For a moment, Shao Ci stiffened. He absolutely did not want to meet Xavier again!

He had no idea how much time had passed since he left the game, but Xavier now appeared a bit older, resembling a seventeen/eighteen-year-old.

In the next moment, golden threads once again entangled him. Xavier's apologetic voice came, "I didn't want to treat you like this. It's just that if I don't stop you, and you leave again, what would I do?"

Gritting his teeth, Shao Ci asked, "What do you want?"

"I just want you to accompany me," Xavier replied, lifting Shao Ci and walking with him.

Shao Ci only then realized that they were near the restaurant where he had taken Xavier before. However, to his surprise, the restaurant was now devoid of any bodies, completely empty, without even a trace of blood. This abnormality caught Shao Ci's attention.

Even if he manipulated those bodies to clean up, it wouldn't be this pristine. Or was Xavier involved in…

Xavier chose the same spot as last time, seating Shao Ci in his lap (now that he was taller than Shao Ci, he could easily do this). He smiled and said, "I've always wanted to do this."

Shao Ci noticed that as Xavier's appearance matured, his personality also became more mature. However, he still preferred the innocent and naive young Xavier he met at the beginning!

"In the past, I always thought you were tall and mighty. Now I unexpectedly find you quite delicate," Xavier said, lowering his head to nuzzle Shao Ci. "But with me here, Father doesn't need to worry about any problems."

Shao Ci: "..." Aren't you the biggest problem?

Xavier surprisingly started eating the food. Shao Ci was truly puzzled about who on this presumably deserted spaceship was preparing food for him.

Soon, the zombies brought the food.

Even looking at the delicious and fragrant dishes, Shao Ci had no appetite. After all, he remembered the food in this instance had no taste.

Xavier enjoyed a delicacy from this world and then stuffed a dessert near Shao Ci's mouth.

In this situation, Shao Ci had to force himself to eat the food, which, just like before, had no taste.

"Now, I can take care of Father like Father used to take care of me," Xavier said.

Shao Ci: "!" What is this mysterious father-son deep affection plot... oh well, at least there's no immediate danger now.

Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Everything around him seemed oddly out of place.

Watching Xavier happily eat, a sudden memory surged in Shao Ci's mind. It seemed to be a research report stating that the experimental subject could only sustain life by absorbing psychic energy and specially crafted food. Regular human food would trigger a strong adverse reaction.

Although brief, the memory held significant information.

Almost instinctively, Shao Ci confirmed that the experimental subject mentioned in the report was Xavier. Could his ability to casually eat human food now be a result of further evolution?

But Shao Ci felt it wasn't that simple. Suddenly, he remembered that the abandoned spaceship world from before could be a virtual world created by Xavier's psychic power. If that's the case, could this world also be created by him?

Even if Xavier was powerful, casually massacring a ship full of people seemed excessive. The excessively clean restaurant, every detail seemed to tell him that this might be the truth.

No wonder the mainline of the system earlier was to escape. If he didn't leave here, it wouldn't be considered safe.

Then... how could he leave?

Shao Ci wasn't very familiar with the psychic power of this instance, but even with basic reasoning, he knew that staying in someone else's controlled mental world would only lead to exploitation.

Contemplating the situation, Shao Ci suddenly felt a warmth on his neck. The necklace he wore started glowing and emitted intense heat, even through his clothes, giving a burning sensation on his skin.

Shao Ci: "???" Wait, he didn't control this necklace. Why is it suddenly... Could this be the legendary backlash? But this isn't a demonic instance!

As Shao Ci hesitated, the necklace grew hotter, an uncomfortable feeling spreading in his chest. In the next moment, this force suddenly expanded, isolating everything around him.

He sat up and gasped, feeling drenched in cold sweat. 

Surveying the surroundings, he found himself in a place resembling a laboratory, and he was wearing wearing the attire of a researcher. Several people were scattered around, lying in various positions.

Shao Ci instantly understood, "where am I?" Unexpectedly, the necklace had functions beyond just protection...

