The handwriting above is wild and unruly, with each stroke landing in an unexpected place.
The only thing that could be clearly identified was Xiao Cheng's own name.
"Think it through. I know what you want. This is the only chance. All around us are dead ends. This is the only glimmer of hope."
The figure chuckled softly, repeating over and over, "A glimmer of hope. I know this is your backup plan, a glimmer of hope for yourself and for this world."
"You already knew that. You had no choice."
Xiao Cheng sighed softly.
“You’re right, I really had no choice.” She watched as the contract in her hand began to burn from the middle.
The pale blue flames gradually engulfed the paper, leaving not even ashes behind.
The contract burned out, but the flames showed no signs of extinguishing. Instead, they burned brighter and brighter along Xiao Cheng's fingers, rapidly eroding her body.
Xiao Cheng could feel her senses being gradually stripped away.
The process didn't last too long. She felt her consciousness float up into the air, and then she watched helplessly as the cold flames turned into a thick layer of ice, sealing her body completely inside.
The figure began to change rapidly, its body lengthening and its features constantly being refined, until it finally transformed completely into Xiao Cheng's appearance.
It seemed a little unaccustomed to its current body, moving around stiffly for a while before revealing a satisfied smile.
"very nice."
It tried to adjust its tone and voice.
After looking at it for a while, Xiao Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was alright; it was just a copy, not a direct takeover of his body, so at least it wasn't as unpleasant.
It continued to adjust some details, and finally stopped, satisfied.
Then, with its fingertips, it forcefully ripped open its own chest.
Xiao Cheng saw that where the heart should have been was empty, replaced by a black box about the size of a thumb.
Countless nerves extend from the outer edge of the black box, connecting to every organ inside the body.
It quietly looked down for a while, made sure it was working properly, and then healed the crack again.
"Then I should go out. As for this place, it will be completely under your control." It smiled, mimicking Xiao Cheng's expression. "Of course, I will grant your wish and save this shattered instance world."
"Are you sure?" Xiao Cheng asked calmly.
As soon as it finished speaking, its step, which was about to be taken, suddenly stopped abruptly, as if it had been restrained by something and had completely lost control of its body.
Immediately afterwards, the solid ice enveloping Xiao Cheng's body quietly began to crack, and an invisible force pulled her consciousness back into her own body.
She stood up groggily, her limbs numb from the cold, and she couldn't help but shiver.
"Hiss... With this technology, why don't you go and make refrigerators?" she muttered as she walked towards it.
As she drew closer, the body it replicated seemed to be violently repelled and began to crack uncontrollably.
"Impossible... How could this be... How could this happen! How dare you?!"
It emitted a piercing scream.
But it was all in vain.
Xiao Cheng maintained his harmless smile, reached into the crack that had reopened in its chest, and pulled out the exquisite black box.
"Let's just call this the fish's counterattack." She weighed the box in her hand. "Looks like I've won the third bet again."
Space began to collapse, engulfing it and shattering it into countless fragments.
With his back to the dark abyss, Xiao Cheng waved goodbye to the figure that was now only half a body, with a carefree smile.
"goodbye."
Then she spread her arms and plummeted downwards.
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