Chapter 417: We Are The Same

TL: LifeisaJourney

"Yes, that is correct. The stronger the body, the better the foundation for housing the soul. It can also work in reverse. A powerful soul can strengthen the body," Li Bai Sen corrected him.

Liu Gan thought for a little while before agreeing. "Ah, very good. Then let's do that."

QiuTao was the first player in the village to submit to Liu Gan's reign. Even though it was unnecessary, since Liu Gan didn't have to fear the Third and Fourth Elder's schemes it was still a good thing to have someone who would report treacherous issues like these and resolve the problem before it spread uncontrolled. Ultimately, QiuTao was very obedient and he really wanted a leader to rely on. This type of smart player, who could adapt to the situation, was worth the extra trouble to nurture.

Liu Gan didn't believe in absolute obedience. He believed that as long as he had enough strength, then his followers wouldn't betray him. At the same time, he had to reasonably pass down benefits so they won't feel any grudges for doing their duty.

Reviving QiuTao had another advantage. QiuTao was very familiar with how the Village was operated. So with Zhan Nan Shan's body, QiuTao could still pass himself off as Zhan Nan Shan. With Zhan Nan Shan's prestige within the village, it will be easier for QiuTao to manage the village.

There was also another factor to consider: Zhan Nan Shan's comrades had infiltrated the village. Who the spies were was still unknown to Liu Gan. At the same time, these infiltrators didn't have any way of communicating with Zhan Nan Shan. What happened within the Mountain Valley Laboratory, stayed within the laboratory. QiuTao could pretend to be Zhan Nan Shan, and these players would voluntarily get in contact with Zhan Nan Shan to report their situation. That way, Liu Gan could catch them all at once.

"You guys are evil! You don't have any bottom line! How could you continue to do these outrageous inhuman actions! You would allow an already dead person to take over my body!?" Zhan Nan Shan had overhead the conversation between Liu Gan and Li Bai Sen. This was when Zhan Nan Shan started to become a bit more fearful of the things they could do to him.

"That's funny! Weren't you doing the exact same thing to others not too long ago? Everyone is evil in their own way, no need to blame one another," Liu Gan walked over to comfort Zhan Nan Shan, patting his shoulders reassuringly.

***

After Zhan Nan Shan's soul was processed into essence, the man called Zhan Nan Shan was no longer there. As such, all his material possessions were rendered ownerless.

Zhan Nan Shan's weapon of choice was a pair of katanas, modeled after a certain weapon produced on a country island. The shape of the blade was long and sharp. It was made from the same materials as Liu Gan's greataxe. The material was forged from some dense metal merged with other elements, making a high-density metal alloy.

Yin He stared at the katanas like they were long-lost friends. She was reminded of her old body with the sleeve blades. Liu Gan has his greataxe already, so he handed over the katanas to Yin He. To conserve energy, Yin He was more suited for close quarter combat rather than constantly shooting lasers. So, dual-wielding katanas was ideal for her needs.

Aside from the katanas, all his other possessions dropped out of his watch space. Several hand drawn maps fell out. From a first glance, they didn't look like areas resembling Nin Jing City. Liu Gan guessed that they could be depicting Central City. There were several access cards and keys that had unknown purposes.

After arranging for QiuTao to be revived into Zhan Nan Shan's body, Liu Gan told Zhao Meng, Yin He, and NaNa to head back to the village. This way Zhao Meng could switch off with Han Guangming in charge of the village. Yin He would remain in the village to provide backup and support. NaNa would escort Han Guangming and Young Gaosun back to the laboratory. This way Li Bai Sen could feed essence into their souls.

Gao Sun was Su Nina's laboratory scientist that had ended up with Liu Gan after the laboratory attack. Gao Sun was a man of few words with his reserved personality, but his performance was quite good. That was enough of a reason for Liu Gan to give him a chance to become stronger.

The Beginner Village urgently needed useful people. Not just any people could be chosen, they had to be loyal and helpful. They would be managing and training the people within the village. Zhang Sheng Li and Wang DeCheng were stuck in the southern prison compound, so it would be difficult for them to reach the northern district where the village was located. Realistically, Liu Gan could only choose from the people he trusted within the Beginner Village.

Two hours later, "Zhan Nan Shan" left the capsule. When he saw Liu Gan and Jiang Jin-Yuan stand right outside of the capsule, he greeted Liu Gan by calling him Lord Liu with a bow that showed that he highly respected Liu Gan.

"Do you remember what happened? During the third trial, you died. Lord Liu was able to revive you," Jiang Jin-Yuan immediately explained to QiuTao.

"Yes, during that moment I briefly sensed my demise. I even saw that my body was crushed. Then, I drifted into unconsciousness. That was when I really knew I had died. Lord Liu, you were the one who revived me?" QiuTao was surprised and shocked by the answer.

"Lord Liu not only revived you, he also found you a new body. He was able to strengthen you to reach level 10," Jiang Jin-Yuan continued to explain to QiuTao.

"Oh?" QiuTao didn't know that fact.

"Here you take a look for yourself," Jiang Jin-Yuan placed a mirror front of QiuTao. Then, he looked at the wrist watch.

"Wait... That's Second Elder... Second Elder?" QiuTao scared himself with a jump. The mirror nearly fell onto the floor.

"Your body was completely destroyed, so the only way to revive you was to put you into Second Elder's body..." Jiang Jin-Yuan explained in detail to QiuTao. This phase was crucial for QiuTao to accept and absorb the information.

"Thank you Lord Liu! I will never forget your generosity!" QiuTao responded after understanding the whole procedure. At the end of the day, he was still alive after being revived on Liu Gan's order. To top if off, he had reached level 10 and obtained new abilities. It was all thanks to Liu Gan, who made it all possible!

"If you follow Lord Liu diligently, he won't treat you unfairly. Even after you died, he thought of ways to revive you," Jiang Jin-Yuan spoke up. Jiang Jin-Yuan could relate to the incident, as he was the first person to be revived by Liu Gan.

"Little brother here has died already. This life belongs to Lord Liu. For that reason, I will be willing to cross through the hellfire and accomplish the impossible!" QiuTao started worshipping Liu Gan.

"Well, I won't need you to cross over hellfire. I have something else that I need you to do for me..." Liu Gan explained to QiuTao the situation about hidden spies within the village, and to report back about any suspicious people.

"I will help Lord Liu finish this top secret mission!" QiuTao promised Liu Gan.

By now QiuTao had familiarized himself with Zhan Nan Shan's body. Even the two prior abilities of Zhan Nan Shan were now part of QiuTao. One of the ability was Perceive, and the other ability was Golem Summon. Perceive could determine the level of the other players; as for survivors, it showed their equivalent level like players.

Golem Summon would gather nearby large rocks in the vicinity to form a golem to assist in battle; it was more useful in the wilderness.

QiuTao's original ability was also retained. Seems like after the soul and body assimilated, the body's properties and various stats would be averaged out, and the abilities would be preserved. As for how many abilities would be available, that depended solely on the luck of the individual.