Inner Demons / A Decision of One's Own...

Lin... what exactly do you want me to see...?

"He wants you to see which one is the real you."

The cold female voice made Mei hesitate for half a second, then she realized. "You're the one from before..."

"Who I am is unimportant." The female voice interrupted her meaningless words, speaking in an extremely cold tone. "A person's inner desires will be reflected in their actions, and an omnipotent desire is the best mirror, reflecting the true self."

Chapter 154 Inner Demons

Sometimes "Excuse me for offending you" is just a polite greeting, not an intention to actually offend the other person.

But in Lin's words, this sentence meant that he was about to offend her.

Moreover, this is no longer just an offense, it's like dancing in someone else's minefield.

Sakura could sense that the murderous aura surrounding Little Red Riding Hood had intensified more than double in an instant, and she instinctively placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. However, Little Red Riding Hood controlled her temper this time, perhaps because she felt she still needed their help to kill the "wolf"?

"Hmph... It's fine to tell you. I did tell Grandma 'Wolf' where she lived back then because she disguised herself as a human and asked for directions, and I didn't notice her problem."

"What do you mean by telling Him? I had this question when I was reading 'Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.' Why would Little Red Riding Hood always tell the truth when asked how to get to her grandmother's house? Besides, there are many versions of the Little Red Riding Hood story. In some stories, it's her grandmother, and in others, besides being rescued by a hunter, she also saves herself. There are even some versions where Little Red Riding Hood becomes a sexy woman. As for your story... never mind."

Just as Little Red Riding Hood was about to explode, Lin suddenly stopped talking and gave her Little Red Riding Hood faint glance.

Implanting a game-like process into the world of consciousness is undoubtedly the work of Vill-V. Mobius and Mebius could not possibly have such a whimsical idea. Vill-V has extremely wide-ranging interests, including poetry, novels, and fairy tales. Vill-V herself is a fundamentalist when it comes to these things.

So if the story of Little Red Riding Hood is based on the oldest version, then considering the characteristics of the "wolf" she mentioned...

"Are we almost there?" Lin asked, looking at the mountains that were getting closer and closer.

"There are still about ten minutes left," Little Red Riding Hood replied impatiently. "You've asked more than ten times already, every few minutes. Are you a mosquito?"

"I have a strong sense of time."

"..."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. She hadn't noticed Lin's quiet nature before, but now that they were having a normal conversation, she realized that he was actually quite cunning and could often make others speechless with just a few words.

"Miss Little Red Riding Hood, what do you want to do after killing the 'wolf'? Continue being a hunter?" Sakura started chatting with Little Red Riding Hood. She actually felt sorry for this child who had suffered so much and was forced to follow in her footsteps into an abnormal life.

"... I don't know, maybe she'll commit suicide."

"What?"

"What's so surprising?" Little Red Riding Hood said sarcastically, but it was unclear whether she was mocking Sakura or herself. "The real Little Red Riding Hood died five years ago. Can this walking shell even be considered alive if it's still breathing?"

Haven't you ever thought about other ways of life?

"Don't give me that lecture. I know my situation better than you do. If someone important to you died, would you think, 'Should I pull myself together and start a different life?'"

"..."

Sakura couldn't speak; it was as if something was stuck in her throat.

If Rin dies, Sakura can't imagine what she would become.

This heavy shadow became a dark cloud over this not-so-long road.

After nearly reaching their destination, Lin glanced at the approaching sunset and announced that they would find a place to rest. They found some fruit and ate the grilled fish they had brought for dinner. Little Red Riding Hood went to find a place to rest, while Lin and Sakura found a big tree and leaned against the trunk to rest.

Lin was still explaining to Sakura some easily noticeable details about the world of consciousness, "The roar of the Honkai Beast is very suggestive; it should roar once every night, which is essentially a way to attract players to do quests..."

Before the words were even finished, the familiar howl of the Honkai Beast rang out again.

Lin and Ying exchanged a glance, then he sat down next to the tree trunk, leaned against it, and closed his eyes.

After hesitating for a long time, Sakura finally asked, "Lin... do you have a way?"

"...What's up?"

"The Little Red Riding Hood story."

"..."

In the quiet woods, the occasional chirping of insects could be heard. Lin kept his eyes closed, seemingly asleep, but the muscles beneath his clothes were tense, as if he were on guard against something.

