Evil As Humans, page 46
The hoodie was burned, revealing Zhong Chengshuo in only an ordinary long-sleeved shirt.
He retrieved a bag from the bushes, put on his glasses again, and stuffed the Evil Fruit into the bottom of the bag. The night’s rain had drenched his hair. Zhong Chengshuo shook his head and then sneezed.
It took him only ten seconds to regain his harmless appearance.
Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head and glanced at his watch.
23:28. Exactly as planned.
……
At this moment, Yin Ren hugged the weak Feng Qi tightly and flew straight into the sky.
Ping’an Manor shrank rapidly under the two of them. When they passed through the rain curtain and the clouds, a brilliant starry sky appeared above their heads. At this moment, dark clouds were rolling under the feet of the two of them. The sky was full of stars in their vision, and the surroundings were extremely quiet, as if they had truly entered another world.
At this height, even if the boy blew up into a fleshy firework, the evil qi wouldn’t contaminate others.
Due to the high altitude and low temperature, Feng Qi, who was drenched in the rain, was shivering violently. His whole body was scalding hot. He still had a sliver of sanity as he stared at the sky full of stars without blinking.
“Why… take me away?” He hugged the silent Ibby tightly, struggling to say his words. “Black market… dragon scale…”
“The dragon scale is fake.”
Yin Ren thought about it for a while and decided to tell the truth.
“You have been deceived. That kind of scumbag isn’t capable of taking my things.”
It wasn’t like a certain bold roommate who really took away some of his broken hair.
Honestly now, Yin Ren was in a special situation. Most of his power was used to suppress the power of his evil qi. The remaining “petty evil qi” was really not much, so he had to use it tightly.
In the past, he wouldn’t have noticed the slightest “loss”.
Feng Qi looked at him blankly. “But Ibby… won’t lie to me…”
Yin Ren glanced at the emptiness in the boy’s arms.
“Ibby will not deceive you, but it may also be deceived.” Yin Ren didn’t expose the truth, but played along. “You have come into contact with people you shouldn’t have, right?”
The boy lowered his head. “But…”
He still couldn’t understand the conspiracies and deceptions.
“Don’t worry, I won’t lie to you.” As if seeing through his confusion, Yin Ren patted the boy on the back. “Come on, look at my strength—you’re too weak now and I have nothing to gain by lying to you.”
“Sin value 139,478…” the boy replied drowsily. “You’ve killed… so many people…”
About 140,000? That was a similar number in his memory.
Yin Ren retracted his hand and scratched his nose. “What about ‘Death’?”
“Too—too far. I can’t see…”
The boy grasped Yin Ren’s neck and opened his broken eyes wide. As if he realized something, he shook like a dead leaf in the wind.
“Lord Dragon of Destruction,” he choked. “Can you… give me a scale?”
“What are you thinking? If you touch this kind of thing again, you’ll surely die.”
“It doesn’t matter if I die.”
“Kid, I was going to save you. Now you’re making things awkward.”
Feng Qi was stubborn. He grabbed Yin Ren’s collar tightly, dyeing his neckline red with blood and tears.
“I have to clear the game. I have a wish that must be fulfilled. Please…”
Yin Ren was silent for a few seconds.
“Is it because of this?” he asked softly.
Yin Ren took out the source of corruption that was soaked in evil qi—it was a cheap, plain-looking keychain with a small photo clipped in the transparent acrylic plate.
In the photo, a boy was hugging his parents and smiling happily.
There was a very conspicuous crack on it that was covered with old blood and brain matter that had solidified, exuding a faint odor.
In Yin Ren’s invisible world, Ibby opened its eyes.
The young dragon struggled to get close to the keychain and licked it very lightly and cherishingly.
* * *
The author has something to say:
Come on—!
Xiao Zhong: As long as real objects move, it must follow Newton’s laws, okay?
Xiao Yin: (Flying high over people’s heads)
Evil As Humans Ch41
Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
* * *
Chapter 41: Going Home
July 10th, 9:05.
Feng Qi jumped out of bed with anticipation. Today was his birthday and also a Saturday, so he didn’t have to go to school.
The small store his family owned was closed for business. His mom and dad had closed the store so they could celebrate his birthday with him. Feng Qi took out the cartridge for
Today was the third “Feng Family Game Grand Prix”!
July 10th, 11:47.
In
After completing the quest, no quest items would be given, but instead he could get a cute garland that could be hung on the outside door of a player’s home.
Mom liked that garland very much.
In the kitchen a few steps away, the sound of cooking was mixed with the faint conversation of his parents. Feng Qi smelled his favorite fried shrimp and braised pork ribs, causing him to jump excitedly on the sofa several times.
July 10th, 12:30.
“Oops, I filled in the delivery address to our store.” After answering the call from the delivery man, his father had an embarrassed smile on his face. “Fortunately, it’s not too far away. I’ll go get the cake.”
