The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

The loser has to kiss the corner of the table with their favorite little brother!

Chapter 408 Happiness masks pain, laughter fights against nothingness

Xue Dinglu looked at the masked man in front of him, and for some reason, he had a feeling that something was wrong.

"Are you really Captain Singal's old friend? Or are you the leader here?" Xue Dinglu asked again.

"I am," the masked man said solemnly.

Xue's Law: "?"

His lips twitched, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Really?" Xue asked, even though he already knew this person had a problem.

"A promise is a promise!" the masked man in a suit and tie said earnestly.

Xue Dinglu slapped his forehead hard. He knew it wasn't that simple; the person in front of him was also a fake!

How can the people in this godforsaken place be so crazy and so wicked!

Soon, a portal opened behind the man, who continued to speak loudly: "I am the leader of this ball, I am the chosen one, leading you all to defeat the void is our duty!"

A foot suddenly shot out from the portal and kicked him hard. Another black figure, resembling someone from a Bleach anime, walked out of the portal. He had no facial features, and even his face was just some moving ink marks.

"Sorry my men have caused you trouble. I'll punish them by making them take off their clothes and run naked around the square." The black man seemed quite sincere as he spoke.

Xue's Law: "..."

No, lying is fun, right?

Xue's Law is really angry. He's been fooled once, fooled twice, and now he wants to fool himself a third time?

You inherently evil old devil, I'll personally tear off your mask and see just how many faces you have!

Without hesitation, Xue Dinglu reached out and grabbed, only to find his entire arm instantly covered in black, ink-like stains.

The arm seemed to be instantly filled with exhaustion and paralysis, out of control. Xue was horrified and decisively cut off his own hand from the shoulder.

The arm fell to the ground, instantly becoming like the little black figure, radiating an indescribable, ethereal power.

"Your hand has already committed suicide. Although it could have separated from you and become a completely new life form after coming into contact with my power, it ultimately chose suicide. This is the power of nothingness." Xiao Hei silently sat opposite Xue Dinglu, the ink on his face constantly shifting.

"Also, a gentleman uses words, not fists. It's best not to touch me. Anyone who touches me will be contaminated by the highest level of nothingness. Even an apostle should not try."

Xiao Hei spoke calmly. He wasn't as manic and laughing as the other masked men. He seemed to truly fit the state of someone corrupted by nothingness in Xue's impression.

Most importantly, the power of nothingness within him cannot be faked. His entire body is completely covered by nothingness. Xue Luding believes that only by completely opening the vast emptiness in his heart and letting it devour him, transforming him into that twisted and swaying monster of nothingness, can he achieve a comparable level of authority.

His power may not be great, but wherever he appears, he is a walking natural disaster, a monster capable of destroying galaxies.

Even if he dies, or completely loses control of his power, he will twist and collapse into a huge void in the universe, the same huge void that the old man and all the members of the 27th Squadron of the Starship Corps during the First Era could barely patch up with a black hole...

And he is now like a walking cosmic void, the power of nothingness has completely merged with him, and the degree of his own calamity is no less than the insect swarm calamity caused by the Sixth Apostle, the Mind Flayer calamity caused by the Fourth Apostle, and the divine tree calamity caused by all the apostles... a monster!

However, he suppressed his own ethereal power, barely managing to maintain a normal human form.

There was even a legitimate thought and consciousness. No wonder Captain Singal brought him here; it turns out there really was an expert in dealing with nothingness here.

Xue Dinglu couldn't help but feel a deep respect; he even felt a bit of admiration for the person in front of him.

The power of nothingness can cause a person to completely lose their emotions, feelings, five senses, and even the will to live, ultimately leading to self-destruction.

Even though the person in front of me has been corrupted to this extent, he still insists on living on. Perhaps he understands that once he dies, a natural disaster that is no less severe than the Mist Council will erupt.

So he persevered and survived, and even established this strange organization, a gathering place for all sorts of lunatics, eccentrics, entertainers, swindlers, and so on.

Oh, they're all people corrupted by nothingness, then it's alright...

These people are true walking natural disasters. If they were released, the damage they would cause would probably be no less than that of the apostles, and perhaps even more terrifying because of their unstable mental state.

But this person actually locked them all up here, which, in Xue's view, was the work of a predecessor of the same level as the founder of an interstellar column.

"Perhaps you're mistaken. I'm not as noble as you think. This is just a place where we huddle together for warmth, a place where we exchange ideas on how to solve this pollution problem." The little black man said, taking a sip of his drink, and added, "Want a drink?"

Xue's Law: "..."

Although I admire you, Xue's Law will not eat anything here...

He now knows about those bastards outside who replaced the water with pure alcohol, and feels that eating anything here carries the risk of being cheated.

"Okay, what's up?" he said, downing his drink in one gulp.

"May I ask your name, senior?"

Xiao Hei had no intention of hiding anything and said directly, "Abdullah Hassan, that's my real name. You can just call me Hassan."

Xue's Law: "..."

He actually wanted to give the translation module left by the Great Sage a good slap, wondering if there was something wrong with it and it was translating haphazardly.

After trying for a while and finding that the translation module was working fine, he had no choice but to give up. He nodded slightly and asked, "Hassan...sir, how can one utilize the power of nothingness while also controlling it?"

Hassan, whose body was covered in ink-like stains, fell silent.

Then, he looked at Xue Dinglu with an extremely strange expression.

It's basically saying, "If I had this method, I wouldn't be in this inhuman, ghostly state now."

After staring at each other for a while, Xue Lude reluctantly looked away, realizing that this was not a problem Hassan could solve.

"Are there any ways to slow down or control the erosion of nothingness?" Xue asked his second question.

This time, Hassan did not remain silent, but spoke directly: "Happiness, or rather, keeping a good mood and using laughter to fight against nothingness, is the method that I, and all of us, use."

