/
Chapter 242 Can You Be An Octopus?
“Why are you speaking in English?” Leo asked aloud.
At first glance, this question seemed foolish, but it was a well-thought one. The girl in black claimed to be the Panther God which implied she had lived in Wakanda for millennials. But the Wakandan primarily spoke their mother tongue, Wakandan. So why would their revered god speak English?
He didn’t know much about the girl, and if he asked personal questions right, she could easily make up a lie to deceive him.
Therefore, he needed to catch her off guard by asking some seemingly meaningless questions, leaving her unprepared for a witty response. And based on the girl’s responses to these questions, he could indirectly deduce many details, allowing him to asses her character and determine her true intentions.
Upon hearing this question, the girl visibly paused, then rebuked, “You’re from the U.S., so it makes sense for me to speak English with you, right?”
Leo frowned as he linked the answer to another question in his mind, and pressed on, “How do you know I’m from the U.S.? And how do you know my name is Leo?”
“I can see and hear some of your thoughts,” the girl answered truthfully.
“Telepathy?” Leo exclaimed, instantly considering making a run for it.
If the girl possessed such abilities, it meant that she had seen through every aspect of Leo’s being.
“It’s not telepathy. My ability has its limitations,” the girl explained. “Firstly, the person must have consumed the heart-shaped herb and stayed within the borders of Wakanda for me to attempt to read their thoughts. That’s the prerequisite. Secondly, there are restrictions on what I can ultimately perceive. It’s similar to human dreaming. The content of a dream depends on what you willingly present, and I’m merely an observer of that dream.”
The girl continued, “At most, I can make their dream-like experiences more realistic, making the dream realm resemble the real world.”
Hearing the explanation, Leo felt somewhat relieved and suppressed the urge to leave. He had countless secrets and if they were all revealed, it would be no different from signing his own death warrant.
But he still had lingering concerns and immediately questioned, “ Can you still read my thoughts now?”
He was still in the peculiar space, presumably within the realm of the dream world. He fulfilled the condition of being susceptible to having his thoughts read by the girl in black, so he couldn’t help worrying.
“No, I can’t,” the girl in black answered honestly. “Ever since you’re filled with that energy that can break through my domain, I can no longer see you.”
“Is that true?” Leo asked in return.
“Yes!” The girl nodded with a pair of sincere eyes.
The energy the girl referred to was the mysterious energy known as the “Mechanical Force,” which Leo possessed. Even he hadn’t fully grasped the capabilities of the Mechanical Force.
However, despite the girl’s statement, he couldn’t fully trust her words.
Hence, in mind various disturbing images emerged in his mind, all directed toward the girl in black. Some of them were horror, gore, bloodshed, violence, and torture. The content was so graphic and repulsive that even Leo himself found it unbearable to envision.
While entertaining these unsettling thoughts, he continued to ask the girl in black, “Can you still sense my thoughts now?”
At first, when he caught her attention by using his Mechanical Force to focus on her body, the girl in black was furious. Judging by her character, if she were to sense the repulsive images that were currently occupying his mind, she would likely lose her patience and explode in anger.
Contrarily, she didn’t burst into a rage. Instead, she shook her head and said, “I can’t sense them, but I can guess that you must be having some unpleasant thoughts. You’re truly wicked.”
Her wide and watery eyes stared at Leo with a gaze filled with disappointment as if he had committed some unforgivable sins.
Knowing that he was in the wrong, he was thick-skinned, especially when dealing with someone like the girl in black whose identity as a friend or foe was unclear. Naturally, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize.
Instead, he smoothly changed the subject and posed a second meaningless question, “Since Wakandans are predominantly black, and you’re the Panther God revered by Wakandans, why isn’t your skin black? And it’s even fairer than mine, or rather, whiter than Bucky’s skin!”
Confronted with Leo’s tactic of conversion, the girl in black wrinkled her nose in anger, releasing an almost inaudible hum of annoyance. She replied, “The first intelligent human I met, since gaining consciousness, happened to be a white person. So, I chose white as my skin color. Is that a problem?”
“No problem at all,” Leo chuckled. “So, who was that first white person you met? When and how did you meet him or her?”
This was the type of conversion approach that Leo was hoping for. Through the meaningless questions, he could gauge whether or not the girl in black was telling the truth or not. If she hesitated or made excuses, then there would be a problem. And if she spoke partial truths, he could follow the thread and extract more secrets.
“I don’t know her name. Around fifty thousand years ago, when I was still a naive and unaware person, someone suddenly awakened me and imparted basic knowledge of the world. That’s when I truly awakened and gained consciousness for independent thinking.” She revealed a reminiscent expression, “But that person left and never returned.”
Leo couldn’t help but smirk, ‘Girl, your explanation and logic are as good as not saying anything at all.’
“How can you prove that what you’re saying is true? To be honest, your explanation is full of holes. Fifty thousand years ago, the entire Earth was likely in the era of primitive humans. People around the world were probably still living in primitive conditions, hunting and living in caves. Where would there be such a miraculous human like the one you described?” Leo rebuked.
The girl in black grew angry at Leo’s disbelief, and she shouted loudly, “What I’m saying is true, that person truly existed. I vividly possess those memories. Look, this is how that person looks. I really remember.”
She waved her hand, and a beam of pure white light appeared to her right. The beam flickered for a moment before solidifying, revealing the image of a woman.
The woman had golden long hair, fair skin, and an even more fulfilling chest

“Goddess, can you please stop joking around? She’s clearly you, just older.” Leo was speechless as the woman inside the beam of light was none other than an older version of the girl in black.
The mature version of the goddess within the beam exuded a charm of maturity that the girl in black lacked, and her development was more complete.
“She is the one who awakened me fifty thousand years ago,” the girl in black insisted. “When I first woke up, I was naive and innocent, so naturally, I chose her as my external appearance. Besides, I had just been born, so it’s only natural for me to appear much younger.”
What a perfectly logical sentence!
Although Leo had been attempting to refute the girl’s words, he found himself believing that she wasn’t lying. If she were lying, her performance was truly extraordinary, with convincing expressions and actions. She would undoubtedly be a master of deception.
He realized that he couldn’t rely on his ability to detect lies to distinguish between the truth and lies. So, he might as well choose to believe her. After all, he was always adaptable and could switch between offense and defense.
Initially, he had come seeking benefits, but why had he found himself developing a growing fondness for the girl?! This was a serious issue. He couldn’t afford to let his feelings for the girl become excessive. It would put him at a disadvantage and jeopardize the potential gains he could obtain.
Thinking of this, he suddenly came up with a solution. He asked solemnly, “Based on your words, are you able to change your outer appearance?”
“Of course,” the girl in black boasted. “I can transform into anything.”
“Then, can you be an octopus?” Leo suddenly asked.
The girl paused, “Yes, I can, but why would I want to transform into something so ugly?”
“It’s nothing,” Leo waved his hand dismissively, “It was just a joke, and I wanted to burst someone’s illusion of you in their mind.”