Chapter Fifty: Evolve, Tentacles

When Chen Zi'ang returned home, he saw his younger sister, Xiao Zhu, still sitting on the rocking chair in the living room, her expression blank and silent.

"Xiao Zhu, are you going to bed?" he asked tentatively.

Chen Xiao Zhu made no response, but that was already the best response he could hope for.

If she were truly angry, she would turn her head away to show her resistance.

A girl in her twenties, yet with the temperament and intellect of a willful child of five or six. If not for this, even blindness would not necessarily have kept her from finding love of her own.

Yet, for all his sister’s willfulness, Chen Zi'ang felt nothing but affection and pity for her, never any annoyance.

He helped her change into pajamas, supported her to the bathroom to wash up, then carried her to bed, tucked her in, and turned out the lights.

Returning to his own room, he took with him, as usual, the Mandrake Sword, the Spiritual Pressure Gauge, and the Rationality Tablets.

He began to activate his Dreamwalking Abilities.

The preconscious and subconscious layers were unique to each individual’s mind, but the collective unconscious was strange and unpredictable—a swirling pool of stray thoughts from all minds, fraught with danger and uncertainty, demanding utmost caution.

Chen Zi'ang had no intention of exploring the collective unconscious. He simply focused his mind on "Enlank Ancient City" in the subconscious layer, then activated his power again.

This, too, was a peculiarity of the dream world: to move from one place to another required no physical travel, but only a shift of the mind.

I think, therefore I am; I wish, therefore I arrive.

Arriving at Enlank Ancient City, Chen Zi'ang was startled to discover that something had changed.

The moss spreading along the base of the houses had turned a deep, dark red, with thick, vein-like protrusions that pulsed in rhythm, as if alive.

Every household’s doors and windows were tightly shut. No nightmares flew in the air. The stone-paved streets were deserted, their cracks soaked with dark red stains, as though some unspeakable thing had occurred here.

In the town square, he saw that a makeshift altar had been erected in the center, encircled with pearls and lit by three candles. The old book brought by Naoya Anjing floated above the altar, surrounded by the pearl ring and candlelight, spinning at an erratic speed.

Even a brief glance—just two or three seconds—made Chen Zi'ang feel as if his heart were being squeezed. He had to avert his gaze, focusing instead on the ground beneath the altar.

A strange, blood-like viscous liquid constantly seeped from around the altar, slowly flowing down and disappearing into the crevices of the paving stones.

Nico was kneeling before the altar, holding a bizarre prayer posture, her skeletal wings folded like fans behind her.

Chen Zi'ang approached, but she gave no response.

After a moment’s thought, he wisely chose not to disturb her and went to the temple instead.

The chaotic altar in the temple, upon receiving his consciousness, displayed the same list as before.

Touch of the Abyss required 100 points to upgrade; Blasphemous Sorcery and Thousand Faces each required 50 points; his rank was Lamb, and promotion required 100 points.

If Nico were able to communicate, Chen Zi'ang would have asked her advice. But now, with the priestess presiding over some ritual, he could only make his own decisions.

From a practical standpoint, while promotion in rank would unlock more powers for exchange, it offered no immediate benefit.

In times of peace, seeking powers to heal his sister, he would of course prioritize promotion. But now, with the witch Miharu Nishikawa hanging over the Northernmost City like the sword of Damocles, ready to fall at any moment and turn two hundred million citizens into corpses, he had no choice but to prioritize increasing his own strength.

Blasphemous Sorcery offered a vast trove of occult knowledge, which Chen Zi'ang found tempting. The reason, of course, was the time he had almost died from a single glare by the Ghoul King—no matter how powerful, one could not withstand such a crushing, otherworldly attack. Only through knowledge could such dangers be avoided in advance.

But then he recalled: hadn’t Rikuho Kazari warned him already? It was only because he insisted on taking the divine relic to Hyougi Town, to prevent it from harming the city, that he had taken such risks. Had he known it was connected to the Ghoul King, he could have sought help from Enlank Ancient City and resolved the crisis quietly.

