Chapter 144
As the devil Alisio stood there, questioning his very existence, Ye Bai waved his hand dismissively and said, “Well, I’ve fulfilled my part of the contract. You’re out now, aren’t you?”
Upon hearing this, Alisio’s face turned a sickly green. “So, should I thank you for this?”
In light of his current predicament, where his true name was now in someone else's hands, Alisio would have preferred to remain trapped in Iris's cage. At least there, he still had a chance to escape. But now, with his true name in Ye Bai's possession, it was as if she held his lifeline. Unless she chose to release him, he would forever be bound by her will.
Essentially, a devil's soul is contained within its true name. They draw power from their contracts, which in turn bind them. However, devils are adept at exploiting loopholes, often entering into unequal contracts. Revealing a true name simultaneously imposes a greater constraint on the contract's subject.
Under normal circumstances, even if a devil were defeated and their true name discovered by a god or demigod, it would be a matter of power limitations—there would be nothing they could do about it.
But now, as a devil renowned for his deceit, Alisio had been tricked into revealing his true name. He was likely the first in all of Hell to find himself in such a humiliating position. He felt utterly ashamed to show his face in Hell!
At that moment, Ye Bai smiled generously. “No need to be polite. From now on, we’re on the same side.”
Alisio’s expression twisted, shifting from green to blue, then to purple, before he let out a frantic scream, “Ahhh! Who said we’re on the same side?!”
In the next instant, the screaming Alisio vanished before Ye Bai, returning to the confines of the Hell Lord’s cell.
Ye Bai chose to silence Alisio, making it clear to him what the current reality was.
As for Alisio reporting himself to the layer’s lord, Iris? Ye Bai wasn’t worried at all. With Alisio’s true name in her hands, she could snuff out his life with a mere thought. Given a devil’s inherent fear of death, such a betrayal was simply out of the question.
Then, Ye Bai turned to the paper figure, eager to discuss the information she had just obtained from Alisio. “Did you know about the deep sea hidden in Hell that the devil mentioned?”
The paper figure shook its head. “The deep sea is at the edge of the land. The area I can access through text is only near the Sky City, but…”
Pausing for a moment, it pondered, “According to the contract, the coordinates and information about the deep sea are genuine. With the true name of the devil in your grasp, perhaps you could attempt to explore it. If the deep sea is nestled within the cracks of Hell, it might also serve as a passage to other layers of Hell.”
Ye Bai nodded slowly, agreeing with the paper figure’s assessment.
Unlike the last time when she had prior knowledge of the underground city, the paper figure had limited information about Hell. All it could confirm was that the quest item lay deep within Hell, but the exact layer and location would require further exploration on Ye Bai’s part.
Just like the spatial rifts leading to the surface, the passages to the upper and lower layers of Hell were also not fixed and required extensive testing and exploration. Some rifts even jumped layers, like from the third layer to the seventh, and then from the seventh back to the fourth.
In addition, there was one fixed passage: defeating the Hell Lord boss of the current layer would naturally reveal the way.
However, Hell Lords were at least demigod-level bosses. Even though Ye Bai’s level far exceeded that of other players, she was acutely aware of her current strength. In the face of a demigod, she could barely withstand five skills.
Initially, Ye Bai could only rely on her perfect disguise to hide her identity and explore slowly in Hell. However, as the paper figure had suggested, the information provided by the devil opened up new avenues of thought.
A vast realm like the deep sea was now ‘hidden’ within the space of Hell, potentially functioning as a ‘common space.’ It was as if a straight passage had been inserted into a chaotic maze, allowing for quicker access to different layers of Hell.
Moreover, Ye Bai was genuinely curious about the deep sea that had vanished from the surface only to reappear in Hell.
If it weren’t for the confirmation through the devil’s soul contract, even Ye Bai, as a fantasy game creator, would never have imagined such a fantastical plot twist.
After making her decision, Ye Bai prepared to set off once more.
Suddenly, she remembered something and picked up a magic scroll, addressing the paper figure. “Wuming, why don’t you try transforming into a few more types of text?”
