Soul Trigger

Chapter 657 Incorporation
"Why are you telling me and Pulitzer these things?"

Seeing Aquile unconsciously grasp Pulitzer's hand, Angelica couldn't help but smile:

“You are very cautious, Aquile.”

Sika: "The Awakened Ones themselves are inherently unstable and at risk of corruption, and the Restoration Objects themselves also pose a great threat."

As patrolling knights belonging to the Royal Assumption, we have a duty to eliminate any potential threats to the lives and property of the people of White Island, including the two of you.

"So...you mean you want to control us?"

“It’s not about control.” Angelica smiled and snapped her fingers. Sika then took two documents from her briefcase and handed them to Ji Li and the other woman.
"Look, it's all written very clearly in the terms, and I believe you won't refuse..."

Aiguir and Ji Li exchanged a glance, opened the file, and their breathing suddenly became rapid.

This is a document outlining the acquisition agreement; its content is very simple:
Those who are awakened by the Royal Assumption, or those who become awakened in connection with anomalous events, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Royal Assumption.

However, in return, the Royal Asylum also provides generous treatment to the Awakened who are under its jurisdiction.

This includes, but is not limited to, comprehensive training in academics, employment, and career development. After signing the agreement, participants will receive stipends based on the chosen program.

Students like Ji Li and Ai Guier receive a monthly stipend of £3500 even in the lowest-tier program.

This is nothing to an Awakened One, but for Aquile, it exceeds the entire monthly income of Aunt Duke from two jobs.

If she and Ji Li sign the agreement together, their combined income will be 7000 pounds, which would be more than enough to turn their family's impoverished situation around.

The highest-paying student option offers a maximum allowance of £2.

This was enough to make Aiquier's breathing quicken, her heart race, and her grip on Ji Li's hand tighten even more—

Anya's father, who is also the mayor of Red Maple Town, only has a transparent annual income of 20,000 pounds...

She looked at Pulitzer with barely concealed excitement, then realized that she had almost "broken" Ji Li's hand, and suddenly let go.

Jessica, who was standing, chuckled:
"Your grip strength should be enough to crush the head of an adult brown bear now. It seems that the 'Reef' has given Pulitzer quite a bit of power."

Aiquier grabbed Ji Li's wrist and massaged it for him:

"Feel sorry……"

"It's nothing. What do you think?"

Seeing Ji Li's calm gaze, Aiguiel was slightly taken aback. His mind, which had just been overwhelmed by the generous terms, immediately cleared up considerably, and he began to seriously re-examine the terms:

Would we participate in dangerous operations?

“Strictly speaking, you don’t need to participate in any operations until you graduate smoothly. Of course, this is optional. Whether you choose to be a clerk or a knight, it’s all up to you,” Angelica explained calmly.

That being said... it's still essentially forced conscription, albeit with conditions that are hard to refuse.

"Of course, you can also choose to give up."

"give up?"

"Yes, we will bring in a special operations technician to assess the value of the Awakened One within you, separate it from your body, and take it away. It usually costs between £20,000 and £70,000 in donations, but very few people choose this option."

A minimum one-time income of £20,000, forfeiting the chance to become a superhuman with limitless potential...

Aquile's first thought wasn't which terms to accept, but rather he looked at Ji Li with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

So much has happened lately, and now a crossroads that could determine her future has been thrown right in front of her.

No matter how assertive she usually appears, she doesn't know what to choose in this situation.

What Ji Li was thinking was that Bai Dao actually possessed this separation technology, which, in a sense, turned awakened individuals like the mourners back into ordinary people.

Is this also an ability of the Shattered White Ring cluster of spiritual cores?
Noticing Aquile's gaze, he immediately saw through the other's current state and, playing the role of a caring older brother, looked at the two of them:

"Gentlemen, could we speak alone?"

"Of course, we'll come back in a bit."

Angelica was clearly used to this situation; she pulled Sika away from the ward and closed the door behind them.

"Pulitzer, should we trust them?" Aquile's eyes were unfocused as he clutched his head.

"To be honest, I'm a bit stunned. This is even more exciting than the boat Sally gave me before..."

She wasn't just confused; she also had Odin within her.

"As long as there's money to be made, that's all that matters."

Ji Li's words startled the red-haired girl.

He shrugged:

"The terms are very clear. You can become a clerk in the future and get a good job without participating in combat operations."

Even if I pass the university entrance exam smoothly, can I find a better job than within these awakened individuals' organizational system?

Although Ji Li wasn't really choosing his own path in life, for him, this was just an effective window to infiltrate the Awakened Ones of White Island.

However, he wouldn't mind giving this confused girl a wake-up call.

“You really hit the nail on the head…” Aquile was speechless.

