Void Realm Beast Speech

At that moment, Li Yèlái could clearly feel a force from the Void Realm flowing into his body and mind.

Psychic energy seeped into his muscles, meridians, and bones, gradually strengthening his physique.

He gained greater strength and faster reflexes.

If he fought the Lancer Knight again, Li Yèlái would now have the confidence to meet him head-on, even without using his face cards.

This brought smiles to the faces of Yáng Chén, Cheese, and the others outside.

From the instrument readings, they could see that Li Yèlái's physical body and psychic energy had begun to improve.

That meant Li Yèlái had passed through the Soul Well and survived the moment when he was most vulnerable to corruption by the power of the Void Realm.

"Good." Yáng Chén breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, all he has to do is watch out for Void Realm Creatures until he gains his new ability and completes his advancement."

"That part's up to us." One of the team members chuckled.

"Indeed. Cheese, Team Three, and Doll, keep watch here and be ready to provide support." Yáng Chén smiled. "The rest of you, come with me into the Void Realm! Let's see who dares disturb the Night General!"

"Of course!"

One after another, nearly ten psychics sent their consciousness into the Soul Well. Their psychic projections appeared in the starry sky of the Void Realm, some imposing, some beautiful, others solemn, prepared for any Void Realm Creatures that might appear.

Yáng Chén's psychic projection was a golden-armored giant dozens of meters tall. He looked toward a distant spot shrouded in dense mist.

That was where Li Yèlái was in the Void Realm.

Yáng Chén narrowed his eyes slightly and warily scanned his surroundings.

He wasn't just guarding against Void Realm Creatures. He also planned to catch a glimpse of the possible presence behind Li Yèlái.

Unfortunately, he saw nothing unusual.

"Is it really that well hidden?" Yáng Chén wondered.

He also felt that something about this starry sky seemed off.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Meanwhile, after passing through the Soul Well, Li Yèlái saw the stars shimmer and countless rays of starlight descend as a force flowed into his body.

"So this is the ability I'll gain?" Li Yèlái wondered. Then he suddenly spoke aloud. "Mr. Shadow, what ability am I going to get?"

Although it was random, to Li Yèlái, random meant the worst possible outcome.

With a face like his, even taking a potion might not help.

So he decided to ask Mr. Shadow's opinion.

In an instant, the stars shook, and the force about to merge with Li Yèlái's body was forcibly halted.

At the same time, a voice sounded in Li Yèlái's mind.

'Oh? Then shall we make a deal?' Mr. Shadow's tone was calm.

"No. You really are stingy! You're so stingy, and you still want me to be grateful?" Li Yèlái grumbled. He'd only asked it to help him pick an ability, and it wanted to charge him a deal?

Wasn't that supposed to be after-sales service?

Li Yèlái naturally refused. Judging by the number of chains, he and the Black Shadow had only three deals left.

He had to be careful. He needed to save them for the most critical life-or-death moments. That amounted to three chances to save his life. No—considering what might happen when all the chains shattered, he only had two chances.

Judging by Mr. Shadow's ability to kill the Ghost Immortal, it was probably no weaker than any King of the Forbidden Zone. He couldn't waste a deal like that.

As for his ability, Li Yèlái wasn't too concerned. A powerful one would be nice, but even without one, he'd be fine. Myriad Faces was already very strong.

He could use potions directly for his third and fourth Awakenings. There was no need to spend a deal.

Li Yèlái was calculating carefully. As soon as he refused, the starlight descended again, and the force within his body began to flow.

A natural understanding of the ability came to him, and Li Yèlái immediately mastered the power.

At the same time, the mist beneath the stars cleared, and Li Yèlái's Void Realm projection appeared before all the Handlers present!

"Great, the Night General's projection has appeared. His advancement is complete!" a psychic projection said with a chuckle. "Let's go back and congratulate him."

"Mm." Yáng Chén nodded slightly. After taking one last look at the starry sky of the Void Realm, he left.

He had no idea that, after they disappeared,

the enormous red star closest to them slowly shifted, like an eyeball.

When Li Yèlái opened his eyes in the room, he was greeted by a chorus of applause.

The Handlers who had returned to the physical world ahead of him applauded enthusiastically.

Doll was delighted, too, and raised a sign: [Success! (o▽)o]

"Congratulations!" The Handlers smiled as they congratulated their colleague on his advancement and celebrated humanity gaining another fighter.

Li Yèlái smiled and nodded in response. He also signed a greeting to Doll, but his expression was rather strange.

After he left the room and rejoined Yáng Chén and the others,

Cheese asked, "Why the long face? What ability did you get?"

At the same time, Doll raised a sign to comfort him: [Is it not a very good ability? (ω)(._.`)]

"Void Realm Beast Speech." Li Yèlái replied with a mournful expression. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted my luck!"

