Chapter 1837: NO.452：Time is also tight

NO. 452：Time is also tight.

NO. 452Time is also tight (monthly ticket bonus chapter).

It is worth mentioning that in this world, many things pay attention to timing.

This timing depends on one's own definition, so even for the same matter, it will show differences due to different people, just like after a person is busy before and after, any other matter will only be spoken of after a brief rest.

Even monster users need to rest late at night.

Because the base is relatively large and the operational basics demand high standards, the shift‑responsible team remains at their posts, keeping the temporary garrison's various basic facilities running.

The Cult abandoned most brand‑AI that could potentially steal privacy in order to achieve utmost secrecy, which also means that many tasks that could be left to AI to handle casually at other companies must be done manually here in the Cult.

Fortunately, manual work also has its lazy ways. Whether it's enslaving monsters to mimic humans for simple tasks, or more directly using short‑term clone labor and crude artificial humans, these low‑grade labor forces, limited in ability, always require Cult members to supervise them, so Shixi Ling can still see many faces stationed at fixed posts.

Moreover, quite a few of them look distinctly non‑human.

Beneath a poker face with no micro‑expressions lies a panel that mimics human movement trajectories, and it will occasionally twitch and snap to attention like an epileptic patient.

They are literally employees who can easily trigger the uncanny valley effect in ordinary people.

But the Beast Cult couldn't care less.

Their spirits have long been mottled on the road of chasing monsters, their logic circuits and thought patterns twisted and distorted along the way, thereby affecting their bodies—thus the Beastification Tuning Department of the Development Department was established for this very reason.

But in the eyes of most members, this department resembles a cosmetic surgery department more than a medical one.

——As for beastification, they consider it not shameful but honorable.

So……Even from a normal person's viewpoint, beastification tuning, even if done for efficiency or to keep the mind clearer, is necessary—it is wholly a matter of rescuing and preserving personality. Yet, from the very start, the majority of Cult members who pursued monster power by their own will did not place much value on their former personalities.

For such people, beastification tuning is merely a means to more easily infiltrate human society—a kind of "cosmetic surgery" they must endure for work and goals.

Speaking of their original appearance……the higher the rank, the more their true forms resemble monsters, drawing ever closer to the realm of beings that provoke panic at a mere glance.

Their aesthetics have also long been distorted on this basis; although the disguises they adopt for action and goals show up in their mutual interactions, serving to lock in habits so as not to reveal flaws when actually going out, you see no appreciative meaning in their regard for each other's high‑quality guises.

On the contrary, every time they glance, though there is no overt disgust, they feel a slight discomfort—at first glance it seems like bodily unease or poor quality of life, but in fact it is an utter inability to cope with their own flesh.

Aomo's earliest certainty about this didn't even come from deduction; it was a senior from the Executive Department where he works who proactively reminded him. Since this point isn't mentioned in the newcomer's manual, but everyone is indeed dissatisfied with human forms, the more human the more dissatisfied, and this dissatisfaction doesn't affect how others view you—you'll become "handsome" and "beautiful" later, no problem.

"Handsome" and "beautiful"—Aomo was instantly placed against a cosmic backdrop, wondering where he had been dragged to.

If it were merely the notion resulting from millennia‑old culture of alien races, that would be fine, but in fact seventy percent of these people are original humans… How should I put it? Have I stumbled into an ultra‑niche XP circle?

If it were merely a gathering of XP weirdos, that would already be good news, but unfortunately these guys deviate from the norm in more than one way; the truly fitting definition is a transmigrator under pure, original doctrine.

That is, an otherworldly person living in another civilization.

With a utterly different culture, they often show differences in the logic of dealing with situations, and even more so in their judgment of timing for the same matter—just like right now——

Aomo Lindun does not think that when a person has finally managed to pause after being busy before and after, they must immediately rush off to fuss over another minor matter that isn't very urgent.

Although he himself often does that, it really isn't reasonable to hope to run into too many peers in such a vast world.

But he has indeed encountered one.

First, that jerk hiding behind the Hei'an region is quite familiar with operational planning.

