Chapter 386

"Mommy, I need to conduct some in-depth historical research."

He explained his plan to Nari:

"This process might last for several hours, during which my consciousness will be relatively fragile."

"Of course, child." Nari immediately created an absolutely safe research environment for him:

"Mommy will guard you and not let anyone disturb your research."

Dozens of tentacles wove into a protective cocoon around Luo En, the internal environment completely isolating external interference.

Before him sat the small puppet.

It sat cross-legged, dark red luster flowing on its surface like living blood.

[Substitution Puppet charging progress detected: 99.9%]

[Time remaining until full charge: Complete specific "Historical Event Infiltration"]

[Target event: Final experiment of the ancient alchemist "Father of Pseudo-Humans," Victor]

[Warning: This event carries extremely high danger; it is recommended to be fully prepared]

[Hint: Reading partial historical information in advance will improve lucidity and pollution resistance during real historical event infiltration]

"Father of Pseudo-Humans" Victor—he had previously browsed some information about this person when lighting up the Scholar Star.

(See Chapter 337: Heart of Seeking the Dao)

That the "Substitution Puppet," this Abyss secret treasure, came from this ancient alchemist who specialized in doll manufacturing could be considered unexpected yet reasonable.

After all, the silver pocket watch came from the Clock King, Erika.

If the Substitution Puppet also had an extraordinary origin, it could be considered mutually verifiable with some of his conjectures.

"At this stage, it really is time to understand you more deeply."

Luo En activated the "Sensing Power" trait brought by the Historical Research skill.

Spiritual power extended like threads, cautiously touching the time imprint on the puppet’s surface.

Unlike the previous few tentative peeks.

Now, whether it was his "Historical Research" skill level or his mental strength, they were no longer what they once were.

Those once-blurred historical fragments now began to present with astonishing clarity.

Luo En took a deep breath, carefully probing his spiritual power into the puppet to read the historical fragments upon it...

………………

Warm afternoon sunlight shone in through the blinds.

Alchemist Joss sat in his small study, holding an experimental log in his hand.

"Dear, tea is ready."

His wife Lillian’s voice came from the kitchen.

Joss put down the book, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

They had been married for seven years, had a cute five-year-old son, Thomas, and a daughter, Emily, who had just turned two.

"Coming, dear."

He got up and walked toward the kitchen, but did not notice that there was a subtle... mechanical quality to his wife’s voice just now.

It was like a tone that was perfect to the point of being slightly unnatural.

In the kitchen, Lillian was setting out the tea set.

Every one of her movements was precise to a breathtaking degree.

The distance between the teacup and the saucer was exactly the same, and the angle of the teaspoon was not off by a fraction.

"How is the research progressing today?" she asked, a standard expression of concern on her face.

"Not bad, the project the mentor gave me has had some breakthroughs."

Joss took the teacup and habitually leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek.

Lillian’s skin still felt soft and warm, but Joss vaguely felt that her reaction seemed a bit... sluggish?

It was as if it took a fraction of a second of delay before she revealed the appropriate sweet smile.

"That’s wonderful." Her voice was still gentle, but there was an indescribable sense of hollowness in her tone:

"I am proud of you, dear."

At this moment, little Thomas ran over from the living room and threw himself into Joss’s arms:

"Daddy! Daddy! I learned a spell today!"

The five-year-old child’s eyes were full of innocent excitement, his little hands waving to demonstrate the Light Spell he had just learned.

Joss smiled and picked up his son, warmth welling up in his heart.

But just then, he noticed a detail—Thomas’s fingernails.

The child’s fingernails were trimmed unusually neatly, the edges as smooth as if they had been cut with the most precise tools.

For a five-year-old child, this seemed a bit too perfect.

"Did Mommy trim your nails?" Joss asked casually.

"Yes!" Thomas nodded, then turned to Lillian:

"Mommy’s craftsmanship is very good, right?"

………………

Over the next few days, Joss began to observe his family’s daily behavior involuntarily.

At first, he felt it was because he had been exposed to too many Abyss materials in his research, leading to some kind of paranoid hallucination.

But the more he observed, the more anomalies he discovered.

Lillian’s daily routine was precise to the minute.

She woke up at exactly 6:00 AM every morning, began preparing breakfast at 6:15, and woke the children at 6:45.

This accuracy itself was not a problem, but the problem was that she never had any deviation.

Even the most diligent person would occasionally wake up a few minutes late due to fatigue or other reasons.

But Lillian never did.

Her emotional reactions also began to seem strange.

When Joss deliberately told some lighthearted jokes, she always smiled at a fixed point in time.

Not because she understood the content of the joke, but because she identified that "this is a moment that requires a smile."

The most unsettling thing was her state when she was alone.

