"Hah... Hah..."
South Ward, in a certain alley.
After running for an unknown amount of ti, An Le finally stopped in the middle of the alley, bending over and panting heavily.
Having lost all sensation below her neck from activating her tentacles earlier, and then sprinting desperately while her body was still tingling from the sudden return of feeling, she now felt so unsteady that she had to lean against the wall.
An Le's face was slightly pale, but she gritted her teeth and imdiately looked down, tugging at her clothes.
Only after confirming that the clothes had reverted to inanimate objects and were no longer restricting her movents did she breathe a sigh of relief.
However, looking at the ssage her mother had sent on Plane, she finally couldn't hold back and dialed her number.
"Beep~"
"Hello, sweetie?"
"Mom, what happened just now? Why did you suddenly send
that ssage?!"
Startled by An Le's angry voice, her mother paused for a mont before saying,
"Hiss, I don't know what ca over
just now. My brain just short-circuited, and I suddenly wanted to see that Spencer girl you brought over last ti..."
"And now?"
"Sigh, what was I thinking? That kid eats so much and doesn't even take her shoes off when she cos inside. Why would I want her to co over? Just so I can clean the house a few more tis?"
"..."
Hearing this, An Le panted and glanced at her phone, a look of astonishnt on her face.
Her mind raced, instantly recognizing a familiar sensation from her mother's reaction...
'mory Correction?'
"Alright then... I'll hang up first."
"Hey, wait, when are you coming ba—"
"Beep, beep..."
An Le hung up the phone, staring at her own pale face reflected in the darkened screen.
A second later, she suddenly gritted her teeth and growled,
"Little Finger!"
"..."
On her shoulder, the white snake abruptly materialized, wearing an expression of guilty conscience.
It flicked its tongue, looking at An Le who had turned her head toward it, entirely at a loss for words for a mont.
But An Le's face carried a hint of anger as she stared straight at Little Finger and demanded,
"Little Finger, are you... hiding sothing from ?"
"Well, about that..."
"Before this, other than my parents, I only considered Xiao Huan, Spencer, and you to be the most important existences in my life..."
Seeing Little Finger avert its gaze, tears welled up in An Le's eyes. She then grabbed Little Finger by the neck and forced its head back to face her.
"Now that Spencer has deceived , are you going to lie to
too?"
"..."
"Tell , the bizarre things that just happened to my parents, my phone, and my clothes—does it have sothing to do with Spencer?"
Looking at the pitiful expression on An Le's face, Little Finger hesitated for a second before finally sighing and admitting,
"Yes."
Hearing Little Finger's words, An Le's eyes flickered, and she finally loosened her grip on its neck a little.
She then asked again,
"Does she also have a superpower like you, Little Finger?"
"...Yes, but it's not quite the sa as yours."
An Le took a deep breath, perplexity written all over her face.
"Then why didn't you tell
earlier? You know I never believed I was so unique chosen one either...
"Just now... when my parents were being influenced, do you know how scared I was?
"If you had told
about this sooner, I would have... Sob..."
Listening to An Le's sowhat frightened voice, Little Finger stealthily glanced at her, only to be struck by the sight of the tears in the corners of her eyes.
This made it quickly avert its gaze again, but a second later, it couldn't help extending its tail to gently stroke the back of her head.
"Sob... Woo..."
It truly hadn't intentionally kept these things from An Le to make her suffer. She had nearly lost her parents to the mighty power of the Thumb Modifier.
As ntioned before, the Divine Lord had forbidden it from telling its host about these things before she discovered and asked about the other Fingers herself.
This wasn't just so twisted sense of humor on the Divine Lord's part. Objectively speaking, the later the host was told about this, the better.
Informing a host about the existence of the other Fingers ahead of ti ant accelerating the Finger competition. For any host, this was a double-edged sword.
For the current An Le, it brought more harm than good.
An inflated desire would not only make the Finger's ability stronger, but it would also bring increasingly severe side effects to the host wielding it.
