The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Chapter 502 "Soul Exchange", accident (4K)

Deep underground in the most secretive part of Yuanshi Heavy Industries, the walls of the secret room are covered with faint blue fluorescent tubes. The complex instruments and medicine bottles are reflected by the cold metal, emitting a faint and eerie light, which makes people feel depressed and uneasy involuntarily.

In the center of the secret room, a specially made electric chair stood quietly, on which was bound a man with a pale face and empty eyes. He was originally a non-royal half-blood from one of the top three families, with great potential and a future, but fate pushed him into this endless darkness.

Through complex plastic surgery, Herzog made him and "Masamune Tachibana" surprisingly similar in appearance and physique, as if the two were really twin brothers.

But hidden beneath this almost identical appearance is a completely distorted soul, and a "shadow warrior" and personality "container" that is about to be given a completely new destiny.

"It's time to proceed to the final step." Herzog, wearing a white lab coat, looked coldly at the "container" which looked exactly like his current self, and suddenly laughed silently and hideously.

He walked slowly towards the electric chair, holding a syringe filled with lavender liquid in his hand. He gently lifted the stand-in's chin and inserted the needle into his jugular vein. His movements were smooth and precise, as if he had done this countless times before.

This drug is the result of Herzog's many years of research. It can temporarily weaken the function of the brain's prefrontal lobe, making the individual's sense of self-identity blurred. Assisted by traditional pons splitting surgery, it can create a completely blank personality prototype.

At the same time, the various neuropeptides in the drug will guide the brain into a highly plastic state, creating conditions for the implantation of new memories and identities. Although it has the defect of causing the user to lose the power of speech, this is nothing for the patriarch who is in a high position and does not need to fight head-on.

However, Herzog knew very well that in order to make this stand-in truly "come alive", physical transformation alone was far from enough. What was more important was psychological identification and acceptance.

Ordinary hypnosis is only equivalent to inputting key frames such as the start frame and the end frame of the animation, a superficial, fragmented, and discontinuous animation. The ordinary frames in the middle are completely false memories filled by the brain itself, with limited reliability and logic.

Herzog's technique not only does not have these problems, it can even allow people to develop unprecedented new thinking talents, which is incomparable to conventional hypnosis methods.

What he pursues is the "creation of a complete personality" - a new existence that covers the original personality and can maintain behavioral consistency and logic in any situation, so as to avoid the memory fragmentation and logical confusion problems common in ordinary hypnosis techniques.

This will be an independently operated operating system with deeper control, enough to make the "container" believe from the bottom of its heart that it is another person, thus creating a "shadow warrior" that is no different from the original body, or even surpasses the original body in some aspects.

To achieve this goal, Herzog cleverly used two psychological media, mirrors and Noh masks. This is because human beings' dependence and identification with their self-image are deeply rooted, so he used the principle of the mirror test to deepen the hypnotic effect with mirror reflection.

In front of a huge full-length mirror, Herzog gently placed the mask on the face of the "container". The pure and flawless mask, without any expression or features, was like a blank piece of paper waiting to be written on, foreshadowing the self-consciousness that was about to be reshaped.

As the effects of the neuroleptic gradually took effect, the man fell into a deep state of "selflessness", his eyes became empty and blurred. Herzog began his creation - using a special pigment and brushstrokes on the Noh mask to outline the facial features of Tachibana Masamune.

From the deep eyes to the firm chin, every detail is precise and accurate, as if painting a portrait of a soul about to awaken. The movement of writing seems so calm, yet reveals a heart-pounding coldness.

At the same time, Herzog pressed the play button of a tape recorder next to him, and carefully choreographed sounds echoed in the secret room. It was a detailed description of the identity, memory, habits and even emotional reactions of Tachibana Masamune, the head of the Snake family.

These voices, like trickling streams, slowly seep into the subconscious of the subjects. From childhood experiences to family history, from political tactics to personal preferences, every detail strives to be authentic and detailed, and is played in a loop in the mind of the "container", gradually building up a new self-cognition system.

In this process, Herzog released his not-so-outstanding power of Word Spirit: Hypnosis, which deepened the effect. As the memory input and the drawing of the mask were carried out simultaneously, the reflection of "Masamune Tachibana" in the mirror also began to change, as if his self-consciousness was gradually awakening as the mask took shape.

