[Volume 2] Chapter 7: Zhuge-Tyentse and Lady Severance

A blue rift suddenly tore open in space, and an enraged voice bellowed from within.

“Chen-Awelon! You activated your IQ Suppression Aura again! My IQ dropped by fifty percent! Now it’s only at 9,999,950%!”

An old man with snow-white hair and beard leaped out of the spatial rift. Dressed in a plain white lab coat, he looked hale and vigorous, his eyes bright and alert. His hairline had receded severely, revealing a smooth, gleaming forehead.

This was Zhuge-Tyentse, one of the foremost scientists and engineers in the Endless Worlds. His talents in scientific research and engineering had both come into full bloom, making him all but invincible in academia and industry alike.

Zhuge-Tyentse was also a God Realm (Tier 9) cultivator. The next time anyone claimed scientists were all helpless nerds, he could personally knock every tooth out of their mouth.

Zhuge-Tyentse had originally been one of the Star Cosmos Empire’s leading scientists, as well as the president of a prestigious university.

However, he had been stifled by entrenched academic power brokers and despised the culture within the empire’s academic circles. His life there had been far from pleasant, leaving him with years of pent-up resentment.

Then he invented an automated search algorithm capable of scanning across space and time for fraudulent research papers. Whenever it discovered one, it killed the paper’s first author, corresponding author, and academic advisor.

The algorithm caused an unprecedented catastrophe, resulting in the deaths of over twenty-three million master’s students, ten million doctoral students, and five million professors!

The incident went down in history as the Academic Massacre.

Under normal circumstances, Zhuge-Tyentse would have been sentenced to death countless times over. Unfortunately, he was a God Realm (Tier 9) powerhouse, and not even the Star Cosmos Empire could do anything to him.

After that, Zhuge-Tyentse could no longer remain in the empire. He left, met the founder of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau—the “Boss”—and stayed with the bureau to continue his research.

Zhuge-Tyentse spent nearly all his time in the laboratory. He no longer needed to eat, drink, sleep, or answer nature’s call, so he could devote every second of his life to science.

...

Zhuge-Tyentse nodded in satisfaction when he saw Chen-Awelon getting beaten senseless by the crowd.

Once everyone had finished, they dispersed and returned to whatever they had been doing.

Although several people present could have killed Chen-Awelon in an instant, no one had used lethal force. The members of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau had an unspoken rule against killing their comrades.

Then again, even if someone accidentally did kill Chen-Awelon, several people here could resurrect him. It wouldn’t be a serious problem.

Chen-Awelon lay sprawled across the floor like a puddle of sludge.

His brain matter had been evenly smeared across the ground. Every bone in his body had been shattered into fragments, every muscle fiber torn apart, and even his balls had been beaten into egg-drop soup.

Chen-Awelon silently commanded, “System, spend one hundred Flex Points to heal all my injuries.”

In the blink of an eye, Chen-Awelon was back on his feet, every injury completely healed.

He quickly did the math in his head. His earlier flex had earned him a total of 101 Flex Points, and healing himself had cost 100.

In other words, he had made a net profit of one Flex Point.

At least he hadn’t taken a loss.

The only downside was that the beating had hurt like hell. The pain had practically seeped into his soul.

At this point, Chen-Awelon’s abilities required some explanation. He possessed the Strongest Flex-and-Face-Slap System, as well as the Flex God’s Legacy.

His Strongest Flex-and-Face-Slap System granted him two powerful abilities: the IQ Suppression Aura and the Mockery Aura.

As its name suggested, the IQ Suppression Aura reduced the intelligence of those around him. That was why even Jimmy, who normally kept his head down and took care not to offend anyone, had dared to mock Chen-Awelon earlier.

The Mockery Aura, meanwhile, compelled those nearby to taunt and attack him. Anyone affected by it would be driven to ridicule, insult, and provoke Chen-Awelon, sometimes even attacking him outright.

In League of Legends terms, it was an area-of-effect taunt, similar to Galio’s W or Shen’s E.

Every time Chen-Awelon successfully pulled off a flex, he earned Flex Points. He could spend them to acquire cultivation techniques, increase his strength, or purchase weapons and other items.

As for the Flex God’s Legacy, it offered many other extraordinary benefits. Chen-Awelon himself had yet to fully understand it. So far, he had mastered only one ability—the Flex Domain—but that would not be elaborated on for now.

Chen-Awelon glanced around and spotted Finn sitting on a sofa, eating from a fruit platter.

