But now, Aha had handed him exactly what he needed. Not only could he improve his rewards, he could also get an Emanator of [Elation]'s power for free.
The instant Lingchen agreed, Aha flew high into the sky. The mother bugs, which would otherwise have taken a little longer to arrive, were brought over directly by some means.
In an instant, the bugs once again blotted out the sky.
On the ground, Aha transported the entire planet's Antimatter Legion into the area before Lingchen's eyes, thoughtfully unfreezing them as well.
Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Sam shielded Lingchen behind them. They had heard Aha's words too. Even if they tried to help, someone would probably stop them.
As the Aeon of [Elation], Aha certainly commanded little respect, but there were times when an Aeon's words had to be taken seriously.
Lingchen no longer hesitated. Emanator-level Imaginary Energy surged through his body, and threads of [Domination] descended from the sky, winding around every bug. In an instant, their screeching stopped, leaving only the endless beating of wings.
"Crush them."
As Lingchen spoke, the Swarm changed its target and flew toward the Antimatter Legion on the ground. Several mother bugs engaged the revived Doomsday Beasts.
The mindless Swarm and the Antimatter Legion, which thought of nothing but [Destruction], plunged into an all-out slaughter.
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Chapter 7: An Emanator of [Elation]'s Mask, Aha's Gift
Annihilation, destruction, biting, trampling-the mother bugs' enormous maws obscured the sky, while torrents of energy from the Doomsday Beasts tore through their bellies.
Stinking severed limbs piled into small mountains in the blink of an eye. Viewed from space, the planet looked as though half of it had been gnawed away.
"Kafka, what kind of power is this? Is he going to settle scores with me afterward?"
Silver Wolf tugged at Kafka's sleeve. Remembering how she had mocked Lingchen while they searched for the Stellaron, she was now panicking like crazy.
"I don't know either, but you can relax. Mr. Lingchen does seem quite fond of you. If all else fails, just give yourself to him."
"Hey, Kafka, you!"
Silver Wolf was dumbfounded. She had been thinking that the coat she had seen last time looked pretty nice, and had planned to buy it for Kafka once she got some money out of the company. Now? Forget it!
Watching the Swarm before her, Sam was itching for a fight. She wanted nothing more than to charge in and set the sea ablaze.
In the sky, Aha laughed uproariously. With Aha's abilities, the philosophical concepts Lingchen was displaying were naturally apparent.
[Control] and [Seizure]-philosophical concepts independent of the Paths. This visitor from another universe would definitely bring Aha even greater surprises.
Aha grew increasingly eager.
Below, Lingchen silently watched the gruesome battlefield before him.
Scenes like this played out every moment throughout this universe.
The Swarm sought to propagate and multiply, the Antimatter Legion brought destruction for its master, and the Denizens of Abundance greedily plundered to expand their populations.
The universe's three great scourges constantly died, only for new ones to arise. Like the march of [Destruction], they never stopped for a moment.
"What does destroying you have to do with you?"
Perhaps this planet had once been a prosperous world teeming with life. Its people had probably fought the Antimatter Legion like this back then.
But they had been heroes, while these bugs were merely scum.
Burn, [Burn]!
Imaginary Energy surged from Lingchen's body. Supported by [Fire], it became pure white flames-the totality of all fire, of all molecular motion.
The heat warped space as pure fire descended upon the planet.
The land before Lingchen collapsed across countless miles in an instant. Distorted heat waves rose endlessly from the magma-filled abyss. The Swarm and the Voidrangers had long since vanished, leaving a scene that looked more like hell.
Silver Wolf swallowed. In the end, even the horrors of slaughter were less shocking than such a direct display of destruction.
Sam had done similar things before, but she had never been as casual as Lingchen when blasting out a crater this vast.
"You saw it too, Aha. It's only Emanator-level power."
"Satisfied now? Has your curiosity had its fill?"
Lingchen let out a long breath. Using his power without restraint really did feel good.
No wonder some people gained great power and immediately declared, "I don't eat beef."
With enough power, they could even say, "I don't eat dick."
Fortunately, his immense power hadn't blinded him. The only things that could blind him were breasts-delicate, cute, perky, or overflowing.
"Aha's appetite is much, much bigger than you imagine. How could it be filled all at once? This alone can't satisfy Aha, even if you have several Emanator-level powers."
Aha's Mask flew down from the sky. It was not an ordinary mask, but one like the mask floating beside Aha.
"Really? Then I'm terribly sorry I couldn't satisfy Lord Aha~"
Lingchen's voice carried more than a little sarcasm.
"But this is my limit. Once I'm about as strong as you, I'll let you experience it again."
"Hahahaha! Aha will be waiting. From this moment on, this mask is yours."
A figure appeared beside the mask-a curvaceous woman in a qipao, with white hair and red eyes.
"Now, Aha hereby presents this to Comrade Lingchen. May Comrade Lingchen keep up the good work and provide Aha with even more amusement."
With a solemn expression, the woman placed the mask in Lingchen's hands.
Lingchen made no comment about Aha turning into a woman, since this form really did suit his tastes. It would be bad if Aha changed into something else, like a certain blue-haired savage.
Somewhat surprised, he squeezed the mask.
