365: deceive

Death was spreading, and no life could survive wherever it passed.

As the darkness representing Miguel drew closer, death also spread silently.

However, to Lin Tianwei's immense surprise, it wasn't he who was dying, but the Cosmic Beasts he had fought against.

They didn't even have time to show their shock before Miguel mercilessly harvested their lives.

This scene puzzled Lin Tianwei. Was Miguel blind? He ignored such a large enemy as himself, yet took down all the Cosmic Beasts on his own side.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was stealing his kills, Lin Tianwei would have really wanted to shout, "Well done!"

Just as Lin Tianwei was wondering, a snarky voice spoke up:

"How about that? Surprised? These Cosmic Beasts that you struggled so hard to kill died instantly with a single thought from Miguel."

"Such a huge disparity in strength should make you feel the pressure."

"Since that's the case, I'll give you another chance."

"Surrender to me, sign a Slave contract, and I will mercifully spare your life."

"Otherwise, once Miguel makes a move, you'll only have one path: death."

The familiar voice came again. If Lin Tianwei remembered correctly, the voice belonged to a foolish beast named Filiche.

Miguel seemed to obey Filiche's command and did not attack Lin Tianwei, instead waiting by the side.

This situation made Lin Tianwei, who already had no fear, even less afraid.

Miguel might be powerful, but it was clear that he seemed to obey Filiche's commands.

Since that was the case, this matter clearly had a lot of room for manipulation.

As long as he could control Filiche, Lin Tianwei would not only be able to turn the tide but even gain control over Miguel.

Lin Tianwei's mind immediately became active, and he began to think about how to deal with Filiche to gain the maximum benefit for himself.

Talent: Mental Contract (Extraordinary)!

The Slave contract mentioned by Filiche gave Lin Tianwei a great idea. As long as he could successfully contract Filiche and become Filiche's master, all problems would be solved.

Ultimately, he would be the one to have the last laugh.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei tried to use Talent: Mental Contract (Extraordinary) on Filiche, but found that there was no usable target nearby.

There was only a Mental Power existence so vast that he couldn't control it, which was clearly Miguel's Mental Power.

Even with control over Miguel, Filiche was still incredibly cowardly, keeping a great distance from Lin Tianwei.

This meant that even though Lin Tianwei had found the correct solution, he still couldn't reach the final answer.

Talent upgrade, accelerated upgrade with Krypton Gold!

"Ding, the host chooses to consume one hundred million Talent fragments to upgrade Talent: Mental Contract (Extraordinary)."

"Talent upgrade requires a certain amount of time. Please wait patiently, host."

"Ding, the host chooses to consume an additional fifty million (50%) Talent fragments to accelerate this Talent upgrade."

"This Talent upgrade is expected to be completed within one second."

"Ding, congratulations to the host! Your Talent: Mental Contract (Extraordinary) has been upgraded to Talent: Mental Contract (King)."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully upgrading your Talent. Your strength has significantly increased."

At this critical moment, Lin Tianwei didn't care about being frugal and directly consumed an additional 50% of his Talent fragments to accelerate this upgrade to the maximum extent.

Just one second later, Lin Tianwei possessed a King Level Mental Contract Talent.

His Mental Power continuously diffused as Lin Tianwei tried to locate Filiche's position to directly activate the Mental Contract on him.

However, Lin Tianwei had underestimated Filiche's fear of death. Even the King Level Mental Contract Talent was unable to locate him.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei decided to lure the enemy in deeper and said, "Surrender? Become a Slave? That's impossible. What's the difference between that and death?"

"If you dare to mess around, the moment I lose my life, my storage space will explode, turning all my treasures into ashes. You won't get anything then."

"Unless you spare my life, I will absolutely not hand over my treasures."

Facing Lin Tianwei's bargaining, Filiche was extremely angry and said, "You don't have the right to bargain with me."

"Become my Slave, or you die."

But how could Lin Tianwei be afraid of the seemingly fierce but inwardly weak Filiche?

Since the other party was willing to negotiate, it meant there was still room for maneuver.

Filiche was base, Filiche was despicable; he coveted the treasures Lin Tianwei possessed.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei, as if facing death, said, "Become a Slave? I'd rather die directly."

