"This is completely wrong. How could this happen?"
The pinhole camera transmitted the scene inside the room. Elysia rubbed her chin, a bewildered expression on her face.
No Honkai energy allowed. This 'surprise' should have scared Ryan rigid, right? Is he really fearless?
"Elysia, you said you'd make that guy embarrass himself, that's why I helped. This, this is simply..."
Mobius gritted her teeth, unable to describe it. She had planned to record Ryan embarrassed face as a memento, at least to cancel out a few entries in that thick ledger.
But before settling old scores, new resentment piled up. Seeing that blockhead throwing herself into his arms, she felt like she had lost a fortune.
"It's all your fault, you idiot, for insisting on this prank. Look, he's not even scared; he's practically beaming."
Rin was still small, so she could be ignored for now. But Hua luck was too good. 'I should have forced my way into his group earlier.'
Mobius grew more and more irritated, glaring at the corner: "And you, didn't we agree you'd sabotage them halfway? Why did you run away ahead of time?"
"Uh, I was genuinely scared just now! Who knew you guys were so serious?" Pardofelis whined, her cat ears drooping. She really had bristled with fright earlier.
"Elysia, I've already broken the rules," Eden also reminded calmly. Her humming just now had used a bit of her ability, a kind of subconscious fear guidance. Otherwise, Hua wouldn't have been so flustered.
"We're the referee team, so it definitely doesn't count as cheating. And who knew Ryan was so brave? He barely reacted just now, and Hua too. Being so afraid of ghosts is too cute," Elysia propped her head up, her face full of distress, then decisively passed the buck: "It's all his fault for bragging on the survey. Although I don't want to be his dad, being his older sister is quite nice."
Everyone fell silent. Like Mobius and Eden, they were helping for the sake of this bet. And the silently 'joyful' Vil-V was even more so; she simply enjoyed the fun.
"So, Ryan prank operation continues?"
"Mm, I want to make him call me 'Sister'!"
"Dear Mobius, he'll probably call you 'Auntie', won't he?"
"Elysia, you want to cause internal strife, don't you?!" Mobius was instantly speechless. She walked to the monitor: "Your tricks are childish. Let me add some strong stuff."
"Doctor, can you make Ryan scared?" Eden was very skeptical. Now that Ryan was on guard, those sudden, unexpected tricks wouldn't work anymore.
"Of course," Mobius pursed her lips, a triumphant smile on her face:
"I understand him best, no one else comes close!"
...
Ryan couldn't hear the argument happening elsewhere. He carried two people, weighed down, panting heavily.
He was human too, and would get scared when unprepared.
He had almost broken down just now. His Authority was already poised to turn the entire hotel into a sea of fire. Fortunately, Hua was even more overwhelmed than him and instantly turned into an octopus.
"Senior Brother, are you really not scared?" The girl hugged Ryan forearm, nervously looking around.
"Are you kidding? I'm super brave, okay? What have I ever been afraid of since I was little?"
"Does being afraid of eating mushrooms count?"
"Uh, that's a personal preference," Ryan tried to argue, while also comforting Rin, who was hugging his left hand: "Don't be afraid, with me here, no spirits or monsters can get close."
"But we just got scared."
"It was just an accident. It must be Vil-V playing a prank. Next time, with psychological preparation, it won't happen."
Both his hands were held. The left side, already quite developed, gave soft feedback. The right side, though somewhat firm, looking at that familiar face, felt like going back ten years to walking at night in the countryside.
They still didn't know Pardofelis had switched sides and continued searching floor after floor. Along the way, they encountered suddenly brightened lights or shadows quickly flitting across the end of corridors.
It was all Vil-V mischief, fake, all special effects.
Ryan began to erect mental barriers, instantly feeling himself return to a fearless state. It was true; these things were just scary, not aggressive. Even if they were aggressive, would they be stronger than the Seventh Herrscher?
They continued all the way to the top floor of the hotel. His composure infected the two girls, who slowly began to observe their surroundings.
'It seems they're not as scared now, but can you two loosen your grip?'
"Alright, you two walk properly. If there's a real emergency, I won't even be able to free my hands."
"No! Holding Brother Ryan makes us feel safe."
"Rin, you're a girl, you should be more reserved." Hua let go of his hand and immediately went into lecturing mode, completely forgetting how tightly she had been clinging herself.
"What does it matter? I'm going to marry Brother Ryan when I grow up anyway, so I'm just getting familiar with it early," Rin replied decisively, then saw Hua dumbfounded expression, "What's wrong? Didn't Sister tell you?"
'Ah, so that's why Sakura looked so troubled. I thought she was trying to stop Rin from getting the hyper-mutation surgery, but the problem was here all along.'
Ryan also had a dark line across his forehead, but he didn't think too much about it. What a fifteen or sixteen-year-old says can't be taken seriously.
