Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E didn't believe that there could really be people who never died, even if every rebirth involved a soul exchange, a flaw. For humanity as a collective, that was a terrifying existence.

Not to mention that this person had already died several times. What happened to the promised soul swapping?

Such a defy-nature individual couldn't possibly exist, and even individuals with a limited number of rebirths were unlikely to appear on a large scale.

This Captain Bai, even in Grey Iron City, was probably a special existence.

Bai E was interested in seeing her limits…

Against a definite enemy, there was no need for mercy.

...

Four minutes later…

"Pfft!"

Five minutes later…

"Pfft!"

Six minutes later…

"Pfft!"

Seven minutes later…

"Captain Bai…" The two remaining warriors from Grey Iron City had returned.

"Hmm! Stay aside."

"Pfft!"

"..."

"..."

"That… Captain Bai." The acting captain gulped nervously, looking at his own captain who had just met an unnatural death right before his eyes. He was somewhat at a loss, cautiously observing Bai E's profile and asked in trepidation, "May I ask if Captain Bai has any… orders for our next move?"

Or rather, processing.

"Orders?" Bai E furrowed his brows as he looked at the fallen white-haired corpse and pondered for a moment. He found the changes in the eyes of the opponent after waking up somewhat strange.

It seemed… not so fierce anymore?

But still fairly fierce, killing was certainly the right decision.

Assured that his actions were justified, Bai E turned to face the two survivors from Grey Iron City and waved them over, "Come here, I have some questions to ask you."

"You see…" The acting captain and the boy stiffly moved closer, their faces reluctantly ingratiating.

"Tell me, what would your city normally do if they found out you were missing out there?"

In their Blackwater City, it was no big deal; squads going out on missions and disappearing in this dangerous world was all too common. The vital signs monitoring sensors they had tried were not yet widely implemented, and depending on the dangerousness of the mission, going missing for a certain time was equivalent to being considered dead.

No one cared about the lives of a few cannon fodder.

But in Grey Iron City, it might be different? They were already implementing an elite strategy and perhaps valued the life of every warrior more.

When Bai E asked the question, the two squeezed their buttocks tighter, rather panicked.

What did that mean?

Were they about to be "missing"?

"Captain Bai, to tell the truth, we are not that loyal to Grey Iron City."

"..."

"..."

Bai E looked bewildered as the acting captain revealed his determination, "You don't know, Captain Bai, but the surgeries that most of us in the city must undergo are extremely painful and compulsory. Surviving once doesn't guarantee survival the next time, and each surgery is a torment we can hardly bear. We couldn't stand that damned place any longer!"

The acting captain grew more agitated as he spoke, his face growing red with emotion.

"Frankly, we've been planning to live independently outside the city for a while now, it's just…"

"It's just what?"

The acting captain's face was uncomfortable to look at, not quite sure how to continue.

'It's just that I haven't made up a story yet…'

Although they hated the pain endured during each surgery, the sense of power that came with the transformation after each operation was obvious.

They loathed the city, yet craved power.

Selected to join the official forces of Grey Iron City, they were already chosen for their mental resilience.

To say they hated it was one thing, but actually, they'd never entertained the thought of leaving.

"Stabilizing Repair Fluid…" The boy beside suddenly spoke up.

"Right!" The eyes of the acting captain lit up, seizing the perfect excuse, "Our bodies have been transformed surgically, those additional organs or mutations have become an integral part of us, but since they aren't original expressions of our genes, they sometimes cause rejection reactions, requiring regular injections of Stabilizing Repair Fluid to prevent our bodies from collapsing."

As he spoke, the acting captain emphasized, "If Captain Bai wishes to take us in, we're gonna need enough Stabilizing Repair Fluid for sure!"

