The heart of an evil god.
It seemed that these supernatural beings all possessed the most deadly, core secrets.
Rather than being an organ essential to human survival, the heart was more accurately described as the most primitive source of power, exposed without any protection.
【Yes, my heart.】Qin Zhuo didn’t seem to realize that he had just said something shocking. His tone was still lazy, as if he didn’t take this life-threatening matter seriously. 【How about it?】
So the question was now before Jian Xie.
Would he accept it just like that?
It sounded like a good deal, but thinking about it carefully, didn’t this mean that their relationship wouldn’t disappear even if the other left his body? To put it bluntly, it was like establishing a one-sided contract with penalties.
It was indeed advantageous, but it seemed that it would involve many complications that did not exist before.
Jian Xie paused for a moment, then wrote a sentence on his draft paper: […Let me think about it.]
【……】This was a response he had never imagined.
The black fog that had been swirling around the classroom suddenly froze and that unexpected gaze fell on Jian Xie, as if it wanted to see through his human form.
“Ding-a-ling—”
The bell suddenly rang, interrupting the tense atmosphere that had suddenly fallen between the two.
Within seconds, footsteps hesitantly approached from ahead, it floated around for a few circles and finally landed in front of Jian Xie’s desk.
He raised his head and looked directly at the face of his class president, Jing Chen.
“I saw you in class…” He placed his notebook on Jian Xie’s desk, his cheeks slightly red. “and I don’t know if you took notes. This is mine.”
Although his grades weren’t very good, the class president has a habit of taking neat and organized notes.
After saying goodbye outside the hospital yesterday, he kept wondering where Jian Xie had gone. Then he unexpectedly saw him walking out indifferently on the news, which made him even more worried. Thus, he couldn’t help but keep glancing at Jian Xie during class today, and almost got caught by the physics teacher.
“Thank you.” Jian Xie took the notebook.
He really needed it. After all, Qin Zhuo’s one-sided communication had made him a little distracted, causing him to miss several lines of formulas.
Seeing that he accepted it without hesitation, the class president felt a weight lift from his heart. He was about to turn and leave, but suddenly remembered something. He looked at Jian Xie hesitantly and said, “By the way, Jian Xie, I… I plan to rent an apartment for now, and I looked up your neighborhood.”
It does sound a bit perverted, but Jing Chen guaranteed that he had only filled in Jian Xie’s address subconsciously and really meant nothing by it. However, he ended up seeing an unexpected and shocking detailed report, and after searching for a series of speculations, he ended up not sleeping well all night.
Compared to it, the terrifying events that Jing Chen had experienced were nothing.
Therefore, regardless of whether Jian Xie knew or not, he believed it would be better if he told him about it.
Seeing Jian Xie looking at him, Jing Chen took a deep breath and sent him the news link on his phone, “I… thought this was very strange…”
Jian Xie opened it and took a look.
News headlines were concise and to the point, and the content could be understood at a glance.
It was a fire that occurred in the neighborhood where he currently resided. Reportedly, everyone in the entire building was burned to death, especially the four bodies at the source of the fire, which were so badly burned by the flames that they were unrecognizable, reduced to charred remains that stuck to the hallway like black mud and emitting the distinctive putrid odor of summer.
The accompanying photo showed a firefighter holding a shovel with a water truck in the background. Although there were no bodies visible, the shovel spoke volumes.
By all accounts, it should not have been possible for an entire building to have no survivors. Moreover, some of the bodies were found near the entrance, just a step away from safety, yet they still perished in the thick smoke. This situation was indeed highly unusual.
Jian Xie looked at it for a moment, then suddenly zoomed in with two fingers on a certain part of the picture in the news.
The class president also came over to take a look, and when he saw the enlarged details, he couldn’t help but let out a gasp and stumble backward in shock.
Behind a window billowing with thick smoke, there stood a figure in a school uniform covered in mud, with a pair of striking, black-and-white eyes staring straight at the person outside the photograph.
——That’s definitely not a living person!
“T-that is…”
Jing Chen, who was initially very timid, already had tears welling up in his eyes, but Jian Xie, who was facing the photo directly, showed no reaction.
The noise they made was quite loud, immediately catching the attention of the English class representative in the front row. He turned around and gave Jian Xie a look of disgust.
“You really do like to show off—”
When the other person’s gaze casually swept over him, he felt a chill down his spine. The mocking words he had been about to utter were swallowed back, and he almost bit his tongue.
“……”
“It’s time for the next class.” Jian Xie put away his phone and said indifferently, “You can go back to your seat first. I’ll return your notes before the next physics class.”
It wasn’t a very mature voice, but it somehow calmed Jing Chen’s racing heart. He nervously hummed in response and returned to his seat, but he couldn’t help glancing back at him repeatedly as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.
Jian Xie ignored his gaze, opened his notebook, and began to copy.
The next class was PE and after that it was lunch break. For someone like him who was a regular at the infirmary, that meant free time.
…Since no deaths had occurred in the neighborhood after that, did they just put it aside and ignore it even though something was clearly wrong?
Thinking of this, Qin Zhuo laughed. 【It seems that you have priorities in your heart.】
Jian Xie first crossed out a question, highlighted the key points with a highlighter, then frowned, but didn’t pay much attention to that sentence.
Was the other saying that he decides who should die and who should not based on his own mood?
That was not necessarily the case. Just looking at it rationally, since he has already determined that this monster has no intentions of harming anyone else, then based on the severity of the damage, he should focus his efforts on preparing for the autumn job recruitment first and worry about the rest later.
