Chapter 18: Obedient Children

Somewhere in the western part of the city.

Dark, cold, damp—like the depths of a tomb filled with corpses.

Yet this environment felt familiar and warm to him.

This was a narrow storage locker.

The teenager’s form was squeezed inside.

Around him were piled old textbooks covered in dust.

He didn’t seem to notice how dilapidated everything had become.

He just silently hugged his knees, his gaze heavy as he stared blankly at a spot of rust and dust.

“Why did he send us away?”

After a long moment, he said reluctantly.

His hand rested on his thin chest.

There was no heartbeat there at all; he was already completely dead.

But still, he subconsciously made this gesture.

Because in that place, his empty chest cavity seemed to be emitting a faint wail.

The human head spoke: “If it weren’t for that human, we could have spoken a few more words with the master.”

“Him again.”

“…”

Jealousy’s gaze turned slightly cold, like a lurking venomous snake.

Yet his delicate face still paradoxically wore an expression like sleepwalking.

This always gave him a thin and confused appearance.

But at this moment, his grayish-white eyes rarely showed such an invasive, even twisted look.

Because his mind was now filled with only one person’s figure.

“Master.”

He drew his arms tighter around himself, biting the collar of his shirt, murmuring softly.

From the moment he gained consciousness, the first special existence he ever saw was Yu Ziyu.

And in his fantasy, Yu Ziyu seemed to hear his voice.

He turned back in his mind, giving him an indifferent gaze.

This kind of gaze made him feel intoxicated, infatuated… and warm.

It was precisely this kind of master who made him both fear and yearn to be close.

But even in his imagination, he dared not approach Yu Ziyu too closely.

He could only gaze longingly at that unattainable figure, as pathetically as he did now.

Just as the Supernatural Management Bureau had guessed—completely correctly—the power of the bosses on the other six floors of the instance all originated from infection by Yu Ziyu.

That was why they could retain their sanity and willingly call Yu Ziyu their master.

It was Yu Ziyu who had given him power.

Before this, he couldn’t understand, couldn’t even imagine, why he needed to participate in the Land of Desire Amusement Park as a boss.

So, Jealousy indulged his servants to wantonly entertain themselves, killing the players who were dragged in.

Meanwhile, he, who should be formulating the relevant instance and restricting the monsters on the first floor, curled up in a storage locker like an escaping adolescent teenager.

Hugging the still-dripping human head, he numbly listened to the occasional screams.

Why… why did it have to be him…

He didn’t know how to control any of this, even though the game had told him everything.

His power originated from the emotion of “jealousy.”

But because he couldn’t find anything to be jealous of, he was, on his own floor of the amusement park, a completely failed lord, with other monsters crawling over his head, throwing their weight around.

Though he didn’t actually care.

However, it all happened just like that.

Jealousy couldn’t remember the exact date anymore, because time was completely chaotic in the Land of Desire Amusement Park.

But he would never forget it, just as someone who has never eaten candy remembers the taste of their first sweet.

That explosive emotion still lingered in his mind, unforgettable to this day.

That day, the incessant screams of players suddenly fell silent.

Sensing something, he finally looked up from his curled-up position.

He blinked his tired eyelashes, unable to process what had happened.

Then, the storage locker door was suddenly pulled open from the outside.

“Creak——”

The sound was very loud.

He slowly realized something had come.

Cobwebs and dust fell onto Jealousy because of the opening movement.

He moved his stiff limbs, rigidly turning his neck to look at the culprit.

At that moment, a figure, backlit by blood-colored light, entered his vision.

This figure was definitely not some god coming to save Jealousy; he realized that in just a few seconds.

“Get out.”

The young man said coldly.

From this angle, Jealousy could only see his black windbreaker and the snake crawling on the ground.

The suddenly bright light made the light-fearing little monster’s eyes water.

He turned his head with difficulty.

“You, you are… who?”

His lips were dry; he had forgotten how to speak fluent words.

