CHAPTER 467: CHAPTER 464 [CONTROLLER, ARE YOU VERY AFRAID?]

Chapter 464: "Controller, Are You Afraid?"

This was somewhat awkward.

After mentioning Sun Keke’s name, both Chen Nuo and Lu Xixi fell into a brief silence.

The issue here wasn’t simply about replacing a weaker filler with a stronger one anymore.

Instead, it had evolved into replacing the part Sun Keke occupied in Chen Nuo’s Consciousness Space with Lu Xixi.

This topic was a bit sensitive.

Chen Nuo’s embarrassment stemmed from whether this approach would be too heartless...

And Lu Xixi was thinking... If I make such a request and ask him to do this... would it seem like I was being too ruthless?

After a moment of silence, an idea struck Chen Nuo.

"Actually, there is another method to confirm whether replacing the filler with a stronger one can truly increase my strength."

"Let’s hear it," Lu Xixi said with a half-smile.

Chen Nuo glanced at the young assassin still lying on the floor inside the house. "I initially wanted to kill him and bury him. But... after he became my filler, it seemed inappropriate to butcher him, so I brought him back."

He paused and then continued, "What I mean is, I am currently at 16/17, with this guy taking up one share. And he is relatively weak. If we want to test... we can first remove him from my Consciousness Space, making me 15/17. Then interact with you, turning back into 16/17. This way, being 16/17 both times, the only difference is between this young assassin and you, so I can directly feel the change in my strength."

Lu Xixi nodded. "That makes sense... But are you really doing this for no other reason?"

Chen Nuo sighed and shook his head. "I do have a bit of a selfish motive, but it’s not what you think."

Lu Xixi’s expression was strange. "You start talking, and if it makes sense, I won’t beat you up."

"..."

Chen Xiaoguo quickly took a deep breath and hurriedly said, "You see..."

"Stop!" Lu Xixi raised an eyebrow. "Every time you start with that sentence, what follows is all nonsense."

"This time it’s the truth!" Chen Nuo quickly asserted, then continued, "After Sun Keke became my filler, she received an ability enhancement. Her academic achievements and the growth of her spiritual power have all brought her great benefits. From a poor student, she became a top one and was admitted to a good school. In the future, she can also have a relatively good life. But I suspect that if I erase her from our interaction entirely, the ability enhancement she received might also disappear. This means that from a student with strong spiritual power, she would revert to an ordinary, weaker student... I... you know, I already feel quite sorry for her, and I don’t want her to lose even that little benefit. So..."

Lu Xixi sighed.

Chen Nuo also felt relieved—he saw Lu Xixi’s clenched fist loosen.

"Then let’s try it as you suggested."

Chen Nuo swiftly located the crack in the Consciousness Space occupied by the young assassin’s spiritual power interaction through introspection within his Consciousness Space.

Then... He hadn’t tried whether it was still possible to erase a part of this 16/17 state.

However, destruction is always much easier than construction. Chen Nuo tried to tear the crack belonging to the young assassin’s filler apart again using his spiritual power.

It was effective immediately! The part that had merged with the membrane was forcibly torn open with spiritual power, and the originally merged parts began to disintegrate! Chen Nuo could clearly perceive that after a momentary lag in the operation of his Consciousness Space, the generation and operation of spiritual power became slightly slower and more sluggish than before. Although the change was subtle, Chen Nuo could still sharply perceive it. Soon, the crack was torn open again. As the membrane of spiritual power disintegrated, the young assassin’s filler part leaked out like sand, causing a serious leak in Chen Nuo’s Consciousness Space. He had to allocate some of his spiritual power to refill the breach. But using his own spiritual power to fill it was tantamount to constant consumption.

Under Lu Xixi’s observation, she was already sensing Chen Nuo’s changes with her spiritual power.

"Your aura seems to have weakened."

"You can feel it?" Chen Nuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and frowned. "It does seem weaker."

"Your strength has decreased a bit, I can feel it. But as to how much exactly, I don’t have a clear sense. Shall we..."

"Are you just looking for an excuse to beat me up?" Chen Nuo rolled his eyes.

He focused and calmly controlled the operations within his Consciousness Space, the generation of spiritual power, then released various Telekinesis abilities... After several tests, Chen Nuo sighed.

