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He suddenly lunged forward to attack the youth, only to crash into a pitch-black hole—a silent, dark abyss—and a silent terror instantly spread out.

This is...!!

The high-level monster was startled and stopped abruptly. Its body was only a fist's distance from the black hole; it almost crashed into it!

The higher monster's alertness made his heart pound. He looked up and met the gaze of the young man standing silently behind the black hole. In that instant, he saw only lifelessness in the young man's eyes; he looked at him as if he were an insignificant ant. Something was concealed by the pine resin emanating from the young man, preventing the monster from noticing it immediately—it was...

Qi, it's a murderous aura that surges with bloodlust!

It looks so familiar.

Black holes are familiar.

This malevolent aura is also very familiar.

It seems to be...

He's that Slaughter God who once turned the Inner World upside down!

Although he's disguised in human skin, there's no mistake, this young man is the Slaughter God!

The Inner World is inherently a world where the strong prey on the weak, but it is a place that instills fear in even monsters accustomed to slaughter. That Slaughter God has killed countless monsters.

The Slaughter God disappeared for over a hundred years, but the monsters of the Inner World still tremble with fear, afraid that he will suddenly reappear and unleash a reign of terror.

So he was here, in the human world!

The high-level monster's bloodlust instantly turned cold. He stared at the youth behind the black hole and stammered, "You... you're here..."

The young man looked at him indifferently and asked only, "What do you think you want to do?"

The higher monster blinked, its eyes as innocent and naive as a child's, and said in a clear voice, "I said I want to find a human to make friends with!"

The young man stared at him silently, making the monster break out in a cold sweat.

A few seconds later, the young man looked away.

The monster breathed a huge sigh of relief. He had almost thought he was going to become a pile of rubble in this black hole of the Slaughter God. Luckily, luckily...

He peeked at the Slaughter God, then backed away quietly. The young man ignored him, and just when he thought he was being allowed to leave, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, and the young man carried him away in a whirlwind.

The high-level monster was startled and came to its senses to find itself in a great mountain. Before it lay a series of steps, and a courtyard stood quietly atop the steps, hidden among a sea of verdant pines.

"Stay here."

The young man left these words and disappeared into the courtyard.

The higher-level monsters dared not make a move and obediently stayed, remaining there for decades, becoming the gatekeeper of this mountain.

In 2215, a medium-sized monster descended into the body of a five-year-old human child, and its first words upon arrival were to destroy the world.

Then, he became the second wrinkled gatekeeper in a mountain covered with pine trees.

Fifteen years later, a lowly monster descended into the body of a four-year-old human child, threatening to destroy the world for fun.

Then he became a doorman.

One day, the young man walked out of the courtyard and saw three monsters lying haphazardly on the stone steps in front of the gate. He was annoyed.

"Go out and do me a favor," the young man said calmly, chasing away the three troublesome monsters.

*

Ye Jiang searched the entire mall floor but found nothing that could be considered a clue. The second floor was not much different from the first floor; there were many shops, but they were all empty. Various wind-up toys were wandering around the mall. Ye Jiang did not see any humans, presumably they had been chased away by the little monsters.

As she finished shopping at the last shop and was about to leave, a Dalmatian wind-up toy appeared in front of the shop, blocking the entrance. A speech bubble popped up above the toy's head.

[Hug or pat on the head.]

Ye Jiang felt an energy envelop her. She looked down at her body, found nothing changed, and then looked up at the wind-up toy, noticing the speech bubble above its head. The spotted dog looked up at her, its toy-made features seemingly conveying anticipation. Ye Jiang finally realized she had encountered a toy quest, but the content of this quest...

Hug or pat on the head?

Whom to hug? Whom to pat on the head?

Ye Jiang pondered.

She pondered for too long, and the expectation on the Dalmatian's face slowly disappeared, turning into a look of grievance.

The Dalmatian turned into a pitiful-looking Dalmatian.

Suddenly, the dialog box bounced, and a few more words appeared after it.

[or a handshake.]

Ye Jiang's eyes flickered slightly.

With a blank expression, she reached out her hand, and the spotted dog toy immediately lifted one of its legs, eagerly placing its paw on her hand. In an instant, the dialogue box turned pink, then slowly dissipated into the air, and at the same time, Ye Jiang's feeling of being locked in energy disappeared.

Ye Jiang: "..."

Does this mean the mission is complete?

Ye Jiang pondered, recalling the information about the man named Wu Si, and tilted her head in confusion.

Wu Si talked about how terrified she was of the toy quests in the building; she thought they would be incredibly difficult, but...

That's it?

