"I am very valuable, and I'm sure you will be merciful, won't you?"
Ehu's expression appeared somewhat deranged as she quickly offered her chips to prove her worth and pleaded, "I have a lot of officials' weaknesses in my hands, I have power, resources, connections, wealth, I'll give them all to you!"
"And... And also!"
Ehu crazily pulled open the hem of her cheongsam, revealing her fair skin, "I'm a virgin too, it's all yours!"
Seconds passed, and "Shadow" remained silent.
In the dimly lit wishing hall, all the supplicants were unconscious on the ground, and there was an eerie silence, with only the sound of their own breathing.
Seeing that "Shadow" didn't reply and his eyes remained vacant...
Ehu suddenly stopped talking.
A few more seconds passed...
She smiled craftily, suppressing the frustration gnawing at her, and squinted her eyes with a look of "I'll definitely kill you."
"So, it was all a bluff..." Ehu chuckled.
Indeed, the system prompt was the absolute truth.
Since the submersion state had been activated, there was no way they could regain consciousness, let alone control shadows.
"Hehehe..." Her movements were heavy and forceful, and she pulled out her dagger again, "Letting me embarrass myself like this, you sure have the guts, huh?!"
With that, she gripped the dagger tightly, her eyes filled with ruthlessness, and prepared to stab "Shadow" in the neck.
Die, I'll definitely kill you tonight!
However, at this critical moment, shadows and thorns crept up from behind Ehu, and a deep voice rang out, announcing her death.
"Do you have any last words?"
The real "Shadow" stood there with hands in his pockets, having been observing Ehu for a while.
The shadows and thorns had already hooked onto the artery of Ehu's neck.
In a moment of daze, the false "Shadow" finally dissipated, revealing an unconscious supplicant with black hair and eyes on the ground.
Indeed, from beginning to end, the targets controlled by Ehu were all just substitutes for Alister, one of the supplicants coincidentally present.
Ehu's actions had already become rigid, and fear seeped into her mind uncontrollably. The dagger in her hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
"Ahhaha..." Ehu forced a flattering smile, raising her hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, I was wrong, please... spare me..."
As she spoke, she looked viciously at the unconscious girl and smiled with an intention to kill.
As long as she used the "Prism of Illusion" again... Ehu's heart was filled with murderous intent and rage, completely contrary to her words.
But sorry, all her details were visible in "Extreme Five Senses."
And so, before she could retaliate, Alister let out a light sigh, and the shadows and thorns cut through Ehu's neck artery, extinguishing her life in an instant.
With a thump, she fell to the ground, and the light blue data of her death appeared while the system's notification rang in Alister's ears.
"Player sequence ranking has increased."
"Current player sequence: E-Rank 100th."
"Detected that the player has entered the top one hundred of E-Rank sequence."
"Obtained Strength Coefficient Bonus: 7%."
At the same time, "Blank" popped up another notification.
"Detected D-Rank usable ability — Hypnotic Pupil."
Unlike the previous "Elementary Vampire," the usability of "Hypnotic Pupil" was quite high, perfectly complementing Alister's shortcoming of being only good at combat.
And so, "Hypnotic Pupil" was assimilated by Alister, consuming a bit of his original consciousness, leaving him slightly dizzy.
Though original consciousness was precious, it was a necessary trade-off for rapid growth in the early stages.
"Ability: Hypnotic Pupil."
"Rank: D."
"Within the limit of psychic energy, the ability holder's eyes possess the power of hypnosis."
As his own strength grew once again, Alister went to where Ehu's data faded into pale blue. He picked up the diamond-shaped item.
"Prism of Illusion · Fragment."
After briefly confirming its effect, the "Backpack" interface automatically popped up, indicating that Alister could hand the item over to the system for safekeeping.
"One more trump card." Alister made the fragment disappear, "Quite a fruitful harvest."
After dealing with everything, Alister finally focused his attention on the unconscious supplicants around him. Many of them were starting to regain consciousness and looked confused.
Since ordinary people couldn't perceive Alister due to the visual barrier, he used "Hypnotic Pupil" on the bewildered supplicants, declaring in the name of a god:
"This night, nothing happened."
After hypnotizing everyone, Alister dispersed the shadows and returned to Luorou, who was still somewhat drowsy.
"Ah... It seems like... I got drunk?" Luorou sat up from the floor in a duck-like posture, "But I didn't drink anything...?"
Then she looked up and saw Alister sitting next to her, her pupils losing focus.
"The party is over," Alister said calmly, taking a sip of his cola in a leisurely manner, "Let's go."
"Mmm..." Luorou smiled reluctantly, as warm as the morning sun, "Let's go back."
Really... Even though I'm still...
Luorou reached out and touched her chest, feeling that something was different than usual.
...
...
The moon hung high in the sky. "Shadow" stood on top of a building, his black coat fluttering in the wind, and the corners turned into shadow remnants, then recovered...
Alister calmly took out his phone, and Yumikou's profile picture appeared on the screen.
"How was work today?" Yumikou's picture was still the same.
"Great, the working environment is excellent, and I also managed to handle a surprise assessment from my superiors," Alister's profile picture showed his usual confident expression.
Yumikou was typing for a while before finally sending a short question:
"What was the content of the assessment?"
"Employee regulations, future planning, and career competition."
"Career competition?" Yumikou seemed very interested, "What did you answer?"
"Handsome."
After a few more seconds, with a gentle breeze blowing and rustling their hair, Yumikou replied:
"Alright, I know you're handsome." She continued, "You're a handsome and successful young man in A City..."
Following that, Yumikou sent another transfer of ten thousand US dollars, explaining:
"A reward for the handsome boy."
Alister didn't accept the ten thousand dollars and replied with one hand:
"Ten thousand dollars? Rich lady, I want to rely on my own efforts, please don't ruin my ideals."
"Then take this ten thousand dollars as relying on your own efforts," Yumikou replied.
"?"
"Say 'good night' a thousand times as payment for the ten thousand dollars."
After a moment of contemplation, a gentle breeze swept by, and Alister sighed softly.
"Yumikou, you really..." Alister gazed at the serene night, feeling emotional, "If I ever fall from grace, I know I can't do without you..."
And so, beneath the high-hanging moon, "Shadow" stood on the rooftop for a very long time, until the starlight was radiant.
The messages on the phone screen kept refreshing, holding up Yumikou's serene profile picture.
On Tuesday's late night, for a thousand times, he said goodnight.