The little shadow man

Equivalent to... what...?

Yu Qing didn't understand. He stared blankly for a moment before the words "potent aphrodisiac" caught his eye amid the madly scrolling comments.

Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump-

His heart sped up. Surging heat flooded his blood and rattled his nerves.

The young man took several ragged breaths. His pale skin gradually flushed, and a thin sheen of sweat seeped out involuntarily, making the marks covering his body glisten as though washed with water.

It felt... so awful...

Yu Qing stared dazedly at the livestream, his breaths drawn out, his unfocused gaze gradually scattering. Once he was certain Qian Lai wasn't dead, he immediately spoke. "System..."

He persisted. "System... can you block the livestream... can you..."

[Aw, streamer, don't block it! What's there that we can't watch? Hehe... hehehe...]

[None of the previous streamers blocked it either. It's okay, wifey, I don't mind. Show us more, show us more! (Reward points +1,000)]

[Huff, huff, tissues ready...]

The corners of Yu Qing's eyes had already reddened. His gaze drifted over comment after comment, his chest rising and falling several times before he finally heard the system reply: [Sorry, this game's livestream remains open throughout. The system has no authority to...]

"Then..." Yu Qing interrupted, still polite and gentle. "Please get me a... demolition... card. Sorry for the trouble..."

[...]

A long silence followed. The system's data fluctuated chaotically, surging and scrambling. A little while later, after hearing Yu Qing say, "I have points," it finally spoke weakly: [System central control chip malfunction. Entering self-repair mode. Livestream temporarily suspended.]

"Mm..." Yu Qing clenched his teeth, but broken moans were already escaping uncontrollably through his lips.

[3, 2, 1...]

[Shutdown successful!]

Thud-

Before the sound had faded, Yu Qing had already collapsed onto the floor. He struggled to prop up his knees, his reddened fingers clawing blindly. Before long, two buttons snapped off.

Click, click.

The faint sound of the buttons hitting the floor trembled against his eardrums, making Yu Qing shudder and instinctively part his lips.

Even the air he breathed out... was scorching.

It felt awful, so awful. He wanted to hold some ice, but... the ice from the system shop didn't work!

[Purchase successful.]

[Purchase successful.]

[Purchase successful.]

Yu Qing melted three solid blocks of ice in succession, yet the torment inside him didn't ease. The "Dizzy Water" came from the system shop, and the shop's items couldn't counteract its side effects. His skin thirsted, as though countless ants were vying to gnaw at it. He wanted so badly to be... touched.

"Mm..." Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Yu Qing struggled to roll over, hoping pressing his body against the cold floor would make him feel a little better.

His vision blurred and scattered. Before long, he actually saw black mist slowly seeping from the wound in the BOSS's heart. It gathered into a human shape on the floor, forming an insubstantial, black... man?

The shadow man turned toward him and approached, unable to keep from opening his arms. Black mist quivered excitedly around him, as though he were facing a precious treasure lost and found again.

But... Yu Qing couldn't see clearly.

He sensed danger and got up to run, but his legs buckled, sending his burning body pitching forward heavily. His head swam, and in that instant, he seemed to... lose consciousness...

Suddenly, something swept him into its arms, holding him close and shielding him tightly.

He was being... held?

Yu Qing could no longer open his eyes. Dazed, he instinctively craved the little shadow man's temperature-cool, so comfortable...

And so his breathing gradually steadied. Not only did he let the little shadow man hold him, he even nuzzled against his shoulder, pressing closer.

The slender young man's lips parted, his thoughts scattering completely. Like a little animal that had finally returned to its nest, he let the little shadow man hold and soothe him. The raging wave inside him, fierce enough to tear him apart, slowly subsided as well, becoming something like a gently trickling stream...

What was that little shadow man? The BOSS's subconscious?

Why was he holding him? And so tenderly, too?

As though... they had known each other for ages...

Was it... a hallucination?

Yu Qing had no memory of the BOSS. He was certain the BOSS wanted nothing more than to kill him. Once his mind had recovered a little, he discovered that he was already lying beside the monster, both hands affectionately wrapped around one of his pitch-black tentacles!

"!!!"

He immediately got up, all the more certain that the little shadow man who had come to hold him had been a hallucination!

Had... something happened?

Yu Qing thought in disbelief: Had he been unable to bear the torment and finally crawled shamelessly over to the BOSS to hug his tentacle?

Chirp, chirp-

Before he could finish the thought, the tentacle beside him suddenly moved. Then the BOSS's lashes fluttered. He was about to wake up!

Yu Qing's fingertips trembled. He opened the system shop again and bought the best "Suppression Chain."

The name sounded impressive, but its appearance was no different from a dog leash. Its surface was pitch-black, and once fastened around a supernatural monster's neck, it could suppress any such creature. It was the highest-tier item in the system shop!

And so this purchase used up almost all his points.

[Current point balance... 5.]

Yu Qing's gaze darkened. Aching over the expense, he gripped the other end of the chain. To commemorate all his life-or-death efforts these past few days, he decisively raised his foot. The instant the BOSS woke, his black leather shoe stamped down hard on his shoulder, and his gaze bore into him.

Looking down at the monster before him, he said, "You can't kill me. Work with me. Accept me as your master."

The BOSS narrowed his eyes, clearly less than willing.

Moreover... his gaze slowly shifted sideways, toward the hateful Suppression Chain around his neck. Now he was kneeling on the floor while Yu Qing stood over him, stepping on him and looking down.

He... didn't like this feeling.

And so the look he gave the young man gained a little more defiance and murderous intent, as though... he thought nothing of Yu Qing's ultimate destructive weapon.

But Yu Qing didn't care about his attitude at all. He continued, "Let's work together. Aren't you under the main system's control, too?"

The young man lowered his voice further and further, trying to stir the deepest malice in the monster's heart. "Don't you want to fight back? Don't you want to kill them? Help me get out of this instance, and I'll help you...!!"

Before he could finish, suddenly-clatter-

The BOSS gathered enough strength to throw Yu Qing off and stand up.

He was just about to attack, but with the chain around his neck, Yu Qing yanked hard!

Clatter-

The chain tightened, forcing the man to bend down again, his arms braced on either side of Yu Qing's shoulders. He nearly fell against him, their bodies almost pressed tightly together.

On the floor, the young man's long, fine hair lay scattered in disarray. Despite his innocent looks, there wasn't the slightest fear in his eyes as he faced him. He merely raised his gaze, his long lashes flickering, and looked at him with a smile that grew increasingly lovely. "Don't be silly, baby. You're under the main system's control, too. This item came from the main system, and I bought the best one. You can't break free... mm..."

Suddenly, Yu Qing's wrist went slack, and his pupils widened in disbelief.

The BOSS... had kissed him of his own accord...

A fleeting kiss, their lips parting as soon as they touched.

He was doing something so intimate, yet he regarded Yu Qing as an enemy.

The BOSS had been tricked by his kisses twice in a row. Perhaps this time, he wanted to kiss him and turn the tables, too.

Unfortunately, Yu Qing's grip didn't loosen. The BOSS had no choice but to take the initiative, lowering his head again for a second kiss.

"..."

A third, a fourth, a fifth...

Yu Qing saw through the monster's intentions and gripped the chain even tighter. But the side effects of the "Dizzy Water" hadn't faded, and those few utterly unskilled kisses soon stirred them up again.

Scorching blood surged once more. The young man's fingertips went numb, and he began to tremble helplessly. The tips of his ears flushed red, his collarbones glowed pink, and his breathing grew uneven...

And worst of all, he was currently underneath the BOSS.