“I also want to drink orange juice.” Feng Qi drank all the Coke in his cup and took the opportunity to make a request.
“I’ll go too. I’ll have your dad carry the orange juice,” his mom replied with a smile. “That way I don’t have to worry about him breaking the cake.”
July 10th, 12:49.
It was only five or six minutes away from their small store that was close to home. His mom and dad were so slow. Since they were late, it shouldn’t matter if he ate a shrimp first, right?
He quietly ate a deep-fried shrimp. While staring at the door, he quickly rearranged the remaining shrimp.
Fortunately, he wasn’t caught by his parents.
July 10th, 12:58.
Mom and dad still hadn’t returned.
July 10th, 15:16.
Mom and Dad still didn’t come back, and they weren’t picking up their phone.
July 11th, 11:14.
Many strangers came into his home. They said that his parents were “gone”, and even a few distant relatives wanted to take him away.
Why did he have to leave? This was obviously his home. Maybe they were all mistaken, and his parents would suddenly return home and surprise him.
Feng Qi locked the door to his room. When those people walked away, shaking their heads, he quietly opened it again.
The cheerful background music of the game was looping continuously. The big meal on the table had gone completely cold. His mom’s and dad’s rice bowls had only been slightly touched. The rice grains in the bowl were dry and hard, and the chopsticks were still resting in their original position.
The sauce on the fried shrimp had completely dried out, giving off a vague sour smell. It no longer looked even remotely appetizing.
Tomorrow was Monday. Feng Qi didn’t want to go to school.
Who would wake him up?
July 11th, 20:31.
Feng Qi sneaked out and stood quietly at the “scene of the accident”. He didn’t understand and couldn’t figure it out.
He found nothing. A kind-hearted person had quietly slipped him a little “relic”. It was his mother’s favorite family photo keychain, and he hated the term “relic”.
It was already dark, but he didn’t want to go back to his original residence. The room had become emptier and bigger, and everything now felt unfamiliar.
Feng Qi knew that the game console was still on, and the food was still there, but he didn’t want to look at them.
He found a corner in the flower bed, curled up, and held the keychain tightly to his chest.
July 12th, 6:12.
Feng Qi was awakened by something cool.
He opened his eyes, and a peculiar creature came into view—it had clear, lovely eyes and beautiful white scales like falling snow. Seeing that he was awake, the thing lowered its head obediently and gently arched at him.
It looked like a small flying dragon.
Feng Qi opened his eyes wide and looked around.
Monsters that had never been seen before were flying over the sky. A magnificent castle was traced with red edges by the rising sun. Not far away, the dirty keychain turned into a sterling silver badge. The badge lay on the verdant grass, and the family photo was finely embedded behind it.
In the photo, the smiling faces of his parents were particularly vivid.
The white young dragon spread its wings and rested near the badge.
“Good morning, great adventurer. Welcome to the world of
It lowered its head and pushed the badge closer with its nose.
“Please wear your badge. You can use it to summon me at any time.”
Feng Qi froze in place in a daze. After a long time, his eyes started to light up bit by bit.
……
July 23rd, 23:31.
Feng Qi’s ears were buzzing constantly, and his limbs were paralyzed to the point of losing consciousness. The surrounding sounds seemed to be separated by a thin water film, and all he could barely manage to control was a pair of eyes.
He knew he was about to die.
He had never been so tired, and his drowsiness was as if he had swallowed a shot put and it was slowly getting heavier as it descended. Oddly enough, his vision had become clearer than before.
At first, he didn’t perceive the Dragon of Destruction at all. After that, he could detect the smell of the dragon from that beautiful hero.
And now he could see the complete form of the Dragon of Destruction.
In the sapphire-like night sky, under the twinkling diamonds, the black dragon was as dark as night, exuding a breath-taking aura. It had blood-red eyes—clearly a sign of a dangerous color—but the redness was soft, without the slightest bit of a bloody aura.
It opened its black wings with beautiful patterns and held him in the air with a ray of magic as it stared at him calmly.
It was a thing of magnificence and shocking beauty, thousands of times better than the images in the game.
Feng Qi tremblingly stretched out his hand and touched the cool and slippery dragon scales.
“I have to clear the game. I have a wish that must be fulfilled. Please…”
He didn’t feel how sad he was, but he couldn’t stop his tears.
“Is it because of this?” The dragon asked.
The familiar silver badge floated in front of him, with the photo he was most familiar with on the back.
Feng Qi’s lips quivered. Before he could make a sound, Ibby broke free from his arms and flew towards the silver badge. The young dragon used all its strength to rub against the silver badge affectionately, then licked it carefully with its tongue.
“……Yes.”
Feng Qi’s lips trembled as he continued to struggle.
“I… I used it to summon Ibby…”
“This thing is yours?” The dragon’s voice became gentler. “You’ve been wearing it on your body, and it has never left you?”
