Chapter Twenty-One: Revealing the Cards, Wang Hui Stunned into Silence

"Who? Who is it? Stop hiding and come out if you have something to say!"

He tried to mask his fear with anger, but the terror deep in his eyes and the cold sweat beading on his forehead betrayed him.

It was then he noticed something—a shadow had appeared on the ceiling.

As he looked more closely, the shadow had turned entirely blood-red, growing immense in size.

The colossal figure nearly filled the entire ceiling, and a horrifying aura engulfed the room, pressing down on Wang Hui until he could hardly breathe.

Seeing this, Wang Hui was nearly scared out of his wits.

He did not hesitate for a second and bolted toward the door.

But the moment he turned, the terrifying red figure blocked his path.

"Where do you think you're going, boy?"

Xiao Zi’s voice was a wail from the depths of hell.

Wang Hui's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor.

He stared at Xiao Zi in terror, trembling, stammering, "I... you..."

But despite his efforts, he couldn't manage a complete sentence.

"I know you have a lot of questions for me, but don’t bother asking. I won’t answer. I’ll make it simple for you: from now on, you’ll do whatever I tell you, or you die. Understand?"

Xiao Zi leaned in close, grinning with a mouth stretched wide, licking Wang Hui’s cheek with a chilling menace.

"I... I..."

Wang Hui was so shocked he could barely speak.

But after his earlier encounter with the Killer Rabbit, he could guess a few things.

He was beginning to realize that the world wasn't as bright and beautiful as ordinary people believed—beneath the surface, monsters lurked.

And these monsters were called Aberrations.

Although he didn’t know much about them, the Killer Rabbit’s words were enough to make it clear: these creatures were humanity’s mortal enemies.

The only reason the Killer Rabbit had mistaken him for one of its own was most likely because of this being hiding within him.

In other words, this massive red figure before him was also an Aberration.

An Aberration asking for his help—what help could he possibly give?

It didn’t take much thought—he was probably expected to help kill or eat people.

No matter what, he could never bring himself to do such things.

"If you have the guts, just kill me! I’ll never compromise with you!"

Wang Hui didn’t know where he found the courage—maybe it was the brashness of youth—but he refused outright.

At his words, Xiao Zi’s lips curled into a strange smile. "Are you sure? If you obey me, you can have as many benefits as you like. If you refuse—heh heh..."

He didn’t finish, but began to laugh, a shrill, piercing sound that seemed to split Wang Hui’s eardrums and sent chills down his spine.

In the next instant, Xiao Zi’s red figure flashed and leapt out the window.

Shaking, Wang Hui climbed to his feet and peered outside. Immediately, he spotted Xiao Zi standing atop the neighboring building.

Beneath the sky, Xiao Zi’s body looked all the more crimson, his aura so tangible it seemed to take shape—a sight that filled anyone with dread.

A moment later, Xiao Zi vanished, and no matter how hard Wang Hui searched, he couldn’t find a trace of him.

Just as confusion set in, a red shadow flickered past the window.

He turned to see Xiao Zi had returned to the room.

This time, Xiao Zi’s body radiated murderous intent, and he seemed to be clutching something in his hands.

Whatever it was, thick red fluid was dripping steadily from it, pooling into a small river on the floor.

"What... what did you just do?"

"What do you think?" Xiao Zi replied.

As soon as he spoke, a nauseating stench of blood filled the air, nearly making Wang Hui retch.

But Xiao Zi didn’t give him the chance. He strode over and wrapped his hand tightly around Wang Hui’s throat.

"I was never here to negotiate with you. This is a threat—if you don’t do as I say, your family, your friends, everyone you know will suffer misfortune! Tell me, do you really believe there’s anyone in this world who can stop me?"

There was no question Xiao Zi was being arrogant, but his display of power left no room for doubt—he was not lying.

The people around Wang Hui were all ordinary. If Xiao Zi really targeted them...

Before Wang Hui could think it through, Xiao Zi spoke again. "If you help me achieve my goals, you’ll be handsomely rewarded."

"What kind of rewards?" Wang Hui blurted out.

"First, more money than you could ever spend!"

As Xiao Zi finished, a fierce wind flipped Wang Hui’s blanket aside, revealing it stuffed full of bright red banknotes.

He had just robbed a bank, and brought back tens of thousands.

Wang Hui was dumbfounded.

He felt a shock to his very soul—greed, primal and overwhelming, rooted his eyes to the money, and his mouth almost watered.

Seeing his reaction, Xiao Zi smiled coldly. "This is nothing but material wealth. If I rule this world, you’ll be my spokesman among humans, and all humanity will have to obey you. Then, you can do whatever you want!"

At these words, Wang Hui spun around and dropped to his knees with a thud. "I don’t care who you are anymore. From now on, I’m with you. Boss, take me under your wing!"

Satisfied, Xiao Zi nodded and continued, "Your first task is to create a terrifying urban legend about me in your school. Make sure that every single person there is affected by the story!"

He had thought it over carefully. While leveling up his skills was important, based on the conversations of those exorcists who’d chased him before, Xiao Zi believed the Aberrations’ Forbidden Zone was something truly horrifying.

So he decided to complete the system’s mission first.

There were two tasks: one was to reach D-rank, which couldn’t be rushed and would take time; the other was to achieve an influence score of 10,000 in his current dimension.

At present, his influence was 137. He guessed that this score depended on how many people lived in fear of him.

So he had a plan.

Xiao Zi had sensed the atmosphere at Wang Hui’s school during the day. There were over three thousand people in total. If he could make them all live in fear, his influence would easily surpass three thousand.

After all, in a school community, stories like urban legends spread rapidly.

It might seem insufficient, but in truth, it was not. Human emotions are contagious, and so is fear.

Three thousand people spreading terror would not be just a simple addition, but a multiplication.

And to instill fear in the entire school without causing too much commotion, there was only one way—to create his own urban legend.