I'm a villain, not a devil

Sean didn't stop and walked towards other energy cabins.

Floating in the next energy cabin was a man in his mid-thirties who had just undergone the same absorption process.

There are no tattoos, but there are obvious signs of healing after burns on the shoulders, neck and other parts of the body. Judging from the shape, this should be left after the energy cannon barrel overheated - only the gunner team would force various fighters to continue firing when the barrel is overheated.

So, this is also a soldier.

Sean continued reading.

Soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, and more soldiers.

After a rough scan of more than twenty energy cabins, it was confirmed that more than fifteen of them were soldiers, a few were uncertain, and a few others seemed to be ordinary residents of the imperial capital.

Among them, there are two men whose faces have obvious similarities. The younger man is a soldier, and the other much older man looks very similar to him... So, it can be roughly judged that they are military personnel.

Sean looked up and saw that the twenty or so energy capsules he had just seen were just a small node in this energy area.

There are thousands of energy capsules here.

Even Sean, who was evil to the core, sneered.

"Your Majesty, this is so cruel..."

He finally knew where the more than 10,000 wounded soldiers who had fought desperately for the empire on the front lines but had to retreat for supplies due to various injuries and then disappeared for no reason along the way had gone.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Sean raised his eyebrows. "No wonder, even though they are so close to the imperial capital, almost under the military's nose, no one can find these wounded soldiers."

Sean walked on the pipe and scanned the surrounding energy cabins.

In addition to the father and son just now, Sean saw more.

Father and son, mother and son, husband and wife, brothers, sisters...

A soldier is often accompanied by a person who looks similar to him, or a couple who look like him. There are even cases where a soldier is accompanied by a child of only two or three years old.

Men, women, old and young.

Moreover, it can be noticed that there must have been a deliberate design when putting these people into the energy capsule - the energy capsules where people with blood ties are located are basically close together.

As he was watching, the huge 'heart' above began to beat again.

This time, Sean became more certain of his guess.

When the soldiers in the energy capsule were having everything below their skin sucked out, the same thing was happening in the energy capsules of their blood-related military dependents.

When the people inside are "filled" and float up again, the energy capsule next to it will vibrate once more than an ordinary energy capsule.

And Noah gave a more accurate answer.

"Master Saint Three, the design of this place is completely based on the energy area of ​​the Mind Hall. In the etheric layer, the energy area is also powered by countless small energy cabins stacked together to provide energy for the main energy cabin. When the small energy cabins are designed close together, free ether of similar etheric bands will be put into two or more energy cabins, which can stimulate the energy of the free etheric body. The design of this place should also be based on this reference."

Sean just smiled. No wonder, the wavelengths of a family member would naturally be closer, and the value that could be extracted would also be higher.

Noah continued, "However, the free ether in the energy chamber of the Mind Hall is extracted from the entire etheric layer. It is a special energy source in the etheric layer that is difficult to utilize. The area below the energy chamber should have been remodeled. Those individuals whose life energy has been extracted are likely to have completed another 'recharge' below."

"Charging?" Sean frowned slightly.

"Yes, charging." Noah replied, "According to my judgment, these people have been transformed by special means. Their consciousness is indestructible, but the flesh and bones under their skin are just sufficient muscles, fat, nerves, bones, internal organs, etc., which are randomly combined together. The nutrient solution can maintain their short-term vitality, waiting for the next extraction."

Noah's voice was actually a little heavy. "According to the data recorded in the database, the energy absorbed here requires activity and consciousness. In other words, the people in the energy cabin know that they are being absorbed and have some perception. Special people can even stay awake. This is a painful, desperate, crazy, but endless journey."

After walking a few steps forward, Sean knocked on a nearby energy cabin. Inside the brown cabin wall stood a man in his early thirties, also a soldier.

Unlike most of the other people in the energy chamber, he occasionally has some extra, awkward, and stiff movements.

