Built-in Skull

A pool of cerebrospinal fluid, the forehead, the Consciousness Space.

Luo Di's unfocused gaze gradually returned to normal.

All desire to have something pass through one's forehead completely vanished.

Moreover, when everything returned to normal, he vaguely heard a scream coming from inside his skull.

He probably knew what had happened, and that the potential risks had been eliminated.

"Sure enough, just like how the Pope tried to establish a neural connection with my pituitary gland in the Grand Monastery and ended up connecting with the corner, the remnant consciousness left here by this guy will trigger a similar situation once it has designs on me and is eager to take over my brain control."

Consciousness was projected backwards to the corner.

It seems they encountered monsters as soon as they went up, and were devoured so quickly.

The only pity is that I can't see what happened to Korlion, otherwise I could have learned about the situation in the corner in advance.

Next was my lunch break. Since arriving in Navel Port, I hadn't had a proper, full meal. But since I was in the area, I decided to eat something appropriate.

Although Luo Di's desire to pass through the door had disappeared, his "appetite" for the door itself remained.

Or rather, his appetite, originating from his pituitary gland, was aroused when he first arrived in the sewers, found the secret room, and smelled the odor.

Just like how I felt after the first offline event, all I could think about was roasted Brain Flower.

The moment has finally arrived.

Luo Di first created a large enough Intense Heat Torture Device, then cut the "forehead" in front of him into pizza slices, and placed them on the surface of the torture device to bake.

The aroma alone was irresistible, even without any seasoning. He stuffed the whole piece into his mouth as soon as it was cooked, nodding repeatedly.

I wonder what Korlion would think if he saw this.

that's all,

Luo Di devoured the entire door by himself, completely satisfying his pituitary gland.

*The above situation only occurs in the Consciousness Space created by the skull device; the actual situation may be somewhat different.

When the entire door was eaten,

The Consciousness Space also disintegrated and collapsed.

Luo Di's consciousness also returned to his hellish body and back to reality.

However, something seemed off about him. He was currently huddled in a corner of the secret room.

The skull device worn on the head was completely gone, its whereabouts unknown; there was no trace of the skull in the entire basement.

Agatha, who should have been standing guard beside him, was hiding some distance away, watching him warily. Karlien also woke up and gave him a somewhat surprised look.

Click, click, click~

Luo Di suddenly realized that he was chewing something that tasted like some kind of completely stewed pork ribs. Looking down, he saw that he was holding a half-eaten skull, and only this last half remained.

Strangely,

Luo Di wasn't surprised at all; he seemed to have already guessed the corresponding situation and calmly finished eating the skull in his hand.

"Luo Di... you!"

In response to Agatha's question, Luo Di simply raised his right hand, indicating that she should not approach him for the time being, or rather, not disturb him. This was a very crucial period.

"Let me digest this."

Luo Di could sense that some kind of change was taking place in his brain after this special meal.

Crack! Bone spurs.

He could hear what sounded like some special bone structure forming deep within his skull, a unique proliferative structure that deviated from the human body.

"Built-in Skull"

An extra piece of skull is forming on the surface of the brain, thin yet delicate, perfectly attached to the brain, replacing the original meninges.

In layman's terms, it's like putting a very suitable safety helmet on the brain.

What shocked Luo Di the most was not this unusual Built-in Skull structure, but the pituitary gland itself.

The pituitary gland, having been well-fed and watered, showed faint signs of sprouting.

A tiny crack appeared on the surface of the moon, and deep within the crack, something new and vibrant seemed to be moving.

According to the whispers in the corner, for the pituitary seed to sprout and develop towards the next stage of the system, it must go to the corner to absorb the true essence of fear.

I am in True Hell, but the pituitary seed is showing signs of sprouting.

In addition, since evil plays are related to the brain, if the subsequent dark journey involves contact with evil plays and more brain-related substances are ingested, it may indeed sprout earlier.

We can't rush things. It's best to let the pituitary gland absorb the nutrients of fear from the corner. If it really sprouts on this side of hell, and grows into a strange plant that can't be compatible with the corner, it would be a huge loss.

Let's focus on the [door] for now.

Although Luo Di could only see the outline of the door, after this experience, he had a feeling that he was closer to the door.

"Phew! Done, let's go."

When Luo Di got up and walked toward his two companions, even Agatha, who was with him day and night, stepped back slightly and looked at him with some wariness.

"Are you... really alright?"

"What did you see, Agatha?"

"Tentacles, countless tentacles, grew out of your face and drained the skull. Even the normally incredibly hard skull became fragile after being drained, easily crushed and swallowed by you."

The system in the corner is really a bit scary.

"So this is what the outside world is like? The pituitary gland really craves these brain-related nutrients, even though it is already saturated."

Let's go exchange for contribution points. I wonder how much we can get.

The three of them left the foul-smelling sewer together.

Karlien maintained his calm expression, even seeming sleepy again. He appeared indifferent to what had happened, only concerned with ensuring Luo Di remained unaffected and unchanged.

The journey to Hell Rift is not far.

Standing before the rift, Luo Di carried the mangled corpse in his hands, but his gaze was fixed on his two teammates.

"How should we proceed if we want to split the contributions equally?"

"Everyone tear off a part of the corpse and throw it down, but... I really don't need to. I've already bought a suitable weapon from the merchant guild, and Luo Di, your weapon just happened to break. You need to prepare a weapon before going to the Hell's Dark Side."

You and Karlien can split it equally. If you feel bad about it, consider it a debt you owe me.

"Okay, I owe you."

"Karlien, we'll split the body in half."

To everyone's surprise, crystals had formed on the surface of Karlien's eyeballs, and faint snoring could be heard. He had actually fallen asleep standing up, seemingly completely uninterested in contributing to Hell.

With Luo Di's call, the crystals on the surface of his eyeballs slowly disappeared.

"Contributions... I didn't participate in the battle, I only provided some crystals. I don't need contributions for the time being, but from your conversation on the way, it seems that Mr. Di is very eager for them."

If I see anything I want at the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Di can just get it for me later.

Luo Di didn't mince words; he genuinely needed it.

Since both teammates had expressed their opinions, he wouldn't hold back.

He threw the mutilated corpse into the rift, and soon thick ash floated up, which Luo Di inhaled entirely.

Its concentration was three times that of the previous mouse.

Luo Di also possessed relics from Korlion: a black scimitar riddled with nicks and chips, as well as the blueprints for the skull-making device, also known as the Gate Manuscript.

These two items might be able to be exchanged for some money at the Chamber of Commerce.

Is there any fastest way to find the Hell Merchants Guild?

Just as Agatha hesitated, Karlien stretched out his hand and pointed to a specific location:

"Currently, the Chamber of Commerce is operating roughly northeast of the coastline and will soon arrive at an important neutral city. There is a certain probability that they will establish a presence in that city, transforming from a nomadic caravan into a city-based sales force, at which point more products will be on display."

Even if the merchant guild doesn't stop in this city, we can still encounter caravans moving by simply heading in this direction.

Agatha looked puzzled. "Very few people know the whereabouts of the Chamber of Commerce. How did you know?"

"Lord Eye knew long ago that we were able to kill Korlion, and he also knew that after Mr. Di received the Hell contribution, he would go to the Merchant Guild to buy Hell items, so he scouted out the location of the Merchant Guild in advance."

At least within the realm of True Hell, there is no place that even Lord Eye cannot see.

When talking about Lord Eye, Karlien's face always shows a strange sense of admiration and pride.