"Let me go, and I will offer all my treasures to you."

"Otherwise, if you kill me, I will have all my treasures buried with me. You won't even get a single yuan coin."

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei quickly started rummaging through his Tiger Tooth Space.

In an instant, hundreds of high-quality, high-purity mu crystal stones appeared near Lin Tianwei, their emerald green light even dyeing the space green, looking extremely beautiful.

However, this was just the beginning, not the end at all.

As if they were free, Lin Tianwei began to frantically take items from his Tiger Tooth Space. Various treasures, usually hard to come by, instantly piled up like mountains, blinding Filiche's titanium alloy dog eyes.

This was a transaction, an equal yet unfair transaction. Both parties could only proceed smoothly if they offered a reasonable price.

Facing the pile of treasures emitting a brilliant glow, Lin Tianwei struck while the iron was hot, saying, "How about it? Aren't there many treasures?"

How could Filiche not be tempted?

Even though he had been mentally prepared and had a preliminary estimate of the treasures Lin Tianwei possessed, he was still blinded by the mountain of treasures before him.

However, facing Lin Tianwei's tone, which was like a nouveau riche asking a bumpkin, "Am I rich?", he stubbornly retorted:

"You think these few treasures can buy your life? You underestimate your own value far too much."

Filiche had expected Lin Tianwei to refute him, to angrily accuse him of being too greedy, of a beast's heart not being enough to swallow an elephant.

Instead, he saw Lin Tianwei nod in agreement and say:

"Although your strength is lacking, I have to admit, your eyesight is barely passable."

"Indeed, these treasures are not even one percent of my own value."

"But it doesn't matter. These treasures are only one percent of my inventory, not worth mentioning at all."

"You just need to let me go, and I will give you all my treasures."

"How could Lin Tianwei's life be worth only these few paltry items?"

One percent?

Filiche was immediately shocked.

He had seen countless wealthy Cosmic Beasts, but he had never seen a Cosmic Beast as wealthy as Lin Tianwei.

This arrogant attitude practically screamed "I'm rich" on his face.

He even felt that the ransom price was too low for him to accept.

Such a Cosmic Beast, actively raising his own ransom price, was simply too adorable in Filiche's eyes.

Even though Lin Tianwei had tricked Filiche countless times before, at this moment, he found Lin Tianwei much more pleasing to the eye.

The enemy is annoying? It doesn't matter, as long as his treasures are adorable.

These treasures, scattered casually in space and emitting a brilliant glow, appeared exceptionally beautiful and incredibly tempting to Filiche.

Filiche's heart couldn't help but waver, little by little, shifting towards agreeing to Lin Tianwei's demands.

However, the more Lin Tianwei acted with impunity, the more indifferent he appeared towards these treasures, the more Filiche felt there was something fishy going on.

The other party seemed a bit too cooperative, and this transaction was proceeding a bit too smoothly.

These wealthy Cosmic Beasts were all incredibly cunning. Even with Miguel suppressing them, this transaction should never have been so readily achieved.

Unless the other party possessed treasures far more valuable than these.

Filiche then realized that Lin Tianwei had only promised to hand over the golden egg but had not mentioned anything about the hen that lays the golden eggs.

This creature before him, with a strength of merely Cosmic Level ninth-order, could earn a fortune daily and spend lavishly.

This special method of earning money that allowed him to be so extravagant was the most valuable thing.

Thinking that he had almost been fooled, Filiche's expression turned much colder, and he snorted, saying:

"At a time like this, you're still playing tricks with me? You truly don't care about your own life at all."

"If you want me to spare your life, fine. I want not only all your treasures but also your method of earning origin energy."

The golden egg and the hen that lays the golden eggs? Only a fool would choose; Filiche wanted them all!

At this moment, Lin Tianwei was worried about not having a way to make Filiche approach him, but he didn't expect Filiche to actually provide him with an idea.

Greed is an excellent quality that can make a beast advance further. Without greed, how could one grow quickly?

But it was clear that Filiche's greed was directed at the wrong target. Lin Tianwei was not someone he could scheme against at will.

Too much greed would only lead him to an early demise.

A method to earn origin energy?

