At the foot of the Federal Research Institute building,
a security guard stopped Cai Yue'er and asked cautiously,
"What are you...?"
"Shrek Law Enforcement Team business. Get out of my way!"
Cai Yue'er casually slapped the guard flying, then stepped into the building.
The guard struggled to his feet, his face filled with shock.
"The law enforcement team? What's the Shrek Law Enforcement Team doing in Mingdu? No, I have to report this to my superiors right away!"
Cai Yue'er entered the building and climbed the stairs, her eyes dark.
"Those two useless fools from the Holy Spirit Cult! They couldn't even take down Long Xiaoyao in a two-person ambush, yet they had the nerve to call themselves Heavenly Kings!"
Cai Yue'er clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms as she gritted her teeth.
With this attempt to capture Long Xiaoyao ending in failure, framing him as an Evil Soul Master would be almost impossible.
Moreover, Mingdu had already been sealed off. Even escaping might not be easy for the two Dark Heavenly Kings. If either of them was caught...
Cai Yue'er's face turned pale.
She knew she would be dead when that happened!
Colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult and harming a War God of the War God Temple-those charges were enough to drag her, Cai Yue'er, and even Shrek into hell!
Since I'm dead either way,
Cai Yue'er's face twisted savagely. I might as well drag someone down with me!
With that thought, Cai Yue'er headed straight into the elevator.
She had also sent people to keep watch on Ye Zhaolu, so she knew Ye Zhaolu had not gone home tonight and had returned to this laboratory building instead.
Upstairs,
inside a fully enclosed laboratory,
as the soul-guidance apparatus activated, the restrained Ye Zhaolu suddenly let out a muffled groan. A beam of pure white light shone onto her, rapidly breaking down the Soul Power within her body!
"Bear with it, Zhaolu. It'll be over soon."
The assistant beside her watched her with aching sympathy.
Ye Zhaolu pressed her lips tightly together, enduring the pain of her Soul Power being broken down.
The Martial Soul reconstruction method was the fruit of their many years of research.
Ye Zhaolu had discovered that human Martial Soul Awakening was not without patterns to trace.
For instance, the descendants of powerful Soul Masters were more likely to become powerful themselves, and even Martial Souls could be inherited through bloodlines!
This showed that Martial Soul Awakening was not a random manifestation. In its underlying logic, there had to be a set of rules governing the Martial Soul itself!
After countless studies of substances within various Soul Masters' bodies, Ye Zhaolu had isolated a microscopic entity that determined Martial Soul Awakening. She named this microscopic, underlying code of the human body: the Martial Soul Gene!
To reconstruct a Martial Soul,
one had to alter the Martial Soul Genes within the human body. As long as they were modified, the body's Martial Soul could potentially be reconstructed!
But because Ye Zhaolu was already a level 96 Super Douluo, and reconstructing her Martial Soul required returning to the body's original state before the age of six, she could only use a Soul Tool to disperse her Soul Power first.
Soon,
the white light stopped shining, and Ye Zhaolu's body temporarily entered a state without Soul Power.
Her assistant and close friend pressed the miniature camera on her chest.
"The first official Martial Soul reconstruction experiment begins."
"Zhaolu, I'm going to use the gene-editing equipment to modify the genes of your Second Martial Soul, the Blood-Red Demon Puppet."
On the bed, the pale-faced Ye Zhaolu nodded.
The next moment,
an extremely fine beam of violet light, invisible to the naked eye, struck her body, shining on the crucial locations of her brain, heart, and spine.
"Beginning the operation."
The assistant composed herself and devoted her full attention to operating the equipment. The precise violet soul-guidance light immediately began modifying Ye Zhaolu's body.
And accompanying this,
as its Martial Soul Genes were modified, her original Second Martial Soul, the Blood-Red Demon Puppet, suddenly sensed something wrong and immediately began turning against its master!
Agonizing pain instantly erupted in Ye Zhaolu's brain. Suffering engulfed her like a tsunami, and she could only grip the bedsheet tightly as sweat immediately soaked her back.
The assistant asked with concern, "Should we stop?"
"Keep going!!!"
Ye Zhaolu practically forced the words through her teeth, her voice hoarse from the strain.
She would not stop unless she died.
Why should a person's fate be decided by their Martial Soul?
There was no such thing. People were the ones who governed their Martial Souls!
The assistant asked no more questions and bent her head to press on.
