They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 73 Going Against the Heavens (4000 words, please recommend and follow)
Dan Lei's reason for wanting to complete Aozaki Touko's project is simple: he just wants more security in the Honkai Impact universe.

For Danlei, whether he can retain his memories in the next reincarnation of the Holy Grail is completely unknown. If he cannot retain his memories, even if he still has the Holy Grail as a cheat, he will no longer be himself.

At this point, having a spare body with magic circuits before one's own reincarnation becomes very useful.

Because as long as the memories and soul remain, one's record on the path of destiny will not be erased. Even if one loses the Holy Grail and the Body of Wisdom, it doesn't mean there is no hope of turning the tide.

In any case, in the Star Iron Universe, using a body swap to guarantee immortality is certainly not too uncommon.

Jade, one of the ten people in the Stone Heart group, is suspected to have maintained his youth and longevity through this method.

Of course, the Immortal Ship would never allow this form of immortality, and I would definitely have to leave the Immortal Ship Alliance.

However, Zhuge Qing could never know Dan Lei's true thoughts.

Out of basic conscience, and not knowing what Danlei would do to Chen Duo, he chose to protect himself and directly stated that he had just arrived and had no idea where this young girl, Chen Duo, lived.

Here, Dan Lei did not pressure Zhuge Qing, because he did not intend to hide Chen Duo's matter from Ma Xianhong. Once his proposal was submitted, Ma Xianhong would naturally arrange for him to meet with Chen Duo.

Although Biyou Village was not small, Dan Lei and Zhuge Qing quickly circled around it and returned to the vicinity of the village entrance.

Then, Danlei saw the animation's production team's personal touch: the famous scene where the five temporary workers awkwardly danced in front of the top talents.

Dan Lei never expected that such a shocking thing would actually happen in reality.

Feng Baobao and Wang Zhenqiu are one thing, but they have no shame.

But Lao Meng, Xiao Zizai, and Hei Guan'er, you three are also shaking along with them, isn't that a bit too morally reprehensible?

After the temporary workers successfully shook the top students until they were completely speechless, the atmosphere on site became extremely awkward.

So, Danlei asked what was on his mind.
"I say, who arranged this? Did the All-Knowing Bureau know that their strongest trump card has been turned into a 'cash cow'?"

However, Wang Zhenqiu answered Dan Lei's question by simply dancing over to Dan Lei's side.
"Danlei, don't be so rigid. We're all young people, so we should greet each other in a way that's typical of young people."

See, after we finished dancing, the tense atmosphere on set disappeared, didn't it?

Dan Lei could only nod in agreement with Wang Zhenqiu's words, because their dance had completely dispelled the tense atmosphere on the scene.

Fortunately, Ma Xianhong and Zhang Chulan finally finished their communication and came out of the house.

After they went outside, they didn't understand the atmosphere on either side, but as far as the result was concerned, it was good that no fight broke out.

Therefore, Ma Xianhong announced that the company's employees could stay in the village temporarily as long as they did not cause trouble.

Zhang Chulan explicitly stated that Ma Xianhong could eliminate others when they caused trouble.

To be honest, this verbal agreement fully demonstrates how naive Ma Xianhong is, because he has been completely fooled by Zhang Chulan.

Putting aside the legal binding force of a verbal agreement, what right does Zhang Chulan have to agree to Ma Xianhong's plan to purge the company's people?

The company is already causing trouble, why does Ma Xianhong still need to apply for the removal of their power? Shouldn't they just start fighting directly?

However, Dan Lei didn't intend to remind Ma Xianhong, because at this time Ma Xianhong was arrogant, self-righteous, and acted without any sense of proportion, completely disregarding the consequences. It would be pointless to remind him; it would be better to find a way to gain more benefits.

But to be fair, Ma Xianhong's attitude towards Dan Lei was really good.

After reaching an agreement with Zhang Chulan, Ma Xianhong warmly welcomed Dan Lei and took him to the mountain where the cultivation furnace was located after dinner.

Then, just like showing off his best figurine to his friends, Ma Xianhong told them all about the functions and features of the Body-Cultivating Furnace.

Dan Lei gave Ma Xianhong a lot of face at this time. Even though he already knew everything Ma Xianhong said, he still pretended to listen with great interest. After Ma Xianhong finished speaking, Dan Lei even tried it out himself and they also exchanged some compliments.

In this back-and-forth, Dan Lei had satisfied Ma Xianhong's vanity. After Dan Lei completed the practical exercise of the Body Cultivation Furnace, he handed Ma Xianhong a Devouring Pouch and said...
"Dan Lei, this is what I promised you. The Divine Hundred Refinements is inside."

After speaking, Ma Xianhong handed the magnifying glass used to examine the inside of the phage sac to Dan Lei.

