"No wonder this brain is rated 'Inferior' with such a low load requirement," Leon thought. "I need to find a 'suitable' body before even thinking about leaving this prison."
Leon wasn't in a hurry to discard this intellectually challenged body as it still had some value. Instead, his attention shifted to the right arm.
Campbell Frank had two peculiar features: his head and his right arm. Though unlike the head, the arm's peculiarity was actually positive.
In his consciousness, the system described it as 'Superior' quality with a "Quick Strike" skill. As a university professor who spent most of his time in labs, Leon had barely touched video games. Still, he remembered enough from playing games like "World of Warcraft" in middle school to understand the concept.
"Let me test what this right arm can do!"
He threw a punch with his right arm.
*Whoosh!*
The strike cut through the air so fast it left afterimages.
"What incredible speed!"
Sure, Leon spent most of his time in the lab, but he did hit the gym regularly.... and he knew this punching speed could rival world-class boxers.
"Let's test its strength too."
This wasn't his body anyway, Leon showed no mercy. He threw a full-force punch at the prison wall.
"Drip... drip..."
Blood trickled down from his torn knuckles.
The black stone wall now sported a one-centimeter deep indent. Regardless of the wall's hardness, Leon estimated this right fist's power must be approaching the human limit.
No more thinking... need to find a body with a properly functioning brain."
After getting a basic understanding of the body's capabilities, Leon tried to empty his mind as he returned to the Processing Room, avoiding overtaxing the brain.
On his way back, he didn't dare look at the prison's overall structure, keeping his head down as he walked.
Leon played it safe - he couldn't guarantee he'd "survive" if the body died outside the Processing Room.
Back in the Processing Room, As Leon slowly raised his head, he was stunned by the scene before him.
Unlike the regular cells, this room was about twenty times larger... it was a biological research laboratory.
When the 'culture medium' on the tables entered his vision, his brain automatically started collecting and analyzing data.
Oh crap!
*BANG!*
A strange explosion echoed through the Processing Room.
All five senses went dark.
『Body successfully discarded in the Processing Room. Please continue searching for a suitable body.』
"What an idiot..."
Back as a cell cluster, Leon felt resigned.
However, this confirmed something - as long as he was in the Processing Room, whatever happened to the body wouldn't harm his essence
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"After finding a body, I'll definitely need to leave this prison and go to the outside world... Since I'm not sure if it's dangerous out there, I need to find a body that's both strong enough and suitable for me! At the very least, I need a brain that can keep up with my consciousness."
With a better understanding of the current rules and prison layout, Leon continued his journey to find the perfect body.
...
Seven years.
Yes, you heard that right.
It took seven years to find a 'suitable' body.
As a university professor who'd spent countless hours on precise experiments and academic papers, Leon had developed an uncompromising pursuit of perfection.
...
Seven years, three months, and twelve days.
In a solitary cell about five hundred meters from the Processing Room.
[Gerarda Marithis] - A devout religious follower in life.
This was the 139th body Leon had examined.
[Head] Superior - Possesses "Holy Light Sensing" skill - Load Requirement: 37
[Left Arm] Normal - Load Requirement: 12
[Right Arm] Normal - Load Requirement: 14
[Torso] Inferior - Load Requirement: 33
[Left Leg] Defective - Load Requirement: 0
[Right Leg] Defective - Load Requirement: 0
"Finally, a body with a Superior-rated head... Though it's strange - why does the Inferior-rated torso require 33 load points?"
A researcher's intuition was rarely wrong.
The cell cluster slowly possessed the body.
As soon as his senses activated, Leon was somewhat disturbed.
This woman, must have endured inhuman treatment while alive.
The mystery of the high load requirement for the Inferior-rated torso was soon solved.
With the brain's neural system fully activated, Leon could clearly feel sharp pains from her stomach - she must have swallowed something indigestible before death.
Moreover, despite the head being rated as 'Superior', Leon still felt his analytical thinking somewhat hindered.
"A religious woman's brain was more into arts and literature - not really a good match for a science guy like me.... The information processing and computational abilities are still lacking, creating obvious obstacles when trying to think deeply... Better head to the Processing Room to check out this stomach issue."
Back in the Processing Room, Leon immediately grabbed a clean scalpel.
Since body death had little impact on him... After some careful work, he pulled out a key covered in gastric fluid.
"The key to the prison's central chamber!?"
The management room in the center was the only locked room in the prison. Getting this key , he naturally thought of the central room... though he couldn't be entirely certain yet.
At this point, Leon activated the head's ability - 'Holy Light Sensing'.
The spiritual energy consumption left him slightly fatigued.
A beam of holy light descended upon the abdominal incision... Under its warm glow, the wound healed at a visible rate.
After seven years in the prison, Leon had seen plenty of similar 'magical phenomena', but due to the brain's limitations, he couldn't perform detailed scientific analysis and understanding.
Once his body recovered, Leon immediately made his way to the prison's center.
For some reason, Leon felt excited, eager to discover what secrets the central room held: "If every cell and prisoner has detailed settings and meaning, then this locked management room can't be an exception."
Ka-chak!
As the key successfully unlocked the door, the management room's marker in his consciousness switched from red to grey.
"Will there be a perfect body inside?"
After observing from the doorway for a while to confirm there were no dangers or 'no entry' signs, Leon supported his upper body with both hands and crossed the threshold.
『Management Room unlocked. You may now perform 'cellular separation' within this room.』
Leon immediately began investigating the chamber.
It was a fairly spacious steel room with just one thick black metal desk.
The surrounding walls were covered with prison design blueprints and information about special prisoners.
After a thorough inspection...
First, he found no complete bodies, only a head preserved in a hydraulic glass container.
What made it 'strange' was that this head had neither facial features nor hair.
It looked more like a boiled ostrich egg.
Second...
He discovered numerous research documents in the room, most either incomplete or with key words redacted.
"...The information is severely lacking, making it impossible to deduce the prison's origin and nature.I could roughly see that this prison was built to hold special prisoners from around Europe for 'cellular level' research.Some incident appears to have occurred, leading to the prison's current state.Ah... This liberal arts brain is quick at reading text and even extrapolating hidden meanings... but as soon as it needs to perform calculations and analysis, it starts starts seizing up..."
Having his thoughts restricted made Leon extremely uncomfortable.
In seven years, he still hadn't found a properly functioning brain.
Temporarily setting aside his deductions about the prison's nature, Leon tried searching for hidden information in the room... especially regarding the mysterious head.
His keen and meticulous observation led him to discover a hidden button on the desk leg.
A complete file rose from the desktop.
"What's this? 'Subspace Containment Measures - Prison Edition'?"