Chapter 424 What a Great Follower

Although this method was confirmed to be feasible, Xia Xinyan still had quite a few doubts in her mind.

So, after Monica returned, she immediately sought her out.

Seeing Xia Xinyan approach, Monica paused for a moment and then broke into a smile, “So, how did it go? What was the outcome?”

She definitely looked a bit guilty.

Xia Xinyan observed her for a while, curious: “What exactly is this verification you mentioned? You should know what that guy is like now, right? I don’t think it seems fake.”

“Ah…” Monica tried to dodge the question.

But Xia Xinyan added, “I can guess that method isn’t very humane, but it’s fine if you tell me, right? I won’t go over your head to file a complaint.”

She didn’t even have a way to report it.

Monica hesitated for a moment, still somewhat unwilling: “So, why are you asking this?”

“Because I want to know if what that guy says in this state can still be trusted.” Xia Xinyan explained.

After all, without raising any alarms, canned meat was pretty much the only option they had for testing—though there were many demons imprisoned in the base for combat training, ensuring safety meant that those demons were unlikely to be very powerful, mostly the weakest kind. Naturally, even the beasts with some intellect would kill each other, and those with completely mushy brains certainly couldn’t coexist peacefully, so using them for testing was obviously unreliable.

Hearing this, Monica pondered for a moment before nodding, “Alright, I can clearly tell you… that method won’t affect its innate nature; if it’s originally too dumb to even panic, then no matter how seriously it’s polluted, it wouldn’t learn to lie.”

“Pollution?” Xia Xinyan seized upon that key word.

Monica’s expression froze for a moment, then she seemed to wrestle with herself for a bit before continuing: “Yes, to be precise, it’s source pollution—at that time, I could only verify my hypothesis by probing the origins of that guy’s race. This is a form of forcibly breaking through the soul.”

Pausing, she added, “The soul is like an intact egg, and this probing method is like breaking the eggshell to peek inside. No matter how well it’s done, even if just a tiny hole is made, it will allow the internal contents to interact with the outside, thus making the egg lose its purity.”

In short, it’s a mingling of soul essences—after all, Monica, as a world-managing officer, has come into contact with an immense amount of source. When using this probing method on canned meat, as long as even a hint of source mingled with the meat can, it would completely change its essence.

Strictly speaking, it’s akin to destroying an individual’s self, essentially transforming one individual into another.

That’s why this method is so unsavory that it’s normally forbidden; it’s just…

“You didn’t treat that race as a normal race, right? Then they wouldn’t be covered by that protection law.” Monica nodded, not sure if she was convincing herself or Xia Xinyan.

Xia Xinyan: “…”

God knows what’s in that protection law.

“It doesn’t matter,” Monica waved her hand. “That race won’t be listed in the recognized catalogue of this world until they formally integrate into the proper sequence. Although my method is a bit inhumane, it’s still within the rules. Even if I feel guilty, it’s for gathering intelligence for you, right? It’s a necessary sacrifice. Even if the boss finds out, he should forgive me.”

After pausing, she continued, “And isn’t that guy’s transformation quite good now? What a wonderful follower! If it weren’t so ugly, I’d take it in. But as the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. At least, in its current state, it’s definitely beneficial for you—what a great two-faced collaborator, right?”

Xia Xinyan: “…”

She realized that engaging with this person too much was clearly not a good idea.

But since it was confirmed that the canned meat wasn’t a problem, that was good enough for Xia Xinyan. She didn’t linger any longer; taking a last glance at the canned meat, she returned home.

Ling Mo had just finished dinner and, upon seeing her come back, smiled and asked, “How was it?”

“Let’s avoid contact with that guy in the future,” Xia Xinyan sat down at the dining table and exhaled, “No matter how you look at it, that fellow seems unreliable…”

“I think so too.” Ling Mo sat beside her, chuckling.

He still remembered that guy had once set his sights on Xinyan.

Though he didn’t oppose yuri, if the target was Xinyan… then it was best for that guy to keep his distance.

From this viewpoint, if the expedition could be moved up, that would be a good thing. Saving the world sooner would also mean saying goodbye to that guy sooner.

Xia Xinyan tilted her head to look at Ling Mo, bringing up the main topic: “I asked her… she said her method wouldn’t change a person’s innate nature, so that means what that demon said should be true.”

Ling Mo nodded: “What does Xinyan want to do next?”

“We can go verify it,” Xia Xinyan said softly, “Just the two of us, with Monica… and let’s bring that demon along.”

“Where does Xinyan want to go?”

“Shen City.”

Shen City held special significance for Xia Xinyan—not only because her parents in her previous life worked in that city, but also because… in her last life, she ultimately died there.

Shen City likely housed a Demon Stronghold; her previous expedition team was ambushed near Shen City and forced into it. Everyone fought desperately to break out but in the end, she was the only one left, taking down the entire Shen City along with the demons.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that during her last life’s expedition phase, demons not only significantly evolved intellectually but also gained incredibly strong physical prowess. Even Ling Mo’s conventional nuclear attacks couldn’t eliminate them in one strike, which was why she ended up using the super technology of a space battleship to deliver annihilation strikes.

However, with that kind of strike, even if Ling Mo had incredibly strong control methods… it was uncertain he could dissipate during the explosive shockwaves like he could now… probably, after all, Xia Xinyan hadn’t seen Ling Mo’s true limits.

But she had experienced the firepower of that space battleship’s main cannon firsthand and the difficulties in materializing it.

At least… in this lifetime, it should be a bit easier, right?