Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 280 Recruiting a Great Scientist!

Less than an hour later, Gong Tianwu, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes and returned to the scene.

A few minutes later, Hu Shuang and Deng Wen, who were on the cold jade bed next to them, also woke up.

All three of them showed joy at the same time.

The experiment was a great success. The souls of Hu Shuang and Deng Wen were preserved in his sea of ​​consciousness and smuggled to Earth. However, they could not find suitable bodies for them for the time being.

Moreover, the spiritual energy on Earth is extremely scarce, so the spells and supernatural powers that the two are skilled in can probably only exert less than 10% of their power—but that doesn't matter, as long as they can use them.

This way, Gong Tianwu can easily establish his own power base on Earth. Although his father, Gong Yunyan, is not bad, it is not as convenient as having his own forces. For example, it would be very troublesome for Gong Tianwu to recharge some more powerful mushroom-type weapons.

Meanwhile, Hu Shuang and Deng Wen's successful soul-transmigration also provided Gong Tianwu with another reverse approach.

Since I can bring souls from the Eastern Heaven Realm to Earth, can I bring souls from Earth to the Eastern Heaven Realm?!
After careful study with ghost cultivators and array masters skilled in soul manipulation, it was found that theoretically it was feasible, but there was a very important problem that needed to be overcome:
That is the weakness of the Earth's soul.

Gong Tianwu was able to bring Hu Shuang and Deng Wen over because the two were originally high-level cultivators, and their soul strength was dozens of times stronger than that of ordinary people, while the souls on Earth were certainly not that strong.

However, as the saying goes, many hands make light work, and soon someone proposed a solution: a magical artifact that should be able to help, namely the Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banner of the Demon Corpse Valley.

Although this thing is extremely evil and cruel, putting aside its negative effects, the souls that are absorbed by it and placed on the banner will be protected and strengthened, providing excellent protection.

Upon hearing this, Gong Tianwu's eyes lit up immediately, and he went to find someone, namely Qing Shi Rongjian.

Out of consideration for their past lives, he went to recruit Rong Jian to serve the Great Qian Dynasty. He had expected it to be a difficult process, but to his surprise, Rong Jian readily agreed to go after hearing what Gong Tianwu said.

Later, when Gong Tianwu chatted with him about this incident, he asked him why he trusted him so much back then. Rong Jian gave an answer that left Gong Tianwu speechless:

"The reason I believed you so readily was not because you are the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, nor because of the exceptional treatment you gave me, but because the things you described that might happen in the future were so real and exactly how I would respond."

At this point, Rong Jian proudly declared:

"If it weren't for your own experience, no one would ever imagine that the notorious and infamous Qing Shi Rong Jian would still have a glimmer of light in his heart!"

Undoubtedly, after Gong Tianwu went to Rong Jian, he easily obtained the crafting method of the Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banner. After discussing it with a group of people, he extracted the essence and discarded the dross, successfully creating a brand new Xuan Yin Gathering Beast Banner.

Or to be more precise, this item should be renamed, because its effects focus on the three key points of soul transfer, soul nourishment, and soul protection, so it should simply be called the Universal Salvation Banner.

The next step, of course, is further experimentation.
Then, Gong Tianwu officially began to implement the relevant plan, which was codenamed the Pudu Plan.

***
Three months later,
Earth,

Cambridgeshire,
Rong Lin held a Starbucks cup, his gaze lingering on the female office worker in front of him as she swayed in her pencil skirt, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.

By this time, Rong Lin had quickly overcome the initial period of adjustment upon arriving on Earth, and he integrated into this novel and bizarre society at an astonishing speed.

Incidentally, Rong Lin's identity is also quite special; he is Rong Jian's grandson. Otherwise, no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't have been able to get into this plan.

In fact, it had been less than three years since Rong Jian and Rong Lin recognized each other.

After Rong Jian submitted to the Great Qian Dynasty, Gong Tianwu asked him if he had any regrets. Considering their past relationship, he would try his best to find a way to make up for it.

Rong Jian said without hesitation that his biggest regret was not having any children.

He was originally a scholar who passed the imperial examination, but he was killed by bandits on his way to take the exam, and then hastily buried in a pit.