Everyone was taken aback, then laughed helplessly.

Void Realm Beast Speech, also known simply as Beast Speech, was an ability that psychics on the Myriad and Whisper Paths could potentially gain during their first two Awakenings.

It allowed them to issue commands to animals to a considerable extent and even communicate with supernatural creatures.

Of course, it couldn't handle anything too precise.

If you told a monkey to write code, you'd probably just get it smashing the keyboard.

It was considered a support ability.

Most psychics who gained it used animals to gather information or assist them in combat.

For example, they could have pigeons keep watch from the sky, order venomous snakes to attack enemies, or send a pack of wolves to surround them.

They could even make countless ants swarm over an enemy and bite them.

It seemed powerful.

But it could only deal with ordinary people. Ordinary animals posed little threat to psychics.

With a Psychic Barrier protecting them, psychics could even withstand bullets. They could escape even if surrounded by a pride of lions.

Besides, how useful the ability was depended on the environment.

Since the Calamity descended, humanity had been forced to hold out in the mega cities. The vast world outside had become a paradise for wild animals.

The ecosystem had become astonishingly rich.

Using Void Realm Beast Speech in the wilderness might attract a pack of wild animals, which could at least count as a fighting force.

But inside a mega city, the most common animals were pet dogs and cats, or rats hiding in corners.

They were a cut below in combat strength.

Of course, in theory, as long as the user met certain conditions, the ability really could command supernatural creatures.

If a supernatural creature came to help, it could hurt psychics. Some dangerous, high-level supernatural creatures were so powerful that it took an entire army to suppress them.

But did that mean you had to keep a dangerous supernatural creature at your side all the time?

More importantly, for a psychic to command a supernatural creature, their projection in the Void Realm had to be powerful enough.

Lava Mine City had a powerhouse on the Whisper Path who had mastered a gigantic volcanic beast with Void Realm Beast Speech.

He fed the beast while making money from the minerals it swallowed and exhaled.

When necessary, he could even summon the beast's projection into the physical world to fight.

That was one reason Lava Mine City was so wealthy. When other mega cities eliminated Void Realm Creatures, they usually had to send in tactical squads and psychics. The people of Lava Mine City simply carpet-bombed the area with thermite bombs and plasma cannons, then sent in squads to clean up.

It sounded wonderful, but such opportunities were rare and required great strength.

Otherwise, instead of controlling a supernatural creature, you might just make it feel a little too full.

All these limitations made Void Realm Beast Speech seem like a pretty useless support skill to most psychics.

"My face really is hopeless," Li Yèlái complained. "Without a potion, all I could get was a useless ability."

Li Yèlái had expected as much. Even without using an ability or triggering Luck E, his luck was still terrible.

Given his luck with drinks—he'd never won a free refill—

getting this ability made perfect sense.

"Void Realm Beast Speech, huh?" After thinking it over, Yáng Chén replied, "Your current Awakening level probably isn't high enough, but later on, it might not be impossible."

Li Yèlái's eyes lit up. "Tell me more!"

"For example, Furnace has Void Realm Beast Speech too. Later, he struck up a partnership with a strange ghost wolf that was being held at headquarters. He can use Beast Speech to summon the wolf's projection to fight. Of course, that's because of his strength. You probably can't do that yet, but you can give it a try. Maybe you'll get lucky."

"Get lucky? Are you serious, Captain?" Li Yèlái complained. He felt like luck had nothing to do with him.

His teammates chuckled, too. Word of Li Yèlái's terrible luck had apparently even reached the Logistics Department.

"By the way, why does our Processing Department have a living strange creature?" Li Yèlái asked.

"Most supernatural creatures are sources of materials for potions or Psychic Weapons, so we've been trying to breed some ourselves. Otherwise, going to the edge of a Forbidden Zone or even entering one every time is too dangerous. Unfortunately, our breeding efforts haven't been very successful."

Yáng Chén explained, "As for strange creatures we can't effectively eliminate, we keep them suppressed.

"Furnace Captain's ghost wolf, for example, is actually a byproduct of a Forbidden Item. It'll keep coming back to life unless the Forbidden Item is destroyed, so all we can do is keep it suppressed. That's still a long way off for you. To be safe, wait until after your third Awakening, then find an opportunity to go see it."

Li Yèlái nodded, and Yáng Chén continued, "But now that you've completed your second Awakening, the most important thing is to get used to your enhanced body and psychic energy."

"Mm. I'll spar with the Dual Blade Knight tomorrow," Li Yèlái replied. The Dual Blade Knight was strong, making him a good training partner.

