I Am Also An Extraordinary Creature-Chapter 1404 - 998: The Price

If Zheng Yichen were a novice just starting out, and Lilith hadn’t undergone so much strengthening, this would only symbolize the consumption of merit points.

Normally, two units, or two points, would be enough. The consumption of merit points is merely due to an additional unique binding effect that can prevent certain methods like stripping away.

Although the probability is not high, it is not nonexistent. This thing doesn’t integrate in a form like transforming into a Godhead; it’s a fusion of the soul, and the auxiliary strengthening of Dusk can achieve a similar effect.

But Zheng Yichen and Lilith’s strength is so high that it requires multiple times more merit points to be consumed.

Zheng Yichen can accept this as well—they just consider it as spending money for extra assurance.

"You go to the garage first." This time, Tia didn’t let Zheng Yichen take off his armor. She left with Zheng Yichen’s fishing rod, letting him wait in the garage.

Not long after Zheng Yichen arrived at the garage, Tia came with his weapon. After handing the weapon to him, she took the Heart of the Machine from Zheng Yichen’s hands and pressed it onto Lilith’s body.

The Heart of the Machine melded into the machine like mercury, and Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but wonder if his motorcycle would turn into a Mech-Maid?

At the very least, it should be able to transform like a Transformer, right?

Thinking this makes one oddly expectant.

However, the motorcycle showed no change. After the Heart of the Machine melded in, it seemed to halt any further development. Yet, Zheng Yichen’s Life Perception detected something new.

A subtle life fluctuation emanated from the motorcycle, different from a normal life form but indeed possessing the traits that only life forms have.

Running a hand over the motorcycle seat, the life fluctuation became more apparent.

"So, does that mean Lilith is now considered a metal lifeform?"

"It’s a lifeform, but not a normal lifeform," Tia explained beside him, then looked at Zheng Yichen, "Now it’s your turn."

"Oh, oh." Zheng Yichen took out the Heart of Willpower, which felt like a crystal and also like a water balloon. Its use was simple—just eat it.

If you don’t wish to eat it, you can directly press it into your head.

Whichever method you choose, it can exert its effect, allowing the individual to interfere with reality by willpower. However, the more outrageous the intent of interference, the stronger the requirement for individual willpower.

Put it this way: someone who can fly through willpower could fly better and more effortlessly by methodical cultivation.

Willpower interference in reality doesn’t come without any cost.

"Should I eat this now?"

"No, I’ll feed you." Tia reached out to receive the Heart of Willpower from Zheng Yichen’s hand and personally fed it to him, well, technically pressed it into his body.

Throughout the process, Zheng Yichen didn’t feel any discomfort. The thing naturally merged into his body.

Then, he sensed some newly birthed ’tentacles’ in his mind, as though he had awakened telekinesis. With a slight mental effort... nothing happened.

This power can’t be used just by mobilizing spiritual power alone; it requires stronger individual willpower, which Zheng Yichen quickly figured out.

Just when he was planning to explore further, Tia directly ushered Zheng Yichen out, telling him this is the Dusk Cathedral and he should go outside to test.

"Is the Heart of Willpower really rare?" After being pushed out, Zheng Yichen asked Tia at the cathedral entrance.

"It’s uncommon but not rare," Tia shook her head. The Heart of Willpower is indeed an uncommon item, like the existence of an Ancient Venerable, but across all worlds, it can only be considered ’uncommon’.

Of course, for Zheng Yichen, it’s genuinely rare. As for the Heart of Willpower’s source, since the Dusk Mercenary Group can get the first one, there’ll be a second one.

Moreover, it came with detailed instructions, implying that their research on such things is not insignificant.

The extent of the effect that this thing can produce depends on people, just like martial arts where anyone can practice, but some become invincible masters, while others end up as insignificant nobodies.

Tia lastly said, "Excessive use of this thing can cause severe distortion."

"Oh, oh, I know."

He knew, but still wanted to try it out.

Returning home, Zheng Yichen thought for a moment and then chose a different place. Mainly, he felt that testing new powers at his own home might lead to accidents, so it’s better to find somewhere he wouldn’t feel bad about.

He called Senluo to go to another Alien Phenomenon world.

After Senluo collected some new soil, Zheng Yichen began the corresponding tests.

During this period, Lilith had already completed a ’self-check’. The Heart of the Machine granted her metal life, animating her mechanical structure. This animation can indeed change its form.

However, this change isn’t as simple as in movies; it requires internal structural reconstruction and optimization.

It sounds complicated, but for mechanical life, it’s quite simple—like a computer running graphics, with good performance, anything can run.

Lilith herself is a high-performance AI. Once reconstruction is completed, she can change form. This is just a basic function; the more powerful function allows her to interact with other mechanical bodies, enabling temporary animation.