Unexpected enthusiasm, followed by unexpected indifference.
By the time Jian Xie finished copying the notes, most of the students in the class had already gone downstairs for PE class.
At least his campus life remained unchanged no matter what happened these past few days. As the invisible person in the class, he was still alone.
He ignored the fact that most people wanted to talk to him but didn’t dare to.
Jian Xie tore out the page where he had been chatting with Qin Zhuo in his notebook, first tearing it into pieces, then crumpling it into a ball and throwing it into the trash can. He then went out and headed straight up the stairs to an empty classroom on the top floor where desks and chairs were piled up in the corner, making the room look extremely spacious.
Jian Xie didn’t live on campus and lunch break wasn’t very long. By the time he went back and forth, there wouldn’t be much time left. He found this classroom by accident. There were basically no classes there, and no one would come to disturb him. It was perfect for catching up on sleep.
Just as he closed the door, countless cold rays spread along his body, like snakes rapidly climbing, instantly filling the entire classroom.
[Eight Cold Hell].
He silently repeated it in his heart, and the cold responded to him.
The four walls vanished into thin air in an instant. Everything in his field of vision began to fade away as his body was overcome with a sense of falling. Endless winds and frost swept toward him and a bone-chilling cold engulfed the entire space. Jian Xie blinked and realized that in just a few seconds, he was no longer standing in the classroom. Looking up, he saw nothing but ice fields as far as the eye could see.
However, this coldness was not merely a drop in temperature. Instead, it carried a chilling and terrifying aura, cruelly scrutinizing everything in its path. It was frost that could freeze flesh and blood while the misty white fog rapidly reduced visibility.
Jian Xie noticed that the dark shadow that had been following him had vanished and the entire space had fallen into complete silence.
“……Qin Zhuo?” He said.
The airflow from his voice carried a chill.
Soon, the voice by his ear dispelled the coldness surrounding Jian Xie, carrying a hint of hidden tenderness. 【In your body.】
“It’s gone,” he said.
He was referring to that monster covered in eyeballs.
He didn’t notice that from the very beginning, there had been a hint of unconscious dependence in his words. Qin Zhuo curled his lips, feeling much better.
【Hm?】
Jian Xie rubbed his ears, looked around, and took in the scene before him.
This was his first time having the opportunity to carefully observe the area as he had been too preoccupied with eating during his previous visit and had not had the chance to look at the so-called [Eight Cold Hell]. Now that he looked around, the place seemed even more vast than it appeared to the naked eye. Although it was a fake hell, it was a remarkably complete space with no discernible boundaries.
He added, “The monster at that subway station.”
【It’s right here,】 Qin Zhuo said lazily. Jian Xie could feel something supporting his elbow and then grasping his hand. 【Look down.】
A faint tearing sound reached his ears. Jian Xie paused and looked down at his feet. The sight that met his eyes caused his breath to catch in his throat.
Beneath the thick layer of ice, a scene more cruel and terrifying than the worst nightmare unfolded. Layers of frozen flesh were piled up haphazardly, resembling the meat of pigs, cows, and sheep. The patterns on the blades of the dagger were not illusions but were drawn based on the horrifying scene before him, undoubtedly striking fear into the hearts of all monsters.
Not long ago when Qin Zhuo appeared, his vision had been filled with an overwhelming blackness. At that moment, he felt that the darkness emanating from the other seemed capable of spreading across the entire world.
And now, the scene before him gave the same feeling.
As far as he knew, the Supernatural Management Bureau had divided the real city into eighteen districts based on the eighteen levels of hell in the game. The monsters were spread out over a vast area, making it extremely difficult to find them all. However, when Jian Xie saw the [Eight Cold Hell] he had unfolded, he couldn’t help but have an almost absurd thought.
If the [Eight Cold Hell] was large enough, could it incorporate the real world into his hell when it expanded?
If this was indeed possible, it meant that Jian Xie no longer needed to hunt monsters one by one. Instead, after activating the [Eight Cold Hell], he could drag them in directly then close the predation field once and for all to digest them collectively.
“……”
However, he felt like he has become some kind of prison warden.
“Do you remember your favorite game?” Qin Zhuo suddenly asked.
His voice carried a hint of amusement, apparently privy to what Jian Xie was thinking, but the conversation jumped from one topic to another.
His train of thought interrupted, Jian Xie snapped back to reality and hesitatantly said, “You’ve played games too?”
【I’ve seen you play.】
Jian Xie: “…” Oh.
How could he forget that the person sharing his body had been living with him for a whole year and was naturally very familiar with some human activities?
As a former delinquent, playing games was a piece of cake.
He used to help others level up their ranked games. If it weren’t for the fact that it was truly impractical, he would have considered pursuing a professional career in gaming…
No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity when dealing with that Special A-class monster that was toying with the class president. It was clearly the interface of a combat game, one he had played for a while. Qin Zhu probably thought it would feel more authentic, so he made some concessions to Jian Xie in the small details.
He only became aware of it now.
【The idea of a predation field is good, but there is a problem.】
Jian Xie asked, “What?”
【Let’s use a game analogy.】 Qin Zhuo lazily spoke, 【Hmm… your favorite card-drawing game for example.】
Jian Xie paused for a moment, wanting to hear It’s opinion on the matter, but saw It pause and suddenly bring up an unexpected topic. 【…Wait, if you were a character in the game, would we be on the same card?】
Jian Xie: “…”
Xena note: Slowly transitioning pronouns with Qin Zhou. “It” is becoming “he/him” in some texts.
Translator Xena’s other works: https://ko-fi.com/xenatl/gallery
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