"Good. Get yourself prepared," Yáng Chén said with a smile. "In a few days, it'll be our turn to guard the Black Prison. Use the time to get used to your ability."

Guarding the Black Prison was a duty that each team took turns handling. Some Forbidden Items constantly emitted danger and even tried to escape.

It wasn't a job to take lightly.

After a few more instructions, Yáng Chén and his team scattered to take care of their own work.

Cheese stayed behind, teasing Li Yèlái. "Good thing I completed my third Awakening a few days ago, or you'd have overtaken me. Come on, I'll walk you back. Tell your sister you'll be spending a month in the Black Prison with a pretty senior. Hehehe~~"

"There's something wrong with what you just said, you lecher!" Li Yèlái retorted. Then he turned to Doll and said, "Well, Doll, I'll be off."

For some reason, Doll seemed distracted and a little down.

Only a second later did she raise her sign.

[Okay~~ Be careful in the Black Prison (_)]

'Isn't that emoticon a little strange?'

Li Yèlái wondered, then said aloud, "I'll be counting on you."

He had discussed this with Doll earlier. After Li Yèlái entered the Black Prison, she would help look after Li Yúnyān.

The Family Apartments did offer meal delivery, but asking someone he knew was still the safest option.

Doll suddenly perked up, and words appeared on her sign again.

[Don't worry, I'll make sure your sister gets nice and chubby! (ノ≧≦)ノ]

Cheese raised an eyebrow and gave Doll a strange look.

She patted Doll's helmet, then left with Li Yèlái.

After they were gone, Doll began pacing anxiously in circles.

[What do I do? What do I do? (;Д｀)]

Over the next three days,

Li Yèlái first told the owner of the Antique Shop that he'd be leaving the mega city and wouldn't return for a month, so he'd have to quit.

Lao Jin, the shop owner, was shocked and suspected that Li Yèlái was planning to switch jobs.

After thinking it over for a while, he told Li Yèlái not to quit just yet and to decide after he came back in a month.

That came as a pleasant surprise to Li Yèlái.

In the days that followed, Li Yèlái became a druid, testing Void Realm Beast Speech in the streets and alleys.

Cats, dogs, sparrows, even flying insects—all of them obeyed his commands.

But there were limitations. After following a command, if they didn't hear another one for a while, they would leave on their own.

From then on, whenever he used this ability, he'd have to stay within hearing range of his target.

There was also the matter of how well they followed orders.

For instance, if he ordered a rat to run up to a wild cat, it would resist fiercely. It still carried out the command in the end, but it stopped several times along the way.

The likelihood of an order being followed depended on how strongly the target resisted.

Li Yèlái then discovered another advantage.

Simply using Void Realm Beast Speech didn't trigger his curse.

In other words, only when he used Myriad Faces, granted by Mr. Shadow, did he suffer misfortune.

That was good news. If Li Yèlái gained more abilities later, perhaps he could stop relying on Myriad Faces altogether and escape his bad luck.

Just imagine: other psychics had to bear a curse whenever they used their abilities, but he could use abilities other than his face cards without being cursed.

It was precisely because of this advantage that Li Yèlái could use Void Realm Beast Speech whenever he wanted.

On the street, Li Yèlái uttered a string of obscure words. "Come here."

A pigeon immediately landed on his shoulder.

Li Yèlái reached out to stroke its head and gave it another command.

"Go to my place first, then go to the branch and wait for me."

The pigeon seemed not to understand. After taking off, it circled around and returned to Li Yèlái's shoulder.

'Looks like the command has to involve information the target understands. It doesn't know where my place is or where the branch is, so it can't carry it out,' Li Yèlái thought, then continued, "Go bring me three leaves."

This time the pigeon flew away. Before long, it came back, but it had only a single fallen leaf in its beak.

'Well, that's what I expected. It can't count. The command has to be within the target's understanding,' Li Yèlái thought, releasing the pigeon.

But then he heard a commotion up ahead.

Several black luxury cars slowly drove down the road, flanked by crowds of young people cheering them on.

Li Yèlái stopped at the edge of the crowd and listened for a while. He learned that a band had crossed the wilderness and arrived at Border City No. 3.

Local fans had come to welcome them. Apparently, the lead singer was very handsome.

When he found out that a ticket cost more than eight hundred Mega City Coins,

Li Yèlái couldn't help baring his teeth.

No wonder. That business made more than merchant caravans who risked crossing the wilderness, didn't it?

Grumbling to himself, Li Yèlái headed for the branch.

He was going to the Black Prison today, so he had to get back early and prepare.

Meanwhile, in one of the luxury cars, a handsome man sat cross-legged in the back seat with his eyes closed.

Then, when he opened his eyes, a cassette tape had somehow appeared in his hand.

"I got it inside. Song of Extinction."