Glancing at the bodies of those around him, Shao Ci understood they had already perished.

Shao Ci stood up and discovered numerous research materials nearby. He requested the system to conduct a unified analysis and provide him with a general overview of the results.

This convenient feature wasn't something to be used casually; there were specific conditions, and currently, those conditions happened to align.

Digesting the information relayed by the system, Shao Ci finally grasped the truth of everything.

He was in the real world. And although some of the data from the information gathered on the spaceship was true, there were also fabrications.

This world was indeed one where the majority of people lacked psychic power. Those with psychic abilities were considered anomalies, even treated as monsters and burned alive in certain places.

 Before everyone possessed psychic power, he wondered if similar incidents had occurred.

The place where Shao Cis current host worked turned out to be a research institute backed by some aristocracy, focusing on how to derive entertainment from psychic power.

This institute held numerous individuals with psychic abilities captive, subjecting them to various experiments, with some success, such as inducing illusions using psychic power (although the method remained unclear, it had undeniably been successfully researched).

In this country, no one bothered to intervene in such matters since most people feared those with psychic power, not even considering them as human.

At this point, they received a visit from a teenager with exceptionally powerful psychic abilities.

The boy's psychic power surpassed that of 

 everyone else, and he was incredibly intelligent, remembering everything at a glance. This brought a glimmer of hope to the researchers at the institute.

Subsequently, they decided to use the boy's psychic power to construct a stable virtual world and connect it to those aristocrats for their enjoyment.

To build such a world, the individual had to possess an extensive amount of knowledge. Hence, the people at the institute provided the boy with a wealth of information, believing that he couldn't possibly escape, even if he knew a lot.

However, the reality was, they messed up...

After acquiring a vast amount of knowledge, the teenager remained obedient and didn't attract the attention of others.

The virtual world constructed by the teenager had become extremely sophisticated. It had been tested multiple times without any issues. Consequently, they finally invited a few aristocrats to enjoy it.

However, this time, not only did those aristocrats enter the virtual world uncontrollably, but even the entire institute's personnel also lost control and entered the virtual realm. Furthermore, they lost their past memories, wandering in a daze, believing they were still in the real world.

This is the truth of everything.

Without a doubt, that teenager is Xavier.

Shao Ci's emotions were incredibly complex. Fortunately, according to the information, to limit Xavier's power he transformed into a young boy, he was quite weak within that world, and similarly, he has no other memories. This reassured Shao Ci, at least the young boy he initially encountered wasn't entirely good or bad.

Looking at the others on the ground, they must have died in the virtual world. Xavier probably harbors deep hatred for the entire institute's people... except for him, there might be no survivors in the institute.

Shao Ci wondered why he didn't die. Could it be because he protected Xavier at the beginning, improving his favorability?

The automatic door of the room opened at that moment, and a figure appeared behind the door.

It was Xavier. He still looked like the seventeen-year-old in the virtual world, indistinguishable from his appearance in that realm. He smiled at Shao Ci, "Father, you're awake."

Being addressed as "father" by Xavier now felt oddly unsettling for Shao Ci.

"I was thinking we could stay together forever in that world." Xavier spoke, "But it's a pity. If you're awake, you already know everything."

Shao Ci instinctively took a few steps back, "Yes, I know everything..."

"In that case, there's no other way." Xavier seemed to be contemplating something, "Let me devour you... this way, we can become one. Your consciousness will also live forever in my world."

"Hey!" Shao Ci knew things wouldn't be that easy, and it had indeed escalated to an endless struggle.

The next moment, Xavier took a step forward.

Shao Ci suddenly felt his feet entangled. When he looked down, he realized he was ensnared by golden threads. His expression changed instantly. "You can summon such things in reality too?"

"What do you think, Father?" Xavier smiled faintly. "Or maybe just now, you entered my psychic world again? Maybe you never left."

Shao Ci's face turned pale in an instant. The golden threads swiftly entwined him, and Xavier had already reached him.