Dan Lei accepted the food pouch without ceremony. He looked inside with a magnifying glass and, sure enough, the Divine Craftsmanship Manual was quietly floating in the center.

Having confirmed the Divine Craftsmanship Hundred Refinements, Dan Lei prepared to begin his plan, so he deliberately asked Ma Xianhong with a serious expression.
"Village Chief Ma, I have received your sincerity."

Since you've given me the Divine Refinement Hundred Treasures so generously, I can't be stingy in return.

Village Chief Ma, I have a plan that defies the heavens; would you like to witness it?

As a fervent tech geek, Ma Xianhong wasn't afraid at all when he heard about the supposedly heaven-defying plan. For STEM guys, especially those in their chuunibyou phase, defying the heavens only made them more excited.

Therefore, Ma Xianhong asked with great interest.
"Oh? Going against the heavens? How do you go against the heavens?"

Seeing that Ma Xianhong had taken the bait, Dan Lei laughed directly.

"Create puppets that are exactly the same as humans, and then transplant their souls to achieve 100% physical restoration, or even reincarnation."

Upon hearing Dan Lei's words, Ma Xianhong immediately gave him a surprised look, as if he were joking.

What Dan Lei said was indeed too outrageous in Ma Xianhong's eyes.

If everything Danlei just said could come true, wouldn't human lifespan become infinite? All diseases would no longer be a problem, because if there's a problem with the body, you can just replace it.

The rules of birth, aging, sickness, and death in the world have been directly broken, no wonder it is said to be going against the will of Heaven.

Therefore, when Ma Xianhong could no longer detect a joking expression on Dan Lei's face, his expression immediately turned serious, and he asked...
"Do you really have a solution? Can you show it to me?"

Dan Lei was certainly not fooling Ma Xianhong. After Ma Xianhong prepared the venue, he demonstrated the creation of a human puppet on the spot.

However, instead of creating a truly astonishing human being, Dan Lei had Ma Xianhong catch a field mouse and demonstrate the entire process of creating a field mouse body and then transferring its soul.

Of course, Dan Lei didn't hide anything here. He told Ma Xianhong directly that he had already learned the Dual-Hand Technique and the Spirit Binding Technique, and he also mentioned that the human body's meridian system required a Body Cultivation Furnace.

Since Ma Xianhong didn't know much about the other eight extraordinary skills, he didn't realize that the Dual-Hand Techniques could help him recover his memories, so he didn't ask Dan Lei for help.

Moreover, Ma Xianhong's attention was completely drawn to the miracle before him.

Because Danlei actually used the bone fragments to build the field mouse skeleton, then used its own blood as a guide, along with magical runes, to create an identical body, and then transferred the soul.

And after the soul was transferred, the field mouse was just like any other mouse, retaining all its abilities to dig holes and eat.

Although experiments that can be performed on voles cannot prove that they can be successful on humans.

However, Dan Lei proved he wasn't joking; this incredible technology really does exist.

So, after a long silence, Ma Xianhong earnestly asked Dan Lei...
"Dan Lei, are you really willing to pass on this technology that can grant people unlimited lifespan to me?" Upon hearing this, Dan Lei thought to himself that this kid was thinking too much. There were too many techniques involved that Ma Xianhong would have to learn from scratch. Even with the assistance of the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements, it would take him more than ten years to learn them.

After all, magic and Qi are ultimately two different systems of abilities.

However, no matter what Dan Lei thought in his heart, he still managed to bluff his way out of it.

"Didn't I demonstrate it all to you? You can participate in the subsequent human experiments as well. As long as the experiment is successful, your name will naturally be credited."

Of course, you'll need to provide the venue, equipment, and a meditation furnace.

Dan Lei's words meant he made no promises whatsoever, and he even made Ma Xianhong take part of the blame for him.

But the child jumped up as if he had received the best toy, excitedly saying...
"Thank you, thank you, Danlei, I am so grateful to you."

You just said that this experiment requires a body-refining furnace, right? Feel free to use it; I'll provide the venue and experimental equipment.

But whose body should we make? Yours, or mine?

Dan Lei shook his head slightly at the question and answered directly.

"Neither of our bodies are suitable for this technology; it should be used to save lives, not to extend lifespans."

Village Chief Ma, I understand that Chen Duo is in the village, and the people from Na Du Tong came here for her.

I think we should create a new physical body for Chen Duo to help her escape the reality that she cannot integrate into ordinary people's lives because of her Gu body.

Furthermore, after the experiment, Chen Duo's original body could be handed over to the envoy.

Dan Lei's words instantly convinced Ma Xianhong.

Ma Xianhong was indeed a good person. When he heard Dan Lei say that technology should be used to save lives, not to prolong life, he felt that he had met a kindred spirit.