"I have indeed weakened. Compared to my earlier level, my overall strength has decreased a bit. My current strength has probably dropped to the average standard among Controllers... or even a little lower. I’m roughly just a bit stronger than someone who has just crossed the Controller threshold."

Lu Xixi stared at Chen Nuo, slowly withdrawing the spiritual power enveloping him, and nodded. "It is indeed weaker than before, yes, by a good amount."

The 15/17 Chen Nuo was probably at the primary stage of being a Controller now.

"Very interesting," Lu Xixi said with a smile. "Using me as the standard for measuring strength: when you were 16/17 with the young assassin as a filler, your strength was almost equal to mine. But at 15/17, you are much weaker. If you interact with me in spiritual power now... with me as the 16/17 filler, maybe your strength could surpass mine. You might even be much stronger than me."

Lu Xixi’s expression was very excited. "Shall we continue now? How can our spiritual powers interact?"

But Chen Nuo’s face suddenly turned ugly. He quickly went over to Lu Xixi, lowered his voice, and said, "Wait a minute! I think... there might be a problem with this!"

"Hmm?"

"Look at that guy!" Chen Nuo pointed at the young assassin they had brought back to the house. The young man was still lying quietly in the room, seemingly unchanged. But for powerful individuals like Chen Nuo and Lu Xixi, they didn’t need to get close to sense the change.

"...Dead?"

"Dead!" Chen Nuo said with an ugly expression. "Just when I had torn the rift, the membrane in the Consciousness Space where he was the filler collapsed and leaked through the crack... He suddenly died."

Both became very serious and went over to carefully inspect the body. The young assassin’s cause of death was very strange. There were no fatal wounds on his body—at least from a physical perspective. But Chen Nuo quickly identified the cause of death: the young assassin’s Consciousness Space!

"His Consciousness Space... it’s gone?!"

Gone! Not damaged, nor shattered. Rather, the Consciousness Space of this life form, which once possessed higher intelligence, had been completely erased! As if... a doll without a soul.

After exchanging glances, both thought of some terrifying possibilities!

"We almost killed Sun Keke just now?!"

"Your ability to interact... it seems more and more like that of the Mother!"

"With this ability, you not only gain strength from the fillers, but you can even... control the life and death of every filler! Anyone who becomes your filler can be killed if you wish..."

After rapidly discussing this, they both shut their mouths simultaneously! Because they both came to the same realization at the same time!

Seed!!

If this spiritual power interaction, filling, making someone 1/17, and then canceling the filler part... if this method could kill, then... it would be the best way to deal with Seed! No matter how powerful a Seed was, once Chen Nuo made them 1/17, they would be like fish on a chopping block, at his mercy!

Chen Nuo suddenly got excited! The biggest problem with his many failed transmigration attempts was his inability to defeat Seed, wasn’t it? It was a paradox! To defeat Seed, he had to achieve a perfect Four-Dimensional Life state. But to achieve the perfect Four-dimensional state, he had to let Seed kill the other Seeds! Yet if Seed killed the other Seeds, Lu Xixi would die!

"Find Seed! Make him my 1/17! Then... Seed can be completely eradicated!" Chen Nuo’s eyes lit up.

"And then?" Lu Xixi frowned. "There’s a problem here. You’re Seed’s Chosen One! You already have the relationship of a Seed and its Chosen One. Can he still become your 1/17? Would the two types of relationships conflict? Could it even be realized? Even if it could... if he becomes your 1/17 and you erase him... then, if Seed dies, will you, as his Chosen One, also die?"

Lu Xixi’s expression was very serious. "I know you want to save me... but if you die, what meaning is there for me to live?"

Seeing Chen Nuo’s flickering gaze, Lu Xixi sighed. "Moreover... can a Seed really be eradicated by your 1/17 rule? Don’t forget, Seeds are born from the Mother. In terms of rule priority, the relationship between the Mother and Seed definitely has the highest priority. I very much doubt whether your rule can eradicate a Seed."

"We won’t know until we try," Chen Nuo shook his head. "One of the Seeds is already in my 15/17."

"Are you talking about that cat?"

MEOW?

In Jinling City’s zoo, inside the feline exhibit, next to an artificial pond, the Gray Cat lazily crawled out from a pile of leaves, licked its paws, and then turned its head to glance behind... In its den, an African black panther was lying there, its shiny fur looking even more captivating with a wild beauty under the moonlight. The Gray Cat, however, just yawned.

