"Just as I thought! I knew I had a Golden Finger!"
Lu Yun sprang up from the floor in excitement, forgetting to hold back his strength. His cursed energy-enhanced body shot several meters into the air, driving his head straight into the shop's ceiling.
The hole he made was barely larger than his head, leaving Lu Yun stuck in the ceiling. His seemingly headless body dangled overhead, while a corpse with its chest torn open lay on the floor. Any passerby who saw this would probably think they had stumbled onto a horror movie set.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey."
Spitting out dust that had accumulated for who knew how many years, Lu Yun finally managed to pull his head out of the ceiling after some effort.
Despite that little mishap, the dust-covered Lu Yun could barely contain his excitement.
Judging by the information in the notification, even defeating someone like Tanaka, who barely qualified as a real jujutsu sorcerer, earned him a reward. Defeating stronger opponents would surely bring even greater rewards.
Did he have to kill his opponent to trigger it? Could he receive other kinds of rewards? Lu Yun would have to keep testing to find out.
But simply knowing he had a Golden Finger had already given Lu Yun tremendous hope.
"Now I finally don't have to worry about getting diced like a mango!"
Lu Yun nearly shed tears of joy.
Although he had accepted that he shared a body with Hajime Kashimo, Sukuna had remained a source of dread. No matter how hard Lu Yun struggled, Hajime Kashimo would inevitably challenge the strongest sorcerer from a thousand years ago and meet an abrupt end.
Lu Yun had no intention of dying alongside Hajime Kashimo. Now that he had the help of the Golden Finger, if he challenged as many powerful opponents as possible and built up his strength before the King of Curses revived, he might actually have a chance to steamroll Sukuna when the time came.
"Hmph! A little punk like Sukuna dares act up before the mighty Lu Yun? Just watch me kick his ass."
With the Golden Finger, Lu Yun's confidence had gone through the roof. Once he had some time to grow stronger, ruling the Jujutsu Society would be right within reach.
"Sukuna? Where's Sukuna? Come fight me, now!"
The name Sukuna instantly woke Hajime Kashimo inside him. A mouth manifested on Lu Yun's face, clamoring for a fight with Sukuna.
"He's not here, Deer God. You misheard me. I was just talking to myself."
Lu Yun hurried to explain.
Indeed, Hajime Kashimo sensed no powerful presence. Deeply disappointed, he grumbled:
"What's taking you so long, brat? Do you really need this much time to deal with one lowlife? Don't tell me you still haven't learned how to use cursed energy."
"How could I, Deer God? I'm just rusty and need some practice. Here, look. He's already dealt with."
Lu Yun pointed at Tanaka's corpse.
"That's more like it. But why am I so hungry? You'd better not ruin my body."
Hajime Kashimo's reminder finally made Lu Yun remember that he had come downstairs to find food. He had barely noticed before, but now that he remembered, his stomach suddenly felt utterly empty.
Since the Tokyo No. 2 Colony was by the sea, the waterfront area was mostly filled with shipping containers. Even convenience stores were few and far between. Fortunately, old Kashimo hadn't spawned out at sea, or even finding a meal would have been a problem.
"Don't worry, Deer God. Mission success guaranteed."
Lu Yun bent his hand at a ninety-degree angle in a salute as he made his promise.
Was sparing this fellow's life really the right choice?
Lu Yun's idiotic antics made Hajime Kashimo question his decision.
Just as he was about to go offline, Lu Yun suddenly asked:
"Deer God, did you hear any strange noises just now?"
Strange noises?
Hajime Kashimo was puzzled.
Was there anything besides Kogane reporting the points just now?
"Hmph. I have no interest in spying on your deranged antics."
Lu Yun had just breathed a sigh of relief when Hajime Kashimo's next words sent his heart leaping into his throat.
"Still, something does seem a little off. Why do I feel like my cursed energy has increased slightly?"
Lu Yun's question really had made Hajime Kashimo notice something unusual. As a formidable sorcerer who had already made a name for himself four hundred years ago, his total cursed energy had long since reached his personal limit. It should have been impossible for that amount to increase.
But the increase was so slight that Hajime Kashimo wondered whether he was imagining it.
"Haha, you're overthinking it, Deer God. You're definitely imagining things."
Afraid of being exposed, Lu Yun's eyes darted around, and he scratched his head with a hint of guilt.
"Perhaps."
Without dwelling on it, Hajime Kashimo went offline.
Only after confirming that Hajime Kashimo had fallen silent did Lu Yun relax.
That was close. He almost found out. Good thing the reward was small this time and the change in our body wasn't that obvious. It won't be so easy to fool him later.
Lu Yun headed toward the supermarket a short distance ahead, agonizing over how he would explain things to Hajime Kashimo later.
"Mommy! Mommy! Where are you?"
Outside the supermarket, a little girl who had accidentally become separated from her mother called out anxiously.
"Here..."
"Come here..."
A faint voice drifted from a pitch-black alley beside the supermarket.
Hearing it, the little girl craned her head to peer into the alley.
It was so dark that she couldn't make out what was inside.
"Mommy, are you in there?"
The little girl asked tentatively.
"Come, come here, come inside..."
The voice deep in the alley grew clearer, calling to her over and over as though imbued with magic.
Although she feared the darkness, her desire to find her mother won out. She stepped forward into the alley, which gaped like the maw of an abyss.
The girl, Kana, felt along the wall with her little hand as she slowly made her way deeper into the alley.
As she ventured farther in, the scene inside gradually came into view.
At the end of the alley was a corner. Beyond it lay the supermarket's back door. Normally, the supermarket employees would gather there during their breaks to smoke.
But now, an enormous, inhuman figure occupied the place where they usually relaxed.
When the girl reached the end, all she saw was a gigantic ball of flesh with its back to her.
The fleshy figure squatted on the ground, continually shoveling something into its mouth with both hands as chewing noises rang out.
"M-Mommy?"
Kana had no idea what the thing before her was. She merely called for her mother on instinct.
The voice behind it interrupted the flesh ball's movements. It turned clumsily, and at the sight of the fresh flesh before it, irrepressible delight spread across its broad, crudely formed face.
A mouth larger than the little girl's entire body took up the flesh ball's whole face, its sharp teeth coated in blood.
As the flesh ball turned, a name badge identifying a supermarket employee slipped from between its teeth.
"Eek!"
Overwhelming terror swept through Kana. She wanted to scream for help, but no sound would come out. Panicking, she turned to flee the alley.
But behind her stood another figure, thin and elongated like a ghoul.
"I'm... right here..."
Before you continue