Wang Jixuan set up a temporary little room with a cloth curtain.
He didn’t rush to use his special skill, the Soul Capturing Talisman. Instead, he made a hand sign and whispered a spell. A faint light seeped into the space.
Meng Caiyuan’s spirit, which was already close to leaving his body, slowly sat up and passed through the barriers of the nutrient pod.
The boy paused for a moment, looking down at his body lying in the pod, then calmly turned to Wang Jixuan, who was wearing a helmet.
The boy’s voice echoed in Wang Jixuan’s mind. They communicated in the quiet environment.
“Who are you?” The boy’s voice carried a hint of shyness.
“Codename Black Storm, military psychic,” Wang Jixuan introduced himself. “My ability is to occasionally talk to the souls of people who are about to die.”
“Okay, Mr. Storm,” the boy asked, “What do you need me to do?”
Wang Jixuan looked at the spirit: “Can you communicate with the Blade Beasts?”
The boy seemed to think for a moment.
His emotions were surprisingly calm, so calm that there was no ripple, like a... polite machine.
“Actually, it’s not really communication. I can only give them simple commands.”
The boy spoke softly:
“If we go by what the professors and researchers say, it’s a kind of interference signal that disrupts the communication system of the Blade Beasts. Lower-level Blade Beasts recognize me as a mid-level Blade Beast entity.
“Also, this requires some equipment. Due to my current state, the psychic energy I can emit is very weak.
“They usually jokingly call that device an amplifier.”
Wang Jixuan felt more curious about the boy and asked as calmly as he could, “Haven’t you been in a coma? How do you know all this?”
“Only my body is in a coma.”
The boy replied calmly:
“You are the first psychic who can communicate with me in this state. Previously, I could only observe them in this state.
“This should be related to your own abilities.
“Back to your earlier question, my accurate answer is—I can give orders to a small number of Blade Beasts and send them information unilaterally, but I cannot understand them.”
Wang Jixuan nodded slowly: “Are there many individuals like you in the Thirteen Institutes?”
“In a sense, both few and many.”
The boy quickly explained:
“The research directions within the Thirteen Institutes are extremely chaotic, with thousands of research groups.
“Based on the information I’ve gathered from long-term observations, I belong to a rare individual born from an accidental situation, so there are few like me.
“But I am not a normal human.
“I originate from an S-class psychic known as the ‘Beast Whisperer,’ whose stem cells were used as cloning material to create me. My ideal lifespan can only reach between thirty-seven to forty-two years.
“Among the original batch of clones, there were initially three thousand four hundred, and after the psychic infusion experiments, only three hundred and twenty remained. After more than ten years of cultivation and various experiments, only twelve remain, with each having different awakened psychic abilities, three of which are slightly similar to the Beast Whisperer.
“So in a sense, there could be many individuals like me—if they increase the sample output.”
Wang Jixuan leaned back slightly, frowning as he looked at the boy: “What about your... emotions? Why can’t I feel any change in your emotions?”
“I had part of my brain tissue removed.”
The boy said calmly.
Perhaps because he was in a spirit state, his gaze was very gentle.
“Mr. Storm, if you need, I can pretend to have some emotions. —I do have emotions, but they are quite weak.
“For example, when I’m with researcher Qin Qin, I show a gentle and timid side.
“She is actually a pitiful person. In her early student years, she was assaulted by her mentor in the laboratory to complete her thesis. At that time, I was about eight years old, not far from her. Later, her mentor treated her like a pet, exchanging her with some elderly people’s pets.
“Many times, such unbearable things happen in supposedly clean laboratories.
“So, I can understand why researcher Qin Qin has been constantly stimulating and playing with my male characteristics while studying my sample. She does this to gain the pleasure of completely controlling a living being, filling the void in her heart from past harm.
“But I think our current soul-based communication should be the most essential and sincere exchange... I don’t need to add any emotions.”
Wang Jixuan crossed his arms and took a step back to carefully examine the boy’s condition.
Daoist Wang asked, “Can you sense the location of the Blade Beasts?”
“I need equipment to occasionally sense them. Each time, they have to operate for a long time, similar to a biological radar.”
The boy replied calmly:
“I only have a small part of the Beast Whisperer’s ability and the current ability to observe various places.”
“You being able to leave your body is proof of your strong spirit power.”
Wang Jixuan explained simply.
This was also why he had let Ling Tong leave first.
Although Ling Tong was physically strong and had a powerful mechanical arm, her spirit’s defense wasn’t very strong.
“Have you finished your inquiries?” the boy asked.
“Yeah,” Wang Jixuan nodded gently.
The boy’s eyes showed a hint of very slight anxiety: “Can I ask you a few questions? Just about four questions... You are the first human to communicate with me so sincerely and directly without any pretense.”
“Sure,” Wang Jixuan replied, “I can see the state of your soul, and you really haven’t done anything evil. You have also helped the military a few times to mislead the Blade Beasts.”
“That’s good.”
The boy returned to calmness:
“The first question is... Is it very happy to have parents’ love?”
Wang Jixuan was taken aback.
The boy’s eyes held a hint of longing.
Wang Jixuan wasn’t sure if the boy wanted a yes or no answer, and he didn’t want to lie to this pure soul that was almost like blank paper.
Wang Jixuan smiled wryly: “I can’t answer that. My memories only include vague images of a fenced yard. I owe my parents; my teacher took me away from them with enough gold and jewels to make them wealthy for life.”
The boy quickly said, “I sympathize with your experience. I’m sorry; I didn’t know you had been sold.”
Wang Jixuan: ...
Forget it, no need to argue with a child.
He said, “It’s nothing. You seem to know quite a bit about human society.”
“I secretly watch the books they read, listen to their conversations, and try to imagine what the world outside the nutrient pod is like.” The boy smiled, then asked:
“Have you experienced love? Love is beautiful, right? That counts as one question.”
