This was, after all, just a bedtime story. Between the pictures and text, it was barely a dozen pages long, totaling only a few hundred words. Though a long time seemed to pass between the first and second pages, in Mu Sichen’s perception, it was but a momentary blink.

In the span of a breath, Xiangping Town was established. Qin Zhou stood amidst the thick mist, silently listening to his subordinates report.

“Thanks to Admiral Qin’s bestowal, we have cleared the monsters from the original town. The totems for the three Pillars have been successfully drawn. Xiangping Town is about to become a stable and peaceful place,” the subordinate said, bowing deeply.

Ever since Qin Zhou had erased all his own emotions and desires to become an Outer God, Mu Sichen could no longer use Qin Zhou’s body. He could only follow Qin Zhou like a ghost, watching Him as a bystander. Yet, for this very reason, he could clearly see Qin Zhou’s expression this time, rather than viewing a blurred figure through the mist.

He saw Qin Zhou with His eyes closed in the fog, long eyelashes hanging down. Despite His lack of expression, Mu Sichen felt a hint of compassion.

“I request to become the foundation stone of the ‘Pillar.’ I ask Admiral Qin to grant this,” the subordinate said.

A drop of moisture condensed on Qin Zhou’s long eyelashes. Mu Sichen thought he had seen wrongly, for the next second, the moisture vanished.

Qin Zhou spoke slowly: “Granted.”

Then, like a voiceover in a movie, Mu Sichen heard a voice—seemingly gentle but actually quite terrifying—softly say: “And so, Qin Zhou personally sacrificed his passionate, loyal, and steadfast subordinates, making them the foundation stones of the Pillars, guarding the safety of Xiangping Town.”

Being a bedtime story, the voiceover didn’t elaborate thoroughly, but Mu Sichen understood what had happened at the inception of Xiangping Town. The establishment of a “Pillar” required the lives and souls of Apostles as a foundation.

No wonder the stance of a “Pillar” sometimes conflicted with that of the Outer God; this was because no matter how much Apostles believed in the God, or how dull-witted they became due to pollution, they still possessed their own souls and preferences.

The personality and preferences of the Apostle before becoming a foundation stone determined the rules and operating mode of the “Pillar.” This made some Pillars relatively dangerous, turning them into cannibalistic spaces, while others were very peaceful.

Such was the case with the Pillar in Qin Zhou’s town. The three initial pillars of the town were built upon the emotions of passion, loyalty, and steadfastness—extremely positive emotions. Since the Apostles who became the foundations were deeply devoted to protecting the town, the Pillar of Xiangping Town would not harm the residents. As long as they prayed within the Pillar, it could provide enough emotional energy.

The residents of Xiangping Town had always believed their town was incredibly safe, maintaining peace without losing their sanity or sacrificing their souls. But was that truly the case? Mu Sichen looked at Qin Zhou suspiciously; he felt that since the three Pillars were built, Qin Zhou’s complexion had grown increasingly pale.

The man who was once like a god of war, possessing a firm face and an athletic build, was now increasingly emaciated. He wore robes prepared by the townspeople, embroidered with Qin Zhou’s totem. Mu Sichen felt the body beneath the robes seemed empty.

Qin Zhou, on His throne, always kept His eyes closed. Because the mist was too thick, water droplets would occasionally condense on His eyelashes. Every time this happened, Qin Zhou’s eyelashes would tremble slightly, and the droplets would slowly fall, landing on the ground and vanishing.

Remembering the octopus doll’s large, watery eyes that always brimmed with moisture, Mu Sichen felt that what hung on Qin Zhou’s eyelashes were not droplets of water, but tears. He couldn’t help but raise his hand to touch the moisture on those lashes.

But before Mu Sichen could touch Him, the storybook turned the page.

This time, Mu Sichen was still with Qin Zhou in an increasingly luxurious and cold palace. Qin Zhou’s black-and-gold robe was growing longer. But this time, Mu Sichen vaguely saw eight invisible tentacles appearing beneath Qin Zhou’s robes.

The tentacles were very, very long, spreading outward toward the sky with Qin Zhou at the center. Unable to see the end of the tentacles within the palace, Mu Sichen simply used his agility to climb to the top of the palace. Standing on the roof, he saw these eight tentacles centering on the palace, connecting to eight buildings that clearly looked extraordinary.

The voiceover rang out at the opportune moment: “The Pillars of Xiangping Town are different from other towns. They do not absorb the souls of the residents. Apart from the initial sacrificed foundations, they have never harmed anyone’s life.”

“The residents believe this is because their Pillars absorb beautiful emotional energy, and because their Admiral Qin is a guardian deity, not an evil god.”

“But they do not know that as long as it is a ‘Pillar,’ it must absorb souls. If it did not absorb their souls, it was because someone else took their place.”

“The Outer Gods of other towns continuously grow stronger by relying on the power of their residents. Qin Zhou, however, was using His own power to provide a steady stream of energy for the Pillars.”