At this moment, dazzling fireworks and brilliant lights burst out outside. Countless streaking people seemed to have just returned. They were arm in arm, playing tricks on each other, either secretly drugging each other or grabbing their exhausted companions, and some were thinking of some crazy schemes.

They all seemed happy. In this world full of laughter and absurdity, who would have thought that they were all patients corrupted by the most catastrophic force in the universe, a monster called nothingness?

They laughed loudly, they sang loudly, and a group of people took off their gold underwear to use as kindling, starting a bonfire party right in the center of the square.

They were pouring drinks for each other, each thinking about how to get the other drunk, and then secretly competing to see whose trickery was more ingenious.

Many more couldn't resist dancing around the campfire, wearing only golden shorts, and began to dance freely and joyfully.

It seems that for them, nothing is more about parties; happiness and joy are what everyone here pursues.

"Is this the way to fight against nothingness?" Xue Dinglu stared blankly outside.

“Yes, if you fill the world with smiles and keep yourself happy, you won’t think about self-destruction anymore, and you won’t let yourself fall into nihilism.” Although Hassan had no facial features, Xue Dinglu seemed to notice that he was smiling, even at this moment, it was like the smile of a doctor.

"Nothing in the world is scary anymore. Whether it's the apostles, the divine tree, the swarm of insects, or the demons, or even nothingness, there is nothing to be afraid of. Smile, and perhaps you will discover all the beauty in the world, and then use that beauty to fill the emptiness in your heart."

"This is the way to deal with nothingness," Hassan said, glancing at the group of people dancing rather awkwardly around the campfire, and said with a smile.

"Your dancing skills are not good enough. You are far behind me. You need to practice more."

Xue's Law: "..."

He might suddenly realize that the seemingly reliable guy in front of him might actually be the most eccentric member of the group.

"Can the fruit of that divine tree alleviate the symptoms?" Xue Dinglu continued to press.

“Yes,” Hassan said directly, but then turned his head, his face still covered in ink, and stared intently at Xue Dinglu. “However, if any of my brothers or sisters dare to try this method, I will kill them with my own hands before I die.”

“I am very strong. You might even consider me one of the strongest beings in the universe, second only to the Mimic King.”

Upon hearing these words from the little black man, Xue Dinglu inexplicably believed them, though he believed in the ethereal erosion that stained his entire body like ink.

The walking, humanoid cosmic catastrophe, whose death causes cosmic-level disasters wherever he goes—Xue's Law truly believes in what he says.

Xue Dinglu suddenly had an idea: Could this senior take down the Mist Council?

However, Xue Law abandoned the idea when it came up. The biggest problem with the Mist Council was that they were too well hidden. So many times, Xue Law had only managed to catch the Ninth Apostle by the tail. It was Faust who caught Mephisto by the tail.

If they really knew the location of the Mist Council, they wouldn't even need this senior Hassan to go there; they could just send the Mimic King to block the door.

According to him, the Mimic King is likely stronger than the master of the Mist Council.

“Interested in joining the masquerade ball? Perhaps you’ll have a chance to become the boss here.” Hassan turned his head and extended an olive branch to Xue Lude.

"Uh..." Xue Dinglu looked at this person and was speechless. He said, "Weren't you doing a good job as the boss?"

“I might not be able to hold on any longer. You should have been able to feel it when you touched me just now. The power of nothingness in my body has become so severe that it has started to dissipate, right?” Hassan said calmly.

Xue Dinglu was startled. He probably understood why this person was different from those who wore masks and laughed and joked.

Because of him, he may have been so consumed by nihilism that he could no longer even laugh.

Hassan didn't hide anything: "I have now lost my emotions, my laughter, my desires, my sense of direction, my sense of taste and smell, and I'm starting to forget things. I think I don't have much time left."

“So I thought about finding a future for these brothers and sisters. Xingal was the future I originally envisioned for them, but if you join us, perhaps you are the best way out. After all, Xingal can’t truly empathize with us.” As he spoke, he paused and looked out the window at the group of brothers and sisters laughing and chatting.

Xue's Law fell silent.

Dude, do you really trust me that much?

I don't even trust myself, and your attitude of entrusting the young emperor to a high-ranking official is really hard for me to bear. I don't have the wisdom and will of a prime minister.

I can lend a hand, but to be the boss myself... well, forget it.

Seemingly having discovered Xue's idea, Hassan was neither annoyed nor did he intend to force him. Perhaps he had already lost his desire. He simply said, "I once invited the Great Sage as well, and he gave me the same answer as you."

The atmosphere became extremely quiet for a moment, with only the sound of singing coming from outside.

"So if I die and you're still alive, just help take care of them, as a way of repaying the favor I owe you," he said.

Xue's Law: "..."

Goodness, so this is where the trap was. At first, they said they wanted me to be the boss, but I didn't agree. Then they immediately said I only needed to look after them.

Isn't this just like trying to open a window after failing to remove the roof?

Hassan probably only wanted Xue's law to help him out, which is why he said that, making it difficult for him to refuse now.

After all, he had obtained information for free today, and the [Sand of Flowing Light] was also the Noble Phantasm of the person in front of him, so he did owe a lot of favors.

"As long as I'm alive, I will definitely help," Xue Dinglu promised.

"Then I thank you." Hassan's face seemed to brighten considerably.

Seeing the man's resigned demeanor, Xue Dinglu couldn't help but ask, "In the end, how do you plan to resolve the deep emptiness within you?"

Hassan's death would immediately turn him into a distorted cosmic catastrophe, and Xue Law still wanted to ask him what his plans were.

"I plan to head to the subspace when I'm about to lose control, maybe one last time to explore and see what lies at the end of the subspace," he said with a smile, revealing his plans.