Si Ming had given the dark-circled young man a chance.
If he really was the protagonist of some light novel, truly blessed with some strange destiny, then this was the perfect moment to seize the opportunity, rise to the top, and strike back hard. However...
Nothing of the sort happened.
Si Ming made a full circuit of the dark underground mall. He found many unopened cans of food, as well as piles of stark-white bones stacked in the corners—the pain and wails of the dead still echoed across this land. If the energy level of this world were just a little higher, perhaps the most rudimentary undead might even have arisen spontaneously from the earth.
There were no undead.
No concentrated ambient energy, and no curses that could effectively manifest.
When he emerged from the darkness with what he considered an adequate supply of provisions and returned to the escalator exit, he saw a fresh Night Demon struggling desperately at the entrance. Its limbs were broken, its skin smooth, its hair gone, and its eyes wild with madness.
It was still wearing the same clothes, and its glasses were still on. The Night Demon's hideous face still bore the features and build of the dark-circled young man from when he was alive. He had now been transformed into it completely.
His soul had not departed, and the transformed Night Demon was not particularly strong. Nor did some intruder from the heavens swoop in, snatch away this doomed wretch, and give him a cheat ability.
"Grrraah—" It let out a clueless roar at Si Ming.
Si Ming let it vent its bestial instincts. He simply picked it up by the scruff and covered it with a piece of black cloth. Then, carrying the shotgun he had switched back to in his other hand, he headed upstairs. The few skeleton soldiers he had casually left behind still patrolled the shadows on their own, ready to handle any unexpected situations.
Upward.
Further upward.
The blood qi that filled the basement silently dissipated, but when Si Ming returned to the third floor, his faintly furrowed brow rose slightly.
There was no smell of disinfectant in the air.
The blood on the floor had only been given a halfhearted cleaning.
The high school girl in a JK uniform was trying very hard to mop, but her efforts were futile. He also heard a faint "mmph, mmph." The glamorous woman who had been shot had been gagged and carelessly stuffed into a corner of the room, her hands and feet bound.
He tossed the freshly transformed Night Demon onto the floor.
The sweat-drenched high school girl let out a frightened yelp. His gaze shifted; he saw that the cracks by the window he had marked still hadn't been repaired. The supplies on the third floor hadn't been gathered together, either. No new appliances had been brought up from the first floor, and there wasn't a trace of a generator or solar panels.
"Hey!" A makeshift barricade appeared before Si Ming. Behind it, an American soldier held an M16 assault rifle. This was America; there were guns everywhere. He gave Si Ming a smug grin.
"I suggest you don't move. I planted a bomb here and can detonate it at any time. Also, I know that high-tech armor you're wearing isn't protected against electromagnetic pulses. And I happen to have found one."
The short, portly office worker and the tall, lanky laborer, Keiji Koyama, stood behind him. The latter smiled apologetically at Si Ming. The American soldier kicked him, so he bowed to Si Ming and spoke with an apology that was heartfelt in appearance but utterly insincere.
"I'm truly sorry, sir. Commander James knows the local terrain well. He thinks everyone should have a gun. I thought he made a good point, so I went out with Mr. Yamaguchi. And I did manage to get a new gun."
It was a Remington, a classic American shotgun. The short, portly office worker also had one, and all three of them wore bulletproof riot armor with inserted plates.
That gave them confidence. Their confidence outweighed their fear of Si Ming.
Si Ming simply watched them in silence, having already finished surveying the surrounding area.
"So, you didn't complete a single task I assigned you?"
"I'm truly sorry." Keiji Koyama bowed again. "But Commander James's opinion matters too."
"What do you mean, nothing's been done?" The short, portly office worker sneered in disagreement. "Isn't that little Ishihara girl cleaning? And isn't Miss Tanaka, the one you injured, tied up just fine? Besides, judging by the way you talk, you're Chinese, aren't you? Chinese people should stop bossing the East Sea Team around!"
James spread his hands and smiled for the second time.
"Look, this is the East Sea Team, a Japanese team. Nobody here wants you around. Maybe you should reflect on what you've done and find yourself a new place in the team."
"I'm truly sorry." Keiji Koyama bowed for the third time. "But I think you'd be wise to carefully consider Commander James's suggestion."
Si Ming glanced at the high school girl. She was clearly frightened, but at least she still had the mop in her hands. His gaze shifted again to the glamorous woman, simply bandaged and bound in the corner. She glared viciously at the girl, her eyes brimming with the glee of revenge, even though the situation was still far from settled.
Far from settled.
Si Ming truly couldn't understand where they had found the courage to make such a reckless decision with so little information.
Was this what the new recruits of the first generation were like?
Was this what the Japanese and Americans of 2007 were like?
"I can tolerate your defiance," he sighed. "But I simply can't stand your stupidity and incompetence."
