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Planet Gaia: Southern Plains City, Life Unbound Biotech Private Limited

Three months ago, the shattered soul of Karlston possessed one of the researchers of the Life Unbound company, and had successfully driven out the former owner of this body.

Yet his condition now was no better than the poor soul whom he had unceremoniously kicked out.

Even if Karlston was a demigod, he wasn’t like Mo Ke, who had the Devil King Idol to protect him as he crossed the dimensional barriers between worlds.

He had arrived in this world, a ghost of his former self. Had this been like his previous world, he could have easily absorbed the mana in the atmosphere in order to slowly heal himself. Unfortunately, the spiritual energy lingering in this world was corrosive to apparitions like him. Had he not possessed someone early, he would most certainly be dead right now.

In that sense, it was truly a stroke of good luck that Ke Nuoze, the unfortunate researcher he would soon come to possess, so happened to pass by the area of his descent. Even so, the damage to his soul was massive. His memories were a terrible jumble, and it was only through the thinnest of margins that he managed to remember what his mission was.

Speaking of his mission, it was fortunate that his experience as a necromancer had survived the traverse. Adding on his own prowess as a former demigod, along with Nuoze’s own experience as a researcher, Karlston was able to combine the necromantic arts with biotech. The end result was an undead virus, a strange mix of both magic and biology.

This undead virus was every bit like the zombie viruses one would find in movies – those who were infected would turn into undead zombies. However, Karlston’s variant was more powerful.

Any claw wound or bite mark from a zombie had a chance of infecting the person, turning him into a new zombie. This applied to both humans and living creatures in general. Essentially, it was a matter of a creature’s internal resistance to the virus. Once that was gone, being zombified was only a matter of time.

In that regard, bite marks tended to have a higher chance of a successful zombification: 98% approximately, while a claw mark’s was just 79%. And as if that wasn’t enough, such a zombie also had a chance of turning into a wraith even after being killed, though that probability was less than 2%…

Thankfully, such wraiths weren’t able to act in the sun. However, the attributes of a traditional wraith were all present, such as being immune to physical attacks or being able to pass through walls.

Strong as this virus might be, it wasn’t omnipotent. The transmission rate of the virus wasn’t high. Direct exposure to air would cause it to naturally die off after a period of time, thanks to the spiritual energy within.

In fact, the first iteration of Karlston’s virus could only be transmitted orally…

As the saying went, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Upon completing the take over of his body, he spent some time acclimatising himself first. Next, he used his unique mix of necromancy and science to bring unprecedented advances in the lab he worked in, earning him the favour of the company’s board of directors.

The Gene Enhancement Serum was the invention that made him famous. This miraculous serum was able to strengthen a person’s body, increasing his lifespan in the process.

Just to verify that last effect, the board of directors sought out ten willing volunteers who were on the verge of dying from old age. To their delight, the serum worked even better than they had hoped.

Without exception, every one of the elderly experienced an all-round recovery of their bodily functions, to the extent that a wheelchair-bound old man was even able to walk three days after taking the serum…

This discovery thrilled the board of directors beyond belief. They quickly made the decision to mass produce this serum and devote more funds to the research. They had hoped to spread the serum to the entire world, but their hopes were dashed when the Federation government put a halt on their plans. They were worried that the serum would have some unknown long-term effect, especially seeing how miraculous the effects were.

For years now, humans had devoted countless hours into this particular field of research. Unfortunately, their efforts were doomed to failure as the Creator had set restrictions on this world that hindered progress.

The fact that such an effective serum, without any side effect whatsoever, would suddenly appear on the market, overturning every previously held notion was a hard sell for the Federation government. After all, the Federation itself had a massive research lab that was already researching this field. If there was anyone to crack the code of genetics, it would be them, not some small local company… not unless the serum was dodgy to begin with.

Naturally, Karlston gave his full assurances that the serum was a finished product, and would never harm the human body. Yet whether it was out of sheer jealousy or safety concerns, the Life Unbound Biotech company was strictly forbidden from producing the serum en masse. All samples were confiscated and sent to the Federation’s own labs for further study.

Initially, Karlston had modified his virus-laden serum to take effect after two months, however the Federation had mandated that this serum would have to be monitored for half a year…

In other words, Karlston was doomed at this rate. Karlston, as he was right now, did not have the power to go against the Federation by himself, and was seriously considering if he should flee while he could. However, Karlston had severely underestimated the greed of human beings…

A representative from the board of directors suddenly came knocking on his door with a proposal. They wanted him to create a new batch of serum, which they would sell in Southern Plains.

The company itself was a formidable figure locally, and as long as they kept the sales quiet, they could still prevent the government from getting wind of their activities.

Suddenly gifted with such fortune, Karlston happily accepted the board’s request, even going so far as to give them an improved version of the serum…

Just like that, the fate of this tourist paradise was sealed in the boardrooms of a greedy corporation.

Western Human Realms: Azure City, Demon Hunters Guild branch, Branch Leader’s office.

“Are you sure about this?” Aques Lumen couldn’t help but ask his expressionless student, standing there almost doll-like. “If you fail… you might never regain consciousness…”

“I want to grow stronger.” Nicole looked her teacher right in the eyes. In her heart, she had already resolved herself for the worst to happen, thus her eyes were clear as day.

“Even if you were to obtain that sword, it might end up working against you instead…”

“But Ke’s soul might still be suppressed by that she-devil as we speak. And if it is just me… I can’t do anything… No matter what, I have to try.”

“… I think you should at least discuss this with your father and Mille Nix.” Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Aques Lumen knew he wasn’t going to persuade her otherwise, so he offered a concession instead.

“There’s no need for that.” Even the mention of Roscar and her master wasn’t enough to shake her resolve. “If it’s my dad, he would definitely agree, knowing that I was doing this for Ke. As for my master… I doubt she has the time to bother about my matters…”

“Three days. You have three more days to consider.” Aques Lumen sighed in resignation, then walked to his office table and sat down. “Have some time off with Neneth. If you are still adamant after three days, I’ll bring you there… but… Forget it, I’ve never been one to be so wishy washy in the first place. If that is all, you may leave for now, I still have work to do.”

“Thank you, teacher.” Nicole bowed respectfully then left the office.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

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