Chapter 37: Warden of Silence

“Don’t say that name.”

 

Sloth’s voice was clearly a step slower than the other’s.

When the young man’s gaze turned to him, Sloth instinctively lowered his head, as if unable to bear the weight behind those two words.

Pride’s gaze was so cold and contemptuous, unexpectedly full of aggression.

 

But when Yu Ziyu looked at him, simultaneously impatiently waving away his glance towards Sloth, his expression softened, instinctively showing reverence.

 

Yu Ziyu was standing between them.

 

Only then did they belatedly realize that he hadn’t given any reaction at all.

Instead, he seemed somewhat idle, standing there looking out the window, as if the few individuals before him—these pitiful monsters—hadn’t brought him any explosive news in the past few minutes.

 

It seemed that to Yu Ziyu, this information meant nothing.

“Master… you’re not surprised?”

Behind him, Sloth said in a low voice.

“Hmm.”

Yu Ziyu played with the dagger in his hand, withdrew his gaze, let out a mocking laugh, and looked at Pride indistinctly.

“That depends on how you define it.

As for whether I am Pride, does that really matter?

I thought you’d know what I’m thinking, having been by my side for so long.”

“But…?”

“I don’t like people asking me questions.”

 

Greed was stunned.

It seemed to realize something.

The dirty teddy bear it was holding fell to the ground, but it just nervously tugged at the hem of its dress.

“But what does that have to do with me?”

Yu Ziyu said expressionlessly, putting the dagger into his pocket and glancing at them.

“Whether I am Pride or not, who I really am?

It doesn’t matter at all.

The only important thing is this—I won’t go back.

I hope you all stay far away from me.”

“If I weren’t Pride, would you do that?

Stop coming to me?”

 

As his words fell, there was no answer, only difficult breaths from having their thoughts blatantly exposed.

This reaction was clearly within Yu Ziyu’s expectations.

“It seems you all know this.

So, it doesn’t affect me at all.”

 

Sloth and Greed were both speechless.

Especially the latter, it finally realized two years late that everything Yu Ziyu had said was true—he, he truly didn’t want any connection with them.

It had thought Yu Ziyu was just talking, that even though he hated the bosses, he still kept him by his side…

But perhaps that was just passive acceptance.

After all, Sloth hadn’t caused him any trouble, and having one more pet didn’t matter.

 

To Yu Ziyu, the truth about the Land of Desire Amusement Park wasn’t actually that important.

 

It couldn’t believe it was only realizing this now.

Perhaps there had been hints long ago.

Because Yu Ziyu wasn’t active or interested in hiding anything from them.

Otherwise, they would never have dragged things out this long, after all, his overwhelming strength had already said it all.

“No.”

Suddenly, a voice spoke up, almost exploding on the spot.

Pride stared at him in disbelief, clenching his knuckles.

“How can you, say such a thing, after you’ve done so much to me, how can you—”

Hearing this, Yu Ziyu glanced at Pride again, as if he was nothing special.

 

Strictly speaking, his attitude was even a little impatient.

Pride received this gaze and simply couldn’t deceive himself.

 

He had orchestrated everything, deliberately revealing his true identity in front of Yu Ziyu.

He had carefully prepared a terrible mystery for him.

He was his only concerned audience.

But when the performance began, nothing went as he had anticipated.

Because what Pride hadn’t expected was that Yu Ziyu simply didn’t care.

 

This indifferent reaction was clearly the last straw for the other.

 

Pride stumbled backward, his body swaying, as if it were Yu Ziyu who had just spoken the revelation.

He showed a devastated expression, looked at Yu Ziyu, forgot to hide his breakdown, and said in a despairing tone: “You can’t just treat me like this, never take me seriously, as if I can’t possibly…”

 

Seeing this, Sloth almost felt some sympathy for him.

 

For monsters like them, no matter how they performed, it seemed impossible to attract Yu Ziyu’s attention—

Given the other’s true identity, it could be said that he was completely on a higher level than them, not in the same class.

Such an existence would not look down.

He would only look towards the light, ignoring the servants kneeling at his feet.

 

This was also the reason Sloth could stay by Yu Ziyu’s side—he had recognized his own position long ago and chosen to give up.

