Yu Xing's body remained rigid, and he couldn't turn around.
With a wooden expression, he stared at the empty wall in front of him. His voice was flat and emotionless. "You've improved a lot, Carlos. I underestimated you."
"Of course." Carlos admitted it without hesitation. He discreetly rubbed his abdomen, then shoved the muzzle forward again in retaliation, making it go duang against the back of Yu Xing's head. "Too bad you don't seem to have improved much. Or rather..."
He paused, and all warmth vanished from his voice.
"...from the moment you started walking alongside this foul power, you'd already lost the 'heart' you had when you joined the Ideal Nation."
"It wasn't that early." Yu Xing's eyes gradually turned deadpan. "I only got dragged into it at the art exhibition."
A tentacle crept out from under Yu Xing, forcing its way through the power in the formation as it slithered toward Carlos, trying to ambush him. But the moment it touched the outermost green line, it shuddered and died. Its withered remains shriveled and crumbled, leaving Carlos silent for another two seconds.
"...That's not my problem." Carlos's voice came from right behind Yu Xing's head, close and clear. "Look at those tentacles. Look at how you're trapped here now. You're a long way from being 'human,' Yu Xing."
"But I'm still human," Carlos continued, his voice carrying a strange, almost cold candor. "So I can't bring myself to actually kill a 'companion' who still seems lucid. Even if that companion is now standing against me."
Yu Xing fell silent.
"So," Carlos declared, as if announcing a decision, "what happens to you from here on is up to you."
"...What do you mean?" Yu Xing finally asked, a faint hint of confusion in his voice.
"I mean," Carlos said,