C67 — “Infiltration”
by UntamedSMu Sichen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; he really couldn’t understand the little octopus’s thoughts.
Hating doll #2 was fine, but doll #1 was the doll that the little octopus had possessed last time, so why throw it away after using it?
At the moment, the octopus doll was in Mu Sichen’s arms, but it half-squinted its eyes and turned the back of its head towards him.
Mu Sichen tried to touch its head, but was slapped on the back of the hand by the tentacles.
Weren’t the dolls thrown on the ground? Why was it still angry?
Mu Sichen was considered to be a person who was relatively good at figuring out other people’s thoughts, but he was also a little unsure about the temper of the little octopus.
He reflected for a moment, and a thought came to him that the little octopus wanted to be coaxed by him.
But when Mu Sichen connected the little octopus with Qin Zu, he felt that his guess was unbelievable.
However, he still tried to say, “I think you should know that I didn’t make doll #1; it was He Fei who imitated it and took advantage of my discomfort to put it on my bed.”
The little octopus opened one eye, but the other was still shut.
“Doll #2 was indeed made by me, but that was because one of your tentacles possessed doll #1, and I wanted to secretly switch your tentacles back. How could I let He Fei take any part of you?” Mu Sichen added.
The other eye of the little octopus also opened; it honorably raised a tentacle and put it on the back of Mu Sichen’s hand, as if to say, “You can touch.”.
Mu Sichen immediately pinched the doll from head to claw, half liking and half venting his anger.
How could an evil god treat himself like a cat? Mu Sichen poked the back of the octopus’s head.
Although he ruffled it, Mu Sichen still continued to shift the blame. He said as he pinched the doll, “So it’s all He Fei’s fault. He…”
“What’s wrong with me?” It so happened that He Fei returned to the dormitory at this time and heard Mu Sichen mention his name.
Mu Sichen immediately changed his words: “I was worried about you; you still hadn’t come back.”
“Didn’t I put the game pod in the gym? The gym is far from the dormitory, so I jogged all the way back.” He Fei said, “Luckily, the game pod turned into an app after going offline; otherwise, I really wouldn’t know where to hide that thing.”
He Fei picked up the two dolls that were thrown on the ground and said, “Why did you throw such cute dolls on the ground? They’re still new. If you don’t want it, I’ll hang it up on a second-hand app tomorrow and get some money back.”
“There’s one in there that’s mine, so help me sell it.”Mu Sichen decisively dumped these two hot potatoes.
The octopus doll was soothed this time, six tentacles wrapped around Mu Sichen’s hand, as if it was interlocking with his fingers.
He Fei put the two dolls away and looked up to see Mu Sichen still holding one in his arms; suddenly a sense of disgust rose in his heart; he was very repulsed: “You’re throwing away two good-looking dolls, yet you’re leaving such an ugly, disgusting thing cradled in your arms.”
At first, He Fei was still thinking of robbing the little octopus, but at this moment, his attitude change was so big, the quickness of the flip-flop was really breathtaking.
Even the octopus doll pitifully raised its head to look at Mu Sichen, as if asking, ‘Am I really ugly?’
Mu Sichen had a hard time coaxing the octopus doll, so he didn’t want it to lose its temper again; he used a calm, scientific tone to tell He Fei about what happened in the first place, as well as the reason for He Fei’s change in mood.
“So it’s like this.” He Fei jumped on the bed. “I wondered why I felt like I was dreaming these past few days… But I’ve been very clearheaded these days and even remember what I’ve done.”
With a slight reflection, he realized that his state these days was truly magical.
Regarding his obsession and feelings for the octopus doll, He Fei had had the feeling that he was living in a dream.
Night attack on Mu Sichen, texting to harass Mu Sichen, spending money to make the same doll and other things He Fei remembered clearly. He usually didn’t think deeply about the logic behind his actions and subconsciously took them for granted.
But once his mind returned to normal, he thought back, reflecting on his mentality at that time, he felt as if he was in a dream, lost in thought and extremely scared.
He Fei stayed sitting on the bed, thinking deeply about what he had done in these days; obviously, it was a hot day, but there was a sense of coolness in his heart.
“What have I done?” He Fei’s eyes glazed over as he muttered to himself.
Mu Sichen comforted him, “It’s nothing; school hasn’t started yet; there’s no one else in the dormitory building; I’m the only one who knows about these things; you were just affected.”
At this time, He Fei said, “Oh my god! I prepped so much for next semester’s class, and I still remember it clearly! Then won’t my next term’s coursework be much easier!?”
Mu Sichen: “……”
He Fei: “Why didn’t I come to my senses a few days later?”
Mu Sichen: “……”
He Fei: “Becoming your dependent can only let me be myself, but after being contaminated by the octopus doll, I’d been academically free!“
Mu Sichen: “……”
He Fei: “Why don’t you take back the self sticker first? I’ll be contaminated by the octopus for a holiday, then I can restore myself after I’ve finished reading all the textbooks for the next semester.”