“But not even a god possesses such massive soul energy.”

“For this reason, Qin Zhou had to continuously send subordinates to other towns to devour the Outer Gods there, using their soul energy to maintain the Pillars.”

So that was it.

After hearing the voiceover, Mu Sichen finally understood why Qin Zhou would not hesitate to sacrifice Yao Wangping’s life to descend—it was the smallest possible sacrifice. Qin Zhou had to obtain the Sky Eye’s power to use its energy to maintain the Pillars of Xiangping Town.

No wonder, despite being human, Qin Zhou’s manifestation of power was a small octopus.

This bedtime storybook helped Mu Sichen understand many things he hadn’t known before. However, he now vaguely guessed the final trajectory of this book.

The bedtime stories in the library all had tragic endings. The “Sky Eye” that originally wanted to protect the town eventually mutated into a monster with only one eye; the little black fish with an unusual appearance was served on a dinner table after leaving the aquarium; and the people worshiping the moon ultimately became happy madmen.

So, what would be Qin Zhou’s final ending?

To restrain the desire to devour soul energy, He discarded emotion to become the “Absolute Rationalist.” To prevent the Pillars from absorbing human souls, He continuously drained His own power to provide soul energy for the Pillars, becoming the “Guardian Deity of Humanity.” To devour the Outer Gods of other towns, He continuously strengthened Himself, becoming the “Hand Covering the Sky.”

During the ten minutes of newbie protection, Mu Sichen had seen a map. Among countless dark towns, there was one largest town, its icon shining with a warm light, making anyone who looked at it feel at ease. Mu Sichen thought that must be Xiangping Town.

But how long could that icon remain lit while overdrafting everything of Qin Zhou?

Mu Sichen remembered the octopus doll that didn’t speak but had very explicit emotions, and felt it was Qin Zhou’s long-suppressed true nature.

Mu Sichen returned to the palace. Even knowing this was just a story and Qin Zhou couldn’t hear his voice, he still asked, “Qin Zhou, are you tired?”

And you, “After Growing Tentacles, I Can Finally Embrace All of Humanity”—how much longer can these eight claws of yours embrace Xiangping Town?

Mu Sichen couldn’t help but stretch out his hand and, like poking the octopus doll, gently poke Qin Zhou’s forehead. The forehead was hard, and the feel wasn’t very good. On the other hand, the eyelashes were long and thick, and they hung with droplets from time to time, which was rather beautiful.

Mu Sichen raised his hand, wanting to gently touch those long eyelashes and wipe away the droplets with his fingertips.

Who would have thought that just as his hand touched a droplet, Qin Zhou opened His eyes.

In that instant, Mu Sichen felt as though he was truly looking at Qin Zhou. Those deep eyes, which seemed to contain the entire vast universe, looked across endless time and space at Mu Sichen. Although he was an outsider in this world, Qin Zhou’s gaze focused on him, as if He could truly see him.

“You couldn’t possibly be…” Before Mu Sichen could finish his sentence, time and space shifted again, and the page turned.

This time, there was no town, no palace, no Qin Zhou—only a wasteland and a massive monster that couldn’t be seen in its entirety, waving eight tentacles.

The voiceover rang out again: “Alas, the Xiangping Town Qin Zhou wanted to establish was merely a castle in the sky. Once absolute rationality reaches a critical point, it will likewise fall into madness. He ultimately…”

“Don’t say any more!” Mu Sichen shouted at the voiceover, wherever it was. “Don’t casually prophesy about things that haven’t happened yet. Qin Zhou is perfectly fine right now.”

Mu Sichen touched his lower back; one of the little octopus’s tentacles was still there. Since this was just a book, since he could look directly at an Outer God here, and since He Fei could turn a little black fish into the most dazzling creature in the aquarium, he could also change the ending of this book.

Mu Sichen summoned the pickaxe into his palm. He rushed toward the monster waving its tentacles. Because the monster was exceptionally large, Mu Sichen reached its feet in just a few steps. He saw a robe pressed beneath the monster’s bloated body—it was Qin Zhou’s black-and-gold robe, with Qin Zhou’s tentacle totem drawn on it.

Mu Sichen knew well that it was impossible to awaken the monster before him with his own strength. But first, this was a book, the protagonist was Qin Zhou, and it was Qin Zhou Himself who had to change the fate of the bedtime story; second, he had the “mining” skill; third, there was Qin Zhou’s totem beneath the monster, and a small claw of Qin Zhou’s power clone was on Mu Sichen’s lower back.

He had to borrow Qin Zhou’s power. Since Qin Zhou could open His eyes to look at him in the book, He must be able to hear his voice.

Mu Sichen raised his pickaxe and shouted loudly, “Qin Zhou, Qin Zhou, Qin Zhou, Qin Zhou, Qin Zhou…”

If Qin Zhou could hear people calling, he would shout until He was bored to death!

