56: Chapter 56 Never Escaped

"You can initially perceive the target's surface emotional fluctuations and use voice, eye contact, body movements, and more to exert varying degrees of influence and guidance over a single target's vision, hearing, cognition, and mental consciousness..."

Chu Xuan thought of the System's description for Heart Bewitchment LV.1.

At this moment, he had a sudden realization.

He understood why the System had clearly been ready to distribute the mission rewards long ago, yet he hadn't remembered to claim them until the very last moment.

He understood even more why he had clearly been ready to choose the paths of Berserker and Thief, but at the final moment, another thought would always pop up, leading him to ultimately choose the path of the Illusionist.

All of this was because... he had been parasitized by that S-rank Specter that worshipped the Final Phantom God!

Chu Xuan slowly fished a black jade piece out of his pocket.

This was the item Qin Qing had given to Lin Tong to prevent Specter parasitism; Lin Tong had later asked Chu Xuan to return it to Qin Qing before going up to the rooftop. However, due to various events, Chu Xuan hadn't had the chance to return it and had been carrying it with him.

And at this very moment, without him noticing when, this black jade piece was already covered in cracks.

It turned out I never managed to escape!

"Hehe! So you've discovered it? But it's already too late..."

A magnetic voice echoed in his mind, and Chu Xuan's head throbbed with intense pain. Every word felt like it was being carved out by a sharp axe, as if his Soul was being ravaged.

"I have already fulfilled your wish, the deepest obsession in your heart. Now... give everything you have to me. Let me achieve Fusion with you perfectly and completely replace you!"

The voice in his mind made Chu Xuan's hands and feet turn freezing cold.

Perfect Fusion?

Chu Xuan didn't understand what that implied, but it was definitely more terrifying than simple parasitism!

In an instant, a tide of fear swept over him. Chu Xuan felt as if he were being isolated into another world by a cage of darkness.

Chu Xuan's body could no longer move; he had lost sensation even in a single finger. His brain felt dull and stiff, and his thoughts began to slow down.

What should I do?!!

Chu Xuan screamed frantically in his heart, only able to use his last bit of will to observe the System page.

First, he looked at his skills.

Among his regular skills, although Basic Swordsmanship and Mixed Martial Arts were both at the Perfect level, they were useless right now. Tongue Blooming Lotus and Kato Taka's Hand were just a joke.

Among his Transcendent Skills, the Clone ability couldn't be used, and Heart Bewitchment was naturally suppressed, rendering it unusable as well.

[spirituality value: 0]

[skill points: 0]

Right now, the only option that could change anything was—

[attribute points: 1]

Currently, Chu Xuan's four attributes—stamina, strength, agility, and spirit—were at their limit. He had to increase his personal Rank before he could add more points to them.

Only the Charm attribute was still at 8 points and could be increased further.

I can only treat a dead horse as if it were alive!

—System, add the point to Charm!

Just as Chu Xuan felt his consciousness about to sink, he finally made this decision.

[You have used 1 attribute point]

[Your Charm +1]

[Current Charm: 9]

[Remaining attribute points: 0]

As the System prompt appeared, the darkness before Chu Xuan's eyes instantly dissipated, replaced by clarity. His consciousness returned to his body, his freedom was restored, and even the headache eased significantly.

"It's useless, a futile struggle..."

The magnetic, gentle voice sounded again, but Chu Xuan ignored it. Instead, a glimmer of hope rose in his heart.

Increasing the Charm value actually worked!

And at this very moment, the eyes of the four people at the dining table flickered. They were no longer dull and wooden, but filled with clarity.

Immediately after, the expressions of all four turned cold and sinister as they repeatedly shouted at Chu Xuan: "Come eat! Come eat!"

Chu Xuan's eyes flickered.

Who are these four people?

Why are they playing the roles of my family?

Is it because they are influenced by the S-rank Specter's ability?

Thoughts raced through Chu Xuan's mind as the four people by the table all stood up, pressing closer step by step, their eyes cold as frost: "Come eat! Eat!"

The bodies of all four underwent exaggerated transformations.

Their eyeballs bulged out, the corners of their eyes tore almost to their temples, and their mouths split open to behind their ears. As their bloody maws gaped, wide tongues extended out, lengthening by more than three times.

At the tip of the thick tongues, a small mouth actually grew, filled with serrated, sharp teeth.

Their bodies swelled, their bellies became round and bloated, and sharp spikes with a metallic luster pierced through their clothes.

Seeing the four transform into terrifying monsters comparable to malevolent ghosts, a term instantly came to Chu Xuan's mind.

Killing Rules!

Just as the Night Demon's Killing Rules were day and night.

The killing rule for these people was to issue an invitation to eat to the target. If the target refused or did not respond, then these people would turn into monsters and kill...

This thought flashed through Chu Xuan's mind in an instant.

Facing four monsters that had already undergone bizarre transformations, Chu Xuan couldn't choose to run. He had to obtain spirituality values to increase his Charm attribute.

I have to give it my all!

The monster that the "father" had turned into had already lunged over. Before its body even arrived, its thick tongue shot toward Chu Xuan. The small mouth at the tip of the tongue opened, its sharp teeth seemingly ready to pierce through Chu Xuan's throat on the spot.

Chu Xuan instinctively stepped aside to dodge and suddenly grabbed the middle of the tongue.

"Ugh—!!"

The "father" let out a painful roar and tried desperately to pull its tongue back.

Feeling the pulling force from his hand, Chu Xuan was stunned.

Are they this weak?

Chu Xuan pulled hard toward himself, and the "father's" monstrous body was involuntarily dragged over.

Chu Xuan raised his hand and smashed two punches forward. Flesh immediately tore, the bridge of the nose was shattered, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Aren't they a bit too fragile?

Suddenly, a sharp pain came from his palm, and Chu Xuan immediately discovered that there was corrosive mucus on the other party's tongue.

Chu Xuan quickly withdrew his hand and lashed out with a kick.

He deliberately avoided the sharp parts on the other's belly and struck the chest directly.

The "father" flew backward like a cannonball, knocking over the "mother" who was right behind him.

Chu Xuan had no time to pursue. He saw the "sister" and "brother" coming from the left and right respectively, each opening their large mouths as two wide tongues shot out from high and low.

Chu Xuan sidestepped to dodge, and then, in the instant before the two tongues could be retracted, he acted quickly. Both arms shot out, grabbing the two tongues and holding them firmly.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The sleeves of his clothes were instantly corroded by the liquid, and a burning sensation reached him.

Quicker than it takes to tell, while Chu Xuan was holding the two tongues, he didn't wait for them to shrink back. He directly hooked the room door with his foot.

Bang!

Both tongues were caught by the rapidly closing door, and shrill screams immediately rang out.

Taking this opportunity, Chu Xuan opened the door again and dashed between the two who were still howling in pain.

At the same time, he activated the skill [Heart Bewitchment] against the "father" who had just stood up in front of him.

The "father's" eyes showed obvious daze, and he launched continuous tongue attacks toward one side.

Even though the distance was extremely close and Chu Xuan didn't dodge, the tongue attacks repeatedly missed. One even struck the "brother's" lower abdomen. The small mouth at the tip of the tongue bit wildly, quickly drilling a bloody hole.

Meanwhile, Chu Xuan took the opportunity to land a series of straight punches on the face of the "mother," who had just been knocked over by the "father" and was trying to get up. Then, he suddenly leapt up and smashed his elbow hard against her temple.

As the "mother" swayed and collapsed on the spot, Chu Xuan stepped forward and delivered a soccer kick, landing it hard on her chin.

The "mother's" eyes rolled back on the spot, and her entire body began to twitch.