Little did he know that this land was an extremely rare place for nurturing corpses, and Rong Jian's own birth date and time were also special: born in the year, month, day, and hour of the Rabbit! After the two were combined, he slowly began to turn into a corpse.

Then Rong Jian was discovered by a Taoist priest from the Maoshan Sect, who dug him out and attempted to refine him into a flying yaksha. Of course, the rest is history.

Rong Jian was focused on the imperial examinations at the time, so he did not marry. After his body turned into a zombie, he naturally lost his fertility.

His intention in saying this to Gong Tianwu was to pin his hopes on the possibility that this all-powerful emperor could help him regain his abilities in this area.

Unexpectedly, after a brief calculation, Gong Tianwu told Rong Jian that he had bloodlines still living in the world.

Rong Jian was completely dumbfounded when he heard this, and said bluntly, "Don't you know whether I have children or not?"
Gong Tianwu smiled slightly upon hearing this and said that he not only had offspring, but more than one. Thus, he found one of them using only three causal points—this person was Rong Lin.

It turns out that although Rong Jian did not marry and did not have the habit of visiting prostitutes, he still had a few close friends.

Before he went to take the exam, a friend named Xu Ming held a farewell party for him. Rong got drunk and stayed there that night, where he took advantage of the maid who served him.

As it turned out, Rong Jian was in a state of complete drunkenness and had almost completely forgotten what happened the night before, treating it as if he had just had a wet dream.

However, the maid discovered she was pregnant the following month. She originally wanted to have an abortion, but unexpectedly, Xu Ming's brother had fallen from his horse and damaged his kidneys last year, so he had been thinking about adopting a child.

As it turned out, the maid's pregnancy was like a pillow appearing when one is sleepy, after all, this was the bloodline of a scholar.

So Brother Xu took the maid as his concubine, and only a few people knew about it. As it turned out, the maid was quite capable and gave birth to a son, named Xu Ji.

Rong Lin is Xu Ji's fourth son, making him Rong Jian's direct grandson. He also has considerable talent and has become a rogue cultivator through his own efforts. When Gong Tianwu found him, he had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Of course, that's beside the point.

At this time, the Great Qian Empire had sent as many as twenty-six people to Earth. Each of them was a carefully selected talent, with top-notch loyalty, emotional intelligence, and IQ.

Hu Shuang has successfully seduced a top tycoon, Mr. L, and his son, and then, relying on their wealth, established the Daqian Import and Export Trading Company on Earth.

The members of this company are all people who transmigrated from the Great Qian Dynasty. Finding a body on Earth is incredibly easy for them, because the difficulty of possession lies in the instinctive resistance of the soul.

In this world, there are too many decadent, degenerate, and indifferent people who disregard their own lives. Especially for those with a weak will to live or even suicidal individuals who actively seek death, taking over their bodies is an effortless task.

Rong Lin was very satisfied with life on Earth, and if possible, he hoped to stay there forever—but he was also well aware that his emperor did not tolerate idlers, so he had to start working hard.

His Majesty will only consider the needs of those who have proven their worth.

Rong Lin finished his coffee in one gulp, stood up, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, glanced longingly at the swaying woman in the pencil skirt ahead, then tucked his briefcase into his pocket and strode away.

The sun was shining brightly outside. Rong Lin walked briskly along a path and soon found an ancient little church in front of him.

It retains the style of the Victorian era, with pink and white rose vines climbing the stone walls, and dewdrops dangling precariously from the edges of the velvety petals.

The gargoyle carved by 13th-century craftsmen appears in the interplay of light and shadow, while the moss-covered stone angel brings a horn to its lips, as if it is about to sound the horn of morning prayer at any moment.

Suddenly, a voice came through Rong Lin's earpiece:
"The target is about to appear."

Rong Lin nodded and said:
"receive."

Soon, a modified Rolls-Royce Cullinan slowly drove up, and then the rear door opened, and an elderly man slowly stepped out.

The old man had white hair and looked very frail. His dry hair stood out conspicuously in the sunlight and breeze.

