"Here? You’re sure a Player can survive?" an Erroneous Sin resembling a skeleton asked the Shadow of Gluttony doubtfully. It was nad Shattered Heart Skeleton, and its killing rule was triggered if a Player or NPC’s heartbeat went above or below the average, allowing it to instantly rip out and crush their heart.
Shattered Heart Skeleton had so past dealings with the Shadow of Gluttony. Today, the Shadow of Gluttony had suddenly sought him out, claiming to have encountered a tough opponent and requesting his assistance. The deal was an eight-two split of the spoils: the Shadow of Gluttony would take two-tenths, and Shattered Heart Skeleton would get the remaining eight-tenths.
This tempted Shattered Heart Skeleton sowhat. He wouldn’t dare attack NPCs, as they often had more formidable entities in their establishnts, so he had always preyed on Players. However, as more Players died—even if they lacked Talent—their numbers, combined with collective strategizing, had made them much harder to deal with.
"Yes, is there a problem?" The Shadow of Gluttony feigned ignorance.
"Given the scale of this mansion, there must be at least seven of our kind inside. If we go in now, we won’t even get the scraps." Shattered Heart Skeleton was rather speechless. He had assud it would be a Player living in so rundown shack; he hadn’t expected this trip to be a complete waste. The stronger the Player, the more dilapidated their dwelling, naturally.
"Not necessarily," the Shadow of Gluttony began to lie brazenly. "What if this Player has already dealt with all our kind in the mansion?"
Shattered Heart Skeleton grew even more speechless. If the Player could handle seven of our kind, wouldn’t we be walking in just to serve ourselves up as a al?Either way, we shouldn’t go in.
"As the saying goes, ’fortune favors the bold.’ If we just pull off this one job..." The Shadow of Gluttony was already wondering if he should resort to force.
"No way," Shattered Heart Skeleton said, then promptly turned and left without hesitation. "It’s just one Player; it’s not worth that kind of risk. I can find so other unlucky souls and still get a couple of bites."
He might be a skeleton, but he wasn’t brainless.He was now suspecting that the Shadow of Gluttony might be trying to lure him into the mansion to assimilate him, thereby allowing the Shadow of Gluttony to reach a higher level.Otherwise, why would he propose sothing so contradictory, so mind-numbingly illogical?
"Don’t go! Let’s discuss this further!" Seeing Shattered Heart Skeleton leave, the Shadow of Gluttony grew desperate. No matter what he said, the other ignored him.
To stop his own tornt, the Shadow of Gluttony attacked without hesitation; a vast shadow instantly enveloped Shattered Heart Skeleton entirely.
"Damn it! How dare you attack ? Aren’t you afraid of the disastrous feedback if we clash?!!" Shattered Heart Skeleton was stunned. He hadn’t expected the Shadow of Gluttony to lash out so suddenly.
"It’s alright. It won’t hurt. It won’t hurt at all," the Shadow of Gluttony muttered to himself.
This sent a chill down Shattered Heart Skeleton’s spine. What in the world was in that mansion that could make the Shadow of Gluttony change so drastically, to the point of risking assimilation and system crash just to drag him in?
"Wait! Let go! I’ll go in with you willingly!" Shattered Heart Skeleton yelled.
Of course, he was lying. His plan was to bolt the instant the Shadow of Gluttony released him. All he needed was a split-second opening, and he would run without looking back.
However, the Shadow of Gluttony paid him no heed, simply continuing to drag Shattered Heart Skeleton into the courtyard.
In the moonlight, Shattered Heart Skeleton saw a human Player. He was initially dismissive, but then, as if encountering a natural enemy, a closer look made his non-existent skin crawl. He saw that human Player ferociously devouring another Erroneous Sin.
"I thought you’d run off," the Player said upon seeing the Shadow of Gluttony. He then stuffed an entire Erroneous Sin into his mouth, chewing with loud CRUNCHES that made Shattered Heart Skeleton feel like his own bones were in peril.
"I didn’t run, Boss! I brought you a ’tough item’! See if it’s tough enough for you!" the Shadow of Gluttony said fawningly, spitting out Shattered Heart Skeleton, who had been enveloped within its shadowy form.
Wang Linchi swallowed the Erroneous Sin in his mouth, then got up and walked over. He casually picked up Shattered Heart Skeleton and sneered, "Hmph. All bones. Of course it’s hard, isn’t it?"
Then, Wang Linchi kicked the Shadow of Gluttony, saying, "You think I’m a dog? Giving a big bone to chew on, huh?"
The kick was so powerful it sent the Shadow of Gluttony flying, smashing a large crater into the wall. However, since it was only simple brute force, the Shadow of Gluttony recovered in an instant and once again scurried over fawningly. "Boss, that kick of yours was truly as smooth as flowing water and moving clouds! It made ..."