The Heart of the Machine endowed her with animation and a power similar to that of the mechanical ruler.

Although the form could change, Lilith still preferred using her projection or a ’normal’ flesh-and-blood body, rather than a Mech-Maid transforming form.

"Is this an ordinary flower?" Tanshia Firlo looked at the flower in her hand, inspecting it from all angles without finding anything special, and couldn’t help but glance over at Lilith.

While testing the peculiarities of the Heart of the Machine, Lilith had indeed altered many forms, even including a giant dragon form and a human form.

But seemingly because Zheng Yichen couldn’t ride it, Lilith tried it briefly and then quickly reverted to her default form.

"Specifically, it’s a withered and dead flower."

The small white dragon couldn’t help but roll its eyes, "Well then, fosterer, do you plan to use your abundant lifeforce to bring it back to life?"

Zheng Yichen’s lifeforce could indeed revitalize the withered flower.

"No, I intend to use another method." Staring at the flower, Zheng Yichen exhaled, attempting for the first time to use willpower interference to affect the withered flower.

There were many ways to revive such a flower; Zheng Yichen’s lifeforce could work, and Senluo’s Power of All Phenomena could also easily revive it.

But all these powers were related to life, whereas willpower interference did not belong to the Life type; reviving this flower was a cross-domain act.

The withered flower in Zheng Yichen’s hand, as if time had reversed, regained a green hue, and its dried petals quickly plumped up.

This simple revival made the small white dragon click its tongue in surprise, as Zheng Yichen really did not use any life-type powers throughout the process.

This flower seemingly revived out of thin air, self-generating lifeforce, and could an ordinary flower possess such power?

If it truly had such power, it would not be a flower but a flower spirit.

"Is it really so amazing??" Tanshia Firlo eagerly looked at Zheng Yichen, "Can I touch it?"

"Hahaha, if you want to touch it, just do it, why ask me?" Zheng Yichen laughed as he handed the flower over, feeling quite pleased; the effect of the Heart of Willpower was better than he anticipated, and using it wasn’t all that difficult.

The Heart of Willpower also performed excellently in cross-domain operations, able to be used in conjunction with some of his mastered combat methods.

Tanshia Firlo touched the flower and then showed a knowing expression, "Oh, so it wasn’t lifeforce generated from thin air after all."

This flower had absorbed a slight amount of lifeforce from the environment, though ordinarily, that negligible lifeforce would not be enough to accomplish revival.

However, if this flower was regarded as ’alive’ as a premise, then that tiny bit of lifeforce would be sufficient for it to return to normal.

Obviously, Zheng Yichen’s willpower interference made the flower forcibly possess a temporary ’alive’ premise, allowing it to absorb a tiny amount of ambient lifeforce to regain vitality.

Willpower interference forcibly altered some ’conditions.’

However, upon deeper contact, Tanshia Firlo felt a subtle sense of disharmony; the flower was revived, but its existence seemed distorted.

"It’s distorted, isn’t it? I don’t think I’m mistaken." The small white dragon looked towards Zheng Yichen, seeking confirmation.

"Indeed, it’s distorted. Watch carefully." Zheng Yichen planted the flower into the ground, and the moment he let go, the fragile flower shattered into pieces, and the broken petals turned into a soil-like substance before touching the ground.

"...This is even worse than leaving a corpse." Tanshia Firlo couldn’t help but roll her eyes; she was certain that reviving the flower in a normal way would never result in this outcome.

However, Zheng Yichen used willpower interference and expended only an indiscernible amount of lifeforce to revive the flower.

Yet as a result, the flower’s existence was distorted, and it perished instantly upon leaving Zheng Yichen’s influence.

"This is just a test..." Zheng Yichen shook his head, "The cost of such a distortion is significant, but it’s not unsolvable."

As Zheng Yichen spoke, he found another flower, extracted its lifeforce to make it wilt and die, and then revived it using the same method.

However, this time the lifeforce the flower obtained during revival wasn’t from the environment but provided by Zheng Yichen.

Thus, the flower wasn’t subjected to as intense a distortion.

Even when replanted in the soil, the flower merely looked slightly withered, not falling apart into the earth.

The contrasting results were extremely drastic.

The cause wasn’t merely because Zheng Yichen forcibly altered the flower’s revival conditions through willpower interference, but due to the lifeforce the flower absorbed during revival.

The lifeforce obtained from the external environment based on willpower interference equated to a kind of ’loan.’

With a forcible loan, while Zheng Yichen was present, the flower didn’t need to repay the debt.

However, once out of his influence, the revived flower had to repay the forcibly loaned lifeforce.

The fragile flower couldn’t bear this repayment, turning into soil on the spot, which was the cost required by the flower due to distortion from willpower interference.