 

Just following behind him, hiding in the shadows, was the way to see him, to secretly and privately possess him.

“Explain yourself.

I don’t know what you’re talking about; it sounds boring.”

Yu Ziyu glanced at him, completely like an indifferent bystander, calmly saying, “Maybe I could politely express my sympathy to you, and then kill you to complete the mission.”

“However…

I still have doubts about this mission.”

 

Yu Ziyu hadn’t thought about its contradictions, because he had been too busy dealing with Lou Chen.

But now thinking back, the timing of the game system’s appearance was simply too perfect.

Nevertheless, it clearly remembered who its master was.

But if Pride could see his own panel, its concealment would become a kind of implicit hint to Yu Ziyu.

“…”

 

He touched his lower lip, thoughtful.

“Actually, I had some suspicions from the very beginning, about Lou Chen… oh, you should know I saw him, right?

Or was that your arrangement?

It was really terrible.

If I hadn’t seen him again, I might have thought what happened before was reasonable.

You know, he betrayed me, took my blood and part of my power.

But at the banquet, I changed my mind.

He probably didn’t do that.”

 

Yu Ziyu paused. “Would you call that the longest sentence I’ve said so far?”

 

Clearly, no one present was amused by his dry joke.

 

When Lou Chen clumsily cut his palm and let the blood flow out, Yu Ziyu had already noticed something was wrong.

He had taken his blood and power, but kept it all inside his own body.

Only able to carry out a suicide attack by harming himself—that was too foolish.

 

Long ago, the first time Yu Ziyu was drawn into a murder case and had to attend that heretic ritual, it had already been made clear—blood is the root of all summoning.

Perhaps because it is the basis for any living creature’s survival, and only flows within a living body.

 

The crazy girl consumed by Jealousy and the blood of the boy who was slit open had together laid the foundation for Jealousy’s successful descent.

Such a descent had limitations, which was why it directly killed the girl and took her heart, just to reclaim that portion of power that answered the summoning.

 

And half an hour ago, Yu Ziyu had just experienced that terrible, damp, not-very-romantic kiss.

 

The moment Lou Chen walked towards him, he realized what he was about to do to him.

He had originally thought there would be just a little skin contact.

But unexpectedly, he then tasted Lou Chen’s scent on his tongue.

Those blood droplets had slipped in through their intertwined lips without his conscious awareness.

Lou Chen stroked his short hair, licking his mouth forcefully, as if he would never have the chance to do so again.

In those few short seconds, Yu Ziyu let him do as he pleased.

 

He had even been distracted during that passionate kiss.

—Didn’t Lou Chen know that this would cause the stolen power to return from him to Yu Ziyu?

 

But although the blood contained all that power, it did not respond to the summoning and return to Yu Ziyu.

 

After Lou Chen moved away, Yu Ziyu saw his eyes.

He was still immersed in the violent shock brought by Yu Ziyu’s identity.

In those light brown eyes, he found no relevant information.

So he could reasonably conclude that Lou Chen was not the one who had stolen from him.

 

Perhaps he knew nothing about this matter, so there was even less reason to talk about betrayal.

 

If Yu Ziyu had to give an accurate explanation, he would say that Lou Chen had become a vessel containing this part of his power.

It was locked inside his human body, merging with his blood.

Only when he was injured and blood flowed out could it manifest.

This completely confirmed his thoughts.

“You are my warden!”

Pride’s words, forcibly suppressing anger, seemed to accuse him.

 

Yu Ziyu looked at him expressionlessly.

 

Pride’s expression was anxious as he took a step forward, his limbs flailing wildly in the air.

A hint of frenzy showed in his deep eyes.

The smug expression from before had completely disappeared, as if he was desperately trying to provoke Yu Ziyu.

“You are… a traitor.

You betrayed our agreement.

You betrayed me.

You liar who casually makes promises, you deceitful, promise-breaking person.

You promised me you wouldn’t leave—”

He seemed to have too many accusations to make, but when the words came to his lips, they lost all rhetorical flourish, leaving only empty charges.

“I was your first prisoner.

Don’t treat me like this.”

Finally, Pride said in a low voice.

“Enough nonsense.

I don’t remember.”

However, Yu Ziyu cruelly cut him off.

