"Finally, it's over."
Looking at the gradually weathering robot, Mad Spirit withdrew his power and aura, unable to resist yawning.
He slowly lowered his guard and began to think about wrapping things up.
"No matter how the process was, this troublesome internship task counts as completed... As long as I report the result back to headquarters, I can officially gain the title of Apprentice Death God."
"But this incident killed sixteen ordinary people, according to headquarters' rules, they might deduct my performance score... Damn."
"Maybe... I should say they attacked me first and were justifiably executed? Headquarters probably won't investigate thoroughly."
Mad Spirit glanced at the scattered corpses of ordinary people in front of him, stroked his chin, and thought indifferently.
"This method should work. I heard from some seniors that when they were too lazy to save people, they would handle those burdens first and then say they attacked them first... That way, not only do you avoid responsibility, but you also protect your performance score."
"But if I really use this method, then... I can't leave the remaining three civilians, or if they can't hold their tongues and tell anyone, it would ruin my reputation."
"Hmm..."
"The middle-aged woman and the child, just kill them together... As for the little girl called Youyou, she's quite clever and has some useful value, might as well take her back as a servant."
While thinking, Mad Spirit had already decided the fate of the three.
"Alright... No need to dwell on bothersome matters, time to inspect the Soul Stone."
He rubbed his hands together, ready to smash the robot's broken head to search for the item he wanted.
But just as Mad Spirit extended his fist, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck... as if something flew towards him.
Then, a little round object lightly hit his shoulder and bounced off.
"Pop~"
Mad Spirit instinctively turned his head, but all he saw was a gray metal ball flying past his eyes.
On the surface of the ball, a few crooked large characters lay there.
["Little Big" Series Fragmentation Grenade · Made by Little Bird Gang]
["Little Bird Quality, Must Be Exceptional!"]
"Boom——!"
In Mad Spirit's stunned gaze, the grenade exploded right on his face.
The ensuing fireball and shockwave sent the unsuspecting Apprentice Death God flying, crashing with a splash onto a garbage heap.
This unexpected strike indeed left him feeling quite unpleasant.
Due to his overspent physical strength not being enough to offset the explosion, Mad Spirit could clearly feel that his arm showed signs of fracture, and his face... was riddled with holes from the grenade's metal fragments.
Although it wasn't considered a severe injury, the sharp facial pain made him feel an unprecedented humiliation...
And the humiliation slowly turned into anger.
He gritted his teeth, struggled to push away the robot wreckage pressing on him, and poked his head out, wanting to see who dared do such a heinous act...
But just as he looked up, a small black figure suddenly emerged from the shadows!
This little one said nothing, jumped onto the garbage heap, stepped on Mad Spirit's chest, then pressed a knee against the Apprentice Death God's left hand, and stabbed out the silver dagger hidden in her hand towards his throat, the decisiveness in her action left no room for hesitation.
Feeling the sharp blade, Mad Spirit's pupils shrank, unable to think much, he hurriedly raised his right hand to block...
"Splurt~!"
At the last moment, the dagger pierced through Mad Spirit's palm, went through the center, and pressed against the Apprentice Death God's throat, only an inch from the trachea!
He gripped the dagger tightly, his teeth grinding noisily, just barely avoiding the blood-sealing result and falling into a state of mutual wrestling with the shadow.
Neither would take a step back, only deadlocked in place.
"Who is it...!"
Mad Spirit struggled to raise his head, glancing sideways at the black figure pressing him down.
It was a girl with crimson eyes.
Her body was covered in dirty water, the white bandages wrapped around her hands had turned brown, her bangs and hair were soaked in sweat, clinging to her forehead, seeming neither fresh nor neat... Yet under the moonlight, there was a kind of beautiful disarray.
A few minutes ago, she was still sobbing and presenting a powerless, weak appearance in front of Mad Spirit.
But now... she had shed all weakness, betting everything on the dagger in her hand, her eyes flashing with a kind of bloodlust... and madness that even made the Apprentice Death God shudder.
Her name was Yun You.
"It's you...!"
Mad Spirit's pupils contracted, his face filled with disbelief.
And he wasn't the only one unable to believe it.
In the distance, the middle-aged woman, Meng Nan, who saw this scene, was also dumbfounded.
She couldn't imagine how a person... an ordinary person could dare to strike the powerful Apprentice Death God.
This was beyond her comprehension.
Furthermore, judging from Yun You threw the grenade... to her sudden knife assault, it looked like this girl had long planned all of this.
"Bastard..."
Mad Spirit trembled with anger, not only because of the injury, but because someone he viewed as a mere ant dared to lay hands on him...
In his concept, this shouldn't have happened.
He clenched his knife-pierced left fist, wanting to pull free of the blade, then give this little girl a heavy punch to vent his anger.
But then, he suddenly found himself... unable to gather strength...
He gradually lost control of his body, the pain from the wound grew weaker, but his strength also diminished.
"It's me, of course, it's me!"
Yun You grinned, sank her shoulders, using all her strength to press the knife handle, letting the blade go half an inch further, stabbing into the Death God's flesh.
"Feeling... numb all over... can't muster strength...?"
"That's right!"
The girl laughed maniacally while continuing her effort: "You think about why I carried that Healing Pill and why I intentionally showed it to you, enticing you to swallow it?"
"Use your not-so-bright brain!"
Upon hearing this, Mad Spirit paused for a moment, then suddenly realized...
"That Healing Pill weighs around 70 grams... But the effective drug is only a less than 5-gram wax shell outside."
"Its inside has long been hollowed out."
"How about guessing what I hid inside?"
Yun You's smile grew brighter, her exertion increasing.
"The answer is——you can only buy it on the Black Market: a highly effective anesthetic! Just 0.02 grams can put a person to sleep for three days and nights, 0.1 grams can kill an adult ordinary person!"
"And I stuffed a whole 64 grams of it into the pill, 640 times the lethal dose!"
"Maybe it can't directly kill you, but that's okay... As long as it can weaken you enough for me to finish you off, that's completely sufficient!"
With that, the girl slowly lowered her head, staring at the Apprentice Death God with her crimson eyes, smiling...
"I will personally end your life."
"You... are the prey."