The Ruckus of the Heliobi

Golden talent: Golden Threads of Fate!

A network of Golden Threads capable of monitoring an entire city?

This was practically a divine skill tailor-made for me!

Information was power. Mastering information meant having countless trump cards.

With this, whether I controlled Wildfire or laid schemes in the future, I'd be even more formidable!

I had to take this one!

Next was the purple Precognition.

Talents could actually level up?

And the combat power this talent granted was real! If I got lucky, wouldn't enemies be unable to hit me at all? Even Sneak Attacks would be difficult.

In the Underworld, where I could lose my life at any moment, there was no such thing as having too much ability to stay alive.

This was a must-pick too!

Only one talent slot remained.

Jiang Mo looked at the remaining three talents.

The white Dragon Lord's Smirk seemed useless aside from looking cool and possibly drawing aggro, so he eliminated it immediately.

Environmental Adaptation Max was blue. Adapting to environments... it was too ordinary and of limited use.

Finally, there was the blue Zen State.

Improved mental resistance... that was somewhat interesting.

"This one!"

Jiang Mo quickly made his decision.

Combat strength, behind-the-scenes control, and mental stability—this combination of talents looked quite good.

"I choose Golden Threads of Fate, Precognition, and Zen State!"

Talent selection complete.

Your objective is to obtain as many Villain Points as possible by the end of the simulation.

Loading simulation world...

The familiar sensation of dizziness struck again, even more intensely than before.

His consciousness was pulled from his body and cast into a boundless vortex of stars.

Simulation begins.

At age 0, you were born aboard a giant vessel known as the Xianzhou Zhuming.

You were a faint flame of energy, ignorant and chaotic, called a heliobus by the people here.

When his consciousness gathered again, Jiang Mo found himself "floating."

He had no limbs, no torso, not even a fixed form.

He tried to sense himself, but could only detect a tiny, extremely unstable flame glowing faintly green.

Crowds bustled around him, dressed in what looked like ancient clothing, with majestic buildings in the background...

It was like he had traveled to ancient times, yet it was somehow different. It was a cybernetic ancient era.

This was the Xianzhou?

And I... became a flame?

No, a heliobus?!

Jiang Mo was somewhat dazed.

I wasn't even human at the start?

He immediately recalled what he knew about heliobi.

Parasitism, possession, immortality... and the king of the heliobi—the Tinder Emperor!

Could the villain in this simulation be the Tinder Emperor?

If that was really the case...

Simulating a supervillain who had nearly overturned the Xianzhou Alliance—wouldn't that let him farm Villain Points to his heart's content?

Based on heliobus instincts, you need to find a "container" to perceive the world and absorb nourishment. Several suitable Xianzhou natives are nearby.

The system prompt interrupted Jiang Mo's fantasy.

Only then did he feel a sense of weakness, as though he could extinguish at any moment.

If I don't find a host, I probably won't even be able to maintain my consciousness!

He "looked" around. Several Xianzhou natives passed by his little "flame," seemingly unaware of his existence.

Choose a target to possess.

1. The nearest young man with a fragile mind.

2. Attempt to possess a nearby Abundance believer who is praying loudly and emotionally agitated.

3. Secretly attach yourself to a passing pet dog. Lay low and observe first.

Jiang Mo analyzed the choices.

The first option was the safest. A fragile mind meant it would be easier to invade.

The second option, an emotionally agitated Abundance believer? Heliobi seemed to feed on emotions or life force. The more intense the emotions, the more "nourishment" they might provide.

Hmm... that seemed like a good choice too.

The third option... possess a dog?

No, I'm simulating a villain here. Who the hell would choose to be a dog?

Then I'll choose 2!

That person looked like the one with the most emotional nourishment.

Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!

You chose to possess that Abundance believer.

Jiang Mo controlled the weak flame and silently drifted toward the Xianzhou youth, who was praying devoutly in a corner, his body trembling slightly.

The moment the flame touched the youth, a powerful suction force came.

Jiang Mo's consciousness instantly flooded into the youth's body—

Sight, hearing, smell, touch... all the senses that belonged to a human returned in an instant.

Success!

Jiang Mo opened his eyes, examining the body's hands and feeling the solid reassurance of possessing a physical form again.

Immediately afterward, a jumble of memory fragments and chaotic emotions began crashing into his consciousness.

These were the host's original memories and emotions.

At the same time, a connection from the heliobus's origin instantly gave him more information.

