Chapter 680 437: Return [2]

For days, his nerves had been stretched to their limit. Only the jolt of caffeine could keep him awake.

A moment later.

He raised the mug, tilting his head back to down it in one go.

CRASH!

The porcelain mug suddenly dropped, shattering to pieces on the concrete floor.

Dark brown coffee splattered everywhere, like a spreading pool of blood.

The man, however, had no time to worry about that.

His hands shot up to grip his own throat. His eyes bulged, and veins throbbed wildly at his temples, as if he had seen some unspeakable horror.

"Ghk… Ghk…"

His face twisted in agony from the suffocation, yet his fingers, as if controlled by some invisible force, only tightened their grip…

THUD!

With a dull thud, his body collapsed heavily to the ground. His limbs twitched a few times before going completely still.

He had choked himself to death.

...

「Late that night, in an orphanage.」

Dappled moonlight streamed through the old window lattice, casting fragmented shadows on the faded floor.

The room was filled with the sound of even breathing.

In the moonlight, one could see small beds arranged closely together.

At this moment, on a narrow bed near the corner, a small figure was curled up.

It was a little girl who looked no older than seven or eight, her soft, auburn hair fanned out across the pillow.

But she was different from the others.

Her eyes were wide open in the darkness, the shadows of the ceiling reflected in her clear pupils.

There was no trace of sleepiness in them, only a cold, sharp awareness.

It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

DRIP.

The sudden sound shattered the silence.

The girl's thoughts snapped back to reality.

Her fingers instantly tightened, knuckles turning white as she gripped the Dagger under her pillow. Her body tensed like a drawn bow, her sharp gaze sweeping across her surroundings.

Even though it was dark, it wasn't hard to see her surroundings in the moonlight.

But there was nothing.

'...I guess I'm just too tense!'

She slowly let out a breath, but she kept the Dagger clutched in her palm.

'Even that monster would never have guessed I'd hide in a run-down orphanage, disguised as an eight or nine-year-old child.'

DRIP.

There it was again.

Closer this time. It was as clear as a drop of water hitting the floor, or maybe… like some viscous liquid, dripping right next to her ear.

Her brow furrowed deeply, and she whipped her head around.

But when she saw what was in front of her, her breath caught in her throat.

A mangled, bloody face hung just above her, almost touching the tip of her nose.

The rotten, metallic stench of blood flooded her senses. A sticky liquid dripped onto her blanket, spreading into a dark red stain.

A glint of cold light flashed!

Without hesitation, she thrust the Dagger forward. At the same time, she shot backward, ready to smash through the window and escape.

But the sensation of the blade sinking into flesh made her freeze.

The deathly pale face slowly came into focus under the moonlight.

It was a face she knew well.

It was her own.

To be precise, it was her original face, from before her transformation.

"How… is this possible…"

Her pupils trembled violently as a shattered whisper escaped her throat.

An intense pain exploded in her head.

The pool of blood on the blanket spread silently, reflecting a face that was slowly twisting in terror.

AHH!

Inside the room, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out.

...

When the staff arrived, they found that the little girl was gone.

In her place lay a middle-aged woman, a Dagger embedded in her forehead.

Her eyes were wide, staring sightlessly.

Similar incidents occurred at the exact same time in more than a dozen locations around the world.

All of these people had committed suicide on the spot for various reasons.

And their identities, without exception, were all Intern Readers.

...

「Inside the Mind Realm.」

As these Intern Readers died, the points of light before Hu Qi's eyes quickly extinguished.

Modification Point +15 (52%)

Modification Point +21 (19%)

...

When all the points of light had gone out, the Modification Point notifications stopped.

The next second, the familiar mechanical voice sounded again.

"Ding! Congratulations! The hidden mission [Harvest] has been successfully completed. Mission rewards will be calculated and distributed upon your return."

In just a short period, Hu Qi had used the Mind Realm as a medium and the power of the Black Banner to kill the dozen or so remaining Intern Readers hidden across the world.

They had thought they were well-hidden, dying without ever knowing what had happened.

Having done all this, Hu Qi took a step forward.

He left the Mind Realm and appeared on a city street.

He glanced at the bustling nightscape around him.

By his calculations, there were only a few hours left of the thirty-day time limit given by the Reincarnation Bookstore.

'A pity. It's still not enough.'

Hu Qi looked at the Black Banner by his side.

The once-tattered Black Banner was now much more complete, restored from eighty percent to its current ninety percent.

'This world is special. The Power of Emotion is very strong here. However, as time goes on, humans will gradually get used to it, and the Power of Emotion will weaken, unless I go on a killing spree. Otherwise, a decrease is inevitable.'

Even so, the total Power of Emotion here far exceeded the sum of the Power of Emotion within his main body's Pocket World.

'If I could, I wouldn't mind staying longer. But unfortunately, the current situation doesn't allow for it.'

With that thought, he put away the Black Banner.

He stopped overthinking things.

He decided to relax a bit, find a place to sample this world's food, and wait for the mission timer to run out.

However, he had just appeared and hadn't walked far when someone blocked his path.

It was a tall, middle-aged man with a mustache, dressed in camouflage.