[Genius]

It looked as though he was collecting the "bodies" for these people.

It was surprising, and rather... funny.

In a place where he could be killed at any moment, where even dragging back a corpse meant risking death, he was helping strangers collect "bodies"... It really was quite funny.

But Xi Wang only thought, "The dead should be treated with dignity"... He was only collecting bodies. What was funny about that...? Yes... He was merely collecting bodies, something perfectly normal...

But... this was wrong. He should not have been doing this at a time like this...

Xi Wang dragged another body as he thought this.

He clearly knew that he should not be doing this now, that this was not the time for his "overflowing compassion"...

Yet there was nothing wrong with doing these things...

Disregarding life was wrong. Wantonly taking lives was evil. Killing was wrong.

The dead deserved respect, and corpses deserved dignity.

Was that... wrong?

Wasn't that simply "natural" in this world?

"Hah..."

A faint breath interrupted Xi Wang's tangled thoughts. He realized that the middle-aged man in his hands was not dead yet.

Xi Wang hurriedly dragged him aside and tore up his own clothes to use as bandages, trying to stop the bleeding—even if it was futile.

"Hah... hah..."

Just as he tried to move the man's arm away from the wound to check its exact location, the man made a strained sound, as though trying to warn him of something.

Then Xi Wang once again felt the approach of a "sharp weapon." He shifted aside, and a small blade stabbed into his shoulder from behind.

Had he not reacted, the knife would have gone straight into the back of his neck—the unique sensitivity to "sharp weapons" he had developed through Father Enrique's torment had saved his life once more.

When he turned around, he found that it was the girl cowering in the corner, the one who seemed so hopeless that she had been waiting to die, who had attacked him. She seemed to have found the small knife on one of the corpses dragged back earlier.

Xi Wang was stunned. He did not understand why she had suddenly done this.

But then, that feeling of a "sharp weapon" approaching came again, this time from in front of him.

He instinctively shifted again, avoiding a fatal strike from the blade. Yet the pain was incredibly vivid. Although it had not pierced anywhere fatal, Xi Wang still felt as if his heart had been stabbed directly.

It was the man he had just dragged back, the one who still had a breath left in him. He had hidden a pair of scissors inside his mangled, bloody wound.

And now, while Xi Wang had turned around, the scissors had plunged into his stomach.

"...Why?"

Xi Wang murmured.

Xi Wang did not understand why they had done this.

He had clearly dragged him back. He had clearly wanted to help him.

He had only been doing something perfectly normal... Why would they do this?

Xi Wang could feel something within his understanding of the world about to shatter. Like cracked glass, it would completely break at the slightest touch, fall into the abyss at the slightest push.

"Ha... hah... ha..."

Even with blood flooding his throat, the man still laughed twice, as though mocking Xi Wang's childish, unchanged beliefs. The hand clutching the scissors even tried to shove them deeper into Xi Wang's stomach, wanting to twist them a couple of times and make him suffer more.

Unfortunately, he had no strength left. His life had reached its end.

In the end, he could only sink into eternal darkness with regret and madness.

The girl behind him still had not given up. Xi Wang had no choice but to turn around and restrain her. As for the scissors still stuck in him, he no longer cared that much... The pain he had experienced before no longer made him feel much of anything.

But as he looked at the girl before him, madly shouting things like, "Die! Die already! I'm going to die anyway, so what does it matter to you? Better die early and get it over with!" and saw her still unfocused, still despairing eyes now filled with an extra layer of madness, Xi Wang understood.

She had simply... broken under the pressure of an extreme environment.

She simply wanted to drag others down with her when she could not escape the mire herself... Even if it could not save her, even if it would kill others, doing so brought her some comfort.

The self-deceiving consolation of "I won't be the first to die" and "I can die a little later" was enough to make her feel better.

This kind of madness was temporary. As long as she reached a safe place and received some comfort and guidance, she would quickly calm down and return to normal.

The string of reason had merely snapped under the pressure of the environment.

She had merely... been defeated.

Just like those children who only poured their resentment and misery onto him, she had merely been defeated.

He could understand it. He could understand it... right?

