Chapter 65

Chapter 65

"Abyss Lord, what are we gonna do now?" The squirrel, who had jumped into the dorm room again, crouched by Shen Jin's bed, looking confused. "Should we go back to Baigu Town? Let’s go back. I left the old tree behind when I ran away—I want to go find him."

Shen Jin leaned against the bed, resting his head in his hand. Yes, what should they do?

When he entered the box, he hadn’t planned on coming out to witness humanity's misery. After all, he had already seen such scenes a century ago, and it was no longer interesting.

He had imagined waking up to a world completely transformed, entering a new era where fresh beginnings would bring new amusements. But alas...

Shen Jin’s eyes darkened. He had woken up prematurely—only three months had passed.

Moreover, it seemed he could no longer fall asleep with a clear mind. If sleep couldn’t be free of distractions, it would lose its appeal.

And all of this was caused by that damned human, Jiang Linchuan.

The dorm door opened, and a refined man dressed in a black shirt, black trousers, and rimless glasses walked out with a stormy expression.

General Wu was taken aback. Although he had seen the Abyss Lord’s appearance in videos, seeing him up close still left him somewhat stunned. An Abyss Lord who was more handsome than most humans.

"Abyss Lord, can we talk?" General Wu stepped forward.

Shen Jin walked past him without even glancing sideways, as if he didn’t exist—didn't even give him a sidelong glance.

"No talking," the squirrel spokesperson waved a hand, his expression cold. "The Abyss Lord said the fate of humans has nothing to do with him, you know."

"..." General Wu’s composure faltered. After years of being in a position of power, this was the first time he had been so thoroughly dismissed.

"Hey," Jiang Linchuan stepped forward. "Where are you going?"

"Get lost," Shen Jin said icily. "Stay away from me."

The squirrel spokesperson added, "He said to stay away, you know."

General Wu: "..." His dignity had just been restored, only to be lost again.

Jiang Linchuan: "..." Though it was a bit embarrassing, since even the General was treated this way, he had nothing to feel ashamed about.

The little one tilted his head, looking left and right, then toddled after them on his short legs without a word, simply following along.

Where Xiao Bai went, he went.

Shen Jin walked ahead, followed by a group of high-ranking human officials. The security perimeter shifted with Shen Jin’s movements.

Shen Jin’s gaze swept across the hazy sky, his brow furrowed as if lost in thought.

Jiang Linchuan leaned against a tree at a distance, arms crossed, watching Shen Jin’s face intently.

What was he thinking?

Certainly not sympathizing with humanity’s plight.

So what could he be thinking at this moment?

"Hey," General Wu appeared beside him at some point.

General Wu, in his sixties, looked pale from a sleepless night and quite haggard from the recent days of exhaustion.

"That little one you adopted..." General Wu narrowed his eyes, making a bold guess. "Could it be... you gave birth to him... for the Abyss Lord?" Though the idea was far-fetched, the absurdity lay in the concept of men giving birth and cross-species reproduction, not in the child being theirs. Upon closer inspection, the child’s face bore a striking resemblance to both of them—the older he grew, the more obvious it became.

Jiang Linchuan snapped his head toward him, his eyes filled with undisguised vigilance and wariness, no longer concerned about the details of who gave birth.

"Don’t panic," General Wu patted Jiang Linchuan’s shoulder. "I mean no harm, and I wouldn’t dare to. Once bitten, twice shy—I won’t stumble in the same place again."

"So you’ll stumble somewhere else instead?" Jiang Linchuan shot him a sharp look.

"..." General Wu sighed, abandoning his attempt at making empty assurances and shifting tactics. "I was just thinking that having a child means having human emotions and desires..."

As long as emotions and desires existed, this Abyss Lord was definitely not an impenetrable fortress.

General Wu’s eyes swept over Jiang Linchuan’s face thoughtfully.

"With three thousand beauties in the harem, the emperor no longer attends morning court," General Wu murmured, referencing the poetic phrase.

"What did you say?" Jiang Linchuan’s eyelids twitched in shock, forgetting formalities. "Say that again?"

Some ideas came to General Wu in a flash of inspiration, and though unconventional, they seemed like an unorthodox but clever strategy.

General Wu’s eyes lit up.

Jiang Linchuan glanced at him warily. "General, the phrase is ‘with three thousand beauties in the harem, all favor rests on one.’ You can’t mix up the words."

General Wu gave him a complicated look.

Jiang Linchuan narrowed his eyes.

General Wu possessed rare compassion and goodwill, but he was still a leader. When faced with tough choices, he would inevitably choose the side with the greater numbers. Moreover, the current situation didn’t involve life and death—it revolved around an abstract concept: love.

