Not long after, the sports car stopped beneath the apartment building where Catherine lived. The Alienated Body led the way, with Catherine and Lin Ye following behind.

"You don't have to come up with me. I can just go up and tell them myself."

Catherine held the red wooden chest. She didn't really want the deity to come into contact with her family.

"I didn't like bringing classmates home when I was a kid either, but you don't need to worry. Because I'm very good at solving problems. As long as I'm here, there's nothing to be concerned about."

The Alienated Body quickly reached the door of Catherine's home. Before Catherine could unlock it with her key, it knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

A beautiful woman in pajamas opened the door. She looked a bit nervous, her gaze flickering, her fingertips trembling.

"I'm the deity who's dangerous to you, and also your daughter's friend. I'm here this time to discuss a matter concerning your daughter."

Lin Ye shifted to the Alienated Body and spoke.

"...Please, come in."

The woman nervously stepped back into the room, not daring to meet Lin Ye's eyes.

"Sorry for the intrusion."

Lin Ye followed her into the room. The apartment was very small, probably less than fifty square meters. It had one bedroom and one living room, plus a cramped bathroom and kitchen.

In the living room was a bed, where a little girl who looked somewhat like Catherine was sleeping.

On the table beside the bed were some personal items. Clearly, this living area was Catherine's room.

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

After Lin Ye entered the room, the woman knelt on the floor and asked nervously.

"Don't worry, I won't touch you... At least not until those cultists outside are dealt with."

Lin Ye didn't tell the woman to get up. Instead, he pulled a chair over and sat down in front of her, then asked:

"Are you also a cult follower? Why would you give your own daughter to those cultists as a sacrificial offering?"

Catherine's mother was just an ordinary person, but she was clearly connected to the cult.

"No! I didn't..."

The woman's words were cut off mid-sentence by Lin Ye.

"Do you know what a deity is?

I can see through every one of your thoughts, and I can make you say whatever I want to hear. So you should cherish the chance to speak freely now. If you tell another lie, I'll turn you into a doll that can only tell the truth from now on. Honesty is a virtue, and this is a reward from the deity."

Lin Ye stared at the woman with a calm gaze. He ignored those cultists messing around outside. Those fools trying to control a deity were far less important to him than this.

"...I don't know if I count as a cultist. After I reached marriageable age, I was forced to marry and have a child with a strange man. I didn't like that man, and I didn't like the daughter I had with him. I couldn't accept living like this for my whole life. Everything here suffocated me.

Just when I was about to abandon everything and run away from here, those people found me. They gave me an easy, well-paying job, took that man away, and told me that as long as I raised my daughter to adulthood, they would guide me into joining the organization and becoming one of them.

If I could raise a few more children, they'd give me a chance to become an ability user."

This time, the woman wasn't lying. She was a very clever woman who clearly understood what to say in this situation. As long as she didn't anger this deity who made those people so wary, she had a sliver of a chance to survive.

"You're smart. Get out. I'll spare your life this time."

Lin Ye smiled at the woman. That smile made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ah, before you leave, say goodbye to your daughter. After all, you're mother and daughter. It's hard to say if you'll ever see each other again."

Lin Ye suddenly added.

"No need. There's no point in saying goodbye."

Catherine held her little sister, who had been pretending to sleep in the bed, and looked at the woman with a complicated expression.

"Goodbye. Don't blame Mommy. Mommy was forced into this too."

The woman put on a fawning smile and carried out Lin Ye's request without any sloppiness.

"Good. You can go now."

Lin Ye watched the woman back out of the room. Soon, the woman's screams rang out from outside.

"What are you doing?! Aaaaahhhh—"

Lin Ye had indeed spared the woman's life, but those cultists wouldn't let her leave, especially after Lin Ye had used Catherine's corpse to blow up a group of cultists.

"Unfortunately, those ruthless cultists didn't spare your mother. I thought you were all on the same side."

Lin Ye suppressed the slight upward curve of his lips and turned to say to Catherine.

"This is probably what happens when you cooperate with cultists... It's only fair."

Catherine held her little sister and pulled out half a piece of bread she had hidden in her pocket.

The little sister seemed even more indifferent than Catherine. She happily ate the bread, a blissful expression on her face.

While eating, she secretly glanced at the red wooden chest beside her sister and looked thoughtful.

"It really is fair. But I'll still avenge her for you. After all, she is your mother."

Lin Ye ruffled the little sister's hair and said in a slightly more cheerful voice.

"By the way, are those cultists outside going to be a problem?"

Catherine looked nervously toward the door.

"Of course not. Those cultists clearly don't understand one thing: once a card is played, it can no longer be a trump card."

Lin Ye hadn't just been idly spending time in the restaurant earlier. The desserts and bread were delicious, and the drinks were quite distinctive, but that wasn't enough to occupy all his attention.

Those cultists thought they could use the power of a deity to deal with Lin Ye. But before that, Lin Ye had already occupied most of the city using the Parasitism Network and mental defense system. The restaurant and Catherine's apartment were among the first areas covered by the Parasitism Network.

He had thought the cultists would make a move at the restaurant. Unexpectedly, they were even more unwilling to act in crowded places than he was.

'Doesn't this make me look more like the bad guy?'

Lin Ye couldn't help but have this thought.

He had already thoroughly figured out the protective suits and defensive measures of those cultists. Aside from that mental barrier, they really didn't have anything special.

But a mental barrier couldn't defend against physical attacks. All he needed to do was use the Alienated Body to find an opportunity for a sneak attack, and he could pull some of the cultists into the Parasitism Network.

After that, the cultists pulled into the Parasitism Network would find another chance to sneak attack again before making a move, making it easy to control the situation outside.

So even if those cultists carried items capable of sealing a deity, they couldn't pose any threat to Lin Ye.