This old man is named Charles Corren, and he has many titles:

Materials chemist and physicist, professor of nano-optoelectronics and nanofluidics, Fellow of the British National Academy, Professor of the US National Academy of Sciences, and a Queen's Order of the Viscount.
If all of his titles were listed, someone would definitely stand up and criticize the author for padding the word count.

This gentleman is a highly respected figure among materials scientists worldwide.

However, Charles's days in this world are numbered. His cancer has spread throughout his body, and he also suffers from a very serious heart condition. After multiple consultations, it has been confirmed that Mr. Charles has at most two weeks left on earth.

In this situation, Charles chose to return to his childhood home to spend the last part of his life, and then he would come to the church every day to worship and pray.

Mr. Charles's parents are also buried behind this chapel.

The chapel was quiet, and there weren't many people praying. After finishing his service and prayers, Charles stayed in the chapel for a while before slowly walking toward the cemetery at the back.

In the West, cemeteries are often located behind churches, and their nature is almost equivalent to parks or scenic spots. Many people come here for picnics, camping, and walks.

On the benches in Père Lachaise Cemetery, university students often sit and ponder over a collection of Baudelaire's poems.
Along the tree-lined avenues of Highgate Cemetery in London, retired men with their hunting dogs brush past Karl Marx's tombstone.

So in the cemetery, there were children playing and couples chatting. Charles came to his parents' gravestones and would stay there for about ten minutes, and he usually only had his secretary, Miss Fina, quietly waiting by his side.

At this moment, Rong Lin walked towards this direction. When he was about five meters away from Charles, Miss Fina approached and said in a polite but firm tone:
“Sir, if you don’t want to be kicked out by the police, then please leave. My teacher needs some private space.”

Charles looked over with some displeasure.

At this moment, Rong Jian smiled slightly and looked into Miss Fenna's eyes, saying:

"Okay, I'll leave now."

Miss Fina's pupils showed a visibly unfocused look, then she smiled and said:
"Okay, sir, thank you for your cooperation."

Immediately afterward, to Charles's astonishment, Miss Fina gracefully turned and walked away. Rong Jian's gaze lingered greedily on her buttocks for half a second before he smiled slightly at Charles and said:

“Incredible, isn’t it, Mr. Charles? It’s just a little illusion, and I think that’s good news for you.”

Charles, after all, was a man of great experience, and after calming himself down, he said:
"why?"

Rong Lin smiled and said:
"Because those things that conform to normal logic and science are no longer able to help your physical condition."

Upon hearing this, Charles immediately took a deep breath:

Do you have a solution for my current illness?

Rong Lin smiled and shook his head, saying:
"I cannot save your body, but I can save your soul."

Charles shook his head and smiled wryly:
“That seems to be the responsibility of angels and priests.”

Rong Lin suddenly extended his left index finger, revealing a ring with a vibrant ruby ​​that immediately caught Charles's eye.

Then, Charles's vision blurred, and he suddenly found himself in an empty room with only a bed in front of him and an old man lying on it—wait! Isn't that old man's face his own?!
The next second, a deep voice came from Charles's ear; it was Rong Lin's:

"What follows is the process of saving your soul."

Then Charles saw a phantom sit up from the old man's body on the bed and be sucked into something that looked like a flag; this must have been the soul being transferred.

Then the scenery changed again, and they arrived at a mysterious and peculiar cave, where several bodies were lying. The soul emerged from the flag and merged into one of the bodies, and then the body sat up.

Upon arriving here, Charles suddenly realized that the scene before him was like ripples on water, then disappeared, and he was still standing in front of his parents' gravestones, with a smiling Fina standing beside him.

But the mysterious young man had vanished without a trace, and Charles felt an overwhelming sense of resentment and loss.
"No, no, that experience felt so real. Was it just my imagination?"

Suddenly, perhaps due to excessive excitement, Charles felt a sharp pain in his fragile heart and hurriedly clutched his chest, breathing heavily.

Fina immediately and skillfully took out a syringe from her bosom and gave him an injection. It took Charles a while to calm down.

He knew he had once again escaped death, but he wouldn't be so lucky every time. His already battered heart could break down completely at any moment.