With a sigh, Xavier reached out and embraced Shao Ci. "Father, don't be afraid. Everything will be over soon."

Shao Ci: "...Facing such a situation, how can I not be afraid?"

Xavier directly lowered his head for a kiss. At that moment, Shao Ci instantly sensed the existence of Xavier's powerful psychic force.

It was a formidable golden psychic force, the most powerful Shao Ci had ever encountered. Transforming into numerous threads, it pressed toward his psychic force.

Shao Ci felt a piercing sensation in his mind. He gritted his teeth. If it came down to psychic force alone, no one could surpass him.

However, he was not as focused as Xavier; his psychic force was too scattered, causing him to retreat steadily under the opponent's relentless onslaught.

If only he could manipulate this psychic force more adeptly, like Xavier...

Shao Ci grappled with the challenge of consolidating his psychic force. Previously, he could only mold it into a rudimentary form for offensive maneuvers. However, this approach proved insufficient. In contrast to Xavier's effortlessly managed psychic threads, Shao Ci found his own psychic force to be inadequately potent. 

No matter how hard Shao Ci tried, these psychic forces seemed as fragile as loosely held clumps of soil, dispersing upon contact.

In a sudden realization, Shao Ci understood that his psychic force was an integral part of himself. There was no need to treat it like an external entity; he should be capable of controlling it as he desired.

In the next moment, Shao Ci's psychic force transformed into countless blue threads, swiftly entangling Xavier's golden threads. For a moment, a balance of psychic forces formed between them.

However, the question remained: how long could Shao Ci, whose psychic force was seemingly less powerful, endure?

Shao Ci, no longer in the same dire situation as before, opened his eyes, maintaining his psychic force while observing the figure before him.

Xavier also opened his eyes, looking at Shao Ci and sighing softly. "It seems like I'm going to lose."

"You..." Shao Ci wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.

"It's okay," Xavier spoke. "Even if I can't devour you, then... let you devour me, Father?”

"As long as I can stay with my father forever, that's enough." Xavier chuckled softly, blood flowing from his mouth.

"Why go to such lengths..." Shao Ci was momentarily stunned.

At the same time, his mental power suddenly scattered, and he found himself giving up resistance, directly consumed by Shao Ci's mental power.

These events almost happened in an instant. Before Shao Ci could react, the young man in front of him turned pale, his strength failing as he collapsed into his arms.

Shao Ci looked down at him, knowing Xavier wouldn't live much longer. He sighed, much like facing the young Xavier in the past, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

A faint blush appeared on Xavier's pale cheeks. He remembered the moments on the spaceship when his father protected and cared for him, holding his hand and feeding him.

Even if all of that was behavior after the loss of memories, those times were indeed the happiest in all of his years. Despite not sharing blood ties, if only they could stay in those moments forever... but now, everything cannot be undone.

"Dad..." Xavier's eyes sparkled as he gazed at Shao Ci. He reached out, touching Shao Ci's cheek and struggled to speak, "I... Love..."

As his words fell, his body seemed unable to hold on any longer, turning into countless points of light and dissipating in Shao Ci's embrace.

【Successfully defeated the boss, completed the current instance.】

The game system's voice sounded, the surroundings instantly darkened, and a door appeared in front of Shao Ci to exit the instance.

Despite winning, Shao Ci couldn't feel happy; there was a profound sense of heaviness and he realized his face was wet.

Even though he had traversed many worlds, and this was just one instance among them, he couldn't simply view Xavier as an NPC...

Pushing open the door, Shao Ci returned once again to the white space from before, much closer to the throne.

The silver-haired youth looked at Shao Ci and raised his eyebrows "You seem quite exhausted."

"I’m alright..." Shao Ci had experienced several worlds, facing various challenges and dark scenarios. His mental resilience had grown, and he quickly rallied.

"If it were you, you could choose to give up now." The silver-haired youth smiled faintly.

“I quite admire you. If you give up, I can make you my subordinate."

Shao Ci: "...Are you serious?"

