Deep in the Living

Chapter 120 Hunger
Wu Wen was just standing at the door of the preaching room, without even taking a step inside, when the hook hanging high on the ceiling began to clang.

It seemed that as long as she stepped in, these hooks would lock onto her as a target and attack, hooking into every inch of her skin and tearing every inch of her flesh.

Even though her head was reconstructed in the preaching room, she was still considered a heretic.

Wu Wen didn't care. She stood on tiptoe and looked deeper, at the bald man in leather jacket.

"Rody's luck has always been pretty good. As a 'connector', he actually met such a high-ranking being right at the beginning. I had clearly disguised myself, but I was still seen through at a glance.

As long as I am trapped in the category of "fake person", no matter how good I am at disguise or how long it takes, I will not be able to achieve a true qualitative change.

If you want to make further progress, you must go there... I originally wanted to stay for another year or two, but now it seems that I can only shorten the time. 』

The squad leader stood quietly at the door, his hands folded in front of him, watching silently.

Deep in the preaching room,
On top of the stairs is a stone platform similar to an altar.
Rody had taken off his shirt as requested and lay down on his back.

Mr. Hawke stared at the body, or more precisely, at the spine hidden beneath the skin, with more and more doubts emerging in his eyes.

In order to solve this doubt, he must conduct a more in-depth observation.

Swish!
He ripped off the hooks on his back and used them as surgical instruments.
Cutting,

Make a quick cut along the midline of the spine to fully expose the spine inside.

"How did you do that?"

"What's wrong?" Roddy was also full of confusion, wondering what Mr. Hawke had seen.

"Your back was not full at all and was not yet at the saturation stage, yet you were able to complete the "spinal opening"... Your duration should not have been long, right?

Furthermore, after your spine is opened, your body will probably suffer a very strong backlash.

I said, how could your spine be broken so quickly?

Referring to the local spine surgeons here, the rate of spine opening is about 70%, but their average spine opening time is at least one year, or even longer.

This year they also need to keep fighting and fighting to provide enough nutrients to their spine.

You, on the other hand, although you completed some killings, the saturation of the spine probably did not even reach 1/5, and you were forced to open the spine under the condition of lack of nutrition.

Maybe it's just luck,

Or maybe it's because you've received painful training from me, which has increased your physical endurance.
Or maybe you are always killing at a high intensity when you open your spine, and nutrients are continuously fed to you.

That’s why it didn’t lead to the worst possible outcome.”

"What's the result?"

"The spinal cord is drained, the body collapses, and the soul is annihilated.

However, this is the first time I have seen the spine being opened before it is fully fed or even half full.

You have an incredibly high degree of compatibility with your spine. No wonder your world is so far away from ours, but we can still establish a connection.

You must have had a strong urge to kill recently, right?"

"Yes, I almost couldn't control myself today."

"That's right. The simple explanation is that your premature opening of the spine not only completely exhausted the few nutrients inside the spine, but also overdrawn some spinal cord components.

It is already starving and in urgent need of nutrition. If I remove the spine now, it will probably kill and hunt for food as a living worm.

If you don't replenish it with nutrients, its impact on your consciousness will become more and more serious, and eventually your consciousness will be completely destroyed and you will become a worthless hungry creature. "

"It requires killing, right?"

"It doesn't necessarily have to be killing, as long as it's an extreme way to vent your anger through war, even the simplest physical fight can provide nutrients to the spine.

Hey! Why aren't you my apostle?

It's very convenient here, I just need to feed myself with pain. I can whip myself twice, swallow a few blades, get some irons and beat myself with a stick, and I can be full in one go, it's very convenient."

Rody, who was sitting on the stone platform, had already started thinking about nutrients, and was thinking about returning directly to the Investigation Bureau to take on the two "fresh incidents" of relatively low difficulty.

But even fresh incidents require investigation and tracking, which may take several days.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Rody's mind.

"Mr. Hawke, you have quite a few prisoners here, right?"

"Hiss~ You're pretty quick-witted. I can give you some of these prisoners to kill as a temporary supplement. But no matter how bad the criminals are, they can generate pain energy. I need you to exchange something for them. I need you to add a few more to the debt we have."

Just when Hawke was about to ask for more pituitary glands, Roddy suddenly rejected the idea.

“No, I can’t kill anyone here.

The torture chamber is directly related to the real hospital. If I kill the prisoners here, the real hospital will probably kill the patients as well."

Mr. Hawke did not force it, “You have so many rules and regulations over there.

However, since these are the rules of your world, it would be better to abide by them. You are just getting started now, and are far from challenging the rules.

It’s just that your condition is very bad now. If you don’t feed nutrients, you will be completely out of control in less than three days.”

Rody intentionally changed the subject at this time, "Mr. Hawke, you just said that we don't need to kill anyone, just the simplest physical fight can replenish nutrients for the spine, right?"

"That's right.

But there are also prerequisites, which require you to face an opponent who is equal to you or stronger than you. You need to be completely immersed in the entire fighting process and devote yourself to it.

Among the forces corresponding to the spine players, there is a place called the [Arena], where the spine players can obtain nutrition by fighting each other.

It’s a pity that you can’t connect to the past now, so naturally you don’t have this opportunity.

As for me,
Most of the criminals brought to the torture chamber have already undergone "preliminary treatment" and have become extremely weak. Even the most basic desire to survive has been worn out, let alone fighting you to the death.

so……"

Roddy suddenly interrupted here: "So Mr. Hawke, can you help?"

Hawke was stunned by this question, and he immediately understood Roddy's intention.

"What? You want to fight me?"

"Didn't Mr. Hawke say that it would only be effective if we had an opponent of equal or stronger strength? It seems that you are the only choice right now."

Hearing such a request,
Hawke's face suddenly took on a completely different expression, as if two invisible hooks had inserted into the corners of his mouth and lifted them upwards.

"It's indeed a good suggestion, and it seems to be the only way to quickly solve your nutritional deficiencies.

Due to the special nature of my identity, it has been a long time since any creature from Hell has made such a request to me, and I myself have almost forgotten the word "battle".

You have to think clearly.

Since I haven't fought for a long time, it's hard for me to control the strength of my blows, and I can kill you accidentally.

Once the projection of your consciousness here dies, you in reality will also become a walking corpse."

Luo Di did not hesitate for a moment, but nodded in affirmation, "Thank you for your help."

"Come on, let's just treat it as a side show!
However, don't try to open your spine while fighting me. If you force it, you will die immediately.

Also, my fighting style is probably very different from any creature you've ever encountered, and the whole process can be painful.

This pain may make it difficult for you to concentrate and immerse yourself in the fight."

"Okay, let's give it a try."

The discussion takes place in the central area of ​​the preaching room, which has sufficient space.

As Rody, who had put on his investigator uniform again, walked down the stone steps of the altar, he suddenly noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Monitor?"

Mr. Hawke also noticed an unusual phenomenon in the preaching room.

The girl who was considered a heretic and left outside the door actually stepped into the door during the conversation between the two of them without attracting any attack from the hooks on the roof.

Although the girl only took one step, it meant that she was no longer seen as a threat in the preaching room and her identity was recognized.

The girl's appearance has also changed a lot.

The stitches from the hellish ritual appeared on her fair face again, as if she had returned to her original reconstructed state, and waves of the breath of real hell emanated from her.

This exquisite disguise made Hawke feel incredible, and at the same time he thought of the "Force of Hell" that he hated the most and was the most disgusting.

"A bad play..."

(End of this chapter)