Guest, It's Time to Pay the Reward

The other party could see through his disguise.

That meant they had been observing him all along and were particularly sensitive to such matters.

Unexpectedly, among a pile of fools, he had found someone who wasn't quite so foolish.

Bai Zuo perked up with interest: "Disguise?"

Du Jiashi: "Isn't it? I don't understand why you want to stir up conflict between them. We've all been dragged into this instance—shouldn't we be uniting to clear the game?"

Bai Zuo: "Because I want to see something."

Du Jiashi was a bit baffled: "What something?"

Bai Zuo waved his hands, gesturing vaguely: "That, you know, that!"

"Don't you think, when they attack each other, the Sin Flower watered by their malice—when it blooms—will be the most exquisite thing?"

"Don't you agree, Du Jiashi?"

Du Jiashi's heart trembled. Facing the viscous malice that practically oozed from Bai Zuo's body, he shook uncontrollably, his face pale, too afraid to speak.

What was this person saying?

Bai Zuo's words pierced his brain like venom.

Who the hell was he?

How could he speak of evil as if it were something beautiful?

Du Jiashi's face twisted involuntarily. "Is that how you see evil? Those who bully others because they're physically strong, those scum of society who recklessly attack and judge people for their looks!"

"Do you think people like that are beautiful?"

"No! They're trash! Vermin! Dregs! Tumors that should never have existed in this world!"

Bai Zuo watched his agitation, tilting his head in confusion. "Don't you also acknowledge this law of survival? The strong oppress the weak, the weak turn their blades on the weaker still—just like when you tortured and killed those defenseless animals."

Du Jiashi's face went white. He stumbled back a few steps, speaking in disbelief: "How, how do you know? No, it's not my fault. I was just, just too stressed!"

"It's all their fault! If it weren't for those people who bullied and mocked me, how could I have done something like that? I..."

Bai Zuo looked at him with some curiosity: "I didn't say it was your fault. Does that mean there's still a shred of unextinguished conscience buried inside you? Do you think what you did was wrong?"

Du Jiashi broke down. He hadn't expected that coming to confront Bai Zuo would instead have the other party dig up the ugliest parts of his heart—the parts he least wanted anyone to know.

It was as if the other could see right through his thoughts. Before Bai Zuo, every vile thought, every corner of his heart, was laid completely bare.

"I'm not! I didn't mean to!"

"It's not my fault!"

In a place Du Jiashi couldn't see, a strand of spider silk burrowed into his brain, constantly stirring up his good side, provoking guilt, unease, and repentance.

Du Jiashi fell to his knees, clutching his head and sobbing.

"I was wrong! I shouldn't have tortured those little animals. I shouldn't have taken my resentment out on them just because I was bullied."

Bai Zuo stood before him: "It's not your fault. You just used the wrong method."

Du Jiashi looked up at Bai Zuo, staring into those eyes that seemed to seethe with countless evils. Helplessly, as if making a pilgrimage, he asked: "What should I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?" Du Jiashi blankly repeated Bai Zuo's question. "I want to..."

"I want to atone!"

Tears streamed down Du Jiashi's face as he was overwhelmed with regret for the wrongs he had committed in the past. Now, all he wanted was to atone for his sins.

Du Jiashi felt a sharp pain in his head.

The memories of the past suddenly became hazy. Bit by bit, he began to forget everything—the sorrow, the pain, the beauty, the laughter—all of it shattered and reassembled in that moment.

Then, he would become a brand-new person, one who atoned for the sins of his past.

But Bai Zuo stopped at that moment.

"Tch!"

Looking at Du Jiashi, whose eyes were vacant and mind a blank slate.

With just a single thought from Bai Zuo, he could wipe all his memories and turn him into a puppet living only for Bai Zuo.

Too bad.

Ever since Bai Zuo used this ability on Xu Zhou once, it had been strictly forbidden. Unless special permission was granted, it remained sealed.

When Bai Zuo stopped, Du Jiashi's memories began to return. He touched his face in confusion, feeling as though he had almost lost something very important just now.

"Thank the Aberration Association for existing." Bai Zuo muttered under his breath, then asked: "You want to atone?"

Du Jiashi nodded eagerly.

"Then offer up your own shell, and from now on, become its marionette!"

Du Jiashi murmured to himself: "Offer up my own shell? I want to atone... offer up my own shell, and I can atone... Fine!"

A white spider slid down along its silk thread, landing on his forehead. Then, in an instant, it burrowed into his head.

Contract established.

"Mind Control!"

The others vaguely heard Du Jiashi's sobbing, but they were all searching for keys. Only Han Shitao, curious, came out to look for Du Jiashi.

By the time she found him, Du Jiashi had already stood up from the ground, wiped his tears dry, and silently followed behind Bai Zuo.

Han Shitao glanced curiously at his slightly reddened eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

Du Jiashi replied coldly, "Nothing."

Han Shitao pursed her lips. She didn't dare get too close to Bai Zuo now, because from him, she could always sense a faint, elusive aura of danger.

And was it her imagination? She felt like Du Jiashi had become a different person.

Under their relentless search, they soon found the keys to several floors and reached the tenth floor.

It was also midnight.

All the lights in the restaurant went out.

Unable to search for keys in such darkness, they had no choice but to gather in a private room, trying to figure out how to deal with the waiter who might appear.

"Will that waiter come to us?"

"What's the 'payment' the hint mentioned? Money?"

Li Ke and the others hid in nervous unease.

Only Bai Zuo, without a care, found a private room on this floor that had food and sat down.

Since Li Ke and the others hadn't eaten all day and were starving, they saw the food in the room but dared not approach, afraid they wouldn't be able to control themselves from eating what was on the table.

Bai Zuo told Du Jiashi to go find something.

As soon as midnight struck.

The waiter pushed a cart and checked the private rooms floor by floor.

When he reached the tenth floor, the waiter first found Qiang Ge and Xu Rou hiding on the balcony.

The waiter was very thin, even gaunt to the point of being skin and bones. His gloomy eyes stared straight at them. "Guests, it's time to pay."

Xu Rou quickly hid behind Qiang Ge.