Filled with indescribable frustration, Charles returned to his car, but just then, his fingers, which were inside his pocket, suddenly felt something. What was it?
A note?
Charles's heart began to pound, for he couldn't recall putting any note in the pocket.

Almost instinctively, Charles took out the note and placed it in front of him:
“Dear Mr. Charles, we all know one thing: you don’t have much time left. So if you want to continue living, please come to our doorstep alone. You must trust us, and you can only trust us.”

Upon seeing this line, Charles made his decision almost without hesitation.

At this moment, Fina, who was standing next to her, handed over half a glass of water:
"Mr. Charles, it's time to take your medicine."

Charles was startled, fearing she would see the note in his hand, but he immediately realized that his hand was empty.

After a few seconds, Charles said slowly but firmly:
"After you drop me off at home, Fina, you and Renault can go home. I want to be alone for a while."

Fina was immediately taken aback:
"But."

But at this moment, Charles stared at him intently and said, word by word:
I said, "I want to be alone for a while."

Fina's lips twitched slightly, and she said helplessly:

"Ok."

Immediately afterwards, Charles made a phone call and kicked his nanny and son out of his residence.

Five minutes later, Charles returned to his lodgings, sat down in a deckchair, and stared intently at Fina.

Fina sighed, picked up her bag, said goodbye, and left. It was clear that she was a responsible nurse.

Once her Beetle was out of sight, Charles didn't hesitate to put on his hat, put on his trench coat, and walk to the door.

In less than ten seconds, a taxi pulled up in front of him. Charles was about to speak when he saw that the driver was the same mysterious man who had appeared in the cemetery earlier, and the man smiled at him.

"It seems you've made a very good choice, Mr. Charles. Get in the car."

Charles nodded, got into a taxi, and couldn't help but say:
What you did to me before

The mysterious man smiled and said, "They're just some insignificant illusions."

The vehicle had only driven about two kilometers when it turned into an underground parking lot, next to which was a black RV.

Rong Jian left the taxi, then opened the door of the black RV and gestured for Charles to get in.

At this moment, Charles hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head with a wry smile.

Did he still have a choice? Or should he go back and wait to die? He struggled to get into the RV.

At this moment, he noticed that there was another woman in the RV, dressed in a black robe. She was very beautiful, but she exuded an air of mystery. After looking over, she said seriously:
“Mr. Charles, my name is HU (Hu Shuang), and his name is RONG. Whether the upcoming soul ritual will be successful also depends on you.”

Charles said in astonishment:

"What does this have to do with me?"

HU said:
"It depends on how strong your will to survive is. If you hesitate or doubt during the ritual, the success rate will not be very high."

Charles took a deep breath and said:
"I see."

HU said:
"Alright then, let's begin now."

Charles said in astonishment:

Is it that fast?

HU said calmly:

"In fact, this ritual is not difficult for us, just like you celebrating Mass."

Upon hearing this, Charles felt a sense of relief; in fact, he had been prepared to be a guinea pig.

"So what do I need to do?"

HU said:
"Just sit down and relax. It would be even better if you could maintain your trust in us and a strong will to survive."

Charles said:

"Ok."

Then he saw the strange flag that had appeared in the illusion before—in fact, it was a prayer flag for the salvation of all beings—and was immediately attracted by its texture and peculiar patterns.

Suddenly, without realizing it, Charles felt himself floating up. He was startled, and then he saw that his lips were slightly parted, his eyes were blank, and he was sitting in a chair.

At this moment, while Charles was filled with fear, he heard RONG's gentle voice:
“Mr. Charles, I have already shown you the process. Please trust us and relax completely without resisting.”

Upon hearing the sound, Charles's gaze hardened, he relaxed, closed his eyes, and then felt himself begin to fly rapidly upwards.
I felt cold and empty all over, but suddenly I found myself in a spacious, warm, and comfortable space, enveloped in endless, gentle darkness. My heart was filled with an indescribable peace and joy, and I gradually lost consciousness.

This feeling is actually the feeling of a fetus being nurtured in the mother's womb.

He didn't know how much time had passed; it felt both very long and very short. Charles felt someone calling his name, which annoyed him, but the voice kept calling him resolutely.

