At this moment there was no longer any tension between Xie Antong and Lu Ce as they stared at each other. Her face still wore that sly, amused smile as she said to him, "Swap people? It seems we can't do that anymore."

"Many days have passed since the last time the Game ended. The Game has completely collapsed."

"There are no prompt sounds at all. When you open it, it's just a black screen. There isn't even a final settlement after the Game ends, as if the Game has gone bankrupt."

"Of course, maybe that's exactly what happened."

"The Peak Rankings can't even refresh anymore, so they certainly can't be reordered."

The corner of Lu Ce's mouth twitched slightly as he spoke, "I'm not talking about that. I'm asking...what are you thinking?"

"In your judgment, has the world's number one been swapped out?"

Sensing the massive power radiating from Xie Antong now, Lu Ce couldn't help but feel surprised. When Pleasure went berserk, He really didn't hold back at all.

The level of divine power poured in this time was definitely greater than what the Sun had received!

Moreover, the divine power the Sun obtained came with malice; it was essentially intended to use him, even to destroy him, though he endured it. But Pleasure was not like that. Given the Game's context back then, He truly had to forcibly infuse it, and He even helped Xie Antong absorb that energy.

That had made her now almost a human incarnation of Pleasure!

Whether she had surpassed Lu Ce was hard to say, but Lu Ce had always advanced step by step, while the current Xie Antong had taken a giant leap in one bound.

"Oh? What, you feel your status is threatened?"

"Things like this, we can't just fight to find out. Who knows? Besides, from every angle people believe the strongest in this world is you."

As she spoke, she suddenly flashed up onto the bed and, with an inscrutable meaning, hooked Lu Ce's chin with her finger, smiling as she said, "I didn't think you'd care about something like that. Oh my, I thought you didn't care about these hollow honors. It's fine, it's fine, you're definitely still the strongest~."

Only then did Lu Ce realize that her top-tier speed now actually felt somewhat beyond his own, almost like the gods' teleportation.

He wordlessly moved her teasing finger away and said, "It's not those things I care about..."

Smack!

Just as he reached to remove Xie Antong's hand, he was suddenly grabbed by her other hand and squeezed hard.

Her strength was unexpectedly great. Previously, whenever the two of them made any physical contact, Lu Ce had to be extremely careful, afraid that his strength might snap her bones or tear tendons.

Now, it was convenient.

At this moment, the hand Xie Antong held was Lu Ce's right hand — yes, the same right hand that had been severed back in the Game.

"Where's the thing?" Xie Antong asked.

"What thing?"

"Don't play dumb. When I had your hand back then, I deliberately put it back in you. Did you think I couldn't sense that thing was gone now?"

Lu Ce: ...

The two of them were speaking in a way that would leave any eavesdropper baffled.

"Forget it." In the end, Xie Antong took the initiative to speak. "Anyway, since I gave it to you, it's your property. You have the right to control it."

"It's just, what will you do..."

Xie Antong slightly turned her head. The smile that had been on her lips and the bright light in her eyes flickered with an almost imperceptible complexity and pain.

"Divine power is truly terrifying. Only after I obtained it did I realize how strong you used to be, and how...difficult it was."

"Are you saying you already think I'm not strong enough anymore?" Lu Ce smiled and waved his hand.

"Alright, since you mentioned you received those divine powers, what exactly did you get from Pleasure when the Game ended this time?"

"If the Game's rules are absolute and cannot be changed, it seems He really can't welch on his promise."

Xie Antong nodded and said, "It's not that He would welch. Honestly, at this stage He couldn't even want to welch. There must be a resolution between us that needs to be understood."

"He gave me a memory, a memory about Pleasure. Not His personal consciousness, but the consciousness that such power should have."

"Consider it a method for cultivation and strengthening oneself. Now I understand many of His behaviors, and why They need power so desperately."

Listening to Xie Antong, Lu Ce nodded repeatedly, but his face showed worry.

This was exactly what he had feared. Pleasure's immense power falling into Xie Antong's hands would very likely corrupt her mind.

"You should realize that this power might not be entirely good for you."

"I understand. I analyzed it, but I don't want to think about it too much now, and I don't have the conditions to do so!"

Xie Antong suddenly turned back, looking at Lu Ce seriously.

"This power is inside my body. Right now, I'm essentially another Pleasure! Although my strength may still be far less than His."

"But it has come to this. There's no escaping. Now is not the time to debate whether power is good or bad, or how to control it. The power I currently possess isn't too great; it's still insufficient!"

"Because in this world, there can only be one Pleasure!"

"Lu Ce, no matter what the gods do to reshape the Game and this world over time, what I have to do is singular and fixed."

"That is to confront Pleasure directly and achieve a one-on-one kill in matchup against Him! Let myself become the new Pleasure!"

Lu Ce listened quietly as she spoke and nodded in silence. He knew she was right.

Whether the power would corrupt her mind, or what consequences would follow from becoming Pleasure — those questions had to wait until after they won.

Seeing his furrowed brow, Xie Antong suddenly brightened with a smile, her expression as if ice and snow had melted, the prior solemnity and murderous seriousness gone.

She threw herself forward, both hands cradling Lu Ce's head as she laughed, "Oh my, were you just worried I'd be completely changed by the power?"

"It's fine, it's fine. At least you have that precedent in front of you. You've been influenced by that chaotic power for so long."

"By the way, your muscles are so big when you move, but in daily life your build doesn't look much different than before. These legs are long, white, and tender—let me touch them!"