Deep in the Living
Chapter 147 - 141 Planting

Chapter 147: Chapter 141 Planting

[Chinese Street. Youth Apartment]

Luo Di, who slept on the sofa, got up at six o’clock as usual, even though he watched a movie with his squad leader until about one o’clock last night.

Through the crack of the bedroom door, he took a glance at the squad leader sleeping soundly inside, then quietly left.

He switched into tight-fitting investigatory clothing underneath, and put on a light coat over it.

Because of the earlier investigation of the Ghost Bride case, he developed a habit of morning runs; after a simple breakfast, he headed directly to the City Investigation Bureau ten kilometers away by running.

Perhaps it was because these days he spent too long impersonating Mr. D and was too deeply immersed.

During his run, Luo Di would unconsciously release killing intent, causing passersby to feel as if they had stepped into a slaughterhouse, instinctively making way to avoid him.

Even some extremely vicious people who intended to deliberately block the way moved aside subconsciously and broke out in a cold sweat as Luo Di approached them running.

The way was clear all along, but in the end, he was stopped by a traffic light.

The time had already reached seven o’clock.

The sidewalks were crammed with adults ready to go to work, and students in school uniforms.

Luo Di squeezed amongst them, also waiting for the light to change.

By coincidence, a student with a backpack was standing next to him, his thoughts inadvertently drawn back, reminiscing about the times in Middle School No. 4, recalling that night.

Somehow,

That complex Hell Symbol, blending hexagrams, spirals, and unknown runes, suddenly emerged clearly in Luo Di’s mind—even though he wasn’t trying to think about it.

At the same time,

The lights changed to green,

And the crowds on both sides of the crosswalk started crossing towards each other,

The sounds of sports shoes, leather shoes, and high heels, one after another, reached his ears.

But to Luo Di, these sounds gradually transformed, becoming the noise of metal boots stepping on the surface of bones.

Because of the shoving from behind, Luo Di also unconsciously took a step forward.

What should have been a step onto the pavement felt instead like a step onto moist, sticky, and scorching red earth.

The surrounding crowd had all turned into hellish Spines, each one armed, their bodies encased in heavy armor.

The people coming from across the street morphed into swollen, rotten Hell Tumor Folk.

In the blink of an eye,

A Tumor Folk, with his intestines hanging out and a huge tumor attached to his back, with his head wrapped by a spherical parasite, was already rushing forward.

Hulking over Luo Di, he was at least a time and a half bigger.

The intestines hanging from his stomach pouch were constantly excreting filth.

In his hand, he held a longsword covered with parasitic eggs, which would enter the body of anyone cut by the blade.

The rotten sword swung down!

Feeling the threat of death, Luo Di quickly activated his Spine and sturdily blocked it with his left hand, filled with iron wires.

Humm!

The red earth, the war, Hell—all vanished into thin air.

Replaced by the sound of car horns, the noise of people.

Luo Di stood in the middle of the crosswalk, with several cars stopped by him.

The community staff responsible for maintaining traffic order, suspecting him to be a Pseudo-Person, attempted to prod him gently with their baton.

Yet Luo Di grabbed it in one go, the baton even entwined with horrifying iron wires.

This startling change caused the community staff to promptly dial the Investigation Bureau’s number, but his wrist device was forcefully held down by a rough, powerful hand.

When he thought he was certainly dead,

An investigator badge imprinted with[I]was presented before him.

"You... are an investigator."

"Intern Investigator Luo Di, sorry for causing a traffic disturbance."

"It’s... no problem."

"Yeah."

After a brief explanation,

Luo Di quickly vanished from the street, ignoring the stares of the crowd, with the Investigation Bureau building not far ahead.

『Another episode... This time, even on the street, with no drugs ingested, it was merely because the current scene bore a certain resemblance to the battlefield, and I happened to fall into a memory, recalling the Hell Symbol.

Though such experiences are thrilling, they’re not a good sign.

If I can’t control this, it can lead to serious trouble during a Sister Assembly.

I should go to the Fifth Hospital later to get some clarity from Mr. Hook.』

Luo Di was out of breath, having faced various forms of Pseudo-People, and wandered on the edge of life and death multiple times.

But the feeling of being on the battlefield just now was completely different, that extreme pressure made him breathless.

『The creatures in the True Hell are terrifyingly powerful. When my spine is fully nourished, and I project my consciousness to the Spine’s stronghold, it is highly likely that I will need to enter the battlefield.

Once my consciousness projection dies in the True Hell, it’s equivalent to actual death.

I must also find ways to enhance my strength using this world’s resources, hoping to get a suitable pituitary for ’Alien Food’ sooner rather than later.』

In a blink of an eye, he arrived under the Investigation Bureau building,

After being identified at the entrance, Luo Di immediately received a message from the higher-ups, instructing him to take the elevator at the far end of the lobby and press the buttons in a specific numerical sequence.

Without stopping at any floor, the elevator took Luo Di straight to the top level of the tallest building in Mingwang City.

Ding!

[City Council - Highest Level]

The elevator reached the center of the meeting room, and the door opened right to a seat.

