This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 420: Memories of Florence

Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Memories of Florence

The spacious room was still brimming with high temperature, just like a furnace recently used to pour molten iron, where every combustible material around continued to emit sparks and cinders.

Florence’s soul transformed into a wisp of white dust, absorbed by the Sun Mark on Chen Ke’s chest. With a flash of white light, he surprisingly re-entered the memories of the soul’s owner after a long absence.

Chen Ke saw the figure of a woman from behind.

She had long white hair, wore a coat adorned with complex decorative patterns, and donned a pair of dirty leather boots. On her head, she sported a tricorn hat, its side embellished with a white feather.

Chen Ke reached out to touch the woman’s left shoulder, she turned around, her skin so pale it seemed unreal, and her amber eyes met his own, her lips slightly curving upwards.

He continued down her shoulder, noticing a military saber slung around her waist, nestled in a lavish scabbard and fitted with a guard.

...

A cold wind blew by, and Chen Ke felt his entire body slick and wet. He propped himself up using the hilt of his sword, its blade stabbed into the ground.

Looking down at his feet, he stood beside a pile of dead Monster Corpses.

The corpses were greyish-white, their organs visible through semi-translucent membranous skin. Their limbs vaguely retained human features, but their toes and fingers were webbed.

The heads of the bodies no longer bore human characteristics, their eyes round like dead fish, and their mouths unusually large.

Chen Ke looked up, the cold wind blowing from the right. He could hear the sound of the waves, with white foam crashing against a giant clam on the shore.

...

Chen Ke found himself in a castle, holding a revolver in his left hand and his sword in his right.

His entire body drenched in blood, the sticky cold blood glued his shirt lining to his skin.

He had a serious wound on his abdomen that seemed to have been inflicted by the claws of some beast.

"Florence, can you still manage?" A companion walked up from behind, and Chen Ke looked towards the speaker, a Hunter with graying temples.

"Jackman..." Chen Ke uttered a name, but it was in Florence’s voice.

...

"William’s research is crucial. The Secret Keeper Organization will dispatch Florence for close protection."

The speaker was the old Hunter known as Jackman, who was conversing with someone as Chen Ke waited by the door.

"With the protection of a Secret Keeper, the research should continue safely," the other person said in a very steady voice.

They exited the mansion, and Jackman patted Chen Ke’s shoulder.

"Florence, beware of the corruption in those who seek knowledge... You must not only provide protection but also surveillance," Jackman said.

"I know..." Chen Ke spoke, again with Florence’s voice.

...

Chen Ke snapped back to reality as the memories dissipated, with an additional piece of soul in his hand.

[Florence’s Tortured Soul]

[Effects: Increases lifespan by 10 hours, opens one Teleportation Gate, refines Florence’s set of equipment]

"""Florence, a Hunter merged with Divine Blood, had turned into a deformed monster after being injected with Divine Blood, but he still couldn’t forget that white-haired woman..."""

"""The Secret Keeper Organization is an elite group of mystic Hunters under the command of Queen Victoria of Ingra, dedicated to tackling the increasingly rampant supernatural threats. Whenever the blood moon hung low, the Hunters would spring into action, embarking on an endless and bloody hunt."""

If Chen Ke remembered correctly, this was the second soul he had collected that could be refined into weapons and equipment.

The first was Princess Faralis of Fan Hede, whom he had used to exchange for the greatsword Unyielding Fury, and that sword was taken by Faralis herself during his second entry to Fan Hede...

The group Florence belonged to was a national force known as the Secret Keepers, and it looked to be a special operative team working from the shadows.

In 1859, incidents involving Spiritual Energy had been occurring frequently. Having been in this place for less than a day, Chen Ke had already discovered the corpse of a deity beneath the academy, which was far more thrilling than his 2009 experiences in Opportunity City.

What Chen Ke could exchange for with Florence’s soul this time was not a weapon but a set of clothes that the man had worn... Chen Ke had never seen what Florence wore when he was still human, but since it was exchanged with a soul, it mustn’t be too shabby.

Using this soul to extend life seemed a bit wasteful. For some reason, the souls of tough characters like Faralis and Florence only added a maximum of 10 hours to one’s lifespan, which was quite baffling.

In his memory, Chen Ke had also seen two individuals closely associated with Florence, one was the nameless white-haired woman, and the other was an old Hunter known as Jackman.

Was Maria the lady he referred to?

"Chen Ke, why is it that every time I see you, your clothes are in tatters? Are you trying to seduce me?"

While Chen Ke was lost in thought, Xu Jing had already approached him.

She glanced at the Monster Corpse at Chen Ke’s feet and then at his torn clothes, knowing without a question that the recent battle must not have been easy.

"How come you came here alone? Don’t tell me you lost sight of the target." Chen Ke straightened his clothes, but he was powerless to fix the parts that had been torn by the monster.

"I lost it," Xu Jing admitted frankly.

"...I knew we should have switched places. You might have had an easier time dealing with this monster," Chen Ke said, shaking his head helplessly.

"We may have underestimated the complexity down here. I couldn’t use Spiritual Vision to locate our target, and I was also caught in an Illusion Technique. These people might have a deeper grasp of the transcendent than we thought," Xu Jing spread her hands.

"What now? Are we going back the way we came?" Chen Ke slipped his Model 67 pistol back into its holster.

"There’s a way up to the surface through that stone door behind us. It was probably their designed escape route, and there should be carriages stopped on the outside. But when I went up there, I found nothing," Xu Jing said.

"Right now, I just want to find a place to change my clothes," Chen Ke said.

"You are quite... sturdy," Xu Jing covered her mouth with a laugh and sneakily glanced at the torn areas of Chen Ke’s clothes.

The two followed the passage behind the stone door upward, leaving the academy’s underground.

After going around, they returned to the street opposite the academy’s main entrance and saw six black carriages stopped in front of the academy gate. A few individuals dressed in black trench coats were negotiating with the school authorities.

Chen Ke noticed a white-haired woman standing amidst the crowd. It seemed the Secret Keepers had arrived.

"If I’m not mistaken, there was no such occupation as County Police in 1859, right?" Chen Ke asked.

"Franciade was the first country in the world to establish a system of County Police, followed by Ingra. Previously, the city’s security was maintained by the Queen’s infantry. After 1860, to cope with the increasing number of civil cases, almost the entire world began to have their own County Police departments, and initially, they were not equipped with guns, only whistles and batons," Xu Jing informed.

"Oh..." Chen Ke nodded, then looked again at the academy’s entrance. The Secret Keepers had already gone inside.

"Come on, Chen Ke, let’s head back to the café first. I’ll get you a new set of clothes, and then we’ll see what to do next," Xu Jing said with a smile.