Chapter 38

Somewhere in the world.

Chen Yan could feel that her condition was not good.

He refused to eat or drink, using silence to resist this inhumane prison.

The human body's limit for sustaining without drinking water is seven days. Even without any timing equipment, he could be sure that more than a week had passed.

Yet he did not die.

All organs in the body are still functioning, and apart from being extremely weak, it seems that there is no danger to life.

He thought that he was no longer a pure human being.

At least, some unnatural power was injected into his body to keep him from dying.

Chen Yan came to a conclusion: the person who locked him up here didn't want him to die.

Who is it?

That man had come to see him when he was unconscious. More than once.

Because every time that person came, the attitude of the waiter who usually brought him food would change - it couldn't be said to be for the better, but it wasn't worse either.

It's very subtle. Those divine servants will change according to the changes in the divine master's attitude towards them.

Chen Yan had been locked up here for a long time, with nothing to do except sleeping and daydreaming.

In the few moments of lucidity he had, he recalled over and over how an ordinary clerk like him had become connected with a god who existed only in legends and strange stories, and how he had the honor of being visited in person.

Unfortunately, he couldn't remember anything - except the part about being a social slave.

In fact, he didn't really want to think about this.

In a daze, Chen Yan suddenly caught a glimpse of movement outside.

In fact, he did not use his hearing to perceive. His prison was an absolutely secluded place, completely isolated from the world. Every time the divine servant came to deliver food, he would not hear it until he reached the door. This was why he still could not determine where he was by the ambient sound.

He is...sensory.

Yes, induction.

A faint electric current seemed to pass through his heart, telling him that someone was coming.

If it was a waiter delivering the food, he wouldn't have reacted this way.

Then, it can only be "Him".

Chen Yan subconsciously twisted the corner of her clothes, hugged her body with both hands, and tried her best to curl herself up in the corner.

Then he closed his eyes, and while his heartbeat quickened due to nervousness, he controlled his breathing to be as steady as possible.

Every time the God Lord appeared, he was in a coma.

Maybe it's a coincidence.

Perhaps, looking at it from another perspective, the Lord God always chooses to visit him when he is asleep.

Why? Chen Yan wondered.

Did He not want to see what he looked like when he was awake... or was He afraid to confront Himself?

He laughed at himself. Humans were as lowly as ants in front of gods. How could they feel afraid of them?

In short, he must see today what "shameful" things this Lord God has done.

"...Still refusing to eat?"

First came a deep and gorgeous voice.

Chen Yan pricked up his ears, trying his best to catch every word.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this man resisted very fiercely. You warned us not to attack him... He injured several of his companions."

The divine servants who were guarding him reported and complained.

The god chuckled, "As expected of him. He seems to be in good spirits."

Chen Yan: “…”

Is this a compliment?

"Okay, you guys go down. Without my order..."

He didn't finish what he said next.

The waiter was already silent, probably because he had already understood His will.

Coming in.

Chen Yan took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, letting his breathing become even again, as if he had never been a daring eavesdropper.

The footsteps of God are silent.

Only when the thin layer of light on his eyelids dimmed could Chen Yan be sure that God had come before him.

He leaned over, and the bottom of his dark robe brushed against Chen Yan's bare calves.

A tingling sensation ran through his heart, almost making him unable to control his natural reaction.

In fact, Chen Yan had no idea whether his little disguise could escape the eyes of the gods.

...But, is the person who came the god that the waiter respected and feared?

Chen Yan felt a cold finger touching her face.

It was as cold as ice, slowly moving down his cheeks and inwards.

Almost close to his lips.

The human was extremely nervous at the moment. He was not sure if he would bite his lips reflexively if the god really touched them and made such a presumptuous move.

He is not used to such intimate actions with others.

Especially... he's a man.

Speaking of which, does God have a gender?

That voice sounded... let's just assume it was male.

Hmm.

The gods shouldn't be bitten, so it's just a matter of how I'm punished.

If only I could serve my sentence somewhere else. No matter how much torture I endured, it would be better than waiting here, feeling no sense of time passing, as if there was no end to it.

He really didn't want to rot in this stagnant water.

God's fingertips stopped just inches away from his lower lip.

She didn't actually touch him, but instead pinched his chin, as if she was looking at him closely.

Even if Chen Yan closed her eyes, she could still feel the burning gaze licking her eyelashes and nose bridge slowly with a frightening predatory nature.

He couldn't help but get goosebumps.

Why would a man (a male...god?) be interested in me like this? He clearly had never shown this kind of interest in anyone of the same sex—

Chen Yan paused for a moment.

Fragments flashed through his mind.

Someone picked him up horizontally, placed him on the bed very gently, as if he were a fragile object, and then bent down to kiss him.

