Chapter 175 Body Reborn, Soul Intact

"A new body, but a strong soul… is this some kind of body snatching ability?"

Han Xiao looked at Gothe's black cocoon, a sense of wonder washing over him as his brain raced.

According to the description of [Ability – Rebirth], the effect was similar to a psychic's mental host or Sorokin's alternate identity trick. Judging from the various anomalies in Gothe's stats, he was likely a big shot who had switched to a new identity to cultivate again.

The specific mechanics of this ability were still unclear. It seemed to involve swapping bodies while the soul was inherited. Judging by the strength of his spirit as reflected in his Intelligence and Mystery attributes, he must have been a Beyond Grade A before his rebirth.

That raised the question. [Ability – Rebirth] didn't seem to have any combat ability. Its use was limited and its growth potential was low. It shouldn't be able to reach Beyond Grade A.

Either he didn't possess this ability himself, but received help from another Esper with [Ability – Rebirth] to complete the reincarnation. Or, he became a Beyond Grade A while possessing [Ability – Rebirth].

The former was impossible to guess, but if it was the latter, there seemed to be only one person in Han Xiao's acquaintance who possessed such an ability…

The Heterogeneous God!

"Could it be that bastard? His body was locked in the Temporal Amber, but his soul ran out?"

Han Xiao's eyes flickered. As a researcher, he was used to making bold assumptions.

First of all, the probability of the Heterogeneous God breaking through the Temporal Amber was not high, so he must have left a contingency plan before being captured.

This possibility wasn't low. The Heterogeneous God was so reckless, making enemies everywhere. He probably prepared a way out in advance. He had devoured so many strange abilities, the probability of him possessing a soul-transferring ability was not low. Maybe this was his confidence to act so recklessly; if his main account was gone, he would just change his identity.

However, the rebirth method of [Ability – Rebirth] was slightly different. Taking Sorokin as an example, no matter how many alternate identities False Smile Boy changed, his abilities would not change because the foundation lay in the soul. The foundation of absorbing abilities was the gene chain of the physical body. The Heterogeneous God's body was trapped in the Temporal Amber. If Gothe was really the Heterogeneous God, then he had changed his body, and his abilities had changed accordingly. The ability to absorb abilities was gone, replaced by the single [Energy Manipulation].

"Could it be that Gothe is a vessel secretly prepared by the Heterogeneous God for himself… Hmm, I remember the Heterogeneous God has been committed to synthesizing ultra-high-risk abilities. Maybe Energy Manipulation is the result of his years of effort. Maybe this bastard really succeeded, fusing a large number of abilities to create a perverted ability and implanted it into Gothe's body through some means…"

Han Xiao pondered secretly.

Gothe wasn't a character who appeared out of thin air. He had a complete life history. Since the empire was willing to cultivate him, they must have confirmed that his background was clean.

If this was the Heterogeneous God's doing, then he must have started planning long ago, using some means to raise a clean identity.

Following this hypothesis, the Heterogeneous God's joining the three major civilizations after his reincarnation was probably not as saucy as "if you can't beat them, join them", but a well-thought-out, long-term plan.

The real situation might be like this:

[For the sake of primitive accumulation, the Heterogeneous God committed countless sins, making himself an enemy of the world. He finally synthesized an infinitely potential ultra-high-risk ability, but the identity of "Heterogeneous God" was already notorious. Even if he obtained the ability, he would never have peace and couldn't clear his name. Moreover, the side effects of recklessly devouring abilities were that his own gene chain was overloaded. He might have planned to abandon this identity long ago!]

[Therefore, the Heterogeneous God placed the synthesized ultra-high-risk ability on a "vessel", waiting for the day to use Ability – Rebirth to transfer his soul into it, thus gaining a new life, joining the three major civilizations with the achievements of his previous identity, receiving the cultivation of advanced civilizations, and completely washing his hands of his past!]

Han Xiao's thoughts raced, and he muttered to himself, "The Heterogeneous God can definitely do this kind of thing. He doesn't care whether he is a wanted criminal or a civilization's thug. The division of camps is just a means for him to obtain benefits. He has only one goal from beginning to end, and that is to reach a higher realm…"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The Heterogeneous God had been a wanted criminal for so many years, he must understand the principle of having multiple escape routes. This plan should only be one of the Heterogeneous God's options.

However, all of this deduction was based on the idea that "Gothe is the Heterogeneous God." In fact, the [Ability – Rebirth] specialty alone could not perfectly prove this statement. What Han Xiao was doing at this time was just making a preliminary assumption and then deducing the cause from the effect.

Although he felt that the possibility of Gothe being the Heterogeneous God was not low, he didn't dare to believe his own imagination at this moment. If he was really someone else, it would be a big mistake.

"Bold assumptions, careful verification… It's a pity that Bold Explorer is useless on people, otherwise, there would be new clues."

Han Xiao shook his head.

No matter what his identity was, as far as reincarnation was concerned, Gothe had probably done it seamlessly, without leaving any clues, believing that no one could discover it. That was why he was so relaxed and at ease in front of me, without any guilt.

Fortunately, my level is higher than his, and I can see all of his abilities. Maybe I am the only one who has discovered Gothe's secret…

Han Xiao didn't leave, sitting aside and waiting silently, secretly calculating in his heart.

