The Themis incident with Nangong Yuhang couldn't help but put Li Hao on guard.

If Bleem was like Themis, an even more powerful life energy needing a vessel, the motive was established, and the ability was there. Moreover, Li Hao still didn't know how Bleem managed to grasp his situation so well. Bleem was clearly hiding a lot, yet nothing escaped him, which was鬼了 (guile, damned). Facing a elusive entity with abilities beyond comprehension was the hardest thing. Even someone like Themis could be "spied" on, and he would be aware of it. Even face to face, it would be difficult for someone to do whatever they wanted, possessing both the power to transcend space and enough flexibility.

But about Bleem, he knew nothing. Even when they were communicating, he couldn't sense the source of Bleem's power. This was extremely terrifying, indicating that the other party had unimaginable means.

Patience might be the most terrifying aspect. Some seriousness doesn't need to be displayed on the face. He had been exploring Bleem's patterns, even testing with his life several times, but all ended in failure. Bleem's missions sometimes had some points of reference, but they were too vague to specify a goal or even a direction.

This time wasn't without any gains. No existence is without a trace.

On the armor of those two Star Alliance warriors, Li Hao saw something familiar: the emblem that had been missing from his chest for a long time. The Star Alliance warriors' armor had a similar pattern: a Möbius strip!

So, things must be related to the Tian Ren (Celestials). Li Hao was certainly excited, but he chose to remain calm. He asked if Bleem was a Celestial. Of course, he could have chosen to ask "Who are you?", but if Bleem replied with "I am Bleem," wouldn't that be infuriating?

Ultimately, as he expected, Bleem answered evasively. It seemed like a very serious and mechanical response, but it was actually a test. Summarizing Bleem's previous habits, the Celestials are a species with subjective consciousness.

Li Hao wanted to use Bleem's attitude towards the Celestials to judge his affiliation. He felt that there was a very high probability that the other party was a Celestial.

He is a human. If he, representing humanity, entered the Star River Alliance, and Bleem gave him a sabotage mission, would he do it or not?

This was very different from previous missions. In such a place, if he did it and got caught, it wouldn't just be a personal matter; it could involve the entire solar system civilization.

Bleem could disregard this, but he couldn't. So, the best way was to do the opposite and see what Bleem wanted to do.

The Dean watched Li Hao standing there blankly, losing track of time. He shook his head helplessly. This child always thought too much about others; it wasn't necessary.

After dinner that night, Zuo Xiaotang stayed over. This was a habit they had since they were very young, which made Li Hao wonder if Zuo Xiaotang was adopted. Why was he so good-looking and no one adopted him?

The Tianxun (Sky Communication) rang. It was his respectable benefactor, Tita.

"Li Hao, what the hell are you doing? Why aren't you coming? Everyone is waiting for you, and do you know that the Council has issued an order to keep a low profile? No matter what happens, we're not allowed to cause trouble or start an interstellar conflict! Isn't this just asking to be beaten? What do we do if we're bullied?!" Her terrifying voice indicated that Tita was gradually going down the path of letting herself go. When the members of the expedition heard this news, their first reaction was anger, especially those from Apocalypse. They were about to go berserk if the higher-ups were messing around. Fortunately, a few of them were calm and, after some investigation, learned that Li Hao had rejected the opportunity for personal reasons and given it to Cheng Konghai. But everyone still felt empty, feeling like if Li Hao could go, they would all feel more confident. It was just this feeling of dependence, that as long as Li Hao was there, the sky wouldn't fall. Only those who had been on the front lines with him knew this.

"Tita, you've grown up. Don't rely on me for everything. How is A Youyou?" Li Hao asked. A Youyou's Tianxun (Sky Communication) had become invalid. He had asked Tita about it on the way back then, and Tita couldn't reach her either.

"Hehe, you can't go three sentences without mentioning A Youyou. I thought you could resist asking. What about your aloof persona? Keep it up!" Tita couldn't help but tease. She had watched Li Hao go from being an unknown at Tianjing Mech Academy to being the leader of the younger generation of humanity. In the eyes of many, Li Hao was a serious, taciturn war god, but only a few knew how much of a goofball and cheapskate he was in private!

Li Hao smiled wryly. "I never adopted that style. Is she alright?"

Tita wasn't one to keep secrets. "She's fine. She's not with us. She's already gone to the Star Alliance headquarters with our human delegation. Those two Star River warriors said that A Youyou had awakened her Celestial genes and even said something about her having the appearance of a Celestial, being an extremely rare case among the Celestials. They said that her presence seemed to make the Alliance pay more attention to the solar system and enhance our human presence. How come that girl never suffers a loss, from childhood to adulthood? She's involved in everything."

