Killing (Thanks to Alliance Leader "Disguise-Wearer 314" for the Reward)

Gilan froze.

For a moment, he could not help thinking of the bullying he had suffered at school as a child.

Because of his crippled legs, the bad students had always liked picking on him. Being beaten was routine; more often, they insulted and mocked him in public, even pulled down his pants and ridiculed his deformed body, trampling his dignity and self-worth until they became worthless and twisted.

Coupled with the teachers' indifference and his parents' neglect, it had left him with deep psychological trauma.

As a result, after growing up, he became quiet and withdrawn, poor at socializing. After repeatedly failing interviews, suffering contempt, and encountering setback after setback in life, he had even developed severe paranoid personality disorder and delusions.

Even after long-term therapy and following his psychologist's advice, Gilan had only barely begun to face his shattered life. In the end, he chose game streaming as a means of making a living.

In the virtual world of the internet and games, he could vent his emotions as freely as he pleased.

Yet no one knew that, because of his unstable mental state, he still often fell into extreme moods that could explode at any moment.

No one is taking this second chance at a healthy life away from me! Gilan thought, murderous intent rising within him. If you want to hurt me, you deserve to die!

He looked at the several burly male prisoners and silently nodded, as though he had accepted his fate.

Under their threatening scrutiny, Gilan passed them and walked at the very front alongside the short man.

"Don't try anything. Everyone just wants to get out of here," said the long-haired, stubbled man coldly.

The short man seemed terrified. Cold sweat streamed down his face, but he did not dare defy the burly men. He could only tremble as he scouted the way ahead.

He hunched over and inched forward, his narrow eyes wide as he stared fixedly at the ground ahead, terrified that one careless step would land him in a trap and have his lower leg snapped off by one of those sinister bear traps.

Gilan walked beside him, far less tense. His gaze merely swept the surrounding woods without drawing attention.

The long-haired, stubbled man and his group followed behind them. Their tense expressions had eased, and they even began chatting in low voices about finding a few women to vent their frustrations on once they escaped.

But they had not gone far when a strange call came from the dense forest:

"Hello—"

"Hm?" Several prisoners looked around in confusion. "Someone's nearby."

Only Gilan's pupils contracted slightly.

He knew the Monsters were about to arrive!

Gilan glanced at the ground ahead. When he spotted a glint of polished black metal seven or eight meters away, an idea formed in his mind. Without further hesitation, he broke into a sprint.

"Damn it!" The long-haired, stubbled man flew into a rage at Gilan's retreating figure. "Don't let him get away! Catch him!"

With that, he took the lead in chasing after Gilan.

After all, if there were bear traps ahead, the man running in front would trigger them first.

What the stubbled man did not expect was for the blond youth fleeing ahead to suddenly stop and turn around.

At that moment, he saw the other man's unnaturally cold gaze, with frenzied killing intent lurking in its depths.

That look reminded the stubbled man of a friend who had been executed by firing squad for murder years ago. The man had lost his mind after his wife cheated on him, and his eyes had been just as terrifying.

Gilan swung his arm. The wrench hidden in his sleeve left an afterimage as it smashed into the stubbled man's chin.

Smack!!

Bone shattered and flesh split open.

The stubbled man did not even have time to scream before his head lolled to one side and he toppled over.

Expressionless, Gilan reached out with both hands, grabbed the man by his collar, and hurled him forward.

With a thud, the stubbled man fell into the grass, his head landing right in the middle of a bear trap.

Clang!!

Struck by the impact, the two serrated iron jaws snapped shut, crushing and deforming the stubbled man's head as blood sprayed everywhere.

Without even looking at him, Gilan stomped hard on his chest and used the force to flee deeper into the forest.

The other prisoners, including the short man, stood frozen in place.

It had all happened too fast. Before they could react, the seemingly ordinary blond youth had suddenly attacked, killed the stubbled man who was clearly bigger and stronger than him, then fled without a trace.

