Given the players' frequency of self-destruction, their souls would return to the Demon Lord's embrace long before their lifespan expired.

Hui Feng, possessing Helen, gave a slight nod and noted the Demon Lord's instructions.

"As you command."

…

As the new players finally exhausted all the meager content around them, they turned their hopeful gazes toward the nearby Demon Lord.

Luo Yan, as the Demon Lord, finally ceased standing silently and fulfilled his duty—once again taking the stage to perform the players' cutscene.

Beyond emphasizing loyalty to the Demon Lord and the Great Cemetery, he had prepared for them a unique "beginner quest."

"Soon, my servant 'Bond' will take you to the Misty Town in the fourth layer of the labyrinth. There, report to the Adventurer's Guild, register as an adventurer, then seek out teammates at nearby or surface taverns and form parties with other adventurers."

"While playing the role of an adventurer, I permit you to attack other players in neutral zones, but strictly forbid attacking neutral or friendly NPCs."

"Further rules will be etched into your souls—you may review whether they are active by opening your 'Player System' to the quest interface. Remember: don't rely on luck. Your deity watches you always! Or… are you prepared to pay the price for your actions?"

To help them blend into human society, Luo Yan distributed free, unique beginner gear to these new players—human skin masks.

They were, of course, not made of real human skin—but once worn, they granted the wearer a human face. As long as they didn't strip naked, they'd rarely be exposed.

Most crucially, unlike ghouls, these artificial humans were not repelled by holy light—they could even be nourished by it, just like humans.

After giving these instructions, Luo Yan clapped his hands lightly, signaling Bond, who carried a great sword, to step forward, and entrusted him with the task of escorting the new players.

"Go explore this world—"

"My servants!"

(End of Chapter)