Free Web NovelA faint, ethereal laugh slowly drifted into their ears.
"Heh, not bad. Finding something wrong so quickly really does prove you're worthy of being a child favored by the Cyber faction. My interest in you is growing more and more."
It was a gentle laugh that felt like a spring breeze.
Yet it caused everyone's expressions to drastically change.
Lynn's heart instantly sank. He stood back-to-back with Little Treasure and Zuo Zuo, squinting as his gaze followed the vines slithering across the ground around them.
But then he chuckled.
Adjusting his monocle, he reached out to shield Little Treasure and Zuo Zuo behind him, took two bold steps forward, pinched his monocle, and smiled faintly.
"Desire Mother Tree, is that you?"
*Ding-a-ling*—
A crisp, spine-chilling sound of bronze bells.
And right before him, the blood mist rolled and churned, parting left and right. A pale, delicate foot adorned with a bell stepped lightly out of the crimson haze. Long, willow-like branches cascaded from her head like hair, and Lynn saw the woman who emerged from the blood mist before him—a seductive smile curling on her lips.
Indescribable. Compared to the terrifying giant tree covered in blood tumors and twisted flesh that she had revealed to the outside world, the woman before him was more like a strange fairy born from the embrace of nature.
Her seductive expression carried a hint of playful mockery, her eyes flowing like water, paying no heed to Zuo Zuo and Little Treasure behind him. Her gaze was fixed solely on Lynn.
"Haven't you already guessed?"
"Besides, this isn't our first meeting, is it? Back when you were facing off against the God of All Machines, weren't we allies for a time? Hmm?"
She drifted like a weightless specter.
Floating gently in the breeze, she circled around Lynn with a seductive air, appraising him up and down like a goddess hidden within nature, yet radiating an indescribably strange desire and sin.
Amidst the eerie blood-red mist, her form was utterly out of place with the surroundings.
And Lynn knew.
This was merely the form she had conjured within the mental space; the real her was still that twisted, massive tree of flesh and blood.
Lynn closed his eyes, seeming to massage his temples in exasperation as a smirk curled on his lips.
"Yeah, I really didn't expect to be outsmarted by you here. But how can you be so sure that, through my Little Treasure, you'd definitely find me?"
The Desire Mother Tree squinted with a smile, floating before him like a sprite. Her pale fingers lightly covered her lips as she spoke.
"Of course I could find you."
"Because, though you seem chaotic and plenty evil, compared to those true chaotic evil madmen, you have one thing they lack—and that thing is destined to become an obvious weakness that can be used to control you."
Lynn tilted his head. "Oh? What's that?"
The Desire Mother Tree giggled as she hovered, "Feelings, of course. For your friends, your family, your companions, and your women. You truly believe that these feelings will bring you good fortune, just as you believe they'll definitely help you when you're in trouble. And you'll certainly extend a hand to them in their times of difficulty."
"Honestly, that's both an advantage and a disadvantage, isn't it?"
Because it also means you'll never stand by and watch a friend fall into danger.
Nor will you remain indifferent when family is threatened.
"So, you can't truly be called chaotic evil. Am I right?"
She finished speaking.
Lynn burst into laughter.
Then his laughter abruptly stopped. Adjusting his monocle, he smiled slyly. "Right, that's a pretty sharp analysis. So you should understand that while friends and family might sometimes put you in danger, when you're in a tight spot, they also become your ultimate support and strength."
The Desire Mother Tree's smile grew increasingly amused and intrigued. She raised her chin. "So, are you threatening me?"
Lynn's smile didn't waver. He spread his hands. "Not exactly a threat, just a bit of advice for you. After all, neither you nor I are as brainless as the Mechanical Cult with their mechanical minds. I'm sure you can grasp the stakes here. Let me put it this way for you."
Lynn raised his hand and started counting them off one by one.
"The Cyber Ascender is my brother. The Twelve-Winged Sacred Angel is my godmother and teacher. The Titan Headhunter I was riding earlier is my little fiancée. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are the War God and the Wushen among the Fallen Titans."
"Oh, and if we throw in the Colossus, that makes roughly six."
Lynn adjusted his monocle, adopting a thoughtful expression. "So, what do you think? Would you say I'm a small-time punk with some serious backing?"
The fairy-like girl watched Lynn the entire time, smiling silently, chin resting on her hand as if listening to a story, never interrupting.
But anyone could sense the tension and danger lurking beneath this seemingly amicable conversation.
"Of course not."
She drifted like an autumn breeze to Lynn's side, her long fingers lightly brushing past his ear. She breathed softly, as if whispering intimately, "You're no small-time punk. To have so many great Root-level powers gather around you, you must possess some extraordinary attraction. That's what fascinates me most about you. How did you manage it?"
"You're pathetically weak, yet how can you make so many Root-level beings travel vast distances and still care about your safety, Lynn?"
Lynn rubbed his chin, answering without hesitation. "Maybe it's because I'm big."
"..."
An eerie silence spread around them.
Little Treasure and Zuo Zuo stared blankly at his back, instinctively swallowing hard.
Because neither of them could fathom how, at a time like this, he still had the nerve to crack such a meaningless, perverted joke. Just how thick-skinned was he?
Was this joke funny?
Not even a little bit!
(Rotating anger emoji)
Stupid Brain! Stupid Brain! Don't provoke her at a time like this, you idiot! You moron!!
Zuo Zuo felt like she was about to crack!
But no one expected that the drifting girl merely froze for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter, laughing so hard she trembled all over, her eyes growing even more seductive and liquid-like.
She drifted like smoke, spinning around to face Lynn, her finger lightly pressing against his solid chest.
"Oh? How big exactly?"
Lynn's smile remained unwavering. "Why don't you just try it and see?"
Zuo Zuo: "(꒪Д꒪)ノ!"
Little Treasure: "(((;꒪ꈊ꒪;)))!!"
[Ding! Desire Mother Tree's Affinity toward you +1]
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