On how PhDs become human evil

"If the doctor knew that I had him conduct an experiment on an artificial soul instead of a fully immersive one, he would probably beat me half to death."

Experiments on artificial souls.

This is the truth about the virtual world.

Initially, out of longing for his mother, Dan Kuroto started the Kamen Rider Chronicle Project, hoping to create a game world so that he could control everyone's lives—although the plan was ultimately thwarted by Hakugen, along with Takeru Tenkuji and Kouta Kazuha.

Although Dan Kuroto no longer misses his mother as much, he still wants to complete his unfinished plan to create a real game world. Virtual World: Strike the Blood is the prototype with the highest degree of completion.

Originally, Dan Kuroto intended to enter on his own, but Bai Jie's suggestion made him change his plans, and the full-dive experiment that was supposed to be carried out was postponed.

"Li Dou, how's the progress?"

The laboratory door opened, and Dan Masamune, dressed in a suit, walked in. Looking at the screen, he frowned: "Has the combat program been loaded?"

"Well, the results were good. The virtual world's resilience is much higher than I expected; it was able to withstand even such an intense battle."

"At this rate, the soul program should load smoothly."

Upon hearing Dan Masamune's words, Dan Kuroto fell into deep thought: "Father, I'm thinking... maybe we don't need to load the soul program anymore."

"Ok?"

"This virtual world has evolved over tens of thousands of years. Its structure is already quite complete, and its soul has also developed to a considerable degree. I think there is no need to go through the trouble of loading related programs."

Dan Kuroto is the chief technology officer of the Genmu Group. His statements on technology are essentially conclusions. Although Dan Masamune also has some knowledge in this area, he is ultimately not as familiar with it as his son.

So, after a brief moment of thought, Dan Masamune let go of Dan Kuroto's words and said, "I trust your judgment, but what about the follow-up plan?"

"If it's about bringing a fully grown artificial soul into the real world, I plan to do it in the next virtual world," Dan Kuroto explained. "Once the full-dive technology is mature, I plan to use it to develop a brand new game, which is currently tentatively set as an adventure RPG."

"You really know how to do a series of things on your own. If you continue to act like you did back in Kamen Rider Chronicle, I won't tolerate you anymore."

Tan Masamune's dream is to make Genmei Company the world's number one game company. Now, Genmei Company has completely established itself in Japan and is among the top in Asia. At this rate, he does have a chance to see Genmei Company dominate the world game industry in his lifetime.

Therefore, Dan Masamune's ambitions have been half realized. The rest is to proceed step by step and steadily. If Dan Kuroto intends to cause any more trouble, he doesn't mind cleaning up his own house, since Bai Jie has already returned Kronoska to him.

Dan Kuroto smiled at his father's wariness: "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. W and Drive have been watching me closely, as have Accel and the elusive Wizard. Not to mention there's a god above me."

Even though he had already created the God Limit Gashat, Dan Kuroto didn't think he could face a group attack from several Kamen Rider Final Forms at the same time. Don't be fooled by how easy they usually are to talk to; if it really came down to a fight, Dan Kuroto was sure they would be happy to beat him to death.

"That's good... By the way, how far has the virtual world progressed?"

"Ah, an NPC has created a simulated angel and is sending it to a higher-dimensional world. The doctor is fighting against this plan, but it seems he can't win at the moment."

"Higher dimensions...wait a minute, Li Dou, the virtual world should be considered a two-dimensional world—that's how it appears from our perspective, right? So, for them, the higher dimension would be...."

What is the higher level of the two-dimensional world? Isn't it the three-dimensional world (the real world)?

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as Dan Kuroto panicked: "It seems like that's actually the theory. Does that mean this masquerade angel will end up in our world?!"

In terms of the concept, the prototype angels eventually evolve into real angels, and Dan Kuroto was designed based on the description of angels in mythology.

In other words, once Natsune Yase fully enters the higher-dimensional world, a real angel will appear on their side!

"No way! We have to give the Doctor a cheat code. What will happen if he really comes here?" Dan Kuroto hurriedly rushed to the control panel and started operating it.

