Movie Star Sister-Complex: Overturning the Chessboard (85)

After identifying her target, Xie An blended into the Zombie Tide, wandering with the main horde. After walking for a distance, she saw that tall, slender figure in a white lab coat from afar.
He stood beneath a ruined building, his dark lashes casting shadows over his angular face. His clothes were pristine, creating a stark contrast with the zombies around him that were desperately fleeing or roaring and biting.
He must have used some kind of potion, or he was secretly exerting his Mental Power, as the zombies didn't dare approach to attack him.
Xie An had long been immune to all poisons, and her Mental Power was currently at max level; she had no fear of Qi Chuan. After a brief probe of the zombies surrounding him, she discovered that Qi Chuan had not yet exerted his Mental Power but was using a certain potion instead, so she finalized her plan.
The zombies feared his potions, but Xie An did not.
She sprinted toward Qi Chuan. He seemed to sense her presence; his thick lashes fluttered as he looked toward her, yet he made no move. His half-rimmed glasses made his pale gray eyes look even more detached and cold.
Xie An's current Physical Strength was at max level; she almost couldn't brake in time as she ran up. Thus, she simply didn't stop, grabbing Qi Chuan by the collar like she was dragging a sack of cement. She hauled him for several kilometers, straight to the Zombie King's villa from her memories.
Upon reaching the villa, Xie An was neither flushed nor out of breath. She turned to look at Qi Chuan, whose clothes were torn from the friction. His clean attire was not only covered in dust and unidentified slime but was also stained with a significant amount of blood. She instantly felt refreshed, feeling as though she could run around the globe a few more times.
In the face of maxed-out Martial Power, everything else was but a passing cloud!
Qi Chuan's face was exceptionally pale, and his glasses had long since been lost. Xie An tossed him onto the floor and pinched his chin, a malicious smile on her face, though her tone was intentionally gentle.
"Long time no see, Qi Chuan."
Qi Chuan frowned slightly. He didn't understand how Xie An had become so formidable—her speed, strength, constitution, and even her Mental Power were incredibly strong. His potions and Mental Power attacks were completely useless against her.
Yet even facing this situation, his smoky gray eyes remained calm.
When he entered this apocalyptic dimension, he had guessed that this world was not a real dimension but likely some kind of Illusion. However, he and Xie An were absolutely real.
The current him retained the memories of Shen Qingchen. It was difficult to digest all at once, which was why at the beginning of the Illusion, he had stood still to slowly calm those complex emotions.
He originally only wanted to find his little pet. Out of Possessiveness and a Desire for Control, he liked and loved her—things he found loathsome, yet never thought he would possess.
Qi Chuan didn't know how to love; he only enjoyed the pleasure of nurturing.
Even if he did love, his love was tied to intense Possessiveness and a brutal need for dominance. He couldn't tolerate a single spark of resistance from the other party, causing both sides to be worn down until they were bloodied and unrecognizable, yet he still wouldn't willingly let go.
Shen Qingchen, however, said he loved Xie An.
Trading with 000 for a chance at Rebirth was because Shen Qingchen, after witnessing Xie An's death with his own eyes, realized his feelings for her. Thus, he prayed to gods and Buddhas, even sacrificing himself to 000, and finally traded for one chance.
He had long since entered Purgatory and become an Evil Ghost, yet he still donned a patched, gentle human skin to approach Xie An. To win her love, he laid his traps bit by bit, patiently waiting for her to take the initiative to approach, not allowing the monster in his heart to harm her.
Perhaps because his subconscious absorbed the lessons from his time as Qi Chuan, after entering the Space-Time Crack, the cold and ruthless man was actually accepted by the persona of a gentle male lead, thus becoming Shen Qingchen.
An outsider is under heavy control by the World Will at the beginning. The memories of being Qi Chuan were suppressed, only gradually awakening and loosening after the plot was completed.
The pendant on Shen Qingchen's neck was something that was born out of thin air from his body after he finalized the agreement with 000. The price of his trade with 000 was not Providence or his Soul, but this Pendant.
Inside it resided the powerful energy of the apocalyptic dimension. It not only contained Xie An's aura, making it convenient for 000 to further control this pawn, but also Qi Chuan's intense obsession and heaven-defying Providence.
These things were far more valuable than the Providence and Soul of Shen Qingchen, the Male Lead of a modern dimension. To prevent Shen Qingchen from awakening his memories as Qi Chuan prematurely, 000 temporarily did not reclaim the Crystal Core.
Unexpectedly, Xie An intercepted it halfway. The energy of the Crystal Core was completely absorbed by her, leaving only an empty shell. If 000 hadn't arrived in time to interrupt the process, Xie An might have exploded and died from over-absorbing energy.
Fortunately, the Crystal Core had condensed a portion of Xie An's blood, which managed to soothe Qi Chuan's obsession that had always occupied the Pendant.
Since the Pendant's energy couldn't be reclaimed, 000 plotted how to cut more flesh from Shen Qingchen. It intentionally guided Xie An to see the true scene of the locked room.
Xie An fled, and Shen Qingchen's emotions were greatly stirred, making him need to rely on its power even more. Thus, it raised the price on the spot. The price in the agreement was increased to include Shen Qingchen's Soul and Providence in exchange for helping him bring Xie An back to the villa. It also planned to use Shen Qingchen's blackened state to guide him to kill Kang Cheng, taking the opportunity to harvest Kang Cheng's Soul.
000's calculations were clicking away, but it didn't expect that 001 and Xie An were also secretly plotting. 001 successfully borrowed the power of the Crystal Core to create an Illusion, pulling the consciousness of Xie An and Shen Qingchen into it. In this Illusion, Xie An was the dominant force. Even if 000 wanted to break in, it would require significant time and energy.
Qi Chuan's Providence and obsession turned into a black cord, returning once more to his body. Meanwhile, the Crystal Core of the zombie Xie An also proactively entered the Illusion to find its master. Xie An reclaimed her missing parts without any effort.
Now, 000 could only take Shen Qingchen's Providence and Soul.
However, there was still a way to break it.
That was to destroy the agreement.
If Shen Qingchen didn't get what he wanted, and 000 couldn't fulfill its promise, the agreement would automatically become void. 000 would then be unable to seize Shen Qingchen's Providence and Soul to nourish itself and become even more heaven-defying.
The method Xie An and 001 were currently using to deal with 000 was to guess the contents of its trades with the Male Leads in these plotlines. Under the restrictions, they looked for loopholes in 000's plans to destroy the agreements, ensuring 000 received no payment.
Maintaining this semi-finished merged world required a massive amount of energy. 000 was merely a System; it could not generate much energy on its own. Therefore, it had to rely on its Hosts to steal Providence and Souls, which it then converted into power for its own use.
If the agreements were destroyed, it would be unable to obtain the Providence and Souls of the Male Leads, thus losing its source of new energy. Since maintaining the dimension consumed energy every second, once 000's energy was depleted, it would be forced into hibernation, and this new semi-finished merged dimension would collapse along with it.