In the face of humanity’s survival, love meant nothing, and morality even less.

Would General Wu really go that far?

Jiang Linchuan imagined a group of handsome men posing seductively before Shen Jin. Throughout history, no emperor had ever been able to resist such temptation.

Especially since Shen Jin was a being without limits, morals, or ethics.

While Jiang Linchuan’s mind was racing, he turned to find General Wu had already vanished.

"Damn it," Jiang Linchuan straightened up. "When there's other work to be done, he's never this quick to act..."

...

Shen Jin wandered around for a while, yawning. It was boring.

This place no longer resembled the human world. Instead, it was reminiscent of the crumbling walls and ruins from a century ago. Hardly any people were visible on the streets, and there were no signs of fried chicken, burgers, or ice cream.

Nothing interesting.

Truth be told, making money from humans with Hua Fudie had been quite entertaining.

But giving in to these damn humans would mean playing into their hands. Was he some kind of lowly Abyss Lord?

Shen Jin walked back with his hands behind his back. As he passed Jiang Linchuan, he tossed him two words: "I’m hungry."

Human food was still delicious.

After a full meal, he would find another ideal spot to try to get some sleep.

A hundred years would pass in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Linchuan: "..." The consort selection is about to begin, and you still expect the empress to cook for you? Where do you get off?

The little one followed behind Shen Jin, walking in his shadow, hands behind his back and chest puffed out: "Hungry."

Jiang Linchuan: "..." With your father deposed, do you think you can remain as the eldest son for long?

The Abyss Lord was hungry, and the kitchen began with pots and pans clattering. Xingcheng, in its current state, had no fresh fruits or vegetables, only frozen products. The chefs did their best to make the dishes taste good.

Jiang Linchuan actually wanted to cook himself, but no one agreed because this was the Abyss Lord's meal. What if it turned out poorly and the Abyss Lord got angry? Who would take responsibility?

Jiang Linchuan had nothing to say. He put on his protective suit and left with the Special Operations Team.

Outside this protective zone, severe mutations were still happening. Until the Abyss Lord took pity, they could only save as many as possible.

*

In the conference room, General Wu braced himself on the table with both hands, looking at several researchers: "Well?"

One of the women nodded to General Wu: "We've detected something."

General Wu looked up at the large screen, which displayed lines in various colors fluctuating.

The woman spoke: "The red line represents the Abyss Lord's overall emotional fluctuations. There are changes, but they are small and die down very quickly."

"What does that mean?"

"To give a simple example, when humans encounter something that makes them particularly angry, their emotional fluctuations are continuous and recurring. Even if many people think they remain calm, hormone levels don't lie. Some emotions can be suppressed for years. Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, fear, love, and hatred can all trigger such states, which is why human emotions are so complex."

"But the Abyss Lord's emotions are very different from humans'. When an emotion arises, it drops back down the next second, with no further fluctuations—clean-cut and decisive. In other words, he experiences human-like emotional changes, but they ultimately result in a state of indifference. They cut off abruptly, meaning he is extremely cold."

The woman thought further: "In traditional Chinese medicine, liver stagnation and heart meridian damage are caused by emotions, but the Abyss Lord has none of that. His emotions are superficial, blown away without a trace."

General Wu crossed his arms, deep in thought: "Precisely because of this, the Abyss Lord doesn't care about human lives, nor does he care about the lives of monsters. In this disaster, monsters suffer no less than humans. All living beings are equal."

"But..." General Wu narrowed his eyes, a glint in his eyes, "He cares about Jiang Linchuan's life."

The Abyss Lord suddenly emerged from the box earlier, most likely because Jiang Linchuan was in danger.

He didn't know what had happened between Jiang Linchuan and the Abyss Lord, but Jiang Linchuan must have caught the Abyss Lord's interest to some extent.

"General, are you saying..." the woman looked at him, "that Captain Jiang can fully activate the Abyss Lord's emotions?"

General Wu shook his head.

Although the Abyss Lord emerged from the box for Jiang Linchuan, hadn't he considered Jiang Linchuan's possible death before entering the box?

When he entered the box, he didn't care about Jiang Linchuan's life. As for his emergence, it might have been a fleeting emotional change that quickly dissipated.

"The Abyss Lord exists because of the evils of emotion, so the senior general suppressed him by cutting off emotions." General Wu tapped his finger on the table. "Now, we can choose to release the Abyss Lord's emotions."

"If Jiang Linchuan doesn't work, we can try someone else." Since someone could spark his interest, it means there's a weakness to exploit.

The subordinates nodded, agreeing with General Wu's idea.