In the world of the occult, information was the most precious resource. Yet, as a member of the official organization, he could always consult the intelligence officer for any knowledge he required, so Blasphemous Sorcery was not strictly indispensable to him.

The same applied to Thousand Faces. If he were an ordinary exorcist, forced to move in the shadows and conceal his identity from the authorities, the power would be essential. But as a security officer of Countermeasure Section Six, he could go anywhere in the city openly, without disguise.

The answer was thus clear.

"Upgrade Touch of the Abyss," Chen Zi'ang thought swiftly.

The interface blurred again, then a message arrived:

"Tentacle tentacle tentacle tentacle tentacle tentacle tentacle tentacle tentacle..."

Chen Zi'ang: ………

Because he had not directly connected his mind with Suhu, but had the Chaotic Altar relay the message, he felt no headache or spiritual corruption.

And, thanks to the altar’s translation, he roughly understood the message.

Tentacle summon limit +1. He could now summon two tentacles at once.

A new tentacle type was available: please choose a future evolution path.

Matrix. Concept. Spirituality. …

What on earth?

Even if it was just a skill prompt, couldn’t it at least give a detailed description?

Chen Zi'ang was helpless. Having learned his lesson from last time, he would certainly not risk asking Suhu directly. He planned to ask Rikuho Kazari in detail when he returned to work on Monday.

Leaving the temple, he found Nico still kneeling before the altar in the square, deeply absorbed in her mysterious ritual, with no time to exchange words.

He had no intention of disturbing her. Silently, he activated his Dreamwalking Abilities and began to return to his own mental world.

Emerging from the preconscious, he returned to reality. Outside his bedroom window lay the inky darkness of night, illuminated only by the yellow glow of the streetlights.

After washing up and changing into pajamas, Chen Zi'ang lay in bed and began to check his phone messages before sleep.

[Unyielding Jade Rabbit]: Senior, I’m learning to cook with my mother!

[Unyielding Jade Rabbit]: I’ll bring you a bento tomorrow!

[Are There Any Urban Legends]: Good luck, but don’t stay up too late. We have to get up early tomorrow.

Tsukimi Suzuna replied almost instantly, as if she lived inside the chat app; every message received an immediate response.

[Unyielding Jade Rabbit]: Okay! What time should I meet you tomorrow?

[Are There Any Urban Legends]: Around eight to eight thirty.

[Unyielding Jade Rabbit]: Got it, good night~ / want a kiss

Chen Zi'ang stared for a moment at the little chibi "want a kiss" sticker.

[Are There Any Urban Legends]: Good night.

He closed the chat window and checked other messages, discovering three QR codes for electronic tickets sent by Xia Zili.

[Good at Singing]: Sorry for sending this so late. The concert will be at Jinchuan District Martial Arts Hall, starting at 10 a.m., with entry fifteen minutes beforehand. If you have any questions, contact me anytime.

[Are There Any Urban Legends]: Got it, I’ll be on time.

Staring at the screen a while longer, Chen Zi'ang realized that this superstar was not Tsukimi Suzuna—indeed, very few people could reply as swiftly as Suzuna did to every message.

So he set his phone to charge on the bedside table and closed his eyes to sleep.

Meanwhile, in the penthouse of Riverside Apartments in Mihara District, Xia Zili was sitting on her bed, hugging a pillow, her slender, fair legs curled tightly up, like a helpless little girl clinging to a doll.

Though she had a concert tomorrow, she could not sleep. Her mind was filled with sorrowful melodies.

In the dim room, a faint light suddenly appeared.

The phone on her quilt lit up, displaying a new message:

"Got it, I’ll be on time."

She stared blankly at the screen.

After a long while, she slowly leaned to the side and lay down on the soft bed.

A few minutes later, her breathing grew long and even.

Beneath her tousled golden hair was a serene, beautiful face at peace.