Yeah, as long as we get paid, that's all that matters.

He's right, I was overthinking things, or rather, I was confused.

As for Odin... why not try calling out to that guy first, ask him if he knows anything about these knights, and whether he'll be discovered?
Instead of figuring it out on your own, you should just start doing something.

But if there's a risk, what if Pulitzer's anomaly is also discovered by the knights...? No, if that's the case, we can't act rashly.

Let's ask Odin first...

Looking at Ji Li's nonchalant expression, her gaze became somewhat enigmatic:
"It seems you've changed a lot after spending time with Anya and Sally. Before, you definitely wouldn't have been able to hide anything, so you should have run back to Aunt Duke right away..."

"Then I must have been a complete idiot before. By the way, can you let go of my hand now?"

Aiguiel pouted and pulled Ji Li's head under his armpit:

"What's wrong with scratching it a little longer? You didn't cry out in pain..."

"Your brother is injured right now."

"Um...sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No, not at all. But did you have an iron plate wrapped around your chest? It's a bit uncomfortable on my face."

Aiquier's expression changed, and he immediately pulled away from Ji Li, instinctively clutching his chest:

"You're such an idiot..."

Ji Li: "?"

Aiguir made an excuse to go to the restroom, and after taking off his shirt, he saw the thick bra straps on his chest and loosened them slightly.

She still prefers to wrap them up, partly to avoid unwanted attention, and partly because they're uncomfortable and cumbersome to swing around during exercise.

Who knew this thing would develop so much during puberty?
She began trying to call upon the mysterious Odin in her mind.

……

Angelica was not surprised by the two men's choices.

After confirming that Ji Li was in good physical condition, they took them to an indoor stadium at the school. Because of the sailing competition, which had caused quite a stir, the school had decided to suspend classes this week. The dense fog had also caused a great uproar in the town, keeping the town hall and police station extremely busy.

They rented this place from the school to test two new Awakened individuals.

"Will we transfer schools after the test?"

"That won't be necessary. My authority should be sufficient to make arrangements for you, but the specifics will depend on the completion of the assessment. However..."

Angelica hesitated for a moment:
"You may need to be mentally prepared, although in principle you shouldn't be directly involved in the investigation of unusual events."

However, you are all firsthand witnesses to the current situation in Red Maple Town. Even with external support present, the possibility of you participating in subsequent support operations cannot be ruled out.

"Of course, this is our native town."

Without much hesitation, Aquile agreed immediately.

Odin said he didn't do these things, which means there were other people behind it.

Even if he doesn't become an Awakened, Aquill won't let such a thing happen again. Who knows, it might happen to Aunt Duke one day?

As for Ji Li, he couldn't be happier to get involved in Angelica's actions; wasn't this exactly what he wanted?

The test content was very simple—

They simply left Sika the Drunken Knight standing there, waiting for the two of them to go up and beat him up.

Given the limited resources, Sika has to act as a testing device to assess the awakened abilities and basic qualities of the two individuals.

Aquil was the first; she held out for twenty seconds in Sika's arms before being kicked away.

"Third-level apprentice...has just completed the promotion."

Angelica's eyes lit up.

Clearly, Aiquier was already a fully-fledged awakened individual in the wild, and his advancement was only achieved during the fog at sea.

On the way here, Aquile had already told Angelica what had happened at sea.

Because it is the revised version of Odin, the details of the Awakened are quite detailed, including the matter of Aquil's ascension. Angelica did not suspect anything and confirmed that it was Aquil who killed the Fusionist of "Reef" at that time. However, she still needs to further confirm the identity of the deceased.

Returning to the current test, Aiquier's rating is not low among the newcomers, and she possesses good spiritual triggering and guiding abilities.

A shallow well of the soul indicates a low total amount of spiritual energy.

However, the Soul Trigger is highly sensitive and has an excellent range.

It has excellent spiritual output, high utilization rate, high spiritual quality, and extremely high degree of integration between spirit and body.

If we were to use Ji Li's four-dimensional panel to illustrate this, it would show extremely high "super-sensory perception" at the extraordinary projection stage, superior levels of "will" and "affinity," but extremely low creativity, which is somewhat similar to Ji Li's attribute ratio.

If it weren't for her other shortcomings, Angelica felt she could prepare for the oath-taking ceremony and be promoted to knight (master).

The excellent basic values ​​are contrasted by the poor performance of the rules governing pacificates, or as the saying goes, "the greatest truths are the simplest":
Resting Object (Personality Relic): Champion Pitcher
Soul Quality: Complete

characteristic:
1. Eagle Eye: Enhanced vision, and the gaze possesses the sensory characteristics of a soul trigger, enabling one to see spiritual things that ordinary people cannot see, but may also see things that you should not see.