Mu Sichen: “……”
The little octopus was quite happy, looking at Mu Sichen with its head held high.
He Fei continued, “Come to think of it, the octopus isn’t that ugly; these two imitation dolls are so cute. I’ll try to overcome and spend more time with the little octopus; getting some sanity and self-discipline is fine.”
Saying this, he looked at the octopus doll, trying to make himself like the little octopus, but after looking straight into the little octopus’s big, watery eyes, he let out a dry heaving sound and flopped down on the bed and said breathlessly, “No, I can’t get over it; there’s a kind of nausea from seasickness.”
Mu Sichen was really too lazy to pay attention to his roommate; he pulled up the quilt, embraced the little octopus into the comforter, and closed his eyes. “It’s almost 11 o’clock; you still have to go to work tomorrow. Go turn off the light and go to sleep.”
People who lived in the upper bunk loved to turn off the lights the least. He Fei reluctantly climbed out of bed, muttering under his breath, “Isn’t it too down-to-earth for young people to end their nightlife at 11 pm? I was just saving the world, yet tomorrow I’ll have to work as a laborer again.”
He turned off the light, found the ladder by using the two bioluminescent dolls on the bed, then he turned over in bed and lay quietly.
After lying down for a while, just as Mu Sichen was about to fall asleep in a daze, He Fei suddenly asked, “Xiao Mu, when are we going to go online next time?”
Mu Sichen: “The system didn’t say.”
This was also something that made Mu Sichen worry.
After he got offline, he of course paid the first attention to when he would be online next time. Who knew that this time there was no countdown, only a sentence: “When the time is ripe, the game pod will open itself, so please enjoy a short break.”
“I’m doing the same thing; what’s with all the secrecy?” He Fei said.
Mu Sichen didn’t answer; he remembered something.
There was no road outside Hope Town.
The entire periphery of Hope Town was like an invisible wall blocking all the way out.
When Chi Lian and Cheng Xubo had gone outside in order to measure the area of Hope Town, they had also gone outside, but when they reached a certain location, they would encounter an invisible barrier that blocked their progress like a border.
Through the border, they were able to see that outside was a flat road, and on both sides of the road there was a very vast area of land where crops could be grown and factories could be built.
But the images breathed a hint of falsehood.
These images were the same as the sky that didn’t even change the shape of the clouds, and every time the wind blew, the leaves of the trees swayed in exactly the same way.
Mu Sichen thought that the town borders were shrouded in an invisible, transparent cover just like the sky.
The system wanted them to capture other towns, but there was no road at all.
It was also unknown how Shen Jiyue and Qin Zu sent their people to Tongzhi Town.
The time the system was waiting for might be the opportunity to enter the other towns.
He Fei was a person with a big heart, and when he heard that he could rest for a few days, he stopped thinking about it and soon let out a light snore.
Mu Sichen, however, was somewhat unable to sleep; he wrapped his arms around the small octopus whose temperature was gradually approaching his own body temperature, placed his hand on its round head, and asked in a low voice, “How are we going to enter the other towns?”
One of the small octopus’s tentacles rested on Mu Sichen’s wrist and rubbed gently, seemingly soothing him.
Under this soothing, Mu Sichen’s mood gradually calmed down, and he slowly entered dreamland.
He was dreaming again.
Dreaming of that familiar palace, familiar seat, and a familiar figure in the familiar mist.
This time, Mu Sichen wasn’t uneasy.
Facing Qin Zu, he was no longer panicked, no longer fearful, and no longer defensive.
Although they hadn’t formally met yet, Mu Sichen already knew Qin Zu very well.
Qin Zu wasn’t Shen Jiyue; he was an upright god-level monster.
In a world full of pollution and madness, the word “upright” seemed a bit ridiculous, but Qin Zu was indeed so.
While he was still able to control his spirit, he was definitely the “Guardian god of Mankind” and would do his best to protect mankind. Even if one day he fell into madness, it wouldn’t be like how Shen Jiyue quietly contaminated the human mind in the dark, but like the “Embrace” portrayed, with horrible power to destroy everything.
So, as long as Qin Zu remained calm and composed, he would be the “guardian god of humanity,” and there was no need to be on guard.
“Why are you looking for me?” Mu Sichen asked.
“It’s you who has something to ask me.” Qin Zu’s majestic voice echoed in the palace.
I have questions? Mu Sichen was a little puzzled. If he had a question, it would probably be, “Are Qin Zu’s eyelashes hanging with water droplets just like in the books?” If he asked this kind of question to his face, would Qin Zu get angry and strangle him to death with his tentacles?
No, Qin Zu wouldn’t do that; he didn’t have the emotion of “anger.”.
Thinking of this, Mu Sichen was a little disappointed; his heart seemed to be empty, and there was a kind of indescribable despondency.
