2 The Factory of Power?

"Who are you?!" Lin Zhou was rudely awakened from his immersion by the voice, and he turned around, having regained control of his body immediately, looking to confront whoever just spoke, only to see numerous children with grim expressions on their faces. A sweet smelling substance now filled the air, replacing the stench that Lin Zhou smelled earlier.

"Look, Orange really isn't right in the head, he's even talking in gibberish this time!" The child who had alerted everyone earlier pointed to Lin Zhou again.

"Whatever, all I care about is that he doesn't get in the way of my work!" A muscular teenager waded to the front of the crowd. He had brown hair which was parted to the sight, and wore proper clothing compared to the rest. He was even eating an apple in one hand. Eyeing Lin Zhou, he raised his hand and then proceeded to slap him with all his strength!

SMACK! Lin Zhou fell to the ground, dazed from the sudden strike. A small stream of blood leaked from his lips, where a tooth had bitten when he was slapped. A few baby teeth also dropped out as a result of the powerful slap. Normally this wouldn't happen, but due to moderate malnutrition, the body had significantly weakened.

"Orange, Orange, Orange! If you like him so much, why don't you take the punishment for him?" The teenager then shook his fist in the air as a threat to the other children around.

The other children also had the same physique as Lin Zhou, so they were struck with fear after seeing Lin Zhou being abused like a rag doll. They returned to their work, shutting Lin Zhou out of their minds.

"Gah!" Lin Zhou's nerves sent an unbelievable amount of pain straight to his brain. On top of the lashings earlier, he now had to bear the pain from the powerful slap, making him unable to resist groaning loudly. His voice echoed throughout the factory

"Bloody... bloody hell! Do I not have respect from you too? I'm sick and tired! Let me have a SMOKE!" The frenzied noises of the thin man filled the entire factory. A dark shadow flew past the railing on the fourth floor, accompanied by the sound of something shrieking.

As Lin Zhou twisted around, he spotted the dark shadow's movements. It was heading downwards, and from the trajectory, it was obvious that he was the target! Lin Zhou was gripped with fear. He instinctively moved backwards, crying out pitifully. A small stream of a dehydrated yellow liquid stained his pants.

Hearing his cries that had replaced his loud groans, the shadow did not speed up, but instead had slowed down. The shadow that was moving unbelievably fast earlier had now turned into a snail, which allowed Lin Zhou to observe it in great detail.

The brown creature resembled a python in its thick body width, but when it opened its mouth, a pair of elongated fangs revealed itself. The fangs reflected the intense sunlight shining down with a blue light. The eyes of the creature were made of the same material, and Lon Zhou could see his visage in the reflections in its eyes.

"What type of animal is this?" The "snake" did not look like a biological creature at all, and yet it moved all the same. A maddening curiosity filled Lin Zhou's mind. "I want to find out what this is!"

Even though he wanted to touch the "snake", it was obvious that it had hostile intentions against him. Lin Zhou had already figured out that it was reacting to the sounds he was making, but he feared that touching it would result in the "snake" hurting him immediately.

With the gradual recession of the pain from the slap, Lin Zhou regained his bearings, at least enough to hide the sounds he was making. The moment there was only the sound of machinery, the "snake" retreated as fast as it had appeared. It flew back up to the fourth floor, disappearing into the shadows. It left no traces of its existence, but Lin Zhou could tell that where the "snake" had gone was the room he was in earlier!

"Expendable scum like you have no rights to speak! Respect! Die!" The thin man screamed incoherently, seemingly lost in a delusion of his own making. Even though he seemed like a madman to him, Lin Zhou could now understand why the other children were scared of him.

"Am I still even in the Industrial Revolution? How did that man manage to create such a scary creature?" Lin Zhou did not know of any technique in the modern world that could replicate the monstrous feeling that the "snake" gave off, let alone during the era of the Industrial Revolution.

"What a revolting man. How could he have so much power, right?" A familiar voice appeared in Lin Zhou's mind again.

"You were the person talking to me just now?" Lin Zhou gripped his clothes tightly. "Were you the man that moved my body downstairs while I wasn't noticing?" While saying this, Lin Zhou's eyes were filled with a strange clarity. Now that he had calmed down, he had already started to analyse the details presented to him.

"Indeed, the Planewalkers are indeed of a different caliber! Their personality can shift so fast once they adapt to their surroundings. In that case, I will offer you my story." The voice softened to the volume of a normal conversation, allowing Lin Zhou to listen with ease.

