Rewards Granted:
+1,850 EXP
+9 Accessory Tokens
+3 Power Puff Girls Skin Tokens
+1 Daily Spin
[Level Up!]
[(Lv 6 → Lv 7)]
EXP: 155/600
[You have received a bonus reward.]
+1 Fragment Studies of Chemical X (School of Science)
Ben exhaled slowly.
This was his second high-profile kill.
And unlike the soldiers at the bookstore or the random casualties from earlier chaos, this one had granted a massive amount of EXP and tokens.
He still didn't fully understand the system's logic.
But he had a rough idea.
Sparking Zero Hub probably rewarded kills based on significance.
Important people.
Named characters.
Individuals tied closely to the world itself.
That would explain the difference.
A black-and-white mass slid across his arm.
Anti-Venom.
Ben crouched beside the corpse.
"I'm truly sorry it had to come to this."
The symbiote dripped onto the Professor's chest.
Thin white tendrils slipped beneath skin and muscle.
Ben watched carefully.
The body twitched.
Then twitched again as the symbiote burrowed deeper.
The Anti-Venom symbiote moved through nerves and blood vessels with surgical precision.
No violent spasms.
No grotesque mutations.
Just quiet infiltration.
Ben narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Interesting…"
I'm really getting good at this.
The symbiote reached the Professor's brain.
And instead of shredding through it like before—
it merged.
Carefully.
Slowly.
Preserving structure.
Preserving memories.
Preserving personality.
Ben could already feel fragments flowing back toward him.
Chemical formulas.
Security passwords.
Research archives.
Scientific theories.
Childhood memories.
The girls' birthday.
Their favorite foods.
Tiny pieces of an entire lifetime.
For a moment—
Ben saw Blossom crying after ruining her first science project.
Saw Bubbles asleep on the couch while clutching her stuffed octopus.
Saw Buttercup pretending not to care after winning a school athletics award.
The Professor loved them unconditionally.
Ben's expression dimmed slightly.
The body suddenly jerked.
Its fingers twitched.
Then its chest rose sharply.
Professor Utonium inhaled.
His eyes slowly opened.
Blank at first.
Then focused.
A faint white sheen passed across his pupils before fading completely.
The symbiote had finished synchronizing.
Ding!
[New Knowledge Acquired]
• Advanced Biology (Mastery)
• Advanced Chemistry (Mastery)
• Genetic Engineering (High Mastery)
• Chemical X Research (Partial Mastery)
• Robotics Engineering (Advanced)
• Quantum Physics Theory (Intermediate)
• Powerpuff Physiology Data (High Mastery)
• Townsville Defense Network Access Codes
Ben was hit with a wave of information.
It was as if he had skipped from a novice straight into a master across multiple subjects.
This wasn't the same as when he bought Frank's Ghost Tech Knowledge.
This was intense.
Professor Utonium's mind was intense, and once his shallow engineering knowledge clashed with Frank's borrowed expertise, it unleashed a flood of new theories on how to accurately capture and contain ghosts.
High-tech machinery.
Bio-weapons.
Genetic engineering.
Ways to bring those discoveries into the light for the future progress of humanity.
"Wow…"
The newly resurrected body of the Professor cracked its neck.
"This isn't just amazing—it's groundbreaking. Hahaha… I feel like I'm finally making my way toward the peak of this world. Sure, I can't stand on the same level as Azmuth's intelligence yet…"
Ben, using the Professor's body through the hive mind, adjusted his tie.
"But I'm confident I'll reach—or even surpass—him eventually."
Professor Utonium moved toward the computer.
His fingers clicked rapidly across the keyboard.
He started deleting everything that had been shown, including the home security footage, erasing all evidence of Ben's arrival.
That part was easy enough.
But the coast still wasn't clear yet.
The Powerpuff Girls seemed to have figured out the dragon-snake's weakness.
They had decided to fight it exclusively in the water.
