159: Chapter 159 The Ultimate Deal: Buying Out Your Existence!

"The grand prize—the privilege of dining with Lin Chen, Chairman of the Underworld Group. Final price: one trillion nether talismans!"

"Congratulations to Anonymous Buyer No. 99 for the successful bid!"

The Skeleton Doll auctioneer struck the gavel, sealing the deal.

The entire God Realm fell into a deathly silence.

One trillion nether talismans... just for a meal?!

Even Zhang Hao's eyes widened. "B-Boss... are you selling yourself?!"

"No." Lin Chen stood up and adjusted his suit cuffs. "I'm simply sending an invitation to the 'final guest'."

He looked up at the massive black vortex in the sky.

"The invitation has been delivered."

"Now—"

"It's time to serve the dishes."

The moment those words were spoken—

The vortex in the sky suddenly contracted violently!

All the blackness, all the void, all the 'non-existence' collapsed toward that single point in the center!

Finally, it condensed into a humanoid form.

A figure wearing a pure black suit and a white tie, with a face so blurred it looked pixelated, slowly descended from the center of the vortex.

He took every step, and a patch of absolute void appeared beneath His feet—not crushing the ground, but making it as if the ground had 'never existed.'

By the time He landed at the auction venue, half of the area had already... disappeared.

It wasn't destroyed; it was cleanly erased, like pencil sketches on a canvas being rubbed away by an eraser.

"This is... the Void Devourer's... human form?" Michael's voice trembled.

The figure raised a hand—the fingers were slender, pale, and nearly transparent.

He gave Lin Chen a slight nod.

"The invitation... I have received it."

"Now..."

"Can we... 'dine'?"

His voice was gentle, even carrying a hint of politeness.

But everyone felt it—beneath that gentleness was something more terrifying than Gramer's madness or the wrath of gods...

Absolute hunger.

He wasn't here for a meal.

He was here to devour everything.

Plot Twist:

Lin Chen smiled.

He reached out and made an inviting gesture.

"Of course."

"Dinner is ready."

"However, according to the rules—"

He pulled out that familiar document again.

"Before dining, please sign the 'Liability Waiver'."

The document flew in front of the humanoid figure.

The title read clearly:

"Risk Disclosure and Liability Waiver Regarding Voluntary Participation in 'Conceptual-Level Business Negotiations'"

Article 1:

[Party A (Lin Chen) and Party B (Void Devourer) will conduct business negotiations under the principles of absolute fairness, justice, and transparency.]

[Party B confirms: All risks, losses, and unpredictable consequences arising from this negotiation shall be borne by Party B alone.]

[Party A shall not be held responsible.]

The figure looked at the document and remained silent for a full three seconds.

"You... want to use this document... to bind me?"

"No." Lin Chen shook his head. "I am merely fulfilling my duty to inform."

"Sign it, and we'll start the meal."

"If you don't sign—"

He pointed to the sky.

"I will have to confiscate that five hundred trillion deposit."

"And permanently revoke your bidding eligibility."

The figure's pixelated face seemed to twitch.

For the first time, He encountered such a situation—someone was using His own money to threaten Him!

That five hundred trillion deposit was 'Essence of Existence' He had extracted from the remains of countless devoured planes. While not much to Him, it was...

Humiliating.

Utterly humiliating.

But in the end, He extended a finger and signed the document with the word 'Nothingness.'

It wasn't a word, but a conceptual symbol representing 'Void' itself.

The moment the signature was finished, the document spontaneously combusted, turning into two beams of light—one entering Lin Chen's forehead and the other entering the figure's body.

The contract was established.

"Now," the figure said, "can we begin?"

"We can." Lin Chen nodded. "Please, take a seat."

He snapped his fingers.

A long table appeared between the two.

On the table were... empty plates.

"Where are the dishes?" the figure asked.

"These are the dishes." Lin Chen said. "To be precise—this is the 'menu'."

He pointed to the first empty plate.

"Course one: Ownership of the God Realm."

He pointed to the second.

"Course two: Ownership of Gramer."

The third.

"Course three: Mining rights to the 73rd floor of the Abyss."

The fourth.

"Course four: Technology sharing agreement with the Technological Cultivation United Empire."

...

A total of twelve empty plates.

Each one represented a priceless treasure that would drive any power in the multiverse mad.

The figure's breathing quickened for the first time—even though He didn't actually have the function of breathing.

"These... are all your... chips?"

"No." Lin Chen smiled. "These are all my 'dishes'."

"And the rule for tonight is—"

He pulled out one last document from his coat.

This document was thicker than all the previous ones, its cover tanned from the hide of some divine beast, embossed with the samsara seal, the Scales of Truth, and... the personal seal of the First Generation Underworld Lord!

"Cross-Boundary Asset Exchange Agreement."

Lin Chen flipped to the first page.

"I will trade these twelve 'dishes' for one thing of yours."

The figure: "What thing?"

Lin Chen looked up at Him, speaking word by word:

"Your 'right of existence'."

Thrilling Climax:

Deathly silence.

Even the dust floating in the sky became still.

The figure remained motionless.

After a long while, He finally spoke—and for the first time, true confusion appeared in that voice.

"You... want my... 'right of existence'?"

"How are you... going to take it?"

"I am already taking it," Lin Chen said.

He held up the agreement in his hand.

On the last page of the agreement, the 'Nothingness' symbol the figure had just signed was flashing frantically!

With every flash, it split into countless tiny golden characters—all the densely packed clauses from the Agreement!

