MCL CH77

Chapter 77: “The one who dies will only be you…”
 

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow noncommittally and said nothing, just sitting there in a relaxed and ready posture.

Where his gaze fell, something gradually dispersed, finally allowing him to see the true face of this inner world’s master.

Samuel was not wrong on at least one point: this world was indeed alive.

Or, to be more precise, everything in this world seemed to be under the control of the contaminant before him.

The darkness that had concealed everything was pushed aside by an invisible force. The figure on the throne slowly stood up. As He walked down step by step, the first thing that came into view was what could be described as impeccably exquisite clothing.

Apart from being excessively large, the body’s proportions were almost identical to a human’s. But the face that was finally revealed from the darkness made even Lin Xi frown slightly.

It was a bit ugly.

At least, it did not conform to human aesthetics.

On the massive face, there was only one eye in the very center, rotating as if it was not quite in harmony with the body. The vertical pupil stared fixedly at Lin Xi. Below it, a flat mouth that almost spanned the lower half of the face split open, revealing dense rows of shark-like teeth.

His every step seemed to tread heavily on the ground, yet it was so light that it made no sound at all. It was more like he was teleporting through a void, silently arriving in front of Lin Xi.

He seemed genuinely interested in the so-called host of Calamity. After circling and examining him with great interest, he even crouched down in front of Lin Xi in an approachable manner. When he smiled, his mouthful of shark teeth looked even more ferocious. “So, that fellow is indeed inside you, isn’t he?”

“Mm, he is.” Lin Xi looked up and met the eye that was almost pressed against his face, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Calamity has already told me that you two are old friends.”

The moment he finished speaking, he saw what could probably be called a surprised expression on that face.

“He told you? It sounds like you two get along quite well. I thought, after turning you into this monstrous state, you should hate him quite a lot.” As Abyss spoke, he reached out a hand. His sharp nail, as it lifted Lin Xi’s chin, left a bright red scratch on the fair skin. “Ever since I heard that Calamity fell at the hands of a human Executive Officer, I’ve always wanted to see you in person. Now it seems you are indeed very interesting.”

As he spoke, his massive eyeball rolled around and glanced down slightly. His sharp finger slid down from the chin along the throat, then pulled outwards. As half of the collar was torn open, revealing a large patch of living black totem, the corner of His mouth stretched even wider. “As expected, a human body is simply not suitable for that fellow Calamity to squander. To still remember who you are at this stage, even I feel a little impressed. But, it looks like you should be reaching—your limit soon, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Lin Xi seemed completely unfazed by the meaning between the lines. “Let’s talk business. To go to such great lengths to bring me here, it shouldn’t be just to say hello, right? Sometimes I really don’t want to be involved with this dead weight. Everywhere I go, I’m coveted by contaminants. Is the power of Calamity, the King of Contaminants, really that enticing?”

After a brief standoff, Abyss spoke again, but the focus of his attention was somewhat beyond Lin Xi’s expectation. “It sounds like some foolish things have actually made a move? Even if that waste Calamity has fallen on hard times, he’s not something just anyone can covet and live to tell the tale.”

Lin Xi silently cleared his throat in his mind and asked inwardly, “This sounds a bit like you’re his toxic solo stan?”

[What solo stan? I don’t have the life to be his stan! Being noticed by this guy will only shorten your life!]

[Hurry up and see if there’s a way to leave this place! Let’s retreat!]

Lin Xi’s emotions were unperturbed. “Why don’t you suggest how we should retreat now?”

[…………]

Unable to provide an answer, a long silence fell in his mind.

Lin Xi let out a soft sneer.

Perhaps because there was no response for a long time, Abyss’s gaze moved back to Lin Xi’s face. “Are you plotting something with him?”

Lin Xi smiled sincerely. “No, Calamity just said to say hello to you for him.”

“He told you to run away from here quickly, didn’t he?” Abyss sneered. “But don’t worry, you can’t escape.”

He finally stood up slowly. From his towering height of nearly three meters, he looked down disdainfully at Lin Xi. “Instead of some pointless struggles, why don’t we make a deal?”

Lin Xi blinked. “So I wasn’t wrong earlier. You really are coveting Calamity’s power.”

Abyss: “I am different from those lower races. What I want is not that fellow’s power, but an invitation for him to completely merge with me.”

Lin Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. “In human terms, that sounds a bit like a confession of love.”

A protesting voice immediately rang out in his mind: [Are you trying to disgust him or disgust me?! I told you this guy is a pervert! This is purely to satisfy his sick tastes!]

Lin Xi silently replied, “Mm, I can see that.”

From the moment he officially met Abyss, he had a very discordant feeling. After a little thought, he knew where this subtlety came from.