"Is anyone there—"

At that moment, the strange calls around them drew closer and closer.

The short man had barely turned his head when what he saw frightened him out of his wits. His legs gave out, and he fell to the ground screaming.

"Oh God! Don't come any closer!"

His face deathly pale, he cried out in terror.

Lion-sized, bizarre Monsters covered in gray-black fur but lacking heads had surrounded the prisoners.

Their split-open cavities were filled with sharp teeth, and voices of indistinguishable gender emerged from within:

"Hello—Is anyone there—"

At the sight of these creatures that overturned everything they knew, the prisoners panicked and tried to run.

But in their panic, they stepped on more bear traps. Miserable screams rang out as they could only watch the headless Monsters pounce, consumed by the tooth-filled cavities amid pain and terror.

Some tried to fight the Monsters, but it was like trying to stop a chariot with a praying mantis's arms. Within seconds, they were easily torn to pieces.

The horrifying sounds of bones and flesh being crushed and chewed rose one after another.

A breeze rustled through the trees. The fog remained.

"Ah! Aaaah!!"

"Help!!"

Bloodcurdling screams echoed from the forest behind Gilan, making his heart go cold.

Though he did not know why his dream had foreseen all this, he was grateful to have learned of these dangers in advance. Otherwise, he would likely have ended up just like those prisoners.

Gilan did not look back. Following the impressions from that dream, he continued running deeper into the forest.

I remember there should be a village surrounded by a wall of wooden stakes not far ahead, with a Double-Barreled Shotgun at its entrance.

His gaze was resolute. If he could get a firearm, his chances of surviving would be much greater.

I just have to be careful.

Gilan warned himself.

Because he remembered clearly that there was a terrifying, deathly pale man near the village.

Inside the sealed screening room, the Gas Lamp flickered.

The prisoners sitting in the chairs stared blankly at the film projected on the screen. Suddenly, without warning, they began convulsing, foaming at the mouth, and rolling their eyes back.

"Gah! Gah gah!"

A long-haired, stubbled prisoner seemed to have phlegm stuck in his throat, making agonized, dying sounds. Then his entire body suddenly stiffened, and he died in extreme terror.

The other prisoners were not dead yet, but they would be soon. Unconsciously, they struggled and twisted their bound bodies.

"Sir, what exactly is this film?" A young police officer swallowed as he looked at the hellish screening room. He could barely resist the urge to turn around and look at what was on the screen. "This is far too terrifying."

"Don't be overly curious. This is not something you should know. Just follow orders and carry them out obediently." The middle-aged superintendent glanced at him coldly. "And don't look directly at the film. Although your Gnosis is too low for you to glimpse anything and you can only see blackness, that mysterious power will still affect you to some extent."

"Only these death-row prisoners who passed the Gnosis test can see the real images in the film... If you want to become a madman or a vegetable, then go ahead and stare at it."

The superintendent spoke calmly.

"Ah—yes, understood, sir."

The young police officer shuddered and quickly withdrew his gaze, not daring to look at the screen again.

The superintendent's gaze swept over the screening room. Watching the prisoners suffer, he remained unmoved.

Yet inwardly, he pondered that the orders from above were becoming increasingly harsh. Regarding that unknown reel of film, the Purification Department seemed more inclined to use large numbers of death-row prisoners as test subjects. After all, the cost was low. But ordinary people's Gnosis was too low, and gathering enough death-row prisoners for the next batch would likely be another difficult task.

The superintendent could not help feeling a headache coming on.

But soon, he thought of the local Oak Gang. Under the current strict Prohibition, those bootleggers were the best choice for making up the numbers.

At that thought, a cold smile appeared on the middle-aged superintendent's lips.

Then his gaze happened to fall on a prisoner in the corner, and his expression hardened.

Among the twelve prisoners, only this blond youth showed no expression of pain.

"This guy, could he be?!"

The superintendent narrowed his eyes as something occurred to him.