It seems that he is probably the special person who can stay awake as mentioned by Noah.

The huge heart began to beat, and even though it was a machine, it still carried tremendous vitality.

The energy of the man in the energy cabin was extracted, and only a piece of skin sank to the bottom. After a moment, the energy was fully recharged and he floated up again.

Only at this time does he have a slight possibility to change his position.

However, his body was merely filled with flesh and blood, and he had no ability to control those things that were stuffed in. Perhaps after hundreds of times of charging, those flesh and blood would have one or two chances to return to their normal positions.

For example, this time, the man was obviously a little conscious, but his body just floated up weakly like a balloon that was fully inflated.

Nothing has changed.

For some reason, Sean became interested in this man.

He sat on the energy cabin next to him, crossed his legs, propped his chin with one hand, and watched this useless show with interest.

The absorption takes place every ten minutes, and after the energy is charged it floats above the energy cabin and is bitten by the worm tube, which takes ten seconds.

Sean kept watching, and at one point, perhaps because the eyeballs and muscle groups were just at the position of the eyelids, the man's eyelids trembled several times. Just when they were about to open a little, he was bitten on the head by the worm tube again, and returned to silence, waiting for the next extraction.

Another time, his fingers seemed to have gained some strength, and his rubber-like fingers tried to grab the slippery cabin wall. After stirring the foam of the nutrient solution a few times, the worm successfully clamped his head again.

The man's consciousness is indeed much clearer than others, but what can be seen is that precisely because of his clear consciousness, the pain and despair he perceives are even more intense.

However, the man still tried his best to do something after each extraction and recharging.

Sean held his chin and just looked at the other person.

He asked, "What do you think is the chance of this guy getting a complete action opportunity?"

Noah seemed to be calculating, and after a moment he replied, "Infinitely close to 0. In order to move, the randomly filled flesh and blood must reach the correct position and adhere to the skin."

"In terms of probability, this possibility can be ignored directly - but considering the uncertain factors such as mutation and spiritual power in this world, I think the probability can be raised to 'infinitely close to 0'. In addition, even if he really gets that chance, he only has ten seconds. After being bitten by the worm tube, he will lose all possibility of control."

"In addition, the foundation for all of this is his uniqueness. This uniqueness can be considered a kind of talent, but in his case, it will only make him remember every time he absorbs and recharges energy. Human spirit has its limits. Before that opportunity comes, he will collapse sooner or later."

Sean nodded thoughtfully: "Then he must have been here for quite a while, so it looks like it will take some time for him to collapse?"

Noah replied, "This depends on one's mental toughness. In fact, I think that even if one has the same mental strength as Saint Three, one would not be able to hold on for too long. The pain is secondary. The road with no end in sight is the nightmare of those who set foot on it."

Sean shrugged his shoulders: "But seeing how he is, we have to give it a try, right?"

"Yes, the desire to survive can provide a stronger force than you can imagine."

Sean smiled, but he didn't stand up. He just continued to sit there and look at the man.

Before, Sean got a ceremony.

The ritual comes from a sect: Nieqi.

This sect, which took the command of the god it believed in as its sect's name, was the one that abducted the fifth prince.

Of course, they returned to the imperial capital after so many years, probably because they had something big to plan.

However, Bai Youming saw through the secret and easily captured their leader.

In the end, the fifth prince who was brought back became a broiler. Sean successfully replaced the identity of the fifth prince and faked his death to completely clear himself of suspicion. The leader was also wiped out in Sean's plan.

Several rituals survived.

There was one ritual that Sean had never used before. On the one hand, there was no demand for it at the moment, and on the other hand, he had not found the right person.

The ritual is called the Source of Chaos. By offering enough sacrifices and finding a carrier, a creature called the 'God's Messenger' can be slowly cultivated.

The cultist at that time directly regarded his own proliferation as a sacrifice and himself as a carrier.

