After a large amount of Prayer Power was injected into this soul fragment of Lucas Reeve, his spiritual level instantly leaped an unknown number of steps, becoming terrifyingly powerful.
Ordinarily, Lucas Reeve would be reluctant to use so much Prayer Power at once.
But this 'enemy' had actually managed to forcibly capture the souls of Jessica and the others while he was careless. This made Lucas Reeve exceptionally angry; it was probably the first time he had been this angry since coming to Terra.
Even when he encountered that tree monster back in Bolívar, he had remained composed.
This 'enemy' was stronger than the tree monster, but not by much.
His soul swept out,
like a tidal wave, spreading in all directions.
The rare birds and beasts in the forest, with their powerful animal instincts, felt this formidable Spiritual Power and, terrified, flapped their wings and immediately fled. Some of the more timid ones simply trembled all over, losing their ability to resist, flapping their wings erratically before falling to the ground, huddling in corners and shivering.
The unfamiliar spiritual power lingering in the space had not dissipated.
Under Lucas Reeve's special spiritual sight, this entire space seemed to have turned into the colors of old film. Amidst the generally dim environment, a bright, smoke-like thread hung silently in mid-air. The thread was very long, seemingly trying to guide Lucas Reeve, and it held no malice whatsoever.
Lucas Reeve frowned slightly.
He didn't know what this 'enemy' intended. He had originally wanted to leave Lisa in the car, but after thinking about it, leaving her alone in one place while he was away seemed unsafe. So, he decided to bring her along, following the spiritual thread deeper into the woods.
——————
In a certain laboratory.
"Phew~ That person seems to be coming. We're about to be saved~"
The teddy bear 'Little Moti,' covered in countless stitches, was on the lab table, speaking to the girl who was strapped down with a special device on her head.
The girl didn't seem to hear Little Moti. Although her eyes were open, they were vacant. Her face was cold and expressionless, and even her heartbeat was slower than a normal person's by an unknown amount.
She had a cute face, but her lips and body were a sickly pale white, with almost no color in her lips. All sorts of instrument tubes were inserted into her body; some seemed to be drawing blood at regular intervals, while others seemed to be injecting her with nutrient solutions.
Coldness, eeriness, and despair filled the entire laboratory.
Although the girl didn't reply to it,
Little Moti seemed to be able to hear her thoughts and nodded.
"I know you're scared. After all, what we did was a bit... a bit... extreme, and it's easy to make people dislike us."
Little Moti swallowed the five soul orbs into its body, which was filled with Originium cotton, to nourish them.
"But... we had no choice. We've been captured by these wicked people for over a year. A particularly powerful person finally showed up... only someone like that could possibly save us. Damn it, these bastards' devices can actually suppress your power."
Little Moti used its soft, fluffy paws to repeatedly hit the rings binding the girl's limbs and neck, as well as the device on her head.
"You can't use your powers now, and there's nothing I can do either..."
Little Moti muttered to itself.
"What? You're worried about putting him in danger?"
"Don't worry, that person has a clear divinity about him. Besides, I was just trying to test him. If he didn't have the ability to help us, I would have returned those four souls right away... Besides, those four souls are being nourished inside my body now. It's only beneficial for them, not harmful. Their spiritual power will increase quite a bit in the future, so don't worry."
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from outside the lab. Hearing the noise, Little Moti quickly slipped off the operating table and fled to a corner to hide.
*Swoosh~*
The laboratory door opened.
A group of people in white coats walked in, and the one they were clustered around was a stranger.
"So this is the girl who can supposedly communicate with the 'underworld'? Interesting."
His gaze was cold, and he looked at the girl on the bed without a trace of pity, as if looking at a tool.
The highest-ranking person in a white coat beside him puffed out his chest and said proudly.
"Patriarch, you can rest assured. We have already established contact with another major corporation in Columbia. That corporation also has the backing of military bigwigs. Sicily has Raythean Industries? We have support too. That important figure has already arrived and is preparing in another lab. And he holds an ultimate scientific product jointly developed by us, a product that can elevate humanity, a special artificial infected organ..."
