Chapter 377: Beast Contract and the Kiss of the Gods

Carolyn leaned on the mahogany table.

The old woman gazed out the window, looking into the distance. At the community gate's security booth, an old man was hunched over his phone, seemingly following an online novel.

Below, parents pushed strollers, their joyful laughter echoing as they walked along the shaded edges of the community's green belt.

Strong young people performed pull-ups on the fitness equipment's bars.

Carolyn suddenly lowered her head, looked at her phone, and finally dialed the number she had once been given for communication. She had initially thought it belonged to a like-minded friend she'd met at a milk tea shop.

After that day, however, she never dared to dial it again, despite her previous bold, familiar, and unrestrained chatter, full of nonsense.

"Will you still come? My achievements, my science, I want to share them with you first."

Carolyn looked at a small wind mouse in front of her.

She had once been full of youthful spirit, discussing her life's ideals and her dream research with the young man from the milk tea shop. It felt as if she had found a soulmate; it was so hard to find someone with similar interests among the gearheads who were all passionate about machinery and civilization.

But from then on, he became unreachable.

More than ten years had passed, and she was too old.

She felt her days were numbered. She was no longer the brave and beautiful teenage girl she once was; her entire body was covered in loose, wrinkled skin, and her bright, charming eyes had become incredibly clouded. She was a white-haired old woman wearing black-rimmed reading glasses.

"Will he come?"

She nervously opened the book in her hands.

As someone from the older generation who had transitioned from the internet era, she didn't like electronics as much as young people did. She preferred the tactile feel of physical books, which provided an immense sense of weight and substance.

"Why did you suddenly call me? Are you going to treat me to milk tea again?"

Suddenly, a calm voice came from behind her.

Carolyn turned her head to look, and at that sight, she completely froze.

It was still the familiar voice, that of the incredibly lazy and leisurely young man. Yet, this time, he brought her a completely different kind of shock, as the feeling brought by his identity was now different.

"Don't you recognize me? It's me," Xu Zhi said with a smile.

"Why do you still talk like this? I still can't believe you're an ancient god," Carolyn said, her eyes welling up. The handsome, powerful, and mysterious young man remained unchanged after all these years; the only one who had changed was herself.

Carolyn became incredibly excited. "Language! Do you remember all the languages we talked about before?!"

"I remember," Xu Zhi smiled, sitting down in a chair with an open demeanor.

He looked at this once overly familiar, spirited, and science-loving young woman. He had just gone out for a meal in the real world, then returned to bid farewell to Levi, and played some games with Finbar, and in that time, she had become incredibly old.

She was too old; like Levi, she was about to leave this world.

Whoosh!

With a wave of Xu Zhi's hand, two cups of milk tea appeared on the opposite side, just like in the old days.

This familiar scene brought tears to Carolyn's eyes. She sat opposite him, completely discarding any differences in status, and continued to chat freely about their old topics, treating him as the ordinary friend he had once been. "For all these years, we humans have been researching language, studying the magic cores of magical beasts, and modifying their machinery and armor—that's the romance for men! But the romance for us women isn't machinery..."

Xu Zhi listened quietly.

This person still had the same personality as before, launching into a furious monologue, whether you understood it or not. Moreover, her preferred field of science was so obscure that probably very few people, apart from Xu Zhi himself, had been willing to listen to her chatter all these years.

She loved to talk and was very familiar with everyone, but she was the kind of person who would instantly lose friends the moment she started chatting.

"You must have been lonely, with no one to listen to your science. You've truly suffered these past years," Xu Zhi said, taking a sip of milk tea.

"I'm telling you! My research project has finally yielded results these past years!" she exclaimed. "Do you remember our old topic? Supernatural civilization versus scientific civilization, and individual heroism! We humans can't cultivate, but we can control machines. My research is different from theirs; they control machines, but I want to control life! I research life science!"

She pointed at the small wind mouse in front of her, overjoyed. "Ah! Look how wonderful life is! Their magic cores are like their brains. If we understand the structure of language, we understand their consciousness and composition! But humans currently can't understand it; otherwise, we could rewrite their brains, nerves, and movement patterns, modifying their minds like a piece of software."

Xu Zhi nodded.

Ever since the chips gained consciousness, they transformed into octagonal crystal chips, undergoing mutation, essentially giving birth to souls. Even Xu Zhi, their creator, couldn't fully comprehend them.

This was the charm of life's continuous evolution.

"But even if we can't read their minds, I can find a resonance!" she said, proudly pointing at the wind mouse. "I don't research machinery; I use a specific language, almost like hypnosis, to continuously deepen its brain, finally rewriting a 'program' within its mind, making the magical beast obey human commands."

She spoke:

"Stand up."

The little wind mouse stood up.

"Run!"

The little wind mouse ran around the entire room.

"Release Acceleration!"

The little wind mouse activated its innate ability.

"This??"

Xu Zhi watched this scene with some surprise.

What did he see? He was actually watching an incredibly weak human command a second-tier magical beast, a little wind mouse. It seemed almost unbelievable. What on earth had she researched?

"The specific language for each species is different. This is the one for the wind mouse; I'll recite it for you!"

She was exceptionally happy, reciting a strange language and taking out a small electric shock stick that emitted special electrical signal pulses. She applied it to the wind mouse's forehead, seemingly using it to rewrite the "program" in its mind.

