Tormented Soul

What exactly is the soul? No one has been able to answer that question to this day.

But Orlanto learned from countless experiences that matter determines consciousness, and as long as he could completely control his body, he wouldn't be afraid of losing control of his soul.

"I control the most subtle nerve signal transmission in your body. Do you know what that means?"

"The soul resides in the brain, but the brain is merely a 'slave' to nerve signals."

You know what a knee-jerk reflex is, right?

"Just a light tap on the ligaments below the knee will cause your quadriceps to contract uncontrollably, making your lower leg react with a rapid forward kick."

"Although the neural activity of the brain is far more complex than the knee-jerk reflex, the principle is similar: as long as I send the corresponding neural signals to your brain, you will generate a false yet incredibly real feeling out of thin air."

Orlanto's voice was like a demon's—

The voice didn't come from his mouth; it appeared directly in Fugo's mind:

"Like now."

"I didn't say anything, but your brain still 'heard' me."

"Enough! Enough!"

Fear had already appeared on Fugo's face.

As a highly educated individual who could enter university at the age of 13, he certainly knew what Orlanto's words meant.

Just like the sci-fi blockbuster "The Matrix" which was released just a couple of days ago, if there were a way to completely control the brain, then humans could be imprisoned in a completely virtual world without even realizing it.

"Haha, it's not as mysterious as you think."

"I'm not a supercomputer; I don't have the ability to create such a complex and realistic illusion."

"Otherwise, there would be no need for you to submit; I could control you directly with an illusion."

"But don't be too happy yet."

"If it's a scene that already exists in your memory, or some relatively simple physical sensations, I can still perfectly simulate it."

Orlanto's mocking voice echoed in my mind once more:

"By the way, don't use newly released movies as an analogy."

"I haven't even seen the Matrix yet, and you've already spoiled it for me."

"You?!" Upon hearing this, Fugo became even more panicked. "How did you know what I was thinking?!"

"Difficult... is it possible?"

"You can even read my thoughts and memories?!"

He pondered Orlanto's words, and an unprecedented despair washed over him:

Even my most private and core brain is under human control; I have become a complete slave to this monster.

Completely powerless to resist

Is obedience the only option?!

Etc.

An even greater fear surged through Fugo's mind:

Where did that pessimistic thought come from?

"Is this my own genuine feeling, or is it a thought that the monster imposed on me through neural signals?"

"Damn it!!"

He clutched his head in anguish and despair:

"Damn it, don't mess with my brain!"

"You disgusting parasite!"

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to grind you into mincemeat!"

Fugo's long-suppressed rage surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, producing a kind of "fight fire with fire" effect, forcefully suppressing the false ideas Orlanto had imposed upon him.

"How could such an ugly truth be hidden beneath such a refined and gentle exterior, and how could he resist my mental suggestions with such manic emotions?"

"That's really unexpected. Sigh."

Orlanto sighed helplessly, but there was not a trace of panic in his voice:

"Looks like it'll take a lot of effort."

As he spoke, he carefully observed the actions of Li Qing, Giorno, and the others with his eyes, which were glued to Fugo's chest:

Really

They didn't make any move at all, or rather, they didn't know how to make a move even if they wanted to.

At this moment, Orlanto's body had completely merged with Fugo's.

The disgusting mass of flesh clung to Fugo's shoulders, arms, chest, and abdomen, becoming one with Fugo's own flesh and blood.

Even the most skilled surgeon could not separate two people who are so intertwined.

In this situation, Fugo's life was inextricably linked with Orlanto's.

Li Qing and his men, fearing the consequences, naturally dared not act rashly.

"Very well, since everyone's free, I'll give you a good lesson!"

"Hehe. Dear Fugo, you asked for this."

Orlanto's wicked laughter echoed in my mind once more:

"Was that stabbing you with a knife exciting enough?"

"Now let me simulate for you what it feels like to be stabbed through the body by ten knives at the same time."

As soon as he finished speaking, an unprecedented pain surged into Fugo's brain like a tsunami.

