Chapter 49: I

“You’re quite a humorous young man. Though I don’t understand what this ‘Q-coin’ of yours is, I’m somewhat interested in its trade—can you recharge Q-coins?”

The gentleman penguin swiftly adjusted its question-mark face and lightly tapped its cane against the ground.

duang～

A gift box, wrapped entirely in colorful ribbons, suddenly appeared on the previously empty ground.

Wu Wang’s expression finally changed.

If you removed these colorful ribbons, the box before him seemed oddly familiar…

The box bore a large question mark.

Tap—

The gentleman penguin hopped onto the question-mark box.

With a flick of his cane, he tapped his hat and said elegantly: “Allow me to introduce myself—I am the sole designated chairman of the Ten Thousand Treasures Guild, and the Ten Thousand Treasures Auctioneer who traverses all realms—Teng Xun•Adolf.”

Teng Xun…

You still dare say you’re not here to recharge my Q-coins!

Before Wu Wang could retort, the gentleman penguin’s next words silenced him.

“I am currently pursuing a red-tentacled thief across all realms.”

“He stole two items while I wasn’t looking and even made my precious box depressed. Young man, if you have any clues, we can trade—my reward is very generous.”

Wu Wang: “...”

What do you mean, thief!

That was a lottery draw reward given to me by the system!

The method was just a bit strange—that’s scholarly business; how can that be called stealing?

Though his mind stubbornly defended itself, his eyes unconsciously lifted toward the sky, and he whistled a meaningless tune.

“Ha, what a blue sky today.”

The gentleman penguin was confused.

He tilted his head to look.

The sky was thick with dark clouds.

But he gave it no further thought, only shrugged and asked: “Of course, that’s beside the point—let’s discuss the current transaction.”

He pointed his cane at Wu Xiaoyou’s position, then at the stone in Wu Wang’s hand.

Squinting his already small eyes, he spoke in a low, resonant voice: “I will seal this parasite for you. In exchange, the stone is mine—I’m curious about its origin.”

Oh, so it’s another one after the Deep God.

Wu Wang suddenly understood.

Although the [Memory-Washing Stone] formed from the extreme resentment of the Yin-Yuan Holy Maidens, they were ultimately awakened by the Deep God’s aura.

So this stone is certainly more than just condensed resentment.

“I have a condition,” Wu Wang said, pointing at Wu Xiaoyou: “Do not harm the original owner of this body. If you can do that, I agree.”

The gentleman penguin smiled slightly.

A yellow exclamation mark appeared above his hat, and the question-mark box beneath his feet trembled, as if hearing a colossal joke.

“My reputation echoes across ten thousand realms—rest assured, the girl will be unharmed.”

Wu Wang: “What libido?”

The gentleman penguin: “?”

Boom—

No sooner had he spoken than thunder cracked across the sky.

A bolt of lightning struck the gentleman penguin with such force the ground shattered, spraying shards of stone and raising a towering cloud of dust.

The Yin-Yuan Great God nodded slightly.

Though it had no pupils, its gaze radiated clear disdain and fury.

It had been disrespected by a penguin!

The creature even called it a “parasite”!

Having accessed Wu Xiaoyou’s memories, the Yin-Yuan Great God understood perfectly what a parasite was—this insulting label ignited its rage.

“This is a transaction time. Could you please be more polite?” The gentleman penguin’s voice returned.

The next instant, a gale swept through.

The dust from the lightning strike vanished instantly.

It still stood there, cane in hand.

Not a single speck of dust clung to its black suit; its posture remained impossibly elegant.

Wu Wang didn’t know how he could perceive elegance from a penguin’s posture.

“This is not the Yin Realm’s Ten Thousand Ghosts World. You, a parasite, have no place here. But since you’ve come, don’t leave.” The gentleman penguin’s voice grew colder.

Shhh—

The [Memory-Washing Stone], hidden again in shadows by Wu Wang, suddenly appeared in the gentleman penguin’s hand.

He lightly tapped it with his cane.

