The surroundings fell into a brief, deathly silence.
All the clerks froze in place, then their faces flushed bright red in unison, wisps of smoke puffing from their heads.
That was...
"(ΩДΩ)!! A huge (beep-)(beep-)!!"
[Ding! Elena's shock toward you +10] [Ding! Joey was stunned by you. Shock +30]
Ding, ding, ding-
As system notifications kept ringing in his ears, Lin En, whose lower body was facing the crystal on the blind girl's chest, instinctively whipped his head around in confusion, looking in every direction.
"What was that??"
Although he had heard the system notifications, no fragments had dropped.
For a moment, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.
He shrugged and stopped worrying about it. Instead, he looked at the pale-faced girl before him and said very kindly:
"Hey, little girl. What are you doing here so late instead of going home? Aren't you afraid of running into a creepy old man?"
He asked out of concern.
"Hiss, hiss-hee-hee-hee (sinister enticement)-(distorted tones)-(corrupt pronunciation) ugh, aaaah-"
Liuli Yin raised her head blankly, listening to those terrifying whispers.
She trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself. That overwhelming terror almost engulfed her entire soul, and tears streamed down her face.
She knew.
It was that terrifying monstrosity that had descended into the world.
Those twisted whispers sounded like echoes straight from hell!
The fact that He hadn't killed her probably meant He wanted to toy with her, like a cat with a mouse. Once He had finished playing with her, He would slowly torture her to death.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Lin En was taken aback by her silence.
She said nothing, only
But he soon slapped his forehead and took a deep breath.
"I almost forgot. How could she possibly understand what I'm saying?"
Although he had mastered a bizarre language as soon as he transmigrated,
it clearly couldn't have come from this world. It consisted of sounds unique to those monstrosities, so it was only natural that she couldn't understand.
"Good thing that woman spent ten years hacking at me. I picked up a little of the local language, at least."
He cleared his throat, thought for a moment, then immediately adopted a formal broadcaster's voice and said solemnly:
"Hello, little girl."
"Eep!"
Glass Lamp jolted, a trembling look of shock appearing on her pale little face.
He... He could actually speak their language?!
More importantly, His words clearly carried a faint accent unique to ancient speech. Others might have struggled to notice it, but as a top student who had specifically studied ancient language, she could hear that subtle difference.
It was a consequence of how the ages had changed.
Although it was still the same language used during Eternal Night, she could hear the differences.
[Ding! Glass Lamp's Sanity -10]
Because she absolutely refused to believe that a terrifying being who descended from the crimson moon shared her hobby of studying ancient language!
There was only one possibility: the being before her might be a twisted evil god from the distant past!!
She immediately said blankly:
"H... hello."
Seeing that they could communicate, Lin En blinked and asked pleasantly:
"You're blind?"
"Just went blind."
"How did that happen (O_O)?? You're still spurting blood."
"I blinded myself."
She shook and trembled, covering her mouth, keeping her legs tightly together, not daring to move.
What she actually wanted to say was, "Looking at you blinded me," but she absolutely couldn't let those words out.
"Do you need me to take you home?" Lin En continued pleasantly.
"N... no need."
"Are you sure?"
"No need. Thank you o(╥﹏╥)o."
Because she didn't want her whole family wiped out.
This evil god was oddly polite. Before killing her, He was even courteously asking for her address, but she had no desire to sacrifice her dad.
Unable to get any information out of her, Lin En thought for a moment, then opened his panel.
After his descent, his information had changed as well.
[Lin En] [Species]: self-mutated aberrant tadpole [Calamity Rank]: 1 [Vessel]: human [Vessel age]: 15 [Vessel status]: brain stem missing, memories disintegrating [Description]: descended from your final vessel before you left the Seven Nights World. Its bloodline is diluted, and its current compatibility with you is 41%. Please note: this vessel cannot accommodate further increases in your power. To further strengthen your projection, please replace it or create a new vessel as soon as possible.
Reading the description, Lin En hesitated.
"My final vessel before leaving this world?"
What was going on? He knew his own origins perfectly well. He had only arrived in that place called the [Warp] ten years ago. Could the tadpole he had become have descended into this world long before that?
Was that what the system had meant earlier by a vessel family?
Lin En glanced at his body.
He roughly understood now. In other words, this was just a temporary container that could barely hold him, but couldn't support any further descent?
He rubbed his chin.
"Well, whatever the case, I'll figure out the basics of this world first."
He would make do with it for now.
He had only just arrived, after all. Beggars couldn't be choosers...
He slapped his head hard, trying to read this vessel's barely functioning memories, but could only vaguely recall a familiar place name.
Beyond that, everything was empty.
This really was an absolutely terrible start!
[Ding! Your happiness -1]
Then he looked at the girl and said as gently as he could:
"Little girl, can I ask you for directions? I've just arrived, and I'm not very familiar with your world yet. Where is [Gear Street]? Could you point me the right way?"
Glass Lamp blankly pointed with her little hand and said, her eyes sightless:
"G... go past the next two streets, then turn right, and you'll see a sign... after that, go another five kilometers, and you'll be there..."
Lin En looked in the direction she pointed, peering into the distance.
"That way? Thanks, little girl! You've been a huge help!"
He...
He actually called me little girl.
o(╥﹏╥)o
Glass Lamp gathered her courage and asked blankly, "Um... may I ask why You descended here...?"
Lin En immediately burst out laughing and said:
"To find somewhere to settle down, of course! I haven't seen humans in years! Now that I've come to your world, I'm definitely not leaving anytime soon! You know, this place might be a little strange, but I could tell at a glance that it'd make a great lair for me! Hahahaha! I'm going to have myself a proper feast!"
[Ding! Glass Lamp's Sanity -40!]
The girl was so terrified that her soul nearly fled her body, images of people being devoured instantly flooding her mind.
J... just as she'd thought. She hadn't been wrong. He was a terrifying demon god who had descended from another world. He... He was going to make this place His lair, enslave everyone here, then k... kill everyone in the world...
"Oh, right."
Lin En seemed to remember something.
"Could you do me another favor?"
Glass Lamp trembled in terror and said:
"P... please give Your orders..."
Lin En looked himself over, stark naked, and said:
"I've only just arrived. Could you lend me some pants to wear? Walking around like this doesn't feel quite right."
After all, it was swinging back and forth.
And as a human being, one still needed some sense of decency and morality.
Even if it was nighttime.
If someone saw him like this, especially in front of a blind little girl, they might really mistake him for some perverted lolicon trying to abduct an innocent child!
"P... pants?"
Glass Lamp stared blankly.
"Shorts would work too."
Lin En was completely serious.
Glass Lamp shakily reached out, her mind utterly blank. Her little hands frantically felt around her body, only to discover that she didn't have what he wanted.
"You don't have any?"
Lin En let out a breath, feeling somewhat disappointed. After all, who went out carrying a bunch of spare bottoms for no reason?
But just as he was looking around,
"I do."
There was a rustling sound.
Then came the little girl's trembling voice.
Lin En froze.
"H... here."
The girl held out her little hand, trembling. Confused, Lin En took a thin, lace-trimmed garment from her.
He gave it a gentle tug. It was very stretchy.
This was...
Glass Lamp shakily pressed both hands against her skirt, her legs held together.
"Th... this is all I have... please feel free to take it..."
Before you continue