Tita was genuinely envious. She had witnessed A Youyou's seemingly omnipotent… talent. She had heard that this kind of potential was extremely special even among the Celestials. It was truly鬼了 (guile, damned).

Li Hao listened silently. Tita also felt that this didn't seem like something to be too happy about, after all, the situation was too strange. "Oh, because of confidentiality, personal communications have been confiscated. A Youyou told you not to worry; she'll take care of herself."

Li Hao nodded. "You guys go first. If you see A Youyou, tell her that I'll find her."

Tita was stunned, sensing the domineering aura in Li Hao's calm voice. This guy was just so strange, but even in the current situation, she was used to it. He could always bring back the cows he had boasted about, so there was nothing she could do.

"We'll wait for you!"

In the following days, Li Hao lived a relaxed life. During the day, he and Zuo Xiaotang delivered takeout, discussed future business with Boss Wang, and also asked Boss Wang to find Zuo Xiaotang a girlfriend. It was clear that Zuo Xiaotang had moved on, or rather, had learned to bury the past deep inside. Zuo Xiaotang was more suited to a normal life than he was. His previous efforts and struggles weren't what he wanted, but rather to avoid disappointing the brothers around him. He was the kind of person who would let others bully him, but not bully his brothers.

Zuo Xiaotang was even more enthusiastic than Li Hao about the pizza business, because half of it still belonged to the little rascals at the orphanage. Of course, he wanted to build a great empire for these little guys, because… he knew that Hao-ge (brother Hao) would leave one day, and he wanted to put his mind at ease.

At night, almost at the instant of falling asleep, it began. This control over his dreams had disappeared for several years. The last time was when he tried to cross the barrier of dark matter to complete a soul transfer, but this time it was the use of his physical body.

The difficulty was much greater than with the soul. The soul was pure energy, and he could actually choose to avoid obstacles. After having the coordinates, he could sense the corresponding entanglement and jump directly. But the physical body couldn't do that. He needed to sense the coordinates, open a quantum tunneling channel corresponding to the coordinates. It was a bit like the Nermyr people's model, but the Nermyr people's engineering was very complex. It was a technology, and it took a long time. Li Hao's was an ability, requiring a single individual to complete it, and this required enormous energy support.

In short, the process was very unpleasant. Countless failures, countless attempts, and then still countless failures. Li Hao had been experiencing this kind of situation since he was five years old. He had persevered back then, so there was no reason not to persevere now. He also knew that if he didn't complete it, he might be stuck in an eternal cycle.

Moreover, after this, Bleem would definitely give him a new mission. No matter what, he had to live!

During the day, Li Hao would always wake up; at night, Li Hao would fall asleep in a second. The two sides seemed to have reached a tacit understanding. Bleem wasn't worried that Li Hao would dare to play tricks, and Li Hao also knew that he couldn't get rid of Bleem's control at the moment.

In the repeated attempts, the golden cells gradually stabilized. This was no longer a "霸体" (Ba Ti, Overlord Body) that could adapt to most natural environments, but rather a "超体" (Chao Ti, Super Body). Li Hao was very clear about what kind of power he would possess as long as the soul energy and physical energy were sufficient, but along with that came a deep sense of fear. What exactly did Bleem want to do by turning him into this?

Simply doing good deeds?

Following that, a big problem arose, namely, hunger. His recent appetite had become terrifying. Boss Wang hadn't calculated the accounts for several days and suddenly discovered that business was so good, so why hadn't the profits increased?

As it turned out, Li Hao was stealing food…

If it were before, with Boss Wang's personality, he would have given him a good scolding, but this time he let it go, because many warriors after wars experienced post-traumatic stress. Looking at Li Hao's hungry appearance, he felt a bit emotional and also felt a bit sorry for him. Could he not eat from other people's houses? Although he told him to treat the company as his home, he didn't mean for him to eat the company.

It wasn't easy. He recorded the amount of food he ate and would slowly ask for it back in the future. He was such a good boss.

However, Li Hao's eating could only alleviate the temporary hunger and couldn't solve the problem. The problem he was worried about still happened. His condition was bound to generate a higher level of energy demand. After the soul and body were coordinated, a brand-new life form was born, like a newborn. And what was the first need of a newborn creature?

Food!

Powerful and pure energy food that could satisfy the body's needs. Back then, Themis's existence had alleviated this problem, otherwise… the consequences would have been unimaginable.

He didn't know if it was because of the repeated dreams, but this hunger was getting stronger and stronger. Li Hao wasn't conceited about his firm will. It was truly a terrifying level. Nangong Yuhang was very accurate in judging people. He knew very well that people like Li Hao had personalities that strongly cared about those around them. This was also a big reason why he had been able to persevere.

If you want to create a hero, give him a tragic life, and then give him a little light.

If you want to create a demon… extinguish the light.

(End of chapter)