Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 370: Protection? What Protection? I’m Coming Back to Life!_1
The Shadow of Gluttony hid in a corner of the instance, trembling as he watched the entangled mass, formed from all the Erroneous Sins within the instance, at its center. It was an entangled mass because the struggle to merge into a single Erroneous Sin wasn’t over yet. He didn’t dare get any closer. The entanglement field generated by the mass was terrifying. If he hadn’t been hiding at the very edge of the area, he would have been drawn in. With so many Erroneous Sins involved, there would be no single winner; the most likely outcome was the birth of an entirely new Erroneous Sin. That was, provided Wang Linchi didn’t eat it first. If they were all eaten, forget a new Erroneous Sin—even the existing ones wouldn’t survive.
This was Wang Linchi’s handiwork. The Shadow of Gluttony didn’t know how Wang Linchi had managed to gather all the Erroneous Sins, but he understood that perhaps not even the principal could match this feat. If the Game System had a physical form, the outcome of a battle against Wang Linchi would be uncertain. It was precisely this innate advantage that led Wang Linchi not to confront it directly.
"He’s started eating." The Shadow of Gluttony watched as a large chunk suddenly vanished from the massive entangled mass. He knew Wang Linchi had begun to feed. There was no need to wait for a new Erroneous Sin to be born. For Wang Linchi, if they fully merged, the resulting entity might even shrink. It was better to start eating them now.
Around ten minutes, that should be enough to finish it off, the Shadow of Gluttony quickly estimated. After all, a large chunk disappeared with each bite. Ten minutes was his estimate if Wang Linchi ate slowly; if he ate faster, it might only take about five minutes.
As it turned out, he had still underestimated Wang Linchi. Three minutes later, the entire massive entangled mass had vanished, and Wang Linchi strolled leisurely towards him.
"This portion was certainly generous, much more potent than the last instance." Wang Linchi was satisfied. He had underestimated; his Third Transformation Golden Elixir might even reach the Fifth Transfer. With four transfers remaining, he could just use Hang Up and achieve it in a short time. But Wang Linchi didn’t plan to keep using Hang Up. Why engage in slow Cultivation when shortcuts were available? There was no need to grind arduously when one could use Charging Money and Plug in.
Seeing this, the Shadow of Gluttony quickly sidled up. "Boss, your style is truly extraordinary! My admiration for you is..."
"You little rascal, where did you learn so many fancy words? If you keep flattering me like this, you’ll run out of them eventually."
"The day you repeat a word of praise, I’ll beat you up." Wang Linchi harbored considerable malice towards the Shadow of Gluttony.
This remark made the Shadow of Gluttony freeze. I should tell Wang Linchi to be a decent person for once, he thought. But then again, Wang Linchi definitely isn’t human. Asking him to act like one is asking too much.
"Boss, you’re joking, right?" the Shadow of Gluttony asked, his voice strained.
"Do you think I’m in the mood to joke with you?" Wang Linchi glanced at the Shadow of Gluttony, then his gaze swept across the entire instance. Thanks to him, everything in this large instance now lay in ruins.
"I’m about to blow up this instance. Watch out for yourself; don’t get killed in the blast." Wang Linchi took out a handful of Philosopher’s Stones. They were large and numerous.
The Shadow of Gluttony felt his breath catch. He knew that Wang Linchi had to use one of these unknown Rubies whenever he launched a large-scale attack. A single one was enough to make the Game System retreat and not dare to pursue. This time, Wang Linchi had produced a whole handful, at least ten of them. But quantity wasn’t the crucial part; it was their size. The Philosopher’s Stones Wang Linchi had used before weren’t this large. Even with his limited intellect, the Shadow of Gluttony understood that the size of the Philosopher’s Stones must affect their power. Otherwise, why would Wang Linchi bother making them so big?
"Wait! I’ll get further away! Boss, you take it slow!" The Shadow of Gluttony didn’t hesitate to flee. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
"No need to rush. Take your time running," Wang Linchi said pleasantly. "The explosion will engulf the entire instance anyway." He was planning to destroy the entire instance, so hiding anywhere was essentially pointless.
The Shadow of Gluttony froze mid-stride, then decisively scurried back, declaring with an air of righteousness, "How could I possibly run? Naturally, I advance and retreat with the Boss!"
How could I not understand Wang Linchi’s meaning? he thought. If the blast affects the entire instance, then there’s only one truly safe place... where Wang Linchi himself is. After all, Wang Linchi wouldn’t risk his own life, would he? Judging from his past actions, Wang Linchi cherishes his life just as much as I do.
