49: Su Yao and Liu Ruyan trigger the system

Chen Jun curled up on the cold ground, every breath pulling at the weakness and emptiness emanating from the depths of his Soul.

The door slid open silently once again.

This time, it was Su Yao who walked in.

Unlike the soldier-like cold rigidity of Xuanji, as soon as Su Yao entered, the eyes hidden behind her rimless glasses burst with intense excitement and a probing light, as if a hunter had finally found the prey they had dreamed of.

There was no overbearing Aura around her; instead, she was surrounded by countless tiny, flickering phantom data streams, making her look like a highly precise scientific instrument that had gained consciousness.

She didn't even look at Chen Jun first, but quickly took out several small, intricately structured silvery-white instruments from her spatial equipment, rapidly placing them in the corners of the Stasis Chamber.

The instruments emitted a low hum, projecting pale blue scanning beams that instantly enveloped the entire space.

"Amazing! Simply amazing!"

Su Yao muttered to herself, her fingers tapping rapidly in the Void Realm, bringing up a data panel, her face brimming with the pure, ecstatic joy of discovering a new world.

"An absolutely isolated environment, stable energy field, eliminating ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent of external interference... Perfect! Truly the perfect experimental environment!"

Only then did she cast her burning gaze toward Chen Jun on the ground; that look was not like she was watching a person, but rather a precious sample containing mysteries.

"Mr. Chen, please relax and do not have any resistance, as this will affect the accuracy of the data."

Su Yao's voice carried the focus characteristic of a researcher and a trace of imperceptible fanaticism. She walked quickly to Chen Jun's side, crouched down, and took out a palm-sized scanner that looked like a crystal flake, almost pressing it against Chen Jun's face, chest, and arms as she scanned him carefully.

The cold crystal flake grazed his skin, but Chen Jun closed his eyes numbly, without any reaction.

"Life Origin manifestations... extremely depleted, consistent with the intelligence regarding 'consuming ten years of lifespan'... but the method of depletion cannot be parsed; it is not any known energy or Soul loss pattern... It is more like... a direct erasure at the level of the Law?"

Su Yao recorded rapidly while scanning, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

"Strange, too strange! This does not conform to the conservation of energy, nor does it conform to the basic Laws of Soul studies!"

She put away the scanner and took out several patches connected with fine sensor wires, attempting to attach them to Chen Jun's temples and chest.

"Mr. Chen, please cooperate. I need to monitor your real-time Soul fluctuations and the flow of Life Essence during the 'Life Binding' process; this is crucial!"

Her tone carried an urgency that brooked no refusal.

Chen Jun was like a senseless piece of wood, letting her manipulate him.

Su Yao skillfully attached the sensor patches, then took a deep breath and began to remove her research lab coat.

Her movements were devoid of any ambiguity, appearing as natural as taking off a coat before conducting an experiment.

Beneath the lab coat was equally simple, even somewhat functional, form-fitting clothing; the curves it outlined were not meant to display charm, but for efficient action.

She continued to remove her form-fitting clothing, moving closer to Chen Jun.

(...To avoid censorship, a million words of indescribable details are omitted here...)

But her attention was not on Chen Jun himself at all; instead, she was staring intently at the data streams constantly refreshing in the Void Realm.

"It has begun. Record: Initial contact phase. Body surface temperature is normal; weak interaction appears in the energy field... but the source is unknown, unable to be tracked..."

She was like a narrator for herself, speaking extremely fast.

Her fingers grazed Chen Jun's skin, as if measuring:

"Epidermal cell activity is low, consistent with aging characteristics... muscle tissue tension... Hmm?"

When she attempted to make deeper contact, her brows locked tight.

"Wrong! Completely wrong!"

She looked at the data panel in disbelief.

"The Life Essence did not show the expected convergence phenomenon! Soul fluctuations remain silent, below the baseline! How could this possibly trigger that level of life optimization?!"

All of her scientific instruments and data models seemed to turn into scrap metal and garbled code at this moment.

Chen Jun's body did not seem like a "Source" capable of creating miracles at all, but rather like a pool of stagnant water about to dry up.

"Impossible! There must be some key variable I've missed!"

Su Yao was almost going crazy; she could not accept that her science was so powerless in the face of this phenomenon.

That unfathomable, undetectable, yet undeniably real Law fluctuation descended out of thin air!

The System's cold prompt intruded into Chen Jun's mind.

【system interface】

...

【Current Mandatory Operation】: Activate 【Absolute Guarantee】 on Moon Body spouse Su Yao.

1. Consume 10 years of lifespan, offspring Aptitude upgraded to Sun Body (Tier 4) 【Confirm / Cancel】

2. Consume 100 years of lifespan, offspring Aptitude upgraded to Radiant Body (Tier 5) 【Confirm / Cancel】

3. Consume 1000 years of lifespan, offspring Aptitude upgraded to Venerable Body (Tier 6) 【Confirm / Cancel】

...