When the last stroke was added, Masamune Tachibana on the Noh mask came to life, as if he could walk out of the mask at any time. The reflection in the mirror, the pitiful "container", also completely completed the transformation from "no self" to "self".

His eyes were no longer confused, but flashed with the firmness and wisdom unique to Tachibana Masamune, as if he was the patriarch of the Sheqi Eight Families, rather than a controlled puppet.

This new "Masamune Tachibana" not only possesses Masamune Tachibana's memories and identity, but also has the way of thinking and behavior patterns that Herzog expected. He can operate independently in this complex world with his original identity.

"Welcome to this world, Tachibana Masamune!"

Herzog nodded with satisfaction and patted the other party's shoulder. His voice revealed an excitement that could not be concealed: "You will continue to lead the Eight Snake Families with a new attitude, and I will control everything in the dark as the 'king general' to achieve our ultimate goal."

At this moment, a rapid ring of a cell phone broke the silence of the secret room. Herzog calmly gave a sedative to the newly awakened "Tachibana Masamune" and answered the phone at the same time. He only heard the slightly hesitant voice of the source of the Chinese culture source Chisheng on the other end:

"Dad? I want to return to R a few days later... It's not about the mission. The A-level mission has been completed and the assessment rating is excellent... I plan to practice kendo with my new friends in Binhai City, which I mentioned before..."

"A new friend? That Chu Zihang?" Herzog replied in his usual tone of voice: "Chisheng, remember you told me yesterday that you wanted to investigate an alchemical knife named 'Murasame'. I've been keeping an eye on it... Is this for your friend?"

"When do you plan to come back? Well, let your assistant Ying book the plane tickets. I just need to prepare the welcome ceremony... I will send you the information about the tasks of the Executive Bureau in the next few days... You don't have to rush about this. The main purpose is to train your ability to handle affairs..."

"Be safe in China... If you have time, buy me a set of tea sets as a collection. Don't make it too expensive." He hung up the phone with a smile, then looked at the shadow warrior who had obviously heard the content of the call: "If it were you, what would you do next?"

The shadow warrior shook his body, pulled out the syringe of sedative from his neck, then unlocked the electric chair, stood up, and planned to think about the problem while pacing.

However, neither Herzog nor the new "Tachibana Masamune" noticed that in a dark corner, a hidden pinhole camera had been staring at the room from beginning to end, recording all the images. …

At almost the same time, in Binhai City, on a summer afternoon, the sun poured down on every inch of Shilan Middle School like molten gold, coating the campus with a layer of dazzling golden color, but also brought unspeakable stuffiness.

It was just after school. Near the campus wall, the cries of vendors, the honking of cars, and the cheers from the distant basketball court mixed together, making people feel the vibrant momentum here.

The students around him were either in groups of two or three, enthusiastically discussing their holiday plans; or alone, walking quickly towards their parents waiting outside the school gate, their faces filled with the joy of returning home. However, Lu Mingfei, a second-year junior high school student, seemed like a lonely figure in this lively scene, and naturally revealed a sense of alienation.

"Oh my, this damn weather is as hot as a steamer. Shilan Middle School is really considerate. They are afraid that we students will have too comfortable during the holiday, so they have to give us a big gift package of compulsory summer remedial classes, under the euphemism of 'consolidating learning achievements', but in fact it is just squeezing out our happy time."

Lu Mingfei, carrying a slightly heavy schoolbag, squeezed out from the crowd of people leaving school. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, but his pace did not slow down at all. He waved the mineral water bottle in his hand like a fan, trying to dispel the stuffiness around him.

He deliberately chose a secluded path that few people walked on, just to avoid those classmates who were in groups, chatting and laughing. They seemed to always find all kinds of fun during the holidays, while he, who had no friends, could only stay in the Internet cafe.

"Fortunately, the homework is not too much. The teacher probably feared that we would faint from the heat stroke, so he gave us some time to breathe. After school, that is my little world of freedom. The games and anime in the Internet cafe are waiting for me to indulge in them!"

Lu Mingfei comforted himself, thinking about his "great undertaking" tonight in the Internet cafe he often went to. To him, studying was like eating a bowl of bland white rice, which was neither too salty nor too bland. He would not starve to death, but he could not taste anything.

The shadow of the final exam has just dissipated, and the results were announced yesterday. On Lu Mingfei's transcript, the scores in each subject remained firmly in the lower-middle range. In his own words, they were "as steady as an old dog, without any ripples."