"Oh? You plan to stay at ground zero?" Wang Linchi asked, somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected the Shadow of Gluttony to be this reckless. Wang Linchi wasn’t leaving because he could resurrect; he had multiple ways to do so. According to his analysis, even if this explosion got him, he would most likely revive using his "game character" trait, losing at most a single level. However, the same couldn’t be said for the Shadow of Gluttony. After all, the explosive he was using this time wasn’t Fanciful and Fickle, but one based primarily on the elemental reactions of the Philosopher’s Stone. This elemental reaction didn’t involve synthesized elements like hydrogen or plutonium that Wang Linchi might have concocted, but rather the four fundamental Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. The high-energy reaction produced by these four Elements would cause an erosive effect, which was one of the principles behind how the Elemental Giants could damage Erroneous Sins. The instance itself wasn’t an Erroneous Sin, but it operated under its own rules. Therefore, this method was perfectly suited for its destruction.
If the Shadow of Gluttony truly stayed with Wang Linchi at the epicenter of this explosion, his chances of dying weren’t high, but he would likely be horrifically injured. Furthermore, his recovery would be suppressed to some extent. He held ten High Concentration Philosopher’s Stones, each synthesized from a hundred ordinary Philosopher’s Stones. The intense elemental reactions within them had nullified all their other functions, leaving only their spell structure intact. Thus, they could only be used for detonation.
"Yes! Wherever the Boss goes, I shall follow!" The Shadow of Gluttony was resolute. He’s definitely trying to trick me again, he thought.
"Alright. I’m touched by such devotion. It makes me very happy," Wang Linchi said, though he was, of course, indifferent. He was just waiting to resurrect anyway.
The Shadow of Gluttony breathed a sigh of relief. Good, I wasn’t seriously tricked this time, he thought.
"Boss, how are you planning to shield yourself from this explosion?" the Shadow of Gluttony quickly asked.
"Shield myself? Simple. I have my ways," Wang Linchi replied vaguely, mainly intending to mess with the Shadow of Gluttony. In truth, even without any special methods, Wang Linchi wouldn’t die outright from the blast due to his immense spiritual power; he could easily withstand the damage. However, Wang Linchi didn’t want to just withstand it. After dying once, his Dragon Soul Saint Main would evolve numerous beneficial effect traits from the experience of near-death and actual death. The next time he self-detonated or faced a similar attack, he would possess corresponding resistances, and it would also make him stronger. His main goal was to test if this method could enhance his Physique. As his spiritual power grew at an accelerating rate, he could feel his physical body increasingly approaching its absolute limit—a limit that seemed insurmountable. If successful, he planned to use self-detonation to temper his Physique until it could withstand spiritual power in the ten-digit range. The possibility of achieving this through other means existed, but Wang Linchi estimated it would be incredibly difficult, perhaps beyond his endurance. Dying too many times, he feared, might affect his mind. Moreover, such methods were slow, inefficient, and had a ceiling. The effect traits evolved by the Dragon Soul Saint Main scaled with Wang Linchi’s own strength; they were essentially percentage-based, not fixed bonuses.
"That’s good. The Boss will surely protect me too, right?" The Shadow of Gluttony didn’t dare press Wang Linchi for details, but he was bold enough to try and freeload.
"Of course, not a problem. With such loyalty and devotion from you, if I don’t protect you, who would?" Wang Linchi said with a straight face. He wasn’t lying. However, if he couldn’t even protect himself, he certainly wouldn’t be able to protect the Shadow of Gluttony.
Hearing this, the Shadow of Gluttony felt a flicker of joy, but it was instantly extinguished by a chilling realization. Could Wang Linchi really be this kind? Oh no, have I fallen for another one of his schemes? The Shadow of Gluttony had been tormented by Wang Linchi so much that he was becoming paranoid.
"Alright, brace yourself. I’m detonating it now!" Wang Linchi, noticing the Shadow of Gluttony’s hesitation, gave him no chance to back out. He said he was *going* to detonate it, but he had, in fact, already triggered the explosion.
"Boss, wait, I—" The Shadow of Gluttony instantly sensed danger. But before he could finish his sentence, a terrifying radiance erupted from the Philosopher’s Stones in Wang Linchi’s hand, engulfing Wang Linchi himself, and then, in the next moment, swallowing the Shadow of Gluttony as well.