...Who is it?

The other person, is it yourself?

He saw it; it was his home, his bedroom, his bed.

But why doesn't he have any memory of this?

The hazy fragments dissipated.

God pinched his chin, applied a little force, and gently turned it.

She seemed to be looking at him from different angles.

"What on earth is there about you that deserves... attention?"

The gods whispered.

There seems to be a word in the middle, which was deliberately blurred.

"Is it because humans are delicious? Maybe I'll have to try them to understand..."

He was obviously talking to himself.

However, it was these meaningless words that made Chen Yan increasingly nervous.

What does "taste" mean?

Are you going to eat him?

If someone said something like this somewhere else, he would just think it was childish and ridiculous.

However, since being tied up in the dark and gloomy prison, all the strange stories are no longer delusions.

If God wanted to eat him, then it was obvious that he could do it.

What he had to do.

My heart started beating wildly because of the imminent danger, and the blood rushed in my eardrum with a roar.

There is no other noise here. If the heartbeat was louder, it would definitely be heard.

If God found out I was pretending to be asleep...

Chen Yan didn't dare to think further.

He thought quickly and frowned and hummed softly, creating the illusion that he was dreaming or about to wake up.

Under the shadow of the god's tall figure, the thin young man looked like a sleeping, delicate doll.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the long eyelashes of humans.

Black, trembling gently like a butterfly's wings, it may wake up from the cocoon at any time.

Who put this cocoon of shackles on him?

However, His thoughts did not last long. If He continued like this, He would really have to face the awakening of humanity.

“…Tsk.”

He was a little annoyed, let go of Chen Yan and stood up.

The robe with golden patterns brushed against the human's skin again.

The ripples of the wind stopped, and God disappeared.

After making sure that he was the only one around, Chen Yan finally opened his eyes, clutching his collar and gasping for breath.

His heart was about to jump out of his chest, and he thought he would be exposed——

It is true that it is wise to use the foolish method of fasting.

It’s also true that I don’t want to die.

He did not forget that there was a voice calling him from somewhere, hoping that he would come home.

Not the man who held him in his fantasy... younger and more helpless.

The illusion appeared before his eyes again, but this time it was more fragmented, and only a faint light and shadow could be seen.

It was a small one, with blonde hair of a completely different color from his, curled down on its shoulders.

Like a doll.

The little doll put its hands behind its back and looked up at him.

The picture is shaking badly.

The lost memories were coming back, and Chen Yan felt a severe headache, so that his vision could not focus and he could not see clearly who was calling him.

A child.

Is it a child?

Is that his child?

Whose offspring is he...and?

The two extra illusions that appeared today might be part of his lost memories, but they were too fragmented to be retrieved.

Chen Yan leaned against the wall, dazed and confused, and touched her earrings out of habit.

It warmed slightly, kissing the tips of his fingers.

It was like someone's heartbeat caressing his palm, quietly embedded in his hearing.

*

A wall separates the gods from the prison.

The waiters who were waiting there saw Him come out and greeted Him, "Lord God."

They all wore the same mask, yet God could still "see" the respect behind the mask and their devotion to Him as their faith.

God is disgusted by this.

Do they really know who they are serving? Do they really know whether they are believing in the right direction?

If the gods were torn off their noble and bright exterior, revealing an ugly and furious devil hidden within, would they remain unshakable?

madness.

How stupid.

The divine attendant didn't notice anything unusual about Him, so he asked, "Lord Divine, that human..."

"Leave it there, don't worry about it." God remembered something and added, "Just let him live."

The attendant lowered his head: "Yes."

The Lord God waved his hand, his face showing obvious impatience: "Everyone, leave. Leave me alone."

The waiters looked at each other. Although they were puzzled by the Lord God's strange attitude, they turned into light mist and left as he said.

With no one else around, God finally didn't have to put on airs.

His thoughts returned to that human being again.

It is indeed a satisfying toy, not only beautiful but also interesting.

When he was first captured, he slept all day and didn't find it interesting. But after he regained consciousness, his soft resistance like fasting actually piqued his interest.

He did not discern whether humans wanted to use their lives as bargaining chips or truly sought death.

It’s a pity that this is a different dimension, and everything does not follow the rules of the present world, so he can’t die for a while.

I still have fun.

The god was thinking about what next measures to take when a piercing pain suddenly hit him, and a twisted crack suddenly appeared on his handsome face.

God should not feel pain from himself, but He is bearing it at this moment.

He had to bend down and clutch the fabric in front of his chest to resist the urge to tear open his chest and pull out his violently resisting heart.

There was still pain between God's brows, but he smiled softly.

He smiled and said viciously, "Why, are you feeling sad?"

No answer.

