The Day of Arrival

Holy Sun Calendar, June 28, 1880

[City of Pure White] Vienna

"Damn." Lude curled up and looked around. "I remember dying, so where the hell am I now?"

The basement was over two hundred square meters, its walls lined with brass pipes and lit by the bright flames of gas lamps. A dozen pale-faced people in strange clothes were celebrating around Lude, completely unaware that he had opened his eyes.

Of course, that might have been because they couldn't see his face.

Lude was inside a huge, misshapen, swollen tumor of flesh. Countless blood vessels spread from its roots and merged with the brass pipes, absorbing the heat of the steam. It made him look like the Holy Lord that Blade Dragon had just summoned.

"So what the hell happened to me?"

The moment Lude tried to remember, phantom pain surged through every limb. He seemed to be back at the scene of the car crash, feeling the agony of his bones breaking, the dull pain of his internal organs being battered, and the searing burn of gasoline soaking into him and setting him ablaze.

It had been a brutal way to die, but Lude didn't regret it. It was the ending he deserved.

Thinking back to his previous life, when he had struggled alone in a big city, clawing and fighting his way up by any means necessary, Lude felt that this ending suited him. He could even say with certainty that the crash hadn't been an accident. He had used similar methods on others before.

"I should be completely dead, but this place doesn't look like hell. So did I transmigrate... Urgh!"

The instant the thought crossed Lude's mind, memories surged into his brain like a raging tide. Blood gushed from his nostrils, staining the amniotic fluid around him red, but he was too distracted to worry about being exposed.

It took a long while for Lude to recover from the pain.

This was a world of mysteries and the supernatural. The strange people before him were alchemists employed by a secret society called the Black Tide Society, and this body was the culmination of all their research: the Soulless Vessel.

In his memories, Lude saw the entire process by which this body had been created.

He experienced almost the entire process firsthand: this body had begun as a golden-red skull and a spine of the same color, then been wrapped in the organs and flesh of Dragon Beasts, melted into a Blood Torrent, and formed into a two-meter-wide tumor of flesh. After soaking in amniotic fluid for 280 days, it had undergone abnormal development into a human body.

The pain of having his flesh repeatedly torn apart and reconstructed had been no less than being burned alive with gasoline.

The good news was that this body was brand-new, and its quality was excellent in every respect. The bad news was that it had been reserved for the Black Tide Society's president. The president might not take kindly to Lude stealing his place.

In an instant, Lude made up his mind. There were too many people around, so he'd play dead for now, figure out the situation, then look for a chance to escape!

But just as he thought this, an old, hoarse voice suddenly spoke:

"Enough! You can celebrate anytime. First, inject the vessel with a powerful anesthetic, then take it to Miss Siana for an examination. The top priority is ensuring that no wandering soul from the outside has contaminated it!"

Fine, fine. Lude almost laughed in anger. How rude. Was the old man calling him out?

A few alchemists approached, carrying syringes as thick as a baby's forearm. Lude cursed under his breath. His plan was now completely useless. If he played dead and got knocked out here, the next time he opened his eyes, he'd be crossing the River of Forgetfulness!

It could even be worse: he might be forged into a bottle or jar, or end up among the brothers in some soul-capturing banner.

Fortunately, Lude had worked his way up from the bottom. People like him shared one trait: they were exceptionally good at adapting to changing circumstances. In just a few seconds, Lude had assessed whether a violent escape was feasible, weighed the risks, and prepared a plan.

First, most of the alchemists wore pistols, which meant they probably had no means of attack more powerful than firearms.

Second, Lude remembered the alchemists using a foot-operated circular saw to cut Dragon Beast flesh. The saw had screeched as it cut, so the flesh must have been at least as hard as some hardwoods, if not metal. Lude's muscles had developed abnormally from Dragon Beast flesh, so he should be able to withstand a few bullets.

The person Lude was truly wary of in this alchemical workshop was the old man standing by the door and giving orders.

The old man was called Professor Beshe, one of the workshop's chief supervisors. He looked to be well into his eighties, with slack, bluish-black skin. The skin between his thumb and index finger could be stretched all the way to his little finger, and his eyes glowed with a pale white light.

Professor Beshe stood directly in the path Lude would have to take to break out. They would inevitably have to clash.

