C101 — Water Tentacle

The bartender’s self-dissection and transformation into a flower triggered chaos among the people in the bar.

Mu Sichen released his water self-totem, it was visually stunning, almost like a scene from a movie. A few people were frightened, but more found it dazzlingly cool.

But the bartender had truly died. Everyone in the bar knew him. To witness a familiar person die in such an eerie way was unbearable.

Screams broke out one after another, plunging the bar into instant turmoil.

A flood of people surged toward the exit, scrambling to escape. Even with Lin Wei and Dan Qi’s physical condition, two fists couldn’t fight off so many. It was impossible to hold them all back.

Worse yet, the overcrowding could easily lead to a stampede and casualties.

Mu Sichen couldn’t let that happen. The moment he heard the first scream, he placed his hand on the faucet. A massive self-totem—larger than the one he had used to purify the service staff—floated in the air.

This totem contained the energy accumulated from the purification of both Butterfly and Origin’s pollution within him. It was powerful—equivalent to a pillar-level self-sticker.

Even if he couldn’t create a domain inside the bar, it was enough to cleanse the crowd of mental contamination.

The guests had witnessed the bartender turn into a flower—a visual shock that tainted their minds. Many were already mentally disturbed, and further delay could lead to madness. It had to be purified immediately.

After manifesting the self-totem, Mu Sichen whispered, “Purify.”

The water totem turned into mist, enveloping the entire bar and entering everyone through their breathing.

Lin Wei was desperately trying to stop the crowd from pushing outward. He’d taken several punches, and his face was bruised.

Just as he was considering firing a warning shot, the mist spread. The crowd began to calm.

Those who inhaled the mist turned their gaze toward Mu Sichen,, who stood inside the bar.

He slowly raised his hand, pressed it downward slightly, and said softly, “Sleep. When you wake up, all unpleasant memories will be expelled from your minds.”

This was also a form of “expulsion” ability.

The powerful totem meant Mu Sichen didn’t need to press He Fei’s head against the faucet to borrow his power. Earlier, through an “oracle,” he had borrowed the “expulsion” ability from He Fei. After He Fei gave consent, Mu Sichen integrated it into the totem, expelling the memories of everyone present via the mist.

After hearing his words, the people in the bar closed their eyes one by one and collapsed softly to the ground.

Lin Wei checked the people at his feet and, finding they were only asleep, finally relaxed a little.

At that moment, the backup Lin Wei had requested arrived. His colleagues surrounded the bar, asking over the walkie-talkie whether he needed support inside.

Lin Wei looked at the demonic flower blooming on the bar. It made his eyes ache, his head spin, and his pineal gland behind his forehead pulse in pain—like something was trying to sprout from within.

He had the protection of a self-image totem and still found the flower unbearable to behold. If his colleagues saw it, they’d likely become as emotionally unstable as the people inside the bar had been.

So Lin Wei said into the walkie-talkie, “Don’t come in for now. Wait for my signal.”

He locked the front door and stepped over the sleeping crowd, walking toward Mu Sichen.

Earlier, Lin Wei had been guarding the door, far from the bar, and his view had been blocked by the chaos. He hadn’t heard the conversation between Mu Sichen and the bartender, nor had he seen the moment the bartender cut open his chest. He had no idea where that strange and sinister flower had come from.

“What is this?” Lin Wei asked.

“It’s the bartender,” Mu Sichen replied softly, gazing at the flower. “He used his own life as nourishment to grow this flower. He’s forcing my hand.”

Mu Sichen noticed that the flower’s roots had already pierced through the thick ceramic tiles and burrowed into the soil. It had grown slightly larger than before.

If Mu Sichen didn’t take the flower away, its increasingly extensive root system would eventually break through the ground, continuously absorbing water from the bar. With the power of the Otherworld, it would grow even larger—bursting through the ceiling, penetrating the walls, and exposing itself to the outside world for all to see.

At that point, the pollution would keep spreading.

Of course, the world had its barriers, and the human brain naturally protected itself. As long as people weren’t in prolonged contact with the contamination, they would quickly return to normal.

But who could see such a terrifying flower and not think about it? Who wouldn’t come back again and again to take another look?

The more someone thought about it, the deeper the pollution sank. The flower would take root in their minds, sprouting until it burst from their skulls in full bloom.

This flower—this “gift”—Mu Sichen had to accept it.

Of course, Mu Sichen had already planned to go to Origin Town. He wanted to meet Zhuo Huaichu. He wanted to understand this person.

He just didn’t want to stain his hands with blood. He didn’t want to kill a living person from the real world—especially someone who, like him, had once been a player.