Every syllable was squeezed from his throat.

“Good question.

Then who are you?” the other asked him instead.

“I am… who?”

He was momentarily stunned, not knowing the answer.

“You are Jealousy, the irresponsible boss of the first floor who lets players die meaningless deaths.”

The young man leaned down and said coldly.

Then, he abruptly pulled him out and mercilessly threw him on the ground, preventing him from hiding in the locker anymore.

Jealousy couldn’t make out his features.

The young man had pulled the hood of his wide windbreaker over his head and deliberately surrounded his upper body with a black fog, blurring his face.

But Jealousy could feel him watching.

This dominant young man was frowning, seemingly assessing him and then showing dissatisfaction.

“…”

All Jealousy could do was stare blankly at him, lost in thought.

“Control your servants.”

He clicked his tongue with disgust.

“Although I’m not human and can’t be bothered to care what you’re doing, honestly, the people pulled into this game are more or less asking for it.

Since they want something that doesn’t belong to them, they have to bear the risk of losing their lives.

But the problem is—you’re killing too many.”

The smell of blood had drifted to the upper floors, to the point where he had to intervene.

Jealousy knew this was definitely largely his fault.

He hadn’t followed the game’s rules.

The rules of the Land of Desire Amusement Park were like this: if humans had strong desires, they would breed terrible negative emotions.

They would act in the worst possible ways to obtain what they longed for… or simply possess a strong obsession, meeting the conditions to enter.

On each floor’s level, players could accumulate points through various means.

These points could be exchanged in the mall for things they desperately wanted in reality.

Especially the ultimate reward for clearing the game was extremely tempting—they could have any wish fulfilled.

Jealousy was the lord of the first floor… or rather, the game planner.

And his self-abandonment had caused all the monster material to run around wildly, harming players chaotically, creating high-intensity survival battles, basically giving players no hope of successfully clearing the level.

“You’re even more cowardly and incompetent than I thought.”

Hearing this, Jealousy suddenly looked up, at a loss as he stared at the young man.

His emotions fluctuated because of these words.

“If this happens again, I will kill you immediately.”

This was definitely not just a joke.

The other said with disgust, as if looking at garbage.

Jealousy subconsciously trembled and looked away.

Only then did he notice the corpses of several monsters lying at his feet.

And not far away, a few injured players whom the young man had suddenly appeared to save were terrified, shrinking back, not understanding what was happening.

Then the young man seemed to remember something.

He turned to look at them.

From beneath the black fog shrouding his face, a flash of red light seemed to pass through his eyes.

Soon, the eyes of those players changed from terror to confusion.

They turned and drifted away like wandering souls.

Then, the other looked away and said coldly, “Remember, I am Pride—the lord of the seventh floor, your master.”

He was so strong, so confident, so indifferent.

Jealousy found his body trembling, but not solely from fear.

It was because he realized the young man before him was the same kind of existence as him, yet so dominant, impossible to ignore.

Everything else about them was completely opposite.

He couldn’t help but be drawn to that special figure.

His lifeless eyes finally seemed to find a focal point.

He stared fixedly at the other.

Then, the young man actually knelt down on one knee.

Jealousy was startled and instinctively shrank back.

But the other just reached out and stroked his cheek, like teasing an immature kitten.

This teasing felt foreign to Jealousy, yet unexpectedly not repulsive.

He narrowed his eyes, enjoying it, and heard the other say, “Be good, Jealousy.

I don’t want to replace you.”

“You, you think I can do it well?”

“Otherwise?”

The young man snorted mockingly.

His non-existent heart skipped a beat.

From where their skin touched, an absolute sense of control and oppression was transmitted.

Jealousy trembled slightly with excitement because of this.

“Control those ugly servants of yours,” the young man said.

“Don’t let me find you letting them slaughter players again.”

“I, I will…”

After a long moment, Jealousy’s voice rose, weak as a mosquito’s buzz.

“Master.”

“Say that again.”

He lifted Jealousy’s chin.