After all, there was still remnant power of the Sky Eye within the First Quarter Library. Mu Sichen was still sensitive to gazes, and he felt a gaze that seemed to burn through him falling upon him.

At the same time, the robe beneath the monster erupted with dazzling light. The “∞” symbol appeared above Mu Sichen’s head, representing that he had borrowed Qin Zhou’s power again. This time it was to save Qin Zhou Himself, so it didn’t count as debt. Mu Sichen had no psychological burden of having borrowed from a loan shark, and he aggressively swung the pickaxe.

Mu Sichen swung the pickaxe eight times consecutively, each swing deducting tens of thousands of energy points—the number was so large Mu Sichen didn’t even bother looking at it.

[Congratulations to the Player for obtaining 8 Pillar-level “Self” stickers. That’s enough, quit while you’re ahead. If this continues, the Player’s mere Level 15 body will not be able to withstand such massive power.]

It was the first time the System had advised Mu Sichen in such a human-like manner, speaking very quickly for fear that if it spoke too slowly, Mu Sichen would strike another blow.

Mu Sichen hurriedly lowered the pickaxe and, prompted by a strange hunch, casually stuck one of the newly acquired “Self” stickers onto the monster in front of him. He always felt that to make this maddened monster regain its “Self,” relying solely on these eight heavy blows wasn’t quite enough. It needed a catalyst.

After the “Self” sticker was applied, the monster waving its tentacles struggled to turn around, revealing a pair of eyes that were terrifyingly large. This pair of yellowish-orange vertical pupils were over a hundred meters in diameter. Seeing these eyes, Mu Sichen felt his phobia of gigantic objects (megalophobia) starting to kick in.

Yet, he felt that these eyes seemed to be filled with moisture, looking at him tearfully. He didn’t know if it was his imagination.

Mu Sichen emboldened himself and tried to stretch out his hand to greet the monster, but felt a massive repulsive force pushing him out of this space. He kept retreating, watching the scene before him grow smaller and smaller, and he felt as though he was being pushed out of a page by someone, landing firmly on the ground.

The surrounding space didn’t seem to be inside the library, but Mu Sichen didn’t have time to observe the environment; he hastily flipped through the book in his hand.

He saw the title of this book had changed to “After Growing Tentacles, I Can Finally Embrace Him.”

Mu Sichen: “…”

The “Him” in the title couldn’t possibly be referring to me, could it?

The first half of the story hadn’t changed. The final page, which read, “Qin Zhou finally couldn’t withstand the backlash of absolute rationality, personally destroying the Xiangping Town He desperately wanted to protect, becoming a monster that devoured everything,” had a massive red “X” drawn over it.

Mu Sichen turned to the next page; the ending had changed to, “Because of looking into the eyes of a mysterious person, Qin Zhou awakened his humanity. Within a tranquil Xiangping Town, He spread His tentacles and embraced that ‘Him’.”

The illustration was a blue, Q-version (chibi) octopus with large, watery, cartoonish eyes, tightly wrapping its tentacles around a person whose face could not be seen, but whose clothing and build were exactly the same as Mu Sichen’s.

Mu Sichen: “…”

I suppose this counts as a good ending.

He closed the book. The book vanished from his hands, and a bookmark fell out. Mu Sichen picked up the bookmark; its style was exactly the same as the one he had seen on the second floor, only it was no longer blank, but had a smiling face drawn on it.

The surroundings had transformed from the deserted library into a square filled with a sci-fi atmosphere, with people walking by from time to time.

Mu Sichen opened his phone and saw that a message had automatically been sent in the game group chat:

Mu Sichen: Why are there always water droplets hanging on his long, thick eyelashes?

So, completing a book automatically updated a message.

At this point, Mu Sichen understood what emotional energy this “Pillar” needed.

It was “curiosity.”

When he read the first few books, he hadn’t produced strong questions and curiosity, just simply flipped through them, which was why he couldn’t enter the stories like He Fei had. When he became curious about Qin Zhou, triggering intense curiosity, he was naturally pulled into the story and obtained the ticket to this space.

This was an emotional energy highly appropriate for a library.

He just didn’t know how to find the true location of the “Pillar” from this massive sea of books.

Mu Sichen contemplated while holding the smiley-face bookmark.

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him: “Huh? Chenchen, did you also receive the closed beta notification for the game?”

Mu Sichen turned around and saw He Fei, whom he had been worrying about, riding a motorcycle hovercraft, looking high-spirited as he looked at him.

Mu Sichen: “…”

I suddenly feel that He Fei when he was polluted by Qin Zhou looked more pleasant…

Author’s Note:

Qin Zhou: Guardian Deity of Humanity, Absolute Rationalist, Hand Covering the Sky, Time-Space Traveler.

Mu Sichen: Qin Zhou: Likes to cry, can eat a lot, likes to act spoiled, has a somewhat bad temper, gets annoyed if called by name too many times, glares at people.