Chapter 13: Handsomeness is an Original Sin

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Handsomeness is an Original Sin

It was as if the whole world had a slow-motion button pressed.

Everything in sight slowed down.

Sounds slowed down too.

Even his own movements became incredibly sluggish.

Everything was slowed down dozens, even hundreds of times.

Gu Qing slowly turned his eyes to a fly buzzing nearby.

The Azure Heaven Emperor, as swift as lightning in the eyes of an ordinary person.

But now, in his vision, it seemed to be dragged through thick, viscous air. The frequency of its wing beats was clearly discernible, and its flight path was plain to see.

"Azure Heaven Emperor, you fly far too slowly in the eyes of this immortal lord."

With a touch of cringey drama, Gu Qing raised his hand, bent his finger, and flicked it at the flying insect.

With a sharp SNAP!

The fly’s body exploded on impact.

It was sent flying backward, slamming into a wall.

Now just a lifeless husk.

’The Lightning Reflexes Attribute has pushed my neural reactions to the absolute limit.’

’Once I grind out Muscle Knots, my physical speed might also reach its limit.’

’When the two are combined, with my neural reactions and physical movements perfectly synchronized, I might be able to easily dodge bullets, or even catch them with my bare hands.’

Just the thought of catching a bullet with his bare hands sent a thrill through him.

Gu Qing’s breathing quickened, his eyes filled with an irrepressible excitement and anticipation.

...

After leaving the internet cafe, they returned to the dorm.

Gu Qing and Chen Zijie didn’t even bother showering. They just flopped onto their beds and passed out.

As for their morning class?

They’d just skip it. Simple as that.

Time flies when you’re fast asleep.

In the blink of an eye,

it was a little past twelve noon.

Qian Duole, who had gone to class that morning, returned.

He made quite a racket coming through the door.

A few loud CLANKS woke both Gu Qing and Chen Zijie from their slumber.

It wasn’t that Qian Duole wanted to wake them.

The blame lay with the dorm room’s old, worn-out lock.

Opening it often required jamming the key in and twisting it violently just to force the door open.

Gu Qing woke up groggily to find a character panel floating before his eyes.

’That’s strange,’ he thought. ’I was sleeping so soundly, completely unconscious. How did this panel pop up on its own?’

But he didn’t dwell on it for long, quickly scanning the information on it.

[Name: Gu Qing]

[Age: 21]

[Devouring (Upgradeable or Fusible): Your Digestion Ability is greatly enhanced]

[Lightning Reflexes (Upgradeable or Fusible): Your Reaction Speed is greatly enhanced]

’Upgradeable or Fusible?’

’But how do I upgrade or fuse them?’

’There are no hints at all.’

’Whatever, I’ll figure it out later.’

’No rush...’

Gu Qing dismissed the panel with a thought and looked over at Chen Zijie, who had also just woken up. "Zijie," he asked, "wanna go to the cafeteria or order takeout?"

"Let’s order takeout. I’m too lazy to go downstairs," Chen Zijie said, sitting on his bed with bleary eyes.

Just as he finished speaking,

Gao Fei, who had just had lunch with his girlfriend, came back.

And he brought back some news.

"Holy shit, big news!"

"There’s finally a break in those two missing person cases at our school!"

"And the result is terrifying!"

Gao Fei’s expression was dramatic, but he kept his voice low, afraid of being overheard by people in other dorms.

Chen Zijie was instantly wide awake. "Old Gao, stop being so dramatic! Spill the details!"

Gu Qing also perked up his ears, waiting for Gao Fei, the group’s informant, to drop the bombshell.

Gao Fei paused, then said:

"Okay, so, Security Officers found human remains in the school’s sewers."

"There were traces of digestion by stomach acid on them."

"In other words..."

"Those two people weren’t transported to another world."

"They were most likely eaten—by a person or a dog!"

At these words, the expressions of the three listening roommates changed slightly.

The news was too shocking.

