92: Chapter 92 Money-Losing Goods

The terrifying tentacle that had flattened the mountain range, carrying an aura that annihilated all, slowly pressed toward the shattered Fortress. Where it passed, space itself twisted faintly, groaning under the unbearable strain. Within the constantly opening and closing maws on the tentacle's surface, pale, sharp teeth ground together, producing a scalp-numbing 'click-clack' sound. The dripping mucus corroded the air, sending up wisps of black smoke.

Despair, like an icy tide, instantly drowned the heart of every survivor. Zhang Hao had completely collapsed, losing control of his bowels and bladder, his gaze vacant. Su Qingyu clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms, blood seeping between her fingers, yet she felt no pain—only a profound sense of powerlessness in the face of a falling sky.

On the watchtower, facing this world-shattering blow, Lin Chen showed not a trace of fear on his face. Instead, there was only an extreme impatience, the kind born from having one's peace disturbed and one's property damaged.

"Goddamn it, trying to cause secondary damage without paying up?" He spat and began operating on the system interface, his fingers moving so fast they left afterimages.

Just as the colossal tentacle was about to touch the outermost ruins of the Fortress, that putrid, fishy wind already blowing in their faces, the moment countless people closed their eyes awaiting death—

"Huum!"

A translucent, faint blue energy membrane shimmering with complex runes suddenly expanded outward from Lin Chen, instantly enveloping the entire remaining area of the Fortress. The membrane appeared thin yet was incredibly resilient. The front end of the tentacle, capable of flattening mountains, slammed into it with tremendous force. The membrane rippled violently, emitting a dull, thunderous roar, but it did not break immediately!

["Nether Domain Asset Protection Shield (Temporary)" activated. Duration: 3 minutes. nether talisman consumption: 50 million per second.]

The system prompt was cold and efficient.

Seemingly enraged by this sudden obstruction, the tentacle opened more of its maws, spewing thick black vapor in an attempt to corrode the energy shield. The runes on the shield flickered rapidly, dimming and brightening, clearly struggling to hold.

"Getting carried away, are you?" Lin Chen's eyes turned icy. He completely ignored the tentacle attacking frantically right before him, pouring all his focus into the system interface.

He directly opened the "communication channel" with the "Lord of the Ultimate End"—a temporary function the system automatically unlocked after the other party launched an attack and received the "bill."

Then, he began his extreme maneuvers.

First, information bombardment.

[Nether Domain Asset Administration Bureau]: Warning! Detected malicious damage to protected assets! Cease infringement immediately!

[Nether Domain Asset Administration Bureau]: According to Article 7, Clause 3 of the 'Netherworld Cross-Border Asset Management Regulations,' your actions constitute the crime of 'Major Malicious Asset Destruction.' The compensation bill is being resent. Please pay within 10 seconds! Enforcement measures will be taken upon Overdue!

[Nether Domain Asset Administration Bureau]: (Attachment: Property_Damage_Compensation_Notice_V2.0.pdf)

Warning messages with an official tone and strict formatting, like lines of viral code, forcibly flooded into the vast and chaotic consciousness of the Lord of the Ultimate End. These messages held no power themselves, but the concepts of "rules" they contained, along with their relentless "claim for compensation" logic, seemed to cause an indescribable disturbance to the Lord of the Ultimate End, a being that operated on instinct and destructive desire.

Within its enormous yellow pupil, the swirling souls of the lamenting dead noticeably accelerated, revealing an emotion akin to irritation. The force exerted by the tentacle pressing on the faint blue energy shield showed a barely perceptible disruption.

"The interference is working? Then let's spice it up!" A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

Without hesitation, he directly invoked his highest authority, mobilizing a massive amount of nether talismans, and began frantically "purchasing" the "concepts" surrounding the Lord of the Ultimate End.

[Ding! Consumed 100 million nether talismans to purchase the 'friction' concept for the 'Lord of the Ultimate End - Left Tentacle Front 100-meter Area.' Duration: 5 seconds!]

The tip of the tentacle, which had been exerting tremendous force trying to crush the shield, suddenly became as slippery as if coated in oil. The concentrated terrifying force instantly lost its point of application, causing the tentacle to jerk sideways violently, nearly twisting itself into a knot! The maws on the tentacle opened and closed in confusion, the black vapor they spewed spraying off to the side.