"She is merely a false existence in this world of consciousness. After we leave, she will cease to exist." Lin gave a rational answer. "All of this was set up by Vill-V, including her past, her tragedy, her hatred. Everything is just a few strokes in a script."

"But... this story will always remain in my heart." Sakura leaned against the tree trunk, looking at the starlight that shimmered faintly in the shade of the trees, separated from Rin by the big tree. "Rin, do you know that there is something called inner demon in swordsmanship? The heavier the inner demon, the slower the hand will swing the sword."

In other words, she couldn't bear to watch this girl, who had experienced such a tragic past, embark on a path of no return.

She killed many people, yet she couldn't even save one.

"Then you don't need to add another inner demon to your life."

Lin opened his eyes, got up and walked to Sakura's side. Then he squatted down and whispered a few words in Sakura's ear, who was puzzled.

Her eyes widened.

"The area ahead is where the 'wolf' roams. We should be able to kill it with the rabbit-eared girl's silver knife."

Little Red Riding Hood pointed to a dark and eerie-looking forest, while Lin gazed at the spot, observing the surroundings.

"Bunny-eared girl... no, your name is Sakura, right?" At this moment, Little Red Riding Hood came to Sakura's side. She raised her head and looked at Sakura with her blood-red eyes. "I don't know where your pity comes from, but I've been thinking about it all night. Maybe you're right. If I'm trapped in the shadow of that monster from five years ago, it might be a sign that I'm afraid of it."

"No, it's nothing." Sakura shook her head.

"I have one request: leave the final blow to kill the 'wolf' to me. I want to kill him with my own hands and put an end to this revenge."

Sakura hesitated and looked at Lin, but he was looking elsewhere, so she said to Little Red Riding Hood, "But the only thing that can kill the 'Mountain God' should be this silver knife. Do you want me to lend you the knife?"

"You don't need to lend it to me. Just let me kill Him with your knife when He is on His last breath and about to deliver His final blow."

"Phew... okay."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and finally agreed, nodding her head.

Little Red Riding Hood showed her first genuine smile since appearing, and was about to say thank you—

"Bass!"

The silver knife pierced through her chest, exiting from Little Red Riding Hood's back and cutting her through completely.

She coughed up blood, staring blankly at the beast-eared girl's cold, icy eyes.

Chapter 155 My Own Decision

"When reading literature, Vill-V is a fundamentalist, but only when 'reading'. When she is creating, she is a fan of radical modification."

The simplest and most direct way to put it is that Vill-V is a "second creator" who "re-creates" the plot of the original work. She will generally have the original plot, story and character relationships, but she will rework the details that are not written in the original work and modify some plots in this way.

Lin stood beside Ying, showing no pity for Little Red Riding Hood who looked incredulous as she clutched her chest. He picked up her dropped hunting rifle from the ground and cocked it with practiced ease.

"In the original story, Little Red Riding Hood was not rescued by the hunter, nor did she save herself; her final fate was simply to be eaten by the wolf."

"How did the wolf find out about your grandmother five years ago... no, the original version should have been your maternal grandmother. You deliberately changed it to your maternal grandmother to mislead us. Anyway, you were vague about how the wolf found out where your maternal grandmother lived, and why the wolf didn't eat you in the end is also a question. After all, no matter which version it is, Little Red Riding Hood will be eaten once."

Therefore, the identity of Little Red Riding Hood the hunter and the reason for her survival to this day remain unknown, which is extremely illogical.

"Although your flaws are numerous, I will still point out the most obvious one, which is 'getting lost'."

Lin pointed to the sun overhead and said calmly, "Before we met that dwarf, we were lost in the jungle. Even after we got two knives from him, things didn't improve until we met you."

"When you appeared and guided us to kill the wolf, we were no longer lost."

Therefore, the most direct guess is that Little Red Riding Hood was able to make them lose their way in the jungle.

"You...you monsters..." Little Red Riding Hood covered her mouth, blood trickling from between her fingers. She glared resentfully at the two terrifying monsters who had attacked her, as if she had returned to five years ago, to the sly "wolf" who had disguised himself as her grandmother.

"We are not monsters, you are." Lin coldly looked at Little Red Riding Hood, whose breath was growing weaker and weaker. "The real Little Red Riding Hood was eaten by you five years ago, and you have been pretending to be Little Red Riding Hood. What you have been hunting all along is your past."

"I'm not..."

