The girl clutched a small knife tightly in her hands—her only source of security. The oversized, deep green pants she wore, with their hems dragging on the ground, rustled noisily as her legs trembled uncontrollably.
Though she was technically a robber,
her unease and fear made her seem more like a tormented victim, utterly devoid of any intimidation.
“Stop… give me the bread!”
The girl was acutely aware of her shortcomings.
She tried her best to appear menacing, pointing the sharp blade at Xu Xi like a young beast baring its new teeth, while shouting hysterically for him to stop approaching her.
Her eyes were filled with longing, firmly fixed on the half-eaten white bread in Xu Xi’s hand, marked with bite marks.
Involuntarily,
her parched throat, long devoid of moisture,
struggled to swallow.
To be honest, the scene was bizarre, almost comically absurd.
In the early morning, the massive steam engines of Allenson City roared to life, their colossal plumes of steam shrouding the sky like a divine miracle, with the occasional figure of a mage darting through.
In a secluded alley unnoticed by anyone, a half-demon girl of mixed human and demon blood wielded a laughably small knife, attempting to rob one of Allenson City’s most prominent figures.
Xu Xi, who was publicly known as a formal mage but in reality, an elite mage.
Such a situation
was even more illogical than the mythical epics sung by bards.
Even disregarding Xu Xi’s status as a mage, the physical strength of an adult male alone would be enough to easily overpower this frail demon girl.
Yet, Xu Xi did not do so.
“Hungry?” Without casting a spell to punish the disrespectful demon girl or reprimanding her harshly, Xu Xi simply asked her calmly.
The girl paused for a moment, then nodded slightly.
“Here.”
Xu Xi tore off the top portion that he had bitten and handed the remaining bread to the girl. She didn’t immediately take it, instead eyeing Xu Xi warily from a distance.
Her eyes flickered with confusion and bewilderment.
It seemed she had never expected to obtain food so easily.
One step.
Two steps.
The girl cautiously inched forward, one hand gripping the knife while the other reached for the bread, approaching Xu Xi with extreme caution.
Once she grabbed the bread, she quickly retreated to the depths of the alley.
She huddled on a rotting wooden crate in the corner of the alley,
her feet stepping in a yellow, slimy puddle of mud.
Under Xu Xi’s gaze, she first nibbled at the bread, and after confirming it was safe, she began devouring it voraciously.
……
“I’ve heard that pure-blooded demons have exceptionally resilient organs, capable of enduring a year of starvation, surviving solely on their magical energy during that time.”
“If that’s the case, a half-demon like her should have inherited some of that ability to endure hunger.”
Watching the girl wolf down the bread,
Xu Xi shook his head.
He couldn’t imagine how long this girl had been wandering or what she had experienced to end up in such a pitiful state—filthy, covered in scars, and utterly destitute.
After a while, the demon girl finished the white bread.
She looked at Xu Xi again, or more accurately, her hollow, lifeless eyes fixated on the crumbs of bread in Xu Xi’s hand—the part he had torn off earlier, still bearing his bite marks.
Only then,
when she saw the food, did a glimmer of longing appear in her eyes.
“C-can… you… give it… to me…”
Perhaps Xu Xi’s act of giving her food had slightly raised his favorability in her eyes, as this time she didn’t threaten him with the knife but instead stuttered out a request.
Unconsciously,
there was a hint of pleading and ingratiation in her tone.
Her emaciated body rose from the rotten crate, her bare feet stepping in the mud and dirt as she staggered toward Xu Xi.
She wanted to grab the bread crumbs in his hand.
However—
Xu Xi didn’t even acknowledge her, simply tossing the bread crumbs into his mouth before turning and walking away without a glance, leaving the girl with only his retreating figure.
“Why… why…”
The girl was stunned.
The faint light that had briefly appeared in her eyes vanished, replaced once more by emptiness and gloom.
She lost her balance, falling to the ground, onto the slippery, foul-smelling alley floor. Pain shot through her, and blood began to flow from a wound on her forehead.
The girl didn’t cry out—she was used to it.
She didn’t get up either, remaining in the mud in a daze.
“Mom… did I do something wrong again…”
“Mom…”
“Why is this happening… I’m so hungry… I’m so hungry, Mom…”
The pangs of hunger struck again, the twisting, deadly cramps in her stomach far more intense than the pain from the bleeding wound on her forehead. The girl began to wail.
She curled up, clutching her stomach with both hands, rolling back and forth in the mud.
As if doing so could lessen the agony.
She wanted to cry, but that emotion had long been lost, utterly destroyed by countless moments of despair.
In the end, she lay there in the mud, broken and lifeless, staring blankly at the sky, waiting quietly for death to come.
If she died, she wouldn’t be hungry anymore…
Such a simple thought crossed her mind.
But just then, the sound of footsteps approached, growing louder until they stopped in front of the demon girl.
A warm, strong hand pulled her up. She saw that it belonged to the young man from before—he had not only returned but also brought new bread.
“Eat.”
“The bread I gave you earlier had my bite marks on it—it wasn’t clean. Eat this new one.”
Xu Xi spoke,
unbothered by the girl’s stench or the mud dripping from her body.
He extended his hand, casting a level 5 life magic spell, using vast amounts of life energy to heal the girl’s wounds.
Then he helped her up,
guiding her to sit in a cleaner spot to eat the bread.
“……”, the girl remained dazed throughout, seemingly unable to comprehend what was happening.
It wasn’t until Xu Xi handed her the bread that she snapped out of it, mechanically taking bite after bite.
The bag of bread was soon devoured.
Xu Xi then used water magic, summoning a large water ball to hydrate the girl and wash away the filth covering her body.
Finally,
Xu Xi crouched down, bringing his eyes level with the girl’s.
He tried his best to appear gentle.
In the midst of the filthy, chaotic alley—a place even rats would avoid—he extended his hand to the girl, a living, breathing being just like him, and made a simple offer:
“Come with me.”
The girl, who had been as still as a doll, looked at Xu Xi with her empty eyes, her face devoid of any expression, like a puppet waiting to be controlled.
She still didn’t fully understand what was happening, but deep inside, there was an impulse, urging her, telling her.
So, she obeyed.
Her hands slowly grasped the man’s outstretched palm.
“Okay…”
Her voice trembled.
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
