Chapter 1 Sullen's Loot

Sullen ignored Number Nineteen, who had collapsed to the ground with both arms severed. He strode over to the Abomination Warrior’s corpse, reattaching the Abomination’s pumpkin-sized head to its headless body and quickly stitching it back together with surgical thread.

With the connection reestablished, the wound on the corpse’s neck began to heal.

The stitching didn't need to be too precise; the corpse’s incredible healing ability would automatically reconnect the severed nerves, blood vessels, and other tissues correctly.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The *Living Corpse Research Diary* contained detailed experimental records stating that the human body modified by the “x serum” possessed extremely high cellular activity. Normally, when a person died, their body cells and nerves would remain active for a considerable period. Only when the bioenergy was exhausted and there was no circulatory system to supply energy would they completely die.

In layman’s terms, the body wasn’t completely dead yet.

But if he waited until the corpse cooled down completely before taking it back, even if he stitched it up properly, it would be unusable.

Creating a living corpse required a complete corpse, not two stitched-together pieces.

Watching the corpse heal automatically, Sullen didn’t pay much more attention.

He began to collect his spoils of war.

“Flower Sword” Hall’s soul had dissipated due to his transformation into an Abomination, so he only reaped a small amount of experience.

But the guy in the military uniform was a huge harvest.

[Acquired “Moore Costa’s” Memory Fragment *5]

[You have obtained some information: “Honor is my life, I am the Duke’s most loyal subordinate…”]

[You have comprehended the combat skill [Beckloh Military One-Hit Kill Technique]…]

[You have gained a wealth of experience in using combat weapons…]

[You have mastered a large number of fighting skills, Fighting Experience +751]

[Mental Strength +0.1]

Mechanical warriors had almost no mental strength to speak of, so the increase was the same as that of an ordinary person.

However, the combat experience gained was extremely exaggerated.

These killing machines, secretly manufactured by the Black Tower for combat, had their minds crammed with various combat knowledge.

Reaping over seven hundred experience points directly boosted Sullen’s fighting experience by a large margin, almost reaching the level of a “Fighting Expert.”

Besides combat skills, this guy’s mind was filled with fanatical “loyalty.”

Sullen thought of another accurate description of brainwashing—"ideological imprinting.”

He figured that the Black Tower probably wanted to ensure the absolute loyalty of these combat machines they created, so before they were "shipped out," their souls were imprinted with the stamp of absolute loyalty.

Since there were methods to erase memories, adding some subconscious loyalty suggestions was certainly possible.

But, now that he thought about it, what was going on with this Number Nineteen who had defected?

.......

After killing the mechanical warrior, Sullen naturally took all the spoils.

Just as he was about to stuff the military-uniformed man's corpse into his storage ring, Number Nineteen, who had been watching him clean up the battlefield without saying a word, spoke.

She said calmly, “If you’re willing, I’d like to pay to buy this mechanical limb. Of course, I’ll also pay you for helping me out of this predicament.”

Sullen looked up at her, and without bothering with any unnecessary chatter, said directly, “I want to hear about your background first before deciding if we have a foundation of trust to make a deal.”

He didn’t have a bad impression of Number Nineteen.

But it wasn’t a particularly good one either.

For him to think someone was not bad was already high praise.

During their accidental encounter at the Black Duke’s, she hadn’t attacked, and now Sullen hadn’t attacked either.

Although Sullen wouldn't hesitate to kill, he wouldn't enjoy it.

But without absolute certainty, he would never allow his situation to become uncontrollable.

It would be best if they could just pass each other by like they did last time.

Number Nineteen seemed to have something to say, and Sullen also felt that she had recognized him despite the gas mask. “I think we can talk somewhere else.”

Sullen nodded and asked, “Can you still walk?”

“Yes.”

Number Nineteen replied expressionlessly.

Having lost both arms and with injuries on her legs, she struggled against the wall for a moment before standing up.

She looked very weak.

She watched Sullen clean up the Abomination’s corpse and asked, “Are you planning to take the Abomination’s corpse? The storage ring on my severed arm is an ancient alchemical artifact with a super-large storage space of five cubic meters. You can have it if you need it.”

Five cubic meters?

Sullen didn’t say much. He picked up the severed arm, took off the storage ring, put it on his own hand, and then stuffed the severed arm into the storage ring, rightfully claiming his spoils.

However, he didn’t put the corpse inside.

