Chapter 709: Solved?

Bad! We've been tricked!

After enduring a brutal barrage of strikes from a dozen hundred-zhang giant hens, the Snake Spirit instantly realized it had fallen into a trap within a trap and desperately tried to retreat.

Yet even though its reaction was swift, it couldn't move faster than the eager mother hens hungry for a meal.

Seeing the delicious "black-and-white earthworm" trying to burrow back, three or four enormous chicken feet pierced through the barrier between dream and reality almost simultaneously, thudding down and crushing half the Snake Spirit's body into the earth.

Immediately after, over a dozen mother hens crowded in, clucking loudly, and began pecking the terrified Snake Spirit in a furious storm of strikes.

Wait!

Cluck-cluck-daa!

Damn beasts! Get off!

Daa-daa-daa!

Wait! Let's talk! I can give you… ah!

Daa-daa-cluck-daa!

Spare… spare me! Spare me!

…

Is that it?

Watching the Snake Spirit, bloodied and battered from the hens' pecking, begging for mercy with no dignity left, Li Ang couldn't help but click his tongue, his chest full of unspoken complaints he didn't know where to begin voicing.

Just moments ago in the Dream Realm, he had seen the Snake Spirit's true form.

That colossal serpent, even curled up, stood nearly a hundred meters tall—like a mountain range coiled in place—had been reduced by Tom's elder's ritual into a creature being pecked to death by a flock of brooding hens, barely holding on.

The degree of weakening was truly… absurdly unreasonable, almost cheating.

Don't even think about negotiating with it.

Noticing Li Ang's complex expression and misinterpreting his thoughts, the lazy youth quickly warned him:

"Right now, I can control it partly because we caught it off-guard, and partly because it was overconfident—didn't even bother to look back before trying to escape through the gap between dream and reality.

The dazzling, colorful Dream Realm may be a thousand times easier to flee through than reality, but it's also a thousand times more fragile and brittle in comparison.

As long as we can drag it into the ritual ground that suppresses divine spirits the instant it slips into that gap, we're using the power of the real to crush the false and fleeting dream—then it's nothing but an earthworm that can be pecked to death by chickens.

But if we let it pass through that threshold, it'll be the same colossal serpent you saw, capable of shattering a small hill with raw physical strength alone—and then it'll be us running for our lives."

Ah, I understand.

Coming back to himself, Li Ang nodded, showing he wasn't foolish enough to listen to an enemy's plea for mercy, then replied seriously:

"Ema elder said you only negotiate when the enemy has completely lost the ability to resist. I'm not trying to negotiate—I just… well… it feels like this ended too quickly."

Did I prepare too fast, or did it lose too fast?

Both, a bit…

Looking at the messy chicken coop before him, Li Ang scratched the back of his head, his face filled with disbelief:

"I thought that even if you could defeat this Snake Spirit, you'd at least fight it to a standstill, trading blows for several rounds.

But you just broke off a piece from its statue, crushed the snake eggs used to build the secret shrine, and with those materials, casually built a chicken coop—and that's how you subdued it? It's just too fast."

Heh, you're not just saying it's fast—you mean it's sloppy, right?

Yeah, a bit… but even if it's sloppy, the result is incredible. A divine spirit close to a true god had no chance to fight back against you—this is truly astonishing!

…

Sharp-eyed kid… this future true god… actually isn't so hard to get along with~

Seeing the awe on Li Ang's face, the lazy youth, pleasantly tickled, couldn't help but let his lips curl slightly.

This guy might be annoying in the future, forcing me to intervene across timelines—but right now, he's still a sincere rookie, quick-witted, steady-handed, does exactly what he's told, has exceptional execution, and even talks well. No wonder the Director likes him so much.

The gap between me and this Snake Spirit isn't that large.

