Confidence Born of a Curse! Reinforcements?

The pendant had actually responded!

Look.

The icon on the status panel had changed.

Its name had changed too.

This could only have been that big shot's response. The Death Knight had clearly done something, changing the [Death Knight Kin] identity bestowed upon Ian into [Death Knight Envoy].

It looked like only a slight difference, but... there did not seem to be much difference at all?

Ian looked at the icon expectantly, only for his expression to freeze. The [Death Knight Envoy] identity icon still displayed no status bonuses whatsoever.

It was simply there on Ian's status panel.

Like some insignificant little thing.

Just like the previous [Death Knight Kin].

"Uh, where's my immortality?" Ian asked unwillingly, picking up the pendant again. "Godfather, if that won't work, a monthly immortality package would be fine too."

He had already made his plea with enough emotion and sincerity.

But the pendant did not budge.

Ian's bargaining received no response either.

"At least give me a debuff to prove you were here!" He lowered his standards once again, yet there was still no response from the other end of the pendant.

The Death Knight was far too aloof.

Of course.

Ian could not tell whether this big shot did not want to give him anything or could not. If he remembered correctly, the Death Knight should have been imprisoned by God?

This world was a chaotic mashup.

Ian did not even know whether that backstory still applied. Just as he sighed repeatedly, declaring that his emotions had been put through a roller coaster and thoroughly toyed with—

"What exactly are you..." Death Tessa's voice carried a hint of terror. It was not merely because Ian could hurt them, but because she had suddenly felt a suffocating pressure.

Perhaps Ian's status panel had merely changed one icon into another with a different name. Yet Death Tessa could clearly sense that Ian had begun to make her tremble.

She had not felt this way before!

But now, Death Tessa realized she could not even bring herself to look directly into Ian's eyes! Such a horrifying discovery made her feel as though she had encountered some unspeakable terror.

Everything before this.

Had merely been the other party toying with them.

And that explained why he could see Reapers—this boy was probably not human at all! Thinking this, Death Tessa's expression became even more uncertain.

"This! Don't you recognize it?" Ian frowned and pulled out the pendant again, giving it a shake. He had wanted to use the two Reapers to figure out what it was. Unfortunately, Andrew, the Reaper rolling around on the ground, was still curled up like a shrimp, clutching his vital parts as he battled the agony of shattered balls.

As for Death Tessa, who had backed herself into the corner and suddenly seemed as frail as a willow branch, she stared at Ian's pendant for a long time. Her forcibly calm face held nothing but confusion and blank bewilderment.

"No wonder you've lived for who knows how many years and are still Reapers! One look tells me you people have no ambition! That's why you don't strive to improve!" Ian sighed with feeling first.

"Look at me, learn from me. At only fourteen, I'm already deeply favored by my godfather. Oh, right, in case you don't understand, I should explain that my godfather is actually your old—" Ian had wanted to borrow some divine prestige for the debut of his bragging career, while firmly cementing the identity he had shamelessly begged for.

However.

Perhaps the Universal Will felt that this was not the sort of bragging an ordinary NPC should be doing.

Chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance.

"He's over there!"

A nurse's shrill voice pierced through the corridor.

"That boy talking to thin air! Poor child, he must be having a psychotic episode!" The nurse's voice was sympathetic, but also somewhat nervous.

Ian turned his head.

He was instantly dumbfounded.

Five people in white coats came sprinting over while pushing a restraint bed. The doctor at the front was even holding a sedative. As she ran, the leading Black nurse spread her arms and called out soothingly to him.

"Don't be afraid, child! We'll help you contact your parents!" Her voice was gentle. If she had not also been holding a rope for tying people up, Ian might actually have thought she was a good nurse.

"Damn it!"

As Ian watched the doctors and nurses draw closer, he desperately missed Fake Tessa's ability to freeze time. If this group of doctors and nurses caught him, could anything good come of it?

"I fucking don't have a mental... I clearly only have a tiny bit of mental illness!" Ian did not think he could convince the doctors and nurses, so he turned and ran without hesitation.

At the sight of this.

The two Reapers, invisible to ordinary people, both let out long breaths. Tessa helped up her companion, who had recovered somewhat by now. Only then did she realize that she had missed the time to guide the soul onward.

Inside the hospital room.

The doctors and nurses had no time at all to concern themselves with what was happening outside.

He ran.

They chased.

Thanks to his 5.8 Strength and 4.7 Constitution—physical abilities more than five times those of an ordinary person—Ian ultimately avoided the ending where he would have no way to escape.

How should he put it?

The doctors and nurses would probably need wings to catch him. Because Ian was not running toward the stairs, but toward a window. He flipped himself over and leaped straight out from the sixth floor.

A blessing.

No, a curse wrapped around him. It was just jumping off a building; Ian feared nothing. But the doctors and nurses, who were merely ordinary people, obviously had no way of knowing that.

"That child committed suicide!"

"Oh no! This is the sixth floor!"

"We're done for! That handsome kid's face is definitely going to be smashed to pieces! I remember him! He's Stan Lee from Bruce High School, a campus reporter at Bruce High School!"

Seeing Ian decisively hurl himself out the window, the nurses and doctors all cried out in panic. One of the nurses who had spoken with Ian before even recognized Ian's fake identity.

"Quick! Get downstairs! Maybe we can still save him! At least... maybe we can save a few organs?" Amid the chaotic cries, the doctors made the most optimistic assessment. A group of them immediately ran toward the elevators. For some reason, they were even faster than when they had been trying to help Ian.

Meanwhile, Ian landed on the ground with a splat, butt first. It was technically a stable landing, but the pain made him suck in a sharp breath as negative status effects began appearing one after another at the bottom of his vision.

His Rage meter had also risen halfway.

[Body severely mutilated, experience +5]

Ian's pelvis was shattered.

He had also broken his femur and several ribs.

Fortunately, his physical attributes were high enough that he had not splattered into a bloody mess. Otherwise, Ian would have had to find a way to lick up all his blood. It was not that he truly could not bear to lose that tiny bit of nutrition.

He simply did not want to leave any opportunity for anyone trying to collect his DNA. As an ordinary NPC in this world, Ian felt that he ought to be this cautious.

Just like how he had discovered the clue about the sewage treatment plant, he had never planned on risking his own life. As for reinforcements, Ian had already decided whom to find last night.

There was someone.

Someone strong, someone formidable. Compared with the other superheroes, that person would definitely help him from the bottom of their heart... or rather, help Superman, who had less than seven days left to live.