"Oh~"

A city that uses such core resources to guarantee a high-pressure rule?

```

Was the rejection reaction just a result of immature technology, or an intentional backdoor left behind? Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

A simple suspicion flitted through Bai E's mind. He nodded, "But all I wanted to ask was about the city's possible contingency plans after your disappearance. That's my actual question."

"Ah?"

Could it still be an attempt to silence them?!

Damn!

A trace of ruthlessness appeared in the acting captain's eyes.

Bai E smiled warmly, "Don't misunderstand, I'm merely asking about the consequences, I have no intention of harming you."

The acting captain looked skeptically at Bai E, hesitated for a long while, and then replied in a hesitant tone, "We'll try our best to recover... Alive, we want the person; dead, we want the body."

They had all carried out many similar missions in the past and understood this all too well.

Bai E raised an eyebrow, appearing to ask casually, "Recover what?"

"Each of us who has undergone surgery has a certain probability of generating a special 'seed' in our bodies. That 'seed' is the result of coordination between our modified organs and our original genes. The person who accepts this 'seed' won't have a rejection reaction when they receive the surgeries that the 'seed' provider has undergone. It's also known as 'Gold Seed'."

"Gold Seed?" Bai E murmured softly.

It seemed to be a side-effect-free version of human modification technology.

So, does the rejection reaction in modified humans occur merely due to technological limitations?

Perhaps the higher-ups of Grey Iron City also enjoyed seeing such limitations...

Bai E smiled amiably at the two, "So, what about the body modification surgeries you mentioned earlier?"

Blackwater City isn't the only city in this world, and the technologies of other cities might also have something worth learning from.

Since he had determined his goal was to be a warlord leader, he naturally couldn't overlook any technology that might mass-produce military strength.

If their technology truly works, he might as well make use of it in the future.

"Our modifications..." The acting captain narrowed his eyes, revealing everything honestly, "Each surgery comes with a certain increase in physical base attributes, and sufficient physical base attributes are also a prerequisite for the next surgery. Our bodies also need time to adapt to the enhanced functions post-modification."

After all, these weren't really secrets; anyone in Grey Iron City could easily find out about them with a little inquiry.

The gorilla had undergone surgeries for: heart, multiple lungs, skeletal modification, and sweat gland modification.

The acting captain had surgeries for: heart, multiple lungs, muscle enhancement, and nerve junction.

The burly man had surgeries for: heart, multiple lungs, blood modification, and a preset stomach.

The boy had surgeries for: heart, multiple lungs, modified eyes, and taste detection nerves.

Heart and multiple lung surgeries were basic, and everyone starting modification had to begin with these two.

After that, the choice of surgeries varied according to individual differences in physique and personality, with no priority in the remaining procedures; everyone's path was slightly different.

For example, the gorilla's defensive power came from his modified skeleton which could form bone plates at the right moment, and his sweat gland modification was designed to conserve energy for more sustained bursts of power.

The burly man's preset stomach allowed him to draw adequate energy from various sources to fuel his recovery powers, complementing each other.

The acting captain's muscle enhancement gave her an incredible surge of strength, while her nerve junction modification allowed her to restore her spirits without needing to sleep.

The boy's modifications were more functional: his modified eyes allowed him to see in infrared, like a thermal imager, and his taste detection nerves made his sense of smell even sharper than a dog's.

Only those who had undergone at least three surgeries qualified as warriors of Grey Iron City.

All of them had been through four surgeries, making them elite.

As for their white-haired captain... it was unknown.

As the acting captain spoke, her gaze drifted to their leader, who seemed to be in a silent slumber. A visible reverence flashed in her eyes.

Everything about this captain was a mystery; even though they had been on several missions together, there was little interaction or understanding between them.

All that was known was that this captain seemed to have some connection to Dr. Sabos, the most revered figure in the city, but no one dared to ask about the specifics.

"He's awake..."

As they spoke, the bullet hole in the white-haired forehead gradually healed.

The two survivors from Grey Iron City instinctively stepped back and turned away, not wanting to witness their captain meet a gruesome fate again.

After all, it was rather awkward from their perspective...

If they didn't have to watch their captain getting killed by someone else, maybe they wouldn't have to bear the responsibility of avenging their captain, right...?

Their captain's voice as he awoke clearly reached their ears.

One breath...

Two breaths...

All was silent.

The captain from Blackwater City hadn't made a move?

The two, who had deliberately avoided looking, cautiously exchanged glances before daring to look back.

But they discovered that the two captains were merely looking at each other in silence, as if they had come to some sort of understanding.

Seeing the calm in the eyes of the man who had died several times yet never switched personalities, Bai E finally smiled, "Can we talk?"

The white-haired nodded calmly, "We can."

```