Chapter 605: Still the Internal Organs

The emerald-green light transformed into a beam, and as soon as it shot forth, it struck the old man's chest, sinking into his loose black robe like sunlight—no one could evade it.

The old man, suddenly appearing seven or eight years younger, twisted his expression; every exposed inch of his skin showed signs of melting.

His aura weakened rapidly.

Almost simultaneously, a vigorous, almost tangible life force erupted from within him; beneath the melting, peeling skin, flesh writhed, resisting the distortion.

The black-robed old man's gaze darkened instantly, and his entire form faded away, vanishing.

Immediately afterward, a blurred face emerged on the chair beside the table, blending with the brown wood, about to become clear.

At that moment, drops of fiery rain fell from the ceiling, drenched in crimson flame, igniting the chair instantly.

The brown face had not yet fully formed when confronted by roaring flames; it retracted hastily.

Then, Lu Mi could no longer see or sense the black-robed old man's presence.

He had barely glanced around when Lu Jianuo, lying on the table, sat up abruptly, leapt down, and stared at him with hollow eyes, like a wandering corpse.

Lu Mi chuckled softly, raised his right hand, and pointed at Lu Jianuo.

With that motion, countless brilliant points of light appeared in his eyes, as if the stars had descended.

Lu Jianuo suddenly found himself in a void of night sky, with stars glittering above, below, all around.

He stood there dazed and motionless, no longer acting, like a machine deprived of power and operator.

Lu Mi finished dealing with his servant and turned his gaze once more to the surroundings.

But all he saw in his vision were flowing, burning crimson flames—no trace of the black-robed old man remained.

Lu Mi's expression did not change; he spread his right hand's five fingers, then clenched them into a fist.

His body suddenly grew heavy; the flames around him surged toward him like rivers rushing to the sea, drawn by invisible force.

Bottles, jars, organs from various body parts, all light objects in the room, rose into the air and flew toward Lu Mi.

On the wooden coat rack near the door, the transparent silhouette of the black-robed old man emerged, pulled by invisible force, torn from his hiding place.

He struggled desperately but could not resist being drawn toward Lu Mi, like driftwood swept by floodwaters or thin leaves whirling in a gale.

Lu Mi's left hand had already risen; the crimson-white flame in his palm, aided by the crushing pull, rapidly intensified into a tiny, blazing white sphere.

The compressed, blazing white fireball shot forth—and the crushing, terrifying pull vanished instantly.

Plop, the black-robed old man finally touched the floor, but his vision was entirely filled by the blazing white fireball.

Boom!

The blazing white fireball exploded against the extraordinary individual who had performed the sinister surgery and strange ritual; the shockwave rippled outward but was blocked by the surrounding dark curves, unable to penetrate.

In such a violent explosion, not a single person on the entire ship heard a sound or sensed any anomaly.

Boom!

The black-robed old man's body was torn apart by the terrifying blast; his shattered remains either turned instantly to charcoal or caught fire, scattering across every corner of the living room and dining area.

With Lyra and Ludwig as backups, Lu Mi fully enjoyed the authority of the "Sea Viceroy" and the near-godlike power it granted, paying no mind to what the enemy became.

So exhilarating—this is what a pseudo-god feels like? Too bad… it'll vanish by six a. m., when dawn comes… Lu Mi sighed, his gaze shifting to the still-burning corpse fragments.

A single glance revealed that the black-robed old man's flesh burned to ash and charcoal faster than he could imagine—like frozen frost meeting a volcanic lava surge.

Only seconds later, the room held nothing but the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, intestines, stomach, and a half-charred, gray-white brain.

This… even if Lu Mi thought with his feet, he could tell something was unusual:

Aside from the brain, all that remained of the enemy were internal organs.

And the sinister surgery he had just completed was precisely about removing others' internal organs and keeping them alive as if normal!

Meanwhile, the strange ritual he performed used the complete set of organs to attempt assembling the so-called divine child's body!

All of this was internal organs—hard not to draw connections.

"Could this guy himself have had his organs removed, then survived by stitching together others' organs, becoming an extraordinary being? What's this called—human alchemy? If true, who cut out his organs?" Lu Mi muttered silently.

The stars in his eyes faded swiftly; Lu Jianuo returned to the real world.

Lu Mi, standing five or six meters away, raised his right hand and flicked it lightly.

Snap!

Lu Jianuo was slapped by an invisible hand through the air.

He shuddered, his gaze gradually losing its emptiness.

Lu Jianuo first saw the crimson flames still falling—quickly extinguishing without igniting anything.

Then his vision filled with charred corpse fragments, scattered organs, glass jars filled with pale amber liquid, and submerged organs.