Ye Jiang looked down and saw the spotted dog's paw resting on her hand. It was hard, completely different from the softness of a human's body. She tried to squeeze it, and the toy immediately trembled, cracking and popping as if it were about to fall apart. She thought she had broken it, but then she inadvertently met the toy's eyes and clearly saw excitement in those stiff-looking eyes.

Her expression became hesitant.

The toys in the mall are indeed a bit unusual.

Just then, a clicking sound came from outside the mall. She turned her head and saw that all the toys around her were gathering in her direction, with dialog boxes popping up above her head.

[Dance with me.]

Please hold my hand and take a walk.

Let's play together!

[Give me a smile.]

Various tasks that Ye Jiang had never even considered appeared above the toys' heads, like... like a group of lonely children wanting someone's attention, completely unrelated to the deadly toys Wu Si had described.

Three real children's faces peeked out from behind a pillar in the mall. They were those three little monsters; they had followed Ye Jiang around the mall, acting suspiciously, their intentions unclear.

Ye Jiang's eyes sparkled as she saw the toys about to engulf her, and she leaped out.

She darted behind a pillar and punched the three little monsters on the head. The three monsters screamed and looked back at her, dazed. Their faces were those of human children, innocent and cute, with bewildered expressions that were very deceptive.

But Ye Jiang was not fooled by them. She stared at them coldly and ruthlessly, pointing her finger at the wind-up toys that were behaving strangely.

"Huh?" The three monsters didn't understand what she meant.

Ye Jiang twitched the corner of her mouth. "You guys did this?"

Did you guys do this to these toys suddenly start acting strangely?

The three monster brothers understood what she meant and shook their heads in unison.

"No!"

"No!"

"No!"

The third brother said, "They sometimes just act crazy all at once, it's none of our business!"

Sometimes the toys in the building will collectively do strange things, such as suddenly becoming still and then suddenly moving again when a new person arrives, scaring the new person.

At this moment, the wind-up toys, for reasons unknown, all popped up task windows and set out to search for one person: Ye Jiang.

The second child suddenly spoke up, "Do you want me to help you deal with them?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiang looked at him, and the monster brothers also looked at him.

The second monster got awkward, twisting its short, chubby body and fidgeting with its short, chubby fingers. "Want some?"

"No need." Ye Jiang refused. The second monster stopped twisting and his lips pursed, feeling inexplicably disappointed. The third monster quietly nudged his second brother, asking him what happened, whether his brain had been damaged by the knock, and whether his second brother had given him a headbutt in a fit of embarrassment and anger.

Ignoring the little monsters' little antics, Ye Jiang asked them, "Aren't you afraid of these toys?"

Otherwise, he wouldn't have offered to help her solve the problem.

Upon hearing this, the three monster brothers raised their heads in unison, revealing identical pride. "Of course we're not afraid! They can't beat us!"

Ye Jiang seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, she asked again, "Do you have monster numbers?"

The three monster brothers looked at her. "You know the monster number?"

The monster announced its number, "I am Number 3."

The second monster announced its number, "I am Number 5."

The little monster announced his number, "I am Number 7."

After announcing his number, he asked Ye Jiang, "Do you have one?"

They had completely accepted her as a monster, and a really big one at that, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to take them down so easily!

"No," Ye Jiang said honestly, admitting that she was new and there was nothing wrong with saying that.

The second monster immediately said, "Hide! Don't let the Ability Control Bureau find us. They're a real pain! If we're discovered, we'll be under constant surveillance!"

Ye Jiang, who was leading a mission from the Ability Control Bureau: "."

The three monster brothers didn't notice the strange look on Ye Jiang's face and continued talking to themselves, "Especially that evil Slaughter God, don't let him find out... Huh?"

The three monster brothers stopped talking and began to sized up Ye Jiang.

They circled around, scrutinizing Ye Jiang.

Ye Jiang: "..."

She slowly raised her head, and the three monsters reflexively retreated, covering their heads. Standing in what they considered a safe position, the three monsters finally spoke. With their childlike, adorable faces, they asked with great interest, "Our brethren, would you be interested in destroying the world?!"

Their vast aspirations, suppressed for over a century, have now resurfaced.

Such a powerful monster, I wonder who would prevail between it and the Slaughter God?

Ye Jiang You Hei

His eyes darted around, landing on the three monsters. "World Destruction?"

The three monsters nodded in unison.

"Yes, destruction! Rivers of blood flowed, the world fell silent, sunlight shone on the collapsed ruins, Pollution settled on the decaying corpses of humans, light and darkness coexisted, and the human world was transformed into a beautiful lair for monsters..."