The alchemists had already stuck their needles into the blood vessels beneath the tumor and begun injecting the powerful anesthetic. Lude knew he had to take a gamble: that the old man's supernatural powers couldn't overcome the Steel Body he had forged!

With that, Lude made up his mind. His hands shot out like dragon claws, ripping through the orange membrane in front of him!

Clear amniotic fluid poured through the hole, spilling across the floor engraved with complex runes. Lude slid out through the opening he had torn. Countless blood vessels attached to his back were ripped away, but only a few drops of bright red blood escaped before the wounds quickly closed.

For a moment, silence fell over the alchemical workshop. Then came the terrified screams.

"The vessel's alive! Guards! Guards!!!"

Lude sprang to his feet and crouched like a tiger poised to hunt. At the same time, several alchemists drew their guns.

But just then, a voice as hoarse as if corroded by sulfuric acid suddenly roared like thunder. "Stop! All of you, stop! Put your guns down! You fools, do you want to destroy the vessel?"

Lude had never known an old man in his eighties could let out such a booming, powerful roar.

"Put your guns down!" Professor Beshe struck the floor hard with his cane, his scolding laced with fury. "Until Miss Siana confirms that the vessel has been completely contaminated by an outside soul, no lethal force is to be used!"

Then Lude saw, to his amazement, that the guns around him really did lower.

Well, well. Lude chuckled to himself. A high-ranking, reckless boss who loved telling experts how to do their jobs—those were the people Lude had hated most during his climb. But when that sort of incompetent ally was on the other side, it was a different story.

With that thought, Lude suddenly burst into action, charging toward Professor Beshe like an unstoppable truck.

The moment he moved, Lude realized he'd underestimated this body. Just pushing off with his bare feet had cracked the stone floor in several places. His body alone smashed two alchemists into a shower of fragments!

He'd been wrong. This body was far stronger than his estimate of Captain America. It was a freaking locomotive!

At that instant, Lude's thoughts couldn't help but wander. If he'd had this kind of strength in his previous life, so many of his problems would no longer have been problems. Whether it was the initial blaze at the docks, his partners stabbing him in the back when he started a business, or even that final car crash, none of them would have mattered...

...But then again, how had he managed to remember all those things in an instant?

When Lude came back to himself, his gaze met the old man's pale eyes.

"We beseech the Radiant Monarch, keeper of the Void Lighthouse, merciless Lord of Radiance, God of Enlightenment and Reason."

At some point, the old man's withered hands had formed a strange seal. Pale light shone in his sunken eyes as he murmured strange yet forceful words. The ancient language stained the air with vibrant colors.

Well, that was to be expected. Lude felt somewhat helpless about it. The old man's strange nature had already been written all over his appearance.

But Lude hadn't known fear for a long time. Even in the face of such an eerie situation, he still threw a punch. Only then did he realize something was wrong: his soul had completed the punch, but his body had only just begun to raise its hand.

His soul and body had fallen out of sync—no, his thoughts had simply sped up, and his body couldn't keep pace with them.

Cracks began to appear in the walls around them. What showed through them wasn't darkness, but light that seemed frozen in place. Light leaked through the cracks and dripped onto Lude's hand like blood, then spread through the air like mist. It passed through glass and pierced his skin.

Pale chains quietly crept out of the cracks in the light, winding around Lude's torso, neck, and limbs.

The pale chains had no physical form. They couldn't even stop Lude's arm from moving forward, yet they bound his mind, leaving him unable even to think of moving his limbs, let alone resisting.

Damn it, Lude cursed inwardly. This was the worst possible situation—the other man was far stronger than this body!

Lude struggled with all his might, scanning his surroundings as he frantically searched for some way to turn things around. But as his gaze passed over Professor Beshe's face, he noticed a trace of... greed in the old man's eyes.

Before Lude could confirm it, white flames quietly ignited on the old man's five fingers. He brought them down hard toward Lude's face.

But just as the old man's fingers were about to press against Lude's forehead, a delicate little hand suddenly reached in from the side and seized his withered wrist. A clear, sweet girl's voice rang out.

"Professor Beshe, if you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you doing?"

In the next instant, a crimson torrent, heavy with the stench of blood, surged up Lude's body. Wherever it passed, the chains of light corroded and rusted. Even the light filtering through the cracks in the walls took on a bloody hue.