Actually, he's not afraid of angels at all. Look at how many Kamen Riders they have here, they even have a god. If all else fails, they can have Tsukasa Kadoya drag over the bored old Demon King. Angels probably wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch from the old Demon King.

What truly alarmed Dan Kuroto was the potential impact of the angel's appearance. After all, the presence of such a large, high-powered light bulb in the real world was bound to attract public attention! And if something were to happen to the Dream Company, it would be a real problem!

To avoid such a situation, Dan Kuroto felt he had to unseal the cheat code that he had sealed away. The familiars of the Fourth Progenitor were all cheat-level, and among all those cheat codes, there just happened to be one that could completely overpower that angel.

"Just in case, I'd better call Emu Hojo and the others over. It wouldn't be good if things went wrong..."

P.S.: I was grinning the whole time watching the latest episode of Sword Art Online. The fight between Alice and Asuna was really funny. I'm going to read the light novel tonight; it should be even more interesting.

P.S.: I remember I updated four times yesterday, so why are there only 300+ subscribers? This makes me completely lose the desire to update more!

Section 410, Chapter 42: Breaking Through This World

The magnificent red lotus burned fiercely on the earth, and the rolling heat waves, like a faceless god that could change shape, took on various different forms.

Sometimes a demon, sometimes a fire dragon, sometimes a giant, sometimes a raptor—the flames transformed into many forms, turning this world into a mythical realm.

As the opponent of these Flame Beasts is Yase Natsune, who has evolved to have six wings on her back. Her light wings, which have completely lost their physical form, are like the beams of a flashlight, scattering out at will and occupying the entire sky.

Above is a glorious paradise, below is a scorching purgatory.

The world was thus divided into two parts.

"It's practically a reenactment of a myth!"

Nearly a kilometer from the main battlefield, Nangong Nayue gazed at the world of fire and light and sighed. Even as a so-called demon slayer and a witch of the void, she felt utterly powerless in the face of such a scene. It was no longer a realm she could intervene in—at least not now.

"Buzz!"

The light in the sky suddenly converged, forming an exceptionally magnificent divine bow, and arrows of light were nocked onto the bow as the bowstring was drawn.

Clang—!

The bowstring vibrated!

The radiant divine arrow plummeted down as if connecting heaven and earth. It was a true arrow of light, and its firing speed was naturally the speed of light. The moment the bowstring vibrated, the arrow had already pierced the sea of ​​fire! The fire dragons and demons along the way were utterly insignificant in the face of the arrow of light!

Boom!

The sea of ​​fire trembled violently, and large swaths of flames were shattered by the arrows of light. However, the shattered flames did not dissipate; instead, they gathered together again, forming a large net that enveloped the arrows of light!

"—In the dim light, the cloud candles flickered, swaying uncertainly, a life of flickering, a life of intense intensity, a torrential downpour, amidst the swaying, the awe-inspiring formation shook violently, a final moo, the flickering light abruptly ended—"

Bai Jie's words rang out, followed by a crisp clapping sound. A terrifying surge of spiritual energy shot out from the sea of ​​fire, crashing heavily onto the arrow of light like an invisible cannonball!

Click!

The arrow of light snapped in two! Countless points of light vanished into the sky!

"WWWWWYYYAAAAAAAA!"

The next moment, Natsumi Yase began to sing a so-called hymn, the Radiant Divine Bow disappeared, and in its place appeared a huge magic circle with a diameter of nearly 100 meters, from which a cross-shaped pillar of lightning crashed down.

"Roar!"

The golden lion roared and soared into the sky, swallowing the lightning whole in one gulp. Then, with a swipe of its claws, it shook the heavens!

All the bolts of lightning that fell from the clouds landed on Natsumi Yase. However, these lightning bolts, which were enough to completely sink Itogami Island, did not cause any damage to Natsumi Yase after they hit her. The protection of the higher dimension made Natsumi Yase completely ignore all of Bai Jie's attacks!

"Ugh, it's so annoying... It's really frustrating not having any effective countermeasures."

Standing in the center of the inferno, Bai Jie grumbled unhappily. To be honest, angels and such were nothing to him; they were just a matter of one move against his true form. What good was the protection of higher dimensions? Bai Jie knew far too many techniques that ignored dimensions; he could just throw them all together and be done with it.

