Chapter 668: He Must Care a Lot About His Looks

And the reduction in weight.

It would also necessarily prevent him from being drawn to the Colossus's Brain consciousness as quickly.

So Lynn was very relaxed.

In plain terms, you think I'm on the third layer, but actually I'm in the atmosphere.

And the reason he dared to shoot himself without hesitation, although it did carry a little of the “let my friend go” sentiment, not much, was more importantly that he knew he would not actually die, so he might as well try—nothing to lose.

After all.

He still had one last Substitute Death Doll, and the Angel's Kiss the Matriarch left him.

No problem if he made mistakes.

And those two lines he’d just said were nothing but trains that slipped out of his mouth. First, he would not die; even if he did, without Zuo Zuo, with his weight it would be wishful thinking to expect the Colossus's Brain to revive directly.

As for the monsters sealed within the consciousness…

Heh.

Even he didn’t know what kind of thing had appeared in that light curtain, nor where the seal had come from; it was all vague nonsense.

And the purpose was simple.

To tell that Desire Mother Tree to take it easy and not actually kill herself.

It’s a game of wits, after all—what’s at stake is the thrill!

Lynn smiled broadly, his peripheral vision darting sporadically through the surrounding blood mist in all directions, making it obvious to anyone that he had far too many tricks in his mind.

“Stop glancing around, walk toward me, look ahead.”

Desire Mother Tree warned him coldly.

Because she simply couldn't predict what other secret tricks this guy was scheming in his mind.

Lynn shrugged and had to withdraw his gaze, following her command to walk to her side and stand shoulder to shoulder with her, his left hand skillfully and naturally looping around the slender waist of that girl.

“…”

An eerie silence spread wantonly as they moved forward.

A little anger vein “╬” exploded on that girl's fist, and with closed eyes she said:

“I told you to come over, but did I ask you to get this intimate with me? Huh?!”

Lynn adjusted his monocle and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly: “Isn't this just a way to deepen our relationship? Didn't you say, as long as I obediently help you find the Colossus's Brain, you'll let me have a kiss, and since you'll give me a kiss, isn't it only natural to get a little closer? Hmm?”

Desire Mother Tree snorted.

Of course she knew what he was plotting.

For a meticulous, scheming person like him, the behavior and words he displayed were merely a disguise. If you fell for it and let your guard down, that would be his true aim!

“Oh? I'm curious—by human standards of aesthetics, could you really get physical with a tree?”

Desire Mother Tree smiled with playful interest and didn't stop him from holding her. She tossed aside her long hair like branches and lifted her chin.

“You don't really think… the appearance I'm showing you now is my true form, do you?”

She was Desire Mother Tree.

An embodiment of flesh and endless curses.

Her twisted, frenzied posture when fighting the God of All Machines in the outside world was her truly terrifying form.

But Lynn kept smiling like spring, warmly saying:

“Why not? You said you were once a fallen deity, and this place is a deep space between reality and virtual. Why can't the image reflected here be your true form?”

Lynn’s words immediately caused the playful smile on the girl's face to withdraw; she looked at him dangerously.

But Lynn seemed not to notice her gaze and continued walking, the corner of his mouth still up: “A goddess symbolizing life and nature.”

“Even if you don't say it aloud, you must care about your beauty deep down, right? Even gods would hate becoming that twisted, cataclysmic horror, wouldn't they? After all, a great tree spirit that should represent vitality and abundance has now become a warped fleshly form…”

“So deep down, you must hate it a lot.”

The girl's steps halted.

A terrifyingly warped aura emanated from her; her eyes gradually turned ice-cold. All around, the ground rustled as vines slowly writhed.

Even the green, leaf-like hair on her head began to sprout traces of rot.

“Hey hey hey, don't be angry.”

Lynn decisively took a step back, smiling as he adjusted his monocle and elegantly pinched his collar: “It was only a joke, please don't accidentally kill me. I harbor absolutely no malice toward you.”

Desire Mother Tree stared at him coldly, blood-redness spreading, asking: “And what else do you know?”

Lynn looked up at the sky, turning his gaze away from her, his smile unchanged: “Well, I can guess some things. I'm not a worm in your belly, how could I possibly know everything? But I can guess a little, can't I?”

People—

Or even gods.

Once something in your heart is pierced, it always shows on your face. After all, which fallen deity does not harbor hatred about their fall?

Even the Matriarch, a sacred angel, could not avoid being corroded by warped hatred!

“You're very clever.”

The girl smiled lightly; her green eyes flashed, and in an instant she returned to her previous state. She lightly flicked her long hair by her ear, slipping out of Lynn's hand like a phantom, and floated upward.

“You guessed correctly. I do hold hatred, otherwise I wouldn't be bound by a curse. But one day I will leave this hell, return to the world that belongs to me, and take back everything I lost.”

Lynn cocked his head: “So that's why you want to swallow the Colossus's Brain?”

The girl's eyes spread with amusement; her long, willow-like hair floated like fish following her motion.

“Yes.”

“Letting you in on it is fine. The Colossus's Brain still retains the purity it had in the Upper World. If I can swallow its consciousness before a curse is cast on it in the Dark World, I can leap to the forefront among all the fallen. Of course, I'm not the only one who has this idea.”

Including the God of All Machines.

And in a sense.

Who knew whether the successor of that Cyber Civilization harbored the same thought? After all, the temptation of the Trinity is right before them—fuse the three great ascendant powers, integrate the three civilizations' histories and technologies, then burst through this cage and reach pinnacles never before achieved. Even the Calamity hovering above might be no match for the resulting power, right?

Lynn smiled and continued walking with her, saying: “Oh? If that's the case, what makes you think you can compete with the other root-level beings? Don't tell me that under such temptation, Flesh and Blood Dominator would remain allied with you? That would be far too naive.”

Desire Mother Tree looked at him with seductive variety, then like a fish she slid instantly to his front, her long fingers tapping his nose while her lips moved slightly.

“What do you think?”