A group of elderly men in white coats was already waiting nearby.
Some were holding various devices. When they saw Jiang Yan and the other person, the leading white-haired old Asian man hurried forward and respectfully said, "President, Deputy Chief Xie, everything is ready!"
"Begin!" Jiang Yan glanced at the old man.
This old man was originally Li Weiwen, head of the Nanwu Country Awakened mental-research project, himself a Level Two Awakened. He had now joined the Research Department and, together with Xie Gongming, was in charge of soul studies.
"Yes, sir!" Li Weiwen nodded and waved to the crowd behind him.
Two people immediately jogged out of the group toward the corner, where an iron cage held an unconscious long-haired man.
Clack! The cage door opened automatically, and the two dragged the long-haired man and quickly walked to the golden instrument in the center.
Bzzzz!
Li Weiwen stepped to the golden instrument and pressed a few buttons; the machine began to operate.
A two-meter slit opened in the seven-meter-tall golden cylinder, and the two researchers simply threw the long-haired man inside.
Clack! The golden door closed and the device started up.
Jiang Yan stood quietly.
The purpose of this experiment was to make the soul visible to the naked eye; only by seeing the soul could the next step of research proceed.
After all, not everyone was Liang Dong, who could directly see a person's soul.
Rumble! The instrument's roar grew louder and continued for half an hour before stopping.
Clack! Next, Li Weiwen, his face flushed with excitement, pressed a blue button, and the entire golden cylinder unfolded like petals.
Crackle! Crackle!
Inside the device, strands of blue light leapt and formed a circle.
Within the circle, the long-haired man's figure had vanished; in his place stood a small green figure a meter tall.
The little figure's face was identical to the long-haired man's, and at this moment he stared at the people outside in terror.
His mouth opened but no sound came out. His green body floated half a meter above the ground; he tried to flee but was bounced back to the center by the surrounding blue light.
Crackle!
Jiang Yan looked at the visible little green soul that still retained consciousness, turned to Li Weiwen, and praised, "Director Li, I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise on my first visit to the Monster Association. Why hadn't I heard of this skill of yours back in Nanwu Country?"
Li Weiwen gazed at the soul that had appeared. Although he had conducted more than a thousand experiments and only two days ago managed to stabilize the soul's existence, he still felt excited.
Faced with Jiang Yan's question, Li Weiwen's smile faded and he showed a helpless look: "Over there, the technologies and ability types are far fewer than in the Monster Association—less than one-tenth. With no progress for years, the funding was slashed; it would be strange to get any results."
Jiang Yan merely smiled and said nothing. He turned to the soul in the center: "Since we've achieved visible souls, I'll increase support for this area next, striving to uncover the secrets of the Awakened, soul modification, and where the soul goes after it disperses."
After his strength rose to Level Six, he could faintly sense the existence of souls.
Yet he felt no soul on the ashes of his younger sister and parents; even when he went to HQ City, the ground was full of other people's soul fluctuations.
But after sensing for a day, the number of fluctuations he detected was only around three hundred thousand; more than seven hundred thousand had vanished, including those of his family.
"Yes, President, I will definitely uncover the secret!" Li Weiwen said respectfully.
To have someone support him so generously in the field he loved—he felt the Monster Association was not bad at all.
Jiang Yan clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze deep as he stared at the soul in the center.
The Monster Association's progress in biotechnology and the mystical side was remarkably fast, even far ahead of the tech side.
'Modifications and mutations in the soul realm might add quite a few variables for monsters like Ghost Buddha and Gus.'
Gus could also make people mutate; one didn't even need to eat its flesh—just looking at it would cause immediate aberration.
However, the aberrant monsters had no rationality, and the monsters themselves emitted faint mental fluctuations.
Weaker researchers would be affected just by getting close.
The Research Department's preliminary hypothesis was that these aberrant monsters likely had problems with their souls.
Jiang Yan pondered and walked out of the Soul Research Institute with Xie Gongming.
Once outside, Jiang Yan said to Xie Gongming beside him, "Continue to increase investment in all projects, especially those related to the soul. As soon as any relevant talent appears, bring them into the Soul Research Institute immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" Xie Gongming nodded.
At Jiang Yan's words, wings appeared behind him.
Boom! The wings flapped, and Jiang Yan shot skyward; the tremendous wind nearly blew Xie Gongming off his feet.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the sky, sonic booms exploded around Jiang Yan's body as he streaked toward the karst cave.
Moments later, Jiang Yan appeared above a huge pit. In its center lay a white mist, and before the mist sat the Great Serpent.
On the open ground to the left, a colossal creature nearly thirty kilometers long and two kilometers wide was resting.
It was the Shentan Beast after using the soul crystal.
Jiang Yan looked at the Great Serpent and the Shentan Beast, and their abilities appeared in his mind.
Great Serpent: Ultra Gaia Cannon – unlocks Ultimate Form switch! (Gaia Cannon power increased by 100%)
Shentan Beast: Divine Roam – the Shentan Beast can open wormholes to jump, with varying distances each time! (After one Divine Roam, the Shentan Beast must rest for one day before the next use)
Neither monster had gained a new ability; the Great Serpent's Gaia Cannon power had doubled, while the Shentan Beast's Divine Roam cooldown had shortened from three days to one.
At this moment, besides the two giant monsters, a new estate had been built on the open ground to the right of the pit, covering more than a thousand acres.
In its center stood a gigantic black castle three hundred meters tall.
Jiang Yan landed in front of the castle; he usually lived here.
At the castle gate was a hundred-meter swimming pool, where the King of the Deep Sea lay.
Seeing Jiang Yan arrive, he quickly got up and said, "Master!"
"Mm." Jiang Yan nodded to him and walked into the castle; the interior ceiling was thirty meters high to accommodate the monsters.
"Hurry up, you cheated! How did you one-shot me!"
As soon as he entered, he heard Black Gold's barking. In the center, Black Gold sat on his sofa, controller in hand, battling Wei Gaocheng.
"KO!"
With an electronic male voice sounding from the big screen, Wei Gaocheng grinned and planted his hands on his hips: "Hmph, I'm invincible—go pour me a coffee!"
"Fine, I'll go!" The defeated Black Gold, veins bulging, trotted to the coffee machine and pressed the button.
Under Jiang Yan's gaze, Black Gold dug in his nostril, pulled out an unidentified lump, and dropped it into the coffee, then carried the cup to Wei Gaocheng.
Jiang Yan's mouth twitched; under his stare, Wei Gaocheng gulped the coffee down.
Wei Gaocheng: "Why are there granules inside?"
Black Gold: "It's a new blend—those are coffee beans."