A petite, slender figure had appeared beside the professor at some point.

The girl's knee-length hair was as red as blood, and her flawless skin was as white as jade. Her small frame was wrapped in a black coat, and an indescribable charm surrounded her. Her features combined the delicate beauty of the East with the sculpted contours of the West, making her look like a masterpiece of art. There was also a sharp, heroic air in her eyes and brows. Even Lude was dazzled for a moment.

But only for a moment. The next instant, Lude bit his tongue hard to force himself back to his senses.

In fact, the girl's overly perfect appearance made Lude wary. In a world of mysteries and the supernatural, it went without saying what a character with a maxed-out charm stat might mean!

Just then, the girl spoke. "Answer my question, Professor Beshe. What are you planning to do?"

The old professor narrowed his eyes slightly, seeming to hesitate for a moment before answering hoarsely. "Miss Siana, the vessel has suffered psionic contamination from an unknown source. I was about to give it a full examination to rule out interference with the experiment..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and dispersed the light. The cracks in the walls quietly sealed themselves.

"Hmph. You'd better be." Siana snorted, then turned to Lude and placed a hand on his chest. Lude instinctively tried to struggle, but the crimson torrent had already wrapped tightly around him.

So all he could do was watch as the girl's slender, fair hand gently pressed against his chest.

This was the end, Lude thought helplessly.

Miss Siana, who specialized in souls, had no reason not to discover that he was an outsider soul.

But to his surprise, the red-haired girl paused, then lifted her head and looked into his eyes in confusion. Only then did Lude notice that her eyes were as clear and beautiful as pigeon-blood rubies, with a mesmerizing blood-red flame seemingly burning within them.

Maybe it was his imagination, but Lude thought the girl gave him a faint smile.

Before Lude could react, he was pushed down onto the metal dissection table. Siana's delicate face suddenly drew close. Just as Lude was about to resist with all his might, the girl's soft whisper slipped into his ear on a faint breeze.

"Shh. Strange soul, don't move around, or even I won't be able to save you."

There was so much information packed into that sentence that even Lude, calm as he was, couldn't help freezing for a moment. But the red-haired girl didn't give him a chance to ask anything. She abruptly turned around, her blood-red hair sweeping across Lude's face and making his nose twitch.

"Professor Beshe," Siana said, turning toward the old man. "If you don't mind my asking, what's the basis for your claim that the vessel has been contaminated?"

The old man glanced at Lude in confusion. "Because the vessel acted on its own, Miss Siana. Isn't that enough? The vessel is supposed to be an empty shell without a soul. Even if it were accidentally activated, it should still be in a vegetative state."

Siana shook her head. "It seems you were so agitated that you lost the ability to think clearly."

As Professor Beshe looked on in confusion, the girl glanced at Lude, whose heartbeat had quickened. "A person in a vegetative state can't control their body because their brain is damaged. The vessel has no soul, but its brain is intact. It just hasn't been educated."

"Beasts tend to live alone. I imagine it was startled by the number of people in this room."

As she spoke, Siana patted Lude's solid chest, producing a series of smacks. "As for why it attacked you, Professor Beshe, I think it was simply trying to escape, and you and the other two were just unlucky enough to be in its way."

At her words, Professor Beshe couldn't help glancing behind him and nodding. He had indeed been standing right in front of the door.

"Exactly."

With that, Siana looked around and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you all still pointing your guns? Waiting to accidentally shoot and injure the vessel?"

Only after everyone in the room lowered their guns did she speak again. "I've examined it. There are no signs of contamination by a sapient soul inside the vessel. Still, be careful not to overstimulate it, or it may have another stress response."

After speaking up for Lude, the red-haired girl's tone finally softened.

"All right. To prevent the vessel from actually being contaminated, let's seal it in Vault No. 7 for now. The president has said he'll hold the Reincarnation Ceremony in three months. Until then, we have to ensure the vessel remains pure."

As she spoke, a crimson current swirled and surged into Lude's chest, carrying a trace of warmth.

Quietly, Lude felt a slender finger tap his palm three times. Then, as the world spun around him, red mist gradually shrouded his thoughts and carried him down into a crimson dream.

In the final moment before losing consciousness, Lude cursed with a laugh.

Damn it, I've become Sun Wukong!