Chương 114: Chapter 114: The Neighbor Who Loves Free Meals 

Luke didn't actually forget he had portals. The primary reason he dragged Galacta into a light jog through the city toward the defensive nexus was to strictly observe and test exactly how fast her internal 'Cosmic Tapeworm' actually digested energy. 

The results were... concerning. 

After jogging lightly for roughly an hour, Luke noticed the look of absolute, profound bliss on Galacta's face beginning to slowly fade. She unconsciously began clutching her stomach again. Barely ten minutes later, she was completely back to her default, hyper-starved state. 

That digestive efficiency is absolutely terrifying! 

However, the massive energy expenditure wasn't entirely a waste. Luke also noticed that during the jog, Galacta's baseline speed and physical strength had visibly, albeit slightly, increased. 

If I can actually manage to keep her completely full every single day... considering how fast she metabolizes energy and permanently increases her stats... wouldn't she be capable of casually kicking Thanos's teeth in and effortlessly destroying the Ancient One within a few decades?! 

Is this the legendary 'Overpowered Starting Talent: Infinite Devouring'?! Just eat to gain infinite stats! 

Luke marveled at her absurd potential, but immediately began panicking about his own future financial stability. 

She got hungry again after barely an hour! And a single 'meal' to make her 10% full cost roughly two billion Energy Points! Furthermore, she had explicitly warned him that as she continued to eat and grow stronger, both her and the Tapeworm's appetite would increase exponentially! 

Hiss. While her combat potential is literally limitless, the raw upkeep cost to raise her is going to bankrupt me! I seriously need to reconsider her salary structure. 

Remembering that the Ancient One had mentioned Dimensional Demon avatars generally only managed to slip onto Earth every few days... Luke quickly devised a new payment plan. 

Whenever she successfully hunts down and devours a demonic avatar, I will provide her with an 'All-You-Can-Eat' buffet for exactly one day! Day labor for daily wages! Perfectly fair! 

Arriving at the massive magical Defensive Nexus hidden beneath the London Sanctum, Luke greeted the stationed sorcerers. Because these were all Senior Sorcerers who had signed his Dark Energy Employment Contract, they were incredibly respectful and didn't ignore him. 

After briefing the sorcerers on the new 'Extermination Protocol,' Luke instructed them to immediately notify Galacta the absolute microsecond they detected any unauthorized extra-dimensional energy fluctuations. 

However, figuring out how they were supposed to contact her suddenly became a headache. 

"Hey, Galacta. Do you happen to have a smartphone or any reliable contact method?" Luke turned to ask her, only to realize she was currently staring at the massive, glowing core of the magical nexus with absolute, predatory intensity. 

He could hear her quietly muttering to herself. 

Luke leaned in closely to hear. "So much pure, delicious magical energy... I want to take a bite so badly..." 

Luke panicked and immediately smacked the back of her head to snap her out of it, desperately hoping the nearby sorcerers hadn't heard her. If they had, Galacta would likely be permanently banned from coming within a hundred miles of Kamar-Taj or the three Sanctums ever again! 

Looking up at the massive magical core, Luke genuinely hadn't expected her appetite to extend to literally consuming planetary defense grids! 

Sighing heavily, he looked at Galacta, who was rubbing her head and looking at him in confusion. 

"Do you have a reliable way for them to contact you?" Luke asked again, sounding exhausted. 

"Contact me? Oh! I think I set up an email address when I first arrived on Earth! But I haven't checked it in a few months," Galacta replied cheerfully, dictating her obscure email address to the bewildered sorcerers. 

Luke immediately grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the Defensive Nexus before she could try to take a bite out of the core. 

"Why exactly did you stop using your email?" Luke asked, breathing a sigh of relief once they were safely outside. 

"Because I sent several emails to my dad, and he never replied!" 

??? 

Of course he didn't reply! He's currently floating in the deepest, darkest corners of the cosmos, busy doing 'administrative work' (eating planets)! If he actually replied to your email, his next 'administrative visit' would probably be Earth! 

Initially, Luke had thought she was incredibly smart and capable. Now, he was starting to realize she was actually incredibly... dense. 

Sighing again, Luke decided to just take her back to his apartment and test his theory regarding extracting the 'Essence of Devouring' from her internal parasite. He drew a Sling Ring portal and stepped through. 

Back in his apartment, Luke began to worry about exactly how to broach the subject. 

"Hey, mind if I forcefully extract the cosmic parasite currently living in your stomach?" 

That sounds incredibly weird and highly invasive. 

Luke looked at Galacta, who was sitting obediently on his couch. He pulled out a small handful of Dark Energy Crystals, placed them on the coffee table in front of her, and adopted a highly manipulative, 'uncle-offering-candy-to-a-child' tone. 

"Hey, Galacta. How would you like to be completely, 100% full every single day for the next week?" 

