Chapter 55

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 55: The Little Boss Does Not Count as a Boss

Paster.

A term that sounded somewhat related to civil engineering echoed like thunder in El’s mind.

Others might not know this person’s reputation, but as someone who had genuinely benefited from them, he clearly understood the other’s power.

The deaths of the Brotherhood members were fresh in his mind, and El immediately stopped the poised Ji Yongxing and Zhuang Mian, waving his hands to signal that there was no ill intent.

“Stop, stop! He’s not an enemy!”

This person couldn’t be an enemy; the three of us tied together probably wouldn’t be able to fight back…

At that moment, the curly-haired researcher stood dumbfounded, having wanted to observe everything around him ever since he gained superpowers from divine enlightenment.

Whether simple or complex, being able to observe carefully was a delight for him.

However, this man before him made him wish he could not observe at all.

Even when facing Zhao Kai transformed into a flesh blob, he could withstand immense mental pressure to take a few peeks, but this slender man exuded a powerful sense of pressure.

“Gulp~”

Ji Yongxing swallowed hard, quickly lowering his gun away from Lin Qingliu’s chest, indicating no malice.

Standing on El’s other side, Zhuang Mian was similarly on alert; the sudden appearance of a stranger indeed caught the attention of this trained public security captain, but even she dared not recklessly pull this man into the Dream Illusion…

The three people quietly cleared a path toward the flesh blob, and Lin Qingliu walked steadily toward the frightening and repulsive mass.

“Be careful, that’s very da—”

Zhuang Mian intended to warn them, but El tugged at her sleeve.

Turning her head, the silver-haired boy said seriously, “It’s better if we don’t disturb Mr. Paster.”

Zhuang Mian silently looked at the two people beside her, noticing a hint of fear and trust in their faces. She ultimately chose to retreat to her original position, watching as the so-called Paster slowly approached the flesh blob.

【Believer Wang Xiao, current state abnormal】

In Lin Qingliu’s view, a blood-red notification appeared, reminding him that Wang Xiao was not in a normal human state.

“Do we really need you to say that?”

Lin Qingliu secretly scoffed at the system’s rigidity, stepping in front of the flesh blob that pulsated rhythmically and extending his right hand to touch it.

The powers of the four paths—【Flesh】, 【Space】, 【Dream Illusion】, and 【Museum】—activated simultaneously, causing the flesh blob to halt its breathing-like movements.

—

Lin Qingliu found himself in a residential building in the outer city.

The room appeared to be at least twenty years old; the originally white decor had become stained with a beige hue.

Despite this, the warmth of life and the aroma of dishes from various objects still filled the space.

He stood in the hallway, gazing at the dining table positioned in the middle of the living room, where three individuals sat smiling at one another.

One of them, looking younger, faced the front door—it was none other than Wang Xiao himself.

The man and woman sitting beside him completely failed to notice the presence of Lin Qingliu, as they sang a birthday song while clapping along to the rhythm.

Wang Xiao’s hazy eyes quickly focused, and he saw Lin Qingliu, in the form of the Paster, standing in the doorway.

He was a bit surprised by the current situation but soon realized what was happening and immediately planned to stand up.

Lin Qingliu swiftly waved his hand to signal Wang Xiao to sit down, while his other hand gestured for him to be quiet. Then, he himself sat on the shoe stool by the door and began to wait quietly.

Wang Xiao hesitated for a moment but ultimately sat back down, sinking once again into the warm embrace of family.

The birthday song soon reached its end. The middle-aged man and woman exchanged glances before simultaneously saying,

“Son, happy sixteenth birthday!”

The woman quickly opened the square box on the table,

“This cake was brought from the inner city by your dad. Hurry, try it and see how it tastes!”

A piece of cake was placed on the plate in front of Wang Xiao, but the teenage boy remained unmoved.

Lin Qingliu was creating a lucid dream; the moment Wang Xiao saw the person at the door, he gained clarity.

The dream echoed the most beautiful moment of his life, a lavish dinner at home on the day he turned sixteen.

As he gazed at his smiling parents, two lines of tears slowly flowed down his cheeks.

“Son, why are you crying?”

The woman, still holding the knife, was startled and suddenly felt a bit flustered.

“It’s nothing, Mom. I’m just too happy.”

Wang Xiao wiped away his tears with his sleeve and began to gulp down the cake in front of him.

Watching their son wolfing down the cake, the middle-aged man, who had a serious demeanor with a slight military air, showed a gratified smile.

A few minutes later, Wang Xiao put down his utensils and suddenly stood up.

His parents were taken aback and asked in surprise,

“What’s wrong?”

Wang Xiao shook his head,

“It’s nothing, I just have to step out to take care of something. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay, just hurry back. If you’re late, the dishes will get cold.”

“I will, I promise.”

With that, he quickly went to the door and looked at Lin Qingliu, who was just getting up from the shoe stool.

“I’m sorry.”

He wanted to call the person by name but suddenly realized he didn’t know the man in front of him.

“Paster.”

“Mr. Paster, did I take up too much time?”

Lin Qingliu thought for a moment and replied,

“It’s fine; when a person is dreaming, their brain is quite active. Out here, only two and a half minutes have passed.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Lin Qingliu patted Wang Xiao’s shoulder,

“Besides, your body reshaping will take time. You didn’t think you’d still have a human body after being engulfed, did you?”

“Ah?”

—

Outside, in the underground laboratory, the three spectators watched as the enormous flesh blob gradually shriveled and shrank, ultimately transforming into a giant cylindrical shape.

This cylinder appeared to have the color of skin, looking like a massive cocoon, as if something was growing inside.

The Paster, standing beside the cylinder, occasionally reached into it, as if adjusting the position of something.

At that moment, all four of Lin Qingliu’s abilities were activated, representing his current limit.

The ability from the 【Dream Illusion】 path helped Wang Xiao maintain a stable mental state and regain himself;

The abilities from the 【Museum】 and 【Space】 paths assisted him in reshaping the organ structures within;

And the remaining, the flesh vitality that originally belonged to the gigantic flesh blob, was fully absorbed by Lin Qingliu using the absorption power of the 【Flesh】 path.

The enormous flesh cocoon gradually turned black and hardened, becoming something coffin-like after a few minutes, with only a strong heartbeat inside proclaiming the existence of life.

“Crack, crack.”

Accompanied by the sound of cracking, a fissure appeared on the black cocoon, and an arm, slightly pale but with flowing muscle lines, reached out from within.

Wang Xiao emerged in an impressive state—completely naked, reborn from the flames!

Zhuang Mian, in her observing state, frowned slightly and instinctively looked away.

After all, it wasn’t a corpse; one had to avoid suspicion with living people.

Wang Xiao opened his eyes again, gazing at the world around him like a newborn baby; just as he was about to say something to replace his cries, a loud bang suddenly came from above the underground laboratory.

Then, a voice amplified by speakers echoed in everyone’s ears:

“Those inside, listen! The sixth squad of the direct defense team has surrounded this place. You have one minute to come out and surrender!”