CHAPTER 364: CHAPTER 364: EATING TOO SLOWLY, NEED TO SPEED UP_1

"This won’t do. The efficiency is just too slow."

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and Wang Linchi’s expression was rather grim.

From last night until now, I’ve only managed to consume less than half the Erroneous Sins in the city, he thought. To devour all the Sins in this entire large-scale dungeon... when would I ever finish? Besides, this large-scale dungeon doesn’t just contain Lian City; there are dozens of other cities. Otherwise, how could I be so sure this dungeon alone would allow my Nine Revolutions Golden Core to reach the first revolution? It’s precisely because of the sufficient quantity that I have this confidence.

Nearby, the Shadow of Gluttony watched uneasily as Wang Linchi devoured his kind one after another, without even bothering to chew. And he calls this inefficient?

"So, Boss, how do you plan to increase efficiency...?" the Shadow of Gluttony asked nervously.

Wang Linchi was also deep in thought. This task was indeed proving difficult; it was easier said than done.

Even if all the Erroneous Sins lined up to be delivered into my stomach, it seems it still wouldn’t be that easy to finish them off, Wang Linchi fretted.

Indeed, there was no good solution in sight.

"How about we take our time and eat slowly? There’s no need to hurry," the Shadow of Gluttony hurriedly advised.

"Nope, I don’t have time. I’m in a great hurry," Wang Linchi’s expression turned stern. As he surveyed the entire large-scale dungeon, his spirits lifted considerably.

If I can’t even deal with the Game System, surely I can deal with you, a mere dungeon? Wang Linchi suddenly had a thought. What if I package up the entire dungeon and swallow it whole, along with all those Erroneous Sins? Wouldn’t that solve the problem? As for Players and NPCs, that could be dealt with too. I could modify the dungeon barrier, fashioning it into a net. It would scoop up everything I need and filter out the unnecessary. Wouldn’t that be perfect? Especially the dungeon barrier—that itself can be used as reinforcement material to strengthen the Saint Master’s Protection Seal. Killing two birds with one stone!

This is a major undertaking, Wang Linchi mused. Once this was accomplished, the two large-scale dungeons he needed for his next advancement would be easy pickings. He wouldn’t have to run around; he could just open his mouth and devour them.

Hearing Wang Linchi’s monologue, the Shadow of Gluttony grew even more fearful, primarily because he had no idea how Wang Linchi intended to deal with the dungeon.

"Boss, if the dungeon is gone, we’ll have to face the Game System directly. It’s still lurking outside," the Shadow of Gluttony said with lingering trepidation; he had tried to escape before, only to be beaten back.

"Oh? How do you know that?" Wang Linchi looked at the Shadow of Gluttony, a teasing glint in his eyes.

This made the Shadow of Gluttony’s heart skip a beat. Crap, I’ve said something I shouldn’t have again, he thought.

"I... I guessed it," the Shadow of Gluttony stammered, forced to come up with an excuse. It’ll be fine if Wang Linchi believes me, but if he doesn’t...

"I’ll let you off this time. We’ll settle the score next time," Wang Linchi said. He wasn’t in the mood to bother with the Shadow of Gluttony right now. As for what the other had done, did it matter if there was no proof? Wang Linchi wasn’t an enforcer; he didn’t need evidence, or even a valid reason, to act.

This remark, far from reassuring the Shadow of Gluttony, only intensified his fear.

This clearly means there’s a bigger plan in motion, and I definitely won’t be able to stay out of it, he realized.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Boss? Any errands I can run?" the Shadow of Gluttony asked obsequiously.

At this point, whatever Wang Linchi is planning, the most important thing is to get away from him. If I get caught in the crossfire, I’ll be doomed beyond recovery. In my eyes, Wang Linchi is like a madman.

"Run errands? Now that you mention it, there actually is," Wang Linchi chuckled. "I’ll teach you a method. Go and activate all the Erroneous Sins, get them to cause trouble during the daytime too, instead of just being ’offline’."

"What?" The Shadow of Gluttony was completely taken aback by this request.

He had just been making a polite offer, but Wang Linchi had actually assigned him a task—and a deadly one at that.

The rules in this large-scale dungeon were very clear: daytime belonged to humans, and nighttime was the hunting ground for the Erroneous Sins. To put it bluntly, this was the primary rule of this large-scale dungeon, and even the Erroneous Sins must abide by it.

If I actually dare to do this, the Shadow of Gluttony thought, I’ll probably be the first to suffer the backlash from the rules. I might survive, but I’ll be brought under the control of the large-scale dungeon again, becoming one of those creatures that hides by day and emerges at night. It’s true that the Game System’s power doesn’t extend here, but that doesn’t mean the place is without control.