“Just as you said before, you did something to me, so I’ve forgotten everything.

You’ll have to bear the consequences yourself.

To me, you’re just a stranger.”

“You really shouldn’t have done that.”

Sloth said in a low voice.

“I told you, don’t do this.”

 

As his words fell, Pride immediately looked at Sloth.

There was something terrifying in his eyes, making the latter instinctively step back.

 

Clearly, Sloth had been hiding something from him.

“Shut up!

You…

Sloth, are a thief.”

The corner of Pride’s mouth twisted with resentment, making his originally delicate features become rough like some kind of beast.

The word “thief” clearly stung Sloth.

His stiff expression made Pride smile smugly again.

“Let me tell you the truth, Master.

You must have heard the rumor that during the Land of Desire Amusement Park period, the bug-level boss was always accompanied by a venomous snake…

That wasn’t someone else, not that waste following you, pretending to be loyal but completely lacking his own thoughts—it was me.”

 

Being evaluated like this, the corner of Sloth’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t argue.

 

Since they had been forced to abandon their living names and were named after the seven deadly sins, their abilities naturally corresponded to their titles.

And the legend of the snake in the Garden of Eden seducing humanity to sin under the apple tree was only related to Pride.

 

So, how could that person be Sloth?

 

He had always been the snake by Yu Ziyu’s side.

But Sloth had taken advantage of the situation, stealing the fruits of victory after he had executed his perfect plan.

 

Hearing this, Sloth instinctively looked at Yu Ziyu, opened his mouth, and gave a dry excuse: “I never said I was—”

“I know it wasn’t.

I was misled, not turned into an idiot.”

 

Yu Ziyu looked at Pride, who was frozen in place, straightened his shirt, and said flatly, “Ten minutes.”

“What?”

“Another ten minutes for you to complain.”

Yu Ziyu raised an eyebrow, then moved his wrist, glancing at the expensive watch on it.

“Because I’m in a good mood right now.”

 

Pride made a choked sound.

 

This was the second time he had been thwarted, because the other party was not interested in any of the mysteries he presented.

“…”

 

In a good mood?

 

Sloth silently looked at his master, then shrank back again.

 

Could it be because he realized Lou Chen wasn’t involved, and those entanglements might just be a misunderstanding…

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

 

Sloth hadn’t seen Lou Chen many times.

Only when Yu Ziyu, as a game player, had come with the other to clear his domain, had Sloth hidden in the shadows observing them.

He didn’t dare and wasn’t capable of attacking Yu Ziyu.

After all, even deliberately isolated, the master’s aura could directly drive away lower-level mutated monsters.

 

But Lou Chen was different.

 

He had been curious about this human, curious to the point of violating his nature of not interfering in instances, wanting to actively attack and kill Lou Chen, just to dissect this human and find the reason why Yu Ziyu was interested in him.

Sloth wanted to study him, find the master’s preferences, so that he might get more of the other’s attention.

 

He wanted to toy with this human as he had done before.

But when he reached out a tentacle from the shadows, he suddenly understood the reason.

 

Clearly, what an arrogant person Lou Chen was.

 

He could be so self-righteous, quite obtusely deliberately ignoring the fact that Yu Ziyu didn’t need his protection, arrogantly thinking he was the strongest player in this game, and that the master was some kind of responsibility he had to protect, even give his life for, using every means to drive all danger away from the master.

 

The problem was, everyone could see Yu Ziyu’s unusualness and overwhelming power.

 

The reason the master didn’t act, just stood watching from afar, was that if he wanted to, without even lifting a finger, those terrifying monsters would instantly vanish into thin air before him.

And when he walked into the depths of some instance’s maze, the puzzles would instinctively collapse before him, humbly waiting for his passage.

 

He simply didn’t need protection.

No one dared to mention this in front of him.

Only Lou Chen knowingly broke the rule—

So, for this very reason, he was naturally the most arrogant person.

Sloth thought, he could understand why the master had partnered with him.

Because no one had ever treated him like this.

 

They were too aware of Yu Ziyu’s power to dare have such thoughts.

But Lou Chen, he saw this, yet still did it.

 

So he was the first and only person to treat the master this way.

 

He looked at him as if he were something precious and fragile, not an object to be feared.