The moment Lingchen touched it, he sensed the Emanator-level power and authority within.
It was real.
The system also notified him that he had acquired a new item.
[Aha's Mask: Contains Emanator-level power of [Elation]. Can be upgraded. Its Path power cannot be revoked. Authority: Make falsehood truth, and truth falsehood.]
Even among Emanators, this would definitely rank near the top.
"You're really giving it to me?"
"What's with that look? Aha isn't someone who breaks promises! Do you think Aha is like those Masked Fools?!"
Aha sounded distinctly displeased, standing with hands on hips and an annoyed expression.
Kafka and the other two women: "..."
Behind him, Kafka and the others had no idea how to respond.
"I thought that after you put the mask in my hands, it'd turn into a bomb, or a ball of dung, or at least a jack-in-the-box to give me a fright~"
"You really do have talent. But Aha keeps promises! Aha has the most dignity of all. Bleh~~"
As Aha spoke, Aha put a finger at the corner of one eye and stuck out a tongue at Lingchen.
Then Aha vanished.
Lingchen: "..."
The Aeon of [Elation] really was no normal Aeon. Every move was unexpected.
He had thought Aha would keep tagging along~!
What was the point of suddenly showing up and giving me power?
Lingchen picked up the mask again, then loosened his grip. The mask appeared inside his system space.
Forget it. Since things have come this far, I'll use it for now. He was just a humble transmigrator without an Aeon's power. Could he really refuse?
"Congratulations, Lingchen, on gaining Emanator-level power."
Kafka was the first to approach. She had heard the Aeon's words too, and a little thought was enough to understand what Lingchen had gained.
But when she remembered that Lingchen already possessed Emanator powers-more than one, at that-she felt much less envious.
A poor person receiving a fortune and a rich person receiving another sum of money simply felt different.
"You're actually an Emanator of multiple Paths?!"
Silver Wolf came over too, disbelief in her voice.
Earlier, Lingchen had only used the power of [Death].
"Uh-huh. I've got cheats."
"I want cheats like that too."
Silver Wolf felt another complaint rising in her throat.
"Mr. Lingchen..."
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Chapter 8: This Phone Is Nice
"Is something wrong, Sam?"
Lingchen looked at Sam. He knew what Sam-or rather, Firefly-wanted to say. Having seen him release the power of [Life] and experienced its miraculous purification, she wanted to know whether he could treat entropy syndrome.
But the reality was that Lingchen had only just met them, and Firefly had barely said a few words along the way.
"Just call me Firefly. As for what I wanted... no, it's nothing."
Firefly thought for a moment, then finally shook her head.
It wasn't the right time yet. Or rather, if Lingchen really could do it, she didn't know what price she could offer in exchange for his saving her.
The opportunity was right in front of her, but the usually straightforward Firefly didn't know how to ask.
Ask him outright? I'm not that shameless. Force him? I know my limits. Act cute and coax him? I've never tried that, and who knows whether it would work? Besides, I've never done it before. I don't think I even know how.
With that thought, Firefly suppressed her urge. There would be an opportunity eventually. They would surely meet again.
"Could we add each other as friends?"
Firefly was a little nervous, though no one could tell beneath the Sam armor.
After all, this was her first time adding someone, and she was a Stellaron Hunter. Even though Lingchen had shown them goodwill, she still had her concerns.
Silver Wolf gave Firefly a puzzled look, while Kafka wasn't surprised at all. She had known what Firefly was thinking from the start.
"Of course, but I don't have a phone." Lingchen turned his gaze to Silver Wolf. Even Firefly understood what he meant.
"Huh? You want my phone? No way. This phone has been specially upgraded, all its software has been personally optimized, its firewall is top-notch, and it has photos of us at home. How could I give it to you?"
Are you sure you aren't just making him want your phone even more?
Kafka glanced at Lingchen. His eyes were already shining.
For a large portion of boys, guns, mechs, and high-end electronics were practically universal interests.
And Silver Wolf's phone would definitely be better to use.
As for the fact that Silver Wolf had used it, didn't that make it even better?
"Sweetie, you wouldn't want to lose touch with me from now on, would you?"
Lingchen walked up to Silver Wolf and bent down slightly.
"I'm a hacker. Once you buy a phone, I'll just send my contact details straight to it."
Silver Wolf pretended not to understand what Lingchen meant.
Although she hadn't spent too much effort on her phone, she had still optimized it properly. After all, those who knew where phones were manufactured knew.
Besides, she had used it for so long, and its contents were mostly personal.
"The phone has traces of my use all over it. You wouldn't want something someone else has used, right?"
She herself certainly wanted everything brand-new. Even a data copy would do. In any case, if someone else had used it, she would definitely turn her nose up at it.
"You're the exception, Wolfie." Lingchen wasn't buying that excuse at all. If Silver Wolf hadn't used it, he wouldn't even want it.
Other people's phones probably had terrible firewalls.
Kafka sighed. Clearly, Silver Wolf still didn't understand boys.
If she mentioned that it contained pictures of her fresh out of the bath, Lingchen would probably just grab it. Why bother asking?
"Also, don't touch anything on it. At most, just delete your internal Stellaron Hunter chats. Sweetie, you wouldn't want me to be unable to help if something comes up in the future, would you?"