“This is my mother’s item. Someone gave it to me after they…”
The dragon was silent for a while.
“What’s your name?” It asked.
“Feng Qi,” the boy replied as he raised his head with difficulty. His voice was so small that it was almost inaudible.
“My name is Feng Qi…”
……
Yin Ren hugged the boy tightly in his arms. He knew that the child had reached his limits.
Under the influence of the evil qi, Feng Qi’s perceptual ability had mutated. He had “observation beyond common sense” and could now influence others in this way.
For some reason, these observations were all distorted things in
In order to make this all easier for him to understand, he even imagined “his own subconscious” as a guide named “Ibby”.
It was a nihilistic imagination that only the boy himself could see, and the evil qi it emitted couldn’t be detected.
Feng Qi.
Yin Ren remembered this name.
When he was investigating the rogue corpse servant, he had seen such a name in the vast list of the dead.
Feng Qi, 10 years old.
He wasn’t a deceased on the list but the survivor of the deceased Feng Shuangzhi and Lu Xiaoqi.
Feng Shuangzhi and Lu Xiaoqi were husband and wife. They owned a small store in Shangguang District. At 12:38 on July 10th of this year, both of them died in a car accident on their way home.
The story wasn’t complicated. The driver, who was under the influence of drugs, was arrested on the spot.
In the column full of countless deaths, they weren’t the most special or the most tragic. They died too suddenly, and their corpses were disposed of quickly after their deaths, which wasn’t enough time to create a rogue corpse servant.
…But their deaths created something else.
Human potential often bursts out when people encounter extreme pain or despair. Feng Qi used this to survive the corruption of the evil qi, and it gave him an almost cursed gift.
But the brain of a living person couldn’t bear such a burden. As the corruption increased, his abilities became stronger, and he moved closer to death.
“You want to resurrect your parents, right?” Yin Ren sighed.
“This world is called
Feng Qi clenched Yin Ren’s hair tightly, like a drowning person grasping his last lifeline. His eyes were congested, his tone was rapid, and the corners of his mouth were dripping with pus and blood.
“There’s magic in this world that can bring back the dead…”
Yin Ren touched his head.
He could see death in Feng Qi’s eyes, although the boy may not have had time to understand what death was.
After the spell was brushed over, the rain on Feng Qi’s body instantly evaporated. The evil qi turned into warm air, and the temperature around the two of them seemed to be like a comfortable early summer.
“I’m not sure what you mean by
Feng Qi was speechless. He continued to grab Yin Ren’s hair without letting go; his eyes were in a trance, showing a look of pleading.
Yin Ren sighed. “I’m an acquaintance of ‘Death’, and this is a secret he told me.”
Yin Ren had looked up the ending of the game in advance.
As a second-rate game, it had a simple ending.
If they successfully cleared the game, the palace magician would fulfill the player’s wish. The final boss was the Dragon of Destruction. The player had no chance to encounter ‘Death’ and even the rescued prince only existed in the narratives.
How sloppy. It allowed people to accept all kinds of follow-ups at will.
“Death is just. He took away the wise prince not out of malice but because the prince… was unlucky. Even if the dead are forcibly resurrected, they won’t really be ‘human’.”
In a sense, this wasn’t a lie.
Feng Qi couldn’t help but sob. The hand holding Yin Ren’s hair started trembling.
“The prince may no longer be able to think normally and may have to watch as his body slowly rots. In any case, he will become a monster in the eyes of everyone.”
“Even if it’s a ‘resurrection’ like this, do you still want to bring your parents back?”
From beginning to end, no matter how weak Feng Qi was, there was always light in his eyes. At this moment, the light slowly went out. He looked at the keychain blankly, no longer trembling, no longer sobbing.
“I just…”
His voice was weak and hoarse, and his body was like a candle that could be extinguished at any moment, without the slightest bit of vitality.
“I haven’t said goodbye to them yet… I…”
His breathing was getting lighter.
Yin Ren stared at him for a while, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
“Then make a wish to me. Make a wish to see them again.”
He recalled the tone of the “Dragon of Destruction” in the game as he floated smoothly in the sea of stars.
“At the cost of your ability, I can fulfill your wish and then send you back to your hometown.”
“The dead cannot come back to life, but you still have time to say goodbye to them.”
Yin Ren’s chest was a little wet. The boy’s blood and tears had soaked through his clothes. After a long time, Feng Qi finally let go of Yin Ren’s hair and buried his face deep in his chest.
The young dragon Ibby gave a yell and then closed its eyes equally meekly.
“Great adventurer, this is an important choice… It’s related to the ending of the game. Please choose carefully.”
Its voice was weak and calm, with a hint of subtle relief.
“…I see.” Feng Qi murmured. He was still buried in Yin Ren’s chest, which muffled his voice. “Dragon of Destruction… Lord Oberskras… I want to go home.”
Go back home to where mom and dad were.
