Chapter 655 - 430: The Day of Slaughter Begins

May 30th.

5:59 AM.

At the break of dawn, the first light of day was just beginning to bloom.

A cool morning breeze swept through the oak forest surrounding the manor, rustling the branches and shaking loose a few drops of undried night dew.

In a bedroom in the east wing of the third floor, the first ray of sunlight pierced through a gap in the brown curtains, slanting into the dim room.

Refracted by the carved glass, the light shattered into a mottled pattern of diamonds.

Inside the room.

Hu Qi clenched his fist.

A ball of black energy in his hand instantly exploded.

At the same time, wisps of golden flame dissipated.

"DING! You have killed one Basic Level Yin Beast! Reward: 100 royalty points!"

Modification Points +7 (51%)

A mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

It appeared almost simultaneously with the crimson notification that his Modification Points had been credited.

Hu Qi’s expression was calm.

For a being of his life form, sleep was largely meaningless.

After capturing this Yin Beast, he had conducted a few experiments.

When people in this world died, their bodies released a special kind of energy called Yin Energy.

The more unwilling to die, the greater the resentment or hatred, and the more extreme the personality, the more likely a person was to give birth to a Yin Beast after death.

Furthermore, they could grow over time and by absorbing Yin Energy through killing.

This octopus-like Yin Beast had only just been born and was clearly one of the weakest, a Basic Level Yin Beast.

He also discovered that these so-called Yin Beasts were more like monsters formed from a combination of Death Grudge and this world’s Power of Rules.

Physical damage was somewhat effective against them, but not very.

The most effective methods relied on non-physical means like fire or intense light.

However, when it came to dealing with these things,

the Ability that came with his Demon Elephant Body was their perfect counter.

Besides, these creatures not only increased his so-called "royalty," but also his Modification Points—killing two birds with one stone.

...

Soon.

Morning arrived, and after a simple but hearty breakfast,

Matsubara Yasuo stepped forward and bowed.

"Master, we’ve found the person you were looking for!"

"Oh?"

Hu Qi was not surprised they had found Hakawa Yuuma so quickly.

Shenmu City had a total area of over three thousand square kilometers and a population of nearly twenty million.

With so many people, finding Hakawa Yuuma should not have been this fast, even if it were possible.

But that wasn’t the case.

As one of the few who knew the plot of this world’s "novel," while Hu Qi didn’t know exactly what the protagonist, Hakawa Yuuma, looked like, he knew his key physical features, his age, and which university he attended with perfect clarity.

This undoubtedly narrowed the search parameters considerably.

Coupled with Matsubara Yasuo’s influence, using the police department to look up this information was a trivial matter.

As he spoke,

he handed over a photograph.

The photo depicted the afternoon sun slanting through a classroom window.

It fell upon a young man’s lowered, silver-white hair, giving it a soft, pale-gold halo.

He was a young man in his early twenties.

In the picture, he was resting his chin on one hand.

His gaze was fixed absently on a distant lake, his fine bangs slightly covering his brows but failing to hide his clear, ice-lake-like, grayish-blue eyes.

’Just based on his looks alone...’

’I can only say: he’s the protagonist, all right.’

...

When Hakawa Yuuma opened his eyes again, he found himself in a dilapidated warehouse.

The air was thick with a stale, decaying smell. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the slightest movement of his feet would kick up a choking cloud.

In the light streaming from a window on one side, countless tiny dust motes danced ceaselessly.

He tried hard to recall what had happened. He only remembered walking down the street when a powerful force struck him from behind. A sharp pain shot through his head, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

’Have I been kidnapped?’

The thought suddenly surfaced in Hakawa Yuuma’s mind.

He felt a dull ache in his neck.

Realizing this, he subconsciously tried to struggle, only to find his hands and feet tightly bound.

He was tied to an iron chair.

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the depths of the darkness, reverberating through the empty, silent warehouse.

Each step seemed to land on Hakawa Yuuma’s frayed nerves.

As the footsteps drew closer, four figures gradually emerged from the shadows.

One of them was dressed in a black robe that shrouded their entire body, concealing their face.

The other three were girls. They were all fair-skinned and strikingly beautiful.

Furthermore, the three of them each had a distinct impression.

From left to right, there was a cute little girl, a gentle young lady, and a cool, mature woman.

Because of their different heights, standing together they looked like the signal bars on a cell phone.

Seeing this,

Hakawa Yuuma’s eyes widened in shock and confusion, and he blurted out,

"Xiaoli! Junior Sister Xia Ri! Senior Sister Akiyama! What are you all doing here? What’s going on?"

"Brother..."

"Yuuma..."

"Senior..."

The three girls’ voices were choked with sobs as they looked at Hakawa Yuuma with tear-filled eyes.

However, before they could finish,

a cold glint of light flashed, and a long saber plunged without warning into one of the girls’ heads.

"Urk..."

The junior sister named Xia Mu had her eyes instantly fill with blood, and a muffled groan escaped her lips.

Her body convulsed violently a few times before she fell stiffly to the ground.

Blood gushed from the wound, spreading across the dusty floor in a shocking and gruesome display.