Boom—

The entire stone exploded into a storm of black dust, within which faint wails of resentment echoed, occasionally flashing a faint crimson glow like starlight, instantly transforming the entire shrine into a dreamlike scene as if deep within the cosmos.

But it lasted only one second.

The next instant, all the dust enveloped Wu Xiaoyou’s head, wrapping her like a rice dumpling.

“Hmm… an interesting stone.”

The gentleman penguin nodded slightly in approval.

The Yin-Yuan Great God experienced an emotion it had never felt before—according to Wu Xiaoyou’s memories, this emotion was called—

Fear!

It realized its arrangements across all places were collapsing one by one; its memories of those places vanished entirely, and even its core essence was weakening—like…

Being stripped away by some force!

Wu Wang’s eyes also flickered with surprise.

For as the [Memory-Washing Stone] exploded into dust, his interface flashed a brief detail—

[Memory-Washing Stone • Modified (Legendary): Can selectively erase all power sources of a dungeon target]

[Category: Consumable Item]

My god, this unlucky penguin just turned a Legendary item into a Legendary one with one tap of its cane?

“N-no… don’t! What did you do!”

The Yin-Yuan Great God screamed in helpless rage.

Its pitiful state reminded Wu Wang of the old village chief he’d recently blown away with Akka.

These two were so alike.

It wasn’t remorse.

It just knew it was about to be finished.

“Parasites belong buried deep underground—that’s fitting for your kind,” the gentleman penguin said casually, swinging his cane like he was dancing.

As he spoke, a dusty pig’s head floated up from the altar.

A strange gray-white mist appeared behind Wu Xiaoyou’s head, faintly containing the Yin-Yuan Great God’s howls and resentment.

Shhh—

The mist was forced into the pig’s head, instantly turning it gray-white.

Simultaneously, the pig’s head floated to the center of the clearing.

A floor tile rose as if it had legs, revealing a deep pit beneath—waiting, as if for something to fill it.

Clang—

The pig’s head dropped into the pit; the tile slid back into place.

As the gentleman penguin had said, the Yin-Yuan Great God was buried deep underground, sealed away—no one knew how long it would take to see daylight again; by then, how much of its so-called power would remain?

“Young man, how about that?”

The gentleman penguin smiled and waved his cane toward Wu Xiaoyou’s limp body on the ground.

She floated up and drifted before Wu Wang.

The dust on her body was also cleaned away.

“She really has no problems?” Wu Wang remained uncertain.

The gentleman penguin raised an eyebrow:

“Rest easy—not a single hair was harmed. Only a slight disturbance to her soul during the parasite’s removal. When this girl wakes after an hour’s sleep, all memories of this place will vanish. Otherwise, she’s unharmed.”

“!”

Wu Wang’s expression grew uneasy.

Was this why his second sister never mentioned Yin-Yuan Village to him?

Her memories had been erased right now!

Could this really be five years ago?

“I merely happened upon this place while pursuing the red-tentacled thief, and out of curiosity, I slipped in. The transaction is complete—forgive me for taking my leave.” The gentleman penguin bowed slightly.

But Wu Wang called out to stop him.

“Wait! Since you’re interested in the Memory-Washing Stone, how about we make another deal?”

“Would you be interested in this?”

Saying this, his shadow rummaged through the old village chief, then lifted a white ring.

This object contains a small amount of Abyss God’s aura!

If the other party truly came for the Abyss God’s aura.

The trading value of this thing is more than enough!

The Gentleman Penguin glanced at it.

He lightly tapped the ground with his cane and shook his head with regret: “Regrettably, I have no interest in this ring. If you truly need to trade, I can offer only something trivial in return.”

Hearing this, Wu Wang smiled.

Because his gaze was fixed on the other’s head.

Above it clearly appeared—

【He is determined to get the ring!】

Heh, turns out you’re just a heartless penguin.

Trying to pick my pocket?

Then sorry, you’re definitely going down today!

Extorting? I’m a professional!