Slightly adjusting his view of the "future annoying" Li Ang, the lazy youth cleared his throat and waved his hand:

"The kind of back-and-forth battle you described? That's how Ema and the Director fight—they're arm-wrestling. The stronger, more skilled one wins, but if the loser isn't too far behind, they usually don't get badly hurt.

But I? I trip people up. I can't guarantee where to set the tripwire, and I need to prepare in advance—but once it works, the target falls straight into the trap and loses all resistance. That's why the gap seems huge, but honestly, anyone else could do the same."

You're being modest.

Watching the Snake Spirit, barely breathing, half-dead from the hens' pecking in the coop, Li Ang shook his head, sincerely remarking:

"Tripping someone might not be hard—but knowing where to trip, what kind of trip to set, and how to trip a divine spirit? That's not something anyone can do. Only you could pull this off."

Oh come on… I'm not that impressive.

His slightly dimmed right eye blinked faintly as he used some method to scan Li Ang—and discovering the youth spoke truly, the lazy youth's grin nearly burst past his control, utterly delighted, he chuckled and suggested:

"Say, I think you've got real potential in this area. How about I teach you sometime?

Without the proper anomaly object's enhancement, the effect might be weaker—but still, it's a useful survival skill… wait, hold on—I need to fish out that snake before the hens actually kill it."

…

After finishing his pleasant chat with the thoughtful junior, the lazy youth rubbed his shoe on the ground, dismantling the ritual ground he'd just built, then rescued the nearly dead Snake Spirit from the hens' beaks.

Dear Snake Spirit, we meet again.

Pinching the black-and-white earthworm between two fingers, he shook it playfully:

"Come on, hand over the person.

You know our Clearance Bureau's methods. Better to give up the person now than cling to unrealistic hopes and get torn apart piece by piece. Don't you agree?"

…

The black-and-white snake lifted its head weakly, glaring at him with hatred.

Don't glare at me—I'm doing this for your own good.

Speaking lines straight out of a traitor's interrogation, the lazy youth dabbed sulfur powder on his fingertip, lit it, then squeezed the Snake Spirit's neck, speaking earnestly:

"If you cooperate and hand over the person, maybe your master will pay the price to bring you back. I actually quite like your Jin Scale Sect's gatherings—free food, no cost… cough. Anyway, we might meet again someday. If you refuse and force me to use harsher methods, our next meeting will be awkward… you're not the kind of divine spirit who enjoys awkwardness, right?"

…

Right?

No! Don't squeeze! Aaah!

Hearing the faint crackle of burning sulfur, feeling the increasing pressure on his neck and the searing pain as his divine body was corrupted by hellish sulfur, the Snake Spirit writhed and finally screamed, vomiting out a jade-green pearl.

Hand! Hand! I gave you the person! Take your hand off!

Okay, okay, I'm taking it away~

Dabbing more sulfur powder on his nail, he pressed a burning mark onto the Snake Spirit's head, completely sealing its resistance. Then he rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a dirty transparent glass bottle, shoved the limp Snake Spirit inside, and tossed it carelessly to Li Ang.

Don't celebrate too soon…

After catching his breath, like every clichéd villain after defeat, the Snake Spirit was limp all over but still defiant, struggling to lift itself in the bottle, staring at the jade-green pearl in the lazy youth's hand with bitter hatred and twisted satisfaction:

"That woman of your Bureau? She's locked inside my god's gift—the 【Emerald Dream】. She's died over three hundred times there—her soul is already irrevocably tainted!"

?!!!

Hearing the Snake Spirit's words, Li Ang's heart lurched. He looked down at the bottle and asked urgently:

"What do you mean? What happened to Ema elder?"

"I mean, even if you bring her back, it's useless."

The Snake Spirit curled at the bottom of the bottle, sneering:

"The 【Emerald Dream】 was forged from the shattered 【Paradise of Crops and Livestock】. It was once a self-contained world. After dying hundreds of times inside, her soul is too entangled with the Emerald Dream to ever separate again.