But... it still hurt... It still felt awful...

Understanding did not mean forgiving, right?

The tiny flecks of gold in his pupils began to spread, while the strength in his hands gradually increased.

Just as you said, everyone was going to die anyway. So why couldn't you be the first?

Xi Wang could clearly feel that some belief, some principle he had once held onto, completely shattered at that moment. It fell into the abyss and became fragments; some taut string within him snapped as well, broke beyond repair.

He clearly knew that he was "becoming worse." He clearly knew that he was heading in a direction he could never accept.

But... he did not resent it. Nor did he want to resent it.

He had probably gone mad. He had probably broken.

There was nothing wrong with falling like this, with going mad. Nothing mattered anymore—he desperately wanted to think that way.

His throat moved as he swallowed down the blood rising into it. In a daze, Xi Wang seemed to taste that sweetness mixed with the scent of blood again.

"No..."

Xi Wang spoke softly, refuting the girl's mad words and the thoughts within himself that were slowly descending into madness.

Elysia was still waiting for him... Father Enrique still wanted to clear his name...

He could not give up yet... Hold on... Hold on a little longer... Hope would come.

So, he had to survive.

The gold in his pupils stopped at an appropriate degree, resembling Elysia's blue eyes tinged with pink.

He had to survive.

No matter the cost, no matter what he did, he had to survive.

Xi Wang accepted the change in his heart, even if this way of thinking had already stepped halfway into the realm of the "evil person" he had once been most unwilling to accept.

She wants to save me.

Xi Wang pinned the girl down and pulled the scissors out of his own stomach.

They will save me.

He pressed down, exerted force through his wrist, gripped the girl's wrist, and used her hand to cover her mouth, leaving her only able to make muffled whimpers.

So I must hold on.

He tightly gripped the scissors and pierced the girl's neck. The familiar scent of blood spread through the air as he took another life—not out of necessity, not because of anger or hatred.

It was merely a normal act, after consideration, carried out for a very simple, straightforward purpose... probably.

But... I have to survive, so please die.

Genius

"Hey, Al, you're back? We're just about to begin over here. Want to take a look?"

Glancing at the young man entering the room, someone who was probably an observer spoke in a flippant tone.

"Hm? Sure. Good chance to relax."

The young man called Al smiled and nodded. He skillfully pulled out a chair and sprawled into it, propping his legs on the instrument table and lightly swinging them.

"This mission was easy? You got back so quickly?"

"You're asking about that stuff again. Watch yourself, or the clients will warn you. A lot of clients don't like people prying into their assignments."

"Isn't that because this mission was special? You could call it extra pay, right?"

"How could it be? To be honest, we lost money on it."

Al shrugged, looking somewhat helpless.

"Do you know how risky it was to kill someone with that much fame? And in the end, all we got was a batch of consumables. Huge loss! Though those people will handle the rest themselves, and we've made contact with them now, so it's not a complete loss."

Then, as if remembering something, the corner of his mouth curled up as he said cheerfully,

"From now on, we won't have to look for half our consumables. Those guys will give us some—enough to train this bunch of trash."

"Calling your future employees trash is pretty harsh."

"What else are these death-row inmates if not trash? We're just giving them a chance to put on a little warm-up show."

Al looked thoroughly disdainful.

"Alright, alright, we know you're amazing... Here, you do it this time."

"Seriously? You're slacking off again?"

"Hehe~"

Listening to his colleague's flippant voice, Al raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. He only had to open his mouth and say a few words, after all.

He glanced through the observation window. Once he confirmed that everyone in the room had arrived, Al picked up the microphone and spoke directly.

"Alright, everyone's here. We can begin."

At the same time, a processed electronic voice sounded inside the room.

After the "staff" locked the door and left, leaving only those who needed to be "tested" and the consumables behind, Al's lips curled up again as he said teasingly,

"Next, everyone, feel free to perform as you please. As usual, only one person will be allowed to leave."

After saying that, Al gestured for his colleague to turn off the microphone. Then he leaned back in his chair and leisurely watched—no, appreciated—the events unfolding in the room.

"This batch of trash actually looks pretty decent."