The contaminant in front of him looked human-like, but in reality, whether it was his body or the hand he extended, or even that massive eye and the face that eye was on, they all looked like they came from completely different species.

His entire body was probably pieced together by himself, from body parts he had plucked from different contaminants.

Seemingly rendered silent for a rare moment by Lin Xi’s words, Abyss only spoke again after a full few seconds. “I hope you can still be in the mood to joke later, Mr. Human Executive Officer.”

Lin Xi corrected, “It’s former Executive Officer.”

Abyss: “…Alright, Mr. Former Human Executive Officer.”

He was about to say something else, but meeting Lin Xi’s smiling gaze, he ultimately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. “Take a look first.”

Lin Xi followed the direction He indicated.

The next second, he saw the originally empty hall seem to be split in two. The scene on the other side continued to change. In this silent switching, several familiar figures appeared in his eyes one after another.

Joseph, Su Qiuyin, Samuel, and… Yan Xingzhou.

All the scenes flashed by in an instant, but it was enough for Lin Xi to clearly perceive that, besides Joseph and Su Qiuyin who were once again locked in combat, judging from the backgrounds, everyone had been completely separated again, and they were surrounded by dense hordes of contaminants that had poured out from who knows where.

Before Lin Xi could make another judgment, the scene changed again. The other half of the hall plunged into a chaotic darkness, with only a very faint ray of light leaking in. Through this narrow beam of light, one could vaguely make out the ranks of evolvers on the other side, ready for battle. The uniforms these people were wearing were clearly those of Country A’s Evolver Management Bureau.

Lin Xi narrowed his eyes slightly.

This is… the view from the rift entrance looking out. And it’s clear that as this opening continues to widen, it’s not far from being completely open.

Capturing the change in Lin Xi’s expression, Abyss spoke slowly, “I think now, we can start talking about this important deal.”

As if everything was just an illusion, all the scenes vanished in a flash.

Lin Xi withdrew his gaze from the restored hall and asked, “Let’s hear it.”

Abyss replied, “It’s actually very simple. Give me Calamity, and I’ll let the others go.”

Lin Xi heard this and smiled. “One for four? Sounds like a pretty good deal.”

Abyss was noncommittal. “You should have realized by now that I can control everything in this world, and I can decide your fates at any time. Just like now, as long as I want, I can banish anyone here at any time. They will never be able to find an exit, facing only an endless stream of contaminants. Even the strongest evolver will eventually exhaust their power. In the end, they will only be carved up and devoured by low-level contaminants. Just hearing it sounds very tragic, doesn’t it? Of course, you can also refuse, or perhaps you can indeed find an opportunity to leave here alone. But one thing is for sure, everyone who was with you just now will have to stay here forever.”

Lin Xi: “Moral blackmail? If you were in the human world, you’d be very suited for politics.”

Abyss clearly hadn’t expected Lin Xi to be completely unmoved. A slight fluctuation finally appeared in his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t care at all about whether those people live or die?”

Lin Xi didn’t answer but asked back, “Although you say you’re very disgusted, you seem very reluctant to face me, the host, head-on, don’t you?”

“Indeed. If possible, I would rather not clash head-on with that fellow’s power.” Abyss did not try to hide it at all. “You’ve seen it too, the rift entrance is about to open completely. I don’t want to have too many unnecessary expenditures before I move to expand my world. Or I can take another step back. As long as the deal is made, after the rift entrance is completely open, I can give the humans outside an additional three days to make their final preparations before their devolverate struggle.”

“Three days, that is indeed a very generous preparation time. Very tempting.”

Lin Xi commented with a smile. “If I were still Executive Officer Lin, I would definitely be very willing to consider making such a small personal sacrifice for the sake of human peace.”

Abyss: “Then—”

“But,” before Abyss could speak, Lin Xi slowly rubbed the sore parts of his body and stood up from the ground with deliberate slowness. “As you can see, I am no longer human. Yan Xingzhou is one thing, but what do the lives and deaths of others have to do with me? Why do you think, with my current position, I would still agree to this kind of heroic script of sacrificing one person to save the masses?”

The dark color in Abyss’s eye condensed, and the air around them became noticeably more sinister. “Are you saying you want everyone to be buried with you?”

“I admit, strictly speaking, this would indeed be a very fair and tempting deal. But your biggest mistake was to use Yan Xingzhou’s life to threaten me.” Lin Xi stretched his neck, and the corners of his mouth gradually curled up to an extreme degree. His torn clothes fell away, and patches of black thorns climbed and spread, instantly covering half of his cheek.

He slowly lifted his异-pupils. The gold in his left eye had unknowingly been covered with a scarlet, blood-red color. His voice was long and drawn out. “So now, the one who dies will only be you.”

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