Once, Joss came home early from work and saw Lillian sitting in the living room through the window.

She maintained a perfect sitting posture, her hands placed properly on her knees, eyes staring straight ahead.

But her expression was completely blank, like a... puppet waiting for instructions.

"Where is Mommy?"

Little Thomas’s voice came from behind, giving Joss a start.

Turning around, he saw his son standing at the door, also maintaining an unnaturally perfect posture.

"I... I don't know." Joss answered stammeringly.

"Mommy is resting." Thomas’s voice was terrifyingly calm: "She said, when resting, there is no need for expressions."

This sentence made Joss’s blood almost freeze.

How could a five-year-old child say such a thing?

………………

At night, Joss lay in bed, pretending to be fast asleep.

Through half-closed eyes, he observed his wife beside him.

Lillian’s breathing was as regular as a mechanical device.

The time for each inhalation and exhalation was exactly the same, and the rise and fall of her chest was not off by a fraction.

Even more terrifying were her eyes.

Although her eyelids were closed, Joss could feel her eyeballs moving rapidly beneath them.

Not a normal rapid eye movement phase, but some kind of... scanning movement.

It was as if she were checking every corner of the room.

Joss resisted the urge to tremble and continued to observe.

At three in the morning, Lillian suddenly sat up.

Her movements had no sleepiness or confusion, as if they were instructions executed according to a program.

She stood up, walked to the window, and then just stood there straight, staring at the darkness outside.

Ten minutes later, she returned to bed, lay down again, and continued that mechanical breathing.

Throughout the process, she did not make a single sound.

………………

In the days that followed, Joss discovered more hair-raising details.

Thomas and Emily’s behavior was equally strange.

They no longer acted noisy or willful like normal children, but became unusually well-behaved.

Once, Joss deliberately fell down in front of Thomas, wanting to test the child’s reaction.

Under normal circumstances, a five-year-old child would immediately run over to help, or at least show concern.

But Thomas just stood there, tilting his head to observe for three seconds, then said:

"Daddy, are you doing this to test me?"

This sentence made Joss’s heart almost stop beating.

How could a five-year-old child have such insight?

"No... it’s not that, Daddy just accidentally fell."

"Oh." Thomas nodded, then walked over and helped Joss up with standard movements: "Daddy should be more careful."

That kind of concern was so standard, so perfect, so... devoid of emotion.

………………

Fear and suspicion circled in Joss’s heart like a venomous snake.

He began to look for answers in his mentor Victor’s laboratory.

As one of Victor’s students, he had the right to consult some research materials.

In a thick experimental notebook, he found content that shook his soul:

"Perfect Artificial Lifeform Project, 147th experiment record:

Experimental subject a-23 (Codename: Lillian) has successfully passed the three-month deep infiltration test.

The target subject (Joss Matthew) has no awareness of the replacement, and emotional reactions remain stable.

The experimental subject’s behavioral patterns have reached 95.7% realism, needing further optimization only in micro-expression control."

Joss’s hands began to tremble violently.

The handwriting in the notebook was his mentor’s handwriting, which he knew all too well.

"The replacement of b-17 (Codename: Thomas) and c-09 (Codename: Emily) was implemented last week.

According to previous experimental data, the manufacturing difficulty of child-type experimental subjects is lower, but the emotional simulation system requires more precise calibration."

Reality shattered like glass.

Joss realized that his wife... had been replaced.

And, his children also...

"No... impossible..."

He flipped through more pages, hoping to find some evidence of denial.

But what met his eyes were only more cruel truths:

"The success rate of the soul extraction experiment has reached 78%.

Through special soul separation technology, we can obtain the target’s complete memory and emotional patterns without damaging the body structure.

These data will be used to manufacture more realistic artificial substitutes."

"The original body disposal problem has been solved.

According to calculations, on the 3rd day after the replacement is completed, the original soul will completely dissipate.

This avoids the trouble of disposing of corpses and eliminates the risk of being discovered."

Joss’s vision blurred.

He realized that the real Lillian... was already dead.

She died months ago, died on that night he thought his wife just had a "minor cold," and his children, likewise...

………………

That night, Joss did not go home.

He sat in the laboratory for an entire night, his mind constantly replaying every detail of his time with his family.

Those words that had recently made him feel warm, those smiles that had intoxicated him, those kisses from his wife that made his heart race...

All were false.

All were the performance of a precisely manufactured puppet.

He had to do something.

But... do what?

Seek help from whom?

Victor was the mastermind behind all of this.

In this school, Victor, as a Dark Sun Wizard and Alchemy Master, possessed unchallengeable authority.

No one would believe his accusations.

Moreover, the manufacturing technology for those "pseudo-humans" was so perfect that outsiders could not detect any anomalies at all.

Despair flooded Joss like a tide.