Even if he couldn’t get a ticket to Origin Town, Mu Sichen would have chosen to purify the contamination and prevent its continued spread into reality, not take someone’s heart.

Mu Sichen had stuck to his principles. But even if he hadn’t killed him, he had still died because of him.

Mu Sichen wouldn’t see the bartender’s death as his fault—but it left him feeling heavy.

He felt a sense of defeat. A sense of helplessness.

“I won’t let this flower affect the real world,” he said to Lin Wei.

He placed his hand under the faucet. The flowing water spun in his palm and turned into a water cyclone, covering the entire flower.

The cross-pick water vortex uprooted the flower, condensing it into a small water orb that spun in Mu Sichen’s palm.

He pulled out his phone, opened the game app, and selected “Recycle Weapon.”

Then he opened the Library and found the row of blank books—using it to store the flower.

Now he had his fourth book related to a god-level monster.

On the cover of the new book was a drawing of a seed, buried in soil, sprouting two fresh green shoots.

Below the image was a sentence:

“Can a single seed grow into a towering tree that holds up the heavens, or will it become a poisonous vine that corrodes the world?”

Mu Sichen stared at the sentence. He figured Zhuo Huaichu probably believed that He was a divine tree holding up the sky—but in Mu Sichen’s eyes, Zhuo Huaichu might have already become a poisonous vine consuming the world.

He closed the game app and said to Lin Wei, “You can let your colleagues in to take the people away. They won’t remember what happened today. Just like how you couldn’t see the ‘Spatial Transfer’ ability—their minds will protect them from ever recalling what they witnessed.”

“Check their phones and delete any recorded footage. Though I suspect nothing would’ve been saved on the surveillance systems anyway.”

“Why wouldn’t recorded stuff be saved?” Lin Wei pulled out his phone. Earlier, he’d managed to film a little of Mu Sichen using his powers.

But when he opened his photo album and scrolled through, the video he had just taken was nowhere to be found.

“What the…? How did you do that?” Lin Wei asked.

Mu Sichen said, “I expelled all memories related to tonight. Unless someone is protected by a self-totem, nothing in this unstable domain—whether memories or electronic devices—will retain any trace of what happened. You can remember because you’re protected by your self-totem, but your phone isn’t, so it couldn’t save the video.”

A faint sense of crisis rose in Lin Wei’s heart. “Can people like you—and the enemies hiding in the shadows—just use these kinds of powers freely in the real world?”

“Of course not,” Mu Sichen replied. “You’ve seen it yourself: all my powers can only be used through the water here. There’s something wrong with the bar’s water—it’s imbued with energy from the Otherworld. As long as the bar is sealed off, its water supply is cut, and no one or nothing gets close, nothing should happen. Once I leave the bar, I’ll go back to being an ordinary person. At most, I’ll be able to download a self-sticker with my phone.”

Lin Wei let out a small breath of relief. But then he remembered something and asked, “But Cheng Xubo could still use ‘spatial transport’ to hide Yang Yunyun’s body.”

Mu Sichen replied, “That’s because Yang Yunyun was polluted, and the system allowed Cheng Xubo to act. Other than that, he can’t use spatial skills on anything or anyone.”

The system’s shielding power was extremely strong. Their powers in the real world were essentially like Schrödinger’s cat—there when needed, gone when not.

After spending some time together, Lin Wei had developed a basic understanding of Mu Sichen. He judged that everything Mu Sichen said was true. He believed him.

But the next question was: how was he supposed to write a report about what had happened tonight?

Lin Wei felt a headache coming on.

He called in his colleagues from outside, had them carry the unconscious people into the vehicles, and officially claimed that it was just a group brawl involving drunkards and injured parties.

Once the people woke up, they would just be asked routine questions. As long as it was confirmed that no one remembered anything, that would be the end of it.

After receiving Lin Wei’s message, Dan Qi also returned through the back door. He looked up at the surveillance cameras above the bar, clearly wanting to check out the supernatural battle on the footage.

Lin Wei, feeling slightly guilty, said, “Don’t bother. The footage’s already been erased.”

Dan Qi widened his eyes in disbelief, as if saying, “But you promised me!”

Lin Wei scratched his cheek. “I didn’t delete it. Mu Sichen used his awesome powers to wipe all the video recordings in one go. It was to make sure no information about tonight leaks. We don’t even have anything to report to our superiors now.”

Dan Qi sniffled and looked at Mu Sichen, as if he wanted to say something.

But when he saw Mu Sichen’s current state, he fell silent.