That weakened its flame attacks and helped them realize the creature wasn't a fish, but some kind of ocean mammal that still needed oxygen to breathe.
Which meant the longer they kept it underwater—
the more likely it would pass out from oxygen deprivation.
Buttercup brute-forced the creature back into the ocean.
Bubbles held it underwater whenever it tried to escape.
And Blossom was the main MVP, freezing its body as it gradually grew sluggish.
Their plan was obvious now.
Weaken it.
Freeze it solid.
Then permanently contain it before it could become a problem again.
Ben understood this immediately.
And now that they had found their rhythm, it probably wouldn't take them more than ten minutes to finish the fight and resume searching for him.
Which was why Ben had his original body leave the Utonium house.
He needed Ben to return to the hospital and get a cast.
That way, by the time the girls came back asking questions, he could simply claim that Ben had been hospitalized while the person they fought was actually a mind manipulator named Tommy.
Click. Click. Click.
Morbucks had already prepared the narrative for him.
So that was exactly what he'd do.
Blame Tommy.
Send the girls chasing after him another time.
Further solidifying the idea that Ben and Tommy were two completely different people.
[Messages] (3)
The first notification came from the Mayor himself.
Ben paused briefly before opening it.
Message
Mayor of Townsville: Professor! Please tell me the girls are winning!
Mayor of Townsville: Ms. Bellum says we should trust them, but this monster is HUGE!!
Mayor of Townsville: Did we send the Powerpuff Girls Task Force out too early? Do they still need more training?!
Task Force?
His newly absorbed memories shifted.
Pieces of Professor Utonium's recent work surfaced naturally.
Meetings with the Mayor.
Government proposals.
Public approval ratings.
Drafts discussing the formal legalization of the Powerpuff Girls as an official Townsville emergency response unit.
The original Professor had apparently been negotiating with City Hall for weeks.
Ben hummed softly.
Then typed back calmly.
Message
Professor Utonium: The girls are handling the situation remarkably well.
Professor Utonium: They've already identified several weaknesses in the creature's behavior patterns.
Professor Utonium: Trust them, Mayor. Everything is under control.
He sent the message.
Almost immediately, another response bubble appeared.
The Professor ignored the follow-up.
Instead, his attention shifted toward the remaining unread messages.
The notification count suddenly jumped.
[Messages] (15)
He raised an eyebrow.
Most of them came from university accounts.
As he scrolled through them, more fragments of Professor Utonium's life surfaced.
Lecture halls.
Research presentations.
Biology seminars.
Apparently, alongside raising the girls and running his lab, Professor Utonium occasionally worked as a temporary biology lecturer at a university in a neighboring town.
Students were panicking after hearing the emergency broadcasts.
Some asked whether Townsville was safe.
Others wondered if classes would be canceled.
A few were simply terrified.
He skimmed through them quickly—
until two names caught his attention.
Susan Test.
Mary Test.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The memories connected almost instantly.
Twin sisters.
Exceptionally gifted students.
Both heavily involved in experimental sciences.
The Professor had apparently considered them prodigies.
He opened Susan's message first.
Message
Susan Test: Professor, is the news real?
Susan Test: They're saying a giant sea monster attacked Townsville.
Susan Test: Mary thinks it might be genetically engineered.
Then Mary's.
Message
Mary Test: Professor, if the military responded this quickly, then this thing might be man-made and somehow escaped. You should evacuate immediately. It could be radioactive.
Mary Test: Also Susan is overreacting.
Mary Test: Probably.
Mary Test: …Maybe.
The Professor leaned back slightly in the chair.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The Professor's memories stirred again.
The Test sisters weren't just smart.
They were geniuses.
The kind that could eventually become useful.
Or dangerous.
His fingers tapped lightly against the desk as distant explosions echoed faintly from the muted harbor broadcast nearby.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before shaking his head.
"That can wait…"
A faint smile spread across his face.
"I have to spin for Compound V first."
"I might as well test my luck now that I finally have the perfect body to properly experiment with the stuff if I get it."