And it offered a huge sacrifice, the carrier of which was also a strong man of at least mid-level Crimson, and that messenger of God had just begun to develop.

According to the description of the ritual of the Source of Chaos, sacrifices can be continuously offered up. There is only one requirement. Whether it is pollution, fear or despair, it must contain more than the last sacrifice.

The so-called 'messenger of God' summoned by the cultist at the end was just an image of a baby. Although it was quite scary, it was still dealt with by the Golden Dawn Cardinal Karado who was present at the time.

The trained divine messenger was not strong enough. One of the important reasons was that the cultist who was the carrier was not desperate enough - at least he was a middle-level Crimson. People of this strength rarely showed too much despair.

Sean, who had never found a suitable person to test this ritual, seemed to have found one today.

He looked at the man with interest, expecting him to do something that would surprise him.

The huge heart was beating continuously, and the people in the energy cabin were constantly absorbing and charging energy. This cycle lasted for a full five hours.

Sean spent five hours observing this special man in the energy capsule, during which time he extracted and recharged energy a total of thirty times.

The thirty-first time, this time, the man seemed to have much stronger control over his body.

Sean put down his hand that was supporting his chin, and a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

The charging was completed, and the man's body floated up. This time, the three fingers of his right hand and both knee joints seemed to be able to move.

The man began to twist his body. Even though his poor control only allowed him to move his body slightly, he still tried his best.

He looked like a struggling maggot, so ugly that one wanted to step on him to death.

Sean's eyes brightened.

The man was still twisting, and half of the ten seconds had passed. This time, the weak, baby-like posture that the man had been maintaining finally changed. Even his body gradually twisted slightly.

Sean had already put his hands together, ready to applaud him.

Then, the man's movements suddenly stopped, and Sean's smile that was about to rise disappeared.

The worm's mouthparts clamped around the top of the man's skull, and other than a slight shift in position, nothing happened.

Sean squinted his eyes and looked over, but finally sat down calmly.

Ten minutes passed and the cycle began again.

When the man floated up from inside, Sean locked his eyes firmly on him.

Sean has gained a lot of experience from observing for such a long time. He can judge something just by looking at the condition under the skin.

This time, his chances are not as good as last time, but he should be able to move a little.

Sean looked at the man, but there was no movement.

Just like other people who have no ability to control themselves, the man floated up quietly, was clamped quietly, and waited quietly for the next extraction.

This time, the man's pain seemed to be much more intense because of the last movement. He had not done anything in the previous ten seconds, but the bite of the worm's mouthparts caused his head to twitch slightly and lift up a little.

He could probably control his expression to some extent, but Sean didn't see any pain or unwillingness on his face. The man was very calm.

There was a flash of disappointment in Sean's eyes.

Although he was in the etheric body, he patted his thigh habitually and stood up.

After stretching, Sean casually said, "Never mind, time to go... I watched a mime for a few hours, so it was a pretty good show."

After saying that, he continued to walk forward accurately.

However, Noah stopped him.

"Master Saint III, please wait a moment."

"Ok?"

"The magnitude of his last rotation is combined with the magnitude of his rotation this time while being clamped by the mouthparts."

Upon hearing this, Sean looked in the direction of the man's face.

There was a staircase going up and down here, and the energy cabin closely connected to the man was a bit higher.

Because of the previous direction, the man was facing only the aisle, but now, after two adjustments, his face can finally face the top of another energy cabin.

Inside was a little girl of about four or five years old. Her petite body was so fragile that when she floated up, she was almost at the top and was rarely noticed.

Misery and despair are everywhere here.

And that little girl had a face that was 60% similar to the man's.

Time passed quietly, and another extraction began.

The girl's calm face showed a brief look of pain, and then it was drained away.

Finally, the man facing her showed almost invisible tenderness and affection.

He was beaten into a piece of human skin, and when he fell like a rag, his eyelids were still looking in the direction of the girl.