Because… the corpse was already exhibiting faint breathing and an irregular heartbeat.

This was a “reanimation” phenomenon, but for Sullen, it was a good sign.

In a sense, it was already a semi-finished “living corpse.”

The corpse showed signs of revival, confirming half of Sullen’s speculation.

Now, he needed to immediately inscribe runes on it to see if he could activate the Abomination corpse’s circulatory system and maintain its vital signs. Otherwise, it would truly die completely.

He couldn’t stay at the battle scene for long, and there was no time to waste. He directly used a steel wire to drag the corpse along, controlling it as it walked towards the depths of the cavern.

.......

The two walked for a while in the dark cavern. Sullen set up some warning devices along the way before stopping in a remote corner.

Without avoiding Number Nineteen, he took out his rune-drawing materials and began to inscribe runes on the Abomination corpse.

Number Nineteen remained quiet throughout, like a mechanical device without batteries, staggering along the way. Now that they had stopped, she leaned against the corner.

As he inscribed the runes, Sullen asked, “What should I call you?”

His multitasking ability allowed him to easily draw runes and converse at the same time.

Number Nineteen replied expressionlessly, “Number Nineteen.”

Sullen said, “Does the name have any origin?”

Number Nineteen’s speech was concise. “It was my number in the lab.”

Sullen thought of the lab and casually asked, “Do you know Yves Banks?”

Hearing this, Number Nineteen finally showed a trace of emotion, confirming with a puzzled tone, “Dr. Banks? You know him?”

“No, that’s not important.”

Sullen didn’t dwell on the question and instead asked, “I want to ask, does your defection from the lab have anything to do with the Banks couple?”

Number Nineteen obviously guessed why Sullen was asking and, after glancing at him, revealed a shocking secret: “You guessed right, I’m carrying out their orders. The explosion at the Number Seven Research Institute was not only to destroy the inhibitor research project but also to cover up some of their arrangements. That’s why I have the opportunity to completely destroy that project now.”

“Oh.”

Sullen’s expression didn’t change much; after all, he had already guessed most of it.

Now that Number Nineteen had admitted it, everything was clear.

Danny’s parents knew that simply blowing up the lab wouldn’t completely eliminate the Black Tower’s higher-ups’ desire to continue researching the “x serum,” so they left a backup plan, having Number Nineteen directly strike at the root by stealing the source of the “x serum”’s creation.

But Sullen didn’t bother asking her what exactly she had stolen.

Whatever Number Nineteen had risked defection to steal would never be handed over to anyone, even if it meant her death.

The topic ended there.

It was just a casual question to break the ice.

......

Having gotten his answer, Sullen filled in some of his own questions.

He didn’t waste any more words and went straight to the point: “Let’s talk about the deal. How can I trust you? And what price are you willing to pay for that mechanical limb?”

Number Nineteen had a calm detachment from life and death in her eyes. She simply explained, “There are still some things related to the ‘x serum project’ that must be destroyed… So, I can’t die yet.”

Sullen listened without saying a word.

Clearly, he didn’t think that was enough to move him.

Number Nineteen directly stated her bargaining chips, saying, “I have a batch of spoils obtained from hunting members of the Umbrella Organization, worth approximately several hundred million. If you’re not interested in those, I have a lot of classified intelligence about the Black Tower…”

“Hmm…”

Sullen listened without agreeing or refusing.

In terms of value alone, these things were almost enough.

The mechanical limb technology was too advanced, and it wouldn’t be of much use in Sullen’s hands, nor could it be sold on the market. It would be better to exchange it for something useful.

Besides, he already had another set.

However, he was more curious about another question.

Why did Number Nineteen know the original owner of this body?

Now that they were talking about this, Sullen also knew that Number Nineteen had recognized him, guessing that the mechanical warriors had some ability to recognize voices.

He asked, “I know you must have recognized me. After all, we met once at the Black Duke’s club. But I’m missing a part of my memory, so I want to know, did we know each other before that?”

Hearing this question, Number Nineteen didn’t seem surprised.

She said calmly, “Yes. Because you’re the one I personally sent out of the Black Tower.”

Sullen asked curiously, “What was my identity in the inner city before?”

At this moment, Number Nineteen said indifferently, “No! You’re not from Old Lingdun.”

After a pause, she uttered words that no one could have expected: “You came from outside the Tower.”

“…”

Hearing this, Sullen’s gaze froze.

He never expected to hear those words.

Outside the Tower?