With a series of changes and reorganizations, the black-haired, white-skinned, exotic Kardashian quickly reappeared in the room, her bare feet stepping on the floor where flames still flickered.
Her blood-and-flesh gown was fully restored, and her burned chest returned to its original fairness. She looked at Lex, then at the staff in her hand, and said in a voice with a strange rhythm and magnetism, "Now you can wake up."
Wake up?
Lex felt a slight daze. When he came to his senses again, he found that there were no flames on the floor, the room was not damaged, and there was no captain's corpse on the chair behind the desk.
It was as if everything that had just happened was just a dream, a 'dream' guided by Kardashian.
Lex immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He had thought he had handled it well, acting decisively, but now it seemed that he had probably been hypnotized and guided from the moment he entered the room.
Kardashian clearly held the advantage, but why would she voluntarily give up that advantage now and lift the hypnosis on him?
Lex's gaze fell on the Feathered Serpent staff, and he suddenly realized, "You still have memories, you still have your sanity?"
Kardashian must have recognized this golden staff, knowing it was related to the Nether Queen's Descendant, and that Lex possessed this staff. Therefore, she inferred that Lex knew the location of the Nether Queen's Descendant, which was why she was willing to give up her advantage and did not try to kill him. Lex sorted out his thoughts, knowing that he would not be in danger for the time being.
"You know what it is? Where did you get this staff?!" Kardashian raised the golden Feathered Serpent staff, her amber eyes reflecting Lex's figure.
Lex said in a deep voice, "The Nether Lord. I obtained this staff from a secret room on that ship."
"You found it? You found Master's ship? Where is it?!" Kardashian cried out excitedly. The blood-and-flesh gown on her body 'boiled' for a moment, and some transparent shadows vaguely appeared around her. Her voice was sometimes deep and sometimes sharp, as if several people were speaking at once.
Lex nodded, "Yes, I found it."
Kardashian suddenly transformed into a blood-and-flesh carpet and instantly appeared beside Lex. She coiled around Lex like a python, her lower body maintaining the shape of a carpet, and her upper body reverting to human form.
She held the staff in one hand and Lex's neck in the other, her eyes flashing with a fierce light, and a sharp scream echoed in Lex's ears: "Tell me where it is, or I'll throw you into the Underworld!"
Having searched for the Nether Lord for so long, and now with the answer so close, Kardashian, in her excitement, even forgot to use her 'Spectator' ability to dig for the answer.
Lex did not resist or evade, meeting Kardashian's gaze: "You know I won't tell you, and even if I did, that place would be useless; you wouldn't be able to find it."
"Then take me there!" Kardashian roared.
Lex did not respond, only met her gaze.
A moment later, Kardashian released her hand, the blood and flesh naturally separating to release Lex. She stepped back slightly, panting, "What do you want in exchange for taking me to find the Nether Lord?"
Lex put away his Blood Praise and said calmly, "At least, I need to advance to Demigod before I can take you to that place."
Kardashian's eyes moved: "Is the Nether River currently very dangerous?"
"Extremely dangerous. Anyway, I'm not willing to risk it until I reach Demigod."
Kardashian took a step forward: "You don't need to take any risks. I've remembered many things; I can do many things. As long as you take me to that place, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Lex nodded and smiled: "What about my reward?"
Malice welled up in Kardashian's eyes: "The reward is that you are alive now, and you will continue to live. I will no longer hunt you down or pursue what you did to me."
Lex shook his head, walked to the chair behind the desk, sat down, and propped his legs on the table: "Not enough."
Kardashian suddenly pounced, pressing her hands firmly on the desk: "What else do you want?!"
"Protection."
Lex looked at her calmly: "I hope you can protect me for a period of time."
"How long do you want me to protect you?" Kardashian leaned forward, her Aura aggressive.
"A hundred years, how about it?" Lex made an outrageous demand.
"A hundred years?"
Kardashian shrieked: "I can't wait that long! Perhaps I should just kill you now!"
Spikes of blood and flesh extended from her face, shoulders, and chest, instantly appearing beside Lex.
Lex smiled at her, saying nothing.
A moment later, the fleshy spikes retracted, and Kardashian said in a hoarse voice, "Ten years at most."
"Fifty years." Lex skillfully employed the 'bargaining' skill.
Kardashian gritted her teeth and said, "Twenty years, no more!"
"Deal!" Lex, fearing she would go back on her word, added, "But how will you guarantee that you will faithfully fulfill this promise?"
Kardashian snorted, took two steps back, and solemnly said, "The essence of death, the Ruler of the deceased, the final resting place of all living beings—"
"Great Sleeper, I swear to you by my true name and my spirituality."
"I, Kardashian, from this moment on, will protect—"
She looked at Lex.
"Lex, I am Lex Disraeli." Lex stated his true name, because he was worried that using the alias 'Leili' would give Kardashian an opportunity to circumvent the oath.
Kardashian snorted and continued, "From this moment on, I will protect 'Lex Disraeli' for twenty years."
"Should I violate this, I shall fall eternally into the Underworld and endure endless suffering."
After speaking, she looked at Lex: "It's your turn."
"Fool not belonging to this era, the mysterious Ruler Above the gray fog, the King of Yellow and Black who controls good luck."
"I, by my—"
At that moment, Lex 'shamelessly' swore by the honorable name of Mr. Fool, promising to take Kardashian to find the Nether Lord after twenty years.
Oaths made in the name of a deity are binding. Although Kardashian had never heard of Fool, the three-part honorable name did not sound like it was casually made up.
So after Lex made his vow, Kardashian nodded and said, "The contract is established."
Lex then let out a sigh of relief, thinking that if he were to tell Kardashian now that she could have used her 'Spectator' ability to get the answer, he wondered if she would be so angry that she would lose control.
Of course, he wouldn't seek death like that, nor did he have any interest in it.
Standing up, Lex looked around and said, "Do you have any way to hide by my side?"
Kardashian looked at Lex's abdomen and pointed at that spot: "I can hide inside your body in the form of flesh and blood."
Lex remembered her way of appearing by breaking out of a body and got goosebumps: "Besides that?"
Kardashian then said, "I also know 'Psychological Invisibility'."