At this point, all he could do was lay on the praise.
Wang Linchi, though verbally dismissive, directly twisted off Shattered Heart Skeleton’s skull and began to chew on it, the sound of crunching bones echoing loudly. The rest of Shattered Heart Skeleton’s body, not yet completely dead, seed to feel the agony of its skull being crushed and writhed continuously. Its struggles against Wang Linchi were completely useless; instead, Wang Linchi broke off one of its arms and started chewing on that too.
"You’ve undergone quite a transformation in just one afternoon," Wang Linchi couldn’t help but tease.
He had detected so subtle damage on the Shadow of Gluttony, related to its error rules. It wasn’t caused by Shattered Heart Skeleton but by sothing of a higher order, like the Ga System. The Shadow of Gluttony had likely tried to escape the large-scale instance dungeon and flee back to the hospital on his own. After all, the outside world was far too dangerous. But the mont he exited the instance, he ran headlong into the Ga System lying in wait. He got thoroughly thrashed. If he hadn’t scurried back quickly, he would have been caught by the Ga System again. After so torture, he would likely be tossed into another instance to continue serving as a boss. If the Ga System was particularly cruel, it might even throw him into a normal instance, letting Players destroy him until he ’crashed,’ after which he would be ’assimilated’ by the Ga System. That was equivalent to losing his life.
That’s why he had sheepishly returned to seek refuge with Wang Linchi again.
Although Wang Linchi either beat or berated him, his goal was to get to the hospital. Once there, the Director would surely not let Wang Linchi off. When Wang Linchi died, he, the Shadow of Gluttony, would finally regain his freedom. The only drawback was having to endure this process. It was precisely because he had figured this out that his attitude had undergone such a seismic shift.
"That’s, of course, because of your transcendent and refined aura, Boss! It can’t help but make ..." The Shadow of Gluttony spewed forth a torrent of effusive praise.
Wang Linchi felt goosebumps erupt all over his skin. The flattery was so sickeningly sweet that Wang Linchi couldn’t stand it.
"Not bad. Your words are quite pleasing to the ear," Wang Linchi said, stuffing the last piece of Shattered Heart Skeleton into his mouth and giving the Shadow of Gluttony another kick. "Apart from the fact that I don’t like them, they’re pretty good."
Everyone enjoys a good complint, but the words coming from the Shadow of Gluttony were just awful—cloying and greasy, utterly devoid of skill, just crude flattery. Wang Linchi knew without a doubt that the creature’s words were insincere. Listening to them was more nauseating than not hearing them at all.
"Go trick another one into coming here. If I don’t see it by dawn, you’ll be my breakfast," Wang Linchi yelled as the Shadow of Gluttony began to retreat again.
"No problem, Boss! Just you watch!" the Shadow of Gluttony, which had only half-slithered back in, declared in a fervent tone, then fled the mansion as if escaping for its life.
If not absolutely necessary, the Shadow of Gluttony didn’t want to go anywhere near Wang Linchi. His unpredictable temper was more than he could bear. As for tricking another of his kind, an Erroneous Sin, for Wang Linchi to eat before dawn, that wasn’t difficult at all. The Shadow of Gluttony felt no guilt whatsoever.
Erroneous Sins were, by nature, entities of rules, devoid of emotion. Even those that had developed self-awareness wouldn’t hesitate to turn on their own kind when it suited them. This stemd from an instinctive repulsion. After all, Erroneous Sins were ’erroneous rules’; even without self-awareness, their inherent natures caused them to conflict with one another. Once they gained self-awareness, their actions naturally beca even more vicious.
Wang Linchi wasn’t bothered by the Shadow of Gluttony’s attitude. When compliance was secured through force, one couldn’t expect much loyalty.
"The food at ho is finished, and the house next door seems empty. Maybe I should pay them a visit?" Wang Linchi mused. He felt that "a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor." Although no people lived next door, it did house Erroneous Sins. What if these things spoil if left uneaten for too long?
Embracing the spirit of "helping others," and rembering the adage "food is the staff of life; one cannot go hungry even for a single al," Wang Linchi very agilely hopped over the wall to the house on the left. The two houses were adjacent, and both were mansions befitting the wealthy or noble, which ant the number of Erroneous Sins within them wouldn’t differ too much.
"I wonder how many houses I can eat through tonight," Wang Linchi thought as he grabbed a nearby Erroneous Sin, seized it firmly, and then opened his mouth to take a bite.
[Bonus Chapter at 400 likes. Do a favor and hit that free like button. More likes an more motivation for to update next week. (This line doesn’t cost anything)]
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