As the procedure progressed, the presence of Ye Zhaolu's Blood-Red Demon Puppet steadily diminished, its dense death Qi rapidly weakening.
"It works. It really works!"
Delight filled the assistant's heart.
Previously, they had only performed a few experiments on Evil Soul Masters, but the research institute's leadership had immediately halted that kind of research.
Their reason was that Evil Soul Masters could be executed, but they could not be tortured to death. Their human rights could not be violated.
With no other choice,
Ye Zhaolu could only use herself as the first test subject now.
The Blood-Red Demon Puppet's presence continued to weaken, and its red color kept receding. It actually showed signs of evolving into an ordinary puppet!
"Good, soon. It'll be done very soon!"
The assistant closely monitored Ye Zhaolu's vital signs on the nearby equipment, ensuring that her life would not be endangered.
By now, however, Ye Zhaolu was already weak to the extreme. The backlash from tampering with her Martial Soul Genes had nearly made her pass out.
Just as the assistant was about to finish,
someone suddenly kicked open the sealed laboratory door!
"Who's there? This is a closed laboratory building. Please leave!"
The assistant shouted angrily.
But Cai Yue'er, who had kicked open the door, now had gleaming eyes, her whole body trembling with excitement.
"My heavens! What have I discovered?!"
"So you, Ye Zhaolu, really are an Evil Soul Master! Hahahaha! Heaven truly hasn't forsaken me!"
Cai Yue'er shrieked in delighted surprise.
Lying on the bed in a daze, Ye Zhaolu immediately grew tense upon hearing Cai Yue'er's familiar voice.
The assistant immediately turned around. "It's not what you think. Zhaolu isn't an Evil Soul Master! Besides, our operation is almost complete..."
Before she could finish,
a silver gleam flashed in Cai Yue'er's hand, and the head of Ye Zhaolu's close friend and assistant immediately fell to the floor.
Blood spurted like a fountain.
"A Lan...!"
Ye Zhaolu's eyes widened, her voice trembling.
Cai Yue'er's figure flickered as she appeared before the transparent laboratory table. She shattered the glass with a punch and stepped into the operating area.
"This damned woman was shielding an Evil Soul Master like you, so I executed her on the spot!"
Cai Yue'er smiled sinisterly.
"Wonderful! I only wanted to get Long Xiaoyao killed, but I never expected to actually catch an Evil Soul Master!"
Cai Yue'er was wild with joy!
This way,
she, Cai Yue'er, still had room to maneuver!
"Cai Yue'er, what are you saying?! What have you done to Long Xiaoyao?!"
Ye Zhaolu abruptly tried to get up, but with her Soul Power broken down, she had no strength at all. Right now, she was no different from an ordinary person.
The restraints originally meant to prevent her from going berserk and hurting anyone during the operation had now become shackles, binding her fast.
The head of A Lan, her classmate, close friend, and assistant, rolled to her feet, her eyes still open in death.
"Still trying to resist?"
Cai Yue'er stepped forward, seized Ye Zhaolu by the throat, and drove a vicious punch into her chest and abdomen.
Ye Zhaolu let out a muffled groan, her vision blackening from the pain.
"You Evil Soul Master! You seduced Long Xiaoyao and even tried to conceal your Martial Soul through surgery. Once I throw you in prison, I'll make you kneel and beg me!"
Cai Yue'er sneered. A silver gleam severed the restraints, and she carried Ye Zhaolu out the door.
"A Lan, A Lan!"
"You beast! You beast, what have you done to Long Xiaoyao?!"
Ye Zhaolu cried hoarsely, but she had no strength to break free. She could only watch as A Lan lay on the cold floor, her head severed from her body.
Cai Yue'er left the laboratory and activated her communicator.
"Pass on my orders. The Shrek Law Enforcement Team is to take over the Federal Research Institute immediately. Its deputy director, Ye Zhaolu, is an Evil Soul Master! Her assistant, A Lan, was an accomplice who shielded her!"
"The Shrek Law Enforcement Team is bringing Ye Zhaolu to justice in accordance with the law!"
Her face brimming with smug satisfaction, Cai Yue'er carried Ye Zhaolu downstairs and threw her into a car.
"Ye Zhaolu, now that you're in my hands, I'll make you beg for death and deny you even that!"
Ye Zhaolu struggled upright, her eyes filled with hatred.
Killing without distinguishing right from wrong, arresting people at will.
Was this Shrek?
So this was Shrek?!