Yet He continued:

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to your little beauty."

"At least not now."

He tightened his five fingers further, as if trying hard to suppress something.

Such as a majestic heartbeat.

For example... hatred and anger.

But it doesn't matter.

Now, He is the ruler of the world.

Even though pain spread throughout his body, he was in a good mood and raised his lips: "Enjoy the show, the best is yet to come."

The anxious restlessness finally subsided.

He took a few breaths, calmed down, stood up straight, and looked up.

Empty.

*

If the "factory" is an intermediate area connecting the sub-world and other blocks of infinite space, then the "tower" that Li Jue was teleported to now is the core department.

This is where systems submit reports, hand over work, and wait for assignments.

The newly appointed System Cub successfully completed its first mission and unlocked many hidden missions, receiving a high rating of "Perfect".

The long-lost system assistant No. Bα3L82γk, also known as Momo, warmly greeted him at the door of the "Tower".

For Li Jue, Momo had always been a voice that appeared in his head. In the child's imagination, it was a small trumpet.

Now he saw that Momo's entity was... a balloon.

The only difference is that the balloon is filled with light instead of air. It's more vivid to call it a light ball.

But it was floating in the air, still some distance away from the tiny Li Jue.

In order not to lose the little cub, Momo specially hung a string and tied it to his little arm.

Li Jue is a kid who has been to an amusement park.

His father bought him colorful balloons, and they were all like this.

Zizi didn't ask where Momo had gone. He understood that adults always had their own things to do, and they didn't care whether children needed to know the truth.

(Whether balloons can be considered "adults" is debatable, of course.)

I haven't heard Momo's chatter for a while, and I miss her a little.

Li Jue held the balloon's arm, which was considered as Momo holding his hand.

The sadness of parting with my parents was finally alleviated a lot by our reunion.

He skipped and followed Momo's direction, and the twin ponytails of the extradited ghosts swayed along.

Momo was surprised by his new hairstyle and said, "Baby, you are so cute today!"

Then, it also imitated him and changed itself into the shape of a pair of small wings.

"Mmm, it looks good!" Zizi admired it without any reservation.

Being stared at by the little cub's cute starry eyes and being praised enthusiastically, Momo became excited. After all, there was light in its balloon, which could be combined and transformed into various colors and shapes.

The cub clapped his hands and cheered enthusiastically like a little seal, showing great support.

After changing a lot of styles, Momo still chose the same "twin ponytail" style as Xiaozaizai.

Li Jue shook the rope: "Momo, where are we going?"

"Go meet the Central." Momo said this with some annoyance. "I don't know why it suddenly wants to see you. Normally, after submitting the report, you can choose to enter the next world, unless..."

The cub curiously repeated: "Unless?"

The balloon suddenly thought of something and shook itself vigorously: [No, it can't be that situation—it's okay, baby, I'll face it with you!]

Li Jue was still wondering what Momo meant by "that situation", but Balloon was already moving forward impatiently.

The child was pulled by it and had to speed up his pace and almost run.

However, my feet were not touching the hard ground as usual, but soft, as if I was stepping on clouds.

The little cub wondered, could it be that he had already flown into the sky?

He ran forward chasing the balloon. Unlike the "factory" which only had conveyor belts, goods and ghosts, the "tower" was obviously much more lively. The various systems alone were dazzling.

Not all systems are pre-human, or strictly speaking humanoid, there are also animals and plants, and some who knows what else;

Anyway, as long as they can complete their respective duties, it doesn't matter what form they take.

They are busy walking in the hurried "tower". All systems are small parts that mesh with each other. Only when the gears rotate together can the infinite space operate normally.

Some of them were obviously new faces, pulling glowing balloons similar to the ones in Li Jue's hands, and like Zaizai, they needed guidance and help from the system assistant.

After the main god disappeared, the center would become disordered from time to time, and systems that did not meet the original screening criteria were retrieved from the outside world.

Li Jue is one of them.

There are many systems in the "Tower" that are permanently stationed here and do not need to be sent down to the sub-world. They are very familiar with the faces of the systems coming and going. Seeing that such a small cub was also captured and used as child labor, many people cast inquiring glances.

Most of the systems wear monotonous black, white and gray clothes. They have long lost their emotions and their own characteristics.

Only Xiao Lijue is not only dressed in pink, but also has cute twin ponytails. Her little face is filled with unpolluted innocent curiosity, and she even responds to other people's gazes with a sweet smile.

It is indeed too conspicuous.

Fortunately, these emotionless systems did not harbor any ill will towards the child who stood out from the crowd. Instead, they made No.Bα3L82γk, who was also the focus of attention, feel proud.

It floated happily in the air, greeting its passing colleagues:

[Yes, the child I took care of.]