This, of course, was Lin Tianwei's Talent: Star Devourer (Mythical).

As Lin Tianwei's strength gradually grew, and as Lin Tianwei's inner world gradually strengthened, his speed of devouring planets to obtain origin energy also became faster and faster.

As long as he had time, Lin Tianwei's origin energy could be said to be endless.

However, Lin Tianwei's Talent was clearly not something that could be traded, nor could it ever be exposed.

Otherwise, not only Filiche, but even other powerful Cosmic Beasts would target him, attempting to turn him into a machine for endlessly earning origin energy for them.

Thinking of this, Lin Tianwei decided to create an instrument on the spot that met Filiche's requirements.

With a thought, a mysterious instrument appeared in Lin Tianwei's hand, an instrument similar to a threshing machine.

One side had a huge intake, the other had a smaller outlet, and a sizable waste discharge port.

Such a simple instrument naturally couldn't be a machine capable of obtaining origin energy. This was merely the simplest illusion, an illusion created by Lin Tianwei using Mental Power as a weapon.

To deceive Filiche's observation and perception, Lin Tianwei naturally needed to put in more effort.

A Mental Power weapon naturally couldn't possess the miraculous power to transform treasures into origin energy, but Lin Tianwei's Mental Power weapon could achieve this.

Top-tier Mental Power weapons could not only be driven by the master's Mental Power but could even transmit the master's Talent, adding some miraculous effects.

Under the enhancement of Lin Tianwei's Talent, any treasure sent into this crude instrument would be digested by Talent: Star Devourer (Mythical) and ultimately transformed into origin energy for output.

In a sense, it also met Filiche's requirements.

However, this instrument could only be used by Lin Tianwei himself.

Looking at the instrument Lin Tianwei produced, Filiche was furious to the point of madness. He absolutely couldn't believe that such an ordinary instrument could produce origin energy, and immediately questioned loudly:

"Is that it? This broken thing? If you're going to trick me, at least find a better prop."

"How could such a crude instrument produce origin energy? Any Cosmic Beast with eyes wouldn't believe such a ridiculous thing."

"If this is real, I'll eat it right here..."

Filiche hadn't finished speaking when his eyes suddenly widened.

Because in his eyes, Lin Tianwei, who was being questioned, not only showed no panic but calmly placed a small piece of gem containing powerful energy into the mysterious instrument's intake.

Buzzing... It was the roar of a motor starting, indicating that the machine had begun to function..

As the gem was swallowed by the machine, the machine began to work, producing some magical reaction that Filiche couldn't comprehend.

Something that shocked Filiche happened: as time passed, a small amount of origin energy flowed out from the machine's outlet, glowing brilliantly in the darkness, appearing dazzling.

The pure energy unique to origin energy was incredibly conspicuous; even across thousands of mountains and rivers, Filiche could distinguish its authenticity.

That was indeed genuine origin energy.

Filiche was immediately dumbfounded. Could this broken thing really produce origin energy?

He even rubbed his eyes in disbelief, trying to use common sense to explain that everything happening before him was just a trick.

However, how could he see through the elaborate deception Lin Tianwei had woven for him?

This incredible scene before his eyes was Lin Tianwei's Talent: Star Devourer (Mythical) at work.

Although Filiche tried his best to investigate, wanting to know what trick was hidden within, he couldn't discern anything at all.

Not only that, he also saw Lin Tianwei calmly operate the instrument again, making the same scene reappear.

Once, twice, thrice, ..., nine times!

Only after demonstrating it nine times did Lin Tianwei stop his actions.

Once might be special effects, twice might also be special effects, but it couldn't withstand Lin Tianwei repeating it countless times.

Filiche was also a knowledgeable Cosmic Beast, but he had never seen anything so worldview-shattering.

Ultimately, he could only come to an incredibly absurd conclusion: this extremely crude machine before him was indeed a machine capable of producing origin energy.

This instrument indeed possessed the special ability to turn decay into magic, refining ordinary treasures into origin energy.

He even began to try to reshape his common sense, reshape his aesthetics, and force himself to accept this crude instrument before him.

This isn't crude; it's a unique kind of beauty!

Everything created by a big shot is so distinctive, so unique, so one-of-a-kind.