A Thief Enters an Empty House

"Father, I..."

"You saw it again?"

"Yes, Father. I saw the hungry wolf devour Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother."

"And it tricked Little Red Riding Hood, who was ultimately devoured by the hungry wolf."

Tsk, this really was troublesome.

"Then what are you thinking about?"

"I... I don't know." Curze's already pale face grew even paler, and there was fear in his eyes.

"It's good that you don't know." Han Mingxuan placed his hand on Curze's head.

Curze felt the warmth of his hand and listened to Han Mingxuan's voice.

"Curze, you need to understand that this ability of yours isn't your fault. It's because there's a thief living in your heart."

"A thief living there?"

"Yes, a wicked thief."

"Just now, were you about to look further into those endings you saw?"

"Yes."

"I'll teach you a few words before bed tonight. From now on, whenever you see an ending like that, just remember them. As far as this goes, this is everything I can teach you."

Curze nodded.

"Let the thought arise, but do not follow it. Like a thief entering an empty house, it will find nothing to steal and leave of its own accord."

"The wicked thief in your heart is different. He'll first throw things out to frighten you, then take both your belongings and your peace of mind."

"The next time he comes, don't do anything. Just watch him. Remember?"

"I'll remember, Father."

Han Mingxuan nodded. "Clean this up, then go back to bed."

After cleaning up the things there, father and son left the mine.

"Father, someone went into the mine where we were just now."

Curze's powers were gradually awakening, and he could see certain subtle things very clearly.

"Let them. Aside from a few stone slabs and an isotope lamp so old it barely works, there's nothing in there but a pile of slag."

"A thief entering an empty house?"

"You learn quickly."

Watching Han Mingxuan sink into a deep sleep, Curze made his way to the outskirts of the mine.

He was watching those thieves.

"Fuck! How come there's nothing in this dump?!"

"Boss, I've been keeping an eye on this place for almost a month. Could those two, father and son, be idiots?"

"I reckon so. If that kid Han wasn't an idiot, why would he adopt a child for no reason?"

"Maybe he thinks his life's too long?"

"Hahaha! Good point."

"Still, what a shame. We watched them for so long, only to come away empty-handed. Boss, let's go."

The man leading them had a face full of rugged flesh and a body covered in scars.

Curze knew the man.

He was Ferros, the mine boss in this area.

Looking at the empty mine, Ferros's eyes flashed with a cold smile.

"This trip won't be for nothing. It definitely won't be for nothing."

"Boss, you mean...?"

"The grown-up and the kid are both in good health. If we sold them to some big shot..."

Hearing Ferros say that, the others' eyes began to gleam with calculation.

Yes, they did this sort of thing often.

In the eyes of the big shots in the Adeptus Mechanicus, miners were organic consumables. When they ran out, they could just capture another batch.

That had also given rise to some bloody black-market businesses in the mine hive.

Whether they sold them to the upper levels of the mine hive as test subjects or to the Corpse Guild in exchange for some nutrient paste, both were excellent choices!

Wicked thieves!

Curze heard them loud and clear. These people weren't ordinary petty thieves; they were wicked thieves who murdered people.

Father had said that all humans were born equal, and all humans had the right and qualification to live!

Those beasts!

Curze had once asked what he should do if he encountered a villain who treated human life like dirt.

Han Mingxuan had answered in four words.

"Root out evil completely."

Yes, root out evil completely!

Curze had never really understood. In a place where human life was already treated like dirt, wouldn't rooting out evil completely mean killing everyone on the entire planet?

That conflicted with the kindness toward others his father usually taught him.

But today, he had seen these wicked thieves break into the mine where his father taught him.

He had heard them say with his own ears that they intended to kill his father!

Now Curze understood.

Why evil had to be rooted out completely.

Being kind to others and rooting out evil completely didn't conflict at all.

Some people merely wore human skin. They didn't deserve to be called human.

Putting himself in others' place, Curze also understood that if the day really came when he had to root out evil completely, then he would do it!

He wasn't the only one in the world with a family. Other people had families too.

So he couldn't just wait for the wicked thieves to leave. He had to get rid of them!

Let the thought arise without following it, like a thief entering an empty house.

Father was still too kind.

Wicked thieves could only be driven away or killed!

No mercy!

"Did you bring the stuff?"

"Of course. How could I leave the tools of our trade behind?"

Ferros looked at what his subordinate had taken out. It was a kind of low-temperature explosive.

Once the detonation threshold was set, it would go off with a boom.

"Idiot! What if they get blown to pieces and we can't sell them for a good price?!"

"Use this."

Ferros took out something else.

Curze recognized it. It was poisonous slag. At a high enough concentration, it could kill any living thing in the mine hive in a short time!

"Boss, isn't this too dangerous? What if..."

"If they all die, we'll bundle them up and sell them all."

"You really are a bunch of wicked thieves."

"Ah, I was wondering who it was. It's the little bastard that kid Han adopted."

"I was going to finish you two off quietly, but it doesn't matter. Now that you're here, I'll have some fun and whet my appetite first!"

Swish!

The moment Ferros finished speaking, a black shadow swept past, and a perfectly good head flew high into the air.

"Kill..."

Swish!

Before another man could finish speaking, his tongue burst into a cloud of bloody mist.

It was a one-sided slaughter.

The tool used for the slaughter was neither a stone nor a blade.

It was just a book Han Mingxuan had made himself from discarded materials.

Curze looked at the last page in his hand, if it could be called paper.

The page was soaked through with blood, but Curze had excellent eyesight. He could make out the words stained red with blood.

The hunter came, cut open the hungry wolf's belly, and saved Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.

That was right. He was Father's son, and he had power.

He wasn't the grandmother waiting for the hungry wolf to come knocking, nor was he Little Red Riding Hood, swallowed by the wolf.

He was a hunter with a gun!

Against hungry wolves, he had a hunting rifle!

Looking at the mess all over the ground, Curze felt dizzy and faint.

As the anger in his heart faded, the smell of his own kind's blood made Curze feel a little sick.

He knew he shouldn't have felt that way, but he couldn't help it.

Soon, Curze passed out.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a bizarre, fantastical world.

There was a door in front of him.

A voice told Curze:

Open it. Open that door, and he could have absolute power. He could become a god!

The temptation drew Curze closer and closer.

Just as he put his hand on the doorknob, he suddenly remembered something Han Mingxuan often said.

Only by doing it do you deserve to have it.

"What are you hesitating for? Open that door, and you'll gain more than just this planet!"

"Who are you?"

Curze looked at the tall figure before him.

He was over three meters tall, with black hair, a hunched back, no lips, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

Rather than a man, he was more like a monster.