"I... I give up..."

"Crack crack crack!!"

In an instant, a gigantic purple spider was squeezed out of her body.

"Boom～"

With the final modifier on the host being suppressed, An Le finally lowered her head with a sigh of relief.

And then...

There was herself.

An Le took a deep breath, looked down at the Little Thumb gazing up at her.

It stared blankly at An Le in mid-air, and understanding what she was about to do, its expression changed, immediately begging for mercy,

"An... An Le! How about we talk this over? I didn't deceive you on purpose before!! I... I was wrong!"

An Le shook her head, biting her lip as she looked at the Little Thumb.

"Boom～"

"Afterwards I'll wholeheartedly assist you, with no ulterior motives! See, now that all the other hosts are gone, you have nothing to worry about! You have self-control, I won't try to manipulate you anymore..."

An Le still shook her head.

"Boom～"

"What... what do you want me to do to let me go? I... I'll obey you, isn't that enough?"

Looking at the panicked Little Thumb, An Le bit her lip, but managed a wry smile,

"Little Thumb, I... now I can't... feel anything anymore..."

"Boom～"

"The moment the Tentacle Purgatory ends, I... I'm afraid I will disappear... Then, you will still be alive, searching for another host, right?"

The Little Thumb's eyes widened, genuinely feeling it was wicked,

"I... how do you know everything? When... when did you figure it out?"

Hearing this, An Le let out a silly smile,

"Because... to someone like me, you definitely wouldn't genuinely worry about my safety, right?

"So, before you stopped me just... worried that I couldn't withstand the side effects, and after I died, your efforts would be in vain...

"Now, as I am about to give up on you... you have no choice but to settle for a lesser option, even if your efforts are wasted, you need to live, isn't it?"

The Little Thumb stared blankly at the Little Thumb, unable to speak for a moment.

"Boom～"

It was only after a long time that it seemed to lose all its strength, lowering its head...

But before stretching its neck to be slaughtered, it still stuck out its tongue feebly, saying in a small voice,

"...At that time... I really was worried about your safety... although... only just a little bit..."

Hearing this, An Le was slightly stunned, but still showed a beautiful smile,

"I see..."

"Boom～"

Both the person and the snake fell silent for a moment.

In the next second, An Le finally took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

"Little Thumb, for the last time... help me make a few calls..."

"Okay..."

The Little Thumb knew it couldn't stop An Le anymore and could only comply,

"Who do you want to call?"

"...Mom, I guess."

"Alright."

The Little Thumb raised its tail and dialed An Le's mother's phone, then reappeared on An Le's shoulder.

"Ring～"

"Hello, Lele."

It was An Le's father who answered.

"Dad? Well, where's mom?"

"Ah... Your mom is in the hospital room. The doctor says she's a high-risk pregnancy, so we have to be especially careful... This little brother or sister of yours is nothing like you; they've really been giving your mom a hard time..."

An Le opened her mouth but finally gave a helpless smile,

"I see."

"Yeah, Lele, enjoy your time in Ying Country, I... am going to get your mom some food."

"Alright, dad."

Before An Le could speak, the Little Thumb hung up the phone for her.

"Boom～"

"..."

An Le bit her lip but revealed a smile again, looking at the Little Thumb,

"Help me, call Xiao Huan one more time?"

"...Sure."

The Little Thumb lowered its head and dialed Yan Huan's number.

"Buzz..."

At that moment, inside the cabinet where Sakuragi Hitomi hid, the phone vibrated.

Sakuragi Hitomi, hugging her knees, was startled. When she saw the incoming call from "An Le," her heart nearly stopped.

"..."

After a moment of silence, she bit her lip and hung up the call directly.

"Beep... Beep..."

The Little Thumb stared blankly at the hung-up call, and said ruefully,

"No answer."

"Boom～"

Staring at the missed call, An Le bit her lip, but didn't display much disappointment, only closing her eyes.

In the next moment, when she opened her eyes again, they were filled only with determination,

"Little Thumb, I'm going to... give you up..."

In the next instant, she spoke thus.

"..."

But oddly enough, the Little Thumb in front of her showed no sign of pain, instead looking dazedly, its gaze fixed on the void, motionless.

What's going on?

"...Little Thumb?"

An Le frowned, suspecting the Little Thumb was up to some trick.

But as she watched, in the next second, the blank face of the Little Thumb gradually revealed an excited expression, muttering,

"Lord... God..."

God?

An Le was slightly stunned, unable to react in time.

The expression on the Little Thumb's face suddenly stiffened, then showed intense pain,

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

Its piercing screams distorted, leaving An Le a bit at a loss

"Boom～"

It was only at this moment that the sound of a phantom, relentless wooden fish finally reached her ears clearly.

"Buzz..."

A faint scent of incense wafted over, causing An Le's almost void-like body to gradually warm up.

In a trance, the painful face of the Little Thumb, the Skytree, the countless tentacles all vanished.

Replacing them was a vast, calm water surface bathed in golden light...

"Boom～"

An Le looked down in astonishment, realizing she was somehow already on the ground, standing on that water surface.

Another sound of the wooden fish came from behind, prompting An Le to slowly turn her head.

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