"I'm finally back!"
Upon returning to the Herta Space Station, Chen Li finally let out a sigh of relief. Although on the surface it seemed he had taken a nice three-day break during his "extra time" and enjoyed a satisfying meal, the omnipresent mental pressure he experienced while consuming the Aeon of Nihility had been genuinely unpleasant.
However, while the risks of pioneering into the depths of the Aeon were great, the rewards were plentiful.
Besides obtaining two Miracle Cards and a total of 60 Crystals, the "first time" experiences of eating a portion of the Aeon of Nihility and the gaze of the Aeon of Voracity had caused his physical attributes to skyrocket. This adventure had opened the door to a whole new world for him!
Using [Mom's Tablecloth], Chen Li could continuously consume strange foods to slowly increase his physical stats, but devouring something massive every now and then was what brought about a true qualitative leap!
Chen Li subconsciously clenched his fist, feeling his body surging with power! He felt that the physical enhancement from a single bite of an "Aeon's Gaze" was comparable to, if not three times greater than, the growth that MANTIS warriors like Kevin and Fu Hua had achieved over 50,000 years of refinement. And that wasn't even counting the fact that he had tasted the actual flesh of an Aeon...
He could feel it! This power, this invincible power had broken through its limits, reaching an unprecedented realm! The power of nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine horses!
Who would dare stand in his way? Who could stand in his way?
Smack!
"What are you thinking about?" Little Herta popped out of nowhere and gave Chen Li's butt a firm slap.
"..." Chen Li looked down, his face expressionless.
After half a second of contemplation, he scooped Little Herta up.
"Hey, what are you doing? A moment ago you just wanted a garter, and now you want me? Dame yo, dame dame!" Even with her feet off the ground, Little Herta showed not a shred of fear.
Smack.
But when Chen Li lifted her up, settled her on his hip, raised his hand, and began to perform a vigorous section of the Ansai waist drum on her, Little Herta became terrified.
"Dame!!!"
"I'll help you!" Hearing Little Herta's screams, the Herta puppet controlled by Big Herta from the next room came leaping in. Big Herta felt that the humiliation of being photographed by Chen Li while stuck in a trash can could finally be washed away!
One was the unique Little Herta, possessing the power of a Machine Spirit. The other was a Herta puppet controlled by the supremely intelligent and devastatingly gorgeous Lady Herta. Big Herta simply couldn't imagine how they could lose. Moreover, she had specially crafted the puppet she was currently using with modules that could house a portion of her own Emanator of Erudition power, on top of the standard puppet modules!
Crack!
Chen Li held Little Herta's waist with one arm and clenched his other hand into a fist, creating a sonic boom. At the same time, wisps of black cracks leaked from between his fingers!
The mirrors that the Herta puppet had hidden in concealed corners using a portion of her Emanator power upon entering the room were instantly distorted and then vanished into nothingness.
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Herta's eyes widened at the sight of Chen Li instantly dispelling her Path's power. Although this puppet could only carry a fraction of her strength, it was still the power of an Emanator.
Aren't you supposed to be an item-based player, Chen Li?
"I'll help you! I knew you, Little Herta, would commit insubordination! How dare you humiliate the Curio Forger who gave you new life! It's true what they say, spare the rod and spoil the child!" The Herta puppet's finger silently shifted its angle, pointing away from Chen Li and toward Little Herta, who was being held at Chen Li's hip and played like a waist drum.
"Turncoat! You're a total turncoat! Weren't we on the same side? Didn't you say you'd back me up as soon as I initiated? Why did you defect?" Little Herta, pinned at Chen Li's waist, turned her head to look at Herta in disbelief.
"What do you mean, I defected? I am Lady Herta. If anyone defected, it's you, Unique Herta. I knew your Machine Spirit harbored an undying ambition to destroy me, Herta! You sought to use Chen Li's power to kill me with a borrowed knife! How despicable!" Herta said without batting an eye.
For Big Herta, she only wanted to observe which direction Little Herta's personality would develop after gaining a Machine Spirit, as she was a projection of her own personality module. Whether she teamed up with Little Herta against Chen Li or with Chen Li against Little Herta, she didn't care.
Experiments, after all, require a control group. Teaming up with you against Chen Li is a matter for another time.