Then there's the High Priest of the Beast Cult, whose overtime enthusiasm leaves Aomo speechless.

"I heard you were looking for me, Your Highness the High Priest."

"Ah, Shengliu Wu said your condition is still fairly stable?"

Gazing at the enormous statue over a hundred meters tall before her, the woman with her back to Shixi Ling had no intention of turning around, not even a hint of warmth in her caring words: "Are you sure you're not forcing yourself? As a newcomer, you ought to have beastification‑tuning preferential treatment within three months."

"Don't regard it merely as a detrimental adjustment; often, simply staying alive is more important."

Delivered in a very calm, narrative tone, it carries a kind of disjointed feeling like an AI advising you not to hide illness, but compared to the abnormal sensation, the point is clearly this seemingly well‑meaning motive.

This is truly an obvious trap.

Even from the very beginning when Shixi Ling was first mixed into the organization, Aomo had already sensed a certain "better to kill mistakenly than let slip" targeting vibe from the provision of that Star‑Eater Ghidorah information chip.

Admittedly, the timing of Shixi Ling's entry into the Cult is indeed sensitive. Yet, given the premise that Puppet MKI Youjinyue San had exploded in a wolf wash, the High Priest still issuing a "poison" clearly shows a deeply suspicious nature.

Yet she also seems to value certain rules, so Shixi Ling wasn't executed on the spot but was granted a "Star‑Eater information chip" instead.

And the concern released at this time—what lies behind it goes without saying.

But he also indeed cannot fully uphold that "health".

Because the Star‑Eater's information segment is indeed extremely domineering, having no problems at all would only make it more suspicious.

So he could only reply respectfully: "You're right, I'll go."

"You don't plan to let me diagnose you now, do you?"

"That would be too much of a surprised favor," Shixi Ling's eye corner twitched slightly, "after all, the instruction I've received several times in the Cult has been to explain one principle: don't expect others' help when there's no valuable output."

"That's true, but have they told you you're the Cult's last newcomer in this world?"

"You ought to strive for self‑improvement, otherwise it'll be hard to survive," Shixi Ling said.

"So you should use any means you can think of to cling to those above; idle chatter only appears when you fail."

"I'll keep your teachings in mind, but I think winning the favor of superiors shouldn't be a matter of blind obedience."

"Oh?"

"Obedient pets certainly get rewarded, but that requires the owner's spirit and living conditions to be close to those of a Federation person."

"Not bad, you can think," the High Priest turned, gazing at the young person who, while trying to keep distance, still seemed a bit awkward, "this point already beats most cultists whose minds are monopolized by monsters. But merely achieving this isn't enough; you must keep thinking."

"Think about how the value I can create could trigger superiors' daring to invest."

"Right, do you have any ideas?"

"Breeding Facility."

"Oh?"

"As a newcomer just arrived, I hardly have any environmental advantage to rival my seniors, nor any proficiency from seniority, but even so… there is still an opportunity to align my pace with theirs, and I must thank you, Your Highness the High Priest."

"Even if it's a unified starting point, do you have confidence to run farther than them?"

"All I can do is seize the opportunity; other choices may seem viable at first glance, but in reality they don't get you far."

Not bad. If that's the case, then go.

Thanks.

Do I have to thank you for this?

Yes.

Really… your performance like this makes me unable to hold back…

The other party's gaze, which at that instant with Bai Ren was unusually similar yet utterly different, also became a reference, making Shixing Ling feel subtle about the past and tense about the present; the originally mechanical beating heart also slightly sped up, producing a strange pumping sensation.

But even if that's the case.

He lowered his voice, and with the golden pattern on his face that flickered bright and dim, resonating with the entire Holy Hall, he said: "Please also give me an opportunity, one that can create more value for everyone."

?? Unrelated tips:

? The three-tier rewards have been distributed, thank you for your support!

? Considering playing abstract would really make one be called a fool, so I won't play abstract; wishing everyone a happy April Fools' Day and a cheerful spirit!

? Don't be like the author, who after updating has to type again (x)

? (End of chapter)