102: Chapter 102 I'm Not Willing

“I... refuse.”

Lin Chen's three words echoed clearly in the air, carrying the coldness of absolute rationality, forming an extreme contrast with the overwhelming majesty of the King of Hells phantom.

Across the entire battlefield, whether it was the survivors below, the three Ghost Generals in the sky, or even the remaining low-level Bizarre Monsters, it was as if a pause button had been pressed.

Refuse?

He refused the summons of the King of Hells himself? Refused to return to that supreme throne? Refused the eternal authority to rule the Underworld and maintain reincarnation?

Su Qingyu covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief, but more than that, there was a subtle sense of relief that even she hadn't noticed.

“Presumptuous!”

On the eternal face of the King of Hells phantom, a clear look of fury appeared for the first time! This single trace of anger caused the phantom of the entire King of Hells Palace to tremble violently, making stones fall from the remaining ruins of the Fortress below! The terrifying pressure was like a physical tsunami, crashing down even more fiercely upon Lin Chen!

“Reincarnation, the return of power—this is the destiny of heaven and earth! It is the gift and duty bestowed upon you by this deity! It is not for you to refuse!”

That voice carried the power of rules; it was no longer a persuasion, but a command! A compulsion!

A massive suction force emanated from the wide-open gates of the King of Hells Palace. It was no longer a summons but like countless invisible hooks, firmly latching onto Lin Chen's soul and the massive Underworld authority he had just merged with, intending to drag him inside by force!

The cold, rational aura around Lin Chen fluctuated violently. His body slid uncontrollably toward the gates of the King of Hells Palace. The vast power within him was like a floodgate being opened, pouring out frantically as it was forcibly reclaimed by the silent original body behind those doors!

He felt his consciousness being stripped away, like a USB drive being formatted, about to be overwritten by a pre-set program named 'King of Hells'.

“Master!” Su Qingyu cried out. She could feel Lin Chen's presence weakening rapidly; that unique feeling belonging to 'Lin Chen' was dissipating!

Bai Qi, Xing Tian, and Ying Bu stepped forward simultaneously, their baleful aura soaring as they tried to block that invisible suction. But before the absolute authority of the King of Hells himself, their power was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, unable to budge it in the slightest!

“Stubborn and recalcitrant!” The King of Hells phantom looked coldly at the struggling Lin Chen. “Your consciousness, your power—they all originated from this deity. Returning is your only destiny. Resistance will only bring total annihilation.”

The suction grew even stronger! Lin Chen's body had already begun to float, getting closer and closer to that door representing eternal duty and the loss of self! The massive authority he had gained from 'buying out' the Lord of the Ultimate End was almost half-drained!

In his state of absolute rationality, Lin Chen clearly calculated the rate of his power loss and the probability of his consciousness dissipating after forced fusion—100%.

Conventional resistance methods, success rate: 0%.

But deep within his frozen consciousness, a core instruction based on the underlying logic of 'Lin Chen's' personality had never changed: Obtain maximum profit at minimum cost, and maintain absolute self-dominance.

Returning to the King of Hells and losing himself did not comply with the core instruction.

Therefore, there was only one solution—

At the final moment before his consciousness was completely stripped and his body was about to merge into that door, Lin Chen’s fingers, which had become somewhat illusory due to the loss of power, tapped the dark icon on his watch at a speed exceeding physical limits.

However, this time he did not enter the combat or Pawn modules, but a deeply hidden interface with ridiculously high permission requirements labeled: [Underworld Core Shareholding Structure and Real-time Trading Market (Backend Management Permissions)]!

The light screen lit up instantly, and a dizzying array of shareholding relationship diagrams and data streams brushed past like a waterfall!

In the very center, it clearly displayed:

[shareholder: King of Hells (Original Body)]

[Shareholding Ratio: 52%]

[Share Status: [Mostly Frozen], only maintaining the authority to operate the basic rules of the Underworld. High-level permissions such as voting rights, decision-making rights, and asset disposal rights are restricted.]

[shareholder: Lin Chen (Reincarnated Body/Special Proxy)]

[Shareholding Ratio: 3%]

[Share Status: [Fully Circulating and Active]! Attached Special Benefits: Due to the successful completion of the epic achievement 'Contain Ultimate-level Asset (Lord of the Ultimate End)', automatically activates [Super Weighted Voting Rights (One vote equals one hundred shares)] and [Priority Compulsory Acquisition Rights]!]

His cold rational thinking allowed Lin Chen to understand the significance of this shareholding structure within a thousandth of a second and find the only point to break the deadlock!

The King of Hells original body appeared to be the controlling shareholder, but the shares were 'frozen' because of his dormant state and the fact that most of his power was used to keep the Underworld from collapsing. He was like a majority shareholder whose assets were tied up, with extremely limited 'liquid funds' and 'voting rights' at his disposal.

As for Lin Chen, although he held a measly 3%, these were 'circulating shares.' Furthermore, because he had completed the feat of 'acquiring the Lord of the Ultimate End,' the core rules of the Underworld had granted him terrifying 'Super Voting Rights' and 'Priority Acquisition Rights'!