So Ma Xianhong raised both hands in agreement with Dan Lei's suggestion and brought Dan Lei to Chen Duo.

This was the first time Dan Lei had met Chen Duo. The girl was pretty much as described in the original novel: she had delicate features, a decent figure, green eyes, long black hair, and wore an ordinary coat over a green isolation suit.

However, Dan Lei could sense that Chen Duo's mental state was less like that of a human being and more like that of an artificial human cultivated by magicians as a pure tool.

At most, Chen Duo's mind is in the stage of awakening independent consciousness as an artificial human.

Seeing this, Dan Lei could only shake his head helplessly. He used his double-handed technique to copy Chen Duo's treatment plan from memory, turning it into a point of light, and handed it to Chen Duo, saying...
"Chen Duo, my name is Dan Lei. I have a solution that can completely eliminate your Gu body."

Because the process is too complicated to explain clearly, I have placed the plan directly in the point of light in front of you. You can use your Qi to place it on your forehead and you will then know the complete plan.

Then, you must decide for yourself whether or not you want to use this plan to heal yourself.

Dan Lei was a complete stranger to Chen Duo, so she didn't react to Dan Lei's words. Instead, she looked at Ma Xianhong, hoping to get an answer from him about whether Dan Lei could be trusted.

At this point, Ma Xianhong was almost completely swayed by Dan Lei's words, so he nodded earnestly.

“Chen Duo, you can rest assured that Mr. Dan Lei is a trustworthy person. Moreover, I have reviewed his plan in advance, and the success rate is not low. It can really solve your health problem.”

Since Ma Xianhong had said so, Chen Duo nodded blankly and then merged the memory light into her forehead.

Then, a look of surprise suddenly appeared on her stiff face, and a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes as she stared at Dan Lei and asked...
"Reconstructing the body and transferring the soul—is this really possible?"

To the poor girl, Danlei made sure his expression was as gentle and friendly as possible, and replied...
"The theory is sound, but there are indeed risks, just like the risks described in my memory. If something goes wrong during the soul transfer process, you're basically doomed."

Furthermore, since your entire body has been affected by the Gu poison, removing the poison and extracting the most basic genes from your body is extremely difficult and requires your cooperation.

Dan Lei deliberately left things open-ended; in fact, he was at least 80% confident in saving Chen Duo.

Because Ma Xianhong's cultivation furnace had already recorded Chen Duo's complete meridians and Qi circulation data, it saved a lot of trouble.

The real trouble is now just removing the Gu poison from Chen Duo's body and creating a pure body and soul for transfer.

However, removing the Gu poison from Chen Duo's body was not too difficult for Dan Lei, who possessed the medical skills of the Immortal Boat and the dual-wielding Red Hand technique; he could finish it in a day or two.

The only risk lies in transferring the soul. This is the first time Dan Lei has ever transferred a human soul, and whether he can succeed depends on luck.

However, the risk that Dan Lei mentioned was not a risk at all for Chen Duo.

Humans are social animals, and the Gu poison has made it impossible for Chen Duo to integrate into society even as she grows up.

If Chen Duo's self-awareness never awakened, this loneliness wouldn't have affected anything.

However, as her self-awareness continues to awaken, loneliness, like a small but persistently burning flame, constantly scorches the girl's spirit and inflicts her pain.

Therefore, even by the most conservative estimate, let alone Danlei's plan, there is a success rate of more than 50%.

Even if there's only a 10% chance of success, Chen Duo will still give it a try.

After all, failure meant certain death, and now that Liao Zhong had died at her hands, Chen Duo had long since given up on living a life of ignominy.

So Chen Duo nodded frantically and asked...
"Understood, I will cooperate. What should I do next?"

Upon seeing this, Dan Lei replied directly.

"No need to do anything, just let me draw some blood first. I need to try to remove the Gu poison from your blood."

By the way, if you're free, why not come work for me as a little assistant? Waiting for the unknown is truly tough.

Upon hearing Dan Lei's words, Chen Duo nodded again, indicating that she was willing to switch jobs and become Dan Lei's assistant.

So, Dan Lei, who was delighted to have a three-no little helper, quickly entered the laboratory arranged by Ma Xianhong and began to work on the creation of human puppets.

　In the "Floating Life Like a Dream" series, old Emperor Aurelius refers to Emerald as the woman with the painted skin.

　　Jade: I'm returning every word you said. To save face, and to avoid becoming the target of criticism in the formal talks—you'd better abandon that pipe dream plan.

　　Old Man: Hahahaha! Interesting, this is so interesting!

　　Old Emperor: You woman in disguise, you've got quite the nerve! I'll see what cards you're really holding today.

　　Emerald: Don't forget, Mr. Otti, the company controls the largest propaganda platform in the interstellar space. More than half of the news networks in the entire universe are our mouthpieces.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)