Chapter 217

The meeting room was noisy, with a heated argument breaking out over Stephen's future.

Some researchers say that Stephen's will has collapsed, unable to resist the erosion of the "rules," and he is highly likely to be seduced by the system to reveal classified plans. It would be unimaginable if his body, blessed with divine power, were transformed into a ferocious BOSS; he would have to be banished to a spacetime rift.

A high-ranking official angrily denounced the regulators, saying they were all useless, as training a reserve apostle would cost at least one billion points, and now it had all gone down the drain.

A glint of greed flashed in his eyes: "This is your problem; you must find a way to recover the losses. I've heard that god-level monsters have extremely strong self-healing abilities, and their bodies are incredibly valuable. If we could periodically cut off their limbs to make..."

Bang!

The solid wood table was kicked over, and a scalding hot teacup nearly hit the high-ranking official in the face.

Everyone stared in shock at the middle-aged professor in the white coat who had suddenly launched an attack, and angrily asked, "Executive Pei, what are you trying to do?"

Pei Yuheng's face was cold and aloof, his eyebrows raised in a sarcastic tone as he retorted, "What do you want?"

“I thought that even if you lacked basic morality and righteousness, you should at least have some brains to understand your current situation. The future and hope of the entire Earth, including everyone here, rests on the shoulders of the monsters you speak of. Compared to them, you are not even as good as paramecia.”

Pei Yuheng said, "Providing funds is already your only useful value, yet you still dare to harbor such despicable thoughts of seeking personal gain on the Apostles. Once the Apostles members find out about your proposal, do you think it would take cutting you into pieces to quell their anger?"

The ringing of an internal base message landed in the tense conference room. The assistant glanced at the caller ID, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned on speakerphone.

The young man's calm voice rang out in the conference room, interrupting everyone's discussion without a word: "I have heard the contents of the meeting just now, and I have made a decision about Stephen's future... In addition, as the successor to the First Apostle, I hereby request the removal of Mr. X from his position. To prevent him from leaking secrets to the system after leaving the base, I also request three years of special-level supervision."

These words caused an uproar. The high-ranking official who had initially spoken arrogantly panicked and angrily retorted, "You have no reason to dismiss me!"

“There is no reason.” The boy paused, then chuckled. “Besides, I thought you would at least accept this notice with gratitude. At least compared to being chopped into pieces by me, you can live to a ripe old age in a comfortable environment, while most apostle members do not have such generous treatment.”

The laughter, though soft, carried a powerful, intimidating force. The noisy conference room fell silent instantly, and dissenting voices receded like a receding tide.

Because the boy was usually so amiable and treated the cafeteria ladies with the respect and courtesy of a model student, they almost forgot that in the beginner dungeon, it was the boy who resolutely chose to fight, leading the members of the Apostle Guild to launch a swift and unstoppable attack on the void. Hundreds of millions of high-dimensional insect soldiers were like obedient puppies under the boy's mental control. With a few words, the gentle and kind boy clapped his hands, and hundreds of starships exploded in a series, turning into dazzling fireworks in the vast universe, with blood raining down on the sky.

Before the high-ranking official could struggle, Pei Yuheng ordered his guards to gag him, put him in shackles, and drag him out like a dog.

Ignoring the bloated, fat politicians and officials, Pei Yuheng strode out of the conference room and dialed the boy's private communication channel in a quiet, safe corner. Hearing the chaotic and noisy static coming from the other end, his brow twitched.

The base's network was working perfectly, with only certain areas experiencing signal disruptions. Suspecting the boy was about to do something foolish, he immediately asked, "Where are you?"

“The purification room.” The boy seemed to have anticipated his worries. “Don’t worry, Uncle Pei, I cherish my life. I even plan to be your best man at your and Mom’s wedding.”

Pei Yuheng had originally wanted to ask him how he planned to deal with Stephen. Although the young man said he had made a decision, he still couldn't shake off those sharp and fatal questions. But when he heard this affectionate teasing remark, he stammered for a moment and retorted with a fierce but weak tone, "What nonsense are you talking about, you little brat?"

"So the love letter Mom put under her pillow wasn't written by Uncle Pei? Ah! I'm so sorry, I was just being nosy."

Pei Yuheng's voice on the communication channel became even more incoherent. One could almost imagine his stiff and aloof face turning red with embarrassment and then raging with anger. Xie Xubai quickly begged for mercy and tried to appease him, his eyebrows lively and cheerful.

Several thick, slippery black tentacles emerged from the shadows beneath the boy's feet, wrapped around his calves, and climbed upwards, stopping at his shoulders, transforming into bouncy little black octopuses.

He extended a tentacle, reached into the boy's heart, pulled out a ball of orange-red emotion, and without hesitation stuffed it into his mouth.

—Sweet.

The communication ended quickly, and Xie Xubai's upward curve of his lips faded and disappeared as he silently looked at the monster locked in the cubicle.

The effects of the paralyzing drug gradually wore off, and the monster regained consciousness.

Because the light cone was still stuck in the back of its head, it couldn't move and fiercely scanned its surroundings.

The desolate and cold purification room was empty except for one person. Soon, the monster and Xie Xubai locked eyes.

Its eyes held confusion at the sight of an acquaintance, but even more so, a bloodthirsty ferocity.

The two conflicting emotions collided, and the monster visibly began to suffer, roaring incessantly and weakly scraping the floor with its claws.

Xie Xubai's face was expressionless, and he looked very calm.

The tentacle reached into the boy's heart again, pulling out a dark mass of emotion.

He looked at it, as if observing, then put it in his mouth, and the tentacle immediately froze.

—It's so bitter.

However, emotions are conserved; the more one consumes, the less bitterness the boy will feel.

So the little black octopus didn't like it, but it kept eating.