Surrounding the area, platform seats towering five meters high,

occupied by three rarely seen Senior Investigators and a Research Bureau executive, who essentially represent the highest standard of Mingwang City.

They had long since established a special cooperative relationship with Luo Di and were aware of his other identity known as "Mr.D".

One of the Senior Investigators was also the director of the City Investigation Bureau.

"Your recent performance in the Fighting Hall was quite impressive. Based on what you’ve said before, you should have already obtained permission to go to the ’Sisterhood’ event, right?"

"Yes, I will head to the assembly area in a week."

"Since you’ll be going there under a disguise, any items related to the Investigation Bureau cannot be carried with you. All we can do is help you conceal your identity and provide support in ways that are not associated with investigators.

The Death Row Prisoner K whom you killed the other day was a rather rare special species. There’s no need for me to explain his attributes, as you, the killer, are more aware of them than anyone else."

This pituitary will be your reward,

and the Research Bureau will collaborate fully,

whether you want to use it for propagation, implantation, or even injection."

Luo Di had originally planned to use the pituitary to pay off debts, but the words of his supervisor immediately came to mind – perhaps there was indeed no need to rush to repay.

In the end, he changed his request, "This pituitary doesn’t quite align with my essence; it’s not very suitable for injection or Alien Food. What are the best recommendations for the other two methods of usage?"

"You already possess a special weapon made from a unique pituitary gland, which even demonstrated full-body usage during the combat.

I suggest implanting the pituitary on the back of your hand, which can significantly enhance finger dexterity and offensiveness.

If your synchrony rate with this implanted pituitary is high enough, it may even manifest an external Spiritual Body after you become adept at using it."

"Are there any side effects to implantation?"

"Yes! For ordinary people, the side effects are severe.

Especially for Pseudo-Persons like these, who are associated with ’limb fear’, implanting their pituitary in the corresponding limb would work well, but the pituitary would continually affect you, enticing you to commit various bad deeds at the limb level.

For instance, uncontrollably jabbing a chatting friend’s eyes.

But, for someone like you who personally slew the Death Row Inmate and is a Connector, there would be virtually no effects.

Your spine, as a new neural control center, can suppress and restrain the pituitary’s influence.

Even if you didn’t want it in the future, you could simply remove the pituitary from the back of your hand."

"If I plan on consuming Alien Food in the future, will this thing implanted on the back of my hand cause any issues?"

"It won’t."

"Do I need to go to the Research Bureau for surgery?"

"This Research Bureau executive, who is also an expert in our city dealing specifically with pituitary surgery, finds the ’limb implantation’ procedure quite straightforward and can perform it right here.

Another thing I should remind you is that, once you decide on the implantation, the relevant information will be added to Mr.D’s profile. You must not reveal the implant on your hand until the Sisterhood matter is concluded."

"Okay, let’s proceed."

The surgical expert, carrying the already prepared items, approached Luo Di.

1. The Death Row Inmate’s pituitary stored between ’Simulation Brain Boxes’.

2. A metal ring inlaid with a chip and electrified.

3. A portable automatic surgery device that fits into the palm.

Of course, some common surgical tools don’t need to be mentioned.

Luo Di immediately noticed something strange about that metal ring: "What’s this ring?"

"It’s a Connector and restraint device, which ensures the nerve connection between the pituitary and implant site, while also restricting the pituitary’s autonomy, reducing the influence of the Corner."

"This doesn’t entirely belong to human technology, does it?"

"It’s a technique brought out from the Corner by the Capital City and has been widely used in implantations. The result is outstanding."

While the two were talking, the expert had already cleaned and disinfected the back of Luo Di’s hand and turned on the surgical device.

Following the prompt, Luo Di placed his palm into the device, selecting the center of his right hand’s back as the implant site.

The expert asked, "Do you need local anesthesia?"

"No need."

"Then the surgery will commence."

The laser made an incision between the III and IV metacarpal bones of the palm, cutting open a slot 3cm long and 1.7cm deep.

Using a micro arm to keep the incision open,

the ’Hanging Ring’ was implanted,

and due to insufficient space, the metacarpal bones had to be cut and remodeled to seamlessly integrate the ring between the two bones, ensuring it wouldn’t affect the fundamental structure of the hand’s back.

Until the bone grinding and the Hanging Ring were perfectly integrated.

The expert then removed the pituitary from the ’Simulation Brain Box’, precisely placing it between the fitted Hanging Ring.

Perfect restraint!

The microcurrents in the ring immediately passed through the pituitary, establishing consistent internal and external neural connections.

Hum!

Despite being implanted in the hand’s back, Luo Di received brain signals from the pituitary, witnessing images from Death Row Prisoner K’s childhood.

A native family butchered by Pseudo-Persons, a pitiable child mistreated by a foster father.

Just as Luo Di was tasting the bitterness of these tragic memories, some substance from the Corner within the pituitary attempted to invade his consciousness.

Click!

His tongue snapped, Hell exerted pressure, and instantly, peace returned.

Throughout the surgery, Luo Di’s expression remained unchanged,

and with the final stitching completed, the surgical machine also performed an implantation check, displaying a synchrony rate value on the screen.

[87.1%]