[Ding! Consumed 150 million nether talismans to purchase the 'sense of direction' concept for the 'Lord of the Ultimate End - Main Body Perception Area.' Duration: 3 seconds!]

The massive eyeball in the sky shuddered violently. Its indifferent "gaze" fixed on the Fortress suddenly became unfocused and confused, as if it had momentarily lost track of its target. The turbid yellow within its pupil even experienced a brief loss of focus.

[Ding! Consumed 200 million nether talismans to purchase the 'energy conduction efficiency' concept for the 'Lord of the Ultimate End - Energy Core Connection Point.' Duration: 2 seconds!]

Huum—!

An extremely obscure fluctuation emanated from within the Lord of the Ultimate End. The destructive energy glow surrounding the attacking tentacle, along with several other shadowy tentacles writhing in the background, suddenly dimmed. They flickered a few times like a faulty electrical connection, their power drastically reduced!

"It's working!" Lin Chen's spirits lifted. Although purchasing these "concepts" was exorbitantly expensive, lasted only seconds, and couldn't cause real harm to an existence like the Lord of the Ultimate End, this unreasonable harassment at the "rule" level clearly threw the being, utterly unaccustomed to this style of combat, into brief chaos and discomfort.

The attacks of the main tentacle became completely erratic—sometimes smashing down fiercely, sometimes slipping aside, sometimes suffering energy interruptions.

Seizing this opportunity, Lin Chen did something that left everyone, including Su Qingyu, utterly dumbfounded.

He pulled up that enormous electronic bill again. Then, with a few quick taps after the line "Total: Nine Hundred Eighty-Seven Million nether talismans"...

The bill amount instantly refreshed!

Total: One Billion Nine Hundred Eighty-Seven Million nether talismans!

A new line of eye-catching red text appeared below:

[Added: Malicious Attack on Asset Protection Shield Fine - One Billion nether talismans!]

"Fuck!" Even Zhang Hao, collapsed on the ground, couldn't help but curse, looking at Lin Chen as if he were a madman. What the hell was he doing, raising the price at a time like this?!

But Lin Chen paid no heed. He slammed this freshly updated, doubled bill right into the "face" of the Lord of the Ultimate End through the "communication channel"!

Simultaneously, he took a deep breath and roared towards the sky with a voice infused with nether talisman energy, the sound echoing across the entire battlefield:

"Lord of the Ultimate End! Can't you fucking understand human language?!"

"Paying debts is the natural order of things!"

"You smash my property, and now you dare attack my protection shield? You really think I'm an easy target?!"

"Ten seconds! I'm giving you ten more seconds! One billion nine hundred eighty-seven million! One single talisman short, and I'll dismantle you for parts today!!"

The roar echoed over the ruins. Combined with the absurdly doubled bill and the Lord of the Ultimate End's tentacle, still contorted and energy-unstable from the various "concept" purchases, it painted a scene of extreme eeriness, extreme dissonance, yet one carrying a strangely cathartic sense of satisfaction.

Everyone was stunned.

Su Qingyu stared at the figure on the watchtower, pointing and cursing at a world-ending entity while demanding payment. For a moment, she forgot her fear, feeling only an absurdly intense rush of heat to her head. Was he... was he really trying to reason with such an existence? With money?

For the first time, a clear emotional fluctuation appeared in the Lord of the Ultimate End's enormous yellow pupil. It wasn't anger. It seemed more like... an extreme confusion born from being repeatedly provoked by an ant in ways it couldn't comprehend, mixed with... a trace of offended agitation?

Its attacks ceased.

The massive tentacle hung suspended in mid-air. The maws on its surface stopped spewing black vapor, merely opening and closing silently.

The turbid pupil fixedly "stared" at the doubled electronic bill and the minuscule yet fiercely imposing figure beneath it.

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silent stalemate.

Only the nether talisman balance in the bottom right corner of Lin Chen's system interface, plummeting at a dizzying speed, silently testified to the staggering consumption of the previous series of "concept purchases."

He stared coldly at the eyeball in the sky, sneering inwardly:

"What are you looking at? The money I've spent could buy ten of your lives! Pay up!"