The cold interface arrived as scheduled.

Chen Jun's consciousness numbly selected "Confirm."

【Instruction Received】

...

【...Offspring expected to be born in 8 years.】

【Offspring Aptitude has been fixed: Sun Body (Tier 4)】

...

"This is it!"

Su Yao devoted herself entirely to recording, with all instruments powered to the maximum!

However, there was nothing!

All readings on the instruments underwent violent, irregular fluctuations in that instant, then quickly returned to zero, with no valuable data remaining!

The only thing that changed was the Life Aura exuding immense vitality within her!

"This... how on earth was this done?!"

Su Yao stepped back abruptly, her face filled with frustration, shock, and a sense of bewilderment at being abandoned by science.

"Law level? High-dimensional level? Or perhaps a Domain we don't understand? Directly modifying reality? This... this is simply unscientific!!"

She looked at Chen Jun on the ground, who had become even older and weaker from having another ten years of lifespan extracted, as if he would fall apart in the next second, and then felt the undeniably real, gestating Life Aura within her own body.

The immense sense of contradiction made her almost collapse.

The scientific rationality she had pursued her whole life was smashed to pieces at this moment.

"Useless! All useless!"

She suddenly kicked a priceless precision instrument nearby in a fit of rage, and the instrument instantly exploded into a ball of sparks.

She could not get the mystery she wanted; she only got a result.

A result she could not understand or reproduce.

For a top scientist, this was the greatest humiliation and failure.

"Hmph!"

Su Yao snorted coldly in exasperation, not bothering to look at Chen Jun again, quickly put on her research robe, snatched back all the instruments that were still usable, and rushed out of the Stasis Chamber without looking back, without even saying an extra word.

She needed to go back immediately and try to find the answer from another angle—that developing embryo.

Outside the door, Liu Ruyan, who was waiting impatiently, was stunned when she saw Su Yao rush out with a livid face and in a rush, then she sneered:

"Yo, Academician Su, did you research some earth-shattering great truth? Your face looks as foul as a Star Mastiff that had its tail stepped on."

Su Yao ignored her completely, turning into a data stream and disappearing instantly.

"Tch, psycho."

Liu Ruyan curled her lips, adjusted her fiery red battle armor, held her head high, and strode into the Stasis Chamber.

As soon as the door closed, Liu Ruyan's sharp and straightforward Aura filled the entire space.

"Hey! Still alive? If you're not dead, make a sound!"

Her voice was loud, carrying a sense of boldness, or perhaps rudeness. She walked to Chen Jun's side and lightly nudged him with the toe of her combat boot.

Chen Jun opened his eyes with difficulty, seeing Liu Ruyan's face, which carried impatience but was also full of vitality.

"Damn it, that ice block Xuanji must have been like finishing a task, with no meaning at all."

Liu Ruyan stood with her hands on her hips, examining Chen Jun's condition, her brows locked tight.

"F*ck, you look miserable, like old tree bark that's been drained dry. That bastard Su Yao, she really doesn't treat people like people!"

She was cursing and swearing, but her movements were unexpectedly not that rough.

She bent down, reached out to check Chen Jun's pulse, input a trace of extremely gentle energy to probe, and then cursed even more fiercely:

"F*ck! The Origin is this empty? That b*stard Su Yao left so fast! Is she rushing to be reincarnated!"

Although she was impatient and had a fiery temper, she had been fighting for years and had seen a lot of life and death, so she actually had a direct respect for life.

Chen Jun's condition made her feel a bit tricky.

"Hey, kid, listen up!"

Liu Ruyan crouched down, looking into Chen Jun's eyes, her tone direct to the point of being rude.

"I know you're unwilling, and I don't want to come to this crappy place to do this kind of thing either, like breeding! But there's no way around it, who told you to be so weird?"

She began to remove her battle armor, which was full of Evil Qi. Her movements were crisp and neat. The body beneath the battle armor was not slender or weak, but had smooth, powerful lines, full of explosive force. Her bronze skin even bore countless faint old scars, telling stories of the battlefield.

"When I was hacking Empire scumbags on Blood Blade Star, I never thought I'd come to do this one day!"

She complained while undressing, but there was no disgust in her eyes; instead, there was a pragmatism of "since I'm stuck with it, let's just get it done."

"Don't worry, I'm not like that ice block Xuanji, nor that crazy woman Su Yao. I'm very straightforward! You'll be able to rest soon!"

She leaned close to Chen Jun, her palms warm and rough, bearing calluses left from years of holding weapons...

(...To avoid censorship, a million words of indescribable details are omitted here...)

Her touch was direct and full of power, more like a kind of... um... unblocking the meridians?