"Guh! Just kill me! Kill me, and you'll never have a Little Herta to act cute for you again! I'm the only Herta equipped with the Act Cute module!" Little Herta looked up at Chen Li, her eyes misty with tears.
Who knew how she managed to squeeze those tears out? But it was clear that Little Herta was really letting herself go.
"Little Herta, can't you just give me a break?" Chen Li said, putting her down.
"Hmph, you miscalculated this time, didn't you? I'm fine!" Little Herta looked triumphantly at Big Herta.
"You're right. But how can you be sure this wasn't the outcome I anticipated?" Big Herta shook her head, asking Little Herta a question that caused her processor to start crashing.
"Huh?"
Little Herta fell into deep thought. Smoke began to rise from her head... In the end, Little Herta decided that Big Herta had a point!
"Speaking of which, that power you just used, Chen Li... that wasn't Nihility, was it?" Herta, having sent Little Herta into a thought loop with a single sentence, asked tentatively.
"Sharp as ever. As expected of a member of the Genius Society." Chen Li was somewhat surprised by Herta's perception and nodded readily.
As the God of Cookery, Chen Li had a chance of obtaining a god's traits or properties when he consumed them. And while he was bro-ing it up with the Aeon of Nihility, he had been lucky enough to acquire such a trait. This power made it difficult for him to be affected by the power of other Paths. Whether it was effective against non-Path powers would require further experimentation.
This ability gave Chen Li a feeling similar to... the Horse Talisman.
The noble horse can remove all external forces from the body.
And the noble Nihility can prevent the invasion of all external forces.
Emmm... could it be that what the ridiculous netizens said about IX, the Aeon of Nihility, being the biggest Chaos Doctor boss wasn't just a meme?
[But the noble horse doesn't assimilate other external forces. [Nihility] does.]
"I knew it... The Path of Nihility can resist the encroachment of any other Path's power, and can even corrupt the power of other Paths in turn. Just like that IX, who does nothing yet still sweeps the world with nothingness. But didn't you just leave for a little while? When did you acquire the power of Nihility?" Herta asked, puzzled.
It was precisely because she sensed this power, unique to the Path of Nihility, that she had so decisively switched sides mid-battle. She stood no chance against it.
"It's a long story, and it's not simple at all. By the way, Herta, have you ever observed the Aeon of Nihility?" Chen Li asked.
"I have, but the observation was unsuccessful. The Aeon of Nihility can devour even things like one's line of sight, so without power of a comparable level, it's impossible to see its full form."
"Oh..." Chen Li was a little disappointed.
He had been waiting for Herta to say that the Aeon of Nihility was like a black hole corrupting everything, but that there was a white dot within it, at which point he could proudly declare that he was the one who bit it.
But instead, Herta said she couldn't see anything at all...
Wasn't this like winking at a blind man? It was that frustrating, in-between feeling of being about to sneeze at the sun, only to have someone slap you on the back and stop it.
Damn it! Where were those random bystanders from all the novels, the ones who could watch the protagonist use any divine technique and immediately exclaim that it was some long-lost legendary palm style?
I'm shivering with rage! It's freezing! When will people like us who have eaten the Aeon of Nihility finally be able to stand up?!
Chen Li took out some rice. He took out a sheet of seaweed. He took out seasonings...
"What are you doing?" Herta tilted her head, not understanding why Chen Li had suddenly started cooking mid-conversation. What was wrong with him? Even those magical girls who break into dance at the drop of a hat need a monster to show up first.
"I'm cooking a meal for my food," Chen Li said.
"You can cook? Are you making seaweed rice balls? It looks a little crude... but it smells so good. Can I have a bite?" Little Herta, who now had the ability to eat thanks to her Machine Spirit, asked, drooling.
"Question: to eat an Aeon, how many steps does it take?" Chen Li suddenly asked.
"Huh?"
"Three steps. First, you make a rice ball that can lure a god. Then, you throw the rice ball out..." Chen Li tossed the freshly made rice ball into the air and opened his mouth.
"Gulp!"
A figure hidden beneath countless masks swallowed the rice ball in one bite.
And Chen Li, who had been lying in wait, took a bite out of one of those countless masks.
"!!!" Herta's eyes widened in disbelief.
Holy crap!
Nous! Get out here and see God! A member of your Genius Society has become a Taotie!
---o---