Xiao Mei's mother looked at Han Lie with eyes filled with pure terror. The woman, already weak from illness, tried to crawl away, her body trembling violently at the sight of her husband lying lifeless.
"Don't... please..." her voice shook like a leaf in a strong wind. "I'm... I'm already dying... there's no need..."
Han Lie walked calmly towards her, his steps light as if he were strolling in a park. His smile widened—a smile that didn't reach his eyes, cold as the ice on a mountain peak.
"You're right," Han Lie said in a conversational tone, as if talking about the weather. "You are already dying. I'm just... speeding up the process."
[LOOK HOW NATURAL YOU ARE NOW]
[NO MORE TREMBLING, NO MORE TEARS]
[THIS IS THE REAL YOU]
The woman tried to crawl towards her daughter's body, as if to protect Xiao Mei even in death. "Xiao Mei... mama will follow you soon, darling..."
"That's right," Han Lie nodded as if approving a business plan. "A touching family reunion."
He knelt beside the woman with a movement that was almost gentle. His hand rose, his fingers touching the woman's neck with an eerie tenderness.
"I'll make it quick," Han Lie whispered. "As a thank you for... helping with my progress."
The woman's eyes looked at his face, searching for a trace of humanity. "You... you're so young... why is your heart already... this cruel..."
The question made Han Lie pause for a moment. Somewhere very deep inside, there was a faint echo of his old self—the Han Lie who still had a heart, who could still feel empathy.
Why? the question echoed weakly. Why did I become like this?
But the echo was quickly drowned out by the cold emptiness.
"Why?" Han Lie repeated the question, tilting his head. "Because this world gives no other choice. Because a good heart yields nothing but suffering."
His fingers began to press on the woman's neck, but not as strongly as he had with her husband. He wanted to... savor this moment longer.
[YOU'RE BEGINNING TO FIND... PLEASURE IN THIS PROCESS]
[AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT]
And it was true. Han Lie felt a strange sensation—not satisfaction from completing a task, but something darker. A feeling of power. The feeling of holding complete control over someone's life and death.
"Please..." the woman whispered, tears flowing. "If you must kill me... at least tell me... why my daughter had to die..."
Han Lie looked into the woman's eyes—the eyes of a mother who, even when facing death, was still thinking of her child.
"Xiao Mei died," Han Lie said in an almost gentle voice, "because I needed power. And power requires sacrifice."
"Sacrifice..." the woman repeated the word in a desperate voice. "My child... just a sacrifice for your ambition..."
"Not just ambition," Han Lie corrected, his smile widening. "This is evolution. From a weak human to something more... superior."
The pressure on the woman's neck slowly increased. Han Lie watched with a chilling fascination as his victim's eyes began to lose focus, as her breathing became shorter.
This is like an art, the dark thought emerged. The art of taking a life.
[YES, HOST...]
[YOU ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF ABSOLUTE POWER]
"I... will... curse you..." the woman managed to whisper with her last breath. "Our... ghosts... will... haunt..."
Han Lie laughed—a cold, terrifying laugh. "Ghosts? I'm already living in hell, auntie. What ghost is more frightening than this reality?"
With one final, soft yet deadly motion, Han Lie cut off the woman's airflow completely.
Xiao Mei's mother took her last breath with her eyes still on Han Lie—not with hatred, but with pity.
Pity for a young man who had lost his soul so perfectly.
[MISSION SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED PERFECTLY]
[BONUS: NO WITNESSES]
[REWARD IS BEING PROCESSED...]
Han Lie stood up and looked at his artwork. Three bodies—father, mother, and child—were now reunited in death. A complete family, in a twisted way.
"Beautiful," he whispered, admiring the scene. "So beautiful."
A status panel appeared with a terrifying update:
[HOST STATUS UPDATED:]
[NAME: HAN LIE]
[CULTIVATION: QI CONDENSATION REALM - LAYER 3]
[PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 25/100]
[MENTAL STRENGTH: 15/100]
[SANITY: 45/100]
[LEVEL OF SUFFERING: 35/∞]
[SOULS DESTROYED: 3]
[DIRECT KILLS: 2]
[ACTIVE TRAUMA: Phantom Pain (Right Hand), Emotional Numbness]
[NEW STATUS: COLD-BLOODED KILLER]
Han Lie read the statistics with satisfaction. The numbers represented his progress toward power.
[YOUR REWARDS:]
[+20 PHYSICAL STRENGTH POINTS]
[+10 MENTAL STRENGTH POINTS] [CULTIVATION TECHNIQUE: 'DEMON'S CLAW']
[NEW ABILITY: 'DEATH SENSE' - ABILITY TO SENSE AN ENEMY'S VITAL WEAKNESSES]
New power flowed through Han Lie's body. His muscles tensed, his qi flowed more smoothly, and most terrifyingly—he could clearly sense the vital points around him.
Even on the corpses before him, he could 'see' exactly where to strike to kill most efficiently.
"Incredible," he mumbled, moving his fingers, feeling the new power coursing through them.
[NOW YOU UNDERSTAND]
[TRUE POWER ONLY COMES THROUGH SACRIFICE]
[AND YOU HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN]
Han Lie walked to the window and looked out. The village was quiet, its residents sleeping soundly, unaware that a new demon had just been born in their midst.
"Who's next?" he asked in a casual tone, as if choosing food at a market.
[BE PATIENT, HOST]
[LET'S LET YOU... ADAPT TO YOUR NEW PERSONALITY]
[AFTER ALL... THERE IS STILL ONE MORE THING TO BE DONE]
Han Lie frowned. "What?"
[YOU NEED TO... CLEAN UP THE EVIDENCE]
A new panel appeared with an instruction that made Han Lie smile wider:
[ADDITIONAL TASK: BURN DOWN THIS HOUSE]
[MAKE IT LOOK LIKE AN ACCIDENT]
[REWARD: +5 MENTAL POINTS, ABILITY 'PERFECT LIE']
"Ah," Han Lie nodded in appreciation. "An important detail."
He began to search for kerosene and matches, moving with the efficiency of a professional. No panic, no nervousness, just perfect execution.
As he doused the room in kerosene, he paused for a moment beside Xiao Mei's body.
"Thank you, Xiao Mei," he whispered in a voice that was strangely sincere. "Thanks to you, I've finally found my true self."
He lit a match and threw it onto the floor.
The fire began to ignite, slowly consuming the entire small house.
Han Lie stood outside, watching his destruction with eyes that glinted in the firelight.
[PERFECT]
[YOU ARE A VERY... TALENTED STUDENT]
"This is just the beginning," Han Lie said, turning to leave the burning house.
His steps were light, and he whistled a cheerful little tune.
Like someone who had just completed a pleasant job.
Behind him, the fire continued to rage, burning away all evidence of the birth of a new monster in this world.
And Han Lie—no longer Han Lie the Trash—walked into the night with a smile that would never leave his face again.