You controlled your Flames of Suyang, releasing energy far stronger than the listless Suyang around you.
A'yong had been wandering aimlessly around the prison. Forced by his superiors to come pick a possessed Suyang, he was terrified out of his wits.
Suddenly, he sensed an unusual presence. Turning his head, he saw a bluish-green flame that stood out vividly in the pitch-black prison cell.
Then, that voice echoed in his mind.
"Choose me... survive... achieve greatness..."
"Really? You can really help me?"
A'yong stared fixedly at the flame as though he had found his savior.
"Of course."
After that, you said no more.
"I-I'll take that one!" After hesitating for a long time, A'yong finally pointed at you with trembling fingers and shouted to the guard beside him.
Deal complete! The guard opened the cell door, and you shot into A'yong's body with a whoosh.
Trick successful! Villain Points +50.
It had been so long since you had felt this free! Though you were only temporarily living inside someone else's body, you still felt incredible.
You could feel just how weak A'yong's body was, and how terrified he was inside.
Before long, A'yong's unit was urgently deployed to the front lines—the outer battlefield of Xianzhou Yaoging. This was one of the fiercest areas resisting the Denizens of Abundance' offensive.
For A'yong, participating in an interstellar war of this scale for the first time was a hellish experience.
Lasers tore through the starry sky, wreckage from warships fell like burning meteors, and the roar of artillery was deafening.
A'yong piloted a small assault craft, his hands shaking so badly that he could barely grip the controls.
Just then, an energy cannon blast from who knew where came hurtling toward A'yong's cockpit!
A'yong was scared out of his wits and had no time to react.
However, you immediately seized control of his body!
A'yong's trembling hands suddenly performed a dazzling series of maneuvers.
The ship made a sharp extreme drift, skimming past the edge of the blast!
The heat wave made the ship's shields hiss and crackle.
A'yong gulped down breaths, cold sweat soaking through his clothes.
He looked at his still-trembling hands, which had just pulled off those godlike maneuvers, then thought of the Suyang inside his body. The fear in his heart instantly turned into admiration.
"Th-thank you, Brother Suyang!"
In the battles that followed, you displayed your value again and again.
Several times, when enemies launched Sneak Attacks, you directed A'yong to evade them. You even took direct control of his body to counterattack, killing many enemies.
With your guidance, A'yong, a mere amateur, repeatedly distinguished himself in battle. He gradually made a name for himself on the brutal battlefield and received several promotions.
But A'yong's dependence on you also grew heavier... Under the relentless pressure and exhaustion of war, along with your corrosion, his mind became riddled with cracks.
At last, after a great battle that lasted several days and nights, A'yong's unit was almost completely wiped out.
A'yong himself was severely wounded, and his mind finally collapsed.
This was the opportunity you had been waiting for! Your powerful Suyang consciousness surged like a flood, washing away A'yong's final resistance and "devouring" him whole.
Possession successful! Villain Points +100.
When "A'yong" opened his eyes again, all fear had vanished from them, leaving only coldness.
This body was yours, inside and out!
At this time, the war between the Xianzhou and the Denizens of Abundance was still deadlocked.
But you had no interest in serving the Xianzhou.
Controlling A'yong's body, you used your newly promoted status as a squad leader as an excuse to scout behind enemy lines and acquired a small assault ship capable of space jumps.
Then, under cover of night, instead of flying toward the battlefield, the assault ship plunged headfirst into the dark depths of space far from the Xianzhou.
But your unusual actions did not escape the notice of someone observant.
A Xianzhou officer responsible for enforcing battlefield discipline happened to notice the small ship straying from its route.
At a glance, the officer saw that something was off about you. You were trying to run!
"Captain Hao Yong of the Seventh Patrol Brigade! Report your location and mission immediately! You have severely deviated from your patrol route!" the officer's furious voice came through the communicator.
You ignored him completely and instead pushed the ship's speed to the limit.
"Traitor! You won't get away!" The officer shouted in fury and personally piloted a warship after you.
A space pursuit began!
The officer's warship had powerful firepower and superior speed. But he did not know that the one he was chasing was no longer that cowardly A'yong, but a powerful and cunning Suyang!
You calmly piloted the ship, weaving through dense artillery fire.
Every evasive maneuver was perilously close, yet each one avoided the fatal attacks at exactly the right moment.
You even took advantage of the officer's eagerness to pursue you, cleverly luring him toward a nearby asteroid belt.
"You coward! Traitor! Xianzhou trash!" the officer cursed wildly over the communicator.
You paid him no attention, twisting and turning through the asteroid field as you led his warship deeper inside.
Finally, at a bend, the officer's warship slowed for a moment because he could not see the way ahead clearly.
You seized the opportunity, sharply turned the ship around, and unleashed every weapon it had in one burst!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The officer's warship was smashed full of holes by asteroids, then pounded by artillery fire until it exploded into a cosmic firework.
Afterward, you did not even give him the chance to launch an escape pod. You followed up with several more shots, making sure he was thoroughly dead.
Villain Points +200.
Reinforcements soon came in pursuit.
But you had detected their direction long beforehand and set traps throughout the asteroid belt, ensuring that none who came would return.
After dealing with the pursuers, you piloted the battered assault ship straight out of Xianzhou territory.