Hmph... A female cat, just so-so. In Sage Mode, I’m invincible in the world.

Suddenly, the Gray Cat felt a shiver shoot up from the tip of its tail, along its spine, and all the way to its head.

MEOW???? Is someone plotting against this cat?!

"Let’s spare that cat. After all, it has always been on our side, and... I also feel reluctant to harm it," Chen Nuo sighed.

Four Seeds. Seed can’t be tested, as there’s no room for error. I can’t bring myself to harm the Gray Cat. The Fourth Seed must not be killed, or Lu Xixi will die. So...

"Kamisou Ichiro!"

The plane landed in a seaside city.

Stepping off the plane into the terminal corridor, Director Gai immediately made a phone call, then frowned and shook his head.

Mr. Xiu sighed, "Still no news from Xiao Bai?"

"None," Director Gai said, his expression grim.

"Then he’s probably already dead," Mr. Xiu waved his hand.

"Maybe, with Xiao Bai’s skills, he could have escaped?"

Mr. Xiu’s face turned serious. "Director Gai! I must remind you again: you may not have a clear understanding of just how formidable the opponent you’ve provoked this time is! Against such high-level powerhouses, someone like Xiao Bai is less than an ant!"

With that, Mr. Xiu patted Director Gai on the shoulder. "My advice is to start thinking about how to deal with the aftermath now."

While they were talking, Director Gai’s phone suddenly rang. Director Gai glanced at the caller ID and frowned. "It’s... Dong Juan!"

Mr. Xiu’s expression became grave. Director Gai paused for a moment, then led Mr. Xiu to a secluded spot and answered the call on speakerphone.

After the call connected, a magnetic voice came from the other end.

"Little Gai?"

"It’s me, Mr. Dong Juan," Director Gai said gravely. "I’m with Mr. Xiu. Do you need something?"

On the other end, the magnetic voice sounded casual and relaxed, but the words spoken were anything but comforting for Director Gai and Mr. Xiu.

"Xiao Bai is dead."

Hmm? This sentence was a declarative statement, not a question. The person on the other end was stating it as a fact: Xiao Bai was dead. Not asking a question.

"Xiao Bai is dead, just half an hour ago," Dong Juan said with a hint of regret. "What a shame, such a well-behaved kid... But, Little Gai, don’t you have anything to tell me?"

Director Gai looked at Mr. Xiu. Mr. Xiu, feeling helpless, steeled himself and spoke, "Mr. Dong Juan, we encountered a very strong opponent on this job. We didn’t properly investigate them beforehand, so..."

"Very strong? How strong?" Dong Juan’s tone carried a chill. "So, what do you plan to do? They killed my man, and you think you can just let this go because the opponent is very strong?"

Mr. Xiu said, "...Our opponent is the Star Sky Empress."

"..."

A brief silence followed. Mr. Xiu gritted his teeth and looked at Director Gai, signaling him not to speak. After a good while, Dong Juan finally spoke again, "Okay, this affair is no longer your concern."

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The call ended.

Mr. Xiu exhaled deeply. Director Gai frowned and said, "What does this guy mean?"

"It means he’s let us off the hook," Mr. Xiu said with a cold smile. "Director Gai, you’re a big shot among ordinary people, a man of power. But you don’t understand our world. If he took his wrath out on you for Xiao Bai’s death, not only would you be in trouble, but I would be too."

Director Gai sneered. "So, Mr. Xiu, you’re also afraid of him? In Jinling, you’re afraid of that so-called Empress, and now you’re afraid of this Dong Juan..."

"Yes, I’m afraid of both, and I can’t afford to provoke either," Mr. Xiu said without a hint of embarrassment. "Strength is paramount in our world. Fearing someone more powerful than yourself is perfectly normal. As for you, Director Gai... I suggest your best course of action right now is to keep a low profile and find a place to hide for a while."

"Hide until when?"

"Hide until you’re sure the other party has no interest in pursuing your actions and couldn’t care less about you anymore. That’s when you’re truly safe. Even then, I suggest you never set foot in Jinling again for the rest of your life. Don’t provoke those people again."

Director Gai sighed. "Okay, I understand!"

"So, Director Gai, there’s something else I have to tell you... I’m afraid I must bid you farewell now."

Director Gai’s face changed. "Mr. Xiu! Are you leaving?!"

