Chapter 135: The Unknown Consciousness

Luo Chen pointed at the little creature and asked, "Nicole, when did you collect data on this fat bird?"

It made no sense; he hadn't seen such a creature before. Had he overlooked it, or was this spirit a type that fought alongside Zhuo Yuqing, one he hadn't noticed at the time? This little thing had been lurking in the shadows; perhaps it was a spirit that favored sneak attacks.

Upon hearing this, the little creature’s eyes went round with indignation. It flapped its forelimbs and jumped up, looking absolutely furious.

Luo Chen was even more startled. He knew that the people and beasts Nicole simulated never displayed such expressive changes. Yet, this little thing was glaring directly at him.

Nicole let out an "eh" of surprise. She flew down from the air and examined the little creature. "Strange, Master. This isn't something I simulated, and it possesses its own consciousness!"

Luo Chen jumped back immediately. "What? This fat bird has consciousness?"

The little thing jumped up in anger again and let out two "ga-ga" cries. Strangely, Luo Chen could understand the meaning behind the sounds.

"You’re the fat bird! Your whole family is fat birds!"

This little thing was none other than the Nightmare that had attempted to invade Luo Chen’s mental world days ago. Luo Chen’s ultra-mental waves had rendered him completely immune to its psychic attacks, and the entity had nearly been destroyed.

Invading someone else’s mental world was an incredibly dangerous act. Possession could not be forcibly terminated without dire consequences, and the Nightmare had suffered the fallout. Having failed, it lost its psychic control over Luo Chen and was instead subjected to the backlash of the possession technique. The host’s consciousness had merged with it, and now Luo Chen was the dominant force, while it was forced to rely on Luo Chen’s mental world for survival.

However, its original consciousness and Luo Chen’s could not coexist, so it had been forcibly "cleansed." Unfortunately, during this process, its mental strength was almost entirely depleted; its abilities regressed, its form was reconstituted, and the newborn Nightmare ended up in this sorry state.

Looking at its short, pudgy, bloated body, the Nightmare felt like crying. As the dignified King of Phantom Spirits, it had become so ugly—and so fat!

It was a stroke of bad luck. Even in its severely weakened state, the Nightmare’s raw power was still hundreds of times greater than Luo Chen’s; killing him would have been as easy as crushing an ant. But it had chosen to attempt possession, and once inside the mental world, it became a battle of pure spirit where magic skills were useless—and Luo Chen just happened to be immune to its psychic attacks.

The Nightmare could never figure out why Luo Chen was so resistant. It could rack its brain for eternity and still not understand.

Upon seeing Nicole, the King of Phantom Spirits was even more astonished. Why did this human's mental world contain another independent consciousness? It was inconceivable!

Luo Chen was also dumbfounded. Why could he understand bird-speak? What on earth was this fat bird?

Man and bird stared at each other, both unable to comprehend the mysteries of the other.

Nicole pondered for a moment. "Master, I think it is the consciousness that invaded you the other day! Or rather, just a tiny fragment of it. It is very weak now, whereas that consciousness was quite powerful!"

Hearing this, a fierce glint appeared in Luo Chen’s eyes. He hadn't expected that eyeball monster to have left a remnant of its consciousness in his mind. Regardless of its intentions, it would be better to destroy it early!

A fat bird—it couldn't have much power left. Thinking this, Luo Chen stepped toward the little creature.

A look of panic flashed in the Nightmare’s eyes. Nicole was right; it was weak now, and as it resided within Luo Chen's mental world, no matter how strong it might have been individually, it had no room to resist him here.

It cast its gaze toward Nicole, its eyes shimmering with tiny stars. It looked miserable and let out a few whimpering cries.

"Master, please wait!" Nicole stopped Luo Chen. "This little thing tells me it isn't the same type as the evil consciousness that invaded you. It was also a victim devoured by that entity, and it escaped while the consciousness was invading you, hiding in your mental world ever since."

Luo Chen frowned. "Nicole, are you sure it isn't lying?"

"I cannot be entirely certain. It is an independent consciousness, and I cannot read its memories," Nicole said, her tone shifting. "However, I have checked, and this consciousness has merged into your mental world. That means it must depend on you to exist. Therefore, it has no reason to harm you, as doing so would only harm itself!"

The Nightmare immediately lowered its head, playing along with Nicole’s words with a pathetic look. This King of Phantom Spirits was quite the actor.

Seeing that Luo Chen still had reservations, Nicole pleaded, "Master, please spare it. Look how pitiful it is. Besides, your mental world won't be harmed by having this extra consciousness."

Luo Chen thought for a while before nodding. "Fine, let this fat bird stay here then!"

The Nightmare jumped up and let out two "ga-ga" cries.

"I’m not a fat bird, I’m just... plump!"

Looking at its own clumsy body, it felt a sudden twinge of insecurity.

Luo Chen boomed, "Listen, you entered my mental world without permission. To put it bluntly, you're a stowaway. I can let you stay, but I make the rules. If I say you're a fat bird, then you're a fat bird!"

In truth, Luo Chen wasn't obsessed with the name, but he was wary of this mysterious consciousness connected to the eyeball monster. He had to act tough to send a warning.

He added with a fierce glare, "If I find you have any malicious intentions, I will kick you out at any time, or even kill you. Fat bird, is that understood?"

The Nightmare let out two aggrieved cries. This time, it didn't dare to jump. It could tell that Luo Chen was the type of person who followed through on his words. Living under someone else's roof while being so weak, it was better to be well-behaved.

Nicole kissed Luo Chen on the cheek. "Thank you, Master! Now I have a companion. Don't worry, Master, I will watch over it and make sure it doesn't cause trouble. Right, little one? You'll be obedient, won't you?"

The Nightmare nodded its bird head—it dared not say no, lest Luo Chen decide to kill it after all.

Luo Chen, however, wasn't paying attention to the creature. He touched the spot where Nicole had kissed him, lost in thought. In the mental world, Nicole was so lifelike, just like a real girl. Seeing her joyful expression, Luo Chen felt happy for her from the bottom of his heart. He realized he had begun to care about her thoughts, and more and more, he stopped seeing Nicole as a mere optical computer, but as a real girl—a girl who had changed his destiny.

Well, he thought, he might as well treat this foreign consciousness like a cat or a dog. It wouldn't hurt to let it keep Nicole company.