Chapter 708: Chestnut Mantou

A spear composed of shadows pierced the body of the Mars Dragon, yet the star god merely waved its arm gently toward the Four-Armed Divine Emperor.

Molten black stone emerged from the side of the Mars Dragon; the black stone matrix near this star system was activated under the Mars Dragon’s control.

A solid wall rose between the warp and the real dimension, holding back the ceaseless surges of the warp.

Even the Hive Mind and the full force of the Gluttonous Dissolution Realm were significantly weakened by this barrier.

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor’s movements slowed slightly; its tendrils, spears, and spines, all woven from shadows, shrank drastically in an instant.

Of course, the pull from the warp, from the Gluttonous Dissolution Realm, also diminished—its ascension trend weakened slightly.

But only slightly; the path of ascension was irresistible, and a matrix of this scale could not truly block the warp.

Realizing its ascension was now inevitable, the Four-Armed Divine Emperor suffered greater anguish.

It clearly perceived that within the warp, an invisible hand was quietly guiding it toward ascension as the Lord of Gluttonous Dissolution, becoming the Eternal Dragon.

From the moment it swallowed the Source Blood Stacks, it had unknowingly stepped into a trap, manipulated by beings within the warp.

It was destined to become the Eternal Dragon, enduring hunger that could never be eased—even devouring all within sight would not relieve it, even biting its own tail and swallowing itself whole would not relieve it; it would leave only a void of hunger in this world.

Who exactly?

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor sifted through its genetic memories, seeking to identify the mastermind behind it all.

Its gaze flickered past Zhou Yun, who stood behind Lyne, Saint-Gilles, and the Mars Dragon.

This Saint Doraemon wore a constant smile; within the warp, it was relentlessly pressing against the Hive Mind, and in the real dimension, its power manifested through the Mars Dragon and Saint-Gilles, suppressing the Four-Armed Divine Emperor.

No, it couldn’t be him—what benefit would he gain?

Moreover, it was obvious that Zhou Yun had been actively trying to prevent its ascension.

The Plague God? The Hunger God? The War God?

Or... Khorne?

Is all of this part of your plan, Master of Mutations?

Are you trying to make me destroy Saint Doraemon, so you can reap the benefits?

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor looked at Zhou Yun, its eyes now holding a sorrowful sympathy.

They were both being manipulated by the tendrils of the Master of Mutations.

“In truth, our positions should be similar.”

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor sighed:

“I, too, do not wish to ascend, nor endure eternal hunger.”

“But I have no choice—the call of Gluttonous Dissolution is too strong, it is etched into my very being.”

“Even with the humanity granted by this body, even with your black stone weakening the warp’s influence, I cannot resist this pull—I can only offer the faintest resistance.”

“The moment I entered this vessel, the birth of the Eternal Dragon was already sealed.”

“The Dragon has already been born in the future; now it merely spreads toward the present.”

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor could already feel the hunger-filled shadow of the Eternal Dragon extending from the future.

“Then what if I become the Eternal Dragon?” Zhou Yun asked softly, as if waiting for the Four-Armed Divine Emperor to say exactly this.

“You?” The Four-Armed Divine Emperor seemed startled, unsure of Zhou Yun’s meaning.

Zhou Yun simply reached into its pocket and pulled out a fist-sized pastry.

The pastry was dark brown on top, lightly wheat-brown beneath, emitting a faint floury aroma.

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor’s acute sense of smell also caught the scent of chestnut—the filling inside must be made of chestnuts.

A chestnut mantou. The Four-Armed Divine Emperor retrieved the memory of this pastry from its genes.

Suddenly, it noticed gaps in its genetic memory—blank spaces layered atop the Emperor’s memories, concentrated around the second and third millennia of humanity.

These gaps in memory seemed faintly connected to chestnut mantou.

Then, those memories began surging forth within the Four-Armed Divine Emperor’s genes, as if a veil had been lifted before its eyes.

The Four-Armed Divine Emperor saw the Emperor—twenty-first-century Emperor—lazily reclining on a sofa, a TV before it playing an anime: Doraemon?

Doraemon, chestnut mantou, twenty-second century.

The anime titled Doraemon had originally been concealed by the Emperor’s immense power, erased from the warp to prevent the gods from learning of its existence.

Now, the Emperor had lifted a corner of the veil, allowing the Four-Armed Divine Emperor to glimpse it.

“You?” The Four-Armed Divine Emperor stared blankly at Zhou Yun, unable to comprehend how something from an anime could exist in reality.

Could it be that it was a projection from the warp of that anime?

No—its tools seemed to possess real power.

It holds chestnut mantou—could it be...?

“This is chestnut mantou.”

Zhou Yun raised the chestnut mantou in its hand, then reached into its pocket again, pulling out a tiny vial of medicine.

The medicine was stored in a glass bottle, labeled with a sticker depicting two interlocking circles forming an infinity symbol.

“This is Babei Liquid,” Zhou Yun said, shaking the bottle; only a few drops remained inside.

The instant the word was spoken, the Mars Dragon, Saint-Gilles, and the Four-Armed Divine Emperor all flinched slightly; all three halted their attacks, afraid to stir even the slightest ripple, as if fearing the vial might spill onto the ground.

Only Lyne stared at the vial, utterly confused.

“This medicine’s effect is very simple: it doubles the quantity of an object every five minutes.”

“Of course, the full version is expensive—I can’t afford it. This is just a trial size: three drops, and it only works on food of a certain size—like chestnut mantou, roasted sweet potatoes, dorayaki, and such.”

“What’s the limit?” Lyne murmured, sensing something ominous.

“No limit. Unless reduced to zero by the proper method, it will replicate endlessly, doubling every five minutes.”

Zhou Yun let out a soft laugh:

“If you drip it on a chestnut mantou, in five minutes there are two, in ten minutes four, in one hour 4,096, in two hours over 16.7 million, in another fifteen minutes it exceeds one hundred million, in three hours 68 billion, in four hours 281 trillion—after twenty-four hours, the number of chestnut mantou will be four orders of magnitude greater than all atoms in the universe.”

“After two days, the number of chestnut mantou will reach an unimaginable scale—you would need to turn every atom in the universe into a universe, then sum the total atoms across all those universes, to reach just one hundred-millionth of the chestnut mantou count.”

The Lion choked. His extraordinary mind could easily grasp what Zhou Yun was saying, yet his expression remained: What the hell are you talking about?

“No no no,” the Four-Armed Divine Emperor shook its head frantically: “Collapse! When the number of chestnut mantou reaches a certain scale, it will collapse on its own!”

“It won’t collapse.”

“Hm?” The Four-Armed Divine Emperor looked at Zhou Yun, emitting a puzzled hum.