Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 313 - 232: Soul Equation

Chapter 313: Chapter 232: Soul Equation

The Fox Demon saves the live stream atmosphere!

Looking at the dense flood of comments, Owl was cheering in his heart.

It proved that any planet, any civilization, possesses the same longing for beautiful things, just like now. Once the topic about the Fox Demon arose, the audience engaged in a heated discussion, some even took out the "Universal Beauty Appreciation Compendium" to start deliberating.

Soon Duan Mingyuan realized that over seventy percent of the viewers were loyal followers of the series, already well-versed with the tribes listed within it.

The discussion over beautiful things turned their swords into plowshares.

Stances remained in existence, but everyone became fans of the Fox Demon, or, to put it in broader terms, connoisseurs of beautiful things, with most people not exclusively in love with just the Fox Demon type but embracing a "love for all" philosophy.

The live stream thus drew near its end, with the audience leaving messages like "That’s all for today’s stream," before they exited the live stream room.

When the live stream footage was cut, Owl stretched lazily.

"Care for a drink?"

Despite having an inkling of Duan Mingyuan’s response, he still extended the invitation politely. The crew was arranged by the company that both parties were officially collaborating with for the first time today, and Owl decided to cultivate a good relationship with his new colleagues.

There was a bar in the habitation zone of the Prison Planet. While it could not compare to those more lavish establishments, it was still a place for them to enjoy a nice evening.

"No, thanks."

Duan Mingyuan had fulfilled his duty as a special guest. As Jiuyue had said, working overtime is a bad culture, and he considered socializing after work to be another form of that culture.

However, as soon as they stepped out, a mechanical prison guard blocked their path.

"Gentlemen, may I ask how you feel about the live stream just now?"

The voice was still devoid of any emotional fluctuations.

Owl glanced at Duan Mingyuan, noticed he had no intention of answering, and said, "The atmosphere was good, very lively. The audience was very keen to comment."

He believed that advertisers would be willing to spend a fortune to make an appearance on this show.

The mechanical prison guard nodded.

An expected response, yet liveliness was not the desired outcome for it.

This trial’s scale exceeded all previous ones, with the number of participants multiplying several times over, in part due to the company’s contribution. The company’s team had found a business opportunity, transforming the trial into a live reality show.

This only fortified its determination.

The soul is the root of everything. Whether a good person or a villain, all are puppets dominated by desires. What it aimed to do was to free everyone from the status of marionettes.

"Please follow me. Next, we will go over the rules and procedures of the trial."

The mechanical prison guard led the two to a room next to the studio, which also had a screen. At that moment, the screen was showing footage from a certain prison block.

The faces that appeared on the screen were familiar to Duan Mingyuan.

Outside the cells, members of the Actus Pirate Group had reconvened. What he did not expect was that the contestant he had pegged to be "cannon fodder" turned out to be one of them by sheer coincidence.

Clearly, the contestant nicknamed "Great Wisdom" had not quite grasped the true meaning of the moniker.

But after giving it some thought, he let it go.

After all, how could a truly wise person ever become a Cosmic Pirate?

The crew of Actus were exhilarated. "Great Wisdom" had become their hero. This was the Actus Pirate Group’s first shot at making a name for themselves inside the prison block. They were fantasizing about the moment "Great Wisdom" would win the competition when they would replace the largest gang there and become the new shot-callers of the prison block.

This would at least give their lives some hope.

It must be said that the actions of "Great Wisdom" had earned them respect; now the pirates could freely enter and leave the cells as long as they didn’t start any trouble, the other prisoners in the block wouldn’t bother them.

"Something’s not right."

Owl quickly picked up on something amiss.

The "hero" himself, "Great Wisdom," stood out from the lively atmosphere of the team. Although he stood amidst the crowd, enjoying the praise and crowd, his face bore no hint of joy.

Likewise, there was no concern for his uncertain fate.

There was no expression on his face; everything happening around him seemed irrelevant to him.

This was in no way fitting with the motive why "Great Wisdom" had signed up.

Imagine this, the Cosmic Pirate mustered the courage, under immense pressure, to enter his name into the device, all for this moment—to be praised, acclaimed, making him feel like everything he was about to sacrifice was worthwhile.

But now, these very things that "Great Wisdom" had longed for seemed to have become tasteless to him.

"It’s getting late, let’s rest."

"Great Wisdom" interrupted the pirates surrounding him.

The other pirates also noticed that he seemed a little off today but guessed that perhaps the trial had put too much pressure on him. After comforting him, they left him alone.

Duan Mingyuan had been closely watching "Great Wisdom’s" movements as well.

His demeanor and tone appeared familiar to him—"Great Wisdom’s" behavior seemed identical to that of the mechanical prison guards.

Unaffected by any emotion, always maintaining a calm, rational state.

"What have you done to him?"

Owl had a bad feeling and asked.

"It’s an experiment,"

the mechanical prison guard said, "I’ve been monitoring the state of all the registrants. Their vital signs are all normal, with no adverse reactions."

The experimental results were consistent with its theory.

It proved that the soul wasn’t essential to humans; after the removal of the soul, their vital signs weren’t affected, and they could still maintain autonomous thinking.

The only difference was that they would no longer be blinded by any desires, and any decisions they made were based solely on rational analysis.

This was the state it most wished to achieve.

"Can you explain more clearly?"

Owl pressed.

He didn’t like the word "experiment," especially when it was applied to human beings.

"Great Wisdom," in his eyes, exuded eeriness; locking eyes with him for too long gave Owl goosebumps.

"Put simply, I’ve taken away their souls; that’s the first step of the experiment. In the upcoming phases, I will gradually lift the restrictions in each block, granting them an unprecedented level of freedom. They can freely go to any block, do anything they wish, all to verify one thing."

the mechanical prison guard said, "Under the condition of full freedom, whether these irredeemable villains would still commit crimes... There’s only one way to win this trial, as long as they can find their souls again, they would be victorious."