If the host's desire exploded, causing the Modifier to instantly evolve to its peak, the first to be slaughtered wouldn't be the competing Fingers, but rather the host who couldn't bear the side effects.
Once a host died, the Finger would have to replace them with a new host and start from scratch.
The only solution was to progress gradually, leveling up step by step so the host could adapt to the Modifier's side effects.
Only if the Finger reached its Complete Form while the host was still alive would it be considered a victory.
However, An Le had been backstabbed by Spencer and provoked into a sudden leap in level.
She already had to bear side effects far exceeding those of other hosts from the sa period if she continued to use it. If it went on to tell her the truth now...
It was afraid that would just add fuel to the fire.
"..."
Yet, where there was risk, there was also opportunity.
Previously, An Le had been inherently deficient—a useless substitute. It had begged for Tong Yingying, the ace cha, but failed, and was forced to settle for An Le instead.
Not only was her personality weak, but her moral compass was strong. In a normal fight, she wouldn't stand a chance against the other heavyweight contenders.
Now, she finally had a godsent opportunity by being betrayed by Spencer. If they didn't seize it, winning would be impossible for a lifeti.
She was just a substitute anyway. It wouldn't be a pity if she were destroyed. It was better to take a desperate risk and gamble it all...
What if they won?
Thinking of this, Little Finger hardened its resolve, though on the surface, it spoke with utmost helplessness,
"Alright, alright, stop crying, An Le. Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you the truth now..."
Seeing this, An Le wiped away her tears, trying her best to calm her emotions, and asked,
"Okay. Then tell , Little Finger... what kind of existence are you exactly?"
"Umm... to be honest, I'm an alien from the Virgo A galaxy, a higher-dinsional symbiotic organism that feeds on spiritual energy."
"A higher-dinsional symbiotic alien? Then the one on Spencer..."
Little Finger's expression didn't change as it imdiately began slinging mud at the other Modifiers,
"That's right, that's my lowly, brainless kin, the Thumb Modifier. It has no intellect, only instinct. Moreover, it doesn't know how to create; it only blindly plunders."
"Thumb Modifier... does that an you have four other kin, Little Finger?"
"Correct. But they aren't like . All of them are lowly existences driven purely by instinct."
An Le counted on her fingers, feeling doubtful about Little Finger's unwavering disparagent.
Though she didn't voice it, Little Finger could sense the emotions in her heart.
Seeing this, Little Finger cast a disdainful glance at An Le and coldly harrumphed,
"I'm not lying, believe it or not.
"Anyway, a sapient being like
knows how to nurture you and fulfill your wishes, thereby making you stronger and happier.
"This way, your spiritual energy grows, and I can feast to my heart's content.
"anwhile, the rest of those brainless idiots will only uncontrollably manipulate their hosts to seize the naturally powerful spiritual energy of certain existences... for instance, Yan Huan."
Hearing Yan Huan's na, An Le's pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly,
"Xiao Huan?"
"Yes, his spiritual energy is arguably the greatest in the world, and utterly delicious. That's why the Thumb manipulated Spencer into constantly getting closer to him."
Little Finger had initially been a bit clumsy while spinning this web of lies, but sohow, the more it fabricated, the smoother the logic flowed,
"Have you ever thought about it? Didn't Spencer say she didn't like Yan Huan before, and didn't Yan Huan also really despise her?
"Then how could they suddenly beco completely smitten with each other in such a short period?"
Hearing Little Finger fra it like this, the fury that had erupted in An Le's mind from the betrayal finally subsided a bit.
As a result, her suppressed mories and rationality returned to her brain.
'That's right, Spencer and Xiao Huan really were as incompatible as water and fire before.'
'The disgust Spencer showed toward Xiao Huan back then didn't seem faked. Even though she's clumsy, she's very honest.'
'Like just now, she knew full well that saying it would enrage , yet she still admitted she went to Xiao Huan's house.'
'Why did their attitudes shift so rapidly?'
