Vampires weren't perfect as a substrate. Lynn needed to spend a significant amount of energy using scientific and not-so-scientific methods to balance the influence of the Darkhold. After all, he needed controllable beast soldiers, not mindless animals that only knew how to kill. The purple man as a substrate clearly had more uses.
He was a metahuman, with more plasticity than ordinary people.
The equipment in the basement was activated as Lynn began the operation once more. He needed not only this scientific equipment but also his metahuman abilities. Under Lynn's influence, the stasis field that originally wrapped around the spine began to dissolve, and Lynn started to control the equipment in the cultivation tank.
He began cultivating this section of spine.
Creating a complete body from bone marrow cells wasn't difficult for Lynn, who had gained considerable knowledge. Under his precise control, the spinal cord in the cultivation tank began to emit a large number of bubbles.
Lynn had optimized his rudimentary experimental equipment over the past few days, and now it could perform some simple preset actions.
Lynn now needed to recreate the purple man's physical form. Considering that souls and similar things existed in this world, Lynn chose not to keep the purple man's brain and heart, which carried significant weight in mystical studies. Instead, he took the purple man's spine.
The other components would need to be integrated after the basic substrate structure was completed. His psionic tendrils began to slowly approach the cultivation tank.
Large amounts of purple energy drifted toward the section of spine.
Lynn began to inject the pure life energy he had absorbed from the vampires into the cells, accelerating their division. He wasn't sure if this action would work, as absorption and injection were two different things.
"I hope this process doesn't cause too much loss. I don't want to lose years of my life."
As the life energy transferred, the purple man's remaining spine quickly began to divide. Lynn boldly started modifying Kilgrave's genetic information.
During the process of injecting life energy, he gradually began to detect his own energy loss. The energy he had absorbed seemed to belong to a different system than his own.
It was as if it was stored in an invisible organ, and he needed to slowly digest it, eventually converting it into his own power.
"So the feeling that my body has been getting better these past two days wasn't an illusion? It seems superpowers need to be used frequently to improve. Both mastery and understanding of abilities require constant use to become stronger, and my ability seems to have even more applications?"
Lynn continued to inject life energy into the spine section, eventually transferring all the unique life energy he had obtained into it. Under the influence of his ability, the cells began to divide rapidly while Lynn continuously made fine adjustments.
Using this section of spine as a foundation, along with large amounts of nutrients and non-stop adjustments, Lynn finally created a complete organism after several hours.
A female body with skin completely colored lavender purple lay quietly in the cultivation tank.
Lynn didn't activate her, nor did he perform further modifications. He needed to leave enough room for the future. Living organisms were like machines—adding too many complex modules would eventually cause them to collapse. He only made the most basic adjustments.
In fact, Lynn wasn't merely satisfied with the application of scientific technology. This world had magic, and Lynn felt that magic wouldn't be too far from him. Perhaps Diken had a page of it.
After finishing everything, Lynn pinched his temples, but his mental state was still good. Even after spending all night in the dim basement, he didn't seem fatigued.
"Although my physical strength isn't high, my vitality seems fine. Frequent all-nighters don't seem to affect me."
Just as he was about to continue working, he suddenly heard someone climbing down the stairs.
"I'm guessing you have a plan?" he asked.
"I wanted to ask your name first."
"Lynn Sidis. This is the basement of Lynn's Fried Chicken Shop."
Jessica Jones looked at the female body floating in the cultivation tank, but her eyes showed neither fear nor doubt. After all, the current scene was merely shocking, far from horrifying.
Lynn had to admire her mental strength. Ordinary people wouldn't have this kind of spirit, coming to talk with another stranger after experiencing what she had.
Before Jessica could ask, Lynn continued.
"You saw me take that section of Kilgrave's spine. This is the result."
"A section of spine? You can create a person from a section of spine?"
"Perhaps not just a person," Lynn stood up and continued. "Are you sure you don't want to return to your peaceful past life? I can give you another chance. Think carefully, I'm not a good person. You can choose to forget the past and start over."
But Jessica shook her head. Lynn could see her legs trembling.
Expressions and words could be maintained through willpower and mental strength, but memories formed in the body couldn't be erased so quickly.
Lynn reached out and rubbed Jessica's head. As he extended his hand, he could feel her momentary spasm.
"Just don't send me away for now, please. I... I don't know what to say, but I don't want to go anywhere else right now."
