220: Worm of Erosion (10)_1
In the room, Liang Yuntian was clearly shocked by Fu Qian’s actions.
He had seen self-harm before, but never anything so severe.
And within his incredulous gaze, Fu Qian actually showed a smile.
In his perception, the terrifying acute pain lasted only a moment before it vanished completely.
What came instead was an indescribable sense of relief.
Fu Qian was very sure that this wasn’t what death felt like.
The next moment, his vision dramatically narrowed; everything rapidly receded until it disappeared into a point.
“You’ve arrived~”
An ethereal sigh sounded, seeming as if it were right beside his ear.
“You shouldn’t resist so much.”
…
When his vision returned, Fu Qian found himself in a long hallway, facing a tall figure.
Behind the figure was a red-brown door on the wall, covered top to bottom in mystical patterns.
The door was already open, revealing an almost tangible darkness, within which nothing could be seen.
The tall figure was slowly turning around, and it was clearly the entity that had just spoken.
Whether this being could be defined as human was still up for debate.
Firstly, it had a human head, with the typical appearance of a middle-aged man, and even seemed rather handsome.
But below that head, the body was completely non-human.
Sharp limbs, a grey-white carapace, and hair covering the entire body.
The swollen abdomen dragged along the ground, with colorful iridescent wings on its back.
To be honest, a flea with a human head speaking in such a way still felt inexplicably peculiar.
But Fu Qian, being well-versed in such matters, wasn’t fazed by this small mental contamination and instantly retorted without a change in expression.
“This is the cage of the soul, Nightmare’s Prowl, where distorted dreams intertwine, posing extreme danger to any entity.”
“I see.”
Seeing the solemn face of the figure, Fu Qian nodded earnestly.
“May I inquire as to your distinguished name?”
“I’ve spent far too long here; names have lost their meaning for me. If you just need something to call me by…
you can refer to me as God Eroder, or the Interlocutor, in fact, I prefer the latter.”
“Alright, Interlocutor, can you tell me what all of that before was about?”
“Merely assistance, as a wandering spirit, I simply used a bit of my ability to help you leave this place.”
“It’s been so long since anyone has come here; you can’t imagine how surprised I was to discover an intruder, so I offered a little help.”
“Your way of helping is to obscure my perception and then graft other senses onto me to lead me astray?”
Indeed, that was the issue Fu Qian realized at the last moment.
He could not understand why, unlike others, his consciousness was on the parasite rather than the host.
Given that the level of integration wasn’t high, the simple difference in species was hardly convincing.
“Your acuity exceeded my expectations.”
As Fu Qian finished speaking, for the first time, the Interlocutor’s tone fluctuated.
“How did you figure it out?”
“Guessed.”
Fu Qian very honestly replied.
Indeed, he had guessed.
Because of the feeling at the very start of the mission, for a long time, he had seen himself as an insect, harboring no suspicions.
Kamakura Guizhi glanced at Fu Qian and slowly shook his head.
And judging from the content of the task, his own goal was clearly aligned with that of President Cass and his team.
But from another angle, because of the initial feeling and the constant sense of disharmony in his body, he had concluded that he was a parasite. Was it possible that he too had been fooled?
Could it be that the sensation wasn’t his own but was instead conveyed to him, replacing his own perception, making him believe without question?
Once this idea took root in his mind, it grew rapidly, becoming inescapable.
So, at the final moment of fusion, Fu Qian slammed on the brakes and decided to use one opportunity to test his theory.
His initial thought was that the insect might be using this tactic to mislead him, thereby making him wholly accept it without any resistance to its control.