Though his build was similar to Jealousy’s, even thinner, he seemed so strong, arrogant, and inviolable.

“What kind of nonsense is that?

Louder.”

“I will do well.”

Jealousy was forced to repeat.

The young man stared at him for a while, seeming to find no trace of a lie on his face.

Then, satisfied, he withdrew his fingers, stood up, and prepared to leave.

Jealousy reached out to grab his windbreaker, but the fabric slipped through his fingers.

He failed.

The young man looked back at him.

“Will we meet again?”

Jealousy’s gaze was full of expectation.

He was attached to the other’s brief touch.

He only needed this as a reward.

The young man’s dominance felt good to him.

It made him feel no longer forgotten in a storage locker, but that someone finally noticed and acknowledged his existence…

Jealousy waited for an answer, his fingers nervously clutching the edge of his shirt.

“If you do better than the others, then it’s very possible.

Because I like obedient children.”

He first rejoiced at the reply, then his body suddenly froze.

The others…?

Jealousy was stunned by this.

Oh, right, the Land of Desire Amusement Park had seven floors, and he was just the first-floor boss.

There were other monsters in the darkness.

Would the young man treat them the way he treated him now…?

Dark emotions silently took root in his heart.

Jealousy knew that only at this moment did he get the chance to take the first step towards becoming a true monster…

Because he had finally remembered how to be jealous.

And so, he gained his own power.

“…”

In the darkness, the teenager’s curled-up figure was like a flickering candle flame.

In the storage locker, he dimly merged into the thick inkiness.

After a long moment, Jealousy said to the human head, “We can’t stand others being near the master, and we can’t bear the risk of losing him.”

A twisted, intense feeling of adoration practically gushed from those grayish-white eyes.

The human head in his arms laughed. “Seems like this is the first time we’ve agreed on something.”

“As for the savior, he won’t live long.”

This was notified by the game; of course they all saw it.

Jealousy’s eyes were dark and deep. “I will find him and solve all the problems before he threatens the master.”

His gaze turned to the air.

There, an updated game panel was displayed.

At this moment, Jealousy’s name was marked.

All players would see his hiding place—the abandoned school district in the west of the city.

A dark green glow was shining there.

They would soon realize what had actually changed in reality.

“Right here.”

Jealousy looked up and said coldly.

As his words fell, urban legends would come true, magnetic fields would become disordered, supernatural phenomena would begin to scurry everywhere like rats in the sewers, spreading like a virus…

Jealousy had actively alienated reality, rechoosing his territory.

And now, the instance of the first-floor game had finally begun.

***

Meanwhile, in a room on the third floor.

After a moment of silence, Lou Chen said, “I won’t let Jealousy, or Pride, hurt Yu Ziyu.”

“What do you mean?”

Not far from him sat a man with a tired face.

He was the previous minister.

It was because of his invitation that Lou Chen had joined the Supernatural Management Bureau.

But this young man had refused the request to become minister, now only serving as the captain of the task force.

His late-night visit now clearly indicated the seriousness of the situation.

“Old Yu, Yu Ziyu must become the minister of the Supernatural Management Bureau.

It’s not me.”

Lou Chen narrowed his eyes.

He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers as he slowly spoke.
“This position is destined for him, even if he himself is unwilling to admit it.

And I will wait for him to change his mind.”

“He’s just an unarmed photographer.

If he becomes minister, he won’t convince everyone.”

“A good leader doesn’t need to charge into battle.”

“If that’s the case, then what about you?”

Hearing this, Old Yu frowned.

“You’ve already said it, the answer should be obvious.”

Lou Chen curled the corner of his mouth. “Me?

Of course, I’ll be the knight who protects him.”

He should have explained his motives.

But then, he just silently gazed into the void, thinking of that missing companion.

He looked forward to the day he would face Pride.

Now that the savior Yu Ziyu had appeared, then… this originator of supernatural power was destined to descend.

That would be the time for their reckoning.