"Tsk, your body is too fragile."

Liu Ruyan muttered, her movements a bit clumsy and bold, as if doing preparations before battlefield first aid.

"Damn it, what is all this!"

She didn't forget to complain.

"Hurry up! I'm still waiting to go back and lead troops! The front line over there is tight; there's no time to dawdle here!"

Don't know if the System's time had arrived.

That cold Law fluctuation descended again.

【system interface...】

【...】

【Instruction received... Rules taking effect...】

"Hmm? It's here?"

Liu Ruyan keenly sensed the immense Sun Yao Origin Aura within her.

She immediately stopped all movements, her face instantly blooming with a brilliant, yet slightly fierce smile:

"Hahaha! It worked! Good guy! This Life Aura! Powerful! Really f*cking powerful!"

She quickly got up, patted her lower abdomen, satisfied:

"It was worth it! Kid, thanks! In the future, I'll teach your kid personally, guaranteed to train him into the Federation's fiercest Marshal!"

She glanced at the nearly unconscious Chen Jun, thought for a moment, took out a small jade bottle from the inside of her battle armor, and shoved it into Chen Jun's hand:

"Here, it's an Empire royal treasure I captured before; lucky you! I'm off!"

After speaking, she turned around with lightning speed and strode away, her red battle armor disappearing outside the door like a ball of flame.

Outside the door, the last one waiting was Venerable Qinglin.

Seeing Liu Ruyan come out with a glowing face and satisfied look, even greeting her in a good mood, she became even more nervous, her fingers tightly twisting her hem.

Taking several deep breaths, Qing Lin walked into the Stasis Chamber as if heading to the battlefield, with a look of resignation to death.

As soon as the door closed, seeing the dying, old, and unbearable man on the ground, Qing Lin's face instantly turned bright red, and even the tips of her ears seemed like they were about to drip blood.

Although she was a Stellar Level Expert, she was relatively the youngest; in her nine thousand plus years, almost her entire life had been devoted to Cultivation, and her Heart-Nature was as pure as a girl who had not experienced the world.

For her, matters between men and women only existed in ancient classics and vague concepts heard occasionally.

"Chen... Mr. Chen..."

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito, carrying obvious trembling and shyness, not at all like a powerful being who could blow up a warship with a wave of her hand.

She stood there at a loss, looking at Chen Jun, completely unaware of what to do for the first step.

She struggled for a long time before slowly shuffling over, carefully crouching down, taking out the gentlest spiritual liquid from her Magic Treasure, dipping it with her slender fingers, and applying it bit by bit to Chen Jun's cracked lips and pale face, her movements as gentle as if she were caring for a fragile treasure.

"I... I'm sorry..."

She apologized subconsciously while applying it, her face so shy it was almost buried in her chest.

"I've caused you trouble... I... I didn't mean to..."

Her touch was gentle and warm, carrying a vibrant wood-type energy that slowly nourished Chen Jun's parched body; although it could not make up for the lifespan, it brought a rare sense of comfort.

Blushing, she slowly approached Chen Jun, shy enough to almost faint.

Her body beneath her clothes was fair and translucent, flawless, emitting a faint green glow and a pure Life Aura.

"Mr. Chen... please... please..."

She didn't know what to say, her mind blank, and could only act based on a trace of instinct and the vague records in some unreliable Dual Cultivation classics she had secretly scanned with her Divine Thought before.

(...To avoid censorship, a million words of indescribable details are omitted here...)

She was full of a girl's ignorance, shyness, and a kind of caution.

She didn't even dare to make big movements, just holding him gently.

A long time passed, so long that Leng Qingqiu outside was getting a bit impatient.

Qing Lin herself was also confused and infatuated, her heart beating like a drum.

However...

Time passed bit by bit.

Nothing happened.

No cold Law fluctuation.

No signs of life forming.

Qing Lin raised her head in a daze, her eyes filled with the confusion after passion and immense puzzlement.

She didn't understand why it didn't work when it came to her?

Did she do something wrong?

Or...

Chen Jun slowly opened his eyes, looking at the Stellar Level girl in front of him who was so shy she was about to cry, a trace of extremely complex glimmer flashing in his eyes, and he spoke hoarsely:

"...It seems... it failed."

"It... it failed?"

Qing Lin was struck by lightning, her whole body stiffening, the flush on her face turning deathly pale.

Boundless grievances, shame, and self-doubt instantly drowned her.

She pushed Chen Jun away in a panic, grabbed her clothes and threw them on randomly, tears rolling down like beads with a broken string, unable to even speak clearly:

"I... I'm sorry... I... I didn't... I..."

She didn't even dare to look at Chen Jun again, like a frightened little deer, rushing out of the Stasis Chamber disheveled and stumbling.