To Kill Someone, Break Their Spirit First!

"Is this all it takes to wear you out? Come on, give it a little more!"

"I can't... Let Bronya rest for a bit. I really can't go on. Even my brain's getting all foggy..."

"Are you really done already?"

"Really, really! This stuff is way too intense..."

Looking at Bronya, whose gaze had gone vacant from exhaustion, Su Moqian shook his head helplessly.

"Is this all you've got? No hardship, no exhaustion, no flavor to high school; no striving, no competing, and your parents raised you for nothing!"

"You haven't finished this Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulations yet, Bronya. You can't rest~"

At Su Moqian's words, Bronya shuddered, tossed her ballpoint pen aside, and gave up resisting completely.

Seeing this, Su Moqian smiled faintly. "It's time."

"Now then, why did you attack me tonight, Bronya?"

At Su Moqian's question, hesitation appeared on Bronya's face.

But with the situation stacked against her, she could only explain helplessly.

"I actually... did it to protect you."

"Huh?" Su Moqian froze, sounding somewhat incredulous.

"You're saying you kidnapped me to protect me?"

"That's right." Bronya nodded seriously.

"However you look at it, you saved my life. Bronya isn't the kind of person who forgets a debt of gratitude."

Seeing how serious Bronya looked, Su Moqian fell into thought as well.

His instincts told him that the girl before him wasn't lying.

After all, during the simulation, she'd also said that he absolutely couldn't go outside, or someone would shoot him dead.

And although she'd restricted his freedom, she hadn't done anything outrageous to him like that lovesick girl had. She'd only liked feeding him.

Besides, during their later heart-to-heart, Bronya had mentioned that he'd interfered with their plan, which was why they'd kept him locked in the basement.

In other words, someone in their organization wanted to get rid of him.

But Bronya must have hidden him away to protect him, then told everyone he was already dead?

At the thought, Su Moqian gradually relaxed and spoke softly.

"Is it because I interfered with your plan? Because I got in the way of you... saving Seele?"

Bronya's pupils contracted. "!"

When Su Moqian had merely guessed that they had a plan, Bronya could understand.

But she had no idea why he knew about Seele.

Could he have already investigated everything about the Cocolia Orphanage and their affairs in the short time they'd spent together?

"As expected of the young master of the Wushuang Sect. You're incredibly perceptive!" Bronya exclaimed.

She'd long heard that the Wushuang Sect acted in mysterious ways, was cautious and astute, and walked the line between good and evil. Now that she'd seen them for herself, the rumors were true!

Otherwise, Su Moqian couldn't have uncovered every last detail about her before she'd even thought of making a move.

It was even possible that he'd deliberately let her easily investigate his identity just now.

All to set a trap and wait for her, a little rabbit, to jump right in!

At the thought, Bronya's mood grew even heavier.

Although she'd been an assassin too, she suddenly realized that she might not even be in the same league as Su Moqian!

Bronya lowered her head. "You even know about me and Mother Cocolia? I've lost this round..."

Seeing Bronya's expression change wildly in such a short time, Su Moqian was a little puzzled. He guessed she might have misunderstood something.

But since she'd already admitted defeat, he might as well go along with it. He calmly replied:

"You're not bad yourself, figuring out my plan."

Su Moqian had no idea what plan he'd supposedly made, but he had to keep up the act!

"So it's true." At his confirmation, Bronya's eyes dimmed.

Su Moqian smiled, putting on an air of having everything under control.

"Cocolia? Hmph! I'll make sure she doesn't come back!"

He didn't know what kind of organization Anti-Entropy, which Bronya had mentioned during the simulation, was, but that didn't stop him from keeping up his bravado.

Hearing Su Moqian say that, Bronya abruptly raised her head.

"Stop making grand claims! You have no idea how powerful Anti-Entropy is!"

"You'll find out whether I'm making grand claims or not."

Su Moqian waved a hand, then pointed at the Clay Spider moving freely in and out of Bronya's chest without encountering any resistance. He spoke softly.

"You still have a mission to fulfill, don't you? Seele's still waiting for you. So if you don't want to die, tell me your plan!"

"Tch... Knowing the plan won't do you any good. I'm only saying this for your sake!" Bronya said, biting her lip.

"You don't need to worry about that." Su Moqian had made up his mind.

Bronya didn't want to betray Cocolia.

But with her life and her hope of saving Seele both on the line, she didn't dare take the risk.

In the end, Bronya had no choice but to reveal Cocolia's entire plan.

In short, Cocolia, the current acting leader of Anti-Entropy, had orchestrated an artificial Honkai in an attempt to obtain a complete Herrscher Core.

Thus, Mei, the vessel for the Herrscher Core, had to be in an extremely unstable emotional state to ensure the plan went smoothly.

