Chapter 44: The Soul-Hitting Divine Whip! The Three Weapon Forms of Red Flame!
Pulled back to reality by Lin Tianming's invitation to share the treasure, Alice seriously doubted her ears.
"You… you're asking me to share the treasures here with you?"
[It seems like this lifetime's Ming is different from the one I knew in the past life… Could my rebirth have caused a butterfly effect, changing his personality this time?]
[No… impossible! There's definitely a trick here, maybe he's planning to torment me again!]
Seeing Alice's skepticism, Lin Tianming impatiently said, "Why are you girls always so hesitant? Hurry up!"
Hearing Lin Tianming's tone turn harsh, the weakened Alice hurriedly got up and ran to his side to avoid any rough treatment.
This tactic always works!
Sometimes you have to be a little stern!
Lin Tianming sighed internally and then smiled at Alice again. "Alice, if it weren't for following you, I wouldn't have discovered this mechanical secret realm. I, Lin Tianming, keep my word. We'll split the treasures here equally.
I've already bonded with one treasure, the gravity device, which can exert multiplied gravity to crush enemies.
I've taken one treasure already, now it's your turn. Look at what's left and choose what you like. I won't break my promise and snatch it from you!"
The more generous Lin Tianming appeared, the more fearful Alice felt.
"Ming, I lost the duel to you and am powerless now, how can I have the right to fight you for treasure… I promise not to mess around, just please don't toy with me…"
Images of how Lin Tianming tortured her in the past life flashed through Alice's mind, making her body tremble with the psychological trauma.
[Could it be… that in this lifetime, I not only get mocked and tormented but might even die here sooner and more tragically than before?]
Listening to Alice's inner thoughts, Lin Tianming learned a lot about how she was tortured by the original host in the past.
Alice had it really bad in the past life, being used as a pathfinder and forced to endure all sorts of attacks and the crushing effects of the gravity device.
She helped the original host obtain all the remaining treasures, only to be humiliated and trampled underfoot. If the original host hadn't thought she was dead, she would have been taken out of the mechanical secret realm and continued to be tormented.
Lin Tianming knew it was almost impossible to make Alice believe he wouldn't harm her, given what she had suffered.
He had to use a firm attitude, letting her safely take the treasures and gradually break her fixed impression of him.
Lin Tianming pretended to be fierce: "I told you to choose, so choose! If you don't, I'll get angry!"
"Don't… don't be angry… I'll choose… don't… don't hit me!"
Weakened and revisiting a place of trauma, Alice could only obey Lin Tianming.
[I can only take it step by step… Disobeying him might only lead to more severe torment…]
Scanning the familiar surroundings, Alice took a deep breath and started to choose her treasure.
[The gravity device is taken by Ming, so only Red Flame and the Divine Whip are left.]
[He talks about splitting equally, but there are only three divine artifacts. How can that be split equally?]
Though confused by Lin Tianming's intentions, Alice finally fixed her gaze on the Divine Whip.
The whip, made of intricate mechanical materials, had excellent flexibility and could bend without breaking.
[This Divine Whip is a soul-targeting artifact. If I can obtain it, I'll have a way to deal with Ming's new soul powers in the future.]
[But… will he really let me take this Divine Whip? What if he thinks I want to kill him and reveals his true nature, torturing me to death?]
[Maybe… I should choose Red Flame instead. He probably won't let me take any artifact anyway, so picking something less threatening might give me a slim chance!]
Despite wanting the Divine Whip, Alice thought Lin Tianming was testing her and wouldn't genuinely give her an artifact.
Just as Alice was about to head towards Red Flame, Lin Tianming placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her.
"What… what do you want to do?"
Lin Tianming smiled, "I saw you looking at that whip for a long time. You must really want it, right?"
Although Lin Tianming was showing kindness, to Alice, it felt like the devil's smile, a test from him.
"No… I don't want that whip… Ming, I… I want those flaming…"
But before Alice could finish her stammering sentence, Lin Tianming grabbed her delicate hand and forced it onto the Divine Whip.
"If you want it, take it!"
"No, no, no… I really don't want it… Ming, you should have the whip!"
Alice was so frightened by Lin Tianming's generosity that she was on the verge of tears.
She feared that taking the Divine Whip would result in Lin Tianming smacking her down and then humiliating her.
"I said take it!"
Yelled at by Lin Tianming, Alice reluctantly picked up the Divine Whip, glancing at him nervously the whole time, fearing he might harm her.
Fortunately, her fears did not materialize immediately.
"Bond with the whip and tell me what it's called and what it does."
Under Lin Tianming's urging, Alice established a connection with the Divine Whip, making it her own.
But she remained cautious, knowing Lin Tianming could kill her at any moment and take the whip.
"It's called the Divine Whip, a soul-targeting weapon designed by the Mechanical Kingdom to fight soul ascenders."
Alice wanted to lie but feared being caught and tortured by Lin Tianming, so she told the truth.
Lin Tianming was surprised Alice told the truth.
He could eavesdrop on her thoughts and already knew it was the Divine Whip.
Even if she lied, he wouldn't have said much.
He teased the fearful Alice, "No wonder you wanted it so badly. You must have been planning to use it on me, right?"
Alice denied it vehemently, "I… I wasn't!"
Her heart was racing, afraid that Lin Tianming might seize this chance to torment her.
To her surprise, Lin Tianming changed the subject to the Red Flame.
"There's only one treasure left, it's hard to split this, Alice."
Hearing this, Alice quickly said, "I'm powerless now… I'm grateful to get the Divine Whip. You can have those gloves, I don't want them!"
Lin Tianming circled the Red Flame gloves a few times, snapping his fingers as an idea struck him.
"Got it! These flaming gloves are a pair, so you take one, I take one. That's a fair split!"
Acting on his idea, Lin Tianming immediately took one glove and bonded with it.
"These are called Red Flame, capable of transforming into three different weapon forms: gloves, claws, and flying discs!"
Excited by discovering the Red Flame's three forms, Lin Tianming tested them all on the spot.
After his tests, he tossed the remaining Red Flame glove to Alice.
"Catch, Alice. I, Lin Tianming, keep my word. This last treasure is equally split!"
Staring at the Red Flame glove thrown to her, Alice instinctively caught it.
She gazed at Lin Tianming's friendly expression, dazed.
[Ming actually gave me half of the Red Flame. Is he really the same Ming I knew from the past life?]
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