"Listen carefully, I will only say my story once." The voice coughed once, and continued, "I am a being that was summoned to this dimension through the combined power of the Omnis at the Fifth Origin of Power. From there, I was locked in a cube, because they feared my unusual powers."

"I only managed to escape from that location because there were attacks on the fortress by another Omnis, which managed to create a moment of vulnerability for me to exploit. I destroyed all the rituals locking me in the cube, and I found you devouring the soul of this boy's body. Planewalkers are the only beings that can accommodate my powers, so I linked myself to you!"

"In exchange, I will offer you my powers to take advantage of! The Factory of Power can process any energy in the world to fuel your strength! Let me show you this unlimited power!"

Lin Zhou's eyes rolled back, as if he was possessed again. However, this time, he was not lost in thought, but his consciousness had created a body inside his mind.

In one moment, Lin Zhou was looking at the sky, and at the next moment, he was staring at a factory far away, surrounded by an endless void. He could not help but gasp audibly. Was this the Factory of Power mentioned by that man?

It was so ridiculously gigantic to the point that Lin Zhou could not see when it ended at. The sounds coming from the factory were climbing in loudness, and he could even see the factory trembling non-stop from the intensity of its operations.

As the factory continued to work, Lin Zhou could feel a colossal power energising every part of his body, and he felt like he could crumple titanium with just one punch. "This power... it's not the power of my muscles. This is... inhuman."

Lin Zhou then saw the factory slow to a stop. At the same time, the power that he felt within him disappeared. His mouth trembled. He could not bear to let such tremendous power go. It was the strongest he felt since the peak of his short term athletic period. No, it was double, even triple of that! Considering the state of his body, it was practically a miracle.

"This power will grant you enough strength to beat even that old man there. As long as you agree to share your mind, we will achieve immeasurable levels of strength together!" The voice declared with an exuberant tone.

A yellowed contract manifested in Lin Zhou's mind, stating the words, "Do you agree to let The Factory of Power stay in your mind? In exchange, you will acquire the Absolute Chaos bloodline and the invincible Factory of Power."

"No." Lin Zhou's voice was chilly, to the point that one would feel that he was not human. "Sharing my mind with someone? Absolutely not!"

"As a Planewalker, what is most important is for knowledge of the world! I can offer all of that to you! Just a small sacrifice, what are you waiting for?" The voice spoke righteously, as if Lin Zhou had wronged him.

"Are you that moronic? Those words would make any idiot realise that what you're offering is a scam! Now, get out, and go away!" Lin Zhou had an annoyed expression on his face. He possessed such intense rejection of the Factory of Power that the voice began to grow angry.

"Such an ingrate! I offered you this power out of the kindness in my heart, and you dare to reject me!" A red orb flew out of the factory, and appeared directly in front of Lin Zhou's consciousness. "Oh well, it is such a chore to control a body and raise it, but this should work as well."

Inside the red orb, Lin Zhou could see multiple black arms dotted with starry outlines extend out towards him. He widened his eyes in surprise, as he began to run away from the red orb, even if he knew that it was futile. After all, where could he run to inside his mind?

The red orb teleported behind Lin Zhou and latched onto him using its arms. Lin Zhou felt an intense pain ripping through his mind. The voice was intending to erase his consciousness! He had not realised that the red orb had such powers, as he had underestimated the red orb after learning that it needed his permission to share his mind.

As Lin Zhou struggled to keep himself awake, a strange feeling started to appear within him. It slowly eclipsed the feeling of fear within him, replacing it to create a primal instinct.

"Hungry... Need to eat..." These words tumbled into Lin Zhou's mind out of nowhere. Looking at the red orb in his mind, he could not help but expose a smile.

"You're right! You're right! I should share my mind with you, once I eat you, you will be part of my mind too!" The overflowing hunger had already taken over Lin Zhou, and the soul that the red orb had been attacking earlier turned into an ugly orb-shaped creature with tens of gaping maws, dripping with pitch-black saliva.

"No... what the hell are you! You're not a Planewalker!" The red orb could only cry out these words, as the ugly orb greedily bit on the arms that was previously trying to tear it.

"Food! Food!" The maws started nibbling away at the main body of the red orb, making it cry out in fear and pain. The ugly orb tyrannically roared as it devoured the red orb with ease, having sated its hunger.

In a minute, there were no more traces of the red orb, and the ugly creature disappeared as well. Lin Zhou broke free from the trance the red orb had placed on him, and blood started pouring from his nose.