Chapter 659
The main reason for Avina's anger was that she was not the one taking the initiative.
Xia Er seemed to sense Avina's gaze and slowly turned to her, smiling as he said, "Good morning."
"Morning..." Avina wanted to say more, but when she clearly saw Xia Er's appearance, her mouth fell open in shock, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.
Xia Er's fair skin bore two distinct scratch marks, and his once pristine neck was not only covered in hickeys but also had a rather noticeable, neatly-formed bite mark that was already starting to bruise.
Avina swallowed hard, not daring to imagine how many more injuries lay beneath those marks, hidden beneath his clothes.
Did I do all of this...?
Why can’t I remember anything... I just felt so good... and then I basically forgot everything...
"Xia Er... I..." Avina stammered, "I'm sorry..."
"It's fine." Xia Er waved his hand dismissively, his expression slightly exasperated. "I'm used to it."
She had indeed learned her lesson from before, binding Avina's hands before they started... but the binding was rather rough, and it didn't take long for Avina to break free.
Avina was in a state of high excitement... her strength was completely unrestrained, and she began to kiss and grab at anything she could, much like a drunken person—though Avina was indeed like this when she was drunk, as he had witnessed in the simulations.
The soreness in Avina's body was due to her sudden intense activity after a long period of inactivity, but the pain Xia Er felt was a genuine result of being hurt.
"Binding doesn't work," Xia Er shook his head, speaking with a hint of resignation. "I think next time I’ll have to cuff you and stuff something in your mouth to keep you quiet."
"......"
Avina's cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head, unsure of what to say. After a long pause, she finally lifted her gaze to Xia Er and retorted, "That's because you weren't cooperating with me..."
Xia Er, sitting down, looked up at her with an expression that said, "Are you serious?" and replied:
"Miss, I wouldn't resist if you could just knock me out."
When Avina was in an excited state, she felt an overwhelming urge for violence, a powerful desire to destroy beautiful things and leave her own permanent mark on them.
Fortunately, Xia Er was stronger and more capable; otherwise, he would have been completely overpowered.
Although Avina didn't have a desire for control, she definitely had a bit of a sadistic streak. However, her body, which went limp at the slightest touch, seemed unable to support that mindset, creating a bit of a contradiction.
This led to Avina wanting to take charge every time, yet she always ended up collapsing onto Xia Er, writhing helplessly.
Feeling a bit guilty under his gaze, Avina walked over to a nearby drawer, pulled out a vial of medicine, and changed the subject. "Drink this... I’ll help you with your wounds, and you’ll be better in no time..."
She had Xia Er take off his shirt and applied the medicine to his injuries. As she looked at the shocking scratches on his body, Avina felt increasingly ashamed and guilty.
After tending to Xia Er's wounds, Avina lowered her head and spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper, "Next time... next time..."
"Next time what?" Xia Er didn't quite catch what Avina said and looked at her inquiringly.
"Nothing!" Avina took a deep breath, then sat down on Xia Er's chair, pushing him slightly aside as she squeezed in next to him.
"What are you writing?" Avina tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing slightly flushed cheeks, and skillfully redirected the conversation to what Xia Er was working on.
"Nothing much, just calculating some things," Xia Er replied, glancing at the notebook in front of him.
After spending the night with the exhausted Avina, Xia Er had rested enough and woke up in the middle of the night.
He definitely couldn't go back to sleep, but he also couldn't just leave; he wanted to be there when Avina woke up.
So, he chose to sit at his desk, sorting out what he needed to do and organizing his thoughts.
The rest of the time, Xia Er focused on refining the formula for flesh alchemy, simulating the experimental results in his mind.
In the old days, Xia Er had observed numerous papers on flesh alchemy and even personally witnessed several experiments conducted by Hecate.
However, the success rate of these experimental surgeries was less than 20%, and the survival rate was virtually zero.
Until Xia Er left, only "The Touch of Fate's Betrayal," which was the Raven, had survived; the other test subjects had mostly gone mad or mutated shortly after due to various rejection reactions.
At least from the experiments during that time, it seemed that the other methods of cultivating extraordinary beings from the Natural Academy were more viable. Even if they stitched together a powerful monster, at least its mind remained intact, and the creation was controllable.
Due to the low success rate, Hecate's research had always been viewed unfavorably, not to mention that flesh alchemy itself raised several ethical concerns.
If it weren't for the successful case of the Raven feather pen, Hecate's experiments would have been halted long ago, let alone conducting human trials.
Thus, Xia Er suspected that Sadana's flesh alchemy experiments were likely conducted while the technology was still immature...
But why did the experiments with the Pure White Armor seem so successful? If the Pure White Armor was indeed a product of human flesh alchemy, it would certainly be a model of experimental success.
Unless Sadana's experiments and those of the Pure White Armor were not conducted in the same timeframe.
Sadana underwent the experiment earlier, while the Pure White Armor came later, utilizing more mature technology.
Why would Sadana accept the experiment when the technology was still unrefined?
For the Goddess Church, Xia Er was the goddess, embodying the primary source of faith, but as a proxy, Sadana would also bear a significant burden of faith.
It was very likely that due to restrictions preventing Sadana from evolving into an "Ascendant," she was unable to cope with the continuous influx of faith, prompting her to undergo the experiment early.
Xia Er felt a degree of responsibility for this matter, which is why, when he had nothing else to do, he began optimizing the flesh alchemy.
In terms of theoretical knowledge, few could rival Xia Er's depth; he could easily simulate various experimental processes in his mind, though the results were often imprecise, typically presenting a dozen different possibilities.
All of this would have to wait until actual experiments were conducted to uncover the answers.
"These are..." While Xia Er was deep in thought, Avina had been watching what he was writing.
Flesh alchemy... human experimentation... sealing objects...
Even without a full understanding, Avina could guess how revolutionary this research was...
"Is this how sealing objects are created?" Avina asked, incredulous, turning to Xia Er.
The answer to this question was too groundbreaking; even what Xia Er had written compelled Avina to ask.
The shock she felt inside was akin to what Adele experienced.
She understood better than Adele the kind of storm this information could unleash if it were to be revealed... It was not an exaggeration to say she believed it could spark a holy war.
The mere fact that extraordinary beings' flesh could be used to create sealing objects would tear apart the currently fragile balance of the extraordinary world, plunging civilization back hundreds of years into a dark age of slaughter akin to the dark forest.
"Yes," Xia Er nodded, then picked up the densely written notebook, raising his hand toward the candle.
Avina immediately stopped him, pulling out a vial of liquid from the drawer. She took the notebook from Xia Er's hands and poured the vial directly onto the paper.
The notebook began to dissolve under the liquid's effect, turning into a pulp-like substance.
Yet, when the liquid dripped onto Avina's fingers, it caused no harm, indicating it was specifically designed to destroy notes.
Once the notebook on the table had turned into a mass of ink-soaked white pulp, Avina turned to Xia Er, her eyes filled with concern.
This was a terrifying research... What exactly did Xia Er plan to do?
Was there something compelling Xia Er to pursue such research?
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