【This is my house! 】

【It's called Baobaocub.】

【It is the cutest system in the world! 】

【Super super cute baby! 】

Compared with the formal system, the work of assistant momos who only need to complete pre-job training and some after-sales service is much easier and their feelings are not worn away.

The last sentence caused the colleagues to look at each other with dissatisfaction, and the momos retorted:

【My home system is also cute! 】

[It’s the same in our family.]

[The system I'm in charge of can sing. She's the top backup candidate for the healing position.]

My baby can climb trees! He's amazing!

My family still...

No.Bα3L82γk was unconvinced: [Humph, you guys are just assistants who see beauty in everything. Our babies are certified bosses—two of them!]

Some momos didn't believe it: "Nonsense! You said this guy in your family is the boss's communication post? Everyone knows the personalities of those monsters, how could they think anyone is cute?"

Immediately, other momos joined in:

[That's right, No. Bα3L82γk. I know your job is difficult, but even if you flatter me, you still have to follow the Basic Law, right?]

[That's the boss, you're not mistaken for someone else, are you?]

Hahahahahahaha…

My colleagues were all criticizing it.

Although everyone is momo, there are different factions.

Li Jue couldn't actually hear clearly what the assistants were chattering about, but judging from the way Momo and the others were acting, it must be a bit disharmonious.

Zizi wanted to stop the fight and pulled the string of the balloon: "Momo..."

No.Bα3L82γk didn't hear the small system's call, and his face flushed red as he looked at the other momos. The light in his balloon turned crimson: "I'm not talking nonsense! If you don't believe me, I'll show you!"

Its small wings changed form again, transforming into an old, thick television set.

The ball of light originally entangled in the balloon gradually became clearer, and in the end a picture appeared.

The little cub below was stunned.

He saw clearly that Finks appeared in the picture.

The Golden Tyrant is majestic in dragon form and even more majestic in human form. It has always been the object of admiration of female dragons and the object of admiration of male dragons.

Finks was notoriously cruel and ruthless. Not only unfamiliar people and dragons, but even family members did not dare to get too close to him, for fear that they would do something wrong and displease the tyrant, which would not end well.

However, on the "TV" at this moment, there is a little cub sitting on his shoulder. The young child looks very different from the tyrant in size, and looks like a little doll.

From behind, you can see the cub's triangular kitten ears and the equally light golden cat tail, which hangs down and sways happily.

When Phinks transformed into dragon scales, the rich red-gold color and Li Jue's soft milky-gold color intertwined. Although they were two completely different races and had no blood relationship at all, they looked like a family.

The big one and the small one walked through the corridor of the starship, talking and laughing.

I don't know what he said, but the little guy excitedly shook his legs and tapped his little feet on the adult's chest.

Normally, such an excessive act would have been chewed to pieces by the tyrant, but instead of getting angry, Finks patted the child's leg and said, "Sit tight, don't fall down."

The kitten "disrespectfully" hugged Finks' head with both hands and rubbed against its parent coquettishly: "Brother Mi will catch the cub!"

Finks was amused by his confident tone and ruffled the child's hair with his big hands: "You, you know best how to control me."

Li Jue asked: "Does it mean that the cub is very powerful?"

Finks mused, "Well, that's about right."

The little cub was very satisfied when it was praised.

The cat's tail swung happily, and the tip of the tail was curled into a little heart.

…

This is not present tense, not subjunctive tense, but past tense.

It's something that happened before.

That long covered bridge, that trivial conversation, and those precious joys are all real.

Everything that happens in the sub-world, every moment, every detail, will be converted into data and uploaded to the "factory".

The succulent-like glowing packages on the conveyor belt that Li Jue had seen before included these "surveillance devices".

The little cub was still distracted by the completely unfamiliar new world after entering the "factory" and "tower" one after another, and no longer felt sad about parting with its parents. This short replay clip once again brought back the little cub's sad memories.

...I miss my brother.

The center was very far away. In fact, he had been walking in the "tower" for a long time. Even though the ground under his feet was soft, it was still a bit difficult for a three-year-old child to walk.

If she gets tired of walking, she just needs to tiptoe to her brother Mi and he will pick her up.

Brother Mi is a dragon. Dragons are strong and warm. He feels safe in Brother Mi's arms.

It's not just my brother, the same goes for my other brothers and sisters.

On the starship, in the Golden Dragon family, Li Jue is the little darling that everyone competes to pamper.

Now, it is just an ordinary and small system among many.

There are no brothers or sisters, and not much love.

Oh, and I still have to go to work.

He's only three years old and he has to work.

Li Jue decided not to be a baby anymore.

He wants to be a sad, tearful little mushroom that has been caught in the rain.