The honey trap has existed since ancient times, with a 90% success rate.

"Wait a moment." A timid voice spoke up.

General Wu looked up; she was the youngest researcher in the team.

General Wu motioned for her to speak.

The girl stood up timidly, her voice trembling slightly: "I remember you said earlier that the box imprisoning the Abyss Lord fell into the sea, and it was Captain Jiang who risked his life to retrieve it."

"Yes." General Wu nodded.

"Just now, you also said that when Captain Jiang was in danger, the Abyss Lord emerged from the box to save him."

"Correct."

"There's a logical issue." The girl blinked. "According to human emotional patterns, they must be deeply in love for such things to happen. But the Abyss Lord's emotions show no unusual fluctuations. Could it be that it's not that Captain Jiang failed to stir the Abyss Lord's emotions, but... the Abyss Lord simply doesn't understand emotions or love?"

That's a new angle.

General Wu's eyelids twitched: "Go on."

"I recall that in the records about the Abyss Lord, there's a word: pure." The girl tilted her head slightly. "What does 'pure' mean? Is it kindness and innocence? No. We often say college students are pure because they are inexperienced and haven't faced the harsh realities of society. The Abyss Lord is the same, and all monsters are the same. They are blank slates."

"Perhaps the Abyss Lord is smarter and more perceptive, but in some matters, he simply doesn't understand. Does the Abyss Lord know what it means to 'wish for one heart, to grow old together without parting'? Does he know what it means to 'pledge in life and death, to hold your hand and grow old with you'? Does he know what it means to die for love?"

"Does the Abyss Lord understand what his actions for Captain Jiang signify? Does he understand what Captain Jiang's actions for him mean?" The girl's eyes shone. "Actually, when we were very young, we didn't understand love either—whether familial, friendly, or romantic."

"If we could activate one pathway," the girl stared at the emotional fluctuation chart on the screen, "would these lines start to jump?"

Shen Jin was lounging on the sofa, legs crossed, waiting for his meal. The little one stood by the table making milk, placing two bowls of warm water, adding five scoops of milk powder to each, and stirring with a spoon.

*

The small hands carefully handed a bowl to Shen Jin: "Xiao Bai, drink milk."

Shen Jin took it and sipped slowly. The little one also took a bowl and sat beside him, sipping slowly.

"Xiao Bai, when are we going home?" the little one asked, legs swinging, mumbling.

"What home?"

"Our home, the one with Daddy Dog." The kid tilted his head, a white ring around his lips. "Have you forgotten?"

Shen Jin remembered the home that belonged to Jiang Linchuan—the one with a small yard and an expensive mattress.

After finding a place to sleep, he would have to take the mattress with him.

In the conference room:

"The green emotional fluctuations show some continuity but are very slight."

"Hobbies and interests?"

"Right, that's another angle." The woman gave an example. "For instance, humans enjoy using phones; the content provides mental sustenance. Many people feel extremely distressed without their phones or the internet. If the Abyss Lord has such a strong desire for something, the emotional impact could be just as strong as so-called love or hatred."

With the girl's earlier comments, everyone's minds were more open.

...

By nightfall, Jiang Linchuan returned to the base, bringing back a dozen or so mutated monsters and humans.

Jiang Linchuan was exhausted, leaning against the off-road vehicle to get his breath back. After calming down, he headed toward the dormitory.

"Captain Jiang." General Wu's guard stopped him. "The Abyss Lord is busy right now. Please wait, Captain Jiang."

"Busy?" A sudden sense of foreboding welled up in Jiang Linchuan. He narrowed his eyes. "Busy with what?"

The guard remained silent, his face a complicated mix of emotions.

"What do you mean?" Jiang Linchuan shoved him aside and strode toward the dormitory. "Don’t fucking tell me you’re actually selecting male favorites for him?"

The guard jogged after him, explaining, "It’s not about selecting male favorites—it’s compatibility dating."

"What the fuck?" Jiang Linchuan halted abruptly, wondering if he had misheard. "Say that again?"

The guard swallowed nervously, avoiding Jiang Linchuan’s dagger-like stare as he tried to fulfill his duty. "After analyzing interests, hobbies, and blood samples, we can match individuals with their most compatible partners. We explained this experiment to the Abyss Lord, and he was very interested. So, we matched him with five candidates who have a 99% compatibility rate. The Abyss Lord is currently on dates with them."

Jiang Linchuan was stunned.

He must have woken up too abruptly—this sounded like a hellish joke. The Abyss Lord, of all beings, actually needed to go on blind dates in the human world?

Are they insane?

Maybe the world should just end already.