“Hmm?”
Though the paper figure didn’t understand why Ye Bai suggested this, it quickly complied with her request.
【You have gained ‘Elvish’ proficiency: 10 points】
【You have gained ‘Deep Sea Language’ proficiency: 10 points】
【You have gained ‘Phantom Language’ proficiency: 10 points】
The paper figure could only transform into magical texts with special powers, and it changed into all the languages it could, including Ancient Dragon, Demon, Elvish, Deep Sea Language, and Phantom Language.
However, only three of these languages allowed Ye Bai to gain proficiency through her historian side job. When the same language appeared again, even if the paper figure changed the text, she could no longer gain new proficiency.
Ye Bai quickly tested this out. When the paper figure transformed into a certain text, the effect was indeed there, but each language system could only be effective once. The Ancient Dragon language she had already learned and the Demon language she had gained proficiency in could not be repeated.
“Guess there’s no such luck after all…”
But even the smallest mosquito is still meat. Ye Bai felt a twinge of regret but continued on her way.
With the magic scroll carrying the paper figure in her left hand and the magical donkey following her on the right, a flicker of light danced ahead, guiding Ye Bai to the rift Alisio had mentioned earlier.
This spatial rift was indeed quite hidden, nestled within a crevice beneath a massive stone platform. In a traditional keyboard game, it would definitely be a prime ‘wall glitch’ spot.
As she approached the rift, Ye Bai received a system prompt.
【You have discovered a spatial rift leading to an unknown area. Do you wish to enter?】
The trade offered by Alisio, the devil, was certainly not without its tricks, meaning the environment on the other side of the rift was not guaranteed to be safe for Ye Bai.
However, since she had come this far, Ye Bai was well-prepared.
“Alisio Bal Croni…”
With a call, the devil Alisio once again broke through the space, appearing before Ye Bai like a balloon floating in the air after a swirl of black mist.
At that moment, Alisio looked like a wilted leaf, having evidently suffered a significant blow in a short time. Its formless body visibly shrank by a size.
After a moment of passive ‘calm,’ Alisio glanced at Ye Bai with a dejected expression. “What do you want?”
As it scanned the surrounding environment, it quickly recognized that Ye Bai had come to the rift leading to the deep sea and realized something. “You’re not thinking of…”
“Of course, I’m sending you ahead to scout the way. You’re more familiar with what’s inside,” Ye Bai confirmed Alisio’s suspicion.
“Fine,” Alisio nodded, resigned to its fate.
In its summoned state, if Ye Bai didn’t actively restrict it, the devil could move within a certain range.
Following Ye Bai’s instructions, Alisio floated into the spatial rift. Moments later, with a thought from Ye Bai, it emerged from the rift once more.
Devils inherently possess teleportation abilities, and now that it was doing this job, Ye Bai felt it was a perfect fit.
Not just for this rift, any future rifts could be scouted by the devil.
At the very least, this would significantly reduce the risk of encountering ‘strong enemies’ or ‘environmental hazards’ when she recklessly crossed a rift.
“It’s an unknown island inside, and it’s safe,” Alisio said, spinning around to indicate it was unharmed.
Even if the devil appeared sincere, Ye Bai wouldn’t take it at face value. However, she was also well aware of the devil’s weaknesses.
Ye Bai nodded. “Alright, I’ll go in behind you. If I encounter any danger when I enter, I can still eliminate you in time.”
Alisio’s spinning body paused as it glanced at the bright red chains around its neck, sulking, “I know.”
“Good. Go ahead.”
Alisio entered the rift again, and moments later, it was summoned back to Ye Bai, safe and sound.
“Do you believe me now?” Alisio asked, irritated.
This time, Ye Bai smiled and nodded. “I can’t help it; after all, you devils have no credibility.”
Alisio rolled its eyes dramatically. “And you do?”
Ye Bai spread her hands. “Just tell me, did I or did I not bring you out of that cell?”
Alisio: “…”
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