He suddenly remembered that Finn had been the only person unaffected when he activated his Mockery Aura and IQ Suppression Aura.

It had always been this way. Finn specialized in defensive cultivation techniques, which made it impossible for Chen-Awelon to successfully flex in front of him.

“Hmph.” Chen-Awelon stared coldly at Finn. “Still immune to my IQ Suppression Aura and Mockery Aura? As expected of the man I care about most.”

Finn popped a slice of honey apple into his mouth. Noticing that Chen-Awelon was still staring at him, he said helplessly, “Could you stop looking at me like that? You’re giving off some seriously gay vibes, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”

“Just you wait, Finn.” Chen-Awelon raised his chin and declared loudly, “One day, I’ll successfully flex in front of you! You too will become nothing more than a stepping stone on my path to greatness!”

A golden rope suddenly wrapped around Chen-Awelon’s waist and bound him tightly in a turtle-shell pattern.

“Hey! Director Fuu, what are you doing?!” Chen-Awelon twisted around in panic, but he couldn’t break free.

He realized that the rope was an immortal art cast by Fuu-Honlon. The difference in their strength left him with no power to resist.

“To stop you from causing any more trouble, I’m hanging you up for now.” Fuu-Honlon stroked his long beard and chuckled.

Fuu-Honlon was at the Immortal Realm (Tier 8), while Chen-Awelon was only at the Ethereal Realm (Tier 4). The difference was overwhelming.

Chen-Awelon could only resign himself to being hoisted into the air. He dangled in the middle of the hall, looking exactly like a crab tied up for sale.

An aloof woman entered the hall, radiating a piercing chill.

She was like a monolith of primordial ice that had never thawed since the dawn of time. The instant she appeared, the temperature throughout the hall dropped.

She wore a floor-length white robe, pale as snow, and her long black hair fell to her waist.

Her face had a pure, icy cast. Her pitch-black eyes resembled bottomless abysses, and her calm face showed no emotion whatsoever.

Lady Severance was the undisputed pinnacle of combat power within the Spacetime Destruction Bureau.

Some claimed she was a high-level God Realm (Tier 9) cultivator. Others swore that she had already surpassed the upper reaches of the God Realm and stepped into some higher, unknown realm of existence.

No one had ever witnessed Lady Severance’s true power.

After all, no enemy powerful enough to force her to fight at full strength had ever appeared.

Once, when Jyan-Tyenhaw was at the Auspicious Realm (Tier 6), he mistook Lady Severance for a female ghost and tried to flirt with her. Lady Severance turned around and killed him on the spot with a single glance.

Finn had once planned to ask Lady Severance whether she wanted to become his maid. After seeing what had happened to Jyan-Tyenhaw, he immediately abandoned the idea.

Even the arrogant, self-important officials of the Spacetime Administration Bureau took long detours whenever they saw Lady Severance.

Some said that if Lady Severance had been present when the Boss came under attack, not a single attacker from either the Star Cosmos Empire or the Spacetime Administration Bureau would have made it back alive.

Lady Severance’s identity and background were shrouded in mystery.

No one knew where she came from.

No one knew her true name.

And no one knew why she possessed such overwhelming power.

Apparently, Lady Severance had encountered Sis Avasarala while wandering through the endless river of time. Sis Avasarala had then invited her to join the Spacetime Destruction Bureau.

“Greetings, Lady Severance,” said Sword Immortal Wei.

“Greetings, Lady Severance.” Fuu-Honlon smiled and waved.

“Greetings, Lady Severance,” Zhuge-Tyentse said.

“Greetings, Lady Severance,” the young girl Moonbell said.

“Greetings, Lady Severance,” Chen-Awelon called from where he hung from the ceiling.

“Greetings, Lady Severance,” Jyan-Tyenhaw said meekly. His expression was tense, and he unconsciously grabbed the female ghost beside him by the waist.

“Greetings, Lady Severance.”

“Greetings, Lady Severance.”

“Greetings...”

Everyone greeted Lady Severance in turn.

She gave them a slight nod in acknowledgment, then walked to a corner of the hall and stood there like an icy statue. Silent and expressionless, she did not utter a single word.

Brilliant golden light shimmered through the hall, and an elegant, regal figure appeared.

It was Sis Avasarala.

She nodded to Lady Severance. “Greetings, Lady Severance.”

Then she addressed the group.

“It seems everyone who can make it is here. Let’s begin the meeting. Feel free to talk among yourselves, and while you’re at it, discuss the mission Chen-Awelon posted.”