How can you actually give such strange advice? This kind of central computer villain boss should be very disdainful of human beings. How could he suddenly want to accept a human? Even if he found someone to accept, it should only be the male protagonist of the original text…

In the next moment, a hand grabbed Shao Ci's sleeve. He turned in astonishment to find a young woman, around twenty years old, behind him. This woman was a smaller version of the silver-haired youth.

She directly nestled into Shao Ci's arms, looking up at him with big blue eyes. In a somewhat tender voice, she said, "As long as you become mine, you won't have to risk your life in dungeons anymore."

Shao Ci: "!". Seriously, now there's even a young lady making a move. Sly move... darn it.

It's indeed a tempting offer. Honestly, if Shao Ci didn't know the plot, he'd probably end up becoming this girl's underling... not like he's particularly principled anyway.

But Shao Ci does know the plot, and if he ends up serving the antagonist boss, he'll probably just die in the end.

"Very sorry," Shao Ci spoke up. "I think I'd like to continue the game."

In truth, he really didn't want to, but there's no other way now!

The young lady pouted, as if about to cry, while the silver-haired youth remained indifferent, smiling. "Hope you won't regret it. Well then, farewell."

As he finished speaking, the ground, like before, transformed into a watery surface. Shao Ci, with the experience from last time, didn't panic as he was engulfed by the water.

Honestly, after the events in the previous world, Shao Ci was intrigued about how the dungeons he had successfully navigated would reconfigure for another go.

Shortly after, the surroundings in front of Shao Ci became illuminated. However, this time, he observed the situation in a first-person perspective, unable to control his body. He gleaned information solely from conversations.

He found himself in a castle, originally a retreat for a noble family that, at some point, decided to make it their permanent residence.

Surveying the environment, Shao Ci quickly deduced that he had entered Kevin's dungeon. However, judging by the current circumstances, it seemed to be set over a century before the events of the previous dungeon?

The noble family comprised a wife and three sons. The wife was fragile and frequently unwell, while the two elder sons were robust. Contrarily, the youngest son, born prematurely, grappled with various illnesses. Unable to stand on his own, he relied on a wheelchair for mobility, earning him disfavor from his father.

What intrigued Shao Ci the most was that the youngest son bore the name Kevin. There was a strong likelihood that this was the same Kevin he was acquainted with.

It appeared that during their initial meeting, Kevin had indeed disclosed his real name.

So, had he arrived in the timeline when Kevin was still a human?

In this particular body, Shao Ci served as a staff member in the castle. Through the first-person perspective, he encountered the butler and was subsequently tasked with looking after the young master.

Given the young master's frailty, lack of favor, and the challenging nature of the caretaking role with minimal compensation, none of the existing staff were willing to take on the responsibility. Consequently, Shao Ci, being a newcomer, was assigned this duty.

On the way, the servant uttered a lot of seemingly trivial information. Of course, Shao Ci didn't consider it trivial; it was crucial information about this dungeon.

Furthermore, Shao Ci noticed that the hall still housed the statue of the malevolent deity. However, he couldn't control this body now and couldn't inquire further.

After pushing open the door, Shao Ci regained control of the body. He scrutinized the room with mixed emotions.

The room wasn't exactly shabby, but it was far from luxurious. It could be described as an average room; the windows were tightly shut, and the outside view featured withered trees, creating a sinister atmosphere.

The room was dimly lit, and a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy lay on the bed.

His appearance differed significantly from the Kevin Shao Ci knew but was delicate nonetheless, giving an impression of great fragility.

In this moment, Shao Ci was reminded of the Duke Stuart he encountered in the first dungeon. However, Duke Stuart had a much better situation than Kevin. At least he could order servants around and do as he pleased. Kevin, on the other hand, lacked anyone to command—a stark contrast.

According to the central computer, one must defeat the boss of the dungeon to clear it again.

However, how could Shao Ci possibly harm this frail young boy in front of him? Moreover, without investigating everything thoroughly, rash actions could lead to undesirable consequences.

Anyway... let's play the role of a servant here for now.