That was why they'd plotted to get Raiden Ryoma sent to prison.

They'd also bribed some people at Senba Academy to spread rumors and frame Mei.

The plan had been proceeding steadily, but then Su Moqian had thrown a wrench into the works.

That was why Cocolia had ordered them to eliminate him and push Raiden Mei's mental state to the brink once again.

"So that bastard's behind all of this." Su Moqian furrowed his brow.

He'd originally planned to investigate why Raiden Mei had been ostracized, but he'd gotten his answer so soon.

And now the other side had even tried to kill him. He had old and new scores to settle with them!

Just as Su Moqian seethed inwardly, the system's voice rang out.

[Wah, wah, wah! Cocolia is absolutely infuriating! How dare she do something like this to the host? I won't be a gentleman if I don't repay her for this!]

[Ding! New target selected: Cocolia!]

[New conquest target confirmed: Bronya Zaychik!]

[Core mission triggered: "I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me!"]

[Show no mercy to the vile Cocolia! Host, take everything she owns for yourself!]

[Mission reward: Unknown (based on mission completion)]

[Ding! System core skill acquired: Wrath of the Minotaur!]

[Strike the hammer in your hand against a frying pan with all your might and shout the incantation to activate this skill. You can briefly steal something the target deeply values and bring it into your possession. Duration: one hour. Cooldown: 12 hours.]

Killing someone started by crushing their spirit!

"This skill is that powerful?"

Looking at the skill before him, Su Moqian was startled.

But he didn't feel happy just yet. Instead, he asked solemnly:

"Then what's the catch?"

[Notice: Each use of this skill can only steal one thing. If the target is an inanimate object, the host can use it freely.]

[If the target is conscious, the host must earn its approval. If the host fails to earn its approval, then while it is stolen, the target will not help the person it originally belonged to.]

Looking at the prompt before him, Su Moqian nodded thoughtfully.

In other words, this skill could steal one category of the target's possessions. If it was an inanimate object, he could use it however he liked.

But if it was a living thing with a mind of its own, he'd have to win it over.

Of course, he didn't have to win it over. Even if the thing he stole ended up helping neither side, so what?

If I can use your stuff, I come out way ahead. If neither of us can use it, I still come out way ahead!

After confirming the details, Su Moqian was very satisfied.

That useless system had finally come through for once!

Looking at Bronya, Su Moqian thanked her with a smile.

"Thank you, Bronya. I've got a much clearer idea of what to do now."

"W-what are you going to do?" Bronya asked nervously.

"Heh. I was going to take Cocolia's life, but I'm afraid you'd be heartbroken, so I won't use force."

"Really? Because of Bronya?" Bronya's eyes widened.

She didn't think Su Moqian could kill Cocolia, but he'd said he was giving up on violence because of her. That left Bronya very surprised.

Su Moqian smiled faintly. "Of course. I never lie."

After all, killing someone began with crushing their spirit...

Naturally, he wasn't going to tell Bronya what he was really thinking. She was one of his conquest targets now, after all.

If he wanted to crush Cocolia's spirit, Bronya was an essential part of the plan.

Seeing Su Moqian so full of confidence, the system hastily took credit.

[Well, host? I came through for you this time, didn't I?]

"You really did. That's a rare thing." Su Moqian nodded approvingly.

[Of course! My energy hasn't recovered much, so I practically emptied my reserves for this. Don't you want to thank me?]

Hearing that, Su Moqian looked confused.

"Hmm... Sure. How do you want me to thank you?"

At that, the system got excited at once. [How about you marry me, host?]

"...Forget it. Get lost. Far away."

The night passed quickly. In the morning, Su Moqian gently untied Bronya.

"Being tied up all night must've been rough, but don't blame me. You were the one who tried to attack me first."

From that day on, Su Moqian was ready to win Bronya over.

After all, Cocolia had shown him no mercy, so he wouldn't show her any either.

Thinking of this, Su Moqian silently apologized to Cocolia.

"I'm sorry, Cocolia. You tried to go after Mei, and you tried to kill me too? Hmph. If our roles were reversed, I'd show you what cruel really means!"

Feeling Su Moqian's gentle touch, Bronya felt a warmth rise in her heart and spoke softly.

"It's okay. Bronya's an orphan, so she's been through plenty of hardship. This little bit of pain is nothing."

At that moment, Bronya looked so pitiful that anyone who saw her couldn't help wanting to cherish her.

After their confrontation the previous day, Bronya had realized that she couldn't outmaneuver the young master of the Wushuang Sect, so she decided to take a roundabout approach.

Cocolia had ordered Su Moqian killed in order to make Raiden Mei lose control emotionally.