But Rin was getting even more excited. She took two steps back, bent down, and pointed to her considerably developed chest: "Don't stare at me, Sister Hua. I won't fight you for him. Sister and I are in this together, you can think of us as a bonus, like a buy-one-get-one-free deal."
'Goddammit, bonus item.'
Ryan mouth began to twitch. This girl was getting more and more out of line. Okay, the 'sisters-sandwich' idea was intriguing, but was he that kind of person?
Just as he was about to scold her, he suddenly felt the surroundings light up. The sudden strong light made him squint. He unconsciously looked up and around, seeing all the searchlights around the rooftop illuminate, and then dozens of 'ghostly figures' ran wildly around.
'Flashy tricks. It's Vil-V messing around again. The purpose is—'
He suddenly remembered the survey he filled out on the plane and instantly understood who the mastermind was. 'Ah, Elysia, being a wingman was fake, you want to be my dad, huh?'
Having figured everything out, he was feeling somewhat smug, when he suddenly heard Hua speak.
"Senior Brother, where's Rin?"
Huh?
Ryan decisively looked down. At the same time, the strong light vanished, and the rooftop returned to darkness. He didn't think much of it and followed the footprints in the snow. He raised his flashlight, then suddenly paused.
A swarm of dense insects crawled towards them. Upon closer inspection, they were all cockroaches. Crimson flames appeared in his palm.
Just a spark would be enough to burn all these insects with no Honkai energy reactions, but his palm hesitated. He quietly swept his Authority across the entire town, gritting his teeth and grabbing Hua, who was ready to attack.
"Let's retreat. Someone is waiting for us to break the rules."
He hadn't scanned a single enemy just now, so he knew exactly who was causing trouble.
"But..."
"Rin has been invited for tea. What damn adventure? This is clearly an excuse to mess with me." Ryan pulled the girl and left. Hua also realized that these insects, while disgusting, were not aggressive.
However, normal people wouldn't want insects crawling all over them. The two quickly retreated, shutting the door with a bang, then leaned against it, panting.
"Pfft."
"What are you laughing about?" Ryan turned his head. In the reflected light of the flashlight, he could see the girl's fair teeth.
"I feel like you haven't been this disheveled in a long time, being chased around by some insects."
Ryan rolled his eyes. Countless arthropods touching his skin would truly scare him half to death. He couldn't help but ignite himself. Then Elysia would probably laugh her face off.
No wonder she said using Honkai energy meant he was scared. Was that fatty's intelligence really that high? Could Mei be giving her ideas again? And these insects looked like Mobius doing.
'You've got guts, all of you, ganging up on me. Just wait until I win this adventure, then I'll settle the score with you slowly.'
"Let's go. We're going to find the 'treasure'. If it's her, I probably know where she hid it."
"We're not looking for Pardofelis and Rin anymore?"
"It'd be a miracle if we found them. They're probably laughing somewhere."
Ryan turned and left. A burning desire to win raged within him. He wanted to see what other tricks Elysia had up her sleeve.
'Me, scared? Are you kidding? If Finality jumped out, believe me, I wouldn't even blink.'
Hua was stunned for a moment. Hearing the rustling of insects, she couldn't help but shiver and quickly chased after him.
Whether it was ghostly figures or a skeleton specimen suddenly leaping out from behind a door, Ryan expression remained unchanged. He held Hua small hand tightly, choosing to ignore everything.
Since he knew who the mastermind was, these things were too childish. As a psychologist, he also possessed excellent psychological guidance abilities.
Even if it was more realistic than any haunted house in the world, it was fake. Trying to trick his nerve reflexes like a knee-jerk reaction was even more naive. He could deal with it by suppressing the pain.
He jabbed an iron needle into his thigh. The pain would slow down his reaction, so he wouldn't be startled by anything suddenly jumping out.
'Senior Brother is serious again. Does he need to go to this extent? Will he settle the score with Elly afterward?'
Hua was speechless but knew that Ryan was a person with an extremely strong desire to win. Once he got carried away, he couldn't be reasoned with.
The two walked directly out of the hotel, crossed the street, and along the way witnessed various disgusting insects or magical tricks, finally arriving at the other end of the valley.
Here, there was a barbed wire fence with an iron sign hanging on it that read 'Military Zone, No Entry'. Looking inside, they could see a deep cave entrance, but the iron door, which should have been tightly closed, was missing a large piece, as if it had been erased.
There was actually a military base in this beautiful valley. The clash of aesthetics made Hua turn her head back and forth.
"Senior Brother, this is..."
Ryan didn't answer immediately. He stroked the incredibly smooth missing part of the door, then replied in a somewhat heavy tone:
"Elysium." (Note: Paradise/Utopia)
Elysium?
