[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-diary-of-a-dead-wizard":3,"chapter-diary-of-a-dead-wizard-diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-216":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Diary of a Dead Wizard",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1380437,1828,"Chapter 216: Octopus Saul","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-216",216,"\u003Cp>Saul looked at this version of Angela—stern, poised—and suddenly, the gnawing hunger in his stomach didn’t feel so urgent anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps seeing a familiar, truly real person had helped him pull his mind back from the brink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, the newly evolved tentacles around Angela didn’t retreat. His tongue flicked out a few times, nearly brushing against her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right then, Angela abruptly turned and walked deeper into the laboratory. Saul quickly retracted his tentacles to avoid touching her and raising suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unaware that a bizarre aura was lingering around her, Angela walked briskly toward the back cabinet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as she opened the cabinet door, a chorus of desperate cries echoed out—“Help me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the cabinet used to store the puppets for Mental Aptitude testing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The puppets were still more or less neatly lined up inside, but as the cries grew louder, their small wooden bodies began to tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They shivered faintly, and gradually started inching toward the front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as soon as she pulled one out, the remaining puppets grew even more restless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They trembled violently, as if about to tumble out of the cabinet at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The noise drew Saul’s attention. He raised his tentacles, mouths opening one after another, aimed toward the puppets in the cabinet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These little things look pretty tasty too,” Saul thought, hunger flaring up once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Angela frowned and was about to shut the cabinet, she suddenly noticed something. Total silence. The puppets stopped crying for help and ceased their shaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at her left hand. “If you could shut them up, why didn’t you do it earlier?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, she frowned and muttered, “What? It wasn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela slammed the cabinet door shut and spun around, eyes scanning the room. Her voice rang out sharp and commanding: “Show yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul froze. Did she just spot me? Should I just eat her now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before Saul’s battle between logic and hunger reached a conclusion, the door to Kaz's lab swung open once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man stepped in, bearing a seven-tenths resemblance to the late Bill, who had died in Hanging Hand Valley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Bill’s ever-mocking expression, this man was deadpan, with a cold, shadowy air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped in, shut the door behind him, locked it, and stared icily at the visibly tense Angela.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Caught you this time, follower of Bichye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela’s eyes went wide. “Billy?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before she could react, her left hand acted first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It shot forward, five fingers unleashing a twisted gray energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy, however, merely opened his mouth and muttered something under his breath. The approaching energy fizzled with a sickening sizzle and dissolved completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela’s tension skyrocketed. Her left hand threw the puppet it held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy caught it barehanded. With a sharp squeeze, the puppet wailed in agony, and its hollow eyes wept two streams of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tossed the now-broken puppet into the yellow garbage bin near the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, slowly, he advanced toward Angela.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela looked more anxious than ever, though her eyes were darting rapidly, clearly seeking a way to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Billy was within three meters of her, he halted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been harboring a wraith in your body? Apprentices these days are gutsy. I’ve seen this method before, but executed far more skillfully. Don’t tell me… you bought a defective version from the Mutual Aid Society?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela’s eyes widened in shock. She froze. “Wait… was it you who sold me that priest’s method?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy frowned faintly. “Did I word that poorly, or is your hearing just that bad?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s not what he said at all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a shadow crept across the floor beneath Angela, slinking toward Billy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the side, Saul noticed a faint dusting of purple motes forming around Billy’s body—so subtle they’d be invisible to the naked eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Angela’s shadow neared those motes, it began to sizzle, burning with an acrid smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Angela couldn’t see the motes or the smoke. She only realized something was wrong when the shadow vanished without a trace—her face paled instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul, too, grew curious about the purple motes. Curiosity overtook his hunger. He extended a few tentacles toward Billy, one of which stretched out a tongue in an attempt to snag a mote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moment it touched a mote, a hole was seared into the tongue tip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tentacle trembled, quickly withdrawing the burned tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Billy… just like his brother Bill, specializes in poison-based elements.” Saul marveled aloud. Then, with a leap, he launched himself to the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, Billy turned sharply, scanning the room. The purple motes around him flared outward in a sudden burst, but Saul had already retreated to the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy didn’t detect anything unusual. He assumed Angela had made another futile attempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He withdrew the motes and resumed his approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela, terrified, backed away rapidly—her spine thudded against the cabinet behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She couldn’t possibly win a head-on fight against a Third Rank apprentice like Billy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But all her secret tactics had failed one after another. Even the illusions conjured by her left hand had vanished the moment they neared Billy—corroded into nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Against such a notorious Third Rank apprentice… she was powerless!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You plan to hand me over to the instructor?” she asked, helpless now, switching to seduction as a last resort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked up at Billy with trembling lashes, a tear sliding down her cheek to her chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But beauty tricks that might work in the mortal world often fell flat in the wizarding world. And Billy was no exception—he remained utterly unmoved by her tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I’d wanted to catch you, I wouldn’t have let you go last time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Last time?” Angela’s voice trembled. Wait… does that mean it was Billy who let me get away last time when I lured that boy out as a decoy to escape Kongsha’s pursuit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right. I was watching from not far away when you knocked on that boy’s door.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela couldn’t deny it any longer. Her tears dried as she stared at Billy warily. “What… exactly do you want?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy crossed his arms and leaned against the door. “I need the Prayer of Bichye to harvest enough wraiths for crafting a soul toxin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re insane! I don’t know what a soul toxin is exactly, but to make one powerful enough for a Third Rank apprentice… How many people do you think that would take?! Even the instructor would rip me apart for that!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy showed no sign of caring about her outburst. He waited until she finished yelling, then lowered his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you been holed up in the Wizard Tower so long… that you’ve forgotten how vast the world outside is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela was taken aback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy continued, “People—there are plenty outside. I’ll provide the site. You do the killing. We split the souls fifty-fifty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Angela bit her lip. She’d already killed many, yes, but she’d never considered mass slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Billy spoke of lives like they were just numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do I even have a choice?” she whispered bitterly, lip trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You do,” Billy said, lifting his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1186,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.872Z",1,"novelbin.me","ec18702cdeeaefcd474acc8769b9d4f124dbb6b085a55191e0076d776a0cbefb","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-217","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-215",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]