"On one hand, the Thumb is subtly influencing Spencer's thinking. On the other hand, the bewitched Spencer uses her superpower to get close to Yan Huan."
Little Finger looked at An Le, serving up the answers to her inner questions one by one,
"And as a result, things ended up like this."
"Then what will happen to Xiao Huan if his spiritual energy continues to be seized?"
"Who knows? They have no concept of restraint. It could leave Yan Huan depressed, despondent, despairing, or driven to madness..."
Little Finger wagged its tail and said indifferently,
"This is what happens when spiritual energy is continuously drained without being nurtured. The initial symptom is becoming uncharacteristic of one's past self.
"From my experience, people whose spiritual energy is depleted will ultimately lose themselves, becoming even more pitiful than the walking dead."
Hearing this, An Le's face grew even paler.
Though so doubts still lingered in her mind, a vague sense of reality seed to corroborate it for her.
'That Spencer, who dared to step forward and protect
even when we didn't know each other... to think she would actually be reduced to a faithless wretch who betrays her friends.'
'What about Xiao Huan?'
'What will Xiao Huan beco after all his spiritual energy is plundered?'
'The gentle Xiao Huan who took care of
when we were little... what will they turn him into?'
Just thinking about this filled An Le's heart with unprecedented terror.
Her eyes trembled slightly, but she still didn't completely believe Little Finger, and instead asked,
"...Then why didn't you tell
this before?"
Little Finger sighed, helplessly answering her question with a question,
"Let
ask you this. After I told you, would you try to stop them from plundering Yan Huan?"
"..."
"An Le, you must understand, I am ultimately of the sa species as them. And besides, this is like eating dog at."
Little Finger's expression was incredibly vivid, looking like it had a massive headache,
"I can choose not to eat dog at, but I can't force others to abstain from it as well, can I?
"I know everything about them like the back of my hand. I know they're fools who will bite down on a hook and never let go.
"Right now, those hosts have already been branded with the ideological stamp of 'Target Yan Huan'. Once we try to stop them, it's a fight to the bitter end. Why bother?
"Isn't that why I told you before to find soone else to like and stop pinning your affections on him?"
But hearing this, An Le felt imnse agony.
Because to her, Yan Huan was not an existence she could casually give up on.
It was like how a billionaire might not ache over discarding a mountain of gold and silver.
But for a beggar whose entire net worth was only a few coins, every cent was their everything. It was precisely because she had never had any friends growing up besides Yan Huan and Spencer that she was so unprecedentedly furious when Spencer betrayed her.
To her, Yan Huan was the exact sa.
Thinking of this, An Le finally made her decision.
She raised her eyes to look at the hopelessly resigned Little Finger beside her, pleading in a trembling voice,
"Little Finger..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Little Finger already knew what she ant.
Thus, it turned its head away, squinting as it muttered,
"...You'd better think this through. An arrow once fired cannot be drawn back. Once you stand against them, it will be a fight to the death. Not just between my kin and , but between you and that group of hosts.
"Besides Spencer, I also know that Ye Shiyu is the host of the 'Index Finger'. Neither of these two are pushovers... and I don't just an my kin."
'Ye Shiyu?'
'Xiao Huan's Sworn Older Sister...'
At this mont, An Le didn't just think of the oppressive auras of Ye Shiyu and Spencer, but also the real-world titans standing behind them.
She was nothing but an ordinary commoner, yet she had to clash with these two Eldest Misses.
As for the remaining two, they definitely weren't ordinary either.
She... would have to make enemies of them all.
"..."
But the mont the image of Yan Huan and Spencer kissing crossed her mind, endless fury ignited within her heart once more...
After a second of silence, An Le bit her lip and said softly,
"Little Finger, tell , what should I do? Afterwards, if you tell
how to obtain spiritual energy, I will do my best to satisfy you..."
Hearing this, the easily swayed Little Finger finally sighed, speaking with reluctant compliance,
"...Alright then. Since it's co to this. Considering you've treated
reasonably well lately, I'll risk my life and accompany the gentlewoman."