Lynn didn't have any romantic feelings, though. Jessica seemed more like a neighborhood girl to him, like those little girls who would call him uncle when he passed by the elementary school in his previous life.
"Alright, alright, let go of me first. I saw you kick a vampire into the wall with one foot. Don't squeeze me to death," he said.
"I'm not a bear."
She quietly wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, then used her sleeve to wipe Lynn's coat.
"Your strength is probably greater than a bear's."
Lynn sighed and continued, "If you plan to stay, I have no other requirements, but in a few days I'll need to take you to the police station. After all, you're still listed as missing."
Jessica sat on an operating table nearby and asked, "I thought bad guys would kill to silence witnesses."
"Consider me mentally abnormal. I don't have a habit of killing people randomly, but of course, some secrets are better kept."
"Doesn't that count as a secret?" she asked, pointing to the tank.
"Would Tony Stark consider his products secrets? But please don't talk about it carelessly, or I'll have to leave New York."
Lynn's frankness made Jessica widen her eyes.
"To be honest, when I came down, I thought I'd have to pay a price..."
"I won't ask what you thought I wanted to do, but if you want to leave, I can take you home anytime. But if you want to stay with me temporarily, you'll have to follow me for now."
"Can't I stay permanently?"
Lynn shrugged.
"Maybe yes, maybe no. But in general, let's go get something to eat first. Honestly, my fried chicken doesn't taste very good. It's too greasy."
With that, Lynn left the basement on his own, leaving Jessica standing there bewildered.
She had expected a long, creepy conversation, with intimidation and threats, or perhaps some slightly dirty bargaining. After being abused and toyed with by Kilgrave, this girl naturally couldn't be as innocent as she appeared. Part of it was sincere expression, part of it was acting skills forced out by Kilgrave.
But Lynn hadn't made any of the moves she had imagined. He just left her in this basement, only rubbing her head.
This gave her an almost dreamlike sense of unreality, contrasting with the freezer in the basement, the cold computers, and the cultivation tank in the middle.
The environment and experience created an indescribable inner conflict. Jessica's lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing and followed Lynn upstairs.
Lynn led Jessica onto the streets of New York. The fried chicken shop wasn't open, as Jerkutor still had to work as a janitor. Suddenly disappearing wouldn't be good. Lynn could continue being a teacher before he actually got Diken's money. It might be somewhat demeaning, but there was no harm in it.
So Lynn walked in front, with Jessica somewhat anxiously following behind. She constantly avoided physical contact with others, as if she was afraid of something. Midway, she accidentally bumped into a passing office worker.
The next second, she immediately looked toward Lynn.
But Lynn just walked over, took her hand, and said, "Sorry, my daughter is visiting New York for the first time and is a bit excited."
Lynn apologized with a smile, then continued walking with Jessica.
"Your missing person posters are everywhere. Don't cause me any more trouble."
"Missing person posters? Who would put up missing person posters for me? And isn't it a bit unreasonable to say I'm your daughter? You don't look that old..."
"I put them up..."
"Let's go get something to eat first. I can tell you haven't eaten in a long time."
As he spoke, Lynn brought Jessica to a fast-food restaurant he frequented and sat down at a table.
"Cola?"
"I'd like to drink—"
"Get us two cans of cola, thanks," Lynn said to the waiter.
The server took the tip Lynn handed him and went to notify the kitchen to prepare the food.
"Actually, I wanted some alcohol..."
"Next time. Why would a girl drink alcohol? It's not good for your skin."
Lynn looked at Jessica's expression and called the server back.
"Bring a bottle of whiskey too, please."
When the pizza and some fruit salad were served, Lynn handed the small bottle of whiskey to Jessica.
"Drink up. I won't buy you any more."
"Isn't starting with whiskey a bit much? I've never even had beer before..."
"You couldn't kick a grown man flying before either."
With that, Lynn picked up a slice of pizza and started eating. It wasn't very authentic, probably frozen pizza, but it tasted decent—certainly better than the American Chinese food he ate right after crossing over.
Jessica took the alcohol and poured it straight into her mouth. With her super strength, drinking a bottle of whiskey in one go already showed better tolerance than many adults.
With a slightly flushed face, she began to devour the pizza on the table.
Lynn watched as her movements gradually slowed until she finally lay down on the table and fell asleep.
Shaking his head, Lynn continued to enjoy the remaining food, while also ignoring some strange glances from nearby customers.
After finishing all the food, Lynn ordered an extra cup of coffee.