James's expression turned wary, and he instinctively started to raise his rifle.
Si Ming's final warning became a declaration.
"So, I'll give you one last chance. Obey me now, and close your eyes."
"Not a chance—" He was about to pull the trigger.
The wind began to move.
A colossal creature suddenly appeared in the mall.
It was a monstrous being more than ten meters long, like a miniature tunnel-boring machine. It resembled a giant squid immersed in mud, its countless arms and tentacles waving as they magnified its presence.
It occupied a huge area of the entire third floor. Every inch of its massive, slime-covered body seemed to flow with a strange and twisted light.
That light drew the eyes of intelligent beings.
That light was a prison that bound and devoured reason.
Kin of the Old Ones: Burrowing Devil Worm. It appeared here. In an instant, its presence filled the senses of everyone who dared stare at it with their eyes wide open, then burst them all apart the next!
One second, two seconds.
The short, portly office worker suddenly raised a finger and, with a bitter smile, gouged out his own eyes.
"I didn't see anything. Boss, I really didn't see anything. I didn't see a thing between you and Keiko..."
"Bang!" His head exploded. The cause was a point-blank shot from an assault rifle. The soldier James still had his gun pressed against the man's body, and then he pulled the trigger again and again.
"I'm not a deserter," he said, repeating himself. "I didn't defect. I didn't get drunk and mess up. I didn't take off my uniform."
He fired once for every word, until the office worker's body no longer moved. Then the soldier gave a strange smile.
"I killed a spy! I've earned a commendation! I didn't leak any secrets... I'm getting promoted!"
"I'm going back home to get promoted!"
He let out a shriek of delight, dropped his gun, and threw himself through the unrepaired window. One second later, a sound like a watermelon hitting the ground came from outside.
He was dead.
Keiji Koyama, swaying unsteadily, also murmured to himself as he walked to the window the other man had jumped from.
"I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to violate your daughter. I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to kill your younger brother. I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to take that compensation money. I'm truly sorry... I said I was sorry, so how can you still be so rude?"
He jumped, too.
There was a second crunch as he hit the ground. After all, the third floor of a shopping mall was much higher than that of an ordinary building.
A soft, gasping sound came from the glamorous woman, bound and gagged in the corner. Her eyes were wide open, and her heart had stopped beating. She had been overcome by unimaginable terror, her own heart dragging her to her death.
Six newcomers, one left. The uniformed high school girl squeezed her eyes shut, trembling all over as she clutched the mop. But Si Ming heard no penalty announcement from the Main God.
This didn't count as infighting.
How could going mad and killing yourself count as infighting?
Si Ming walked up to the JK-clad girl and infused a wisp of Night Battle Qi into her brow. Then he patted her shoulder.
"You can open your eyes now," he said.
The girl opened her eyes, saw the dead bodies and the enormous Burrowing Devil Worm, and let out another scream.
Night Battle Qi had protected her. This was a method Si Ming had developed after trying it many times in Mexico. Only then had he understood how great the difference was between himself and ordinary people. Now, with the infusion of Divinity Particles, both his own mental resistance and the Burrowing Devil Worm's resurgent mental pollution had increased dramatically.
"What's your name?" Si Ming's gaze swept from her head to her feet.
"Shizuka... My name is Shizuka Ishikawa."
Si Ming nodded.
"In this world, you can call me Mr. Si or Professor Si. I'll tell you my real name after we get back. Until then, I expect you to follow my arrangements completely and do as I say."
"Y-yes..." She nodded repeatedly, her face pale. She didn't dare look at the enormous Burrowing Devil Worm. "I'll do whatever you say... P-Professor Si."
"Good." Si Ming handed her a .22 LR Glock. "Take it and shoot that."
He pointed at the Night Demon, wrapped in black cloth and still writhing and twitching.
Though the last newcomer was trembling with fear, she still grabbed the pistol clumsily and pulled the trigger at the Night Demon, which was near death.
"Bang—bang, bang, bang—"
She emptied the magazine.
The twitching Night Demon let out an instinctive howl. It was hard to imagine the sheer level of marksmanship it took to empty an entire magazine at a target less than half a meter away without inflicting a single fatal wound. But perhaps that was also because .22 LR ammunition simply wasn't very powerful.
Never mind.
Si Ming brought his foot down on the Night Demon's head.
"Crack." Another shattered watermelon.
The Main God's announcement sounded beside his ear. Perfect. With this one, he had reached the total of ten required for a tally.
"I-I'm sorry... I didn't do it right..." Shizuka Ishikawa looked at him in fear.
He simply turned and walked toward the mall exit.
"All I asked you to do was 'shoot,'" Si Ming said calmly. The Burrowing Devil Worm vanished without a sound, and he paused in his steps.
"Come on. Follow me." She had met his requirements.
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