“Don’t worry, as long as you’re obedient, you’ll definitely pass.” The aged skin of the speaker crinkled tightly, revealing a terrifying smile.
They needed these university students, fresh out of school and possessing adventurer qualifications, to help transport magic stones into the instance dungeon.
These university students, full of self-importance, believed themselves exceptional.
They were the easiest to deceive.
After all, no one would turn down money.
‘Hopefully, this kid is a bit dumber than the last one.’
‘Otherwise…’
‘A shortage of manpower would be quite troublesome.’
“Heheheh.”
Aya Tone’s mouth twitched. ‘This laugh, this expression… any sane person would know you’re not good people,’ he thought, unable to stop himself from internally complaining.
Unfortunately, he himself wasn’t exactly a good person either.
Yet, on the surface, he maintained the facade of an innocent university student.
“Old Hu, you’re not bad. Once I make a fortune, I’ll definitely treat you to a good meal.”
‘Bullets are a bit expensive, but they’ll surely fill Old Hu’s belly.’
“Come, blindfold yourself. You cannot use any abilities while it’s on, understand!?”
“Understood!”
Aya Tone obediently took the black silk ribbon Old Hu handed him.
Even if Old Hu hadn’t said anything, Aya Tone wouldn’t have used his abilities.
Old Hu was quite satisfied with Aya Tone’s docility.
As darkness enveloped his vision, Aya Tone felt as if he were encased in a cold, nauseating substance.
The next moment.
Though his body remained still, he had the distinct sensation of moving rapidly.
He couldn’t tell how much time had passed in the darkness.
“We’re here. Take off your blindfold.”
The repulsive aura surrounding him abruptly receded, and Aya Tone gagged twice before finally tearing off the ribbon.
After a brief period of blindness, his eyes gradually readjusted to the ambient light.
What met his gaze was…
…a dilapidated skyscraper, devoid of even a single intact window.
Scattered eggshells littered the floor.
It was undeniably reminiscent of a police thriller.
‘Tsk, tsk, tsk. The atmosphere just got intense, didn’t it?’
“Old Hu…?”
Aya Tone had barely called out before realizing that the person standing beside him wasn’t Old Hu, whose skin was practically wrinkled together.
Instead, it was a man in his forties or fifties, his face marred by a hideous scar.
The sight of him was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
“Who are you?”
“Shut it!” the Scarred Man barked coldly.
“Oh!” Aya Tone’s body stiffened, and he sheepishly made a zipping motion over his lips.
The Scarred Man snorted disdainfully.
He then led Aya Tone straight up to the top floor.
Along the way, Aya Tone couldn’t help but glance around.
He noticed that, apart from the two of them, the place seemed utterly deserted.
It was empty everywhere.
“What are you looking at?” A chilling voice cut in, utterly out of place.
The suddenness made Aya Tone jump.
He had been about to speak but forced himself to remain silent.
Instead, he pointed to his mouth, his eyes brimming with a fawning expression.
The Scarred Man shot him a sidelong glance. “Keep looking around, and I’ll gouge out your eyes!”
He then continued upwards.
Aya Tone’s cowardly demeanor didn’t even pique his interest enough to raise a hand.
Aya Tone sighed in relief, stopped looking around, and trotted to catch up.
‘Good thing he’d watched plenty of gangster movies on TV before.’
‘If he had spoken just now, it might have been, ‘You disobedient brat, you’ve found your path to death!”
The skyscraper had long lost its electricity and water, and only the elevator shaft remained of the lift.
Ascending and descending relied entirely on their leg power.
Just as Aya Tone was about to collapse from exhaustion, they finally arrived.
“Move!” The Scarred Man’s gaze upon him was undisguised contempt.
‘To be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion after such a small climb.’
‘He’s utterly useless!’
‘He could crush such a piece of trash with a single finger.’
Aya Tone suppressed the pain of his ragged breathing and kept close behind the Scarred Man.
As they emerged from the stairwell,
the floor, which should have been bright, was instead shrouded in a dark, oppressive gloom, as if covered by a thin black veil.
Standing there for long, one could feel an unsettling discomfort creeping into their body.
The Scarred Man, however, seemed utterly unaffected, continuing his walk as if nothing were amiss.
Imperceptibly, he even began to quicken his pace.
In no time, a gap of several meters had opened between them.
Left with no choice,
Aya Tone could only steel himself and follow.
As a mere ordinary person now, his heart pounded wildly in his chest, threatening to burst out.
‘Maybe I should just flip the table now.’
This thought, however, was immediately dismissed.
‘He hadn’t even seen the leader yet; what if he let them escape?’
‘Besides,’
‘He certainly wasn’t the only one brought here. What if some others were like him, simply in it for the money?’
‘Accidentally killing an innocent would be far from ideal.’
Before long,
the two arrived at an open platform, already crowded with people.
Each person unreservedly exuded a palpable malice.
Aya Tone merely furrowed his brow for a moment before his expression returned to normal.
‘Alright, their malice is even weaker than mine.’
“Scarred Man, they’ve been waiting for you!”
The Scarred Man offered no reply, simply instructing Aya Tone, “Go stand at the front.”
Aya Tone nodded obediently and walked to the front, under the ravenous gazes of everyone present.
Only upon arriving did he realize that, besides himself, there were several other young people.
Including him, there were three men and two women.
Anxiety, born from being trapped in a den of thieves, was etched onto each of their faces.
Believing themselves discreet, they cautiously fiddled with their phones, seemingly attempting to call for help.
Yet, their subtle movements clearly did not escape the notice of the surrounding individuals.
Just then,
“Put away your phones. This is the domain of a god; how could mortal objects possibly be effective here?”
Black mist rapidly converged before the group, ultimately coalescing into a shadowy figure.
Its pair of crimson eyes startled everyone present.
One of the girls shrieked in terror and fell to the ground, ceaselessly pleading for mercy.
“Let me go! I know I was wrong! You want money, right? I—I can make money! Please, don’t kill me!”
She had never imagined that her greed would lead her to such an inescapable doom.
The other young men’s expressions were equally grim.
Simply remaining standing was already their limit.
To Aya Tone’s surprise, another girl was still standing as well.
“Rest assured, I won’t kill any of you. As long as you’re obedient, the money will still be transferred to your accounts.”
Hearing that they wouldn’t die and would still receive money,
the tension in their hearts finally eased slightly.
One of the young men, summoning his courage, asked, “Excuse me, what exactly do you need us to do?”
The middle-aged man didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said, “You haven’t earned my trust yet. We’ll discuss it once you’ve passed the trial.”
‘A trial, another trial.’
Aya Tone couldn’t help but wonder what this so-called trial truly entailed.
The middle-aged man didn’t keep him waiting. With a sweep of his hand, the black mist swirling around him surged entirely towards the group.
“Don’t resist!”
The few who had initially intended to resist froze, abruptly halting their movements upon hearing his command. The black mist instantly enveloped them.
Aya Tone felt his vision go black, and then…
…um… there was no ‘then’.
When his vision returned, he didn’t feel any discomfort.
‘What was that? Was it a smoke bomb to deceive people?’
But when he looked at the middle-aged man, his pupils suddenly constricted.
The girl who had initially been standing was now being choked, her body suspended in mid-air, her feet dangling limply.
Her cheeks were flushed crimson from lack of oxygen, and her fingers incessantly clawed and struggled, desperately trying to break free.