Black technology!!!

Xu Zhi was astonished.

Modern scientists of the mechanical civilization focused on the applied science of magic core abilities to create their machines; this was their mechanical battle armor romance.

They also dissected magic cores to understand their composition.

But this method was like dismantling a computer's main unit.

Carolyn's approach, however, wasn't like dismantling a computer's main unit. It was like a hacker, actively breaking into someone else's computer! Injecting a virus or Trojan horse program! Taking control of their computer!

"This is a completely opposite path of scientific civilization!"

An idea flashed through Xu Zhi's mind.

"I call this language for controlling magical beasts 'the Contract'!" Carolyn declared. "As long as you recite the divine words of the Contract, combined with special electrical signal tools to implant it into the brain, you can sign a contract with a magical beast."

"Recite a language, sign a contract?"

Xu Zhi was startled and couldn't help but ask, "What about higher-level magical beasts with consciousness then?"

"You truly understand me; you've hit the nail on the head!" Carolyn said, excitedly. "Those magical beasts below the fourth tier, who lack intelligence, can be contracted! For higher-level magical beasts, it's impossible unless they voluntarily drop their resistance and open their minds!"

"Of course, if we sign a contract with a magical beast when it's low-level and cultivate it to above the fourth tier, where it gains intelligence, it still won't be able to betray its master!"

Xu Zhi looked at the white-haired old woman, filled with awe.

People with perfectly natural awakenings were too rare; the probability might be as low as one in a hundred million. Humanity didn't even have a hundred million people yet, so for Levi alone to have accidentally awakened was already quite remarkable. As for this spirited young woman, the reason Xu Zhi had paid attention to her then was that she had only one minor brain circuit chip error preventing her awakening. There were quite a few such people, but "a miss by a hair is a miss by a mile."

Even so, there were fewer than a few thousand such people in the entire human society, making them among the smartest individuals within humanity.

At the time, he found her chattering amusing. She disliked biker enthusiasts, disliked machinery, and preferred to research life sciences. He never imagined she would be so dedicated, truly pursuing this topic and researching it for a lifetime, achieving significant results.

He had truly found a treasure!

"Look! My research results, are they good? Aren't they amazing!" Carolyn's eyes were clouded. The white-haired old woman looked at him with hope and longing, as if expecting affirmation.

Xu Zhi knew what she was striving for.

She had looked up to Levi as an idol since childhood, studied hard, went to university, pursued the same path as Levi, and immersed herself in the field of science as an adult.

She hoped to also receive affirmation, and the highest affirmation in the world would come from the Ultra-Ancient God and the friend from the milk tea shop who had once inspired her confidence and discussed ideals with her.

"It's a very impressive study," Xu Zhi said with a smile.

Carolyn's aged eyes trembled violently, instantly welling up. She continuously wiped away tears. "Hehe, does this mean I've achieved the same great honor as Mr. Levi did before he died?"

Xu Zhi looked at the aged Carolyn, then stood up, gazing at the densely packed books on the shelf. He surveyed her room, which was completely cluttered, even messier than a shut-in's dwelling.

Xu Zhi suddenly asked, "Carolyn, do you still wish to pursue the science of life?"

Carolyn paused, then nodded emphatically, her eyes blazing with undisguised ambition. "Yes!"

"This is what you deserve for a lifetime of effort," Xu Zhi said, looking at the white-haired old woman before him. He suddenly stepped forward, bent down gently, and kissed her forehead.

"I will grant you a span of time."

With that, Xu Zhi stood up, turned, and left the room.

Carolyn stood frozen, gently touching her forehead where she had been kissed. "Mr. Levi—he was said to have a brain kissed by a god..."

"And I also..."

Her memories seemed to be awakening, and her thoughts were accelerating wildly!

In her mind, countless electrical signals surged, opening a forbidden door!

She instantly felt her thoughts speed up incredibly, like computers performing instantaneous calculations!

Her father's memories, her grandfather's memories, continuously raced through her mind. They were the memories of her ancestors, generation after generation. Finally, she traced back to humanity's very origin and witnessed a terrifying scene!

It was a golden desert land. A mysterious young man, dressed in an exquisite black robe, bathed in molten gold light like a deity, held up two wailing babies.

"Finally, they're out. I can relax tonight and play a couple of rounds of Hearthstone with the idiots from the wizard community!"

Boom!

Her mind exploded.

"Is this a divine blessing of language for humanity?"

At this moment, she clearly understood the truth behind Mr. Levi's youthful pursuit of theology: any intelligent human who awakened their pineal gland and opened the forbidden zone of God would see the memories of their ancestors, generation after generation, and witness humanity's earliest moments.

They would all hear that passage!

And what did that passage mean?

It was the truth that all modern scientists with awakened intelligence had sought throughout their lives!

Carolyn was both surprised and fearful. She suddenly found the entire world to be incredibly bright and slow, her thoughts clearer than ever before.

"Is this the world through Mr. Levi's eyes?" She suddenly noticed her clothes felt loose. She stood up and walked to a mirror: dazzling light-gold hair, delicate milky skin, a curvaceous maiden's figure, a determined and sharp face, and deep dark-red pupils.

"I've become young again?"