Finally, Charles reluctantly opened his eyes and began to look around at his surroundings with some confusion. His consciousness gradually cleared.

"Huh? What's this?"

The first thing Charles saw was the herringbone-shaped thatched dome, but the wooden beams and the circular bamboo bundles were all brand new, giving it a clean and refreshing feel.

Next to him was a bamboo screen with bird and fish patterns on it. After sitting up, Charles realized that he was sleeping on a bamboo mat, covered with a gray cloth quilt.

After a long moment of stunned silence, Charles suddenly realized something: his body was no longer in pain!

He already had advanced cancer that had metastasized to multiple sites, and he even needed to inject large amounts of painkillers to live a normal life. At the same time, his severe heart disease made it feel as if a heavy brick was pressing on his chest at all times.

And all those damn negative feelings have vanished completely!

In an instant, Charles sat up from the bamboo couch, finally realizing with excitement that something had happened:

I wasn't scammed, and I can continue to live!

At that moment, the curtain outside rustled, and RONG walked in. He smiled at Charles and said:

"Mr. Charles, congratulations on your rebirth. You are no longer on Earth; this world is called Dongxiao."

"Dongxiao?"

Charles couldn't help but repeat the word that was very complicated for him.

Rong Lin smiled and said:

“I know you have a lot of questions right now, but you’ll get the answers soon—not from me, of course.”

"Now please put on this robe and come with me. We will hold a new life ceremony for you."

Charles put on his robe somewhat blankly, and only then did he notice that his new body was a bit unusual. His skin was rather red, as if it had been scalded with boiling water, but of course, there was no painful burning sensation.

Immediately afterwards, he followed Rong Lin to a pavilion in the mountains. The place was quite spacious and had obviously been furnished.

The important thing is that there are already about ten people waiting there, and they are all pointing and looking around frequently.

These people all have an abnormally bright red skin color, and their race is different from that of known white, black, and yellow people.

Charles suddenly realized that his body must be similar to theirs.

When Charles arrived at the pavilion entrance, a rather burly man excitedly stepped forward and gave him a big hug:

"Charles, you've finally arrived!"

Charles looked at the man with some confusion, and said in astonishment:
"I'm sorry. I just woke up and my mind is still a bit foggy. And you are..."

The man laughed loudly:
“I understand, I understand, my old friend. When I was first reborn, I was just as confused as you. I am Gaosite.”

Charles was immediately shocked and said:
"Gaosite!!? You're Gaosite!!"

Goldsmith was a leading expert in weaponry, and his status was no less than Charles's in materials science.

Gao Si Te then introduced him to everyone, and discovered that the people attending the welcome party were all big names on Earth, covering a wide range of fields such as botany, meteorology, biology, biochemistry, medicine, geology, and mineralogy.

Charles had heard of many of these people, even though he had never met them.

Back in familiar territory, Charles's panic and sense of alienation gradually disappeared. He was now basically certain that this was not a scam and began to excitedly welcome his new life at the party.

After a few drinks, Gold put his arm around Charles's shoulder and chuckled:

"Charles, you're really lucky."

Charles said:

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Goldman said:
"We were brought to this Eastern Sky Realm because we were required to conduct research in our areas of expertise. For example, I was required to develop thermobaric weapons and nuclear weapons."

"However, the path of civilization development here is completely different from that on Earth, so I requested assistance and submitted a list to them."

“Charles, you’re actually third on this list. It’s not because you’re less capable than the top two, but because their research areas and achievements better suit my current needs. Do you understand?”

Charles nodded and said:
"Of course."

Goldman said:
"However, the two guys in front missed the opportunity. One thought it was a temptation from Satan, and the other called the police immediately."

"Hahaha!" Upon hearing Gold's words, the biologist Gavin next to him burst into laughter:
"To be honest, when the messenger approached me, my first reaction was to call the police, but luckily I didn't."

Charles smiled wryly:

“I think if it weren’t for that damn heart disease and cancer that have been ravaging me, I probably would have called Scotland Yard too.”