The only way for her to escape is to sincerely believe in my god and become a faithful follower—or for the slain God of Crops and Livestock to revive. Otherwise, she'll wander alone forever in that emerald forest!"

Watching Li Ang's furrowed brow through the bottle, seeing the anger in his eyes, the Snake Spirit chuckled and added:

"Even better—she has an immortal body that regenerates endlessly. That means she can't even kill herself. She'll be trapped like a ghost in the Emerald Dream, wandering endlessly until her soul is worn away by time!"

Shut up.

The lazy youth flicked his hand, igniting the sulfur mark on the Snake Spirit's head, making it shriek in agony, then turned to Li Ang and warned:

"It's trying to provoke you into killing it.

We haven't left the Jin Scale Sect's gathering hall yet. If it dies here, it won't even need its true god to act—just its own accumulated power can buy its life back from the Underworld. Don't fall for its trap."

…

So… it's all true? Ema elder can't get out?

From the lazy youth's reaction, Li Ang indirectly got his answer. Thinking of Ema elder's kindness toward him, he sighed and asked with one last hope:

"Tom elder, your two dice can raise the success rate of any task to sixty percent—can you…?"

No.

The lazy youth shook his head:

"My ability only boosts the success rate of things that are already possible to around sixty percent—and it only works below the level of true gods. Above that, my own rank is too low, and I face massive interference.

This situation is nearly impossible, involves more than one true god, and falls exactly into the category I'm worst at handling. I can't help."

I see…

Li Ang fell silent for a moment, then asked:

"Tom elder, I can perceive anomaly objects' information through touch—could you let me…?"

Here.

Before Li Ang could finish, the lazy youth shoved the 【Emerald Dream】 into his hands and comforted him:

"Don't lose heart. I can't help now, but if I ever surpass the human-god boundary and reach the Director's level, maybe I'll roll a successful outcome.

Besides, the Director might have a solution. The Central Bureau has many unique anomaly objects—maybe one of them can save Ema. If all else fails, we could even try briefly reviving the God of Crops and Livestock… hmm?"

Watching Li Ang gently caress the 【Emerald Dream】, his tense expression instantly relaxing, the lazy youth blinked in surprise, then quickly asked:

"What's wrong? Did you find something?"

"Hmm, I did gain something."

After glancing at the name 【Dream of Verdant Shadows】 and seeing the trait marker "Sacred," then looking at the 【Proxy】 badge that allowed unconditional use of "Sacred" anomalies, Li Ang couldn't help but smile in reply:

"I just realized this thing is actually… Senior? What's wrong with you?"

Seeing Tang Mu suddenly turn a deep purplish-blue, clutching his throat in agony, gasping hoarsely, Li Ang was stunned and immediately pulled out the 【Infected Blood Band】, intending to treat him—but then…

"Pop~"

With a sound like a bursting bubble, the bloodstained bandage in Li Ang's hand vanished instantly, transforming into a shimmering coin of strange radiance, while a soft, gentle voice came from behind him.

"Don't worry, he isn't hurt. He doesn't need your healing."

After discarding the filthy bandage, a woman with a serene face stepped slowly out of the Dream Realm and smiled gently at Li Ang, who stood tense and blocking Tang Mu's front.

"As for why he's like this, it's because I bought all the air inside him at once—even the air in his lungs that hadn't yet bonded with his blood… Also, I paid for it."

"Whoa!!!"

No sooner had the mysterious woman finished speaking than the lazy youth, protected behind Li Ang, collapsed to his knees with a thud. Hundreds of tiny circular coins emerged strangely from his nose and mouth, mixed with thick streams of crimson blood, gushing out through his limp fingers.

Immediately after, Tang Mu's chest clothing shattered, and countless silver rhomboid coins—each edge razor-sharp—burst forth from his skin, spewing out like nail shots from a gun, Pupupupu, exploding into a dazzling silver mist of blood before Li Ang's eyes.

(End of Chapter)