Looking at his remaining Villain Points, as well as his abysmal physical attributes that had only barely improved in charm,
Jiang Mo's mouth twitched.
One exchange had sent him right back to square one.
He only had a pathetic 530 points left. He couldn't exchange for any of the remaining traits.
Still, he had successfully exchanged for two permanent traits, one gold and one blue, so it wasn't a loss.
Especially Trait Devour.
As long as he kept killing, he could keep getting stronger! What a god-tier trait!
Next...
Now that he had traits, he was no longer the same as before. He needed to find something to eat and fill his stomach as soon as possible.
Jiang Mo licked his dry, cracked lips, braced himself against the icy wall, and shakily stood up.
A cold gust swept through the alley, carrying the stench of blood mixed with rust and mold.
Jiang Mo frowned.
He couldn't stay here for long.
But just then, someone on the ground crawled to his feet!
The Girl, Seele
Skinny struggled awake through the agony, his head buzzing and his vision blurry.
It wasn't until a glaring patch of crimson entered his sight some distance away that he suddenly sobered up.
It was Fatty's back of the head. It had already been smashed beyond recognition, red and white mess mixed together like a crushed dragon fruit. Thick fluid seeped slowly into the dirt.
"Bleurgh..."
The instant he saw the corpse clearly, terror shot through his entire body, and he vomited on the spot!
Then a chill ran down his back. He whipped around and saw a small, thin figure.
Jiang Mo!
That brat who had been cowering in the corner not long ago, trembling as they bullied him!
Now he stood there with his back to the light at the alley entrance, his face hidden in shadow. Only his eyes glowed a terrifying red in the darkness.
"Y-you..."
Skinny shuddered violently, his teeth beginning to chatter uncontrollably as he pointed toward Fatty.
"What did you do? You killed someone?!"
"I'm going to find the Silvermane Guards..."
He shouted as he scrambled backward on all fours, trying to get up and run.
Jiang Mo's gaze turned ice-cold.
The Silvermane Guards?
Heh.
In this Underworld, where human lives were worth less than dogs, would those people really care about a street vagrant's death?
How laughably naive.
"Murderer, you're finished! Once the guards get here, you'll spend the rest of your life in pri—"
Skinny had barely managed to stand when he felt a chill at the back of his neck!
Jiang Mo had somehow appeared behind him, weighing a bloodstained brick in his hand.
Before Skinny could react, the heavy brick cut through the air and smashed viciously into the back of his head!
Splat—!
A dull impact rang out.
Skinny couldn't even scream. His body suddenly stiffened before crumpling forward, his head striking the cold ground with a thud.
Blood poured out from beneath his head like a turned-on faucet, rapidly spreading until it joined Fatty's blood and formed a pool in the filthy alley.
Villain Points +30!
The notification rang out, but Jiang Mo didn't even blink.
He stared coldly at the additional corpse on the ground. The only sound left in the alley was his own heavy breathing.
Having just killed two people, his hands trembled slightly.
Not from fear, but from exhaustion—and because the hunger was once again tormenting his stomach.
Just as he was about to search their bodies for anything valuable, or even a scrap of food,
a slightly trembling yet strangely familiar voice came from the alley entrance.
"Jiang Mo, what are you...?!"
Jiang Mo's heart skipped a beat. Every muscle in his body tensed as he suddenly turned around!
A petite girl stood in the light at the alley entrance.
She was about his age, with messy short black-blue hair. She wore filthy old clothes covered in patches, carried an equally shabby, deflated cloth sack on her back, and had dust smeared across her face.
It was Seele!
Jiang Mo knew this girl. She was one of the few people in the Underworld he could actually exchange a few words with.
Like him, Seele was a homeless orphan. She had previously lived in an orphanage, but for some reason, after getting to know Jiang Mo, she had left that place.
Now, she and Jiang Mo barely survived by rummaging through trash cans and collecting discarded scraps.