A moment later, Jiang Mo understood the situation and froze.

Chaos of the Heliobi

Sure enough, the heliobus in this simulation was not the "Tinder Emperor" at all. It was not even a direct descendant.

He was merely one of the countless ordinary heliobi aboard the Xianzhou, a newly born and utterly commonplace one.

A standard nobody.

"Tch..."

Jiang Mo curled his lip and quickly adjusted his mindset.

So what if I'm not the Tinder Emperor?

Could a nobody not farm points?

Perfect. I had even more freedom this way!

At the very least, I was better than that useless Phantylia, right?

At age 2, Xianzhou civilization had yet to receive Jianmu's blessing, and mortals had limited lifespans.

At this time, the Xianzhou still held an open, even curious attitude toward all kinds of visitors from beyond the stars, including the mysterious heliobi.

Many Xianzhou natives were obsessed with the illusions woven by heliobi, treating them as strange encounters or divine revelations. The two sides were still in a delicate "honeymoon period."

The body you parasitized belonged to A'yun, an orphan who worked odd jobs at a restaurant on the Xianzhou Zhuming. His greatest wish was to receive the Healer's blessing and attain immortality.

At age 3, you hid within A'yun's body and became a symbiotic entity.

Through his eyes, you observed the customs and people of the Xianzhou Zhuming. The prosperity of this colossal vessel-city opened your eyes.

You also saw all kinds of Xianzhou natives coexisting with heliobi. Some worshipped heliobi and prayed for blessings. Some used heliobi power to handle their affairs. Others had heliobi create illusions to satisfy their desires in exchange for "nourishment."

At age 4, your host A'yun was a remarkably kind, even somewhat naive youth.

He did not reject your presence. After learning that an "Immortal Spirit heliobus" resided within him, he even felt somewhat honored. He craved immortality and believed this might be some kind of fortunate opportunity.

Gradually, you discovered that A'yun's mental strength was far inferior to yours.

You could even easily influence A'yun's emotions. Occasionally, when he was utterly exhausted, you could briefly take control of his body and help him complete the restaurant's heavy work.

A'yun was not the least bit wary of this. Instead, he enjoyed it.

He believed that you, this "Immortal Spirit heliobus," were helping him and were his good companion.

"Sorry for the trouble, Immortal Spirit. Today was all thanks to you. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have been able to carry those bags of rice." That night, A'yun lay in his crude dwelling and spoke to you within his body, a smile on his face.

You thought, Foolish Xianzhou native. Still, this was good. It made things easier for you.

At age 5, you discovered that you were different from other heliobi. Besides possessing people, you had another ability.

You could expend mental energy to make threads appear around you that only you could see, using them to sense everything nearby.

Taking advantage of your parasitism within A'yun's body, you began trying to activate those threads.

A stream of mental energy was released from within, transforming into countless fine threads invisible to the naked eye. Centered on A'yun's body, they silently spread outward.

Like living vines, they clung to walls, beams, pillars, the ground, and even floating dust.

Soon, an invisible network covered the entire street where the restaurant was located.

Countless tiny streams of information flowed into your consciousness: Old Wang next door snoring, the cloth shop owner's wife complaining across the street, children playing at the corner, the passwords exchanged by patrolling guards during shift changes, the psychic fluctuations of other heliobi communicating in a dark alley...

This omniscient sense of control made you feel incomparably satisfied.

At age 6, the days passed peacefully. You absorbed A'yun's emotions and life force as "nourishment" to strengthen yourself while constantly expanding the Golden Threads' coverage, from one street to one district, then to ever larger areas.

That day, as usual, your "threads" captured every little movement within the area.

Suddenly, a conversation from deep inside a heavily guarded residence caught your attention.

"...General, reports concerning heliobi have been increasing lately."

A worried voice said, "Possession, body-snatching, causing unrest... if this continues, they may become a grave threat to the Xianzhou!"

Another, authoritative voice replied:

"Mm, I am already aware of this. Having only recently arrived on the Xianzhou, these rootless heliobi are already eager to cause trouble... Pass down the order. Strengthen surveillance of heliobus activity. If any cross the line, throw them directly into prison!"

"Yes! But... how should we deal with those Xianzhou natives who coexist symbiotically with heliobi?"

"...Observe them for a while longer. If heliobi truly become a disaster, then we must cut them off without hesitation!"

The conversation ended there.

After hearing it, you were startled.

The Xianzhou higher-ups had already begun to fear the heliobi?