“You want to know how to infiltrate other realms.” Qin Zu said.
It was as if He had the ability to read minds; He was actually able to read Mu Sichen’s questions before he went to sleep and even purposely pulled Mu Sichen into his dream to answer them.
“I don’t know if Qin Zu knows what I just thought.” Mu Sichen thought to himself.
“I know,” Qin Zu suddenly responded.
He was caught slandering someone else; Mu Sichen’s heartbeat skipped a beat, and his face couldn’t help but redden. He pursed his lips and said, “Why are you casually reading other people’s minds? It’s rude.”
“It’s you who are noisy.” Qin Zu slowly said.
The figure behind the mist slightly raised his hand, and an image appeared in front of Mu Sichen.
He was sleeping with his arm around the little octopus, his palm pressed against the little octopus’ forehead.
Mu Sichen understood; Qin Zu already had the ability to read someone’s mind by touching their foreheads. This sleeping position was tantamount to a constant stream of thoughts being transmitted to Qin Zu.
Mu Sichen dared not think about it; he sat up straight and concentrated on thinking about the right things.
When Qin Zu mentioned the other towns just now, he used the word ‘infiltration.’.
“That’s right, it’s ‘infiltrate,’ not ‘break in.'” Qin Zu said, “Either destroy the ‘pillars’ from the inside or send some insignificant energy in by way of contamination infiltration.”
“That kind of makes sense; when we were studying, ‘infiltration’ was only able to send in some small molecules; large molecules can’t enter.” Mu Sichen said.
That was why both Qin Zu and Shen Jiyue could only send their dependents to Tongzhi Town, but their main bodies couldn’t go there.
“How am I going to ‘infiltrate’ other realms?” Mu Sichen asked.
“Power is interactive; when you are contaminated by something, it means that you already have the conditions to infiltrate the other’s domain.” Qin Zu said.
“Does that mean that I can actually enter Shen Jiyue’s and your domains now?” Mu Sichen asked.
“Insufficient power; you will be destroyed immediately after penetration. Start with a domain of the same level first.”
Mu Sichen understood; no wonder the system said to wait for the right time; it was because he had no way to enter either of the two domains so far.
There was no telling what timing to wait for.
But he believed that the system should already have plans.
Mu Sichen didn’t have any more problems but didn’t leave the dream realm, so he could only sit across from Qin Zu and awkwardly stare at the mist.
This person, how could he be the same person as the little octopus? There was some curiosity in Mu Sichen’s heart.
“Relatively rational,” what kind of state was it? Qin Zu no longer mentioned him taking back his power in this meeting. A bunch of questions flashed through Mu Sichen’s mind.
The tall figure that was originally sitting behind the mist moved slightly.
Mu Sichen hastily collected his scattered thoughts and stared straight at the mist.
After staring for an unknown period of time, the person in the mist slowly spoke, “I am still absolutely rational.”
Mu Sichen immediately realized that Qin Zu was answering the question he silently asked.
Today’s dream was really difficult to solve. Qin Zu was such a serious person, Mu Sichen thought to himself.
“It’s a troublesome fellow; do with it what you will.” Qin Zu said indifferently.
It? He was referring to the small octopus. Mu Sichen understood.
Qin Zu once again stripped away his feelings, which transformed into the small octopus, following Mu Sichen around.
No wonder the small octopus encountered within The Emperor’s New Clothes sounded like a teenager; it was because it was stripped away from reason, right? It lost its maturity and gradually became juvenile.
As Mu Sichen was pondering, he felt his body continuously regressing, and he realized that this dream was coming to an end.
And he really didn’t have any more questions to ask; even if Qin Zu was willing to answer deeper questions, he may not be able to bear the truth behind the answer.
But he had a small question: Were there water droplets on Qin Zu’s eyelashes behind the mist?
Mu Sichen stared at the thick fog, his feet struggling to hold on to the ground; even if the surroundings began to shake fiercely and the dream world gradually collapsed, he refused to leave this dream world.
Seeing him like this, the figure behind the fog actually stood up, and with a gentle wave of his arm, a huge force softly “pushed” Mu Sichen out of the dream world.
“This is the path I chose, and I don’t need anyone’s pity.”
Before leaving the dream realm, Mu Sichen heard this sentence.
Even after waking up, these words continued to echo in his mind.
The sky was slightly white; it was only just after three in the morning. He Fei was snoring, and the little octopus was staying in bed and refusing to wake up.
Mu Sichen touched the small round head in his arms, and a thought inexplicably rose in his heart.
— It wasn’t pity, but compassion.
TN:
I honestly love this slow burn ❤️🔥
Since QZ said that MC needs to have the same power with the town he’ll be infiltrating, will they meet another God in the real world soon? (since the butterfly one is stronger I think, or idk)
School arc is coming! Excited to see octopus-kun sulking because of shorter time together lol.
Thanks for the chapter!
Awwwwww. Thank you for the chapter!