The cultist from across the corridor walked over, tossing Catherine's corpse among the other cultists before approaching the leader.

Just as the leader began casting a spiritual energy barrier, the approaching cultist suddenly thrust its hand through the leader's chest, then tilted its head and spoke:

"Even though my strength is a bit lacking, I truly am a divine being."

Lin Ye ripped out the leading cultist's heart, a look of pleasure crossing his face.

He didn't enjoy killing—it was an extreme act—but extreme acts often possessed a unique kind of beauty.

Catherine's corpse exploded among the cultists. The hidden compressed spiritual energy bomb blasted those inspecting the body into shredded flesh.

Even the cultists who hadn't approached were caught in the blast. The compressed spiritual energy pierced through their shields, leaving gaping wounds across their bodies.

This was a special compressed spiritual energy bomb Lin Ye had crafted using a high-level spiritual energy core, complete with a few unique little tricks of his own.

"The one talking to me earlier was you?! How could you possibly know the Church's secret code?!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The cultist whose heart had been ripped out knelt on the ground, staring at Lin Ye in disbelief.

"That wasn't me, of course. It was a cultist who willingly reformed his ways. He cooperated fully and reported false intelligence to you. A truly good person."

That was why Lin Ye refused to trust information that wasn't necessarily accurate. People were always influenced by all sorts of factors. Even when they didn't intend to lie, they would subjectively distort the content of information. Moreover, humans were inherently creatures that lied to gain benefits.

Compared to those who lied for profit, people who couldn't be bothered to think and easily trusted external information were the real problem.

"You damned monster..."

The cultist tried to resist, but the moment Lin Ye's hand plunged into its body, its body no longer belonged to it.

"I told you, I'm a divine being."

Lin Ye turned and walked toward the area covered by the Parasitism Network. The corpses and the cultists with pierced bodies gradually alienated into various parasitic creatures. They didn't follow Lin Ye but scattered to other areas of the base.

…………………………………………

Catherine hid inside a storage room filled with clutter, secretly observing Little Guardian sitting beside her. After leaving the interrogation room, this divine being hadn't spoken a word, sitting there dazedly like a doll, looking incredibly cute.

"Would you like something to eat? I hid a piece of bread in my pocket earlier."

Catherine pulled out a flattened piece of bread, looking at it awkwardly. Though its shape wasn't great, to her, it was still a decent dinner.

But this definitely had nothing to do with an offering fit for a divine being.

"Ah, you probably don't like this kind of—"

Little Guardian took the bread, brought it to her mouth, and took a bite.

"Uh, you need to open the wrapper first. Let me help you."

Catherine tore open the wrapper and placed the bread in Little Guardian's hand.

Little Guardian ate the bread with a blank expression, taking only tiny bites each time, as if savoring its flavor.

Watching Little Guardian like this, Catherine felt an inexplicable sense of fulfillment. It was the first time she'd ever felt this way. In that moment, she would have willingly given her life for Little Guardian.

As Catherine peeked at Little Guardian, a cabinet in the corner of the storage room cracked open. A pale, bony claw reached out from within.

"Don't look at me with those eyes. Obsessing over illusions never ends well."

Lin Ye swallowed the remaining bread in one bite and glanced sideways at Catherine.

"Divine One! Are you alright?"

Catherine shot up like a student caught sneaking a novel in class, asking nervously.

"What could happen to me? Those cultists can't hurt me."

Lin Ye stood up as well. A dinosaur body pushed open the warehouse door and strode straight toward the cabinet that was now almost fully open.

Aside from the cabinet, other items sealing divine beings were also showing signs of instability.

"Are we going to escape now?"

Catherine shuddered with lingering fear. She hadn't realized she'd been staying in such a terrifying place.

"See that red wooden chest? Bring it along. I'll take you out of here right now."

Seeing the constantly struggling 'divine beings,' Lin Ye didn't destroy the red wooden chest or let the alienated body touch it. Instead, he chose a safer method.

"Okay."

Catherine carefully picked up the red wooden chest. She noticed that throughout the entire storage room, only the contents of this chest remained still.

"Follow me. I'll lead you out."

Lin Ye took the lead. By now, the Parasitism Network had covered most of the base. He didn't need to stay any longer; the network would spread outward on its own.

"...Some other people were also captured here. If it's not too much trouble, could you bring them out too?"

Catherine said hesitantly.

"Don't worry about them. They're much luckier than you. Before I leave, I'll send them back to their homes. By tomorrow morning, they won't even remember what happened today. You, on the other hand, are in for a rough time—you'll have to work for me for a while."

Lin Ye paused, then continued:

"The chest you're holding now seals my true body. The cultists will definitely come after me soon. At this distance, you're easily caught in the crossfire. So, I'll give you a chance to go home safely with the others. By tomorrow morning, you'll forget all these troublesome things, only vaguely remembering that you seemed to have experienced a somewhat complicated dream last night."

Lin Ye liked giving young people a choice, because when he was young, no one had ever given him one.

"I don't want that!"

Catherine's voice burst out, full of emotion. Just imagining that scenario made her feel suffocated, and her empty stomach grew heavy.

"Uh, I mean... you saved me. I want to help you with whatever I can."

"I was actually planning to pay you some wages. I didn't expect you to be so dedicated. Well then, I'll fulfill your desire to work."

Lin Ye replied, very satisfied.

"Uh... please go easy on me."

Catherine followed behind Lin Ye. Soon, they left the cult base through the main entrance.

A cultist had already parked the best sports car from the garage outside the base's entrance, with the keys inserted beneath the steering wheel.

Lin Ye and Catherine sat in the back seat. An alienated body got into the driver's seat, started the car, and drove away from the cult base.

The cult base was near a city. Before long, a city appeared in their view.