Hua seemed to have heard this name somewhere but couldn't recall it for a moment, and also felt that something was off.
Who was the mastermind? Wasn't this an adventure game? How did he know the gift was here?
The girl was as bewildered as ever, looking somewhat unintelligent. She followed Ryan into this military restricted zone and quickly discovered what was wrong.
The tunnel looked as if it had been cleaned, completely different from the chaotic city outside. Everything was spotless, except for smooth cut marks on the walls. She touched them slightly and found that there should have been a mechanical switch there.
Elysium, Second Herrscher!
She suddenly remembered. Wasn't this where the Second Herrscher appeared in the archives? So, this tunnel wasn't cut or melted, but was entirely teleported away by the Authority of Space.
Hua abruptly turned her head and saw the gap in the barbed wire. She deduced that the Herrscher had escaped control from here. It was conceivable that the tunnel inside would have been packed with soldiers, who then disappeared instantly without a trace.
Woo—
A cold wind swept in, making her shiver. She quickly sped up to catch up to Ryan.
"Senior Brother, this..."
"Don't be afraid. The Second Herrscher has long since become a Divine Key. There's no danger here at all. Hmph, trying to use the Herrscher presence to make me nervous, what a clever scheme." Ryan had already subtly cheated. There was no Honkai energy reaction here at all.
He recalled that when he wanted to overthrow the Dogma faction, he had also started with 'Elysium'. He didn't expect that now, with the dust settled, he would actually have a chance to see it.
There wasn't much to see, actually. The deep tunnel should have originally had various defensive facilities or research equipment, but the Herrscher of the Void's cleansing ability was the strongest; not a single hair was left.
'Why did Elysia hide the gift here? I originally thought she was going to invite me for a private stroll.'
Ryan felt like he had been tricked again. He withdrew his Authority and Honkai energy, and suddenly felt his heart rate accelerating.
It was like watching those 'ghost hunter' livestreams he'd seen in his previous life. After all, it was a 'non-existent' place. Even without sensing danger, it made his heart race. As they rounded a corner, some tightly shut iron doors piqued his interest.
"Come on, let's see what's in there."
He quickened his pace, pushing open an iron door. With a creak, his flashlight beam shone inside.
"Looks like a room?" Hua also poked her head in, seeing the room was quite luxurious, with a large bed in the center covered in pink sheets.
Looking out, the pitch-black tunnel contrasted sharply with the room.
Hua didn't quite understand what 'Elysium' meant. Ryan, who had directly faced Adam, showed a hint of disgust. He walked to the table and flipped through the dust-covered notebook on it.
It was a diary, with no major secrets, just a young girl's everyday complaints.
She lamented her heavy and unfree work, rejoiced in having enough to eat and drink, and occasionally revealed fear, saying she saw some people being sent underground and never saw them come out again.
It seemed the true core area was underground. No wonder there was a huge empty space in the middle of the tunnel; whatever was in there must have been cleaned out by the Herrscher of the Void.
Ryan had no regrets. He was on vacation. Why let this bullshit that crossed humanity's bottom line ruin his mood?
As he boredly flipped through it, he suddenly heard a rustling sound. He quickly turned his head to see Hua opening a cabinet, everything inside falling out. She smiled sheepishly.
"It's really clumsy not using Honkai energy."
"This is also a trial. If Honkai energy ever becomes unusable, you'll need to adapt," Ryan didn't object to playing 'ordinary people'. He treated it as a rehearsal for the Herrscher of Binding.
Then Hua squatted down. It was too dark in the room for her to see clearly, so she felt some strange things.
'A whip? What's this elliptical ball? Huh, is this an eggplant? The clothes feel nice, must be high quality.'
She was bewildered when Ryan flashlight shone on her. The girl was squatting on the ground, seemingly holding toys in her hand, but their shape...
'My God, the props are quite complete, covering both S and M categories. Truly an eye-opener, worth studying.'
Ryan eyesight was excellent; he instantly understood the implications. Yet, to be held by a girl as innocent as wood, the contrast was indeed a bit suggestive.
Hua seemed not to notice Ryan gaze. Under the light, she looked at what was in her hand, and her face flushed crimson instantly. The toys felt scalding hot, and she quickly threw them away.
"Senior Brother, I, this..."
"Don't overthink it. Those are just eggplant models, they just look a bit strange," Ryan answered solemnly, moving the flashlight away.
'Huh? Was that really an eggplant? I don't feel like it was.'
His conviction made Hua doubt herself. She touched it carefully again, trying hard to discern, when she suddenly heard a 'pfft' sound from the doorway.
"Ah, you tricked me!"
Hua was mortified! She had actually touched those dirty things twice, twice! And right under Ryan nose. How could she ever hold her head up again? She felt like her head was a boiling kettle, making wooshing sounds.