"Yes."

Director Gai burst out laughing in anger. "All these years, you’ve been supported by my patronage! When you went to London and came back, I didn’t say a word and continued to support you as before. Whenever you needed anything, I spared no expense to get it for you! Your strength has improved over the years, all thanks to the resources I’ve provided. And now, you say you’re leaving?"

"I’m sorry, but a wise man adapts to circumstances," Mr. Xiu said, showing no sign of shame. "In fact, in our world, this is practically a rule: those who cannot adapt quickly die soon. I certainly don’t wish to die so soon. You’ve treated me well these years, and I’ve done the same for you, handling many matters and exerting much effort. So... speaking of debts, it really isn’t necessary. Director Gai, all I can say is, good luck. I hope you can get through this ordeal unscathed. If you make it past this obstacle and need me in the future, you know how to contact me."

With those words, Mr. Xiu’s expression finally softened, and he added in a low voice, "There are people I dare not provoke! I advise you to adhere to this principle in the future as well. Moreover, that woman is vengeful and very protective of her own. In her presence, she could crush me with a flick of her finger. So, I’m truly sorry, Director Gai."

Director Gai’s face turned from pale to livid. He snorted forcefully, squinted, and stared at Mr. Xiu for a while, then gave a cold laugh and walked away.

Outside the airport, a luxurious sedan was already waiting. Two men in black suits respectfully greeted Director Gai. As he approached the car, he took a deep breath, turned, and glanced back into the terminal. But he saw Mr. Xiu already walking away in another direction.

"Damn! An ungrateful wretch!" After cursing, Director Gai got into the car.

Mr. Xiu stood behind the terminal glass, watching Director Gai’s car drive away, shaking his head and sighing.

Actually, this patron was quite decent. If it weren’t for provoking such a terror, I wouldn’t have wanted to leave. However... recalling how I witnessed the entire Blade Knights being crushed by that woman, their leader beaten unrecognizable and hung on the Tower of London... it was clear. Even in the face of grave danger, spouses flee separately, right? So why should I, a mere hired hand, act any differently? Farewell!

Mr. Xiu didn’t plan to leave the airport at all. Instead, he was about to buy another ticket to fly somewhere else, preferably to leave Huaxia as quickly as possible.

But just as this thought crossed his mind...

Suddenly!

BOOM!

Mr. Xiu turned sharply, only to see commotion in the distance! On the elevated road outside the airport, a black luxury car, like an out-of-control beast, crashed through the railing. It arced through the air before plunging over ten meters to the ground below... Then, it burst into flames... Mr. Xiu’s face went instantly pale!

In an antique room, a Paper Man was tossed into an ashtray on a desk with scrolled cloud designs, slowly catching fire. The effigy was exquisitely made; its face, body, and clothes were a miniature replica of Director Gai. Notably, birth characters were written on its body with cinnabar ink. As the little paper figure burned slowly... a slender hand on the desk withdrew, picked up a phone, and dialed a number.

"Mr. Xiu?"

"..."

"You saw everything clearly, right?"

"..." On the other end of the line, Mr. Xiu sighed, his voice somewhat weak. "Didn’t you just say this matter had nothing to do with us anymore? Why did you still kill Director Gai?"

"My man went with you and then died out there. Shouldn’t you be held responsible?" Dong Juan replied coldly. "The matter of killing Xiao Bai has nothing to do with you. But when a living person goes out with you and then vanishes, a price must be paid."

Mr. Xiu took a deep breath, then gritted his teeth. "Dong Juan, your voodoo tricks might work on ordinary people, but it won’t be that simple with me. If you want my life, then I’ll have no choice but to fight it out!"

"...Heh." Dong Juan gave a light laugh. "Director Gai is the boss. If someone dies, the boss is responsible. You’re just a worker; I won’t hold you responsible. I still understand that distinction."

"Then what else do you want to tell me?!"

"Tell me the detailed circumstances of this incident. Explain it carefully."

"Alright, this time it was..."

Dong Juan listened to the phone for a few minutes, then nodded, satisfied. "Alright. If there’s anything you’ve missed, you can tell me when you remember."

"Dong Juan, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Against any other opponent, it might be fine. But challenging the Star Sky Empress? I think you’re courting death..."

"Controller, are you very scared?" Dong Juan said with a smile.

CLICK.

The call ended.