Ahead lay the endless dark universe.
At last, using the body of a Xianzhou native, you finally escaped the Xianzhou's cage and gained true freedom...
Chapter 31: Interstellar Peace Corporation
Piloting the small assault ship you had seized while defecting from the Xianzhou, you drifted alone through the vast, boundless universe.
The experience of a thousand years of imprisonment clung to you like maggots on bone, gnawing at your consciousness day and night.
Those sunless years settled and fermented in your heart, eventually turning into bone-deep hatred for the Xianzhou Alliance.
The flames of vengeance burned deep within your core, but you understood that the time was not yet right.
The Xianzhou Alliance was a colossal entity, not something you could easily shake at your current strength.
Your most urgent task was to find a new host, a vessel that could temporarily house you and allow you to keep building your power.
You continued roaming the sea of stars, searching for isolated ships that would be easy targets.
By chance, you successfully possessed a low-level employee of the Interstellar Peace Corporation.
From his chaotic memories, you learned of this commercial giant that spanned the universe—the Interstellar Peace Corporation.
What made your Flames of Suyang flare up violently was remembering that this company was actually an ally of the Xianzhou Alliance!
"Hmph, birds of a feather!" Killing intent rose in your heart.
Since you could not move against the Xianzhou Alliance for the time being, collecting some interest from its ally and turning it upside down would count as a small act of revenge.
Your hatred had found a new outlet.
At the age of 1,800, after careful selection, your gaze settled on an interstellar cruise liner named the Queen.
This cruise liner belonged to the Interstellar Peace Corporation and was one of its most luxurious flagship vessels.
It was renowned across the star systems for its extreme extravagance and supposedly airtight security system. All year round, it carried Interstellar Peace Corporation executives, wealthy merchants from across the universe, and influential figures from civilizations throughout the star systems.
The Queen was more than just a cruise liner. It was the Interstellar Peace Corporation's public face for displaying its strength and wealth.
If you could stir up trouble aboard this ship, it would undoubtedly be a resounding slap in the face for the Interstellar Peace Corporation.
You began making preparations.
After some effort, you set your sights on a low-ranking maintenance worker aboard the Queen.
The process was not complicated. For someone like you, who had lived for nearly two thousand years, possessing an ordinary person with weak will was as easy as turning your hand.
Just like that, you gained the qualifications to board the Queen.
Soon, the Queen was about to depart on a luxurious voyage, and you successfully blended in among its passengers and crew.
The moment you stepped aboard the Queen, the invisible golden threads within you spread into every corner of the cruise liner.
The hypocritical conversations amid clinking glasses in the VIP lounges, every order issued by the captain on the bridge, the loopholes in the security system, the hidden scandals stored on executives' personal terminals, even the most shameful secrets buried deep in certain passengers' hearts... all of it continuously flowed into your consciousness.
You felt as though you had become an omnipresent ghost aboard this enormous vessel, hiding in the shadows and coldly watching every prey.
You felt an inexplicable thrill and satisfaction.
Afterward, you planned to begin dismantling the security system from within.
You successfully possessed a security captain responsible for a specific area.
Using that security captain as a stepping stone, you repeated your old tactics. Over the following days, you eroded the cruise liner's key positions like a virus.
The chief engineer, communications director, food services manager... one after another, those who controlled the cruise liner's core operations fell under your control.
You carefully erased part of their memories of being possessed, allowing them to move freely like puppets on strings under your mental suggestions, as though everything remained normal.
Under your secret manipulation, cracks began to appear in the Queen's seemingly peaceful voyage.
The navigation system would occasionally malfunction briefly, causing the ship to stray off course.
The carefully prepared food in the restaurant would sometimes make diners vomit, and at other times cause terrifying hallucinations to flash before their eyes.
Surveillance footage would mysteriously cut out for several seconds, as though something had deliberately erased it.
The ship's broadcast system would occasionally blare distorted, piercing static or interference signals laced with dreadful whispers.
These inexplicable, bizarre incidents stirred unease among the passengers.
Unrest began spreading through the ship.
And you waited for the most suitable moment.
Finally, at a grand banquet held for a certain Interstellar Peace Corporation executive, you drew back the curtain on the "feast."
The crew members you controlled hacked the system, and evidence of this executive abusing his authority for corruption, amassing wealth, and suppressing rivals was suddenly displayed publicly on the enormous screens in the banquet hall.
The images and recordings on the screens were clear and explicit, instantly turning the normally sanctimonious executive pale as death.
But this was only the beginning.
Soon after, the scandals of other executives and wealthy businessmen were exposed through all kinds of unexpected means:
Private communication records were broadcast directly, shady deal contracts appeared on public terminals, and even certain photographs were projected onto the advertising screens outside the ship's hull.
In an instant, the dignity that the cruise liner's upper class took such pride in was utterly shattered, and the banquet hall became a battlefield.
The panicked elites accused one another, frantically trying to contact the outside world for help.
However, they soon discovered in despair that no matter what communication device they used, they could not connect to any external network.
What terrified them even more was that when someone tried to leave in an escape pod, they found that none of the escape pod doors could be opened.
This interstellar cruise liner had become an isolated island in the universe.
Afterward, people began to suspect one another, and panic spread wildly through the enclosed space like a virus.