He wasn’t afraid of Yu Ziyu’s expressionless face, nor did he instinctively tremble all over as he approached.

He wasn’t afraid of him, which was enough to make Yu Ziyu interested.

 

Sloth thought, Yu Ziyu was quite self-centered.

He wouldn’t hide his nature just because he was among normal people.

He simply disdained acting, pretending to hypocritically blend in.

Therefore, when a person accustomed to facing fearful expressions from others met the only one unaffected, everything became logical.

 

Even at their next meeting in the real world—

Sloth had to admit, even though Lou Chen didn’t remember, this situation repeated itself.

No matter what identity Yu Ziyu appeared as—a weak photographer forced into mysteries, the game’s designated savior, the rumored most terrifying boss Pride—Lou Chen showed the same protective desire.

 

Although Sloth had learned from observing Lou Chen how to make Yu Ziyu interested, he found he simply couldn’t do it.

 

He truly loved Yu Ziyu deeply, without a doubt.

He was willing to do anything for Yu Ziyu, meet any of his demands, die for him.

But he was also very afraid of his moodiness.

This was something ingrained in his bones.

He couldn’t change the way he instinctively cowered when the master was angry.

 

Since the real reason Yu Ziyu left the Land of Desire Amusement Park was that he had grown tired of everything in the darkness and wanted a normal human life, then he wanted Lou Chen—this was understandable and natural.

He could represent everything he wanted.

 

Sloth wasn’t speaking up for Lou Chen.

It was just that, seeing Pride’s face on the verge of collapse, he suddenly remembered all this.

 

A feeling of sadness gradually filled his chest.

“No matter what, this is who you are.”

Pride murmured, trembling.

“Always cruel, inhumanly cold to the point of terror.”

 

Yu Ziyu ignored his words.

“I should be afraid of you, just as I am doing now.”

He continued, looking away, having to admit this point.

 

Admitting that Yu Ziyu was terrifying was not shameful, because it was everyone’s consensus.

 

Clearly, Pride himself had suddenly appeared, but quickly turned into a situation controlled by Yu Ziyu—

Although Pride was the true master of the seventh floor, he simply couldn’t control the atmosphere.

Yu Ziyu’s casual response directly sent him into a spiral.

He didn’t care about these schemes at all.

 

Pride had completely become passive.

 

In terms of strength, he simply couldn’t be Yu Ziyu’s opponent.

And in the carefully prepared maze of mysteries, Yu Ziyu had no interest at all.

 

Why is this happening?

How… could this be?

“Unless you want to return my real memories to me, and then have me directly inflict punishment on you?”

Yu Ziyu smiled impatiently.

It was a cold smile, with bone-chilling cold, even more terrifying than an expressionless face.

“I know, the reason you dare to take the risk and make a move against me must be because I’ve already left you no way out.”

“I don’t want to go through this again.”

 

He cast a glance towards Pride, which had already made his meaning clear.

“…I understand.

I’ll explain everything clearly.”

 

Faced with Yu Ziyu’s threat, Pride found himself in such an extremely embarrassing situation, he had no choice but to compromise.

 

He couldn’t beat Yu Ziyu.

The reason he appeared here was originally to defeat the other on the psychological front.

But unexpectedly, Yu Ziyu didn’t care about those past events at all.

He had even realized, because of Lou Chen’s sudden kiss, that the other hadn’t betrayed him—

This was the only loophole Pride had been able to find, and now it was useless.

 

His lips trembled, his eyes fixed on Yu Ziyu.

A few seconds later, he clearly realized the other would not give him any more chances.

The corner of his mouth twisted, and he turned his head to look at the ground.

“In the beginning… there was only us.

What I wanted was just for you to stay in the Land of Desire Amusement Park.

I didn’t want to care about those living humans who wandered in by mistake.

But you convinced me that they shouldn’t be left in hell to pollute the darkness.

I agreed.

So, we started trying to build a game.”

 

It was a prison that couldn’t send humans out without violating the rules.

They tried many methods, all ending in failure.

Even though the game had already formed a prototype, and Yu Ziyu had even placed a boss on each floor to maintain order, they were still unable to let the criminals leave.

 

After all, that was the rule.

