Lowering his head, he saw her body, pale as white jade, still wrapped around him, emanating a colorful divine radiance.

Divine power flowed unconsciously, already difficult to suppress within her body to the point of leaking outward, causing her breaths to carry immense force, like a sleeping young dragon.

Lu Ce’s gaze wandered slightly. Mm, neither of them was wearing clothes yet.

Instantly, yesterday’s memories flooded back like a tidal wave—those instinct-driven actions had not been completely forgotten.

Lu Ce’s mood grew somewhat complicated. He pulled away the bloodstained sheets, grabbed a blanket from nearby to cover her, then hurriedly scrambled to find his Illusion Cloak.

The cloak wrapped around him, automatically assembling into clothes. Then, calming himself down, Lu Ce looked at Xie Antong, who was still deep asleep.

Her face in sleep had finally returned to the expression he was more familiar with. That extremely ecstatic state had faded, becoming very peaceful.

The manic, upturned corners of her mouth had returned to normal. Her brows were slightly furrowed, showing a hint of mild pain.

It seemed that even after absorbing so much divine power, her physical constitution still couldn’t keep up with Lu Ce’s.

Last night’s madness felt like a dream. Xie Antong’s appearance yesterday had made Lu Ce feel a touch of fear and unfamiliarity for the first time.

He had been worried back then—if a person’s spirit completely changed form, then she was effectively dead. And this kind of death might be even harder to accept than the destruction of the body.

The way Xie Antong looked yesterday had blurred his vision.

In a daze, it seemed as if Pleasure, Lust, and all the Pleasure Apostles he had encountered—including the female doctor he saw during his first game—had overlapped, manifesting on her body.

That was the real eternal loss. He could feel that Xie Antong was now treading an extremely dangerous red line!

Don’t let her playful scolding and seeming mastery of everything fool you—she had already become somewhat unscrupulous in her quest for the capital to resist Pleasure.

He sighed. Lu Ce naturally raised a hand and gently stroked Xie Antong’s hair, recalling what she used to be like.

It was he who taught her how to absorb divine power...

It was also he who, using his experience dealing with masks, taught her how to preserve her true heart.

But now, she had gone too far, and it seemed he had nothing left to teach.

Suddenly, as Lu Ce touched her forehead, those bright eyes snapped open, shimmering with clear divine light.

But when she saw that it was Lu Ce touching her, the caution and killing intent in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a languid demeanor.

“Mmm~”

A familiar smile reappeared on her face. Wriggling under the covers, she let out a few lazy sounds, then flipped the blanket aside and sat up directly.

She didn’t seem to mind her spring scene accidentally revealed, standing up and looking around for her clothes.

There were no clothes left—at the very start of yesterday, they had been completely destroyed.

Fortunately, she was prepared. She pulled a combat suit from her Dimensional Backpack and put it on.

In the process, she glanced at Lu Ce, whose expression looked somewhat unnatural, and teased him:

“What’s the matter? After everything we did, you’re too shy to look? I never realized you were such a coward before.”

Lu Ce: “...”

“What’s with that face? It’s like you think I’ve possessed your girl.”

“Be careful. Watch out for side effects,” Lu Ce said.

“No need for your concern. After absorbing you, my power is about ready now.”

“It’s time to go to that place early and wait for Him to arrive.”

Saying this, she finished adjusting her clothes and strode off, as if she planned to leave immediately.

From the look of it, she was like a client who pulls up his pants and pretends not to know you—grabbing what he wants and heading out.

Suddenly, Lu Ce spoke from behind her: “Don’t you need to rest?”

“Your legs seem a bit unsteady...”

With her back to Lu Ce, Xie Antong paused mid-step. Her face, in a rare moment, flushed with a hint of annoyance.

Lu Ce’s physique was indeed too formidable, and Pleasure’s divine power was not focused on healing—her legs were still feeling very weak. She turned back, glanced at Lu Ce, and said:

“Tch! You sure are confident in yourself~.”

“Hmph! At least that body of yours wasn’t wasted—it really is something.”

Lu Ce’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he said:

“Perfect Life doesn’t want to actively assimilate Despair’s power. He thinks that would make him not himself anymore.”

“He’s trying to take another path—not following Despair’s original method—to absorb divine power in his own way.”

Bringing up Perfect Life at such a moment was clearly a hint of warning. Xie Antong wasn’t stupid; she understood.

So she smiled faintly, stepped forward, and straightened Lu Ce’s collar.

“I know. Don’t act like an old mother hen. Worry about yourself first!”

Calling Sin an old mother hen—in all the universe and life, there was probably no one else who would do that.

Then, she lowered her head slightly, hiding her eyes.

“I have to go. I still have things I need to do.”

“I hope we can both... see each other again someday.”

With that, she suddenly leaned forward, rose on her tiptoes, gently kissed Lu Ce on the lips, and then vanished completely.

Lu Ce stared at the empty space where she had been, and at the chaos all around him, as if something had been pulled out of him.

...

In the sky, Xie Antong’s figure suddenly appeared, standing in the void, looking back at the direction of the room she had just left.

The unbridled smile on her face was completely gone, replaced by a serious expression, her brows carrying a hint of concern.

—She had been putting on a bit of an act earlier.

She had deliberately exaggerated her Pleasure side, making herself seem like a completely different person.

Though the divine power’s influence was indeed strong, she had always been careful, holding herself in check. She could have made herself act in the way Lu Ce was most familiar with, but she didn’t.

Pleasure and Agony were originally one and the same. When extreme Pleasure was suddenly withdrawn, that gap was the best time for pain to surge.

The greatest agonies in humanity were: resentment meeting grudges, love parting, and desire going unfulfilled.

If he thought she had already changed, he might feel very sad...

“You guided me so many times. This time, let me help you.”

“I hope this will be useful to you.”

“Lu Ce... we must, survive!”