Goldman said:
"By the way, Charles, my research has been stalled for eight days. You need to get the lead-nickel alloy I need as soon as possible."

When it came to his areas of expertise, Charles immediately became enthusiastic:
"This is too easy, I can make it for you in ten minutes."

Upon hearing Charles's words, the infectious disease expert DC Wong chuckled:
"Charles, are you sure you can get it done in ten minutes?"

Charles shrugged and said:
"If everything goes smoothly, it should only take eight minutes."

DC King laughed:
"As Gaosite just said, the civilization of this world is completely different from that of Earth, so you don't have a laboratory, an assistant, or any relevant equipment. You'll have to start all over again."

Charles was stunned:

"Huh!!? This..."

When Goldsmith and the others saw Charles's expression, they burst into laughter as well; clearly, they had all experienced similar things.

“Relax, Charles. We’re not in some barbaric land. In fact, this is an empire where the emperor’s will is supreme. This means we have virtually unlimited manpower at our disposal.”

"Moreover, this cultivation civilization is also highly developed. As long as you make a request, you can find many similar alternatives, but you will need to discover them yourself."

Charles said, somewhat bewildered:
"Alternatives? For example?"

DC King's Way:

"For example, I requested an electron microscope—which of course wasn't available here—but after listening to my specific needs, the manager, Mr. Chen, actually got me a substitute, and it felt even better than an electron microscope."

Charles happened to need this too, and upon hearing this, he immediately asked curiously:

What alternative?

DC King's Way:

"They gave me another body."

Charles:
"OMG!! This...this can be called a substitute?"

DC King's Way:

"The eyes of this body are very special; they were taken from a vulture."

"You know, even a common vulture can easily spot prey on the ground from ten kilometers away!"

"This vulture is said to have lived for over three hundred years, and is like a legendary incarnation of a god, or a werewolf or vampire, possessing mysterious and powerful strength."

"Therefore, the effect that its eye can achieve is very obvious, yes, I think it even surpasses that of an electron microscope."

Charles's expression at this moment was undoubtedly one of utter shock:

"That's really, really!"

Yes, at this point, Charles truly found himself at a loss for words.

At this moment, Gao Si chuckled and said:

"The strongest thing about DC King's body isn't even that. It's highly sensitive, and its stamina and endurance are also great. By the way, can I borrow this body tonight?"

Charles was increasingly shocked. Seeing his expression, Goldsmith burst into laughter:
“Charles, we are no longer the life forms we have on Earth. Our bodies are like clothes to us, something we can change at any time. Only the soul is the core.”

Another guest, Feng Kete, said:
"The bodies we have now were mass-produced by a treasure called the Blood Satan Basin. This treasure is truly amazing. In my opinion, all the gene laboratories on Earth combined cannot compare to it."

“Charles, your current body is still the most basic version. Your sense of smell and taste are only at the level of a seventy-year-old, and you have no sexual ability. Your lifespan is only five years.”

"So get to work as soon as possible and earn more God of Wealth Silver Dollars—you can think of them as Euros/Dollars here—to unlock more features, and even commission a new, perfect eighteen-year-old body."

After hearing this, Charles suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for the future—it seemed like the last time he had enjoyed the wonderful pleasure of sex was more than 30 years ago.

Goldman said:
"Moreover, Charles, the soul also has a lifespan, and it is not very long. Most souls will decline after the age of 90 and die completely at the age of 120."

"And His Majesty the Emperor told me personally that he possesses a secret method for cultivating the soul. After practicing this method, our souls can exist in the world for a thousand years, or even longer."

Fontaine nodded and said:
"It's true. In this world, such souls are called Earth Immortals or Ghost Immortals. I met one ten days ago and even chatted with him for a bit. His Majesty the Emperor's credibility and prestige are still very well-known on this continent."

Upon hearing this, Charles suddenly felt a surge of energy—beauty, money, delicious food, youth, immortality—things he thought he could never get back were now right in front of him again, and could be obtained with effort!
"I can't waste any more time!" Charles picked up the fruit wine next to him and downed it in one gulp, then his eyes lit up: "This is good, it tastes like a mix of ice wine and rum. I need to get to work right away!"

(End of this chapter)