After saying this, Little Finger coughed lightly and returned to the main topic,
"Let
make this clear beforehand: you must absolutely not let their hosts notice our intentions. Otherwise, it will provoke them into taking extre asures.
"Then, there are four of my kin. Other than the fourth one, the 'Naless Finger,' which I know nothing about, I'm perfectly clear on all the information regarding the rest..."
Whether it was the desires they sought, the effects of their superpowers, their durations, or their weaknesses...
Little Finger knew it all.
Hearing this, An Le instantly recalled the terrifying mont from earlier, and she asked worriedly,
"Then what exactly is the situation with the Thumb Modifier on Spencer? Just now, why did my Mom and Dad..."
"Hmm... The Thumb Modifier can not only strengthen its host's body, but it can also steal what you own and claim it as its own without any limit on the number of uses. No matter what it is, it can seize it."
"That's..."
'Isn't that basically using cheat codes?'
'How am I supposed to fight sothing that overpowered?!'
An Le's face turned grim, simultaneously finally realizing why Xiao Huan had inexplicably fallen in love with Spencer.
'So it was because her superpower can seize things that belong to others...'
Sensing An Le's thoughts, Little Finger couldn't even be bothered to retort.
'Hold on a minute, Yan Huan isn't yours yet, so she can't even seize him from you, okay?'
But then again, thinking of the terrifying Thumb Modifier gave Little Finger a guilty conscience too.
However, in the end, it still coldly harrumphed, forcing itself to remain calm as it said,
"Don't worry. Even though the Thumb is strong, it's not invincible. I know its fatal weakness... Next ti, we'll definitely show it!"
Looking at the confident Little Finger before her, An Le spoke sincerely,
"Thank you, Little Finger..."
If it hadn't been for Little Finger, an invisible nobody like her would have just had the person she liked stolen away by a wealthy girl, and there would be nothing she could do.
Just like Nino from the Doujinshi Society...
If she tried to argue back, she might even get slandered to the point of complete ruin.
But Little Finger's superpower gave her a chance to fight back and stake her claim.
Having no blade to strike back with, and having a blade but choosing not to use it—those were two entirely different matters.
Therefore, An Le was genuinely grateful to Little Finger.
"If it weren't for you, I really... really wouldn't know what to do..."
But Little Finger, sensing An Le's emotions, was slightly stunned. It turned its head and glanced at An Le, thinking to itself that this girl really was foolish.
'See? This is the very definition of helping soone count the money after they've sold you out.'
'Well, I suppose I should put on an act to make her conviction a little firr...'
'That way, the probability of her lasting until my victory will be a little higher.'
'After the victory, whether she ends up broken or not won't matter.'
"Well, we are friends, after all..."
It had originally intended to end things there, but glancing at An Le's still bloodless face, it couldn't help but add one more sentence.
"However, don't think that just getting rid of my kin and their hosts ans Yan Huan will automatically fly into your bed and do you... You'd better take so initiative too."
Hearing this, the pale-faced An Le froze slightly, then finally revealed a faint smile.
"Mm... I won't give up. Seizing Xiao Huan's first ti...
"And them... I'll take them all down..."
"Yan... Yan Huan, I... I'm so hot..."
At this mont, on the empty street beneath the public housing complex, Spencer clung to Yan Huan like an octopus, refusing to let go no matter what.
It was as if there was so irresistible magic about him, making Spencer crave him so much she wished she could swallow him whole and cherish him ruthlessly.
Although Yan Huan had received a physical enhancent buff after making out, this girl possessed herculean strength. Her grip on him felt like iron shackles that he couldn't break free from.
Dragging her all the way back here had actually made Yan Huan several tis more exhausted than when he sprinted a full four hundred ters in the Club War Finals.
"It's okay, we're almost ho."
"Mwah~"
Just as he turned his head, Spencer planted a kiss on him with glassy, dazed eyes.
Feeling the duration of the Kiss God reset, Yan Huan wiped his lips and said patiently,
"Stop kissing
for a second, we're almost ho..."