Am I still not awake…? Is this a nightmare? Lu Jianuo had just thought this when his eyes caught the image of his employer—Lu Mi, black-haired and green-eyed.

Damn bitch, the dream got even scarier! Lu Jianuo shivered, then asked submissively:

"What happened?"

Lu Mi replied thoughtfully:

"What dream did you just have?"

What dream? Lu Jianuo confirmed his wakefulness and recalled:

"I dreamed of my childhood—my mother stood at the door, telling me to hurry home for dinner, singing a folk lullaby from our hometown…

"She's been dead nearly ten years. I miss her so much—I kept walking toward the door, but I never reached it…"

Only then did Lu Jianuo realize this wasn't their suite—he gasped in alarm:

"What actually happened?"

Lu Mi smiled:

"You fell asleep in the middle of the night, sleepwalked here, and some old man planned to perform surgery on you—remove your kidneys, turn you slowly into a patient like Enio."

Lu Jianuo grew more terrified as he listened—he'd been wondering how Enio, missing most of his internal organs, could still live, just weakened—and now he'd nearly become the same!

"Sss…" He sucked in a sharp breath, trembling, and asked, "Where's that old man?"

"Just these left," Lu Mi pointed to the scattered organs and the gray-white half-charred brain.

Without giving Lu Jianuo time to reflect, he ordered:

"Go get Ludwig."

By now, it was about time for the midnight meal.

Lu Jianuo hurried out of the suite, profoundly grateful he'd chosen to follow Lu Mi to the Southern Continent.

Otherwise, if something like this happened elsewhere, no one would save him!

—Lu Jianuo believed this incident had nothing to do with Lu Mi; it was purely his own misfortune. In Trier, he might have encountered the same strange patients missing organs.

Lu Mi watched his retreating back, raised his right hand, and rubbed his chin:

"Just hearing the infant's cry from a failed ritual causes 'Farmer' path extraordinary beings to fall asleep and act in sleepwalking, obeying corresponding commands?

"Could this be too extreme? This is absolute suppression of the 'Farmer' path…

"If the ritual had succeeded and the divine child truly been born, I could understand such phenomena. But this is still a failed product—how can it be this powerful?

"Even with range limitations, it's terrifying… Is there some key reason I don't know?

"Also, only 'Farmer' or 'Sower' path extraordinary beings can hear the divine child's cry? Hmm… could the 'Pharmacist' path, interchangeable with 'Farmer,' hear it too?"

As Lu Mi's thoughts swirled, Lu Jianuo led Ludwig into the suite.

Facing the bloody scene, Ludwig pressed a hand to his mouth and yawned:

"Where's the food?"

Lu Mi didn't immediately ask for anything; instead, he turned to Lu Jianuo:

"Stand guard at the door."

Knowing what might come after the blood-drinking incident, Lu Jianuo vaguely guessed the truth—he dared not face it. Hearing Lu Mi's order, he exhaled in relief, hurried to the corridor, and shut the vermilion door behind him.

Lu Mi then pointed to the scattered organs on the floor:

"Need me to roast them for you?"

Ludwig glanced sideways at Lu Mi:

"Don't you feel repulsed?

"These are human internal organs."

Lu Mi laughed:

"In my eyes, they're already the organs of monsters."

Then he gave a self-deprecating smile:

"Besides, don't extraordinary beings who directly consume extraordinary traits to ascend essentially eat people?"

Ludwig said no more. He stepped aside, crouched down, picked up the old man's heart, and shoved it into his mouth, chewing.

Fresh crimson blood slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Lu Mi pulled over a chair and sat, patiently waiting for Ludwig to finish eating and digest.

After seven or eight minutes, Ludwig pulled a white handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped his mouth:

"These organs belong to different people—some extraordinary beings, some ordinary, some elderly, some youths…

"There are traces of human alchemy; the life force is mixed, not pure…

"They're controlled and influenced by the alchemist…

"The person whose organs were used doesn't remember any of this.

"He retains complete memories, can recall his past—something ordinary human alchemy cannot achieve.

"He boarded Enio's ship, intending to remove the remaining organs before Enio reached his destination, completing the ritual…"

Ludwig spoke in a flat, matter-of-fact tone, recounting the knowledge and memories he had absorbed.

ps: You probably know that Yuewen just held its annual meeting in Singapore—I just got home yesterday. Ugh, I barely kept up with updates thanks to my saved drafts. Thank you for the drafts—they're now down to just one page. I'm not used to writing and publishing without revisions, and I'm truly exhausted. I need a few days to rest. If there are monthly ticket bonuses this month, I'll add them on Saturday or Sunday. Tomorrow's update will be on schedule—no early release, can't do it, or it'd mean writing Chapter Two on the spot. Thank you all.

(End of chapter)