The reason Yu Ziyu had privileges was that he was the master of this prison.

But it also had its own ideas.

It wanted to survive.

And that was impossible without Yu Ziyu’s existence, because it needed to serve him.

 

Pride suspected the reason the restrictions were so strict was that they couldn’t bear Yu Ziyu’s departure.

But that ultimately became reality.

 

For fun, Pride agreed to his setting up the identity of the savior so that the humans who fell here wouldn’t fall into despair.

But unexpectedly, Yu Ziyu had a sudden idea and decided to try to return to the real world as a player.

So he assumed the identity of the savior and joined the ranks of the players.

 

He ordered Pride to stay on the seventh floor, while he himself chose the player with the most potential, intending to send the other to the top floor as a companion.

This was the beginning of everything.

But Pride had been watching what Yu Ziyu and that guy were doing through the eyes of various monsters.

When he discovered that Yu Ziyu never once interfered in the criminals’ infighting, spending all his time protected behind Lou Chen, his inquisitive gaze resting on Lou Chen for long periods, Pride keenly realized something was about to happen.

 

However, when they reached the seventh floor and realized this attempt would succeed, he really planned to leave.

“You want to defeat me, just as you treat all those unworthy monsters kneeling at your feet, begging for a glance, and leave with your human boyfriend?”

Pride’s expression showed that even after nearly two years, recalling this thought still made him feel frenzied.

 

Yu Ziyu frowned. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

 

Although Lou Chen had indeed kissed him, and he didn’t object to that bloody kiss, someone’s boyfriend and someone he had feelings for were still different.

“Whatever you say.”

Pride showed a disdainful expression.

“You don’t have to worry that I can’t accept it.

I’ve seen the way he looks at you.

It’s disgustingly devoted.

Since we all treat you like that, I’m not so obtuse as to not notice.

He likes you.”

“…Oh.”

 

Yu Ziyu looked at Greed, then turned back to look at Sloth, finding that their expressions hadn’t changed, as if they accepted Pride’s statement.

His frown deepened.

So what kind of wrong impression had he left them with, that they thought Lou Chen was his prospective boyfriend?

 

Besides, he didn’t necessarily even like men, nor did he necessarily like living creatures.

 

After all, the only word that appeared in the dictionary of things he liked was “apple.”

He liked eating it.

That said it all.

“But, do I like him?”

Yu Ziyu asked, puzzled for the first time.

 

His posture of crossing his arms loosened, and he stood up straight.

 

At the same time, Lou Chen’s face flashed through his mind—it was indeed a handsome young face.

His black hair was casually disheveled on his head.

Although his light brown eyes always showed sincerity, they would reveal a true, cold expression when making certain decisions.

 

Most importantly, he always looked at Yu Ziyu with that longing gaze, as if just getting his nod would be enough.

By his side, there was nothing to worry about, because Lou Chen would solve everything before him.

Always so unrequited, making Yu Ziyu unable to figure him out, which was why he silently observed him when he made his moves.

 

Now it seemed, Lou Chen wasn’t actually so eager to help others.

He had long been expecting Yu Ziyu to give something in return.

That was for him to give equal affection…

 

To be honest, this conclusion was still within acceptable limits.

After all, Yu Ziyu wouldn’t think a person would show kindness without reason.

If this was the truth, everything made sense—Lou Chen liked him.

To be honest, liked “him”?

 

Hmm… it wasn’t impossible to understand.

After all, in his mind, Lou Chen was a strange person, so having such preferences was normal.

 

Yu Ziyu was indeed only realizing this now.

If Pride hadn’t pointed it out today, he would never have thought about it in this direction.

Even though Lou Chen had kissed him in front of all the bosses, publicly declaring his feelings, he had just thought Lou Chen was too impatient, overwhelmed by the massive amount of information.

“Are you asking me?”

Pride laughed self-mockingly, his voice dry.

“You’re asking me?

Adding insult to injury for a loser?”

“Oh, that’s not what I meant.”

Yu Ziyu was just thoughtful, distracted.

“Makes sense.

Continue.”

 

Everyone present had long been desensitized to his naturally commanding attitude.

Even Pride was the same, no longer able to provoke any rebellious reactions.