Fortunately, Ryan had already escaped out the door, otherwise Hua would have surely gone up and used a Dimensional Fist to make him lose his memory. She quickly wiped her hands on her clothes and touched her cheek. It was indeed burning hot.
Her mind flooded with her best friend Carol's warnings, saying she was too innocent and didn't understand romance at all, even dragging her to study movies. But thanks to Carol, she wouldn't have known what those things were.
'It's over, it's over. Will Senior Brother think I'm a weirdo?'
Hua knew nothing of romance. Since childhood, she had always been her teacher's good child, a diligent student. However, the pitch-black room made her too preoccupied to care. She quickly stood up.
"Senior Brother, wait a moment..."
Before she could finish, the intuition of a warrior sent a chill straight to her scalp. Just as she turned her head, a fair hand covered her mouth. Her eyes widened involuntarily, then blurred and closed.
"Hmph, I knew you, this blockhead, were stubborn and reluctant to use Honkai energy," a pleased voice echoed, dragging the unconscious girl into the shadows, then filled with anticipation.
"And I also know what you, you idiot, are afraid of."
Tap.
In the tunnel, Ryan stopped. He turned his head. No footsteps echoed in the dark passage. He raised an eyebrow, then his expression changed. He quickly turned back.
Hua was gone.
His flashlight swept every corner of the room, but he saw no sign of the girl. As a good child, Hua wouldn't hide to retaliate against him. That meant—
"Elysia, you dare to scheme against me!"
Ryan gritted his teeth. Since he had subtly cheated earlier, he was sure this was Elysia doing and didn't need to worry about Hua safety. But the wooshing wind swept into the room, various subtle sounds echoing, and the rigidly standing man suddenly shivered.
Fear, it was fear!
Ryan was completely surprised. His somewhat chaotic brain repeatedly confirmed this feeling, then his logical thinking rapidly spun.
'How is this possible? I'm smart enough. I already saw through Elysia little tricks. It's like playing with open cards. Even if Eden subtly cheated and used her ability for psychological guidance, it shouldn't have worked. But why...'
After a moment of hesitation, he had the answer:
First, by making people disappear one after another, Ryan, within the rules, felt a sense of powerlessness. Then, this powerlessness was used to amplify the feeling of loneliness, thereby generating fear.
"What brilliant psychological tactics. This definitely couldn't have been designed by Elysia brain!"
The man gritted his teeth, and his over-speeding logical thinking churned out more questions.
'It shouldn't be like this. Even without overwhelming power as a psychological pillar, I was once a lone blood-ghoul, traversing the darkness to take hundreds of lives. A top assassin should enjoy solitude and darkness; how could I be afraid?'
The flashlight's light flickered, and the room plunged into complete darkness. Nothing could be seen. Ryan fingers trembled. He was close to giving in, wanting to use his power for a sense of security, even if it meant losing. Then his desire to win fought back fiercely.
'Afraid of what? It's all Elysia script. Do I really want to lose to her?'
Anyway, it's just a game. Losing is losing; I won't lose a limb. Elysia wouldn't go too far.
Ryan felt his mind was a mess. He turned around and walked into the tunnel, his footsteps quickening. Amidst the conflict between rationality and emotion, a third voice emerged:
'You've changed. Enjoying solitude was once your strongest weapon, because from the very beginning, you planned to lay low for fifty thousand years. All human interaction stemmed from utilization. More emotions meant more obstacles.'
But this idea changed subtly. 'I am a Weaver of Dreams, wanting to make up for the regrets of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. But just like action and reaction, while weaving others' dreams, it also led me down a path completely opposite to my original one.'
'Fear of loneliness, fear of powerlessness. Why strive so hard? Isn't it because I'm afraid that the dream I've painstakingly woven will shatter, that my friends, lovers, and family will disappear one by one? Or even suddenly wake up and find that everything was a dream, and I'm still that office worker, living in a safe and ordinary country?'
This was once a dream, but now if it came true, he would utterly despise that life, feeling that his life would be missing many faces.
"Has the Golden Courtyard been built into my heart?"
Ryan was already jogging. His Authority was unconsciously released, sweeping through the entire area with the cold wind. While his mind raced, he instinctively moved closer to the detected human figure.
He didn't know how many turns he took in the tunnel. Ahead, there was a faint light. The cave entrance had been reached. Ryan pushed off with his foot, rushing out at a speed far exceeding human capabilities.
There was another valley. A bright moon hung in the sky, illuminating the flowers all over the mountains, making it look like a gigantic garden. In the center, there was an open space, where a pink-haired girl gently swayed a swing covered in vines.
She looked up, seeing the bewildered man rushing towards her, and gently smiled.
"Ryan, you lost."