Lu Mingfei knew clearly in his mind that his results were not that great, but they were not so bad as to shock anyone. His performance was fairly stable, just like him, mediocre yet a bit stubborn.

However, according to the family tradition, whenever the results of the exams were released, my aunt would start to talk non-stop, like a machine gun, loud and urgent, wishing that the whole neighborhood would know that her family had a "genius boy":
"Look at our Mingze, he studies so hard... He ranked tenth in the class in math this time, moving up two places! Even the teacher said that if he works harder, he will be a great man in the future! What about you? All you do at home is eat and sleep, you're just like a lazy pig, you're even reluctant to run errands..."

She could always find countless reasons to praise Lu Mingze, from his academic performance to his hobbies, as if her son was born just to prove how much of a failure Lu Mingfei was.

Lu Mingfei's ears were almost callused from hearing these words, but he couldn't help but feel upset every time he heard them. Everyone is unique, so why do we always have to live in the shadow of others?
"What about how hard he studies and how fast he improves? He is praised as a rare talent. Humph, the teacher probably said that because he saw how much Auntie loves Lu Mingze and wanted to trick her into paying for the tuition. Nowadays, everyone knows that it is easiest to make money from parents."

Lu Mingfei curled his lips and complained in his heart: "But then again, the results of the first and second year of junior high school cannot be directly compared. Maybe I will suddenly become smart in the third year of junior high school? Right, life is always full of surprises."

However, the scene when he returned home yesterday was somewhat unexpected. When he carefully handed the report card to his aunt, he thought he would be greeted with another long lecture. He had even rehearsed in his mind all the old-fashioned lines like "Why can't you work harder?" and "Are you worthy of the money spent on you?"

Lu Mingfei kicked the pebbles on the road as he walked. The pebbles bounced a few times and finally disappeared in the grass by the roadside, but his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the scene at that time. He was surprised at his aunt's extremely abnormal attitude.

"This time, although your grades are still the same, I can see that you haven't been lazy and have worked hard." She rarely showed a gentle smile, and then took out a hundred-dollar bill from her wallet and stuffed it in my pocket: "Take it, buy something you like, as a reward for you."

At that moment, Lu Mingfei couldn't believe his ears and suspected that he was dreaming. He stared at the brand new banknote in his hand with his eyes wide open, his heart was in turmoil, and his expression changed as if he saw the sun rising from the west.

"What on earth is going on? Did she win the lottery? But that doesn't seem likely. She's so stingy that if she won the lottery, she would definitely buy herself a new bag first. How could she be so generous to give it to me? Or did Auntie finally find her conscience and think that I also need some pocket money to buy study materials?"

A series of question marks circled in his mind, but he soon realized that now was not the time to find out the reasons. The important thing was that the money now belonged to him!

"Who cares? It's a good thing that I have the money anyway. Even if she changes her mind and wants to take it back tomorrow, the hundred dollars tonight belong to me and no one can take it away!" Lu Mingfei thought to himself, his steps became lighter, and he ran towards the Internet cafe he often went to.

Along the way, he had already figured out how to use the money to make a big splash in the Internet cafe, to make his friends envious, and to reward his own soul that was suffocated by the "forced tutoring".

"There's plenty of Nutri-Express and spicy strips, let's have a party tonight!" As he thought, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise, and the joy from the inside out overflowed, as if no matter how hot the weather was, it couldn't do anything to him.

After passing through several narrow alleys, Lu Mingfei finally arrived at the Internet cafe he often visited. He pushed open the slightly old door and a mixture of cigarette smell, instant noodles smell and a faint smell of sweat rushed towards him. Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, as if it was the smell of freedom.

“In this world, games understand people’s hearts the best. They won’t ask you how your grades are, nor will they compare you with others. As long as you are willing, you can become the most powerful being.” He walked to his “special seat” with familiarity, turned on the computer, logged into the game, and all his actions were smooth and flowing.

Just as Lu Mingfei was immersed in StarCraft, fighting with one hand and guzzling a drink with the other, he suddenly felt a figure beside him move. He turned around and saw a face that he was not familiar with, but was undoubtedly very well-known. Chu Zihang:
"Student Lu Mingfei? There is something about your uncle and aunt."

……

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The setting of the neuroleptic is the key to Herzog's ability to control Eri and revive the White King.