They were competitors, but whenever they happened upon the same trash can, they would search through it together and share the spoils.
Jiang Mo knew life was even harder for a girl like her, so whenever he found something a little better, he would instinctively give her a larger share.
And Jiang Mo remembered clearly that he hadn't seen her near the trash cans these past few days. She had complained that there was no food to be found here and gone to neighboring Rivet Town to try her luck.
But why had she returned now?
And at this exact moment.
Seele's eyes widened as she stared in shock at the scene in the alley—
Two figures lying in pools of blood, one slightly older boy unconscious, and Jiang Mo standing nearby with a bloodied brick in hand.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between Jiang Mo and the three people on the ground, her little face filled with shock and confusion.
Jiang Mo's heart sank.
She saw it...
What should he do?
What would she do?
Report him? Find some adults? Or... tell the Silvermane Guards?
Jiang Mo's mind raced as he considered his options.
Kill her to silence her?
The thought flashed through his mind, only for him to force it down.
Leaving aside the fact that he was completely exhausted, even if he were in perfect condition, he couldn't bring himself to hurt Seele.
Seele stood frozen for several seconds before seemingly coming back to her senses and quickly walking over.
She didn't question Jiang Mo right away. Instead, she stepped around Fatty, whose skull had been split open, walked over to Huzi and Skinny, crouched down, and extended trembling fingers to check their breathing. Then she lifted their eyelids to inspect them.
Seele's brow furrowed even deeper.
Only after confirming that Skinny was completely dead and Huzi was merely unconscious did she stand and look back at Jiang Mo.
"You... killed those two?"
Her voice was soft, revealing no particular emotion, but her eyes held countless thoughts as she looked at Jiang Mo.
Jiang Mo remained silent and didn't deny it.
He knew that in this situation, any excuse would be powerless.
Most children in the Underworld grew up early.
Having lived here as an orphan, Seele had seen even more darkness than most. She possessed a maturity and sharpness far beyond her age.
Lying to her would only make him look ridiculous.
To Seele, Jiang Mo's silence was undoubtedly an admission.
She said nothing more, simply standing there quietly as she processed everything that had happened before her.
After a while, Seele spoke again.
"It was Huzi and the others' fault, right?"
"They always relied on their numbers to bully people around here and steal other people's things."
"Last month, the lame old man from the next street finally found half a sack of wheat bran. They stole it from him and even broke one of his arms."
"People who do things like that will get what's coming to them sooner or later... I just didn't expect it to come today."
Accomplices
Jiang Mo breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Seele had no intention of pursuing the matter.
Seele sighed softly, touched her empty cloth sack, and lowered her voice.
"Rivet Town... doesn't have much food either. There are more and more Riftworld Monsters, and even outside the town isn't safe anymore. It's getting harder and harder to find anything."
"I was starving so badly that I decided to come back here and take a look. I didn't expect..."
She didn't continue, but her meaning was obvious.
So her past few days hadn't been easy either.
Growl...
At that moment, a loud and badly timed sound shattered the silence.
It was Jiang Mo's stomach.
That damned hunger was still gnawing at him.
A trace of embarrassment crossed Jiang Mo's face, but the sharp pain in his stomach left him no room to care.
He could only instinctively clutch his belly.
Yet, to his surprise, Seele hesitated as she watched him suffer, then took out a small item from her clothes and held it out to him.
It was a piece of bread that looked extremely dry and hard, but at least it wasn't moldy.
"Here. This is the last piece I found today."
She looked at Jiang Mo. "Eat something first."
Jiang Mo froze.
He hadn't expected Seele to share her only food with him under these circumstances.
He looked at the bread, then at Seele's equally exhausted face. He accepted it and silently tore the bread in half.
Jiang Mo stuffed one half into his mouth and chewed slowly.
Then he held the other half out to Seele.
But Seele shook her head and took half a step back.
"I don't need it. You eat."
Before you continue