Even Pride showed a helpless expression, completely unable to criticize him.

 

He licked his dry lower lip, ignoring the strangeness in his heart…

How did he have the illusion that he had said something he shouldn’t have, and would definitely regret it?

 

Yu Ziyu suddenly stepped forward.

His slender fingers slid down from Pride’s collar, lightly touching all the way, finally landing on his chest.

Pride didn’t know what he was going to do.

He looked down at this young man, his Adam’s apple instinctively bobbing as he swallowed.

“Shh.

Relax.

Tell me, what did you do?”

 

Faced with those scarlet eyes, Pride seemed to forget where he was.

His body seemed to lose its weight.

He gazed into those eyes and unconsciously said, “When you two separated, I found a chance to tell him your identity… your true identity.”

 

Yu Ziyu could feel the fearful gazes coming from behind him—clearly, even boss-level monsters couldn’t resist his power.

And he had just openly displayed his strength in front of them.

“Oh, and then?”

“…I misled him, made him think that by putting your power into his own body, he could weaken the connection between you and the game.”

Speaking of this, Pride paused.

He seemed to be remembering.

“Then, I misled you, made you think he had attacked you because of your identity.”

“Why don’t I remember?”

“I don’t know.”

Sloth said in a low voice.

“I thought you remembered, but you didn’t.

That’s why I had the game reissue the mission.

I just didn’t expect… after all, it’s your game.

It would remind you through the mission.

That’s something I could never get.”

“Say that again.”

“What.”

 

But he wasn’t asking Pride.

“So, I thought Lou Chen had betrayed me, because I actually let him take my blood and power, let him successfully deceive me.”

Yu Ziyu muttered to himself, thoughtfully touching his face.

“Hmm… unbelievable.

What was I thinking back then…”

 

Suddenly, Yu Ziyu furrowed his brows.

 

He probably knew why he didn’t remember.

He had the same way of thinking, so he could easily reverse-engineer it.

 

He must have personally deleted this part of the memory…

Because the terrifying ability to erase others’ memories was something only he possessed.

Past Yu Ziyu had used it countless times on people like Zhang Yining, but never expected to be a victim himself.

 

Given Yu Ziyu’s strength, even if Lou Chen went all out, even if he ambushed him, he couldn’t have obtained Yu Ziyu’s blood.

So only one possibility remained—Yu Ziyu trusted him, he himself had agreed to give up part of his power.

This was an extreme humiliation, a memory of weakness…

Because he himself had made a mistake, and was taken advantage of.

 

So foolish, burning, chest hot, making one feel intensely ashamed.

 

So, he locked away that trust along with the memory.

For reasons he couldn’t understand, he didn’t kill Lou Chen.

He just left the other, whose memory had also been erased, where he was, left the seventh floor, and walked away.

 

In Yu Ziyu’s plan, he and Lou Chen would never meet again.

Until Pride acted, allowing him to unearth Lou Chen’s name from his blurred memories.

 

The more they interacted, the more he remembered.

The anger and disgust of being betrayed became increasingly apparent.

“What do you want?”

Yu Ziyu said.

“I just want you to come back.”

Pride answered without hesitation.

“I want you to remember who you were in the beginning.

I want everyone in the world to know that you’re on our side.

I don’t know why you care so little about us.

I just want to know why Lou Chen triggered all these consequences.

That’s all I want.”

 

The banquet was just a way to let Yu Ziyu show his true self, to have a chance to remember everything.

 

He was just… a bit extreme.

But Pride couldn’t control himself.

 

Everything had been normal.

If it weren’t for the humans who wandered in by mistake, if it weren’t for that damn Lou Chen, nothing would have changed between them.

Even if Yu Ziyu occasionally left the seventh floor to check on the other floors, that was still better than leaving him for another world.

 

When other bosses were by his side, Pride didn’t feel threatened.

But now, even when Lou Chen wasn’t by Yu Ziyu’s side, he still felt he would take him away at any moment, drag him from their world towards the side of light.

He couldn’t stay calm.

 

This was also the collective decision of these bosses.

“Thank you for your answer.”

 

As the cold words fell, Pride finally completely woke up.

 

He opened his eyes wide, stepped back, and looked at Yu Ziyu in disbelief.