Unfortunately, there are absolutely no techniques in Yin-Yang arts that involve dimensions, which is quite frustrating.

[Ahem...Doctor, can you hear me?]

Suddenly, Dan Kuroto's voice rang in Bai Jie's ears. Before Bai Jie could ask anything, Dan Kuroto continued.

[I've released the seal on the familiar. Please deal with that angel quickly. Letting it continue will have a very negative impact on the virtual world; I've already started experiencing data anomalies.]

"The seal on the familiar is gone?"

Yes, considering you, Doctor, lack the means to deal with that angel, I've unsealed the familiar capable of interfering with dimensions. Please be sure to bring that angel, who is evolving towards a higher dimension, back to the virtual world.

"Why do I feel like you're a little flustered? Could it be... the higher dimension world, I get it, you've messed up again?"

[Since you already know, please don't say it. Anyway, I'm begging you, Doctor!]

With a helpless sigh, Bai Jie took out the shikigami talisman from his pocket. He could feel that the shikigami talisman of the two-headed dragon had come into play, and the familiar inside was eager to come out and cause a ruckus.

"Well then, I've kept you waiting. Now, vent all your resentment from being locked up for solitary confinement—come immediately! Dragon Serpent Mercury!"

A crimson light shone from the shikigami talisman, dancing in the air like blood. Then, the blood transformed into a surging magical energy wave, which condensed into the form of a summoned beast with a physical form.

It was a vampire's familiar covered in bright silver scales, a shikigami of the Onmyoji.

What appeared was a dragon.

A dragon with a soft, writhing serpentine body, limbs with hooked claws, and ominous, enormous wings covered in mercury-like scales.

And there were two of them—

The two dragons that appeared at the same time were intertwined in a spiral, forming the posture of a giant dragon with one head in front and one in back, which is commonly referred to as a two-headed dragon.

The Fourth True Ancestor, the Night Lord of Flame, and his Third Familiar—Dragon-Serpent Mercury!

"Kyriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiunces!"

Natsune Yase unleashed her lightsaber at Hakuje's dragon shikigami.

However, the two dragons each opened their massive jaws and swallowed the lightsaber into the unfathomable abyss, annihilating it without leaving a trace.

The two-headed dragon devoured the angel's lightsaber.

The six eyeballs on the angel's wings widened their pupils as if they were shaking.

"boom--!"

The dragon's roar echoed through the sky. With its huge wings flapping, the two-headed dragon approached Natsumi Yase in one breath, its jaws wide open, and it bit at Natsumi Yase!

The attacks of the familiars could not possibly harm the higher-dimensional Natsune Yase—looking at the flying two-headed dragon, Natsune Yase could not even entertain such a thought; her instincts told her that she absolutely could not be bitten by the two-headed dragon!

"Sizzle—!"

Although it managed to dodge in time, the two-headed dragon still tore off Natsune Yase's light wings, and also swallowed the light around the wings!

Where the two-headed dragon bit, extremely unnatural ripples appeared in the space.

"The Dragon Serpent Mercury is a familiar that can devour dimensions. The space torn apart by their jaws will be completely wiped out from this world. In other words, it is a familiar that can inflict an irreversible damage on this world itself."

"I don't care if you're a higher-dimensional life form or anything, as long as you come down from a higher dimension, you're just a little girl I can easily defeat!"

Commanding the two-headed dragon to keep chasing Natsumi Yase, Bai Jie spread his arms wide, as if drawing a bow and arrow.

"hifumiyoimune, kotomochirorane, shikiruyuitowa, sohatamakumeka!"

Bai Jie chanted the divine incantation of the Toad-Eyed God and shot out arrows of spiritual energy, but in terms of scale, they were more like giant cannons than arrows.

"This is my last bit of spiritual power, vanish, angel!"

Bai Jie roared and released his grip on the bowstring. The spiritual energy projectile surged upwards, heading straight for Ye Se Xia Yin, whose high-dimensional protection had been devoured by the two-headed dragon. Then, it swallowed her up without any hindrance!

After devouring Natsumi Yase, the azure beam of light did not stop at all, and shot straight towards the sky that was occupied by light!