2. Ace: Can imbue any sporting or competitive object with spiritual energy, enhancing it and transforming it into your unique equipment. However, it will also rapidly shorten the lifespan of the equipment.

3. Champion: Throwing and close-range attacks will always hit the opponent, but not necessarily in the spot you want to hit.

4. Violent Defend: Gain a high amount of spiritual and physical synergy, and the body is greatly enhanced within the current spiritual quality level.

Cost: Irritability.

It can be packaged.
-
This is the panel provided by the Ascension Protocol and the Inner World Curse Seal. Angelica and Sika's calculations yielded similar results.

Currently, Hawkeye's effect allows Aquile to clearly see flies and mosquitoes flying in the air and crush them directly by throwing a large shot put.

Thanks to the "Ace" effect, the large lead balls thrown by Aquile produce an effect comparable to that of an oversized sniper rifle bullet; in fact, some of the lead balls even exploded in the control experiment.

Regardless of whether it exploded or not, the shot puts were ultimately completely destroyed, costing only a small amount of money, which Angelica could easily cover herself with her salary.

As for the championship, its negative effects have not yet been confirmed, but it's certainly accurate in using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

The final "violent defense of the title" was embodied in Aquile's highly integrated body and soul.

Spells that are less susceptible to negative effects, such as Sika's Spirit Ethanol.

Sika's strength and physical attributes are comparable to those of a fourth-tier knight, but he is one of the weaker knights. His sustenance, "82 Lafite," is a restraining type, mainly featuring a rich well of souls and numerous abilities.

However, he didn't show it when facing the mysterious "Raven" earlier—

These were the code names that the group gave to Ji Li.

Angelica ultimately awarded Aquile a stipend of £3700.
They possess strong basic qualities and have above-average combat development potential.

However, since the individual's choice is not to develop in a combat-oriented direction, but rather to formulate a clerical career arrangement and plan, the allowance assessment is relatively low.

According to Angelica, if Aquile chooses to become a combatant, the allowance will be £5000.

Out of a sense of conservatism and the possibility of changing the plan as she develops, the red-haired girl chose a safe approach.

This also aligns with her true feelings:
To provide a better life for Aunt Duke, rather than to become a workaholic.

The monthly allowance of £3700, if saved until graduation, would be enough to cover the cost of university and allow my aunt to take one less job.

After Aiquier came Ji Li: —
Resting Object (Personality Relic): Deep-sea Reef
Soul Quality: Complete

characteristic:
1. Deep-sea creatures: They can withstand extremely high physical and spiritual pressure, and possess the ability to breathe underwater and swim very well. They can enhance their vital signs through water, but they cannot move for more than 30 minutes in a water-scarce environment.

2. Water-breathing skin: It can manipulate liquids, including but not limited to seawater, fresh water, rainwater, water mist, and all other substances with a liquid nature.

3. Large groups: They can split into lower-level deep-sea individuals, but they perish in the water and are not necessarily obedient to commands.

The cost: water shortage.

It can be packaged.
-
Their abilities are average, and their overall qualities are also average. Angelica and the others are very familiar with most of the properties and rules of "The Reef" because they have already dealt with the resting object upstream.

But in their eyes, this thing has a very thorny problem, which is the "large group" ability given by the Ascension Agreement and the Inner World Curse Seal.

This ability can continuously generate a large number of malevolent derivatives in water-rich environments, just like the Fish-Scale Boy used in the Sea Fog Incident. Once the number becomes large, it will be extremely troublesome.

Angelica gave Ji Li a stipend of 3000 pounds, also for an administrative position. This was because, overall, Ji Li's performance was significantly lower than that of Aiquier, whose overall abilities were much better.

Ji Li was naturally dissatisfied with this.

He needs to gain sufficient involvement and a certain degree of influence within Angelica's team in order to sway their investigation.

So after being knocked away by Sika once, he didn't hesitate to materialize "Reef"—

With a gurgling sound of viscous liquid churning, everyone was horrified:

The swirling liquid erupted from Ji Li's body, enveloping him and turning him into a smooth-skinned deep-sea monster.

His body was entirely blue-black, with seawater constantly dripping from it.

The head, devoid of eyes, split open into four tentacles. Its slimy, sticky surface closed to conceal tiny hydraulic openings. It stood on two legs like a dragon, reaching the height of two people.

It has numerous soft tentacles on its back, like long, flowing hair, and sharp claws on its limbs. It also has a thick, slippery, heavy tail, and its palms and soles are covered with suckers.

He roared, letting out a cry that was a mixture of whale and beast, and the floor instantly collapsed as he charged towards Sika like a cannonball—

"Evil transformation?!?"

(End of this chapter)