"It seems many test subjects have already been successful in the Columbia laboratory. After implantation, these subjects become incredibly powerful; one of them taking on a hundred is nothing special."
————————
Spiritual World.
Jessica was a bit confused right now.
She seemed to have gotten separated from the others. In the blink of an eye, for some reason, not only were Senior Franka and the others gone, but even Mr. Reeve, who had been holding her hand, had disappeared.
She scratched her cat ears and looked at the surrounding scenery, starting to worry.
She reached a hand to the hilt of the [Fire-Lightning Cloud] that she always carried at her waist.
She tried hard to remember.
Jessica remembered.
She and her companions had come to this mountain to relax and travel. Along the way, thanks to Miss McFlurry's bad luck, they encountered a once-in-a-century twin Originium Storm. Afterwards, they luckily arrived safely at the mountain peak. Then they all climbed the mountain together, reaching the legendary 'Netherworld River'. Her memory after that seemed a bit hazy.
Oh!!
Right!
The Netherworld River!!
Jessica broke into a run, following a somewhat familiar path. When she pushed aside the last patch of grass, she saw a huge lake before her. The water was incredibly clear. As her gaze gradually moved upward, she saw a familiar figure bathing in the center of the clear lake.
"!!!!"
"Pfft!!!"
Jessica felt as if a holy light was blocking her vision.
In the center of the clear lake, the familiar Lucas Reeve was bathing. He was wearing a thin white shirt. Since he was soaking wet, the shirt clung tightly to his body, perfectly accentuating his well-defined physique. His sturdy muscles were like solid rock, flawless, like the most wonderful work of art in the world.
He had rare black hair and black eyes.
When Lucas Reeve turned his face to the side, his deep black eyes were like a cold abyss. An icy aura that forbade anyone from approaching froze Jessica on the shore.
For some reason....
This scene felt somewhat familiar to Jessica.
It felt a little similar to the scenes in some of the romance novels that Senior Franka had recommended to her. Originally, Jessica never read such things. Forget reading, even thinking about them made her face flush red. Things between men and women... even a small act like holding hands or kissing was enough to make Jessica's head spin and pass out, let alone the next step, which she wouldn't even dare to imagine.
So,
Jessica had also secretly asked Franka for advice on related knowledge.
However,
Franka herself had no experience whatsoever. She was a 'theoretical scholar' with zero practical experience but abundant theoretical knowledge.
She recommended several novels that she thought were good to Jessica in one go, and Jessica would secretly hide under her covers and read them with a blushing face.
At this moment,
Jessica no longer had the extra energy to think about whether this was reality or a dream. Her cute face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple, and white steam puffed out from the top of her head.
*Oh... oh... oh...*
Just as Lucas Reeve was about to turn around, Jessica quickly covered her eyes with her hands. *See no evil.* But after covering them, she felt a bit unwilling, regretful, a pity... her heart was itching.
*Mr. Reeve has probably seen my body before... more than once... If I only look this one time... it shouldn't count as peeking, right? At most, it's called...*
*Returning the favor?*
Jessica frantically tried to comfort herself.
Then, she quietly spread the fingers covering her eyes and peeked at Lucas Reeve in the lake through the gaps.
However...
She sighed in disappointment.
Lucas Reeve was wearing pants...
"Mr. Reeve, what are you doing in the lake?"
Jessica asked awkwardly, feeling ashamed of her dirty thoughts just now, and quickly changed the subject.
"Playing in the water, of course."
Lucas Reeve said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I didn't have a physical body before, so naturally I had no sense of touch. Now that I finally have this special body that little Lisa gave me, of course I have to enjoy it."
After speaking,
Lucas Reeve's lips curled up, a strange, charmingly wicked smile on his face. He slowly approached Jessica, while Jessica, a bit nervous, kept backing away. When her back was against a large tree, Jessica had nowhere left to retreat. Although the [Fire-Lightning Cloud] in her hand could easily cut through the tree, Jessica didn't want to~
*Thud!*
Lucas Reeve slammed one hand against the tree behind Jessica, performing the legendary *kabe-don*.
