Evil in the Name of Good

At a certain boarding school in Xiaosaka City,

The bright and dazzling sunshine filtered through the glass windows, spilling onto the floor. It was usually a nice day to go outside.

The person inside seemed to be scorched by the sunlight, drawing their feet inward slightly.

After being curled up for most of the night, their body was nearly numb, their limbs tingling unbearably and feeling out of control.

The owner of the body bit their lip hard, not daring to make a sound.

After the tingling ended, she braced herself on the floor and sat up.

In her field of vision, there was a girl sitting upright with her back to her.

Having just woken up, she was a little drowsy and her mind was hazy.

She squinted her eyes, adjusting to the sunlight, before speaking softly: "Xiao Wei, you're already awake. Any news about backup from the Gifted today?"

"No."

"Ha, why are they so slow? Have we been abandoned?"

This news made her agitated, and she couldn't help but complain.

"Yumi, talking like that isn't very friendly and might hurt the Gifted's feelings."

Upon hearing Xiao Wei say this, Yumi's pupils shrank suddenly. Her hand involuntarily clutched her skirt tighter, and her body leaned towards the door unconsciously.

Facing the dazzling sunlight, Yumi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her back and fingertips turning cold and breaking out in a cold sweat.

The entire space fell silent enough to hear a pin drop. She suddenly held her breath but couldn't hear Xiao Wei's breathing in the room.

Beads of sweat slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the back of her hand. Yumi forced a smile, her tone gentle and soothing.

"Haha, you're right." Fear filled Yumi's eyes, her voice trembling slightly. "What you said made me a little sad."

Xiao Wei finally turned her head, her gaze eerie, the smile on her face at a standard arc.

"Sorry, you were just too rude earlier."

Xiao Wei inched closer to Yumi as she spoke.

Yumi also tried to stand up, leaning against the wall as her legs kept backing away.

"I wasn't rude, I was just asking you."

When her body was against the door, she reached her hand back to grasp the doorknob.

"Why are you backing away from me when you talk? Do you think I'm not pretty enough? You're being rude."

"No, you're just getting too close, and it's making me uncomfortable. It's your problem."

Oh no!

As soon as the words left her mouth, Yumi realized she was in big trouble.

She immediately twisted the door open and ran out.

Whether it was rude or not didn't matter; what mattered was whether it was friendly.

Other than pointing out that the other person wasn't being friendly enough, accusing others of not being friendly and accommodating was itself an unfriendly act.

"Why did you think I was backing away because I looked down on you? It's just my personal habit. Can't you be more accommodating?"

That's what she should have said.

Seeing Yumi leave, Xiao Wei's gaze grew even more eerie. She immediately followed, muttering repeatedly to herself.

"Not friendly enough, needs to be reformed."

"Not friendly enough..."

...

The situation in Xiaosaka City was so dire, and yet they gave the monsters more than a week to develop.

Were the higher-ups on Sakura Island kicked in the head by a donkey?

Just the thought of two potential SSS-class monsters surrounding Dragon Country made everyone's faces turn sour.

Qi Yuan looked down at the report in his hands.

Sakura Island knew very little about SSS-class monsters, resulting in some misjudgments.

The people inside couldn't come out not because they were marked, but because a connection had been established. The monster's domain most likely overlapped with part of Xiaosaka City to some extent, and the SS-class monster had already gained partial control over the space.

Entering Xiaosaka City was about the same as entering the monster's domain.

For ordinary people to leave the monster's domain, unless the monster took pity and let them out or they carried powerful spatial Gifts, the only way was for the monster to die.

It wasn't too much of a problem for S-class Gifted, though.

An incomplete Gifted domain was another space. By using their own Gifted domain to leave the monster's domain, then jumping to the real world wasn't difficult.

The premise was that they hadn't been infected by the monster and the SS-class monster didn't pay attention to them.

After all, it wasn't hard for an SS-class monster to crush an S-class Gifted.

In the Shen City incident, no one made it out because the monster's Gift was assimilation. During the battle, they were unknowingly assimilated, leading to their collective downfall.

Qi Yuan had read the report. If it weren't for his uncle being an SS-class Gifted whose Gifted domain was partially assimilated yet could still hold off that monster, the S-class Gifted who went in would have been gone long ago.

After reviewing the information again, Qi Yuan discovered a blind spot.

"Didn't you say it was an urban horror story before this?"

"Yes, before the semi-downfall."

The logistics staff explained, "Before the semi-downfall, it existed in the form of a website. The website claimed its purpose was to make everyone in this world friendly and build a wonderful paradise where people treated each other kindly."

"And not just anyone could access the website. Only those with a connection could see it."

Hong Feiheng's expression was strange. "Are you sure you're talking about a monster?"

No curses, no ghosts - how could this be considered horror?

"Yes."

The logistics staff nodded. "It can be considered a variant of a curse website, similar in some ways."

"Most curse websites involve writing the name of someone you dislike and cursing them with misfortune or death."

"But this website involved writing the name of someone whose character needed improvement, and deities would make them become more friendly."

"Such a harmless premise made people feel no guilt in writing down the names of those they disliked. Soon, they discovered the named individuals were indeed becoming friendlier."

This change made those who submitted names believe their actions were just.

As the incident spread, more and more people joined in.

When excessive friendliness became the norm, normal people were seen as unfriendly.

"You wouldn't even help me with this small favor, so unfriendly."

This was said by someone whose request was rejected.

"I accidentally bumped into you and apologized, but you still scolded me. How petty."

This was said by someone who nearly hit a pedestrian while driving.

"I have a condition and can't control myself. Can't you be more accommodating?"

This was said by a subway gropers to the woman he harassed.

Those accused of unfriendliness were soon listed on the website by others.

In the name of kindness, evil spread through Xiaosaka City, and the unsuspecting residents failed to notice as they were boiled like frogs in warm water.

Sakura Islanders were too focused on emphasizing conformity, so even those who didn't conform tried to accept the changing popular thinking.

Fearing isolation, more and more people succumbed and joined in the accusations and listings.

Until some could no longer endure and decided to move away from Xiaosaka City.

They discovered they couldn't leave Xiaosaka City...

That's when their pleas for help on the website were discovered by the Sakura Island government.

"Suddenly becoming friendly is already within the realm of a Gifted incident. Why wasn't it reported to the Monster Cleanup Team?"

Hong Feiheng couldn't understand.

There were so many people in the world, and awakened Gifts came in all sorts of strange forms. He remembered one from overseas called the Cinderella Gift.

This Gift manifested in the Gifted being more likely to be loved by wealthy men or women.

When that Gift was made public, many wealthy businessmen and women secretly went to the Execution Bureau to be tested for its influence.

Compared to Dragon Country's attitude of believing in the possibility, Sakura Island's complete disregard was just too bizarre.