"Mwah~"
As if she cared about any of that...
Another kiss.
Spencer cradled the side of Yan Huan's face, admiring his features fondly, as if he were so rare and precious treasure.
While caressing his face, Spencer lightly puckered her lips and called out,
"Yan Huan..."
Yan Huan couldn't stand seeing her like this; one glance was enough to make his heart blaze.
Therefore, he had no choice but to unnaturally avert his gaze before he could manage a response,
"Hmm?"
"Kissing... feelsh so good..."
"Idiot."
Glancing at her dazed gaze, Yan Huan let out a helpless smile and took the initiative to raise his hand and stroke her head.
Seeing her comfortably narrow her eyes, Yan Huan moved his hand down a little and felt her forehead.
'So hot...'
Feeling her slightly elevated body temperature, Yan Huan couldn't help but think about what had just happened.
Because the tables outside the barbecue restaurant were set against the side of the alley—aning they were on the flank of the shop rather than the front—the people buried in their als inside hadn't seen exactly what had unfolded out there.
But soone still ntioned seeing a black-haired girl in a school uniform running away in a panic.
'There's no mistake.'
'Having the ability to infatuate the driver, and even pierce through Spencer's Resistance.'
'It can only be An Le, who manipulates Pleasure.'
And coincidentally, on Monday, Jiang Yun had relayed to Yan Huan that An Le wanted to quit the Doujinshi Society.
It didn't take much analysis to figure out:
'An Le and Spencer definitely had a falling out, and there's a high probability it was because Spencer kissed
in public.'
'Knowing the source of the issue, the crux of the problem becos crystal clear.'
'How does Yan Huan view An Le?'
Realizing this, Yan Huan took a deep breath.
This question was both simple and complicated.
Simple, because Yan Huan wouldn't play dumb or deceive himself.
Complicated, because An Le had a Modifier. If she learned from the experience of her good senior, Comrade Ye Shiyu...
'Then I'd be in serious trouble.'
True, having indulged in Spencer's tender embrace these past few days, Yan Huan had been so blissfully happy it was as if Modifiers didn't even exist in this world.
Today, An Le's sudden stunt had instantly dragged him back to reality.
'Spencer has gotten better, but the other heavyweight contenders are still trapped in hell.'
'If I want to secure a future as blissful as making out with Spencer every day, I still need to work hard to eliminate the malignant tumors known as Modifiers.'
Just as Yan Huan was pondering all these matters, a faint sound suddenly emitted from Spencer's pocket within his embrace.
"Beep-beep..."
"Hmm?"
Yan Huan was slightly taken aback and looked at the dazed Spencer beside him, who had finally cald down a bit.
Leaning in a bit closer, he finally noticed that Spencer's mobile phone was half-exposed from her pocket and vibrating constantly.
That beeping sound was coming from her phone.
Half of the screen was visible, continuously flashing a red warning that read: "Vital Signs: Danger".
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes, then grabbed her phone and pulled it out.
At the bottom, there was a green button that read "Acknowledged".
With a light tap, sure enough, the crisp ringing sound stopped at once.
The crimson warning vanished instantly, and the phone screen reverted to the lock screen.
However, in the very next second, catching the pinkish hue of the evening light, Yan Huan suddenly saw the reflection on the phone screen. A dense crowd of n wearing black suits was swarming into the entrance of the alley behind him.
"..."
Yan Huan blinked, and as soon as he lowered the phone and raised his head...
He realized that it wasn't just behind him. The entrance to the alley in front of him was also completely blocked by countless n in black suits.
"Holy shit..."
Those n in suits were dead silent; only the extraordinarily dense sound of their footsteps echoed through the narrow alley.
Yet those dense, chaotic footsteps gradually distorted in Yan Huan's ears, eventually morphing into the exact words he had imagined when Spencer first ca seeking refuge with him:
"Kidnapper Yan Huan, you are surrounded! Release the hostage imdiately and surrender with your hands in the air!! Otherwise, we will open fire!!"
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