“I didn’t mean to say it so clearly.”

He murmured, choked, his lips trembling.

“But you used this trick on me?”

 

Unbelievable, even now he could still instinctively think he was special in Yu Ziyu’s eyes.

Sloth once again felt some sympathy for him—but given his identity as Pride, it was understandable that he would make this kind of overestimation mistake again and again.

But it wasn’t beneficial, because it was gradually eroding his confidence.

 

He wavered.

 

Just like now, Pride closed his eyes, waiting where he was for Yu Ziyu to kill him.

He had already given up struggling.

Since Yu Ziyu had gotten all the truth from him, and showed no sign of being moved by him, he showed no nostalgia, so all that was left for him was punishment.

“Sometimes, I suspect I’ve raised seven cats.”

“What?”

Sloth thought he had misheard.

 

Yu Ziyu glanced at him flatly, not repeating his words.

“So, let me summarize: you are my prisoners, I am the warden, and because of my personal vacation, you’ve been rebelling, so when I forgot to lock the door, you left the Land of Desire Amusement Park to try and find me.”

“…”

“But you should come back, Master.”

 

Sloth looked surprised, turning towards the source of the voice.

 

Greed, who had been silent all along, pretending not to exist, suddenly spoke up.

“Because we were able to leave there because you left an open passage.

But it’s not just us searching.

Soon, more monsters will pass through it.

They will cause a lot of trouble for the real world.”

 

It looked up, gazing at Yu Ziyu.

“First, let me emphasize, I have no interest in human casualties.

I just like to watch the ridiculous things players say on the forum, to see what price their greed will pay.

But you…

Master, you might care.

So I’m just bringing this up.

I don’t want you to be sad, or for you to think I wouldn’t notice your thoughts, or that I wouldn’t respect your choices.”

 

Pride seemed somewhat speechless.

Greed stepped forward, bravely using its small body to shield him, disdainfully lifting its chin.

“I’m not like Pride, trying to make you return to the darkness.

I’m not like Sloth, who indulges you unconditionally.

Jealousy or whatever else.

I just want to remind you, just in case you don’t want to come back.”

“I know too well what greed feels like.”

It said calmly.

“I know you won’t give up the freedom you already have, Master.

We will be very useful.”

 

Yu Ziyu paused.

 

It was an awkward silence.

All the bosses held their breath, because their lives were clearly in his hands.

“Do you know what I was thinking?”

He laughed and said, “I was just thinking whether I should feed you all to my new pet.

But now it seems I don’t have to, because there’s actually a smart one among you.

Is the reason you didn’t come to the banquet because you’ve been thinking about what to do, to give me a refreshing impression?”

 

Greed took a breath, then nodded affirmatively.

 

Sloth opened his mouth in disbelief, then eagerly pulled his windbreaker tighter, buried his head, and took a deep breath, desperately trying to remember what Yu Ziyu’s pet was—he seemed to have raised some strange creature in the forest, but had never let him see it.

Sloth didn’t want his curiosity to be satisfied in this way.

“First.”

The moment Yu Ziyu’s words fell, his body unexpectedly appeared before Pride.

“Ten minutes are up.”

 

Pride’s pupils contracted.

He hadn’t expected Yu Ziyu to suddenly teleport in front of him.

The next moment, a sharp pain came from his chest.

He looked down and saw a dagger buried in his chest.

With a sickening squelch, Yu Ziyu withdrew his hand, leaving it still stuck in his heart.

 

The heart didn’t beat, because Pride had long been dead.

 

But he still stood there stiffly, his lips parted, but unable to speak.

After a few seconds passed, his complexion grew even paler.

With an unexpectedly complex expression, his body rapidly stiffened, his pupils dilated, and finally he stumbled and fell.

“I don’t like people lying to me, no matter the purpose.”

 

Yu Ziyu slowly wiped the green blood from his hands on the wall before saying, “No next time.

Give him time to reflect.

I won’t remove the dagger until a month later.

That’s the meaning of punishment, so the punished will firmly remember this sentence—I don’t need to do this to you, do I?”

 

He hadn’t killed Pride, because he didn’t think it was necessary.

Their behavior patterns had many similarities with vampires, so he would just let him sleep for a while.