Wang Jixuan pondered for a moment, and several images flashed through his mind.
When he was practicing and lazily lying under a tree enjoying the breeze, calling out to his junior sister;
When he was struggling to solve a problem, his senior sister lay sideways on a bamboo chair, gazing at him with dreamy eyes;
And a beautiful girl with a strong will who pressed her forehead against his back, stirring a slight heartbeat in his heart...
“It should be beautiful,” Wang Jixuan said with a smile, “I haven’t experienced it yet, but I should have a taste of it in the future to enrich my life experience.”
The boy’s eyes suddenly lit up: “This is an additional question—Is love supposed to be like what researcher Qin Qin often does to me? Or, should love be greater than desire, and mutual warmth greater than venting desires?”
“I really can’t explain that.”
Wang Jixuan said with a wry smile:
“I’m not a philosopher.”
“Sorry, Mr. Storm, I was too presumptuous... But I can sense from your tone that you might have started to taste the beauty of love.”
Wang Jixuan shrugged: “You were indeed presumptuous. I’m not in a relationship right now.”
The boy let out a barely audible laugh and then asked the third question.
“Then, Mr. Black Storm, can you clearly tell me if the things I did before harmed other human beings? Because I was following their orders to make my life a little more comfortable.”
The boy’s gaze showed a hint of helplessness:
“If the six times I sent out information harmed human beings, it would make me believe I am a selfish clone.”
Wang Jixuan asked, “Was your last message to make the Blade Beasts retreat?”
“Yes.”
The boy said softly:
“Researcher Qin Qin’s order was to have the Blade Beasts focus their attack on the main battlefield in the desert.
“This was decided after researcher Qin Qin discussed it with Uncle Feng.
“Researcher Qin Qin traded her body for Uncle Feng’s help, hoping he would step in at a critical moment, making her the hero who saved the fortress, but Uncle Feng didn’t want to take that risk.
“Uncle Feng said the D5 battle zone was close to losing control, that it was the old devil’s last struggle before self-destruction, and that Ling Tong was one of the potential successors, so it was best to eliminate her.
“I judged that if I sent such a command to the Blade Beasts, it might put humans in a passive position and cause a lot of human casualties. This was completely different from the previous times I helped the military, leading the Blade Beasts into traps.
“So I sent them the message to leave... Uncle Feng and researcher Qin Qin actually couldn’t determine what information I sent.”
“You did great.”
Wang Jixuan smiled:
“I don’t know about the rest, but that last command you sent was excellent. It caused some chaos among the Blade Beasts, and they didn’t fight to the death. Our defense line wasn’t breached.
“You played a very important role.”
“That’s good.”
The boy smiled with relief, then sighed and looked down at his body in the nutrient pod.
He asked, “The last question is... Can you kill me?”
“Why?” Wang Jixuan asked, “Isn’t it better to live?”
“I saw a sentence on a page blown by the wind that I can truly agree with, and it goes like this.”
The boy’s voice became slow:
“Humans are beings shaped by the past, and consciousness arises from the accumulation of their own memories.
“My memories are not enough to support me in believing that tomorrow will hold even a bit of beauty, but I had no choice about life or death before.
“So, Mr. Storm... Can you kill me quickly and directly?”
Wang Jixuan asked, “Why not try looking forward? You’re still young; the pain of death... is hard to bear. It’s an endless silence... Change the question; I can’t answer that.”
“Then, sir.”
The boy’s spirit widened his eyes, cautiously and with a slight tremor in his voice, asked:
“Can someone like me be called human?”
...
The glass door of the laboratory was pulled open.
Wang Jixuan stepped out with a smile and walked over to Qin Qin, who was being held aside.
The three half-mechanical soldiers chatting turned to look, and Zheng Shiduo and several psychics curiously glanced this way.
Daoist Wang looked down at Qin Qin and suddenly kicked the wall next to her, creating a noticeable dent.
“Witch! The only reason I haven’t killed you is that I still need to interrogate you!”
Daoist Wang cursed as he turned and walked over to Ling Tong.
Ling Tong asked, “How did it go?”
“Finished asking,” Wang Jixuan briefly communicated a few things to Ling Tong.
The schemes of Qin Qin and Uncle Feng to harm Ling Tong;
The boy’s specific abilities;
And the existence of the S-class psychic, the Beast Whisperer.
Wang Jixuan said, “Once the investigation is complete, can you show me the report? You don’t have to show me the specific report. If what I said matches Qin Qin’s testimony perfectly, just give me a thumbs up.”
Ling Tong asked curiously, “Why?”
“I want to save this boy; his pure soul seems very precious to me.”
Daoist Wang clicked his tongue:
“Although the purity of a soul can’t be disguised, unlike the eyes, you learn from experience... Saving him is just a small effort for me. Just check it out.”
“Got it.”
Ling Tong let out a gentle sigh, thought for a moment, and said softly:
“We still have some work to do next. Let Brother Deep Sea take you back to rest.”
“Okay, I need to... rest for a bit.”
Wang Jixuan waved his hand and walked away, his steps light.
The half-mechanical soldier, Deep Sea, who ran up behind him, draped an arm around his shoulder, trying to get on good terms with this cool helmet guy.
The corridor seemed to echo with Wang Jixuan’s words left with the boy’s spirit just now.
In the corner of the laboratory, in the nutrient pod.
The unconscious boy shed a tear from the corner of his eye, his lips slightly pursed.
...
“You are definitely human. I don’t understand cloning or anything, but without a doubt, your soul is complete, your personality is sound, and you are a complete human.
“I recently realized a principle that I can share with you. It’s very simple, but it’s my personal experience, and it is...
“Living is really great.”
(End of this chapter)