Isabella was stunned, never expecting such an answer.
Unfortunately, there was no more time for her to think.
A zombie had already lunged at her, biting off the bridge of her nose.
Before a shrill scream could escape her, her throat was torn open, and all sound came to an abrupt halt.
Only the sound of the zombie chewing remained, making one's scalp tingle.
Qi Zhimu casually covered Herta's eyes and turned his gaze toward the dazed Skinny Tall Man nearby.
As his gaze swept over him, the Skinny Tall Man felt as if half his soul had fled.
But before he could open his mouth to beg for mercy, a bolt of lightning struck down, reducing him directly to ashes.
"Liars must pay the price."
Qi Zhimu coldly withdrew his gaze.
Herta asked softly, "What did he lie to you about?"
"Have you forgotten? They said they had seen the disorder, but after being hypnotized last night, they predictably knew absolutely nothing."
While explaining, Qi Zhimu took Herta's small hand and walked toward a boat moored at the shore.
"I could have killed them last night, but I saved them until now. Do you know why?"
"Striking the mountain to shake the tiger—a warning for me not to harbor any crooked thoughts?"
Herta blinked and promised with a serious face:
"Don't worry, I don't lie, I'll never..."
Before she could finish, she felt her feet leave the ground as someone grabbed her by the back of the neck and lifted her directly onto the boat.
Fortunately, she was set down gently.
Mr. Creditor's voice rang out with a hint of irritation.
"Where is your EQ? Why would I need to strike the mountain to shake the tiger with you? What a joke!"
"I just wanted you to see the human heart clearly, to prove how right I was before."
"Most of the time, the ones who stab you in the back aren't your enemies, but the colleagues by your side whose fates seem tied to yours."
Herta said innocently, "But I never believed them in the first place. Last... never mind."
"Why stop mid-sentence?"
"I agree with Mr. Creditor's views and methods, so there's no need to say the rest."
It wasn't as if Herta hadn't figured out Qi Zhimu's temperament and behavioral logic.
The meaning behind his previous actions could be understood with a little thought.
Cleaning up the zombies to save them was out of consideration for the meager face she had with him.
Isabella leading the zombies to the CT room afterward was certainly survival instinct, but who could say she didn't have the intention of dragging others down with her?
Qi Zhimu just has bad eyes and is too lazy to overthink things; in reality, he isn't stupid and is clear about everything.
At that moment, he must have felt killing intent.
As a Virtual Substance Lifeform, he didn't have much goodwill toward Original Human to begin with.
But when he heard Isabella and the others say they had seen the disorder and knew where the evacuation point was, he suppressed his killing intent.
Even though he could find loopholes with a casual thought afterward, Qi Zhimu didn't expose them and let them play their parts.
Because he had promised her that as long as he ate her, he would send the data safely back to Azure Star.
To that end, he chose to believe the verbal words of those three, not wanting to let go of any possibility.
Or perhaps, if Isabella truly hadn't had malicious intentions, he could have tolerated the previous unpleasantness and let them go before leaving Grizzly City.
Sensing Qi Zhimu following her onto the boat, Herta's gaze swept over the dozen or so boats around them.
Unfortunately, Isabella was too narrow-minded.
There were so many boats here; they certainly weren't just for show.
The Yi Zhi World, with its independent timelines, allowed for the reuse of rules unless the place was completely destroyed.
Even if the setting that only two people could evacuate at a time was true, they could have taken some risks to wait and become the second batch to leave.
If Isabella had chosen to be open and honest at the beginning and asked Qi Zhimu nicely...
With the temperament of this man, who was actually not that hard to talk to, it wouldn't have taken much effort to leave a temporary protective barrier for them.
But there are no 'ifs' in this world.
Deceiving Qi Zhimu was no different from triggering the ghost's killing condition in the Life-taking Mirror Shadow.
He had said that liars must pay the price.
By emphasizing that he was a man of his word and that he wouldn't speak of things he couldn't do, it showed he extremely disliked being deceived.
The three of them hadn't just walked into the line of fire; they had touched his reverse scale.
"Why did you stop? Finish saying what views and methods you agree with." Qi Zhimu couldn't guess the little calculations Herta was hiding in her heart.
"I agree with Mr. Creditor's decision to break his principles and temporarily give them a chance in order to fulfill his promise of sending me back to Azure Star, and also—"
"Stop, stop, stop!!!"
Qi Zhimu couldn't help but interrupt Herta, his expression unfriendly.
"I didn't break any principles. The starting point for all my actions is just protecting my food. I'm protective of my food, I've said this before. Don't over-interpret, got it?"
"Got it." Herta nodded obediently.
However, in the warmth of her heart, she was thinking of something else entirely.
When would he be able to be a bit more honest like her?
Hmm...
After pondering for a moment, Herta felt relieved.
It was probably related to his settings—innate and unchangeable.
But it didn't matter; at least she could now read the true meaning behind some of Qi Zhimu's words.
Virtual Substance Lifeforms were like that; even though they were born with unique and powerful abilities, the price was being defined by their own creators, including the very meaning of their existence.
Thinking of this, Herta suddenly recalled a mystery that Azure Star had been researching to this day without finding an answer.
The boat made no engine sound, gliding across the sea surface only under the propulsion of the wind Qi Zhimu had summoned.
She looked at Mr. Creditor's profile, feeling a sense of hesitation.
"If you have doubts, just ask. Don't just stare." Qi Zhimu curled his lip and reached out to pinch both sides of her small face.
"Can you tell me why most Virtual Substance Lifeforms loathe Original Human, or even their own creators? Whether they are non-intelligent lifeforms or ones like you."
Qi Zhimu froze, then let out a soft snort and laughed.
"When you know you were created by Original Human and that your settings cannot be changed, that kind of feeling is imaginable."
"A fellow whose setting is a murderous demon can only be a murderous demon. Even if he was born with a heart inclined toward peace, he still cannot disobey his fate."
"Settings, settings, and more settings. Just as humans must consume nutrients to survive, Virtual Substance Lifeforms have no choice either."
"Perhaps only those bit players who are mentioned in passing have the room to choose, because their futures are a blank slate."
"The more powerful a Virtual Substance Lifeform is and the more refined its character settings are, the greater the influence it receives. Thus, they come to hate their direct or indirect creators, even harboring killing intent toward them."
At this point, the hand Qi Zhimu used to pinch Herta's face suddenly became gentle, lightly stroking her jade-white cheek.
"Virtual Substance Lifeforms all carry their own destinies; they can see the end from the very beginning."
"The Mirror Ghost was born for slaughter, until an existence capable of killing it appears."
"The humans and zombies of Grizzly City were born to play out the darkness and inherent vices of human nature, until this world is overturned and destroyed."
Herta remained silent, gazing at Mr. Creditor whose long hair fluttered in the wind.
After a long while, she asked.
"Then what about the destiny you carry?"
Qi Zhimu was silent for a while, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"...I'll tell you when we return to Azure Star and I'm ready to eat you."