It proved there really was a murderous maniac at their school.

And not just that!

A cannibalistic one at that!

Fucking terrifying!

However,

the matter didn’t concern them directly, so they let it go.

Soon, everyone’s expressions returned to normal, feeling that the whole thing was far removed from their own lives.

Someone even started joking around.

Chen Zijie climbed down from his bed, walked over to Qian Duole, and picked up a bag of chips from his desk, munching on them as he teased:

"Damn, I can’t believe our school actually has a perverted Cannibal Giant."

"You live long enough, you see everything."

"Duole, you’ve got so much meat on you, all nice and fatty. You think that perverted Cannibal Giant might target you?"

As he spoke, Chen Zijie reached out and pinched the fat on Qian Duole’s belly, a grin on his face—a classic, carefree guy who just loved to stir up trouble.

Qian Duole was big, but he was also a coward. Chen Zijie’s words immediately terrified him.

He quickly grabbed the bottle of coke on his desk and took a big gulp to calm his nerves.

Then he immediately shot back:

"Get outta here! That perverted Cannibal Giant would eat you before it ate me."

"What kind of perverted Cannibal Giant has such a unique taste that it’d pass up lean meat to eat fatty meat?"

"You’re the one who should be careful! You’re so skinny, you’re exactly the type the perverted Cannibal Giant would target!"

Having said that, Qian Duole himself felt much more at ease.

He thought his reasoning made a lot of sense.

The two people who were eaten were both skinny. That proved the perverted Cannibal Giant definitely preferred lean meat.

And he was a genuine fat pig, so he had nothing to worry about.

Chen Zijie was even less worried. "Hey, now that you mention it, if the perverted Cannibal Giant is like one of those characters from a Japanese anime—a cute girl in a schoolgirl uniform and white stockings—then I’d be more than happy to be her target."

Qian Duole laughed. "With your luck, you’d only run into a bald, foot-picking slob."

At that moment,

Gao Fei, the original informant, spoke up again.

He looked at Chen Zijie and Qian Duole and said,

"Don’t worry, the perverted Cannibal Giant won’t eat either of you. If it’s going to eat anyone, it’ll be Gu Qing."

"?"

Gu Qing mentally lobbed a question mark right back at him.

’What the hell?’

’I’m just sitting here, not saying a word. How did I get caught in the crossfire?’

’When gods fight, mortals suffer, is that it?’

Gao Fei explained, "The two guys who got eaten were both ridiculously handsome. Based on that, the Security Officers investigating the case are guessing the killer specifically targets good-looking people."

As he spoke, he clapped Gu Qing on the shoulder and said with a serious face, "Old Gu, you’re so handsome, you really need to be careful."

Gu Qing’s brow furrowed slightly.

’A perverted Cannibal Giant that only eats handsome guys?’

’With my current combat power, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call myself the strongest human on Earth.’

’That perverted Cannibal Giant would be no match for me.’

’But...’

’My strength is purely physical.’

’If I were the perverted Cannibal Giant, I’d definitely use chemical or biological methods.’

’Like poison, or a taser, or something like that.’

’Hmm, if I see any tags related to chemistry or biology in the future, I’ll have to make sure to get close to them.’

’Maybe I can grind out an Attribute for biochemical resistance from those tags and turn myself into a hexagon warrior.’

Seeing Gu Qing frown, Gao Fei thought he had actually scared him and quickly laughed it off.

"Pfft, what are you afraid of?"

"The school just installed a bunch of new security cameras. As long as you don’t go looking for death and serve yourself up on a platter, the perverted Cannibal Giant won’t be able to get to you."

"Besides, the idea that it only targets handsome guys is just a guess at this point. You don’t need to worry so much."

After saying that,

Gao Fei’s gaze swept over the other two, and he warned them with a serious expression:

"The school and the relevant authorities are keeping this whole perverted Cannibal Giant business under tight wraps. I only just heard about it from my girlfriend, so remember not to go spreading it around."

...