Seeing her eyes literally light up like high-beam headlights, Luke quickly pressed his advantage. "If you allow me to extract a small sample of the Cosmic Tapeworm living inside you, I will personally guarantee your meals for the entire week!" 

Luke declared proudly, expecting her to immediately agree. Instead, she looked incredibly hesitant. 

"Is that not enough?" Luke frowned. He assumed that since the parasite allowed her to gain infinite strength by eating, she must value it highly. 

He gritted his teeth and aggressively raised the bid. "Fine! If you let me extract it, I will completely cover your meals for an entire month! Deal?" 

If he actually had to feed her until she was full every single day for a month, the daily output from his Conversion Module wouldn't even come close. He would have to rapidly deplete his carefully hoarded emergency crystal reserves. 

However, Galacta still looked incredibly hesitant and lost. 

Luke was genuinely confused. Based on her earlier behavior, she literally couldn't walk past a hotdog stand without drooling. He had assumed she absolutely loved eating. Why was she hesitating over a month of free, unlimited food?! 

Is this Cosmic Tapeworm really that precious to her?! 

Luke remained silent, waiting for her to decide. Finally, Galacta spoke up, sounding incredibly small and cautious. "I... I can't physically extract the Cosmic Tapeworm. So I can't complete the trade." 

? 

"Wait, I thought Galactus deliberately gave you the Tapeworm so you could constantly grow stronger? How can you not extract it?" Luke asked, confused. 

"My father also has a Cosmic Tapeworm living inside him! The Tapeworm is a fundamental, biological component of our species; we are literally born with it deeply integrated into our physiology! I have absolutely no idea how to remove it." 

Hiss. That makes things significantly more complicated. 

He obviously couldn't perform a crude, invasive magical surgery on her to rip it out. If he accidentally hurt her, Galactus would absolutely sense it and instantly teleport to Earth to vaporize him. 

While desperately trying to brainstorm a solution, Luke opened the System interface to review the Conversion Module requirements again. He suddenly noticed a new, highly conspicuous line of glowing text that had just been appended to the bottom of the screen. 

[System Notice: If manual extraction of the 'Essence of Devouring' is impossible, please utilize the System's 'One-Click Automated Extraction' feature.] 

Hiss! The System literally just actively patched itself to solve my problem?! 

I have never seen a cheat system this incredibly user-friendly and accommodating! 

However, acquiring the essence to build the ultimate Shadowkhan was the priority. 

Luke tapped the newly appeared 'One-Click Extraction' button and targeted Galacta. 

[Target Locked. Please ensure the target does not actively resist the extraction process. Extraction commencing...] 

Watching a progress bar rapidly appear above Galacta's head, Luke quickly yelled, "Galacta! I am going to attempt to magically extract the Essence of the Cosmic Tapeworm right now! Absolutely DO NOT resist the process!" 

Galacta was momentarily stunned. Suddenly, she felt the massive, ever-present, terrifying Cosmic Tapeworm deeply entwined within her digestive tract begin to violently, frantically thrash and struggle against an invisible force! 

Is he actually managing to remove it?! 

Galacta was absolutely overjoyed and incredulous. She had traveled across half the known universe seeking a cure, and she had miraculously found it on her first day working for the Lord of the Earth! 

Simultaneously, countless lightyears away in a distant, uncharted galaxy... 

A colossal, unimaginably massive humanoid figure composed of pure cosmic energy was currently manipulating the fundamental forces of gravity to slowly draw a dying planet into his massive maw. 

Sensing a sudden, incredibly bizarre, localized biological anomaly occurring within his daughter's physiology, Galactus paused. He slowly turned his massive, helmeted head, his cosmic perception piercing through the fabric of space-time to gaze directly into Luke's tiny apartment on Earth. 

A sphere of absolute, apocalyptic cosmic energy—capable of instantly annihilating entire solar systems—rapidly condensed in his palm, ready to be unleashed to protect his daughter. 

However, the next microsecond, Galactus's cosmic eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise. He observed the extraction process and the subsequent effects on the Tapeworm. Slowly, the apocalyptic energy in his palm safely dissipated. 

Such a fascinating, highly unique application of dimensional extraction logic. It successfully suppresses the Tapeworm's hyper-metabolism without actually harming the host's long-term developmental potential? 

Hiss. This universe is becoming incredibly interesting. 

Perhaps... I should consider paying Earth a visit eventually? If that mortal could perform the exact same extraction on my Tapeworm, I wouldn't be constantly driven to the brink of insanity by this eternal, gnawing hunger. 

Reflecting the light of a billion galaxies in his eyes, Galactus waved his hand, accelerating the dying planet's descent into his mouth, swallowing it whole. 

"Forget it. I shall visit them later. I am currently completely full, and I suddenly feel an inexplicable urge to take a nap." 

Galactus turned around. A massive, planet-sized, highly advanced cosmic vessel silently materialized behind him. He stepped inside. 

"Silver Surfer. Set a course for these coordinates. You may secure a few minor 'snacks' along the route, but the primary feast awaits us at our destination." 