It was like a giant company on the verge of bankruptcy where the majority shareholder's shares were frozen, and a minority shareholder with a small amount of circulating shares—but special permissions—discovered an opportunity to turn the tables!

“Special shareholder detected exercising [Priority Compulsory Acquisition Rights]!”

[Acquisition Target: All 52% frozen shares under the name of shareholder 'King of Hells (Original Body)'!]

[Acquisition Consideration: All 3% shares held by shareholder 'Lin Chen' + the complete asset package of the 'Lord of the Ultimate End' just acquired (valuation far exceeds the target shares)!]

[System Determination: Value of consideration... severely overflows! Far exceeds the valuation of the target shares!]

[Compulsory Acquisition Procedure... Executing forcibly!]

“Buzz—!!!”

An invisible force of rules, more fundamental than the pressure of the King of Hells, erupted from the core source of the Underworld, instantly enveloping the King of Hells phantom and the massive King of Hells Palace behind it!

“What?! You... how could you know... about these permissions?!” The King of Hells phantom let out an incredulous roar for the first time, tinged with a hint of alarm!

He felt his fundamental control over the King of Hells Palace and the Underworld being forcibly stripped and transferred by some underlying rule he had established eons ago but had long forgotten during his lengthy dormancy!

He tried to mobilize his power to resist, but most of his power was tied to his shares, which were frozen to keep the Underworld from collapsing. At this moment, he was powerless to stop this 'compulsory transfer of shares' occurring at the level of rules!

[Shareholding Change Complete!]

[New Shareholding Structure: Lin Chen, 55% shares (original 3% + compulsory acquisition of 52%). King of Hells (Original Body), 0% shares.]

[Congratulations, Mr. Lin Chen, you have become the absolute controlling shareholder of the King of Hells Palace and related core assets of the Underworld! (Shareholding exceeds 50%)]

[Related authority and permissions are being transferred synchronously...]

“Crack!”

A crisp sound of something breaking came from the phantom of the King of Hells Palace! The suction from the open gates on Lin Chen vanished instantly! The terrifying pressure originally applied to him receded like a tide, as if encountering a command with higher authority!

Lin Chen floated in mid-air, feeling the Underworld authority—far more complete and massive than before, and now thoroughly stamped with his personal mark—merge into his soul like a river flowing into the sea. This time, it was no longer a loan, no longer a proxy, but... absolute ownership!

He slowly landed and looked at the King of Hells phantom before him, which had become extremely illusory and blurred due to the loss of its fundamental shares. Its face was filled with extreme anger, absurdity, grievance, and a hint of bewildered helplessness.

Lin Chen gazed calmly at this former 'original body' with his still-rational eyes, as if looking at the original owner of a bankrupt subsidiary he had just acquired.

He took a moment to adapt to the new, vast list of permissions in his mind, and then, in the tone of a superior giving work instructions to a subordinate, he spoke indifferently to the King of Hells phantom:

“Now, it's your turn...”

He paused, as if selecting a suitable position.

“...to go and clean up the energy residue and spatial rifts left by the self-destruction of the Lord of the Ultimate End.”

King of Hells phantom: “!!!” (The extreme humiliation caused the illusory figure to distort violently. He glared fixedly at Lin Chen, as if wishing to swallow this 'rebellious son,' this 'robber shareholder,' alive.)

But, rules were rules.

Under the compulsory execution of the Underworld's core rules and before the command of the absolute controlling shareholder, he, this 'former boss' who had lost all his shares, didn't have a shred of room for resistance.

He gave Lin Chen a death stare, forced himself to swallow his infinite anger and grievance, turned abruptly, and whipped up a cold wind. Like a janitor being ordered around, he charged toward the edge of the battlefield—messy from the aborted self-destruction of the Lord of the Ultimate End—and began the... cleanup work, filled with overwhelming resentment yet helpless.

Below, everyone who had witnessed this shocking reversal—the 'reincarnated body forcibly acquiring the original body,' the 'minority shareholder counterattacking to become the big boss,' and the 'King of Hells reduced to a janitor'—had completely lost the ability to think. Their minds were a total blank.

Everything that happened today had completely overturned their understanding of reality.

Lin Chen stood in place and slowly closed his eyes, carefully sensing the Underworld authority within him—vast as a sea of stars and now entirely his own—as well as the 'humanity anchor' that was still frozen due to the [Pawn].

He knew that 'redeeming' the anchor would not be easy, and thoroughly digesting and utilizing this massive authority was an even longer and more difficult task.

In the distance, the King of Hells phantom (perhaps he should be called the 'Former King of Hells' now) was aggrievedly cleaning up the battlefield debris. The scene was filled with absurd black humor.

Beneath that frozen mask of absolute rationality, the corner of Lin Chen's mouth seemed to twitch... extremely slightly, almost imperceptibly.

An underlying emotional logic called 'pleasure' seemed to start attempting to break through the frozen barrier of the 'humanity anchor'.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the devastated ruins of the Fortress, which were showing a faint glimmer of life after the narrow escape. He looked at the survivors, whose eyes held bewilderment, fear, and a sliver of new hope.

“The game...”

He murmured to himself. In that cold voice, a trace of an imperceptible variable called 'anticipation' seemed to have been injected.

“...is only just beginning.”