 

Sloth and Greed held their breath, simultaneously shaking their heads quickly.

They looked with reverence at Pride lying on the cold floor.

They didn’t want to experience what it felt like to lie consciously on the ground for a month, possibly with insects crawling over them, since this place was near the forest.

“Any boss who doesn’t want to obey, if they don’t want to die again, can voluntarily roll back to the Land of Desire Amusement Park and help me convey the message.”

 

Again, obedient nodding.

 

Yu Ziyu wrinkled his nose.

“As for the remaining bosses… since you were able to find me so quickly, I suppose you qualify as hunting dogs, right?”

 

Sloth felt his heart pounding.

A certain guess surfaced in his mind.

He raised his head again.

“Master, you mean…”

“You can choose to stay, by my side.”

Yu Ziyu turned his head, narrowed his eyes, and said coldly in a capitalist’s voice, “The prison is a waste of taxpayer resources.

It’s better to put you to work for me.

Catch the monsters that escaped from your own floors, contain the other monsters that appear in the real world.

I’ll establish new game rules.”

 

The prison would probably be fine with that too.

 

To be honest, the fact that innocent humans could accidentally get in already meant the original system should be improved.

Yu Ziyu deserved the honor of being a reformer.

 

He didn’t care where he had inherited the prison from, or who had established the standards for who was sent in.

Yu Ziyu only needed to know that it would end with him.

 

He didn’t want to go back, but he also didn’t want monsters coming out to ruin the normal, beautiful human life he had carefully built.

Moreover, monsters already existed in the real world, just at lower levels.

There was even a human Supernatural Management Bureau responsible for them.

The Land of Desire Amusement Park could completely confuse the issue.

The bosses with reason were just sitting there, ready to be used as labor.

 

This way, even if Lou Chen and his team wanted help, they could have their schedules full seven days a week, and finally wouldn’t come bothering him anymore, or call him with harassment about the savior…

Besides, Sloth was the most reliable among them.

If they absolutely needed a savior for psychological comfort, he could even take that role.

 

Thinking this, Yu Ziyu nodded with satisfaction.

 

Although being a photographer wasn’t much to speak of, being able to take his camera anywhere to shoot meant freedom and pleasure.

 

He had made it very clear from the start.

He would not give up experiencing human life for those things.

“I will shut down the game, delete all the players’ game memories, and then turn off your interference magnetic fields, to prevent more bizarre creatures from appearing.”

He was completely capable of doing this, because theoretically speaking, this game was his. “Any objections?”

 

The two bosses shook their heads in unison, saying in unison, “No.”

 

Even though the other bosses weren’t present, Sloth and Greed didn’t think they would have the audacity to refuse.

“…………”

“Alright.

Have you heard enough?”

Yu Ziyu withdrew his gaze, looked towards the door, and said coldly, “I’ll count to three.

Lou Chen, get in here immediately.

After all, our score isn’t settled yet.”

 

As his words fell, the door was pushed open from outside, revealing Lou Chen’s figure behind it.

 

He looked a bit embarrassed, a bit guilty.

His restless demeanor almost made Yu Ziyu feel some sympathy for him.

His hand was torturing his black hair, making his already somewhat disheveled hair even messier, as if he had just gotten out of bed.

Those light brown eyes stared unblinkingly at Yu Ziyu.

“What.”

Yu Ziyu gave a light snort, crossing his arms. “Did the captain discover a new threat so quickly?

Then come to righteousness and cause trouble for me?”

 

He knew Lou Chen had heard the entire conversation.

He just didn’t know what his reaction would be to him dumping the mess on the bosses.

Now he should fully understand his identity.

He really didn’t know how a human could still have the audacity to stand face to face with him here, ignoring the death glares from Sloth and Greed.

“Uh.”

Lou Chen paused, as if without thinking, the first words blurted out, “I quit my job.”

“What does that mean?”

 

Although a bit surprised, Yu Ziyu still kept his cool, raising an eyebrow.

“It means… if I start pursuing you now,” Lou Chen looked very nervous, but not a trace of fear was hidden in it.

He took a deep breath, cautiously looked at Yu Ziyu, and showed an innocent smile.

“I won’t be accused of colluding with the enemy… what do you think?”

 

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