Like a virus, those characters surged into the figure's body through the contractual link established during the signing!

"You... tampered with the contract?!" For the first time, the figure lost His composure.

"No." Lin Chen shook his head. "I simply added a 'default clause' to the contract."

"The clause states: When Party B signs this agreement, it signifies Party B's voluntary acceptance of Party A's 'asset valuation' of Party B's 'concept of existence'."

"The purpose of the asset valuation is for... a buyout."

He paused.

"To buy out your 'existence'."

"To buy out your 'right to devour'."

"To buy out the ownership of every plane, every living being, and every concept you have devoured from your birth until now."

"Simply put—"

Lin Chen closed the agreement.

"I am going to turn you into my 'asset'."

The figure finally understood.

From the start of the auction, from the deposit, from the invitation, and even earlier—from the moment He first laid eyes on this plane...

Everything was a trap!

Lin Chen never intended to fight Him!

From the very beginning, Lin Chen wanted to buy Him out!

"You... are courting death—!!!"

The figure was utterly enraged!

His body instantly expanded and exploded, turning into a black tide that covered the entire God Realm!

Wherever the tide passed, everything disappeared!

The sky vanished! The earth vanished! Even the concept of 'space' was vanishing!

This was the Void Devourer's ultimate form—Conceptual Erasure!

He was going to completely erase this plane from the history of the multiverse!

But just as the black tide was about to swallow the entire auction venue—

Lin Chen raised his hand.

Not for defense, not for attack.

But... to snap his fingers.

*Snap.*

The crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the absolute void.

The next second—

The black tide stopped.

It wasn't blocked; it was... frozen.

Because on every 'crest' of the tide, a massive, golden...

Bill appeared.

The bill's title:

"Settlement Statement Regarding the Compulsory Acquisition of 'Void Devourer - Original Body's right of existence'"

Acquirer: Underworld Group (Credit Limit: ∞)

Acquiree: Void Devourer (Asset Valuation: ???)

Method of Acquisition: All-cash transaction

Transaction Amount: 0 nether talismans

Remarks: Upon inspection, the target asset "Void Devourer" has accumulated a total of 9,876,543 quadrillion nether talismans in arrears for "Plane Resource Compensation Fees" to the fundamental laws of the multiverse due to long-term illegal devouring activities. According to the "Compulsory Debt Compensation Law," all its assets (including the right of existence) are hereby confiscated to offset the debt.

At the bottom of the bill, three seals were stamped:

The notarization seal of the Scales of Truth.

The execution seal of the Multiverse Fundamental Laws.

And—

The personal guarantee seal of the First Generation Underworld Lord.

The figure looked at the bill, looked at the "personal guarantee seal of the First Generation Underworld Lord," and for the first time...

felt fear.

"Impossible..." His voice trembled. "The First Generation Underworld Lord... died long ago... by my own hands..."

"Devoured?" Lin Chen finished the sentence. "That's right, you did devour him."

"But you forgot one thing—"

From his coat, he pulled out a small, ancient, crack-covered...

Underworld Lord Seal.

Not the samsara seal.

It was the personal seal used by the First Generation Underworld Lord when he ruled the Underworld.

"Before he died," Lin Chen said softly, "he transferred his 'debt guarantee rights' to me."

"The condition was—"

He looked up, his eyes flashing with the final look the First Generation Underworld Lord had when he was devoured:

"To have me help him... collect the debt."

The Hook:

The figure began to crumble.

It wasn't a physical collapse, but a collapse of the concept of existence.

Those golden characters from the bill wrapped around Him like chains, frantically extracting all the 'Essence of Existence' accumulated within His body!

With every portion extracted, He became more transparent!

"No... No...!"

He struggled wildly, but the more He struggled, the tighter the chains bound Him!

Because the struggle itself triggered the 'Resisting Execution Clause' in the Agreement—the penalty was ten times the debt!

"Ten times 9.87 million quadrillion..."

Lin Chen looked at the numbers jumping frantically in his hand and shook his head.

"You can't afford to pay it back anymore."

"So—"

He raised his hand and made a light grasping motion toward the nearly transparent figure.

"Time to liquidate."

*Vroom—!*

The figure completely exploded!

Turning into countless black specks of light, each one a 'concept of existence' that He had devoured!

There were shadows of shattered planes!

There were wailing souls of gods!

There were erased marks of civilizations!

And...

A final fragment of the First Generation Underworld Lord's consciousness.

The fragment flew before Lin Chen, slowly condensing into the blurred phantom of an old man.

The old man looked at Lin Chen and smiled.

"Well... done..."

"The rest... is in your hands..."

With that, the phantom completely dissipated.

And in Lin Chen's hand, there was now a—

Pure black, constantly spinning, as if capable of devouring all light—

Void Core.

This was the foundation of the Void Devourer's existence for countless eons, the manifestation of the concept of 'Devour' itself.

Lin Chen gripped it, feeling the terrifying power within, and then—

He casually tossed it to the Skeleton Doll.

"Add a dish."

He said.

"Tonight's main course—"

"Change it to 'Charcoal Grilled Void'."

The entire audience: "..."

Everyone was stunned.

Including the gods who had just recovered from their faded state, including the still-struggling Gramer, and the observers far away in the Technological Cultivation Empire...

They looked at Lin Chen as if looking at a...

madman.

But Lin Chen simply sat back in his chair and tapped on the table.

"Serve the dishes."

"Don't keep the guest—"

"waiting too long."