The specific cosmic coordinates were instantly transmitted directly into the mind of a silver-skinned figure standing on the bow of the vessel. The Silver Surfer nodded silently, stepped onto his cosmic board, and led the massive vessel toward their new destination. 

Back on Earth, Luke was completely, blissfully oblivious to the fact that he had just narrowly avoided being instantly vaporized by a concerned cosmic father. 

Looking at the glowing, dark-purple sphere of raw essence floating in his hand, Luke eagerly tossed it directly into the Conversion Module's hopper! 

He watched the required materials (one of each of the eight ninja types) be deducted from his inventory. 

The progress bar for the 'Shadow-Eater Ninja' finally lit up and began processing! 

Luke aggressively punched the air in triumph! 

He had finally unlocked the ultimate, late-game unit! Once this completed, he would officially possess every single tribe of the legendary Shadowkhan! 

In his excitement, Luke glanced over at Galacta, expecting her to be celebrating. Instead, she was sitting completely frozen on the couch, staring blankly ahead. 

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. Did the extraction process accidentally damage her brain or her soul?! 

Galacta focused her internal senses. She realized that while the Tapeworm had temporarily stopped violently thrashing, it was still very much alive and deeply embedded within her. She was incredibly disappointed. She had genuinely believed he was completely curing her! 

"The Cosmic Tapeworm... it's still alive!" Galacta said, her voice trembling with profound disappointment. 

Well, obviously it is! Luke thought, confused by her reaction. The System explicitly stated it was only extracting 'Essence,' not the entire physical parasite! Besides, if the Tapeworm is still alive, it means you can continue to eat and gain infinite power! Isn't that a massive win?! 

Having never personally experienced the sheer, maddening agony of the Devourer's eternal hunger, Luke found Galacta's profound disappointment incredibly strange. However, seeing that she looked like she was about to start crying, he decided to employ the universal method for comforting upset children. 

He casually condensed a small amount of raw dark energy into the shape of a large, dark lollipop and handed it to her. 

Crying is crying, but eating is a priority. 

Galacta pouted, accepting the lollipop with a disappointed sniffle. She placed it in her mouth and sucked on it once. The entire lollipop instantly dissolved and vanished into her stomach. 

Figuring a growing girl needed more than one piece of candy to cheer up, Luke prepared to condense several more crystals. However, he suddenly noticed Galacta had frozen again. 

"What's wrong now?!" Luke asked helplessly. Seriously, is this Galactus's daughter, or did I accidentally adopt her?! 

"I'm... I'm completely full," Galacta whispered in absolute, awestruck disbelief. She then let out a highly uncharacteristic, involuntary, very loud burp. 

"Wait... WHAT?!" Luke was genuinely shocked. How did her appetite suddenly shrink so drastically?! A single, tiny dark energy lollipop just filled her up?! 

Galacta sank deeply into the soft cushions of the couch, experiencing the completely alien, unimaginably blissful sensation of a truly, completely full stomach. The sheer, overwhelming relief from the eternal hunger was so intense she actually began crying tears of pure joy, loudly sobbing and hiccuping simultaneously. 

Luke watched her bizarre display and felt a strong urge to laugh. However, considering she was genuinely crying, he decided mocking a teenage girl was highly inappropriate and forcefully swallowed the laugh. 

"So... do you have a place to stay?" Having successfully acquired what he needed, Luke was ready to immediately send his new employee home. 

Galacta slowly stood up, holding her stomach, finally managing to stop hiccuping. "I usually just sleep inside my personal scout ship. I'll summon it right now." 

She tapped a few buttons on her wrist-mounted device and walked out onto the small balcony of the apartment. Luke followed her out, genuinely curious to see what kind of advanced cosmic vessel Galactus had provided for his daughter. Please don't let it be painted bright, hot pink. 

Arriving on the balcony, Luke deployed a Nightbat Ninja to sweep the area. The ninja immediately detected a fully cloaked, sleek vessel hovering silently just a few dozen feet above the apartment building. 

Galacta stepped directly underneath the cloaked vessel. A small, invisible hatch opened, and a localized anti-gravity beam lowered a sleek platform. 

Galacta stepped onto the platform, waved happily at Luke, and was quickly pulled up into the ship. 

Luke waved back, watching the invisible hatch close. He expected the ship to rapidly accelerate and fly off into the atmosphere. 

Instead... the ship didn't move an inch. 

Luke stared blankly at the Nightbat Ninja, which telepathically confirmed that the ship was still hovering in the exact same spot, completely stationary. 

So... your idea of 'living in your ship' is just permanently parking it directly above my apartment?! That's incredibly lazy! 1

Luke stood on the balcony, his hand still awkwardly raised in a half-wave, feeling profoundly confused. 

Great. Not only do I have a new employee, but I also just acquired a literal cosmic freeloader living on my roof. 

Rubbing the back of his head, Luke sighed and walked back inside. 

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