novelraw Chapter 1038: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (46)
Chapter 1038: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (46)
"She's a guest," Miss Maid said calmly.
A guest?
Da Zhe was momentarily stunned… Why would a guest be squatting in the bathroom, holding a bowl, as if they had eaten there?
"Perhaps it's just this guest's personal habit," Miss Maid replied expressionlessly.
Well… what could Da Zhe say?
Still, the fact that this guest named Nero could fall asleep in such a place was quite bizarre—she hadn't even woken up despite his conversation with Miss You Ye.
"She must be exhausted," Miss Maid added. "But since the guest seems to enjoy staying here, and given our principle of putting customers first, we shouldn't disturb her."
That reasoning sounded perfectly fine.
However…
Right in front of Da Zhe, Miss Maid quietly locked the bathroom door from the outside.Was she really just sleeping because she was tired?
Da Zhe couldn't shake the feeling that something untold had happened here. Of course, having been a socially experienced person before becoming a Black Soul Envoy, he was smart enough not to investigate further.
Hopefully, Miss Nero—wrapped only in a bath towel—wouldn't catch a cold… Hm?
Why did it suddenly feel colder inside the club?
Da Zhe frowned in confusion. Wasn't the club always kept at a constant temperature?
With the only bathroom on this floor now occupied, Da Zhe had no place to shower. (The upper level belonged to the Boss and You Ye. There was also a room assigned to a Black Soul Envoy for a major project, but Da Zhe had never seen it.)
Unwilling to impose, he abandoned the idea. With a single thought, the filth on his body vanished.
At that moment, Miss Maid brought over a cup of floral tea. "You've been training in the dimensional rift for quite some time. Take a good rest—this tea will help you recover your energy."
Da Zhe took a sip and immediately felt as if all his tension had been washed away, leaving him in a state of indescribable comfort.
"I'll lie down on the sofa in the lobby," Da Zhe said.
You Ye nodded. "Suit yourself. I have some things to take care of… It seems a big rat sneaked into the kitchen to steal food. Ah, next time, I might have to set up some traps."
Watching Miss Maid float up to the second floor, Da Zhe was left with a face full of question marks.
A rat? In the club? Are you kidding me?!
When You Ye opened the door to the Lord God's server room, the hum of several machines filled the air. Adam's electronic eye flickered as he was awakened from standby mode.
"Master."
"Where is Tai Yinzi?" You Ye asked, sitting beside Adam. She accessed the Lord God game world through the screen—not logging in consciously, just browsing the world’s content.
"He left four hours and thirty-nine minutes ago and put the system into hosting mode," Adam replied mechanically.
Miss Maid's fingers paused over the controls as she frowned. "What is this?"
Adam answered, "This is data from the large-scale event that just ended in the game world. You are looking at an unpurged expansion pack."
On the screen, a world boss was displayed—a monstrous, fanged creature with clawed hands. Miss Maid narrowed her eyes.
"Oh… The Pitch-Black Maid, huh…"
Ehhh…
Why did it suddenly feel so chilly?
A charred mass on the ground suddenly cracked open. Wisps of smoky energy drifted from within, gradually coalescing until a humanoid form reappeared.
Tai Yinzi twisted his neck and stretched his waist, feeling noticeably weaker. He pounded his shoulders, trying to recall if he had forgotten something before leaving.
His confusion quickly vanished as memories of the previous events resurfaced—Tai Yinzi instantly tensed up.
The terrifying little girl, Gaia, still stood there, head slightly lowered, motionless.
As for Wang Hu, who had been subdued, he remained the same as when Tai Yinzi lost consciousness—his body encased in strange crystalline structures, unable to move. However, his eyes were locked onto Tai Yinzi with an unsettling intensity.
Fortunately, Wang Hu’s mouth was sealed shut… Eyes alone couldn't kill people, right?
"What the hell is this girl’s deal…" Tai Yinzi pondered the situation for a while before cautiously stepping forward again.
This time, he was much more restrained—if she launched another hundred lightning spheres, he might really be done for.
But what should he say to this terrifying little girl?
From what he had observed, Gaia seemed to obey his commands… He had been calling for the Boss earlier, but somehow, this eerie little girl had appeared instead.
Was she connected to the club in some way?
"Gaia…?" Tai Yinzi hesitated for a moment before calling her name.
Gaia slowly lifted her head, her purple eyes regaining a faint glimmer. Tai Yinzi felt as though she was scanning him.
[Subordinate Permission Holder confirmed.]
[Universal Prototype Treasury Administrator, Gaia, at your service.]
"Try saying something again?" Tai Yinzi tested.
Gaia's gaze flickered. [Please specify the details of the requested action.]
"…Try meowing like a cat," Tai Yinzi suggested after some thought.
Gaia’s purple eyes flickered again. She raised her hand slightly, held it near her cheek in a claw-like gesture, and tilted her head.
[Meow.]
She actually did it?!
Tai Yinzi's lips twitched. Although Gaia's expression remained blank and her voice emotionless, she had precisely followed his command—and even added a bit of cuteness.
Tai Yinzi’s mind spun rapidly as he recalled every word Gaia had spoken before he was knocked out.
Suddenly, he had a realization.
"Gaia, does my Subordinate Permission depend on the concentration of ‘Source of Anomaly’ in my body?"
Gaia nodded. [Confirmed.]
As expected!
Tai Yinzi didn’t fully understand what "Source of Anomaly" was, but it was likely a unique substance that made up the bodies of Black Soul Envoys—something that explained their special nature.
If that was the case, could other Black Soul Envoys in the club also obtain command authority over Gaia, depending on their Source of Anomaly levels? For instance, his mentor, Black Soul No. 9—if he had a higher concentration, would he have greater authority?
