The fourth basement level, Biological Laboratory.
Unlike the bustling atmosphere of war preparations outside, the only sound here was the low hum of the machines.
Hu Liena's consciousness slowly rose from a deep darkness.
"Where... am I?"
She opened her eyes, expecting to see a prison cell or cold instruments of torture.
Instead, she saw a soft, pale green glow.
She was floating in some kind of warm liquid. Her body felt weightless, without the slightest sense of restraint.
Stranger still, she felt no pain anywhere, and her mind had never been clearer.
"Is this an illusion?"
Hu Liena frowned. She was one of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, with mental strength far beyond that of ordinary people.
She immediately tried to summon her Martial Soul.
"Demon Fox, possess me!"
Soul Power flowed smoothly through her body, and the familiar power of seduction radiated from her.
It worked!
Hu Liena was overjoyed. As long as she still had her Martial Soul, she had the means to fight back!
But the next second, the joy on her face froze.
Her power of seduction hadn't spread soundlessly as it usually did.
Instead...
[Warning! Unauthorized release of mental pheromones detected!] [Target: "Test Subject—Hu Liena."] [Behavior analysis: Attempted mental seduction attack.] [Converting attack behavior into a data stream... Conversion complete.] [Data package uploaded to Central Database, designated "Demon Fox Martial Soul Seduction Model V1.0."]
A cold, emotionless electronic female voice echoed through the entire space.
Hu Liena was completely dumbfounded.
What was that?
A data stream? A model?
How had the Martial Soul ability she prided herself on turned into all these incomprehensible terms?
"Heh heh heh..."
A hoarse laugh rang out.
Hu Liena turned her head. Outside the container stood the white-haired man who had left such a deep impression on her, watching her with great interest.
It was Orochimaru.
Beside him stood the young man who had orchestrated it all: Qin Feng.
"Qin Feng, this test subject of yours is quite interesting."
Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips.
"Her Martial Soul is, in essence, a high-frequency, directional pheromone broadcast."
"By affecting the target organism's nervous system, it induces the brain to secrete dopamine and endorphins, creating the illusion of 'seduction.'"
"Such... marvelous biological ingenuity."
Qin Feng paid no mind to Orochimaru's wonder. He walked over to the control panel and studied the data model that had just appeared on the screen.
"Doctor, the structure is still too crude."
"The pheromones aren't very directional, and the energy dissipation rate exceeds thirty percent."
"Most importantly, the effect is too passive. It can't be precisely controlled."
As he spoke, Qin Feng began working at the virtual keyboard.
"Still, it'll do as an initial model."
"At least we've figured out the 'seduction' switch."
Listening to the two men talk from inside the container, Hu Liena felt her entire worldview crumbling piece by piece.
Martial Souls...
The powerful abilities bestowed on Soul Masters by the gods...
In this madman's eyes, were they nothing more than data to be analyzed and optimized?
"What... what have you done to me?!"
Hu Liena shouted at Qin Feng through the glass.
Her voice sounded muffled as it passed through the liquid, but the pride and fury of Spirit Hall's Saintess remained undiminished.
"Nothing much."
At last, Qin Feng looked away from the screen and turned his gaze to Hu Liena.
"I just gave you a free full-body checkup, and upgraded your outdated 'analog signal' to a more efficient 'digital signal.' That's all."
"You should thank me."
"Bastard! Don't think you can fool me with your silver tongue!"
Hu Liena gritted her teeth, fire blazing in her eyes.
"I'm Spirit Hall's Saintess! The disciple my teacher values most! You think a few cheap tricks will make me submit? Dream on!"
"Oh?"
Qin Feng looked at her defiant expression without changing his own.
"You still don't understand your situation."
"Doctor, begin the Stress Response Test. Protocol Three."
"I'd be delighted, Qin Feng."
Orochimaru grinned and pressed a red button on the control panel.
The next second—
"Ugh!"
Hu Liena's body suddenly arched!
An indescribable pain struck her nerve endings without warning!
It wasn't physical injury, but pure "virtual pain," caused by electrical signals directly stimulating the brain's pain center!
She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
She tried to struggle, but an invisible force field held her fast.
All she could do was endure the endless torment, fully conscious!
In just ten seconds, Hu Liena felt as though she had been dragged through hell.
Her pride and will were crushed to pieces by this pure, physiological pain.
"Stop."
Qin Feng spoke calmly.
The pain vanished.
Like a fish out of water, Hu Liena floated helplessly in the nutrient solution, gasping for breath. She didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
"How do you feel now?"
Qin Feng's voice was like a devil's whisper.
"You..."
Hu Liena tried to curse at him, but realized her voice was already trembling uncontrollably.
It was fear.
A fear of pain, born of the most basic biological instinct.
"The results look good."
Qin Feng was satisfied with the test.
"But punishment alone doesn't make for a good control system."
"A mature system needs a reward mechanism, too."
He turned to Orochimaru.
"Doctor, switch to Protocol Seven: 'Dopamine Overload Infusion.'"
"Gladly."
Orochimaru pressed another button, this one blue.
This time, there was no pain.
"Mm..."
Hu Liena's body trembled uncontrollably. Her pupils dilated in an instant, and her mind went blank!
The composure of Spirit Hall's Saintess, the pride she had built up since childhood, proved as fragile as paper in the face of this unreasonable physiological bliss!
She even... wanted more!
"How does it feel?"
Qin Feng watched Hu Liena's face flush crimson from the overwhelming pleasure, his voice calm.
"This is only ten percent of the dose."
"If I wanted, I could keep you immersed in this pleasure forever, until even your soul melted away."
"No... don't..."
Hu Liena struggled against the waves of pleasure. She wanted to resist, but her body voiced its most honest desire.
She wanted it!
She wanted more!
"An interesting phenomenon, isn't it?"
Qin Feng walked up to the container and looked at Hu Liena's dazed eyes.
"Your mouth says no, but your heart rate, your blood pressure, and the activity of your cerebral cortex are all telling me that you like it."
"Hu Liena, you need to understand one thing."
"From now on, your pleasure, your pain, and every one of your emotions are no longer yours to decide."
"They're my gifts to you."
"I can send you to hell one second, then bring you to heaven the next."
Qin Feng lightly swiped a finger across the control panel.
The overwhelming pleasure stopped dead.
A terrible sense of loss swept over Hu Liena in an instant.
She instinctively reached out, trying to grasp the pleasure that had just vanished, and murmured like she was in a dream.
"...Give it to me..."
Looking at her, Qin Feng knew he had his fish on the hook.
"You want it?"
"Beg me."
[Ding! Target "Hu Liena"'s mental defenses have collapsed, resulting in physiological dependence!] [Ding! "Saintess" branch unlocked in the Science Cult belief system!] [Ding! Hu Liena's affection level +30%! Current status: Drug dependence / early-stage Stockholm syndrome.]
"Qin Feng."
Orochimaru suddenly pointed to a data curve on the monitor.
"At the peak of that pleasure just now, this test subject's soul energy fluctuations showed an unusual resonance peak."
"It seems... something is resonating with her soul."
"Oh?"
Qin Feng glanced at the fleeting abnormal curve but didn't pay it much attention.
"It could be data noise, or just a normal reaction from her Martial Soul under stress."
"Keep observing."
For now, he was more interested in turning this haughty Saintess into his most loyal believer.
Before you continue