273 Night Talk

"Yes," Li Aoz said matter-of-factly, "I specifically incorporated the genes of a [medium] to facilitate my infiltration."

"A medium? Who is that? Where did this medium come from?"

The Caramel Snail was startled, then suddenly realized something, its pupils contracted. "Ah—ah? Ah!"

The more he looked at Li Aoz's face, the more familiar it seemed, until he finally realized who it was.

"Isn't this—"

"You guessed right," Li Aoz laughed. "It's Yawen·Hesksin's genes, but not much, just a few strands of hair."

"In a sense, this body can be considered my child with Yawen·Hesksin."

Li Aoz made no attempt to conceal anything and recounted everything in detail.

"...Just as I expected." Caramel Snail smirked. "I knew it! I was wondering why you looked at me with a hint of disdain..."

"That means you and Ya Wen aren't very compatible." Li Aoz ran her fingers through her hair bun, tucking her hair behind her ear to reveal her delicate and beautiful profile. "But you and I are quite compatible, awesome."

"To be honest, it is true." Caramel Snail complained, "But don't you think it's strange to use the genes of an acquaintance to create a body? Especially since it's Miss Ya Wen, who has been pursuing you and has feelings for you."

"Huh?" Li Aoz was taken aback. "—You can tell that?"

"Nonsense!" Caramel Snail patted his chest and said magnanimously, "I, Invincible A Niu, have off the charts in emotional intelligence. I can see through a woman's thoughts at a glance."

"It's okay to lie to others, but don't lie to yourself."

Li Aoz rolled his eyes at the other person and said:

"This can also be considered a form of insurance. I don't know where Ya Wen has gone, and I don't have particularly good DNA preservation technology. Keeping a cytoplasm is a good way to preserve her in case she passes away someday."

"The way you're saying it makes it sound like you're implying that all the women you come into contact with will die."

"It's really just based on pragmatism."

Li Aoz picked up his enamel mug, filled it with hot water, blew on it, and slowly drank it, saying, "I rarely confide in anyone, but you're an exception."

"Hehe, I'm quite honored!" Caramel Snail chuckled.

"Oh, that's because you're stupid," Li Aoz said casually.

"You—" Caramel Snail was speechless.

"It's precisely because you're naive that I can't bear to lie to you. I'll just tell you the truth, and you'll understand me."

Li Aoz drank his water and looked at the other person:

"Niu, to be honest, this operation wasn't very clean. Many parts of it might—no, definitely—make you uncomfortable, but you're the only one I can trust. So only you can stay. You have to come with me."

"Well..."

The Caramel Snail looked puzzled. "What does that mean?"

"It means you just need to trust me, and don't think about anything else."

Li Aoz looked at the other person:

"You don't need to think about anything, just protect me, pay attention to me, watch over me, and walk with me through life."

"No matter what I do, remain silent. Even if there is an abyss ahead, just accompany me and believe me—if you do this, I will explain everything."

The Caramel Snail frowned:

"You mean... you would kill innocent people?"

For some reason, the thought of this Caramel Snail feel a little awkward.

Li Aoz's answer was only one word:

"Um."

For a long time, Li Aoz has played the role of a righteous and honorable figure in the hearts of players. Even if Li Aoz does something wrong, everyone will subconsciously try to excuse him and explain his legitimacy.

"I will make tragedy happen in order to achieve my goal."

However, now, Li Aoz has taken the initiative to shatter this filter and openly confessed to Caramel Snail.

"Caramel Snail, it's normal for you to feel disgusted, incredulous, sinful, or even in pain. I'm showing you this because I need you to witness it for me."

Li Aoz said:

"I want you to trust me. And I will prove that no matter what, I will make you believe that following me is the right thing to do."

"I've always been like this. You're so powerful, and you've always led us ahead of your time, like a prophet and a savior... But why are you telling me all this?"

Caramel Snail was completely confused and didn't understand anything.

Caramel Snail.

Li Aoz looked at him calmly. "Because some things, under certain circumstances, have only one possibility, and that is destruction."

"Power, wealth, and knowledge can only change your personal destiny. If you want to change the destiny of a group of people, these things are useless."

"This is the helpless situation we are about to face."

"I can't solve this kind of problem. I hope you understand that, and then just trust me and see what I do."

Caramel Snail still doesn't understand.

Li Aoz's words seemed to be avoiding something; he appeared to be frankly confessing some things, but he consistently refused to reveal the truth.

"Could you be more specific?" Caramel Snail tried to ask.

As soon as he said it, he knew he had made a mistake.

Any inquiry into information requires a judgment, and given his charisma, it would normally be impossible for him to make a successful judgment.

[Li Aoz has chosen to trust you and has decided to tell you part of the truth.]

"If I told you that your happiness and that of your fellow countrymen must be built on the suffering of some innocent people."

Li Aoz said:

"Would you still choose to destroy those who are powerless to even kill a chicken? To use their flesh and blood to build your own peaceful and prosperous life?"

Yes, I will.

The Caramel Snail said matter-of-factly, "Isn't that how the universe is?"

"Yes, of course."

Li Aoz's answer revealed neither joy nor sorrow.

He tossed a few pieces of firewood into the fire and casually remarked:

"Sleep well, silly child. I hope you can always keep this innocence."

The Caramel Snail seemed to understand something, but he still didn't get it, so he simply crawled into his sleeping bag, zipped it up, and went into sleep mode.

Before going to bed, he added, "Li Aoz, you wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

"I never lie."

[Lie detection in progress...]

[Charm Appraisal Passed—For 7 days, Caramel Snail will have no reason to doubt you.]

Li Aoz stared at the campfire, his gaze lingering on the fire.

If he weren't really short of money, he really wouldn't want to do this task.

If we say that "Valenkov's Winter" is about enduring a long, cold winter and seeing the dawn of spring.

Therefore, the "Soul Casino" quest will be a torment in the Abyss that no one would ever want to go through again.

"This world treats souls as bargaining chips, arbitrarily listing them for sale at low prices. Amidst the frolicking and noise, they change hands several times, and in the end, even if one acquires mountains of gold and silver, one can never regain the pure and innocent appearance of the past."

Li Aoz closed his eyes, went through the mission process and Walkthrough details one last time, and then slowly drifted off to sleep amidst his long thoughts.