"Then look at yourself now."

Little Red Riding Hood looked down and was horrified to find that her hands had turned into sharp claws covered in thick gray fur.

And his own face, bulging out, with sharp teeth crisscrossing between his lips.

"You are Little Red Riding Hood, you are the hunter, you are Grandma, you are the Big Bad Wolf."

"Who you are is up to you, so... we've already avenged you."

Little Red Riding Hood's face returned to its original state; she was filled with doubt, anger, and resentment... but after hearing Lin's last words, she felt relieved.

Immediately afterwards, the silver knife piercing her chest emitted a light, and she calmly watched it all before disappearing into it.

Sakura slowly sheathed her sword, gazing at the spot where Little Red Riding Hood had disappeared with a complex expression.

Is who you are determined by yourself...? Then, can she also decide who she is?

"Hua, I don't want to go out anymore, I'm so tired!"

Hua and Pardo, heads bowed, entered the villa. Pardo, like a sun-dazed house cat, threw herself onto the sofa. Then she sensed a cool breeze and excitedly looked up—

Kevin sat expressionless a short distance away, sipping a cold drink. When he noticed her gaze, he gave her a cold look that made the hair on her arms stand on end.

"Haha... Boss Kevin, hello there." Pardo awkwardly stood up and sat up straight.

"..."

It's terrifying. Kevin just stood there casually, and he gave people the feeling that he was ready to tear someone in half at any moment. I don't know if it was the cold aura around him or his expressionless face that he learned from someone.

Kevin ignored the kitten. He noticed that Pardo was acting suspiciously around and inside the villa, seemingly looking for something, but he didn't bother to get involved. Strictly speaking, this was Lin and Elysia's jurisdiction, and he shouldn't overstep his bounds.

"Whoosh! Kevin! Pardo! Hua! Look what we brought back!"

Elysia walked into the villa happily, holding a coconut crab in her hand, with Eden, Aponia, and Sue following behind her.

"..."

Kevin was a little curious as to why Sue could get along so well with them, without any barriers, and chat so casually as if they were... best friends?

Sue didn't notice the look Kevin was giving her. "Kevin, I found a nice coconut tree today..."

Just then, the others returned, making a racket until the door to the second floor was kicked open in a fit of rage. "Hey! Can you all be quiet! If Danzhu and the others dared to make this much noise in my lab, I would have dragged them to be fed to the Honkai Beast long ago!"

The others looked up and saw Mobius holding a bowl of instant noodles, glaring angrily at them.

"Ah, Mobius ~ Would you like to eat with me?"

"What is that?" Mobius frowned, looking at the fly-like object in Elysia's hand. "A coconut crab?"

Compared to that delicacy, the instant noodles in Mobius's hand were indeed quite meager.

"Yes," Elysia said with a smile, "We'll have Lin take it..."

"..."

Suddenly, the hall fell silent.

They had an idea.

Among them, the two best cooks are Lin and Ying.

But now, they're all in the realm of consciousness, so... who's going to cook?

"I know a little bit..." Hua said weakly, but she could only cook two ordinary home-style dishes, and the taste was just average. Not only her, but everyone else was in a similar situation. Moreover, there were no ingredients on the island to cook home-style dishes for them.

"Just steaming it should be fine, right?" Elysia stared uncertainly at the coconut crab in her hand, and it seemed to understand her, looking back at her with its little black eyes.

After a while...

"Whoa! How is it still alive?!" Mobius's panicked voice rang out from the kitchen. "Didn't you kill it before cooking it?!"

"I thought they'd just die if I threw them in!" Elysia's voice was accompanied by the crackling sounds of impact.

"Wait a minute, I remember that you have to use ice water to steam the crab first..." Hua Mandi went to catch the coconut crab that was running around.

"Kara".

The coconut crab, which was crawling at high speed, was suddenly frozen into an ice block.

Kevin stood in front of it, picked up the thing that had completely turned into a specimen, and handed it to the dazed Hua: "It's frozen."

"..."

Chapter 156 Scumbag

After a group of people hurriedly finished processing the coconut crab, all that was left to eat were its legs and claws. As for the coconut crab's essence, the crab roe, it had turned into a puddle of some unknown substance lying in the kitchen waste.

There wasn't enough time to cook, so a bizarre scene unfolded in the villa.

A group of people huddled together, slurping different flavors of instant noodles...