After waiting for a while, the black cocoons in the room shattered one after another. The imperial elites completed their baptism, feeling refreshed. Seeing that Han Xiao was actually here with them, they were a little flattered.

Gothe's baptism process was the longest. He was the last to emerge from his cocoon.

"How do you feel?" Han Xiao acted as if everything was normal, his tone amiable.

"The effect is good." Gothe glanced at Han Xiao. "When I was evolving, I felt like someone poked me with a needle. Was that you?"

"Haha, don't worry about it. That's a probe specially used to detect whether the evolution process is smooth. You are a direct descendant of the empire, of course I have to care about you. After all, evolution is full of randomness, and there are still risks. I don't want anything to happen to you." Han Xiao smiled, casually making up an excuse.

Hearing this, Gothe couldn't take it seriously, and said calmly, "Thank you for your concern. I have to go to Feinn Star, so I won't bother you any longer."

Seeing that Gothe had expressed his intention to leave, Han Xiao didn't stop him and smiled, "Okay, then I won't keep you. See you in the association."

With that, Han Xiao turned and left the hall, his figure quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.

Gothe's eyes flickered, and he followed the receptionist back to the dock, taking the imperial elites back to the fleet.

The imperial fleet quickly slid out of the spaceport's orbit and shot into space, quickly dividing into two groups. One fleet took the imperial elites back, and the other fleet took Gothe to Feinn Star deep in the Shattered Star Ring.

In the spaceship, Gothe looked at the Black Star Palace that was gradually moving away outside the porthole, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled up.

"Black Star, Black Star, I said we would meet again sooner or later, but you didn't expect that when I stood in front of you again, you wouldn't recognize me, and you even warmly befriended me… Heh."

Looking at Black Star's clueless performance, Gothe couldn't help but laugh secretly.

I'm in the dark while you're in the light. Lurking under Black Star's nose was a special kind of thrill.

During the evolution just now, he used his ability to try to analyze the evolution energy. With the advantage of his ability, he already had some clues.

"As expected of a terrifying ability in theory, as long as you give me time, there is a 60% chance of analyzing the principle. When the time comes, I can hand it in. My position in the empire will be improved. When the higher-ups see my role in this regard, they are more likely to agree to my request to be transferred to the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In this way, I can approach the empire's research results on the original data…"

Gothe outlined his plan in his heart, with a playful smile on his face.

…

On the other side, Han Xiao looked at the departing imperial fleet from his office, his eyes flickering.

"I didn't startle the snake. Gothe probably doesn't know that I have seen through his secret. The most important task now is to confirm where this guy came from. He is a hidden danger…"

Han Xiao frowned slightly.

The current situation was unfavorable to him. Gothe was a direct descendant of the empire, and this identity was his amulet. He couldn't mess around.

The top priority was to obtain evidence to prove that there was something fishy about Gothe, so that he could justify his actions.

Otherwise, if he directly attacked, it would be unreasonable to defeat the newly promoted direct descendant Beyond Grade A that the empire placed high hopes on. The empire's reaction was conceivable.

The empire had to give all its direct descendants an explanation, so it would never tolerate or compromise. If he didn't give in, the worst result would be an instant fallout with the empire, which would destroy all the arrangements so far—even if he was very useful to the empire now, once it involved this kind of issue, there would be no room for negotiation. Even if they didn't want him as an ally, the empire would not hesitate.

As long as there was no evidence, any explanation for this behavior would be pale and empty.

If he really had to act without evidence, he had to launch a secret attack, clear all the clues, leave no witnesses, not leak the news, not leave any suspicion, and never fail…

"This is too risky. Even a slight negligence will have endless troubles."

Han Xiao shook his head.

To sacrifice the network of interests and connections that he had worked so hard to build for a Gothe was undoubtedly a huge loss. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would never do this.

Now there was another more appropriate route, and of course Han Xiao didn't want to take this risk.

"If the Heterogeneous God is really Gothe, then there must be something wrong with his body left in the Temporal Amber… It seems I have to apply to the empire to visit the Heterogeneous God."

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Gothe would still be in the Shattered Star Ring for a while, it was best to find the problem before he returned, otherwise, it would be difficult to do anything after Gothe returned to the empire.

"Ding~"

While he was thinking secretly, the interface suddenly moved.

[You have triggered the hidden quest [Gothe's Secret]!]

[Quest Description: Gothe, the Red Empire's newly promoted direct descendant Beyond Grade A, you accidentally discovered his abnormality during your contact with him. Perhaps there is an amazing secret hidden in it.]

[Quest Requirement: Crack Gothe's secret]

[Reward: Character Summon Card x1, randomly draw one of the opponent's abilities]

[Note: This quest may affect your relationship with the Red Empire camp, please choose carefully]

Han Xiao came back to his senses and glanced at the interface.

"Triggered a hidden quest… The trigger was that I saw the other party's ability? The trigger condition is a bit high. Only by being at a higher level than Gothe can I see all of the other party's abilities. Apart from me, I'm afraid no one can trigger this quest."

——

(By the way, Mount & Blade II was released today, my youth is over _(:з」∠)_)