However, during this time, the restaurant manager approached—an intimidating muscle man with a face full of flesh that didn't look easy to deal with. His purpose was clear: Lynn had eaten a meal and ordered a coffee, which wouldn't allow him to sit from morning until evening.
But when Lynn handed the boss some cash, the boss patted the head of the server beside him, indicating that Lynn could stay as long as he wanted.
As the surrounding customers became fewer and fewer, Lynn extended his hand and placed it on Jessica's head. Purple psionic energy slowly appeared.
But in the end, he didn't do anything more. He withdrew his hand, looked at the busy crowd outside the window, then shook his head and picked up his coffee for a sip.
It wasn't until the afternoon that Jessica rubbed her eyes and woke up.
For a moment, she didn't realize where she was, stretching lazily as if still in a dream.
However, when she heard the noisy dinner conversations around her, Jessica came to her senses.
After seeing Jessica's instinctive look of terror, Lynn said, "Awake?"
Hearing Lynn's unfamiliar voice brought Jessica quickly back to reality.
"How long did I sleep?"
"About five hours. Are you rested? If you want to sit a bit longer, that's fine, but I have other things to do tonight, so we can only rest here for another half hour at most. Your physical condition is really excellent, though. If you don't mind, I'd like some blood samples from you."
Jessica found this somewhat amusing. Lynn spoke so directly, but what surprised her was that although Lynn looked more sinister than Kilgrave—yes, one look and you could tell he wasn't a good person—Jessica didn't sense much pathological desire from him.
"Couldn't you just secretly take them while I'm sleeping? I don't think that would be difficult for you."
"Do you really think so?" Lynn asked with a smile. Jessica looked at Lynn's sincere expression and felt a bit creeped out. She shook her head.
"I was joking. If you want to, please tell me."
Lynn's candor made her feel a bit guilty. Jessica felt like she was joking with her father from before, even though she thought Lynn was at most old enough to be her brother. In the end, she chose not to continue bantering with Lynn.
"We'll talk about it later. Let's go back now. I have more things to do in a while. By the way, you'll have to stay at my fried chicken shop during this time. After I finish some business, I'll take you to the police station."
"Can I not go?"
"I'm guessing you don't want to go home, but if you remain missing, I can't take you out often. Considering the small products I plan to use in the future, I don't want to be questioned by the police regularly. Let's go. If you want to return to your past life, I can still help you."
Lynn didn't say much more. If thinking rationally, he should have cleared Jessica Jones's memory as soon as he rescued her, letting her return to her past life in a daze, or directly turning her into a puppet. But Lynn didn't do that.
"No need, right?" Lynn murmured almost imperceptibly. Even Jessica, who was standing nearby adjusting her wrinkled clothes from sleeping on the table, didn't hear.
"Let's go. Are we going to your fried chicken shop?"
"Pretty much. I need to go there to wait for Blade."
"Is Blade that cool black guy wearing leather clothes, with a sword on his back, and sunglasses at night?"
"Your assessment is interesting, but his outfit isn't just for looking cool. The coat can withstand more modifications and store more throwing weapons, while the sunglasses are to control his overly sensitive vision so he won't be blinded by strong light."
As they talked, Lynn had already led Jessica into a taxi.
Soon, they returned to the fried chicken shop.
Jessica watched as Lynn paid before getting out of the car.
"What's wrong? Did you think I would use my superpowers to avoid paying?" Lynn asked with amusement.
"That guy did that. He would just push open other people's doors and swagger in to live there..."
When Jessica was about to continue reminiscing and say more, Lynn put his index finger on her lips.
"There's no need to recall those terrible things. I'm not interested, and I don't want you to compare me with him. But I am interested in what you did after getting superpowers."
"I just got perfect scores on every physical fitness test..."
"Good choice. Flashy but controlled, and it fits your thinking."
"What about you? What would you do?"
"Me? I would hide my abilities well, just like I'm doing now. After all, I'm not a hero. I don't like handling things too flashily."
As he spoke, he opened the roll-up door.
"Rest. Wait until I've handled Blade's commission."
Jessica saw Blade sitting in the fried chicken shop waiting for Lynn. Seeming to realize something, the girl didn't chat with Lynn anymore and ran into the warehouse where she had slept yesterday.
"Your employee seems a bit simple-minded," Blade commented.
"That's how to ensure loyalty. But trust me, I'll improve this aspect in the future."