Tyrone felt like a sun-dried salted fish.
He was sprawled limply on the ground, without even the strength to move a finger.
He heard William's command, but the word 'retreat' felt as distant to him as a promise from the next century.
After Maurice arrived outside the metal plate and contacted Tyrone via communicator, the young man finally mustered all his strength to unleash a tiny burst of dark power.
"Whoosh!"
Before the young man could even get a clear look at his surroundings, a cold stream of Water enveloped him.
It was Maurice.
The old boatman showed no mercy.
Like dragging a freshly caught dead fish, he ascended at full speed in torpedo mode.
The Water surface exploded, and Maurice transformed into human form, casually tossing the soaking wet, half-dead Tyrone onto the wooden deck with a dull "splat."
"The job's done, KPI achieved," Maurice mumbled as he transformed back into human form.
"Overtime pay and hazardous work allowance—not a cent less."
William ignored the old boatman's grumbling, walked over to Tyrone, and handed him a cup of green liquid still emitting a strange heat.
This time the color was even darker than last time, like a concentrated matcha tea.
"Welcome back, hero. This is your post-battle recovery package, 'Vitality Booster' Version 2.0, with double the mint and… Dr. Connors's secret formula."
Tyrone weakly lifted his head to look at the suspicious liquid.
Would he grow scales on the spot if he drank it?
But he was too tired, so he resignedly took it and gulped it down.
An instant rush of coolness exploded, shooting from his throat all the way to the top of his head.
He felt as if his parched cells and tissues had undergone a "violent irrigation."
Every pore was expanding.
He subconsciously reached out to steady himself on the nearby railing, but the moment he extended his hand, a strange phenomenon occurred.
A mass of pure Darkness surged out from in front of his palm without any warning.
It wasn't a Shadow.
It was a Blackness with texture and form.
It quickly condensed and transformed before him, like living ink.
Finally, it became a… small, constantly wriggling Black octopus tentacle.
"…"
The entire dock fell into a deathly silence.
Tyrone himself was stunned.
He stared stiffly at the Black tentacle that had appeared out of thin air a few centimeters in front of his palm, his mind blank.
He wanted it to go back, but the tentacle seemed to have a mind of its own, wiggling curiously and even playfully coiling itself.
"Am I… am I… mutated?"
Tyrone's voice was trembling.
"Cool," Emil finally spoke, breaking the silence.
An emotion akin to "interest" appeared on his cold face.
He reached out a finger and poked the Black tentacle.
The sensation was peculiar—cold, smooth, like the highest grade silicone.
Maurice recoiled a step, a look of disgust on his face: "Damn it! I knew it! He was contaminated by that iron coffin! Boss, is this a work injury? I went down with him, my mind was greatly shaken, I need to apply for paid psychological counseling leave!"
"Shut up, Maurice."
William's eyes gleamed frighteningly. He walked a circle around Tyrone, as if admiring a perfect work of art.
"This isn't contamination, this is an upgrade! This is asset appreciation! Do you understand? Tyrone, you are no longer a simple wall-breacher; you are a… special infiltration expert with a built-in summon! "
He clapped Tyrone on the shoulder, with such force that he stumbled.
"See? This is our company's unique incentive mechanism! High risk brings high reward! You solved a potential public relations crisis for the company, and the company gives you a brand new career development path in return! Congratulations, your insurance package has been automatically upgraded!"
Tyrone looked at the increasingly lively tentacle, on the verge of tears.
What was this?
Buy insurance, get a pet?
And an uncontrollable one at that?
In William's office, the atmosphere had shifted from tense to celebratory.
He leaned back in his chair, watching Tyrone awkwardly try to retract the Black tentacle that had begun attempting to crawl on the floor.
"Jarvis, add a note to Tyrone's personal file. Ability characteristic: Capable of constructing materialized dark energy, form… highly malleable. Risk rating: Upgraded from 'Controllable Infiltration Tool' to 'Mobile Armory with Huge Potential'."
A prehistoric fortress hidden deep beneath the river, inherently possessing a super energy field.
Chapter 162: Your Cheat Has Gone Online, Please Be Aware of Side Effects
William circled the Black tentacle that had appeared out of thin air, his expression not one of fear, but like a product manager examining a newly launched feature.
"Unstable form, severe energy dissipation, lack of precise control commands… Hmm, typical Alpha test phase BUG."
As he spoke, he took out his phone and snapped a photo of the tentacle still curiously wiggling on the ground, his movements as natural as if he were photographing a new dish.
Tyrone was on the verge of tears.
"Boss, this isn't a BUG, this is something that grew out of me! It won't listen to me!" He tried to mentally retract the tentacle, but it just wiggled happily, even attempting to poke Emil's tactical boot with its tip.
Emil looked down, then expressionlessly lifted his foot and precisely stepped on the end of the tentacle.
"Hiss––"
A faint sound, as if air was being sucked away, rang out. The part of the tentacle that was stepped on instantly dissipated into a wisp of Black smoke, then re-formed a few centimeters away, like a startled earthworm, rapidly retracting towards Tyrone, and finally, with a "poof," vanished into thin air.
Tyrone felt a faint prickling sensation from his palm.
"It… it went back?"
"It appears to possess a certain stress response and self-preservation mechanism." Emil concluded.
"Physical suppression will cause its temporary disintegration, but cannot eradicate it. Suggest using energy neutralization or source excision methods."
As he spoke, he looked at Tyrone's arm, his eyes filled with a "let me try" eagerness.
Tyrone, scared, quickly hid his hand behind his back.
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Alright, Emil, don't scare our excellent employee."
William put away his phone and patted Tyrone's back, once again beginning to instill his corporate culture.
"Tyrone, you need to look at this from a different perspective. Do you think this is out of control? No, this is your body actively adapting to new power! This is your potential beckoning to you! This 'tentacle' is just the tip of the iceberg of your immense power, it's the system's gift to you as a beginner's tutorial guide!"
"From today on, your primary KPI is to learn to control it. Start with the simplest things, like… using it to help you carry coffee, or clean the office."
"Treat it as your third hand, a multi-functional robotic arm. When you can use it to beat a round of 'Street Fighter,' your bonus will double."
Playing "Street Fighter" with a Shadow tentacle?
Tyrone's brain had completely crashed; he couldn't understand his boss's thought process at all.
But the four words "bonus doubled" shone like a holy light, dispelling half of the fear in his heart.
Maurice, the supervisor next to him, had an expression of "you city folk really know how to have fun," and moved two more steps away from Tyrone.
"Boss, does this high-risk 'ability upgrade' cover my insurance package? I feel like my mind has been re-contaminated; everything looks like it has tentacles. I demand a raise, or I'll report you to the union!"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"