Mu Sichen was sitting on the floor behind the bar, leaning against the liquor cabinet, looking utterly exhausted.

Dan Qi hesitated, then stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. In his usual gruff tone, he said, “Get some rest. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Mu Sichen’s energy and mental reserves were nearly depleted. He had intended to just fall asleep right there, but something occurred to him. He said to Lin Wei, “Just in case, make sure everyone who came into contact with Yang Yunyun has a self-sticker applied.”

“If possible, I’d like to see the case files on the group contamination incidents you investigated before.”

“I’ll apply for access from my superiors,” Lin Wei replied. “Anything else?”

He noticed Mu Sichen seemed like he had more to say but was holding back.

Mu Sichen had originally wanted to ask Lin Wei to investigate someone named “Zhuo Huaichu” in the real world. But on second thought, Zhuo Huaichu might not have been his real name—it could’ve been a name He adopted after becoming a god-level monster, out of nostalgia for His past.

Moreover, He was already a god-level monster. Investigating Him would mean trying to understand Him, getting close to Him—and even in the real world, that might not be enough to resist the pollution. It would be an extremely dangerous thing for Lin Wei to do.

Besides, since the system had already severed Zhuo Huaichu’s connection to the real world, it might have also erased all traces of His past existence. Lin Wei might not be able to find anything.

If Lin Wei tried to investigate, either he would find nothing, or he’d find something—and be polluted.

There was no point in taking such a risk.

Mu Sichen shook his head. “Nothing else. Could you call Chi Lian for me?”

Lin Wei nodded, then he coordinated the team to carry people away, and also called over Chi Lian, who had been sitting dazedly in a corner.

When Chi Lian heard that Mu Sichen was asking for her, she froze slightly, her expression vacant. After a while, she finally dragged herself slowly over to Mu Sichen.

Mu Sichen still hadn’t returned Chi Lian’s “Cut & Paste” ability, or He Fei’s “Expel” skill.

He Fei came over as well, tugging on Mu Sichen’s arm with a sulky look. “Give me my ability back!”

Mu Sichen said, “There’s still one more thing we haven’t done. Right, Chi Lian?”

From the moment she’d seen that glass of “Origin of All Things,” Chi Lian had been acting like she was sleepwalking. Only now, hearing Mu Sichen call her name, did she seem to snap out of a nightmare. She shook her head wildly and said, “It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t mean to! I don’t even remember it!”

“I know. I’m not blaming you,” Mu Sichen said.

He Fei looked between the two of them in confusion. “What are you two talking about?”

Chi Lian bit her lip, then finally summoned the courage to say to Mu Sichen, “I remembered. The one who drank the ‘Origin of All Things’ in this bar a month ago… was me. No—strictly speaking, that glass of wine was shared by me and Yang Yunyun.”

He Fei immediately jumped back, hiding behind Mu Sichen, and stared at Chi Lian.

“Go farther away with the others,” Mu Sichen said to He Fei. “Don’t listen to our conversation. Don’t let anyone else hear it either.”

Even though he was full of questions, the good roommate He Fei still grabbed a waiter with one hand and pulled Cheng Xubo away with the other, making sure they couldn’t overhear anything.

“I just thought of this,” Mu Sichen continued speaking to Chi Lian. “When you told me your ability had evolved to the point where you could cut and paste someone’s cognition, I started wondering. I had mistakenly identified Zhuo Huaichu as my old classmate… and that ability felt a lot like yours. Now I realize—it’s not just similar. It is your ability.”

“I really don’t remember,” Chi Lian said, troubled.

“I know,” Mu Sichen replied. “You didn’t do it—it was Zhuo Huaichu who used your power. Back then, your ability hadn’t evolved to the point where it could cut and paste cognition. Someone forcibly upgraded your ability. That’s not something an ordinary person could do.”

Only a god-level monster could do that.

Mu Sichen had only just pieced together the truth.

Chi Lian had likely been polluted while still in the real world, when she and Yang Yunyun came to the bar together and drank the ‘Origin of All Things.’ Both of them received beta access to the game and were drawn into it.

The difference was, the seed that Yang Yunyun ingested had already sprouted inside her, causing her to start acting strangely in the real world.

But Chi Lian’s seed remained just that—a dormant seed, buried deep in her consciousness, never germinating.

Since Yang Yunyun was already polluted, her entry point into the game was Origin Town. Chi Lian, however, had not yet shown signs of contamination, so she entered the game just like a regular player—starting in Tongzhi Town, where she eventually met Mu Sichen.