Even though he hadn't suffered any physical harm, Fugo could still clearly feel...

In that instant, his arms, shoulders, chest, and thighs were all pierced by an invisible steel blade!

The sensation of the blade slicing through his muscles was so real, the feeling of blood gushing out was so terrifying, and the endless pain made him wish he were dead.

Are you satisfied?

"The human body has a self-protective mechanism called 'shock,' but..."

"With me watching over you, you won't even be able to faint from the pain!"

"Whether it's ten cuts, a hundred cuts, or even three thousand six hundred cuts of slow slicing, you won't faint or die no matter what."

Orlanto's voice was like that of a demon.

Fugo then understood why Fernando's expression was so solemn when he warned him before his death:

"Using only knives is too boring, let's try something else. Haha!"

"The feeling of being hit by a car, the feeling of being shot, the feeling of being struck by lightning, the feeling of drowning."

"I can let you experience countless different ways to die, but you'll forever live in this false hell, never experiencing the 'real' death!"

"Aaaaaaah!"

Fugo roared in agony.

What's truly terrifying is that he could only unleash this roar in his mind.

Fearing that Li Qing and the others might see this and hinder his training of the host, Orlanto even blocked Fugo's control over his facial muscles and vocal organs, preventing him from showing his pain to the outside world.

At this moment, Fugo can only bear this despair alone:

"How many more times do I have to die? What will be the next way I die? What am I going to do?!"

"Don't go on any more ahhhhhhh!!"

Orlanto remained silent, continuing to inflict both the illusory and the real, torture on Fugo's body.

But at the same time, he was also slightly surprised, even annoyed:

Although Fugo was in unbearable pain and utterly desperate, he still did not give in.

Yes, his soul still has not given in.

Under the repeated shocks of death, Fugo's mind was on the verge of collapse, but he never begged Orlanto for mercy.

"What a terrifying will this is!"

"Most hosts can't even withstand the first level of mental suggestion, but he has been able to endure such a cruel experience of death and has persisted until now."

"Tch, we've really run into a troublesome guy this time!"

Orlanto cursed under his breath in exasperation, then deliberately observed the actions of Li Qing and the others:

After a brief wait, they seemed unable to contain themselves and were about to make some small moves.

"Damn it. It can't be used without a properly trained host."

"You forced me to do this, Fugo."

Orlanto's voice turned completely cold:

"Besides inflicting pain, I have an even more terrifying method for training my hosts: instilling fear."

"Now let me thoroughly search through your memories and let you experience the most terrifying scenes of your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking

Fugo was momentarily disoriented, and the scene before him kept changing like a revolving lantern.

Finally, a terrible memory buried deep in his heart was ruthlessly unearthed by Orlanto, and then vividly recreated in the present:

That was a little over a year ago, when Fugo was still in college.

To be precise, it was the last day before he was expelled from university.

The reason why Fugo, this gifted young man, was expelled from university was precisely because of what happened that day—

That day, he used a four-kilogram Encyclopedia Britannica to knock a highly respected university professor into intensive care.

Fugo did this because of a manic episode, which was actually triggered by external factors.

And this external stimulus is now being "replayed" in Fugo's mind in an incredibly real way:

"Fugo".

"Nice figure, quite muscular."

In the university library, a male professor in his fifties was patting Fugo on the shoulder affectionately, making frivolous remarks.

"Professor, what are you doing?"

"How old are you? Still so shy. I think you don't understand at all."

"Understand? Understand what?"

"If you want to know, I have some good stuff in my office."

"Something good? Is it your thesis, Professor?"

"What academic paper! It's even more interesting than an academic paper and can teach you how to be an adult!"

"."

Fugo succumbed halfway through the memory replay:

"Enough, enough!"

Back then, he had the ability to smash a book over the professor's head, but now he can only stand there and let others do as they please.

Fugo couldn't even imagine what he would experience next, and after hesitating for a moment, he completely gave up resisting:

"Please let me go. I'm willing to obey!"