He said: "I have cast a cognitive interference."

The surveillance cameras won't capture this area, and no one will notice anything unusual about the cleanroom.

Xie Xubai replied, "Thank you."

The advantage of having eight tentacles is that it can eat and do things at the same time.

A tentacle pierced through the barrier as easily as dipping into water, lightly scraping the monster and effortlessly stripping it of its remaining divine power.

The divine power materialized into a ball of wine-red light, an extremely vibrant color, yet it was mixed with countless dense, jet-black spots, like a withered tree hollowed out by borers.

The little black octopus carefully picked through the wine-red glow, throwing all the impurities into the void.

The monster, now free of its source of contamination, suddenly opened its eyes, convulsing and trembling like a sieve. Its body shrank to its original size at a visible speed, bone spikes fell off, revealing smooth, flat skin, followed by its hands, arms, and torso...

Xie Xubai's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly as he stared intently.

But even after the boy regained his human form, he did not come back to life as he had hoped.

The boy's heart was filled with so much bitterness that he couldn't possibly eat it all. The little black octopus, whose brain was numb from the bitterness, finally couldn't bear it any longer. It covered Xie Xubai's eyes with its tentacles and coldly rebuked him.

[Knowing full well that watching it will cause you pain, yet still insisting on watching it. Do you have a masochistic tendency?]

Xie Xubai: "..."

He tried to pry the tentacles apart, but the next second another tentacle tightly wrapped around him, coiling his head into a pretzel shape.

The moment he turned into a monster, he was already dead. You think he still remembers you? It's just the residual consciousness of this body acting up.

Memories had become a burden for him. Rather than being banished to a rift in time and space, tormented by endless loneliness and suffering, his soul corrupted, utterly losing himself, being an ordinary person in his next life wouldn't be so bad.

Xie Xubai paused for a moment without saying anything. Just as the little black octopus was wondering if its tone had been too harsh, the boy suddenly asked, "Are you trying to comfort me?"

Little Black Octopus: [...]

The pact with the evil god happened several lifetimes ago.

The little black octopus was initially very aloof, perhaps realizing he had been fooled—Xie Xubai had come to him purely to use his power, and had no intention of believing in him at all.

Except for special occasions when it will take action, it usually just sits on the boy's head, closes its eyes and rests like a statue. No matter how you call it, it will not respond. If it gets annoyed by being poked a couple of times, it will coldly slap away the boy's mischievous hand and shrink into the shadows.

He didn't know when it started, but He began to instruct him on his training, but it never exceeded 10 words. So Xie Xubai had a very magical feeling now, and said with a smile, "It's rare to see you willing to say so much, especially to comfort me. I'm suddenly so happy and touched."

"You are such a gentle deity, why do you pretend to be cold and indifferent?"

The little black octopus didn't answer, and the boy sighed, "It's so nice, I feel like I have energy for life again. If you would say a few more words, I would be even happier, and it would definitely produce more delicious emotions... This is just a very, very small request from your family, are you really unwilling?"

Young people who are good at reading people can easily stir up emotions, sometimes so bluntly that they are practically testing the limits.

He dares to be so fearless only after he discovers that he is being favored.

The little black octopus hates humans taking advantage of others, but the boy loves to use his pet to commit violence.

Whenever the boy looked at him with a cunning and innocent expression, as if he had him cornered, he wanted to pull him into his arms and spank him hard.

The tentacles on his head suddenly withdrew, and Xie Xubai felt a pang of regret.

He quite liked the pulling sensation of the suction cups against his skin; it was cool and comfortable. More importantly, he could judge the little black octopus's true mood by the degree of expansion and contraction of the suction cups, which made him feel that the supreme evil god was not unattainable or out of reach.

At the same time, a wine-red light cluster, cleansed of impurities, appeared before our eyes, as mesmerizing as top-grade agate and blood amber.

Xie Xubai's relaxed brows furrowed silently again as he caught the ball of light in his hands.

Absorbing it will benefit you.

He said.

Generally speaking, divine power is difficult to share, and rashly seizing the divine power of others may lead to demonic possession, but this is not a problem for evil gods.

He can transform both good and bad forces into energy that can be safely absorbed.

However, Xie Xubai was able to absorb divine power without hindrance because he possessed various human wills and had previously received blessings from more than one god.

Countless gods opened up a broad road for him, but he chose to sign a contract with the most indifferent and ruthless one.

Xie Xubai did not move for a moment.

Receiving divine blessings and devouring the power of others are completely different feelings. He could feel the boy's surging will in life, which contained his personality's unwillingness and struggle.

That was just a mass of energy.

He emphasized.

If it is not absorbed, it will be detected by the base's detectors.

The higher-ups at the base were wary of the boy's mind control abilities and even more worried about not finding an opportunity to gain control of the Apostle Guild.

If they knew the boy possessed such an ability, regardless of the circumstances under which he used it, or even if he had never used it at all, he would be charged with harming other apostles, imprisoned, and stripped of his position and power.

From any perspective, Xie Xubai needs power, and consuming this energy is the best choice.

But He had to admit that when Xie Xubai showed obvious resistance, He couldn't help but soften and compromise once again.

If you're unwilling, I'll handle it.

Xie Xubai suddenly asked, "From now on, does that mean that whenever I want, I can devour the divine power of all those favored by the gods to become stronger, and I won't be punished in any way?"

The little black octopus didn't say a word.

Because the boy wanted Him to answer no, but He couldn't lie.

Xie Xubai smiled, didn't ask any further questions, and put the ball of light into his mouth.

He could have absorbed the food remotely, but this method of swallowing made him feel more like he was eating.

This serves as a reminder that this ability to deprive others of their life force must not be used again unless absolutely necessary.