And what about the club’s maid?
Tai Yinzi wasn’t sure… He knew Miss Maid was created through Western alchemy. Unlike Black Soul Envoys, her nature was different. Would that mean she couldn’t gain access to Gaia’s permissions?
No—this wasn’t about permissions. The real question was Gaia’s relationship with the club!
"Gaia, were you created by the club? Why have I never seen you before?" Tai Yinzi asked cautiously.
Gaia’s eyes flickered several times before she slowly answered:
[Negative: Gaia was not created by the club. Gaia was created by the Master.]
"Your master… who is that?" Tai Yinzi swallowed hard, feeling as if he was delving into secrets he wasn’t meant to know.
[Master is… Master is…]
The girl suddenly closed her eyes.
[Searching: Keyword—Master… Searching: Keyword—Creation… Searching: Keyword—Gaia… Memory system corrupted… Search failed.]
[Search failed.]
[Search failed.]
[Failure.]
[Gaia is a failure… Failure… Failed…]
Suddenly, behind the little girl, those terrifying lightning orbs appeared once again, so many that Tai Yinzi was instantly filled with dread… At the same time, Gaia seemed to become somewhat abnormal.
She hugged her head tightly, completely unaware that she had just unleashed countless terrifying lightning orbs.
Tai Yinzi took a sharp breath—did this girl’s brain just short-circuit?
"Stop! Stop, stop, stop!!!" Tai Yinzi screamed in panic. "Gaia! Stop! Forget about that question! I—I give up on knowing the answer!!"
Perhaps because the Subordinate Permission command was still in effect, Gaia slowly calmed down. Eventually, she returned to her standby mode, head lowered.
This girl is a ticking time bomb!
Tai Yinzi barely managed to steady himself, terrified that any more questions might send Gaia spiraling into that near-out-of-control state again.
Yet, the flood of unanswered questions tormented him.
"Gaia?"
[Subordinate Permission Holder identity confirmed. Universal Prototype Treasury Administrator, Gaia, at your service.]
"Do you know someone named You Ye?" Tai Yinzi gritted his teeth. "A woman, with an alchemically created body, the club’s maid."
[No such person exists in the database.]
"What about the Boss?" Tai Yinzi's heartbeat skyrocketed, pounding so hard that he could hear it in his own ears. "The club’s Boss, Luo Qiu! Do you know him?"
[No such person exists in the database.]
Could it be… the previous Boss? And… has Gaia existed even longer than the maid?
If she was created by the previous Boss, why was she left here?
Wait—what is this place, exactly?
"Gaia, you should know what this place is, right?"
[Treasure Vault.]
"Whose treasure vault?"
[The Master's treasure vault. Gaia is the guardian.]
"The Master is… never mind, don't answer that." Tai Yinzi shook his head, falling deep into thought—heaven help him, the last time he racked his brain this hard was when planning a major in-game New Year event.
"Gaia, is there anyone here with a higher authority than me?"
[Not at the moment.]
"What is your purpose in staying here?"
[Waiting for an authority holder to arrive and executing their commands. Gaia follows orders.]
Tai Yinzi’s mind stirred. He suddenly asked, "Gaia, my body is bound by something, making me controlled by someone—I can’t break free… Can you help me with this problem?"
Tai Yinzi had no idea why he even asked this question. His heart pounded violently because he wasn’t sure if this thought would be detected by the Boss’s mind.
His Black Soul Envoy identity was granted by the Boss, and the Boss had absolute control over the Black Soul Envoys—betrayal was impossible, like an order engraved deep within the soul.
Tai Yinzi had never found a way to break free of this curse-like control…
But if Gaia had existed even before the maid, if she was something left behind by the previous Boss—would she know a way to break it?
And taking it one step further… if Gaia could break it, wouldn’t that mean he could finally escape the Boss’s control?
Once this thought took root, it consumed Tai Yinzi's mind like wildfire. He couldn't stop himself. He stared at Gaia with extreme anticipation, waiting for her answer.
Gaia finally responded:
[Assessment: Subordinate Permission Holder is bound by 'Eternal Kingdom Citizen ID.' Do you wish to delete the ID?]
Eternal Kingdom Citizen ID… what the hell is that?
Another layer of the Black Soul Envoy identity?
Tai Yinzi frowned. He didn’t rush to delete it but instead asked, "How do you delete it?"
[By removing the 'Source of Anomaly' gene from the Subordinate Permission Holder's body.]
Tai Yinzi hesitated. "And what will happen to me after removal?"
[Upon removal of 'Source of Anomaly,' the individual’s Subordinate Permission will be revoked. Inquiry: Proceed with removal?]
Tai Yinzi thought for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "I have one thing to say, but I don’t know if I should say it…MMP!"
He had hoped to use this ancient relic from the previous Boss, this thing older than even the maid, to break free from his miserable fate as a corporate slave to this shady club and finally live freely…
But in the end—ha!
[Inquiry: What does 'MMP' mean?]
"I don’t have the energy to explain it to you!" Tai Yinzi snapped, glaring at Gaia. If he could actually defeat her, he would’ve dismantled her on the spot!
Gaia didn’t press further. Her gaze dimmed again as if she was about to enter standby mode…
Tai Yinzi furrowed his brows and curiously asked, "What exactly is this 'Eternal Kingdom'?"
[Original World.]
"Original World?"
Faced with Gaia’s answer, Tai Yinzi—who had been utterly confused since the moment he was granted Subordinate Permission—found himself trapped in a philosophical crisis.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I even listening to…?
(End of Chapter)
Note: "MMP" is Chinese internet slang, short for "妈卖批" (mā mài pī), which is a vulgar phrase expressing frustration or anger. It roughly translates to "F* your mom" in English.