Jessica's heart seemed to tremble at that moment.
She felt dizzy, and her mind was already starting to imagine strange scenarios.
"Mr. Reeve... you... you're acting strange...."
Lucas Reeve smiled faintly, his expression seeming somewhat different from the Lucas Reeve in Jessica's memory.
"There were too many people before. Now it's just the two of us. I have something I want to say to you, my little baby Jessica...."
Lucas Reeve's voice was very magnetic, and Jessica found it extremely pleasant to listen to.
Especially that sweet and tingly 'baby Jessica.' Jessica almost went weak in the knees and fell to the ground, her head spinning.
"I have a physical body now. Let's get married, Jessica."
Lucas Reeve's direct words were like a clap of thunder, exploding in Jessica's mind. She was completely stunned, at a loss for what to do.
"I... you... Mr. Reeve... but... isn't it... a bit too soon? I... I'm only eighteen right now... it's a little..."
"But it's not impossible... if Mr. Reeve insists.... We'll tell my parents as soon as we get back... they'll definitely agree...."
Jessica couldn't even speak coherently now, frantically waving her small hands, not even knowing how she should be standing.
"Okay~"
Jessica pinched her own cheek. It hurt!!
!!!
It's not a dream!!
It's really not a dream!!!
Mr. Reeve has finally come to his senses!!
*Mmm, mmm, mmm~~*
Jessica initially suspected this was a dream. After all, she had experienced a similar 'peach-eating' dream back in Bolívar. She even deliberately looked left and right, afraid that, just like in Bolívar, the real Lucas Reeve was watching the show from the sidelines, letting her embarrass herself.
But after searching for a long time, she couldn't find another Lucas Reeve.
Besides, this was clearly reality!! Not a dream at all. After all, how could a person in a dream know they are in a dream? The moment Jessica had this thought, she pretty much guessed that this was reality!!
Jessica and 'Lucas Reeve' walked down the mountain hand in hand, and their companions were already waiting by the car. When Jessica happily announced the news, it even caused a huge uproar.
On the way back, they didn't encounter any danger. Later, they took a private jet, and Jessica and Lucas Reeve returned to Columbia together to meet her parents. Furthermore, her parents wholeheartedly approved of the union between Lucas Reeve and Jessica and, with a wave of their hands, said they would get engaged next week!!
Everything went too smoothly, and it felt too real.
At the engagement party, Jessica felt like she was in a dream. But when she looked at the man holding her hand beside her, Jessica smiled faintly again. How could it be a dream... it's so real, and so much time has passed. If it were really a dream, the real Mr. Reeve would have woken her up long ago.
——————
Real World.
Lucas Reeve's gaze was cold. He followed the guidance of the spiritual aura to the exterior of a special base. As he approached, the cries for help occasionally sounded in his ears.
The voice, including the soul, held no malice, but... this method of forcibly taking away the people around him still annoyed Lucas Reeve.
Just as Lucas Reeve was about to enter the base,
several voices rang out ahead.
"Who are you??"
A group of Mafia members rushed out from inside.
Lucas Reeve was slightly stunned. These clothes... they were all Mafia. Was this special base a Mafia territory?
Lucas Reeve was a bit surprised. He had originally thought it would be a monster like the Bolívar tree creature, but he ended up running into the Mafia.
From the family crest on their chests, Lucas Reeve recognized them. This Mafia was his old acquaintance, [Wolf Fang].
What a small world for enemies.
"Enough talk. Capture him and use him as a test subject. We've been running short on subjects lately, and our organ inventory is low too. An adult just showed up to replenish our stock."
One of them didn't want to waste time and directly fired a tranquilizer dart at Lucas Reeve.
A tangible coldness flashed in Lucas Reeve's eyes. In an instant, the temperature outside the entire base seemed to drop by an unknown number of degrees.
"Courting death?"
With a single gesture, Lucas Reeve summoned a small, crimson forging hammer out of thin air, which landed precisely in the palm of his hand. He threw it with force, and the small hammer flew out, its heavy impact instantly blowing the head off the man who had spoken.