"Boss, my dear Boss! My dearest Boss! I can’t do this!" Why did I have to run my mouth? the Shadow of Gluttony lamented. Running errands? This errand is going to cost me my life!

"I’m not asking you to climb a mountain of knives or plunge into a sea of fire, just to get your kin to sleep a little less."

"How can they sleep so much at their age? So, you see, you wouldn’t be doing a bad thing; you’d be doing a great service," Wang Linchi said, his tone decidedly unfriendly as the figure of the Saint Master gradually materialized behind him.

The Shadow of Gluttony felt a chill. I’m caught in a dead end, aren’t I? It’s just a question of dying sooner or later.

"I... I will definitely not disappoint you, Boss." At this moment, what else could the Shadow of Gluttony say? He could only agree.

"Good. You’re sensible." My actions seem to be getting more and more villainous, Wang Linchi thought. Then again, the Shadow of Gluttony is the real villain here. If I’m tormenting a villain, does that make me a villain too? That would be like dog eat dog... No, that’s not right. It should be punishing evil... That doesn’t sound quite right either.

At this point, the Shadow of Gluttony abandoned any thought of feigning compliance while secretly disobeying. He figured Wang Linchi wasn’t genuinely assigning him a task but was just looking for an excuse to torment him. It was already an improvement that he was given a reason this time; previously, Wang Linchi would make trouble even without one.

"So, Boss, how do I wake them?" the Shadow of Gluttony asked, resigned.

"Well, no rush. I’ll build an ’alarm clock’ for you later." This plan is brand new; the other necessary components are probably still in the ’new folder’ stage, Wang Linchi thought, then continued, "Actually, you don’t need to worry. By doing this, the only one you’ll truly offend is the Game System. Your kin, those you rouse to work hard, will be grateful to you."

"And don’t worry about the Game System. You’ve already offended it. It’s like they say, ’in for a penny, in for a pound.’ Whether its hatred for you is at a hundred or a thousand, it doesn’t make much difference."

Wang Linchi proceeded to feed the Shadow of Gluttony this line of toxic reasoning. It wasn’t exactly a professional pep talk, but that didn’t matter, as long as the Shadow of Gluttony got the message.

After all, I’m just using him as a scapegoat. No need to overthink it, Wang Linchi mused.

At first, the Shadow of Gluttony thought Wang Linchi’s words made some sense. But upon further reflection, he realized Wang Linchi was just trying to dupe him. Wang Linchi was clearly the main culprit! By shifting the blame like this, I’ve become the ultimate fall guy!

This time, he was smarter and didn’t argue back with Wang Linchi.

"Boss is right! Those lazy bums need to be whipped into shape! Sleeping all day and staying up all night—such an inverted lifestyle is definitely bad for their health!" the Shadow of Gluttony chimed in, echoing Wang Linchi.

What else could I do? If I dared to voice a different opinion, Wang Linchi would use force to make me agree.

"Good. I’ll give you two days off. If you have some free time, you can pop out of the dungeon and check if the Game System is still keeping watch." This was Wang Linchi’s way of warning him not to try running off; he was to stay put for these two days. If he made any sudden moves, Wang Linchi would kill him.

Of course, if the Shadow of Gluttony doesn’t get the hint, that’s a different story. I couldn’t care less about that, Wang Linchi thought.

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for the days off, Boss!" The Shadow of Gluttony sighed in relief. If I just keep my head down for these two days, I won’t be tormented by Wang Linchi.

Thinking about it made him rather dejected. He was an Erroneous Sin, after all; even the Game System couldn’t kill him. Yet, in Wang Linchi’s hands, he was treated worse than a dog. Wang Linchi was quite friendly to actual cats and dogs and wouldn’t maliciously torture them. When it came to him, however, Wang Linchi had no such scruples.

"Go on, find a cool place to hang out. And if you’re up for it, try to trick someone into giving me some snacks," Wang Linchi said, waving his hand dismissively, signaling him to get lost.

"Consider it done!" The Shadow of Gluttony scurried off in a flash.

Wang Linchi wasn’t worried about finding him. He had planted a Fanciful and Fickle version of the Three Corpse Brain God Pill on the Shadow of Gluttony. He hadn’t used this technique in a long time, but his skills hadn’t grown rusty; if anything, they were even more polished. This particular Three Corpse Brain God Pill wasn’t the standard version but a miniature one. Its power was undiminished, yet it was extremely hard to detect. The Shadow of Gluttony hadn’t noticed a thing.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fled so quickly. I’ve set a five-day timer. If he dares to run, it’ll definitely blow him up. Wang Linchi mused. Unless the Shadow of Gluttony’s quality advanced to that of a Mythology-level Living Soul Species, his current Epic-level self definitely wouldn’t survive the detonation of this Three Corpse Brain Worm Pill. The explosion would incapacitate him for at least three to five days.