Back then, neither she nor Mu Sichen knew that she was carrying a time bomb inside her—one that Zhuo Huaichu could detonate at any moment.

“It was you who told me you’d gotten in touch with Cheng Xubo,” Mu Sichen said. “You told me you passed my account along to him, and I added him as a friend. That’s how I ended up mistaking Zhuo Huaichu for Cheng Xubo and added Him as a friend.” He pointed at the phone. “At that time, you used your Cut & Paste ability to swap Cheng Xubo and Zhuo Huaichu’s account information.”

“I don’t remember—no, I just remembered now!” Chi Lian said, on the verge of collapse.

Mu Sichen continued, “I think at that time, Zhuo Huaichu had only just discovered me through you—a player who had successfully built a safehouse. He wasn’t planning to act yet and was just observing. That’s why He didn’t talk to me at first.”

“It wasn’t until He encountered He Fei while trying to cleanse butterfly contamination that He used your ability—through some unknown method—to alter my cognition, making me believe He was a network technician from He Fei’s company, someone I used to know. That way, He could observe whether I had already become a follower in Xiangping Town.”

“Then He discovered I had seized control of Tongzhi Town and become its governor, but unlike Him, I hadn’t been abandoned by the system—my body hadn’t been permanently trapped in the other world. That’s when He became truly interested in me. So while I was cleansing the company of butterfly contamination, He revealed Himself and contacted me directly.”

“He was curious about me—maybe even a little jealous.”

“That’s why, after I cleansed the butterflies, He used Yang Yunyun and you to lure me into this bar, talk to me, and guide me toward Origin Town.”

“I really… I don’t remember… I didn’t do it on purpose…” Chi Lian broke down crying.

But with every word from Mu Sichen, she remembered everything.

Fifteen days ago, she saw a game link that Yang Yunyun posted in the game group. She clicked on it, entered the game, and met Mu Sichen.

Mu Sichen spoke softly, “Do you still remember how Yang Yunyun tucked you in while chopping vegetables at the same time? Do you remember how her arm fell off? The moment I saw the wound on her arm, I thought—it looked exactly like your ‘Cut’ ability.”

“I wondered—why would something like that happen? It’s probably because Cheng Xubo was on his way.”

“Yang Yunyun wanted to make pork rib soup for you for the next day, but you wanted Cheng Xubo to witness something horrifying. Only something like that could make a broke person like me fly all the way from City B to City G. Because I’m really poor—I wouldn’t spend money on a flight unless it was very important.”

“It was me! It was all me! But I don’t remember doing any of it!” Chi Lian clutched her head, on the verge of breaking down. “Captain Mu… is being polluted really this painful?”

Mu Sichen raised his hand, and a water-made handgu-n appeared in his palm. He pointed it at Chi Lian gently and said, “It’s okay. I’ll help you expel the seed… and expel these memories. After all, none of this was really your fault. After this, you’ll still be my Hope-bound Follower No. 001.”

He gently pulled the trigger. A water bullet sank into Chi Lian’s forehead. She looked at Mu Sichen, smiled in relief, and a single tear slipped down her cheek.

That tear hit the ground, turning into a dried-up seed, which cracked open in the wind.

Chi Lian closed her eyes and fell asleep, as if dreaming a beautiful dream—one where nothing had ever happened.

Mu Sichen had used up the last of his energy points. He slumped to the ground, his hand resting under a running faucet, overwhelmed with sorrow.

Chi Lian wouldn’t remember any of it. Those memories—he would bury them deep in his own heart.

He would remember—remember Yang Yunyun’s death, the bartender’s madness, Chi Lian’s collapse, and how terrifying god-level monsters truly were.

“So tired…” Mu Sichen bowed his head and whispered.

He was so, so tired he almost fell asleep like that, in that very posture.

At that moment, the blurry mark in his palm—indistinguishable in shape—reacted under the flow of water. It transformed into a tiny water tentacle that lightly tickled Mu Sichen’s palm and wrapped itself gently around his wrist.

Mu Sichen felt a cool touch on his wrist. Using his last bit of strength, he looked at it—and saw a small, slender water tentacle.

He leaned closer and extended a finger. The tentacle naturally curled around it, as if intertwining with him.

“I missed you. Can I take a bite?” Mu Sichen asked.

The little tentacle hesitated for a moment, then slowly crawled up to his shoulder and cautiously extended itself to offer a nibble.

Mu Sichen chuckled softly and leaned in, gently kissing the stream of water.

“Thank you for staying with me,” he said.

 

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TN:

QIN ZUUUUUUU 🤭